Historiography of psychology in Brazil: pioneer works, recent developments

The evolution of the historiography of psychology in Brazil is surveyed, to describe how the field has evolved from the seminal works of the pioneer, mostly self-taught, psychologists, to the now professional historians working from a variety of theoretical models and methods of inquiry. The first accounts of the history of psychology written by Brazilians and by foreigners are surveyed, as well as the recent works made by researchers linked to the Work Group on the History of Psychology of the Brazilian Association of Research and Graduate Education in Psychology and published in periodicals such as Memorandum and Mnemosine. The present historiography focuses mainly the relationship of psychological knowledge to specific social and cultural conditions, emphasizing themes such as women's participation in the construction of the field, the development of psychology as a science and as a profession in education and health, and the development of psychology as an expression of Brazilian culture and of the experience of resistance of local communities to domination. To reveal this process of identity construction, a cultural historiography is an important tool, coupled with methodological pluralism.     

Validity of the motor observation questionnaire for teachers as a screening instrument for children at risk for developmental coordination disorder

This study investigates validity of the Motor Observation Questionnaire for Teachers (MOQ-T) in 182 children aged 5-10years, 91 children referred for motor problems to a rehabilitation center and 91 comparison children. Performance on the MOQ-T was compared to performance on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCD-Q). Significant correlations were obtained between the MOQ-T and the DCD-Q (r=-.63), and the MOQ-T and the M-ABC (r=.57). The MOQ-T discriminated between children at risk for DCD and comparison children. Sensitivity of the MOQ-T was 80.5%, specificity 62% with the M-ABC as 'gold standard'. These results support the validity of the MOQ-T as a screening instrument for identification of children at risk for DCD.     

The effect of spatial frequency content on parameters of eye movements

Two experiments were conducted to examine the influence of the spatial frequency content of natural images on saccadic size and fixation duration. In the first experiment 10 pictures of natural textures were low-pass filtered (0.04-0.76 cycles/deg) and high-pass filtered (1.91-19.56 cycles/deg) and presented with the unfiltered originals in random order, each for 10 s, to 18 participants, with the instruction to inspect them in order to find a suitable name. The participants' eye movements were recorded. It was found that low-pass filtered images resulted in larger saccadic amplitudes compared with high-pass filtered images. A second experiment was conducted with natural stimuli selected for different power spectra which supported the results outlined above. In general, low-spatial frequencies elicit larger saccades associated with shorter fixation durations whereas high-spatial frequencies elicit smaller saccades with longer fixation durations.     

Anxiety sensitivity: a unique predictor of dropout among inner-city heroin and crack/cocaine users in residential substance use treatment

The present study examined the extent to which anxiety sensitivity (AS) at treatment entry was related to prospective treatment dropout among 182 crack/cocaine and/or heroin-dependent patients in a substance use residential treatment facility in Northeast Washington, DC. Results indicated that AS incrementally and prospectively predicted treatment dropout after controlling for the variance accounted for by demographics and other drug use variables, legal obligation to treatment (i.e., court-ordered vs. self-referred), alcohol use frequency, and depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of AS in treatment dropout and substance use problems more generally.     

Olfactory predator recognition in predator-naïve gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

Olfactory cues of predators, such as feces, are known to elicit antipredator responses in animals (e.g., avoidance, activity). To date, however, there is little information on olfactory predator recognition in primates. We tested whether the odor of feces of different predator categories (historical Malagasy predators and introduced predators) and of Malagasy nonpredators (control) induces antipredator behavior in captive born, predator-na?ve gray mouse lemurs. In an olfactory predator experiment a mouse lemur was exposed to a particular odor, fixed at a preferred location, where the animal was trained to get a reward. The behavior of the mouse lemur toward the respective stimulus category was videotaped and quantified. Results showed that mouse lemurs avoided the place of odor presentation when the odor belonged to a predator. They reacted with a significantly enhanced activity when exposed to odors of carnivores compared to those of nonpredatory controls. These findings are in favor of a genetic predisposition of olfactory predator recognition that might be based on the perception of metabolites from meat digestion.     

Influence of aesthetic perception on visual event-related potentials

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of visual aesthetic perception on event-related potentials (ERPs). Eight subjects assigned an aesthetic judgment (beautiful, neutral, or ugly) and a 10-step beauty estimation to the target stimuli, consisting of famous artistic pictures and geometric shapes. In a further task, the subjects performed a motor response to the previously judged pictures and geometric shapes. ERPs were recorded through 54 scalp electrodes during both tasks. The P3b amplitude was increased during the categorization of the geometric shapes compared to the artistic figures and during the vision of the beautiful targets preceding the motor response. The categorization of the aesthetic qualities of geometrical shapes seems to induce a higher level of attention, while a higher arousal variation was elicited by the recognition of beauty, in any form that was presented.     

Aesthetic value of paintings affects pain thresholds

Pain is modulated by cognitive factors, including attention and emotions. In this study we evaluated the distractive effect of aesthetic appreciation on subjectively rated pain (visual analogue scale;VAS) and multi-channel evoked potentials induced by CO₂ laser stimulation of the left hand in twelve healthy volunteers. Subjects were stimulated by laser in the absence of other external stimulation (baseline condition) and while looking at different paintings they had previously rated as beautiful, neutral or ugly. The view of paintings previously appreciated as beautiful produced lower pain scores and a clear inhibition of the P2 wave amplitude, localized in the anterior cingulate cortex; the inhibition of P2 wave amplitude was lesser or not significant during the presentation of the ugly or neutral paintings, respectively. Dipole source localization analysis of the LEP peaks showed significant changes during different conditions, with a shift from the posterior to the anterior right cingulated cortex while looking at paintings previously rated as beautiful.Our results provide evidence that pain may be modulated at cortical level by the aesthetic content of the distracting stimuli.     

Creating physically accurate visual stimuli for free: Spectral rendering with RADIANCE

Visual psychophysicists, who study object, color, and light perception, have a demand for software that produces complex but, at the same time, physically accurate stimuli for their experiments. The number of computer graphic packages that simulate the physical interaction of light and surfaces is limited, and mostly they require the purchase of a license. RADIANCE (Ward, 1994), however, is freely available and popular in the visual perception community, making it a prime candidate. We have shown previously that RADIANCE's simulation accuracy is greatly improved when color is coded by spectra, rather than by the originally envisaged RGB triplets (Ruppertsberg & Bloj, 2006). Here, we present a method for spectral rendering with RADIANCE to generate hyperspectral images that can be converted to XYZ images (CIE 1931 system) and then to machine-dependent RGB images. Generating XYZ stimuli has the added advantage of making stimulus images independent of display devices and, thereby, facilitating the process of reproducing results across different labs. Materials associated with this article may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org.     

Physical and psychological aggression in dating relationships in Spanish university students

The presence of violent behaviors of a psychological and physical nature in dating relations was analyzed in a sample of Spanish university students between 18 and 27 years of age. The results indicate a high prevalence of both kinds of aggression in interpersonal relationships, revealing important typology differences between the sexes. Violent psychological behaviors (characterized by the presence of verbal aggression and coercive and jealous behaviors) and physical aggression were significantly higher in women, though the consequences of physical aggression were worse for the women's health. The implications of the results and their possible relation with more severe violent acts in more stable, emotional relationships are discussed.     

Resources for health: a primary-care-based diet and physical activity intervention targeting urban Latinos with multiple chronic conditions.

OBJECTIVE: The Resources for Health trial evaluates a social-ecologically based lifestyle (physical activity and diet) intervention targeting low-income, largely Spanish-speaking patients with multiple chronic conditions. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 200 patients recruited from an urban community health center and assigned to intervention and usual care conditions. Intervention involved 2 face-to-face, self-management support and community linkage sessions with a health educator, 3 follow-up phone calls, and 3 tailored newsletters. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes measured at 6-months were changes in dietary behavior and physical activity. Changes in multilevel support for healthy living were evaluated as a secondary outcome. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, language, and number of chronic conditions, significant intervention effects were observed for dietary behavior and multilevel support for healthy lifestyles but not for physical activity. CONCLUSION: The Resources for Health intervention provides an effective and practical model for improving health behavior among low-income, Spanish-speaking patients with multiple chronic conditions.