Counterintuitive Religious Ideas and Metaphoric Thinking: An Event‐Related Brain Potential Study

It has been shown that counterintuitive ideas from mythological and religious texts are more acceptable than other (non‐religious) world knowledge violations. In the present experiment we explored whether this relates to the way they are interpreted (literal vs. metaphorical). Participants were presented with verification questions that referred to either the literal or a metaphorical meaning of the sentence previously read (counterintuitive religious, counterintuitive non‐religious and intuitive), in a block‐wise design. Both behavioral and electrophysiological results converged. At variance to the literal interpretation of the sentences, the induced metaphorical interpretation specifically facilitated the integration (N400 amplitude decrease) of religious counterintuitions, whereas the semantic processing of non‐religious counterintuitions was not affected by the interpretation mode. We suggest that religious ideas tend to operate like other instances of figurative language, such as metaphors, facilitating their acceptability despite their counterintuitive nature.     

REBT in a Therapeutic Community: REBTC

Long-term residential treatment--therapeutic communities--have some empirical support for efficacy but historically have been viewed as insulated and alien to the world of research. A therapeutic community with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy as the core of its philosophy and practice is described, and follow-up results are presented. The argument is made that therapeutic communities may be particularly well suited to treatment of people with dual diagnoses.     

Parietal ERP Activity and Appetite

Recent research on brain activity suggests that visual attention increases in response to emotional images. This increase is reflected in signs of greater activity, in response to different emotional visual stimuli, in parietal and parietooccipital areas in several studies employing neuroimaging techniques and event-related potentials (ERPs). In the latter case, greater parietal and parietooccipital negativities have been observed. The objective of the present study was to examine the role of a person's level of motivation towards the emotional stimulus with respect to this ERP pattern. Two groups of stimuli were presented to 60 participants: neutral or N (photographs of taps) and appetitive or A (photographs of cakes). The level of hunger was measured via a questionnaire. Recordings were taken at PO3, PO4, P7, and P8. The largest differences, as a function of appetite, were produced between 575 and 625 ms. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to study the relationship between subjects' appetite and their ERP recordings in response to A and N stimuli. There was a significant negative association between appetite and 575–625 mean amplitude in response to stimulus A at PO3 and PO4.     

Testing the age related differentiation hypothesis through the Wechsler’s scales

According to the age differentiation hypothesis (ADH), g becomes increasingly invested in specific abilities with age: with increasing age, g should account for a decreasing proportion of the variance in any particular cognitive test. However, there is no conclusive evidence concerning this important topic. Data from the Italian, Spanish, and American standardisation samples of the WPPSI and the WISC-R were analysed in the present study for testing the ADH. No changes in the proportion of variance associated with g in the 4–16 age range were found. This pattern does not change depending on the country. Therefore, the ADH is rejected: g seems to be very stable across age, and, thus, it seems to be an equally important component of intelligence test performance from early childhood to late adolescence.     

Childhood and Adolescent Victimization and Perpetration of Sexual Coercion by Male and Female University Students

This study examines the extent to which male and female university students use verbal sexual coercion and physically forced sex on a dating partner and tests a theoretical model that specifies that corporal punishment, minor forms of neglect by parents, and sexual abuse increase the probability of sexually coercing and sexually assaulting a partner, and that this relationship is partly mediated by antisocial traits and behavior. A path analysis using multinomial logistic regression was used to test the fit of the model to a convenience sample of 13,877 students in 32 nations. Both male and female students perpetrate sexual coercion, but the rates are higher for males. For both men and women, each of the three forms of prior victimization studied were associated with an increased probability of antisocial behavior, which in turn was associated with an increased probability of verbally coercing and physically forcing sex. Most of the direct paths from victimization to sexual coercion were also statistically significant. Because relatively mild victimization such as corporal punishment and seemingly innocuous forms of neglect are highly prevalent, steps to reduce their prevalence could be an import step in primary prevention of sexual coercion.     

Nuevas perspectivas del procesamiento de información

RESUMEN

La Psicología Cognitiva es una de las áreas más pujantes de la Psicología actual. Pese a lo fructífero de esta nueva rama de la Psicología, es necesario formular algunas críticas a este enfoque. Este será el tema principal del presente artículo. Las críticas estarán centradas en las llamadas “analogías formales”. Cuando un dominio de fenómenos es difícil y confuso para nuestra compresión, una solución lícita es establecer algún tipo de analogía entre ese dominio y otro dominio que conocemos mejor. Lo que hemos denominado analogías formales sirven de elementos de vertebración teórica de los datos psicológicos pero, por otra parte, mue stran debilidades importantes. Las principales analogías de la Psicología Cognitiva serán analizadas en este artículo mostrando sus debilidades más importantes.     

Longitudinal study of low and high achievers in early mathematics

Background. Longitudinal studies allow us to identify, which specific maths skills are weak in young children, and whether there is a continuing weakness in these areas throughout their school years. Aims. This 2‐year study investigated whether certain socio‐demographic variables affect early mathematical competency in children aged 5–7 years. Sample. A randomly selected sample of 127 students (64 female; 63 male) participated. At the start of the study, the students were approximately 5 years old (M= 5.2; SD= 0.28; range = 4.5–5.8). Method . The students were assessed using the Early Numeracy Test and then allocated to a high (n= 26), middle (n= 76), or low (n= 25) achievers group. The same children were assessed again with the Early Numeracy Test at 6 and 7 years old, respectively. Eight socio‐demographic characteristics were also evaluated: family model, education of the parent(s), job of the parent(s), number of family members, birth order, number of computers at home, frequency of teacher visits, and hours watching television. Results . Early Numeracy Test scores were more consistent for the high‐achievers group than for the low‐achievers group. Approximately 5.5% of low achievers obtained low scores throughout the study. A link between specific socio‐demographic characteristics and early achievement in mathematics was only found for number of computers at home. Conclusions . The level of mathematical ability among students aged 5–7 years remains relatively stable regardless of the initial level of achievement. However, early screening for mathematics learning disabilities could be useful in helping low‐achieving students overcome learning obstacles.     

Optimal representations and the Enhanced Indispensability Argument

Synthese - The Enhanced Indispensability Argument (EIA) appeals to the existence of Mathematical Explanations of Physical Phenomena (MEPPs) to justify mathematical Platonism, following the...