Horses (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Equus caballus</Emphasis>) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object-choice task when confronted with (a) an unfamiliar or (b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: (1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket, it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses’ performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations, the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues.     

To reason or not to reason: is autobiographical reasoning always beneficial?

Autobiographical reasoning has been found to be a critical process in identity development; however, the authors suggest that existing research shows that such reasoning may not always be critical to another important outcome: well-being. The authors describe characteristics of people such as personality and age, contexts such as conversations, and experiences such as transgressions, which may hinder adaptive reasoning. They also propose alternatives to autobiographical reasoning for managing challenging events and constructing the life story, which include different kinds of meaning-making than those primarily focused on in the current literature.     

The concept of voluntary consent

Our primary focus is on analysis of the concept of voluntariness, with a secondary focus on the implications of our analysis for the concept and the requirements of voluntary informed consent. We propose that two necessary and jointly sufficient conditions must be satisfied for an action to be voluntary: intentionality, and substantial freedom from controlling influences. We reject authenticity as a necessary condition of voluntary action, and we note that constraining situations may or may not undermine voluntariness, depending on the circumstances and the psychological capacities of agents. We compare and evaluate several accounts of voluntariness and argue that our view, unlike other treatments in bioethics, is not a value-laden theory. We also discuss the empirical assessment of individuals' perceptions of the degrees of noncontrol and self-control. We propose use of a particular Decision Making Control Instrument. Empirical research using this instrument can provide data that will help establish appropriate policies and procedures for obtaining voluntary consent to research.     

Measuring dysmorphic concern in Italy: psychometric properties of the Italian Body Image Concern Inventory (I-BICI)

The present research evaluated an Italian version of the Body Image Concern Inventory (I-BICI). A total of 412 Italian volunteers from Central and Southern Italy completed the measure (M=27.05 years, range=13-66 years) and the basic psychometric properties (factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity) were assessed. The total measure demonstrated good internal consistency. Significant correlations were found between the I-BICI and measures of eating disorder (EDI-2) and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology (PI). Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the mesaure’s proposed factor structure. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Audiovisual speech from emotionally expressive and lateralized faces

Emotional expression and how it is lateralized across the two sides of the face may influence how we detect audiovisual speech. To investigate how these components interact we conducted experiments comparing the perception of sentences expressed with happy, sad, and neutral emotions. In addition we isolated the facial asymmetries for affective and speech processing by independently testing the two sides of a talker's face. These asymmetrical differences were exaggerated using dynamic facial chimeras in which left- or right-face halves were paired with their mirror image during speech production. Results suggest that there are facial asymmetries in audiovisual speech such that the right side of the face and right-facial chimeras supported better speech perception than their left-face counterparts. Affective information was also found to be critical in that happy expressions tended to improve speech performance on both sides of the face relative to all other emotions, whereas sad emotions generally inhibited visual speech information, particularly from the left side of the face. The results suggest that approach information may facilitate visual and auditory speech detection.     

Leveraging Motivational Mindsets to Foster Positive Interracial Interactions

As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, interracial contact will become considerably less rare. Much research has suggested that interracial interactions are often stressful and uncomfortable for both Whites and racial minorities. Bringing together several bodies of research, the present article outlines a motivational perspective on the dynamics of intergroup contact. To this end, we consider the roles of three motivational mindsets that have the potential to shape interactions to be less cognitively depleting and more enjoyable for both interactants. In particular, we consider the effects of (i) approach and avoidance motivation (Handbook of Motivation and Cognition: Foundation of Social Behavior, 1990, New York: Guilford Press), (ii) promotion and prevention regulatory focus (American Psychologist, 52 , 1997, 1280), and (iii) learning and performance goals (Psychological Review, 95 , 1988, 256) in shaping the dynamics of interracial contact. We suggest that investigations into these motivational mindsets will offer further insight into how and why interracial interactions go awry and will assist in the development of strategies and interventions that facilitate more smooth and enjoyable contact experiences.     

Instructional cues modify performance on the Iowa Gambling Task

The current study investigated whether acute alcohol intoxication produces impaired decision-making on tasks assessing ventromedial prefrontal (VMF) cortex functioning and impulsive responding. Participants completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a decision-making test targeting the VMF, and the Newman Perseveration Task (NT), a measure of impulsivity. Personality measures of impulsivity were assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). To encourage natural responding on both tasks, participants were falsely informed that the study was examining the effects of alcohol on memory; the impulsivity tasks were presented as 'distractor' tasks. Advantageous performance on the IGT was related to specific instructional cues as well as to knowledge about the experimental purpose. Performance of intoxicated and sober participants did not differ. A subsequent study in which the true purpose of the experiment was revealed confirmed that alcohol does not affect IGT performance. Most importantly, the instruction-sensitivity of the IGT emphasizes the importance of salient cues for decision-making.     

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder: rationale for trial, method, and description of sample

This paper describes the rationale for a randomized controlled trial, comparing cognitive behavior therapy in addition to treatment as usual with treatment as usual alone, for borderline personality disorder. Previous pioneering randomized controlled trials of psychotherapies have suffered from methodological weaknesses and have not always been reported clearly to allow adequate evaluation of either the individual study or comparisons across studies to be undertaken. We report on the recruitment and randomization, design, and conduct of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of one hundred and six patients with borderline personality disorder. Primary and secondary hypotheses and their planned analyses are stated. The baseline characteristics of 106 patients meeting diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder are described.