Ontogenetic shift of spectral phototactic preferences in anuran tadpoles.

Tadpoles of three species of anurans initially had a midspectrum ("green") preference in laboratory phototactic tests, which was shown experimentally to involve a form of true color vision in one species and probably in the other two as well. During development, the preference shifted to shorter wave-lengths (higher frequencies) until a short-wavelength ("blue") preference predominated in the pre- and postmetamorphic stages and in the adults of six species tested; color vision was involved in all of these stages. The green preference of young tadpoles is ecologically adaptive, in that it directs larvae to green plants that provide food or shelter. Tadpoles observed in a pond congregated heavily in vegetated areas rather than in open water. Spectroradiometric field measurements showed that pond illumination in vegetated areas had a more highly saturated yellow-green spectral dominance compared with a desaturated white illumination in open water. During all ontogenetic stages and as adults, the animals had a preference for high illuminance of white light, which correlates with the high illumination of their habitat. Microspectrophotometric data from Liebman and Entine suggested that the green rods are active receptors in tadpoles, making unlikely Muntz's hypothesis that the ontogenetic shift in spectral preferences is due to premetamorphic maturation of these receptors. However, the visual pigments of all five types of photoreceptors shifted from vitamin A2- to vitamin A1-based chromophores during ontogeny, and the resulting shift in spectral response of the receptors might be related to the spectral shift in phototactic preferences.     

The type I/type II perceptual dichotomy: a reanalysis for the illusions of extent

The categorization of geometrical illusions of extent as Type I or Type II phenomena based on variation in magnitude with age is critically examined. Methodological shortcomings and the failure of contemporary findings to show matching age trends for components of a single illusion are presented as factors undermining the usefulness of this perceptual dichotomy. Finally, it is shown that a new Type I/Type II dichotomy based on changes in perceived size rather than amount of illusion indicates a developmental commonality among most of the illusions of extent.     

‘Dear Hindu Friends’: official Diwali greetings as a medium for diplomatic dialogue

ABSTRACT

This article discusses greeting messages as a genre of interreligious communication. Greeting messages are defined as official communication issued by religious institutions and addressed to the members of another religious community on the occasion of specific feast days or anniversaries. Drawing on the insights of politolinguistic analysis, this article treats these messages primarily as a form of public diplomacy. The case study analyses the messages issued on the occasion of the Hindu festival Diwali/Deepavali by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and World Council of Churches between 2015 and 2017. Distributed through the social media and posted on the institutional websites, the Diwali messages seek to speak as a Christian voice to all Hindus. Beyond the official addressee, the messages also potentially face the scrutiny of the global public sphere, especially an internal Christian readership. This article analyses what language strategies are used to deal with these varied demands.     

Catching up with wonderful women: The women‐are‐wonderful effect is smaller in more gender egalitarian societies

Inequalities between men and women are common and well‐documented. Objective indexes show that men are better positioned than women in societal hierarchies—there is no single country in the world without a gender gap. In contrast, researchers have found that the women‐are‐wonderful effect—that women are evaluated more positively than men overall—is also common. Cross‐cultural studies on gender equality reveal that the more gender egalitarian the society is, the less prevalent explicit gender stereotypes are. Yet, because self‐reported gender stereotypes may differ from implicit attitudes towards each gender, we reanalysed data collected across 44 cultures, and (a) confirmed that societal gender egalitarianism reduces the women‐are‐wonderful effect when it is measured more implicitly (i.e. rating the personality of men and women presented in images) and (b) documented that the social perception of men benefits more from gender egalitarianism than that of women.     

Just between us: Exclusive communications in online social networks

Social media websites such as Facebook are used for relationship development and maintenance often through self-disclosure and sharing of personal information. However, not all forms of social media communication may be equally suitable for this task. This paper explores users’ norms about the appropriateness of using private vs. public Facebook messages to communicate different kinds of personal information, and the effectiveness of these types of communication in building relationships. Study 1, a survey, revealed that users endorse conflicting expectations about preferences for receiving information publicly or privately. Study 2, a field experiment testing the effects of private versus public Facebook communications on actual relationship development using participants’ own Facebook pages, suggested that private messages lead to greater closeness.     

"Dwelling in the Past": The Role of Rumination in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Prolonged exposure, a cognitive behavioral therapy including both in vivo and imaginal exposure to the traumatic memory, is one of several empirically supported treatments for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this article, we provide a case illustration in which this well-validated treatment did not yield expected clinical gains for a client with PTSD and co-occurring major depression. After providing an overview of the literature, theory, and treatment protocol, we discuss the clinical cascade effect that underlying ruminative processes had on the treatment of this case. Specifically, we highlight how ruminative processes, focusing on trying to understand why the traumatic event happened and why the client was still suffering, resulted in profound emotional distress in session and in a lack of an "optimal dose" of exposure during treatment.