Spatial numerical associations in preschoolers

ABSTRACT

Three-to-five-year-old French children were asked to add or remove objects to or from linear displays. The hypothesis of a universal tendency to represent increasing number magnitudes from left to right led to predict a majority of manipulations at the right end of the rows, whatever children's hand laterality. Conversely, if numbers are not inherently associated with space, children were expected to favour laterality-consistent manipulations. The results showed a strong tendency to operate on the right end of the rows in right-handers, but no preference in left-handers. These findings suggest that the task elicited a left-to-right oriented representation of magnitudes that counteracted laterality-related responses in left-handed children. The young age of children and the lack of a developmental trend towards right preference weaken the hypothesis of a cultural origin of this oriented representation. The possibility that our results are due to weaker brain lateralisation in left-handers compared to right-handers is addressed in Discussion section.     

Normative accuracy and response time data for the computerized Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT-<Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis>)

We report normative data from a large (N = 307) sample of young adult participants tested with a computerized version of the long form of the classical Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT; Benton & Van Allen, 1968). The BFRT-c requires participants to match a target face photograph to either one or three of six face photographs presented simultaneously. We found that the percent accuracy on the BFRT-c (81%–83%) was below ceiling yet well above chance level, with little interindividual variance in this typical population sample, two important aspects of a sensitive clinical test. Although the split-half reliability on response accuracy was relatively low, due to the large variability in difficulty across items, the correct response times measured in this version—completed in 3 min, on average—provide a reliable and critical complementary measure of performance at individual unfamiliar-face matching. In line with previous observations from other measures, females outperformed male participants at the BFRT-c, especially for female faces. In general, performance was also lower following lighting changes than following head rotations, in line with previous studies that have emphasized participants’ limited ability to match pictures of unfamiliar faces with important variations in illumination. Overall, this normative data set supports the validity of the BFRT-c as a key component of a battery of tests to identify clinical impairments in individual face recognition, such as observed in acquired prosopagnosia. However, this analysis strongly recommends that researchers consider the full test results: Beyond global indexes of performance based on accuracy rates only, they should consider the time taken to match individual faces as well as the variability in performance across items.     

Holistic processing is finely tuned for faces of one's own race

Recognizing individual faces outside one's race poses difficulty, a phenomenon known as the other-race effect. Most researchers agree that this effect results from differential experience with same-race (SR) and other-race (OR) faces. However, the specific processes that develop with visual experience and underlie the other-race effect remain to be clarified. We tested whether the integration of facial features into a whole representation-holistic processing-was larger for SR than OR faces in Caucasians and Asians without life experience with OR faces. For both classes of participants, recognition of the upper half of a composite-face stimulus was more disrupted by the bottom half (the composite-face effect) for SR than OR faces, demonstrating that SR faces are processed more holistically than OR faces. This differential holistic processing for faces of different races, probably a by-product of visual experience, may be a critical factor in the other-race effect.     

Influence of postural regulation in male judokas' direction of falls: comment on Paillard, et al. (2005)

The survey of Paillard pinpoints three important areas of reflection: what new knowledge is added, what are the internal perspectives, and what are the external perspectives.     

Clarifying relationships among work and family social support, stressors, and work-family conflict

Although work and family social support predict role stressors and work-family conflict, there has been much ambiguity regarding the conceptual relationships among these constructs. Using path analysis on meta-analytically derived validity coefficients (528 effect sizes from 156 samples), we compare three models to address these concerns and clarify relationships. Results revealed that social support, controlling for role involvement, is best viewed as an antecedent of role stressors and subsequent work-family conflict. Controlling for work and family involvement, work and family social support were most related to same domain role conflict (β = −.46, p < .05; β = −.43, p < .05) and role ambiguity (β = −.28, p < .05; β = −.33, p < .05). Subsequently, work role conflict and time demands were most related to work-to-family conflict (β = .39, p < .05; β = .21, p < .05), while family role conflict and role ambiguity were most related to family-to-work conflict (β = .22, p < .05; β = .24, p < .05). Implications for research and practice, along with suggestions for theoretical advances, are discussed.     

A PARADIGM FOR OPERANT CONDITIONING IN BLOW FLIES (PHORMIA TERRAE NOVAE ROBINEAU‐DESVOIDY, 1830)

An operant conditioning situation for the blow fly (Protophormia terrae novae) is described. Individual flies are trained to enter and reenter a hole as the operant response. Only a few sessions of contingent reinforcement are required to increase response rates. When the response is no longer followed by food, the rate of entering the hole decreases. Control procedures revealed that rate of responding is not a simple overall result of feeding or of aging. The flies entered into the hole only if the response was required to obtain the food.     

Des conduites à risques aux assuétudes comportementales : le trouble addictif au danger

Several studies show that playing a dangerous sport has a direct influence on the emotional state of athletes. Engaging in such behaviour would not only reduce negative affect but also produce a positive affect that does not equate only relief but an “extraordinary experienced”. Notwithstanding the unique qualities of these sports, it is likely that some subclinical individual characteristics such as sensation seeking, emotional–behavioural deregulation can promote a self-reinforcement of these practices or even facilitated the installation of an addictive tendency. Risk and intense sensation are also at the heart of dangerous games. Four points seem to motivate these practices: risk-taking, intensity, loss of consciousness, and the “wake survival”. In addition, practitioners are characterized by a more severe depressive symptomatology than non-practitioners. Some of these depressive elements are probably anterior to the game, but it is also possible that others are the consequence; this has the effect of strengthening the emotional–behavioural addiction. Through these extreme sports and games of non-oxygenation, the level of danger appears to be a real source of excitement. Playing with death is going to give inner magnitude to the experience. Without the sense of risk, the practice of the activity would not make sense. Psychological functioning of these sports and these “players” is based on the need to be stimulated, to be excited by the risk or even the fear in order to be appeased. Also, treat the danger, but also and mainly deal with emotions. The danger as a means of activation may fill in a toxic function of emotional and behavioural self-regulation including a risk that this excitation will self-sustained. Indeed, some of these athletes and these “players” increase their practice and push the safety threshold by adopting behaviours more and more risky in order to experiment higher sensations. When some semiological clues characterize the practice of risky activities like the repetition of a dangerous situation, loss of control, the invasion of the psychic life, time spent at the expense of social, family and school activities… they may reflect a real addiction to danger. It therefore becomes necessary for the clinician and the researcher to identify all these prodromal symptoms and signs of addiction. Criteria for the diagnosis of Addictive Disorder to Danger are proposed and discussed.