The influence of initial and final precision on motor planning: individual differences in end-state comfort during unimanual grasping and placing

People will often grasp an object with an uncomfortable initial grasp if this affords more comfort at the end of the movement. The authors' primary objective was to examine whether grasp planning is influenced by precision demands at the start and end of the movement. Twenty right-handed individuals performed a unimanual grasping and placing task in which the precision requirements at the start and end of the movement were either identical (low initial and final precision, high initial and final precision) or different (low initial and high final precision, high initial and low final precision). The major finding to emerge was the presence of individual differences. 50% of participants changed their initial grasps based on the precision requirements of the task, and were more likely to satisfy end-state comfort when the final precision requirements were high than when they were low. In contrast, 50% of participants generally planned their movements to satisfy end-state comfort (regardless of precision requirements). The authors hypothesized that the former group of participants was sensitive to the precision demands of the task, and participants planned their grips in accordance with these demands. In contrast, the latter group of participants reduced the cognitive costs by using previously successful grasp plans.     

Is Loneliness the Same as Being Alone?

The cognitive discrepancy model predicts that loneliness occurs when individuals perceive a difference between their desired and actual levels of social involvement. Using data from a sample of high school sophomore students, the present investigation was designed to go beyond previous research that has tested this model by examining the predicted nonlinear relationships between desired and actual social contact and feelings of loneliness. Analyses indicated that support for the cognitive discrepancy model of loneliness was found only for measures of close friendships. Specifically, the discrepancy between the students' ideal number and actual number of close friends was found to be related in a nonlinear fashion to feelings of satisfaction with close friendships and loneliness after control for the number of close friends. Implications of these findings for theoretical models of loneliness are discussed.     

Cognitive style in attainment of an upside-down posture in water with and without vision

It is well known that adopting a posture required by the central nervous system takes into account a frame of reference. This frame of reference is built on sensory information and, more particularly, on vision, which is often considered to be the main input. The contribution of vision varies by participant and defines their cognitive style. This study investigates the contribution of visual information and cognitive style to postural strategy and, more precisely, to the construction of an upside-down posture in an underwater condition. Eight synchronized swimmers performed the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) to assess their cognitive style and practiced upside-down posture in water to measure their body inclination. The Rod-and-Frame Test scores did not distinguish the participants, as the results of the test showed that most of them were visual-field independent. However, in a closed-eyes condition, participants achieved a more precise vertical position than when using translucent goggles.     

Psychological essentialist reasoning and perspective taking during reading: A donkey is not a zebra,but a plate can be a clock

In an eyetracking study, we examined whether readers use psychological essentialist reasoning and perspective taking online. Stories were presented in which an animal or an artifact was transformed into another animal (e.g., a donkey into a zebra) or artifact (e.g., a plate into a clock). According to psychological essentialism, the essence of the animal did not change in these stories, while the transformed artifact would be thought to have changed categories. We found evidence that readers use this kind of reasoning online: When reference was made to the transformed animal, the nontransformed term (“donkey”) was preferred, but the opposite held for the transformed artifact (“clock” was read faster than “plate”). The immediacy of the effect suggests that this kind of reasoning is employed automatically. Perspective taking was examined within the same stories by the introduction of a novel story character. This character, who was naïve about the transformation, commented on the transformed animal or artifact. If the reader were to take this character’s perspective immediately and exclusively for reference solving, then only the transformed term (“zebra” or “clock”) would be felicitous. However, the results suggested that while this character’s perspective could be taken into account, it seems difficult to completely discard one’s own perspective at the same time.     

Reducing depression in stroke survivors and their informal caregivers: A randomized clinical trial of a web-based intervention

Purpose/Objectives: To develop and test the efficacy of a Web-based intervention for alleviating depression in male stroke survivors (SSs) and their spousal caregivers (CGs) that blends both peer and professional support. Design and Methods: The research consisted of an intervention protocol evaluated by a focus group of rehabilitation professionals, a "think aloud" session conducted with female stroke CGs, and a usability test of the intervention's online features with 7 female stroke CGs. Efficacy of the final protocol was tested in a 2-group randomized clinical trial with a sample of 32 CG-SS dyads. The CGs in the intervention condition received an online group intervention. Intervention components were based on the Stress Process Model. Those CGs in a control condition received minimal support with individualized access to relevant online information. Measures of depression, as well as the secondary outcomes of mastery, self-esteem, and social support, were obtained from SSs and CGs at pretest, posttest, and 1-month later. Results: At posttest and 1 month later, CGs in the intervention condition reported significantly lower depression than CGs in the control condition with baseline depression controlled. There was no significant effect on depression among SSs. Although no significant treatment effects for either SSs or CGs were found on the secondary outcomes, posttreatment changes on some constructs were significantly correlated with change in depression. Conclusions/Implications: CGs benefit from Web-based programs that help them better understand both their emotional needs and those of the SS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Anxiety in Children with Mood Disorders: A Treatment Help or Hindrance?

This study examined the role of comorbid anxiety in treatment outcome for children with mood disorders (N = 165; age 8–11) participating in Multi-Family Psychoeducational Psychotherapy (MF-PEP). Assessments occurred at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months for two randomly assigned groups: immediate treatment and 1-year wait-list. Most children (69%) had comorbid anxiety disorders. Baseline comorbid anxiety, as reported on the Children’s Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (ChIPS), was associated with higher Children’s Depression Rating Scale- Revised (CDRS-R) scores but not Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores. Higher levels of anxiety symptoms were associated with lower Children’s Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS) scores. Participation in MF-PEP did not significantly reduce anxiety symptoms (p = 0.62). However, presence of comorbid anxiety did not impede reduction in depressive (CDRS-R, p = 0.74) or manic (YMRS scores, p = 0.94) symptoms following MF-PEP. More baseline anxiety symptoms were associated with greater improvement in C-GAS scores post-treatment (p = 0.02). Implications are discussed.     

Policy bundling to overcome loss aversion: A method for improving legislative outcomes

Policies that would create net benefits for society that contain salient costs frequently lack enough support for enactment because losses loom larger than gains. To address this consequence of loss aversion, we propose a policy-bundling technique in which related bills involving both losses and gains are combined to offset separate bills’ costs while preserving their net benefits. We argue this method can transform unpopular individual pieces of legislation, which would lack the support for implementation, into more popular policies. Study 1 confirms that bundling increases support for bills with costs and benefits and that bundled legislation is valued more than the sum of its parts. Study 2 shows this finding stems from a diminished focus on losses and heightened focus on gains. Study 3 extends our findings to policies involving costs and benefits of the same type (e.g., lives) generated by different sources (e.g., food vs. fire safety).     

Social Discounting and Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy

In this study, we examined the association between social discounting and smoking status in a cohort of pregnant cigarette smokers (n = 91), quitters (n = 27), or never‐smokers (n = 30). The smokers and quitters were participants in clinical trials on smoking cessation and relapse prevention, whereas the never‐smokers were controls in a study on nicotine withdrawal during pregnancy. Social discounting was assessed using a paper‐and‐pencil task that assesses the amount of hypothetical money a person is willing to forgo in order to share with individuals in their social network ranging from the person who is emotionally closest to them to a mere acquaintance. The amount that women were willing to forgo in order to share decreased hyperbolically as a function of social distance, with smokers exhibiting steeper discounting functions (i.e., less generosity) than quitters or never‐smokers; discounting functions of quitters and never‐smokers did not differ significantly. In multivariate analyses controlling for potential sociodemographic and other confounds, social discounting remained a significant predictor of smoking status among smokers versus quitters. Overall, these results suggest that individual differences in social discounting may be a factor influencing the choices that women make about quitting smoking upon learning of a pregnancy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early conceptual and linguistic processes operate in independent channels

Language and concepts are intimately linked, but how do they interact? In the study reported here, we probed the relation between conceptual and linguistic processing at the earliest processing stages. We presented observers with sequences of visual scenes lasting 200 or 250 ms per picture. Results showed that observers understood and remembered the scenes' abstract gist and, therefore, their conceptual meaning. However, observers remembered the scenes at least as well when they simultaneously performed a linguistic secondary task (i.e., reading and retaining sentences); in contrast, a nonlinguistic secondary task (equated for difficulty with the linguistic task) impaired scene recognition. Further, encoding scenes interfered with performance on the nonlinguistic task and vice versa, but scene processing and performing the linguistic task did not affect each other. At the earliest stages of conceptual processing, the extraction of meaning from visually presented linguistic stimuli and the extraction of conceptual information from the world take place in remarkably independent channels.