The effect of preview eccentricity in a lexical decision task

We report lexical decision experiments in which eye movements and lexical decision time were analysed. The results show that nonwords produced more fixation than words, and that the time to make a lexical decision was also greater for nonwords. Further, a preview of the stimulus was presented on some occasions either at fixation or peripherally. When the presentation was peripheral the number of refixations and lexical decision times were reduced. Parafoveal previews of words also reduced word length effects on refixations and lexical decision time. These effects decreased (for nonwords) when the case of the letters was changed in the preview. These results are compatible with the idea that the peripheral preview benefit derives from word visual structure in addition to information about word length, word envelope, and single letter identities.     

Benign joint hypermobility syndrome: psychological features and psychopathological symptoms in a sample pain-free at evaluation1

30 subjects with BJHS (Hypermobile) (M age = 32.3 yr., SD = 10.4) and two control groups, 25 healthy subjects (Healthy) (M age = 33.9 yr., SD = 9.3) and 30 fibromyalgic patients (Fibromyalgic) (M age = 32.2 yr., SD=9.4), were given the Symptom Checklist-90-R, the Illness Behavior Questionnaire, the Female Functional Symptoms Frequency (FFF) and the Male Functional Symptoms Frequency (MFF), derived from the DSM-III-R, evaluating functional somatic disturbances and their intensity, and the Symptom Questionnaire. The mean scores for the Hypermobile group showed significant psychological distress and increased frequency and intensity of somatic symptoms. Scores on Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms, General Hypochondriasis, Disease Conviction, Affective Disturbance, Denial, and Irritability were significantly higher in the Hypermobile than in the Healthy group. Elevated scores were found for the Fibromyalgic group on the Illness Behavior Questionnaire subscales for Psychological vs Somatic Focus, Disease Affirmation, and Discriminating Factors when compared with the Hypermobile group. Considerable emotional symptoms were detected which should not be underestimated by physicians when establishing an integrated biopsychosocial therapy.     

Mood state indicators for adolescent athletes based on POMS multidimensional model

In this paper, we offer a short version of the POMS, with only 33 items, designed to apply to young Spanish athletes. One hundred and six male soccer players, aged 14 and 15 years, participated in the study. In order to select the proposed items, we tried to maximize three criteria: (1) items should be understood by subjects, (2) items should be perceived as conceptually similar as possible to the meaning of their respective factors, and (3) every factor should contain at least 4 items. To meet the second criterion, PROXSCAL scaling procedure was used, which allowed retaining the items closest to the meaning of each factor. All goodness-of-fit indexes were satisfactory in all the proximity analyses performed. In the proposed POMS version, the 33 items refer to seven mood factors, as follows: Tension (4 items), Depression (9 items), Anger (4 items), Vigour (4 items), Fatigue (4 items), Confusion (4 items), and Friendliness (4 items).     

Neuronal symphonies: Musical improvisation and the centrencephalic space of functional integration

Musical improvisation is a sophisticated activity in which a performer realizes, real-time, melodic, and rhythmic sequences in harmony with those from other musicians. The study of musical improvisation helps one to understand not only the cognition of creativity, but also the complex neuronal basis of executive functions, the relation between conscious and unconscious action, and even more. So far, the prevailing models, founded on the brain imaging method, have focused on the connection between the cortical areas and their cognitive processes. Little attention, on the other hand, has been given to the huge variety of subcortical activities, especially in the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component, through its implicit procedures and the role it plays in memory, is responsible to produce new information all the time, allowing the prefrontal cortex to transform a huge and disordered amount of data in explicit creative acts. The basal ganglia are strongly related to the activation of chemical signals generated by dissonance or lack of symmetry between perception and expectation, participating even in the responses to environmental demands according to the circumstances. Thus, they interact with the frontal cortex and with the limbic system, playing a key role in planning and selecting appropriate actions and in decision making. In this text, we try to explain in which sense improvisation is connected to the processes of executive functions, to creativity and to the integrated activity of cortical–subcortical areas controlling the free flow of ideas and to expressive spontaneity. Eventually, we purpose a model according to which structure (improvisational field) and process (improvisational time) take part at the centrencephalic space of functional integration, which, through both competing and cooperating dynamics, gives way to spontaneous composition.     

Toward Theological Inclusivism: The Effects of a World Religions Course in a Mormon University

Inclusivist, exclusivist, and pluralist attitudes toward other religions interact in complex ways within the Mormon faith. Hence, a course on the world’s religions at LDS-sponsored Brigham Young University presents an interesting case study in this context. Through survey data and statistical analysis this article attempts to examine the effect of this course over students’ convictions in their own faith, particularly in relation to the inclusivist vs. exclusivist spectrum. Findings suggest that the sympathetic exposure to other religions in this course did not decrease students’ confessional commitment to Mormonism although it reshaped it in a more inclusivist direction. The religious make-up of students’ families and communities of upbringing is also shown to play a role in this conclusion.     

A new microswitch to enable a boy with minimal motor behavior to control environmental stimulation with eye blinks

This study assessed whether a boy with profound multiple disabilities and minimal motor behavior would be able to control environmental stimulation using repeated eye blinks with a newly developed microswitch (i.e. an electronically regulated optic sensor mounted on an eyeglasses frame). The study was carried out according to an ABAB design and included a 3 month post‐intervention check. Data showed that the boy had a large increase in the target response (repeated eye blinks) to activate the microswitch and produce environmental stimulation during the B (intervention) phases. This performance was maintained at the post‐intervention check. Practical and developmental implications of the findings were discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Walking reduces the gap between encoding and sensorimotor alignment effects in spatial updating of described environments

Spatial updating allows people to keep track of the self-to-object relations during movement. Previous studies demonstrated that physical movement enhanced spatial updating in remote environments, but failed to find the same effect in described environments. However, these studies mainly considered rotation as a physical movement, without examining other types of movement, such as walking. We investigated how walking affects spatial updating within described environments. Using the judgement of relative directions task, we compared the effects of imagination of rotation, physical rotation, and walking on spatial updating. Spatial updating was evaluated in terms of accuracy and response times in different perspectives, and by calculating two indexes, namely the encoding and sensorimotor alignment effects. As regards response times, we found that in the imagination of rotation and physical rotation conditions the encoding alignment effect was higher than the sensorimotor alignment effect, while in the walking condition this gap disappeared. We interpreted these results in terms of an enhanced link between allocentric and sensorimotor representations, due to the information acquired through walking.     

Finger-number interaction: an ideomotor account

Recent findings have shown that processing numerical magnitude may interact with finger movements through goal-directed movements. Here we tested these number-finger interactions in a response-effect (R-E) paradigm. During a learning phase, participants read meaningless consonant-vowel (CV) syllables immediately followed by unrelated opening or closing finger movements; during a transfer test, they again named these CV syllables in response to processing a small or a large number. The results showed that responding to a large magnitude number during the transfer phase was slower in an incompatible situation, that is, when the answer was the CV syllable that had been associated to a grip closure during the learning phase. This interference effect demonstrates that ideomotor principles can account for the link between the meaning of numbers and the perception of actions through an anticipated-magnitude code.     

Dissociative experiences and anger proneness in late adolescent females with different attachment styles

The study examined the relationships among dissociative experiences, anger proneness, and attachment styles in late adolescent females. One hundred sixty-two college students (mean age = 17.5 years) were assessed using the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), a self-report tool for assessing attachment styles (avoidant, secure, and ambivalent-resistant) in close relationships of youths and adults. Significant correlations were obtained between DES scores (total and factorial) and STAXI scores (State Anger, Trait Anger, Anger/In, and Anger/Expression), confirming in a nonclinical sample the connection between anger proneness and dissociation described in patients with dissociative disorders. Insecure females, particularly ambivalent ones, scored higher on the DES, supporting van der Kolk's hypothesis of an inverse relationship between secure attachment and dissociative tendency. Moreover, insecurely attached females showed more anger proneness, with some differences between ambivalent and avoidant types. Further research should be conducted to examine these relationships in males, as well as to clarify the role of insecure attachment in anger management and the recourse to dissociation in late adolescence as a protective response to trauma and emotional distress.     

Effects of problem format on division and multiplication performance: division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations

In 2 experiments participants solved division problems presented in multiplication-based formats (e.g., 8 x _ = 72) more quickly than division problems presented in division-based formats (e.g., 72 / 8 = _). In contrast, participants solved multiplication problems presented in a division-based format (e.g., _ / 8 = 9) slowly and made many errors. In both experiments, the advantage for multiplication-based formats on division problems was found only for large problems (i.e., those with products or dividends greater than 25). These findings provide support for the view that large single-digit division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations and that multiplication is the primary mode of representation for both division and multiplication facts.