Children's understandings of the attributes of life

Previous investigations of children's understandings of the life concept have focused on their classifications of the life status of familiar objects. In this study, we attempted to examine more directly the processes by which children infer life status by examining their reasoning about unfamiliar objects. In Experiment 1, 4- to 11-year-olds and adults were asked to name attributes of living things to establish which attributes they associated most closely with life. Children age 7 and younger most often named attributes true only of animals but not of plants; older children more often named attributes true of both animals and plants. However, movement was the single attribute cited most frequently by children of all ages tested. In Experiment 2, 4- to 11-year-olds and adults were presented information about attributes of imaginary objects on a distant planet and were asked to infer if those objects were alive. Again, young children relied relatively heavily on qualities true only of animals but not of plants, whereas older children relied more on attributes true of both plants and animals. Also as before, movement was viewed as indicative of life at all ages tested. In Experiment 3, we examined the hypothesis that children discriminate among different types of motion and that the types of motion they associate with life are in fact typical of living things. Children ranging from age 5 through 11 were found to discriminate among different types of motion and to infer that objects were alive only when they showed the types of motion typical of living beings. The results of Experiment 3 allowed interpretation of seemingly conflicting results that have arisen in previous studies, as well as in Experiments 1 and 2 of the present study.     

Born This Way? A Qualitative Examination of Public Perceptions of the Causes of Pedophilia and Sexual Offending against Children

Understanding public opinion about the causes of pedophilia and/or child sex offending is vital, as the views of the public influence how governments respond to sexual offenders. However, little research has been undertaken on this topic. This study addresses this gap by examining the causes that members of the public ascribe to pedophilia and/or child sexual abuse using qualitative data from online forums. The etiological accounts that the public gave provide important information for those developing public prevention policies and/or education campaigns about child sexual abuse. Key implications of these etiological explanations are analyzed in this regard.     

Using FMRI to study the neural correlates of virtual reality analgesia

Excessive pain during medical procedures, such as burn wound dressing changes, is a widespread medical problem and is especially challenging for children. This article describes the rationale behind virtual reality (VR) pain distraction, a new non-pharmacologic adjunctive analgesia, and gives a brief summary of empirical studies exploring whether VR reduces clinical procedural pain. Results indicate that patients using VR during painful medical procedures report large reductions in subjective pain. A neuroimaging study measuring the neural correlates of VR analgesia is described in detail. This functional magnetic resonance imaging pain study in healthy volunteers shows that the large drops in subjective pain ratings during VR are accompanied by large drops in pain-related brain activity. Together the clinical and laboratory studies provide converging evidence that VR distraction is a promising new non-pharmacologic pain control technique.     

Convergence as a cue to depth

A test that presents conflicting monocular and vergence cues to depth shows that approximately two-thirds of the population can use convergence as a cue to depth. The remaining one-third apparently cannot use this cue. These differences in the role of convergence in depth perception reflect individual differences in the neural mechanisms underlying depth perception.     

Development of selective attention in young infants: Enhancement and attenuation of startle reflex by attention

This study examined the effect of level of attention engagement on the modification of the blink reflex in young infants. Infants at 8, 14, 20, or 26 weeks of age were presented with interesting visual or auditory stimuli. At delays defined by changes in heart rate known to be associated with sustained attention or attention disengagement, blink reflexes were elicited by visual or auditory blink reflex stimuli. Blink amplitude varied according to the level of attention, and the match between the foreground and blink reflex stimulus. If the infant was attending to the foreground stimulus, a blink reflex stimulus in the same modality resulted in enhanced blink reflex magnitude. A blink reflex stimulus in the other modality resulted in an attenuated blink reflex magnitude. If attention was not engaged with the foreground stimulus, this modulation of the blink reflex did not occur. This ‘selective modality effect’ showed an increasing tendency to occur between 8 and 26 weeks of age. These results show that selective attention to modalities increases over this age range.     

Healthy and unhealthy forms of religiousness manifested by psychotherapy clients: An empirical investigation

This study investigated whether 49 Mormon psychotherapy clients and 51 Mormon nonclients differed on a number of religious and psychological variables. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance, controlling for social desirability, education level, and occupation status. Clients scored higher than nonclients on shame and lower on existential well-being. There were no significant differences between clients and nonclients on religious orientation, religious wellbeing, moral reasoning, and guilt. Females scored much higher on guilt, and female clients scored much higher on shame; there were no other gender differences. Subjects showed a preference for Stage 4 moral reasoning, and 92% were intrinsically motivated in their religious worship. The psychotherapy clients' religious beliefs and motivations appeared healthy and functional and could be an asset during therapy. The clients manifested some psychological issues which could predispose them to unhealthy reactions to some of the doctrines and influences of their religion. The gender differences observed were also discussed.     

A systematic review of the evidence-based psychosocial risk factors for understanding of borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious personality disorder characterized by affective instability, impulsivity and interpersonal disturbance. Currently, intensive research is being conducted concerning the aetiology of BPD, including research on neurobiological, temperamental, psychosocial and cultural risk factors. This study focuses on psychosocial risk factors while other risk factors are taken into account in the discussion of the development of BPD. To our knowledge, no systematic review of the evidence-based medicine literature concerning this theme has been made thus far. However, understanding psychosocial risk factors of BPD is important in order to develop psychotherapeutic treatment models and methods. We provide a systematic review of the literature focusing on psychosocial risk factors for BPD. Utilizing this knowledge, we discuss how these data may be used when studying the development of borderline personality disorder and the treatment of borderline personality disorder.     

The attentional processes underlying impaired inhibition of threat in anxiety: The remote distractor effect

The current study explored the proposition that anxiety is associated with impaired inhibition of threat. Using a modified version of the remote distractor paradigm, we considered whether this impairment is related to attentional capture by threat, difficulties disengaging from threat presented within foveal vision, or difficulties orienting to task-relevant stimuli when threat is present in central, parafoveal and peripheral locations in the visual field. Participants were asked to direct their eyes towards and identify a target in the presence and absence of a distractor (an angry, happy or neutral face). Trait anxiety was associated with a delay in initiating eye movements to the target in the presence of central, parafoveal and peripheral threatening distractors. These findings suggest that elevated anxiety is linked to difficulties inhibiting task-irrelevant threat presented across a broad region of the visual field.     

Counseling in Zimbabwe: History,Current Status,and Future Trends

Counseling in Zimbabwe has a long tradition, dating back to pre‐Colonial times. In the modern context, counseling has evolved through the educational and health care sectors. Since the 1990s, Zimbabwean counselors have advocated for professional recognition, a struggle similar to that of counselors in the United States. In this article, the authors provide a historical view of counseling in Zimbabwe, discuss the current status of and future trends in counseling, and make recommendations for the advancement of the profession.