Data from Russian Help to Determine in Which Languages the Possible Word Constraint Applies

The Possible Word Constraint, or PWC, is a speech segmentation principle prohibiting to postulate word boundaries if a remaining segment contains only consonants. The PWC was initially formulated for English where all words contain a vowel and claimed to hold universally after being confirmed for various other languages. However, it is crucial to look at languages that allow for words without vowels. Two such languages have been tested: data from Slovak were compatible with the PWC, while data from Tarifiyt Berber did not support it. We hypothesize that the fixed word stress could influence the results in Slovak and report two word-spotting experiments on Russian, which has similar one-consonant words, but flexible word stress. The results contradict the PWC, so we suggest that it does not operate in the languages where words without vowels are possible, while the results from Slovak might be explained by its prosodic properties.     

Flow and Happiness in Later Life: An Investigation into the Role of Daily and Weekly Flow Experiences

Fifty-four older adults ranging in age from 70 to 86 years old (M = 77.54) reported daily levels of positive and negative affect, life satisfaction and daily activities for seven consecutive days. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to investigate inter- and intra-individual effects of flow experiences on affect. Higher quality of flow was positively associated with high arousal positive affect (i.e., feeling peppy, enthusiastic, happy), negatively associated with low arousal negative affect (i.e., feeling sad and disappointed), and positively associated with life satisfaction. However, more frequent flow experiences throughout the week predicted lower average levels of positive affect and life satisfaction. Overall, the results demonstrate that flow is linked to the affective experiences of older adults, and that an individual’s overall propensity to experience flow may be influential beyond the immediate effects of a given flow experience.     

Occasion setting and drug tolerance

There is considerable evidence that drug-paired cues become associated with drug effects. It has been hypothesized that these cues act as Pavlovian conditional stimuli (CSs), and elicit conditional compensatory responses that contribute to tolerance. On the basis of a conditioning analysis of tolerance, we would expect that is should be possible to establish drug-paired cues as occasion setters, as well as conditional stimuli. Using feature-positive discrimination training, we evaluated the contribution of occasion-setting stimuli (as well as CSs) to tolerance to the hypothermic effect of ethanol in rats. The results indicated that a complete associative analysis of drug tolerance should incorporate not only the CS properties of predrug cues, but also the occasion-setting properties of such cues. The findings have implications for interpreting conflicting findings concerning extinction of tolerance and for cue-exposure treatments of addiction.     

Determinants of linear judgment: a meta-analysis of lens model studies

The mathematical representation of E. Brunswik's (1952) lens model has been used extensively to study human judgment and provides a unique opportunity to conduct a meta-analysis of studies that covers roughly 5 decades. Specifically, the authors analyzed statistics of the "lens model equation" (L. R. Tucker, 1964) associated with 249 different task environments obtained from 86 articles. On average, fairly high levels of judgmental achievement were found, and people were seen to be capable of achieving similar levels of cognitive performance in noisy and predictable environments. Further, the effects of task characteristics that influence judgment (numbers and types of cues, inter-cue redundancy, function forms and cue weights in the ecology, laboratory versus field studies, and experience with the task) were identified and estimated. A detailed analysis of learning studies revealed that the most effective form of feedback was information about the task. The authors also analyzed empirically under what conditions the application of bootstrapping--or replacing judges by their linear models--is advantageous. Finally, the authors note shortcomings of the kinds of studies conducted to date, limitations in the lens model methodology, and possibilities for future research.     

The development of children's preferences for equality and equity across 13 individualistic and collectivist cultures

A concern for fairness is a fundamental and universal element of morality. To examine the extent to which cultural norms are integrated into fairness cognitions and influence social preferences regarding equality and equity, a large sample of children (N 2,163) aged 4–11 were tested in 13 diverse countries. Children participated in three versions of a third‐party, contextualized distributive justice game between two hypothetical recipients differing in terms of wealth, merit, and empathy. Social decision‐making in these games revealed universal age‐related shifts from equality‐based to equity‐based distribution motivations across cultures. However, differences in levels of individualism and collectivism between the 13 countries predicted the age and extent to which children favor equity in each condition. Children from the most individualistic cultures endorsed equitable distributions to a greater degree than children from more collectivist cultures when recipients differed in regards to wealth and merit. However, in an empathy context where recipients differed in injury, children from the most collectivist cultures exhibited greater preferences to distribute resource equitably compared to children from more individualistic cultures. Children from the more individualistic cultures also favored equitable distributions at an earlier age than children from more collectivist cultures overall. These results demonstrate aspects of both cross‐cultural similarity and divergence in the development of fairness preferences.     

The Role of Dyadic Coping on the Marital and Emotional Adjustment of Couples With Infertility

Infertility is a challenging experience, affecting individual and couples’ adjustment. However, the way the members of the couple support each other may affect the experience of infertility and their adjustment. This study aimed to investigate the role of dyadic coping by oneself and by the partner in the association between the impact of infertility and dyadic and emotional adjustment (anxiety and depression) to infertility. In this cross‐sectional study, a total of 134 participants (67 couples with infertility) completed self‐report questionnaires assessing infertility‐related stress, dyadic coping, dyadic adjustment, and depression and anxiety symptoms. A path analysis examined the direct and indirect effects between the impact of infertility in one's life and dyadic and emotional adjustment. There is an indirect effect of the impact of infertility in one's life on dyadic adjustment through men's perceived dyadic coping efforts employed by the self (dyadic coping by oneself) and women's perceived dyadic coping efforts of the partner (dyadic coping by the partner). Regarding the emotional adjustment of infertile couples, infertility stress impact had an indirect effect only on depressive symptoms through men's dyadic coping by oneself. The results highlight the importance of men's dyadic coping strategies for the marital adjustment of couples as well as for men's emotional adjustment. Findings emphasize the importance of involving men in the fertility treatment process, reinforcing the dyadic nature of infertility processes.     

Revisiting Anna O.: a case of chemical dependence

The famous clinical case of Anna O./Bertha Pappenheim, who was treated by Breuer from 1880 to 1882 and whose pathology was discussed by him and Freud in an 1895 article (J. Breuer & S. Freud, 1895/1955), is reviewed based on biographical information regarding the patient, which appeared from 1953 onward. The objective of this article is to show that, in order to better understand the case, the diagnosis of chloral hydrate and morphine dependence, as well as that of mood disorder (primary or drug induced), has to be taken into account. The method used is a careful literature review. The conclusion is that, based on all available data disclosed in recent years, these 3 diagnoses should be considered in this case, which is the most studied one in the history of psychoanalysis.     

Sustained and transient modulation of performance induced by emotional picture viewing

We investigated how viewing task-irrelevant emotional pictures affects the performance of a subsequent nonemotional visual detection task. Subjects performed target-detection trials following the offset of individual unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral pictures. Sustained interference occurred when subjects viewed unpleasant pictures (mutilated bodies) in a sequential, "blocked" fashion. Such slowing down of reaction time appeared to build up with time, consistent with the instatement of a defensive emotional state. With a randomized picture presentation, only a transient interference effect was observed, consistent with increased attentional demands during the processing of unpleasant pictures. During blocked presentation of affiliative pleasant pictures, reaction times were faster, suggesting the activation of appetitive motivational systems. Ultimately, both attentional and motivational systems are intricately tied in the brain and, together, determine behavior.     

Isatin: role in stress and anxiety

(Indoledione 2,3) isatin is an endogenous indole found both in mammalian brain and peripheral tissues. Isatin concentration in blood can exceed 1 microM and tissue concentrations vary from < 0.1 to 10 microM. Its level in the brain and periphery is increased by stress. Isatin has a wide spectrum of behavioural and metabolic effects. It is anxiogenic at lower doses and sedative at higher doses. Its most potent known in vitro actions are as an antagonist of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) function and NO signaling. In this review, we discuss isatin and stress in animal models, the few human studies, and also what it is known to date about the molecular mechanisms of its action. We suggest the possibility that isatin and its analogues may be interesting new pharmacological agents; Isatin antagonists may be anxiolytic, and isatin agonists may activate the HPA axis.     

Ukrainian Application of the Children's Somatization Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Associations With Internalizing Symptoms

This paper examines the psychometric properties of the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI) in 600 10–12-year old children in Kyiv, Ukraine, replicating and extending the original findings from a sample in Nashville, Tennessee (J. Garber et al. 1991). The Kyiv children had significantly lower CSI total scores and reported significantly fewer symptoms than the American children. The Kyiv mothers, however, reported significantly more somatization symptoms in their children than did the American mothers. A factor analysis of the children's data yielded four similar factors encompassing pseudoneurologic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and pain/weakness symptoms. Consistent with the findings from the Nashville study, the CSI was significantly related to the children's self-reports of health and depressive and anxiety symptoms and to maternal reports of child depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, although more children with the highest CSI scores (25+) reported various illness experiences than those with 0–1 symptoms, no differences were found in the school absentee records. Thus, the results were congruent with the findings of the Nashville study, indicating that the CSI reliably measured somatization in this Ukrainian sample.