Violence Exposure Mediates the Relation Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Offending Patterns in Adolescents

The link between callous-unemotional (CU) traits in youth and delinquent, aggressive and violent behavior is well-replicated in the literature. However, the mediating effects of violence exposure on this relationship are unclear. The current study addresses this important gap in the literature with a sample of 88 detained, primarily ethnic minority adolescent boys (M age?=?15.57; SD?=?1.28). Results indicate that exposure to violence fully mediated the relationship between CU traits and violent delinquency, and this pattern of mediation was accounted for by exposure to witnessed violence, but not direct violent victimization. Secondly, exposure to violence, both direct and witnessed forms, also mediated the relationship between CU traits and drug delinquency. These findings suggest that (a) the well-established link between CU traits and violence may be attributed to high rates of witnessed violence among this subpopulation, and (b) specific types of violence exposure may be important for predicting the offending patterns of youth high on CU traits. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Life review therapy using autobiographical retrieval practice for older adults with clinical depression

The aim of this experiment was to examine the efficacy of life review based on autobiographical retrieval practice for treating depression in older adults. Thirty-seven clinically depressed older adults aged 64-83, who were also receiving pharmacological treatment, were randomly assigned to life review therapy or to a placebo condition with supportive therapy. Results indicated decreased depression for both conditions, with no significant differences between the two therapies. There was some indication of greater gain in production of specific memories among those in life review therapy. Patients who produced higher numbers of specific memories decreased their depression scores at a faster rate.     

Confidence–Accuracy Calibration with General Knowledge and Eyewitness Memory Cued Recall Questions

Summary: The confidence–accuracy relationship has primarily been studied through recognition tests and correlation analysis. However, cued recall is more ecological from a forensic perspective. Moreover, there may be more informative ways of analysing the confidence–accuracy relationship than correlations. In the present study, participants viewed a video of a bank robbery and were asked cued recall questions covering general knowledge and the video itself. Confidence ratings were collected, and correlations, calibration and discrimination measures were calculated. All measures indicated a strong confidence–accuracy relationship that was better for general knowledge than eyewitness memory questions. However, there were no differences in confidence ratings for correct answers, suggesting that the differences could be limited to the evaluation of incorrect answers. We concluded that confidence may be a good marker for accuracy with cued recall, but that further research using ecological tests and more informative data analysis techniques is needed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Questionnaire of executive function for dancers: an ecological approach

There is a current debate about the ecological validity of executive function (EF) tests. Consistent with the verisimilitude approach, this research proposes the ballet executive scale (BES), a self-rating questionnaire that assimilates idiosyncratic executive behaviors of classical dance community. The BES was administrated to 149 adolescents, students of the Cuban Ballet School. Results present a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .80 and a split-half Spearman-Brown coefficient r (SB) = .81. An exploratory factor analysis describes a bifactorial pattern of EF dimensions, with a self-regulation component, which explains more than 40% of variance, and a Developmental component, which accounts for more than 20% of variance. The questionnaire's total scores fit linear regression models with two external criteria of academic records, confirming concurrent validity. These findings support the hypothesis that the internalization of specific contextual cultural meanings has a mediating influence in the development of EF.     

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Thougth-Shape Fusion Questionnaire

The objectives of the study were to analyze the psychometric properties, factor structure and internal consistency of the Spanish version of the Thought-Shape Fusion Questionnaire (TSF-Q), as well as to determine its validity by evaluating the relationship of the TSF-Q to different instruments. Two groups were studied: one comprising 146 patients with a diagnosis of anorexia (n = 82), bulimia (n = 33) or unspecified eating disorder (n = 31), and another group of 115 undergraduates with no history of psychological disorder. All participants completed the TSF-Q, TAF-Q, EDI-2, STAI, BDI and SCL-90-R. Differences in TSF-Q scores between the diagnostic subgroups were also analyzed. Two factors were obtained which coincided with the two sections indicated by the authors of the questionnaire: conceptual and interpretative. The internal consistency of the TSF-Q and its subscales was determined by means of Cronbach's alpha, with values ranging between .93 and .96. The correlations with other instruments reflected adequate validity. There were no significant differences between the diagnostic subgroups. The Spanish version of the TSF-Q meets the psychometric requirements for measuring thought-shape fusion and shows adequate internal consistency and validity.     

The acquisition of morphemes: Some evidence from Spanish

A research on the acquisition of morphemes of plural, diminutive, augmentative, gerund, imperfect, and preterite with 109 Spanish children from 3 to 6 is reported. The results, obtained using a technique similar to that of Berko (1958), are compared with existing data in other studies that permit us to analyze several processes. These confirm any of the operating principles proposed by Slobin (1973, 1985) and seem to explain certain errors that children commit in the ages studied. Data are viewed in a developmental pattern of reorganization of linguistic knowledge.     

Essai de représentation par des nombres réels d'une analyse infinite des notions individuelles dans une infinité de mondes possibles

The aim of this study is to try to make use of real numbers for representing an infinite analysis of individual notions in an infinity of possible worlds.As an introduction to the subject, the author shows, firstly, the possibility of representing Boole's lattice of universal notions by an associate Boole's lattice of rational numbers.But, in opposition to the universal notions, definable by a finite number of predicates, an individual notion, cannot (as Leibniz pointed out) admits this sort of definition, because each state of an individual subject is characterized by the values (present or absent, applicable or inapplicable) taken by an infinite number of predicates, each of whom may appear or disappear in the next state.The notion of degree of identification of an individual notion is then introduced and arithmetized by a rational number.As an individual notion can be defined by a convergent succession of degrees of identification, the real characteristic number of such an individual notion can be defined by the corresponding convergent succession of rational numbers, satisfying Cauchy's conditions for the convergence of successions.

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Essai de représentation par des nombres réels d'une analyse infinite des notions individuelles dans une infinité de mondes possibles

     

Painfulness decreases the discriminability of electric shock

Two experiments were designed to investigate the relation between the reported painfulness and the discriminability of pairs of electric shocks for which the ratio between the higher and the lower intensity was held constant. In both experiments, subjects first gave category ratings of the painfulness of single shocks in the range 40 to 4.8 mA. Then, in a discrimination experiment, they were required to identify the stronger of a pair of intensities presented in succession. The proportion of correct responses (Experiment 1) or the proportion of area under the receiver operating characteristic (Experiment 2) increased between a low-intensity pairing and a medium-intensity pairing and decreased between a medium-intensity pairing and a high-intensity pairing for subjects who rated the highest intensities as strongly painful. Subjects who gave moderate- or weak-pain ratings for the high-intensity shocks showed no significant increase or decrease in accuracy between the medium- and high-intensity pairings. Time-order errors were observed in Experiment 1. The proportion of trials on which the second stimulus of the pair was identified as the stronger increased monotonically as a function of stimulus magnitude. The results are discussed in the context of psychological assessment of analgesic procedures.     

Medicine: The first step on the road to holiness?

The connections of Medicine and Religion are thoroughly documented in the primitive societies, and it comes as no surprise to see them together. Here we describe the true story of a Portuguese physician of the late 19th century whose image today is venerated in such a way as to compare him to a saint and to bestow upon him miraculous powers of healing. We propose that modern day physicians can learn from the example of this man that the role of doctor encompasses not only scientific and technical mastery but, most of all, piety, humanity and compassion.     

MPROB: Computation of multinomial probabilities

An algorithm for computing exact multinomial probabilities is presented that uses the fewest number of operations that are possible without symbolic simplification of the multinomial coefficient and performs them in a sequence that minimizes the potential for overflow or underflow errors. Multinomial probabilities computed with this algorithm are accurate to machine precision, unlike those based on logarithmic transformations and/or the evaluation of factorials, using Stirling’s approximation.