The parameter preferences of acquired motor programs for rapid,discrete movements: I. Transfer of training

Sixty subjects made discrete movements to visual targets without concurrent visual feedback. After 160 acquisition trials with a single target/movement, subjects were divided into five groups for transfer. The major independent variable was the relationship between the acquisition and transfer movements. For three groups, extent, duration, or velocity was the same in acquisition and in transfer, with the other two parameters changing. For the remaining two groups, either all parameters were changed or no parameters were changed (i.e., subjects performed the same movement). It was found that, as long as one parameter remained the same, subjects performed as well as if nothing were changed. Only when all parameters were changed did performance deteriorate. The results are in direct contrast to those of Newell and Zelaznik (1980) and provide no support for their conclusion that velocity is a more important parameter than movement duration or extent.     

Memory for locations within regions: Spatial biases and visual hemifield differences

Memory for location of a dot inside a circle was investigated with the circle in the center of a computer screen (Experiment 1) or with the circle presented in either the left or the right visual field (Experiment 2). In both experiments, as in Huttenlocher, Hedges, and Duncan’s (1991) study, the task was to relocate the dot by marking the remembered location. When errors in angular and radial estimates were considered separately, it was found that, in both experiments, the angular locations of estimates of the dots’ positions regressed toward different locations inside each quadrant of the circle; the radial locations of the estimates of dots’ positions tended to regress toward locations near the circumference. These variations in the direction of bias appeared to reflect a general shift of estimates toward the upper left arc of the circle. The second experiment replicated the preceding effects but also revealed that the regressions within quadrants of angular values were stronger after right visual field than after left visual field presentations. We interpret the dissociation between visual fields as evidence that memory for categorical spatial relations (Kosslyn, 1987) is more dependent on left-hemisphere than on right-hemisphere processing.     

National Security,Self-rule,and Democratic Action

Most discussions of the relationship between liberty and security focus on the idea that enhancing citizens’ security may require imposing constraints on their civil liberties (e.g., freedom of association, of movement, of communication, and so on). This paper explores the question of how measures to enhance security stand vis à vis the idea of political liberty, i.e. the idea of citizens’ collectively directing the power of their state. It distinguishes two models whereby citizens might enact that ideal of self-rule and argues that with respect to issues of national security, the less direct model, which entrusts political agents to make decisions beyond direct democratic input, will often be more appropriate. It argues as well that various practices often seen as fundamentally at odds with the ideal of rule by the people (e.g., government deception, lack of transparency, covert action) are in fact consistent with a reasonable construal of that ideal. It concludes by outlining various criteria that would have to be met for such practices to be morally permissible in democratic states.

     

Working memory capacity and spontaneous emotion regulation in generalised anxiety disorder

Researchers have postulated that deficits in cognitive control are associated with, and thus may underlie, the perseverative thinking that characterises generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). We examined associations between cognitive control and levels of spontaneous state rumination following a stressor in a sample of healthy control participants (CTL; n?=?27) and participants with GAD (n?=?21). We assessed cognitive control by measuring working memory capacity (WMC), defined as the ability to maintain task-relevant information by ignoring task-irrelevant information. To this end, we used an affective version of the reading span task with valenced (negative or neutral) distractors. Lower WMC in the presence of negative distractors was associated with greater state rumination in the GAD group, but not in the CTL group. These findings suggest that difficulty maintaining task-relevant information due to interference from negative distractors contributes to perseverative thinking in GAD.     

XII—Escaping One's Own Notice Knowing: Meno's Paradox Again

The complex way Meno's paradox is presented in the Meno forces reflection on both the external conditions on inquiry—its objects—and its internal conditions—the state of mind of the person who inquires. The theory of recollection does not fully account for the internal conditions—as Plato makes clear in the critique of Meno's puzzle to be found in the Euthydemus. I conclude that in the Euthydemus Plato is inviting us to reject the externalist account of knowledge urged on Socrates by the sophists in favour of a more richly internalist epistemology.     

Sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors among Malaysian adolescents

Little research on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors, and the sociocultural influences on them, has been undertaken in non-Western contexts. The current study investigated these variables and the relationships between them among a sample of 529 Malaysian high school students (103 Malays, 344 Chinese and 82 Indians), who completed a set of measures in classroom settings. Chinese girls were more dissatisfied with their bodies than Chinese boys, but no gender difference was found for Malay and Indian participants. Girls were more likely to engage in behaviors to lose weight, and boys were more likely to engage in behaviors to increase muscle. The influence of sociocultural factors on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors was limited and varied across both sex and ethnicity. Findings are discussed in relation to Western research, and it is concluded that cultural nuances need to be considered when investigating these phenomena.     

The importance of feeling sexually attractive: Can it predict an individual's experience of their sexuality and sexual relationships across gender and sexual orientation?

Limited research exists on the implications of feeling sexually attractive for various aspects of sexuality and sexual relationships. This article examined associations between self‐perceived sexual attractiveness and sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction and amount of sexual experience, among both men and women who identified as heterosexual (n = 1017), gay or lesbian (n = 1225) or bisexual (n = 651). Results of the study demonstrated that positive self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness predicted greater sexual esteem, greater sexual satisfaction, a higher frequency of sexual activity with others and a larger number of sexual partners among both men and women who identified as heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual. The findings suggest that feeling sexually attractive may have implications for how an individual experiences their sexuality and sexual relationships regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. The importance of considering an individual's self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness when they present with concerns related to their sexual experiences or relationships, and the potential benefits of educational and therapeutic interventions designed to enhance self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness are discussed.     

A qualitative study of primary health care access, barriers and satisfaction among people with mental illness

Research has found that a substantial proportion of individuals with mental illness have high morbidity and mortality rates, and high under-diagnosis of major physical illnesses. Furthermore, people with a mental illness tend not to seek out or utilise health care services. The reasons for the negative attitudes and behaviour towards health care services among this population have not been investigated. This paper presents findings from a study that investigated the health care service needs of people with mental illness (n = 20), and views from health care providers (n = 16) regarding access to these services by people with a mental illness. Results indicated that psychiatric patients identified a range of barriers to their health care usage and low levels of health care satisfaction. These views were shared with health care professionals. Reasons for these findings and strategies to address these problems so that there is better access to health care services for people with mental illness are discussed.     

Body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors in Chile: the role of sociocultural factors

With interest in body image and body change behaviors growing around the world, there has been surprisingly little research conducted in Latin America on these issues. In order to gain some understanding of them in this context, this study investigated body image and body change behaviors, and the sociocultural factors that may influence them, among 337 Chilean adolescents aged 12–18 years. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed BMI, body dissatisfaction, strategies to lose weight and strategies to increase muscle bulk. In addition, perceived pressure from family, peers, and the media to change body shape was evaluated. Results were partially consistent with those reported in Western nations. Girls were found to report greater body dissatisfaction than boys, but no difference was found between males and females in perceived pressure from adults in the family or from older siblings/cousins to lose weight. However, girls experienced higher levels of perceived pressure to lose weight from the media than boys, and boys reported greater perceived pressure from peers to lose weight than girls, and more pressure than girls from all sources to increase muscle bulk. These findings are discussed in relation to research conducted in other contexts, and it is concluded that findings from other locations may not be applied universally.     

ADOLESCENTS' SEXUAL INFERENCES ABOUT GIRLS WHO CONSUME ALCOHOL

The purpose of this study was to document whether adolescents make inferences regarding male and female vignette characters in terms of the characters' sexuality, social skills, impairment, and aggressiveness when the characters consume alcohol. A Web-based survey of 1,691 middle and high school students (grades 6–11) from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds was conducted. The Dating Vignette and Subjective Perception Form ( George, Gournic, & McAfee, 1988 ) were modified for use with an adolescent sample and embedded within the Web-based survey. There were significant interaction effects between the male and female characters' alcohol consumption in terms of the respondents' perception of the female character for all of the subscales examined (i.e., sexual disinhibition, social skills, impairment, and aggressiveness). In contrast, there were no significant interactions between the characters' drinking and the respondents' perception of the male character. Collectively, these findings suggest that adolescents' perceptions of girls are based not only on the girls' own drinking behaviors, but also their male partners' drinking behaviors.