The false fame illusion in people with memories about a previous life

The present study examined whether individuals with full-blown memories of highly implausible events are prone to commit source monitoring errors. Participants reporting previous-life memories and those without such memories completed a false fame task. This task provides an index of source monitoring errors (i.e., misclassifying familiar non-famous names as famous names). Participants with previous-life memories had a greater tendency to judge the names of previously presented non-famous people as famous than control participants. The two groups did not differ in terms of correct recognition of new non-famous names and famous names. Although dissociation, cognitive failures, sleep-related experiences, depressive symptoms, and signs of psychological distress were all significantly higher in participants with previous-life memories than in controls, these variables did not predict the false fame illusion.     

Child and family‐related predictors of psychological outcomes in children adopted from abroad; what is the role of caregiver time?

International adoptees need to cope with stressful transitions and to develop secure attachment with their caregivers at the same time. Although most children adopted from abroad adjust fine, they are at increased risk of psychological problems. We investigated whether both child and family‐related factors are associated with later psychological problems and whether the length of time spent at home after adoption before daycare moderates these associations among internationally adopted children in Finland (FinAdo, Finnish Adoption Study). The sample consisted of 1,265 children (708 girls, 557 boys) who arrived in Finland before they started school (mean age 2 years at arrival). Later behavioral problems were measured using the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). According to our results, male gender, older age, child's early clinical symptoms (problems of sensory processing) and single parenthood were associated with later behavioral problems measured by CBCL scores. Longer stay at home before the start of daycare or school modified these results. Longer stay at home was associated with less later behavioral externalizing problems in girls but not in boys compared to those who spent a shorter time at home.     

I haven't thought about this for years! Dating recent recalls of vivid memories

In three studies, we examined memories for previous recall. In Studies 1 and 2, undergraduates were asked whether they had vivid memories about various childhood events. After a one‐hour (Study 1) or 2‐week (Study 2) interval, they completed a second questionnaire containing new, but also previously presented childhood items. Participants estimated how recently they had thought about old and new items. A non‐trivial proportion of recent recalls of vivid childhood memories was dated incorrectly. In Study 3, women with recovered and continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) completed the childhood events questionnaires used in studies 1 and 2. After a one‐hour interval, they indicated how recently they had thought about new, but also previously presented childhood items. Compared to women with continuous CSA memories, women with recovered memories underestimated their prior remembering. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular reduction: reality or fiction?

Neurophysiological research suggests our mental life is related to the cellular processes of particular nerves. In the spirit of Occam’s razor, some authors take these connections as reductions of psychological terms and kinds to molecular- biological mechanisms and patterns. Bickle’s ‘intervene cellularly/molecularly and track behaviourally’ reduction is one example of this. Here the mental is being reduced to the physical in two steps. The first is, through genetically altered mammals, to causally alter activity of particular nerve cells, i.e. neurons, at the molecular level and then, under controlled experimental conditions, to use generally-accepted rules of behaviour within psychology to monitor the results of these manipulations. In this article, we argue that Bickle’s case example for molecular reduction, i.e. the reduction of long-term memory to its cellular-molecular mechanisms, cannot support his claims, because it turns out that his chosen molecular pathway is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for the memory consolidation switch, and thus, instead of rejecting the multiple realization argument, Bickle’s argument actually speaks in favour of it. Therefore the idea of reductive connections between our mental life and the activity of particular nerves is, at present, still more fiction than reality.     

Righting behaviour in the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis): relations between behavioural and morphological lateralization

Animal Cognition - Lateralization represents a key property of many behavioural traits, with the right and left sides of the brain providing different and integrative functions. Common ecological...     

The Search for a Current Mission Model in Cambodia

This paper is a contribution to the debate on the current mission model of the church in Southeast Asia. Scholars from St Elizabeth University in Bratislava, Slovakia, have performed qualitative research to examine the present mission model in Cambodia. Research was conducted on a sample of Catholic missionaries who have worked in Cambodia for a longer period of time. On the basis of this qualitative study, we have outlined and proposed some characteristics for today’s mission model in that country. Features included and emphasized dialogue with Buddhism, formation of spiritually mature people, social promotion and social inclusion, community development, the shift in inculturation regarding value systems, working in small groups, and reconciliation between ethnic communities.     

Differences between elite,junior and non-rowers in kinematic and kinetic parameters during ergometer rowing

This paper presents an analysis of the rowing parameters of differently skilled rowers. The study focuses on technique dependency on stroke rate. Five elite, five junior and five non-rowers participated, and the biomechanics of rowing on an ergometer was analyzed at stroke rates of 20, 26 and 34 str/min. The results show that elite rowers use a similar, consistent rowing technique at all stroke rates, the technique of junior rowers follows similar principles, while the technique of non-rowers varies. Elite rowers’ stroke length, handle motion and body posture do not change with stroke rate while the ratio of stroke phases, maximum forces, stroke work and joint loadings are constant at the same stroke rate but dependent on stroke rate. Junior rowers with stroke rate change also the stroke length. In non-rowers the differences can be observed in the handle motion and body posture during the stroke, their stroke length changes with stroke rate while the ratio of stroke phases stays constant. Although different movement execution is evident and variable with stroke rate, non-rowers demonstrate a consistent pattern at the same stroke rate. On the basis of the results, the crucial parameters that differentiate elite, junior, and non-rowers are identified.     

Energy-based structure prediction for d(Al70Co20Ni10)

We use energy minimization principles to predict the structure of a decagonal quasicrystal–d(AlCoNi)–in the cobalt-rich phase. Monte Carlo methods are then used to explore configurations while relaxation and molecular dynamics are used to obtain a more realistic structure once a low-energy configuration has been found. We find five-fold symmetric decagons 12.8?Å in diameter as the characteristic formation of this composition, along with smaller pseudo-five-fold symmetric clusters filling the spaces between the decagons. We use our method to make comparisons with a recent experimental approximant structure model from Sugiyama et al. (K. Sugiyama, S. Nishimura and K. Hiraga, J. Alloy Comp. 342 65 (2002)).