Learning new faces in typically developing children and children on the autistic spectrum

As faces become familiar, recognition becomes easier but the style of processing also changes. Here, twenty-one typically developing (TD) children and twenty-one children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were familiarised with 6 identities over 3 days. Next, they completed a 4-alternative forced-choice matching test in which targets were the 6 familiarised faces and 6 unfamiliar faces. The TD group showed a significant advantage for familiarised faces when matching whole faces and both internal and external facial regions. The ASD group showed similar familiarisation effects for whole and external faces, but not for internal regions. The ASD group was also impaired at matching eyes and mouths of familiarised faces. Results suggest the process of acquiring familiarity with faces differs from ASD and TD children.     

The Glasgow Face Matching Test

We describe a new test for unfamiliar face matching, the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). Viewers are shown pairs of faces, photographed in full-face view but with different cameras, and are asked to make same/different judgments. The full version of the test comprises 168 face pairs, and we also describe a shortened version with 40 pairs. We provide normative data for these tests derived from large subject samples. We also describe associations between the GFMT and other tests of matching and memory. The new test correlates moderately with face memory but more strongly with object matching, a result that is consistent with previous research highlighting a link between object and face matching, specific to unfamiliar faces. The test is available free for scientific use.     

Predictors of maternal language to infants during a picture book task in the home: Family SES, child characteristics and the parenting environment

This study investigated the contribution of child characteristics and parenting environment to the relationship between family SES/demographic characteristics and maternal language to infants. 1157 children were drawn from a representative sample of 1292 infants born to mothers in rural Appalachian counties and rural counties in southern minority U.S. communities. Mothers and their 6–8 month old babies were videotaped at home while talking about a wordless picture book. Mothers' language output and complexity were analyzed. Child temperament, age, and parenting environment (knowledge of child development and observed mother–child engagement) were predictors of maternal language. Furthermore, their inclusion reduced the magnitude of the association between demographic characteristics and maternal language. Tests of mediation suggested that the parenting environment partially mediates the relationship between SES/demographic characteristics and maternal language. Findings are discussed with respect to identifying proximal processes that explain how SES may exert its influence on the language of young children.     

The nature, prevalence and correlates of generativity among men in middle career

Multiple methods were used to explore the character, contexts, and correlates of generativity among 41 men aged 45–55. Generativity in the role of worker was unrelated to generativity in men’s roles as father, citizen and ‘leisurite’. Individuals who were generative in their work reported greater job satisfaction and subjective career success. These associations were stronger for generativity targeting societal well-being and fellow-workers’ growth than for creative/productive generativity. As some theorists have argued, therefore, nurturant forms of generativity may be more adaptive in mid/late career than other varieties, and more indicative of psychosocial maturity. The status of creativity/productivity within the generativity construct seems problematic. Our findings offer qualified support for McAdams and de St Aubin’s (McAdams, D.P., & de St Aubin, E. (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 62 (6), 1003–1015) contention that generativity is expressed differentially in the domains of concern, commitment and action, and that the different relationships of these generativity domains to third variables can be interpreted in meaningful ways.     

On the relations between action planning, object identification, and motor representations of observed actions and objects

Recent evidence suggests that viewing a static prime object (a hand grasp), can activate action representations that affect the subsequent identification of graspable target objects. The present study explored whether stronger effects on target object identification would occur when the prime object (a hand grasp) was made more action-rich and dynamic. Of additional interest was whether this type of action prime would affect the generation of motor activity normally elicited by the target object. Three experiments demonstrated that grasp observation improved the identification of grasp-congruent target objects relative to grasp-incongruent target objects. We argue from this data that identifying a graspable object includes the processing of its action-related attributes. In addition, grasp observation was shown to influence the motor activity elicited by the target object, demonstrating interplay between action-based and object-based motor coding.     

Family sessions as part of child psychological assessment: goals, techniques, clinical utility, and therapeutic value

Including a family session in a child assessment can significantly advance the assessor's and parents' understanding of the child's problems and enhance the likelihood that parents will follow through on recommendations after the assessment. A family session allows the assessor to observe the child in the family context, test systemic hypotheses, better understand the meaning of individual test results, and try out possible interventions. A family session may also help parents see systemic aspects of their child's problems, help the child feel less blamed, foster positive experiences among family members, and offer the family a glimpse of family therapy. We describe methods and techniques for structuring family sessions and offer guidance on preparing for and conducting such sessions depending on one's case conceptualization. Detailed case examples illustrate each technique and demonstrate the immediate and subsequent impact of family sessions as well as their therapeutic value. We also address common clinical and pragmatic issues.     

Cybercounseling in the United States and South Korea: Implications for Counseling College Students of the Millennial Generation and the Networked Generation

The National Board for Certified Counselors describes cybercounseling as the provision of some aspects of counseling through technology, via such applications as e‐mail, Web‐based information access, course registration, academic advising, and career guidance. The authors explore the characteristics of cybercounseling, describe its current use in the United States and South Korea, explore its advantages and disadvantages, and consider issues and concerns for college counselors.     

A Bayesian Approach to Informal Argument Fallacies

We examine in detail three classic reasoning fallacies, that is, supposedly ``incorrect' forms of argument. These are the so-called argumentam ad ignorantiam, the circular argument or petitio principii, and the slippery slope argument. In each case, the argument type is shown to match structurally arguments which are widely accepted. This suggests that it is not the form of the arguments as such that is problematic but rather something about the content of those examples with which they are typically justified. This leads to a Bayesian reanalysis of these classic argument forms and a reformulation of the conditions under which they do or do not constitute legitimate forms of argumentation.     

Spirituality and education; inner and outer realities

There is a persisting tendency in attempts to define spirituality, to adopt a dualistic point of view which sees the spirit as somehow impenetrably inner, innate and introspectively perceived, interacting with the outer world through the body. As well as a strong intuitive sense of the correctness of this philosophical point of view, it also is supported by psychotherapeutic perspectives that speak of the private inner being. In this paper I will argue that this view is logically, epistemologically, morally, and psychologically problematic. It will be argued that the concept of an inwardness to our mental life can be distinguished from the view of that life as interior. The perspective that we have of our inward selves is learned and conditional upon a sense of an outer self, functioning and communicating in the public world. Rather than an ego centric conceptualization of spirituality based on the idea of the spirit as inner and logically inaccessible, I we might adopt a sociocentric perspective in which the supremacy of the ego is dissolved in favour of an understanding in which we see ourselves as part of the social and natural outer world in which we exist.     

Relating different perspectives on how outcomes of behavior influence behavior

Many researchers have tackled the question of how behavior is influenced by its outcomes. Some have adopted a nonmechanistic (functional) perspective that attempts to describe the influence of outcomes on behavior. Others have adopted a mechanistic (cognitive) perspective that attempts to explain the influence of outcomes on behavior. Orthogonal to this distinction, some have focused on the influence of outcomes that a behavior had in the past, whereas others also consider the influence of outcomes that a behavior might have in the future. In this article, we relate these different perspectives with the goal of reducing misunderstandings and fostering collaborations between researchers who adopt different perspectives on the common question of how behavior is influenced by its outcomes.