Interference with Rehearsal in Spatial Working Memory in the Absence of Eye Movements

We have previously argued that rehearsal in spatial working memory is interfered with by spatial attention shifts rather than simply by movements to locations in space (Smyth & Scholey, 1994). It is possible, however, that the stimuli intended to induce attention shifts in our experiments also induced eye movements and interfered either with an overt eye movement rehearsal strategy or with a covert one. In the first experiment reported here, subjects fixated while they maintained a sequence of spatial items in memory before recalling them in order. Fixation did not affect recall, but auditory spatial stimuli presented during the interval did decrease performance, and it was further decreased if the stimuli were categorized as coming from the right or the left. A second experiment investigated the effects of auditory spatial stimuli to which no response was ever required and found that these did not interfere with performance, indicating that it is the spatial salience of targets that leads to interference. This interference from spatial input in the absence of any overt movement of the eyes or limbs is interpreted in terms of shifts of spatial attention or spatial monitoring, which Morris (1989) has suggested affects spatial encoding and which our findings suggest also affects reactivation in rehearsal.     

THINKING TOWARD A FUTURE

Abstract. Ian Harbour's Ethics in an Age of Technology provides an indispensable overview of the field of ethics and technology—an overview that gives balanced views informed by science, philosophy, and religion and that provides encyclopedic coverage of a variety of issues and methods typical to them. Barbour makes communication possible between two fields often at odds in our culture. Part 2 of the book relates the values introduced in Part 1 to three specific areas of technology: agriculture, energy, and computers. The book pays superficial attention to gender issues. Its focus is on planet Earth; the universe and models of the future are only implicit.     

Discrepancies among mother,child, and teacher reports: Examining the contributions of maternal depression and anxiety

The relationship between maternal affective symptomatology and discrepancies in maternal reports of child symptoms, relative to teacher and child reports, was evaluated in a community sample of 188 children ages 9–12 years. Mothers, teachers, and children were administered a structured interview about child psychopathology. In general, mothers reported more child behavior problems than children and teachers, regardless of maternal symptomatology. However, maternal affective symptoms were associated with discrepancies between mothers' and daughters' reports and between mothers' and teachers' reports of girls' externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, mothers who reported high levels of both anxiety and depressive symptomatology tended to report a large number of symptoms that were not confirmed by either their daughters or teachers. Findings are discussed as possible evidence of the role of maternal affective symptomatology in both actual increases in child symptomatology and maternal reporting distortions. Although maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms shared variance in reporting discrepancies, only anxiety explained unique variance. Consistent with previous studies, cross-informant agreement was modest to moderate (r= .16 to .50) and all informants reported more behavior problems in boys than in girls. This work was undertaken with the support of National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH43909 and MH46717.     

Peer interactions of dysphoric adolescents

The present study sought to extend our knowledge of dysphoric adolescents' dyadic peer interactions. Thirty female dyads (ages 13–17) were videotaped interacting during both a structured and an unstructured task. Fourteen of the dyads were each comprised of a dysphoric girl and a nondysphoric girl; the remaining dyads were comprised of two nondysphoric girls. Girls were considered dysphoric if they scored 10 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory. Dysphoric subjects evaluated their performances more negatively than nondysphoric subjects and rated their partners more negatively overall. The partners of the dysphoric girls were viewed by raters as less positive and less happy. They saw the dysphoric teens as making more critical comments and evaluated them more negatively overall. There was also a tendency for these girls to reject their dysphoric partners and to become more passive during the unstructured task. The findings indicate that dysphoric adolescent girls evoke negative reactions from peers and negatively influence their peers' behavior. These negative reactions from others may lead to further difficulties in negotiating the developmental tasks of adolescence.     

A revised teacher rating scale for Reactive and Proactive Aggression

A teacher rating scale of reactive aggression, proactive aggression, and covert antisocial behavior was evaluated in a normative sample of third- to fifth-grade predominantly white lower middle class boys (N= 186). Factor analysis revealed independent and internally consistent Reactive Aggression (six reactive items), and Proactive Aggression (five proactive items, five covert items) factors. Although the factors were intercorrelated (r= .67), and each factor was significantly correlated with negative peer social status (r= .26 for each, controlling for grade), the independence of the factors was supported by the unique relation of Reactive Aggression with in-school detentions (r= .31), controlling for Proactive Aggression and grade. These results supported the reliability and validity of Reactive and Proactive Aggression as rated by teachers, which should facilitate further research of these constructs. This research was supported in part by an NIMH First Award to Marc Atkins (MH4682), and support from an NICHD Mental Retardation Research Center Core Center Grant (DH26979). Portions of these data were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Sarasota, Florida, in February 1992. The authors are grateful to Paul McDermott and Tom Power for editorial comments, and to Gail Apfel, principal, and the teachers, staff, and students of Stonehurst Elementary School for their enthusiastic participation in this research.     

Harmonic analysis of a complex motor behavior

This study deals with the learning of a complex motor task. The example used is rock climbing, where the subject's motricity is highly constrained by the natural environment. The working hypothesis is that the sensorimotor system searches for behavioral solutions characterized by minimal energy expenditure in the dissipation of forces. Harmonic systems — which satisfy this requirement — are used as models for testing the source signal defined by the acceleration curve at the learner's center of gravity. It is shown that only the dynamics of an expert's motor behavior are harmonic, while those of a beginner are stochastic (or chaotic). It is also shown that for experts, the process of adaptation to environmental constraints involves the relaxation of the dynamics and the ensuing emergence of a stable state which corresponds to a quasi-periodic attractor. A harmonic analysis is used to distinguish the environmental and intrinsic components of the behavioral dynamics, shown to result from the coupling of these two components via resonance.     

Maternal gestational stress alters adaptive and social behavior in adolescent rhesus monkey offspring

Data from rodent studies have indicated that stress experienced by pregnant mothers may result in behavioral and biological abnormalities in their offspring. However, few studies have examined the effects of prenatal stress on the offspring beyond the childhood period. In this study, 7 prenatally stressed (PNS) monkeys and 7 monkeys from undisturbed pregnancies were tested under mildly challenging conditions at 4 years of age. Following separation from cagemates and group formation, PNS monkeys showed more locomotion, abnormal and disturbance behavior than controls. Controls showed approximately six times more play than PNS animals. The PNS males showed the most clinging to others and the largest increase in contact with other animals over the period. Group differences were also found when the monkeys were observed as groups or alone in a playroom. Controls showed more explanatory behavior in the playroom, whereas PNS monkeys showed more inactivity. Control animals showed a decrease in distress vocalizations over time in the playroom, whereas PNS animals showed the opposite pattern. Control animals spent more time in proximity to and contact with cagemates than PNS animals. These results indicate that prenatal stress can have effects on adaptive and social behavior that persist into adolescence.     

Separation Versus Connection,The Gender Controversy: Implications for Counseling Women

Traditional developmental theories hold that separation is the primary goal of human emotional development. Numerous current theorists question this notion. They propose that a girl's development of self is dependent on mutually empathic relationships with primary caretakers. This revision of developmental theory has implications for counseling. The counseling relationship with a woman should provide validation for her relational skill and opportunity to practice relational competence within the counseling relationship. Boys and men may also have the need to develop relational competence to secure a strong sense of self. If so, a relational model of counseling would apply to them as well.     

Resolving the justice dilemma by improving the outcomes: The case of employee drug screening

In this paper we seek to accomplish two objectives. First, we review and describe a phenomenon we call the justice dilemma. We argue that workers often perceive valid assessment practices to be unfair. By using these techniques, employers risk incurring hidden costs that are associated with perceived injustice. Thus, it is sometimes impractical to utilize an assessment technique even though the procedure has good validity evidence. Our second purpose is to propose and test one way that organizations can resolve the justice dilemma. We do this in the context of workplace drug screening. We argue that employees are often more tolerant of controversial assessment techniques to the extent that these procedures do not result in particularly negative outcomes. In a field study examining employee reactions to a drug screening program, this proposition was generally supported.     

Agricultural research networks in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of the situation and its consequences

The purpose of this article is to compare the theory and reality of agricultural research networks in sub-Saharan Africa. Networking is a mode of organization that generally suits the new environmental conditions. The analysis of the agricultural research network environment in sub-Saharan Africa shows that when institutional networks started to proliferate, human and institutional conditions were not yet ripe. This explained some of the problems. Nowadays, conditions have improved. Despite all difficulties, networks have contributed to creating a scientific community, have participated in apportioning and even harmonizing research activities, and have made it possible to maintain research activities in countries going through a crisis. Marie de Lattre-Gasquet is a researcher from the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), in France. Within the external relations directorate of CIRAD, she has been responsible for the relationships between CIRAD and international organizations. She has also actively participated in the preparation of CIRAD’s long-term strategy. She worked for the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) in The Netherlands from 1983 to 1985. She holds a Master in International Management (AGSIM, Thunderbird Campus) and a Doctorate in Economy (Université de Paris X). He is mostly working on the agricultural research networks in sub-Saharan Africa. He holds a diploma from the Institut National d’Agronomie—Paris Grignon.