Gender differences in adult word learning

In prior work, women were found to outperform men on short-term verbal memory tasks. The goal of the present work was to examine whether gender differences on short-term memory tasks are tied to the involvement of long-term memory in the learning process. In Experiment 1, men and women were compared on their ability to remember phonologically-familiar novel words and phonologically-unfamiliar novel words. Learning of phonologically-familiar novel words (but not of phonologically-unfamiliar novel words) can be supported by long-term phonological knowledge. Results revealed that women outperformed men on phonologically-familiar novel words, but not on phonologically-unfamiliar novel words. In Experiment 2, we replicated Experiment 1 using a within-subjects design, and confirmed gender differences on phonologically-familiar, but not on phonologically-unfamiliar stimuli. These findings are interpreted to suggest that women are more likely than men to recruit native-language phonological knowledge during novel word-learning.     

Bimodal bilinguals co-activate both languages during spoken comprehension

Bilinguals have been shown to activate their two languages in parallel, and this process can often be attributed to overlap in input between the two languages. The present study examines whether two languages that do not overlap in input structure, and that have distinct phonological systems, such as American Sign Language (ASL) and English, are also activated in parallel. Hearing ASL-English bimodal bilinguals' and English monolinguals' eye-movements were recorded during a visual world paradigm, in which participants were instructed, in English, to select objects from a display. In critical trials, the target item appeared with a competing item that overlapped with the target in ASL phonology. Bimodal bilinguals looked more at competing item than at phonologically unrelated items and looked more at competing items relative to monolinguals, indicating activation of the sign-language during spoken English comprehension. The findings suggest that language co-activation is not modality specific, and provide insight into the mechanisms that may underlie cross-modal language co-activation in bimodal bilinguals, including the role that top-down and lateral connections between levels of processing may play in language comprehension.     

Differential susceptibility experiments: going beyond correlational evidence: comment on beyond mental health, differential susceptibility articles

Reviewing the studies on differential susceptibility presented in this section, we argue that the time is ripe to go beyond correlational designs to differential susceptibility experiments. In such experiments, randomization prevents hidden moderator effects on the environment and guarantees the independence of moderator and outcome, while the environment is manipulated and assessed in standard ways. Correlational studies generate a priori expectations about crucial moderators (e.g., temperament, biological sensitivity, and genetics). We discuss the differential susceptibility experiments available up until now and conclude that these experiments are feasible and contribute in unique ways to our conceptions of differential susceptibility.     

Ungedeckte psychotherapeutische Bedarfe bei Stimulanzienkonsumenten

Background

Despite changes in the regulations concerning outpatient psychotherapy in Germany, relatively few patients with substance use disorders receive this type of treatment.

Objectives

The results of a recent study among stimulant users are taken as an example to illustrate the psychotherapeutic needs of patients with substance use disorders.

Materials and methods

A total of 392 individuals with active use of amphetamine and/or methamphetamine were included using a broad range of recruitment strategies. In a mixed methods approach, qualitative as well as quantitative data were gathered regarding the history of substance use, the motives for use, and traumatic experiences during childhood.

Results

Psychological distress was a frequent motive even at the initiation of stimulant use. About two thirds of the participants (65.1?%) reported at least one form of childhood trauma (sexual, physical or emotional abuse, emotional or physical neglect).

Conclusion

The findings suggest a high need for psychotherapy among patients with substance use disorders. It seems important to further improve the information as well as the training of psychotherapists to work with these clients.     

“Yes,I Have Sometimes Stolen Bikes”: Blindness for Norm‐Violating Behaviors and Implications for Suspect Interrogations

Across two experiments, we studied a phenomenon akin to choice blindness in the context of participants' accounts of their own history of norm‐violating behaviors. In Experiment 1, N = 67 participants filled in an 18‐item questionnaire about their history of norm‐violating behaviors (QHNVB). Subsequently, they were questioned about four of their answers, two of which had covertly been manipulated by the experimenter. Of the 134 manipulations, 20 (14.9%) remained undetected concurrently and 13 were accepted in retrospect (9.7%). In Experiment 2 (N = 37), we inserted a one‐week interval between questionnaire and interview. Twenty‐seven (36.5%) of the 74 manipulations remained undetected concurrently and three were accepted in retrospect (8.1%). Data obtained in a four‐week follow‐up indicated that our manipulations may have long‐term effects on participants' perception of their own history of norm‐violating behaviors. Implications for the occurrence of false confessions during the course of an interrogation are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distress and Coping Strategies Among Patients with Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common cancer world-wide, yet few studies have investigated the psychosocial implications of this disease. The current study provides an account of the distress experienced by patients with NMSC and the coping strategies they use to deal with the NMSC diagnosis. The results demonstrate that 19 % of the patients experience significant levels of psychological distress. Furthermore, those who engaged in avoidant coping strategies (specifically behavioural avoidance) were more likely to experience distress. These findings highlight the importance of further investigating this patient population, since patients report difficulties adjusting to this disease and its treatment.     

The Structure of Frege's Thoughts

Fregean thoughts (i.e. the senses of assertoric sentences) are structured entities because they are composed of simpler senses that are somehow ordered and interconnected. The constituent senses form a unity because some of them are ‘saturated’ and some ‘unsaturated’. This paper shows that Frege's explanation of the structure of thoughts, which is based on the ‘saturated/unsaturated’ distinction, is by no means sufficient because it permits what I call ‘wild analyses’, which have certain unwelcome consequences. Wild analyses are made possible because any ‘unsaturated’ sense that is a mode of presentation of a concept together with any ‘saturated’ sense forms a thought. The reason is that any concept can be applied to any object (which is presented by a ‘saturated’ sense). This stems from the fact that Frege was willing to admit only total functions. It is also briefly suggested what should be done to block wild analyses.     

Robust patterns and individual variations: Stability and predictors of infant behavior in the still-face paradigm

In the present study we examined key issues regarding infant behavior in the still-face paradigm (SFP) in terms of individual variations, stability, and predictors. The sample consisted of 115 mothers and infants, with assessments at ages 3 and 6 months, including observations of maternal and infant behavior in the SFP, and parent reports of infant temperament. Both robust patterns and individual variations in infant SFP behaviors were found, with only a minority of infants showing the expected patterns for negative affect and gaze. Infant behavior patterns showed no stability from age 3 to 6 months, and infant gaze was related to more pronounced behavior changes across the SFP. Maternal sensitivity in the SFP baseline was related to some aspects of infant SFP behavior. Consistent with the differential susceptibility hypothesis, in infants with a more difficult temperament maternal sensitivity predicted a more pronounced expected pattern of changes in infant positive affect across the SFP, whereas this was not the case for infants with a more easy temperament.