An entire life in one glance: a psychoanalytic reading of Revolutionary Road

This article, starting from an analysis of the film Revolutionary Road (2009; director, Sam Mendes), addresses the topic of conflictuality in relationships between couples, especially in those characterized by intense violence and a relational configuration of the sadomasochistic type. In particular, the film – in highlighting sequential moments in the couple’s life, from its formation through to its tragic conclusion – seems to strengthen the hypothesis that the specific quality of falling in love is a contributing factor in determining the dramatic unfolding of a couple’s relationship. The relationship is characterized by an experience of intense, erotic sensoriality, and by the nature of the unconscious fantasy underlying the bond between the couple that began with the moment of falling in love, a bond in which deep needs for fusion predominate. The presence of this neediness impedes a more adequate working through of the conflicts and the transition to more satisfying ways of relating.     

characters and clues: factors affecting children's extension of knowledge through integration of separate episodes

Children build up knowledge about the world and also remember individual episodes. How individual episodes during which children learn new things become integrated with one another to form general knowledge is only beginning to be explored. Integration between separate episodes is called on in educational contexts and in everyday life as a major means of extending knowledge and organizing information. Bauer and San Souci (2010) provided an initial demonstration that 6-year-olds extend their knowledge by integrating between separate but related episodes; the episodes shared a high level of surface similarity. Experiments 1A and 1B of the current research were tests of integration under low and high levels of surface similarity, respectively. In Experiment 1A, when surface similarity of the episodes was low, 6-year-olds integrated between passages of text, yet their performance was not as robust as observed previously. In Experiment 1B, when surface similarity of the episodes was high, a replication of Bauer and San Souci's results was observed. In Experiment 2, we tested whether a "hint" to consult the information learned in the passages improved performance even when surface level similarity was low. The hint had a strong facilitating effect. Possible mechanisms of integration between separate yet related episodes are discussed.     

The implications of value conflict: how disagreement on values affects self-involvement and perceived common ground

This article presents two studies demonstrating the implications of having different values (vs. interests) in a situation where people take opposite positions. Study 1 examined how people respond to a range of conflict issues that were framed either as referring to conflicting values or as referring to conflicting interests. Study 2 used a more immersive methodology, in which participants were led to consider either their values or interests in taking up a particular position, after which they were presented with a confederate who took up the opposite position. Results of both studies converge to demonstrate that framing a particular conflict issue in terms of values causes people to experience more self-involvement and to perceive less common ground. This result can be seen as a potential explanation of why value conflicts tend to escalate more easily than conflicts of interests and also offers scope for interventions directed at value conflict resolution.     

Ingestive behavior in rat pups is modified by maternal sodium depletion

Developmental programming by maternal stress during pregnancy is found to influence behavioral development in the offspring. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal sodium depletion in rats during pregnancy on the development of thirst mechanisms in the offspring. Pregnant rats underwent 3 episodes of saline depletion, induced by injecting sc 10 mg of Furosemide in saline (0.5 ml). The treatment, given on the 14th, 17th and 20th days post-conception, is thought to induce acute sodium depletion on dams. The offspring were tested for their drinking responses to Isoproterenol (500 μg/kg sc). In accordance to the known sequence of ontogenic development of drinking mechanisms, all groups of pups drunk after being stimulated with Isoproterenol at 6 days of age. The offspring from Furosemide-treated dams drank significantly less than the control group after Isoproterenol (p<0.001). Nevertheless, basal intake (water drunk after vehicle-saline only) was also significantly lower in these pups (p<0.001). In conclusion, offspring exposed to saline depletion in utero, modify their thirst responses at 6 day of age. This confirms that in utero conditions determine thirst responses in the offspring and they could provide adaptive advantages.     

Interparental violence and children's long-term psychosocial adjustment: the mediating role of parenting practices

The objectives of this study were: (a) to examine the direct and indirect relationships among witnessing interparental violence, parenting practices, and children's long-term psychosocial adjustment; (b) to analyze the possible gender differences in the relationships specified. The sample consisted of 1295 Spanish university students (M age = 21.21, SD = 4.04). We performed statistical analyses using structural equation modeling. The results showed that witnessing parental violence as a child is related to poor long-term psychosocial adjustment during the child's adult years. Furthermore, we found that parenting practices fully mediated the relation between witnessing interparental violence and the child's long-term adjustment. The multigroup analyses showed that most of the relations among the variables did not differ significantly by gender. However, the relation between harsh discipline and antisocial behavior was stronger for males, whereas the relation between harsh discipline and depressive symptoms was stronger for females. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for the clinicians and specialists who plan and develop intervention programs for populations at risk.     

Individual differences in the Behavioral Inhibition System are associated with orbitofrontal cortex and precuneus gray matter volume

The Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) is described in Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory as a hypothetical construct that mediates anxiety in animals and humans. The neuroanatomical correlates of this system are not fully clear, although they are known to involve the amygdala, the septohippocampal system, and the prefrontal cortex. Previous neuroimaging research has related individual differences in BIS with regional volume and functional variations in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampal formation. The aim of the present work was to study BIS-related individual differences and their relationship with brain regional volume. BIS sensitivity was assessed through the BIS/BAS questionnaire in a sample of male participants (N = 114), and the scores were correlated with brain regional volume in a voxel-based morphometry analysis. The results show a negative correlation between the BIS and the volume of the right and medial orbitofrontal cortices and the precuneus. Our results and previous findings suggest that individual differences in anxiety-related personality traits and their related psychopathology may be associated with reduced brain volume in certain structures relating to emotional control (i.e., the orbitofrontal cortex) and self-consciousness (i.e., the precuneus), as shown by our results.     

The Counseling Profession in Russia: Historical Roots,Current Trends,and Future Perspectives

Psychology was established in Russia before the Communist era. The social work profession was created in 1991 for a society in turmoil after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2011, the counseling profession officially emerged as a branch of social work called social psychological help. Professional counseling associations are in the formative stage. Concern about mental health issues, particularly substance abuse, suggests that the counseling profession could continue to grow in Russia.     

Reducing Escape without Escape Extinction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Escape-Based Interventions

Individuals with disabilities may engage in challenging behavior to escape aversive stimuli, like academic tasks or non-preferred foods. Interventions to reduce these behaviors often employ escape extinction; that is, the implementer withholds escape following challenging behavior. Escape extinction can increase risk of injury, restrict autonomy, and worsen the learner–implementer relationship. To mitigate collateral effects, interventions can use strategies without escape extinction (i.e., escape-based); that is, implementers can provide escape contingent on challenging behavior during intervention, in conjunction with other intervention components. However, no comprehensive syntheses of these interventions have been conducted. We identified 39 articles that included escape-based interventions, which contained 273 single-case designs. Escape-based interventions were associated with lower levels of challenging behavior and higher levels of adaptive behavior than baseline conditions. Most comparisons between escape-based and escape extinction interventions showed no functional relation, indicating that escape extinction may not add substantial benefit to intervention efficacy.

     

Behavioural factors underlying innovative problem-solving differences in an avian predator from two contrasting habitats

Animal Cognition - Innovative behavior is considered one of the main factors facilitating the adaptation of animals to urban life. However, the relationship between urbanization and innovativeness...     

Innovative problem-solving in a threatened gull species,the Olrog’s Gull (Larus atlanticus)

Animal Cognition - Innovation, a process that plays an important role in the ecology and evolution of species, is considered an expression of behavioral flexibility in animals. Here we analyzed...