Part perception in infancy: Sensitivity to the short-cut rule

Research indicates that object perception involves the decomposition of images into parts. A critical principle that governs part decomposition by adults is the short-cut rule, which states that, all else being equal, the visual system parses objects using the shortest possible cuts. We examined whether 6.5-month-olds’ parsing of images also follows the short-cut rule. Infants in the experimental conditions were habituated to cross shapes and then tested for their preference between segregated patterns produced using long cuts versus short cuts. Infants in the control conditions were directly tested with the segregated patterns. Infants in the experimental conditions exhibited a greater novelty preference for the long-cut over the short-cut patterns than did those in the control conditions, thereby indicating that they are more likely to segregate cross shapes using short cuts rather than long cuts. This sensitivity to the short-cut rule was evident when two alternative parameters, part area and protrusion, were controlled in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Thus, a critical principle that governs part segregation in adulthood is operational by 6.5 months of age.     

Maternal sensitivity moderates the impact of prenatal anxiety disorder on infant responses to the still-face procedure

Animal studies have demonstrated the interactive effects of prenatal stress exposure and postnatal rearing style on offspring capacity to manage stress. However, little is known about how parenting quality impacts the association between maternal prenatal anxiety and stress reactivity in human infants. This prospective study examined the impact of prenatal anxiety disorder and maternal caregiving sensitivity on infants’ responses to a standardised interactive stressor (still-face procedure). Eighty-four women completed a clinical interview during pregnancy to assess anxiety symptoms meeting DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. At infant age 7 months, maternal sensitivity to infant distress and infant negative affect were observed and coded during the still-face procedure. Maternal postnatal (concurrent) anxiety and depression were also assessed at this time. Results indicated a negative association between maternal sensitivity to infant distress and infant negative affect responses to the still-face procedure. An unexpected finding was a positive association between parity and infant reactivity. The main effect for sensitivity was qualified by a significant interaction, p < .05, suggesting that the impact of sensitivity was particularly marked among infants of women who experienced an anxiety disorder during pregnancy. This finding is consistent with a cumulative risk model suggesting that maternal prenatal anxiety and quality of maternal care act in concert to shape infant outcomes.     

Sex differences in face processing: Are women less lateralized and faster than men?

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of sex on hemispheric asymmetry and cooperation in a face recognition task. We used a masked priming paradigm in which the prime stimulus was centrally presented; it could be a bisymmetric face or a hemi-face in which facial information was presented in the left or the right visual field and projected to the right or the left hemisphere. The target stimulus was always a bisymmetric face presented centrally. Faces were selected from Minear and Park’s (2004) database. Fifty-two right-handed students (26 men, 26 women) participated in this experiment, in which accuracy (percentage of correct responses) and reaction times (RTs in ms) were measured. Although accuracy data showed that the percentage of correct recognition – when prime and target matched – was equivalent in men and women, men’s RTs were longer than women’s in all conditions. Accuracy and RTs showed that men are more strongly lateralized than women, with right hemispheric dominance. These results suggest that men are as good at face recognition as women, but there are functional differences in the two sexes. The findings are discussed in terms of functional cerebral networks distributed over both hemispheres and of interhemispheric transmission.     

Patient and health care provider views of depressive symptoms and diabetes in American Samoa

High Type 2 diabetes prevalence, associated with recent cultural changes in diet and physical activity, characterizes the U.S. territory of American Samoa. Comorbid diabetes and depression rates are high worldwide and contribute to negative diabetes outcomes; these rates have not been assessed in American Samoa. In this study, 6 focus groups were conducted with 39 American Samoan adults with diabetes; questions on perceptions of diabetes and depressive symptoms were included. Thirteen health care staff interviews were conducted to gain insight into diabetes care in American Samoa. Focus groups and health care staff interviews were translated, transcribed, and entered into NVivo 8 to facilitate analysis. Thematic analysis showed that diabetes patients saw depressive symptoms as directly contributing to high blood sugar. However, these symptoms were rarely mentioned spontaneously, and providers reported they seldom assess them in patients. Many patients and health care staff believed the best ways to respond to feelings of depression involved relaxing, leaving difficult situations, or eating. Staff also discussed cultural stigma associated with depression and the importance of establishing rapport before discussing it. Health care providers in American Samoa need training to increase their awareness of depressive symptoms' negative impact on diabetes management in patients who screen positive for depression. All providers must approach the subject in a supportive context after establishing rapport. This information will be used for cultural translation of a community health worker and primary care-coordinated intervention for adults with diabetes in American Samoa, with the goal of creating an effective and sustainable intervention.     

Interrelationship Among Injured Parties' Attributions of Responsibility,Appraisal of Appropriateness to Forgive the Transgressor,Forgiveness, and Repentance

The purpose of this research was to examine the interrelationship among attributions of responsibility, repentance, victims' appraisal of the appropriateness of forgiving the transgressor, and forgiveness. It is argued that an injured party's appraisal of how appropriate it is to forgive the transgressor is important in understanding discrepant theoretical and empirical observations regarding the relationship between responsibility judgments and forgiveness. In one nonexperimental/naturalistic study and 2 experiments, we confirmed predictions that responsibility attributions would positively relate with a victim's appraisal of how appropriate it is to forgive the transgressor, and negatively with forgiveness. In addition, all 3 studies confirmed that a victim's appraisal of the appropriateness to forgive the transgressor explains the relationship between responsibility judgments and forgiveness.     

A Longitudinal Test of the Job Demands‐Resources Model among Australian University Academics

A longitudinal test of the Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model of work stress and engagement ( Bakker & Demerouti, 2007 ; Demerouti et al., 2001 ) was conducted in a sample of Australian university academics (N= 296). The aim was to extend the JD‐R model by (1) determining how well job demands (work pressure, academic workload) and job resources (procedural fairness, job autonomy) would predict psychological strain and organisational commitment over a three‐year period, and (2) incorporating longitudinal tests of reversed causation. The results of SEM analyses showed that Time 1 resources directly predicted Time 2 strain and organisational commitment, but that Time 1 demands predicted Time 2 strain only indirectly via job resources. We did not find evidence for reversed causation. We discuss possible mediators of the relationships between working conditions and work stress outcomes, and the practical implications of the results.     

A Multimethod Examination of the Effect of Insomnia Symptoms on Anxious Responding to a Social Stressor

A growing number of studies identify insomnia symptoms as a potential risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders. However, little research has examined potential mechanisms through which insomnia could confer increased risk for anxiety. A separate line of literature suggests sleep is necessary for adaptive emotional and behavioral responding to stressors, a potential mechanism linking insomnia symptoms to anxiety risk. To test whether insomnia symptoms affect emotional and behavioral responding to an anxiety-relevant stressor, the current study recruited a sample of 99 undergraduates with varying levels of insomnia symptoms. Participants completed self-report and psychophysiological measures before, during, and after an impromptu speech task. Results indicated that, after covarying for negative affectivity, increased insomnia symptoms were significantly associated with elevated anticipatory anxiety and skin conductance response prior to the speech, and increased skin conductance response, emotion regulation difficulties, and safety aid use during the speech. Taken together, results provide evidence for the notion that insomnia symptoms are associated with maladaptive emotional and behavioral responding to an anxiety-relevant stressor.     

Renewal during functional communication training

Functional communication training (FCT) is one of the most commonly prescribed interventions for the treatment of severe destructive behavior exhibited by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Although highly effective, FCT has been shown to fail in some cases when treatment is introduced into the child's typical environment. Basic and translational research on renewal provides a model for studying the relapse of destructive behavior following successful response to treatment in clinic settings using FCT. In the present study, we evaluated whether relapse of destructive behavior could be attributed to the discriminative control of the home context, which was historically correlated with reinforcement for destructive behavior. We implemented baseline contingencies in the home setting with caregivers acting as interventionists (i.e., Context A). We then implemented FCT in a treatment clinic with trained therapists (i.e., Context B). Finally, we introduced FCT in the home setting with caregivers implementing the treatment procedures (i.e., return to Context A). For three of four participants we observed the relapse of destructive behavior consistent with operant renewal. We discuss the implications of these findings with respect to strategies designed to promote generalization of FCT across settings during the treatment of severe destructive behavior.     

Callous-Unemotional Traits Only Versus the Multidimensional Psychopathy Construct as Predictors of Various Antisocial Outcomes During Early Adolescence

The aim of this study was to compare callous-unemotional (CU) traits versus the multidimensional psychopathy construct in their ability to predict future and stable antisocial behavior. At baseline, a community sample of 996 Cypriot 12-year old adolescents (52% girls) completed measures that tap conduct problems (CP) and psychopathic traits, including CU. CP, aggression, and substance use were self-reported at 1–3 year follow-ups. Youths were assigned to six mutually exclusive groups based on their baseline levels of CP and psychopathic traits. Youth with CP scoring high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions (Psychopathic Personality?+?CP) showed the most robust and highest risk for future and stable CP, aggression, and substance use, followed by youth who were high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions but displayed no concurrent CP (Psychopathic Personality Only) and CP youth with low levels of psychopathic traits (CP Only). Youth with CP who merely manifested callous-unemotional traits (Callous-Unemotional?+?CP) were only at risk for future CP. The findings suggest that the CU traits-based approach for subtyping children with CP is less informative compared to a subtyping approach using various psychopathic traits dimensions in predicting future and stable forms of various antisocial outcomes. These findings and their consistency with prior work indicate the need for additional research to examine the various psychopathic traits dimensions rather than focusing solely on CU traits, especially for CP subtyping purposes.     

The Formal Systems Response to Violence Against Women in India: A Cultural Lens

Violence against women (VAW) has become an increasingly salient issue in India, with women at risk for different forms of gendered violence. While there may be universal elements in the international phenomenon of violence against women, it is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that takes shape in a particular sociocultural context. The current study employs a narrative framework to systematically examine how culture is expressed in the formal systems response and women's help‐seeking in two metropolitan cities in India. Specifically, we sought to understand, among formal system responders (a) what characterizes the dominant cultural narratives on violence against women in India; and (b) how these are reflected in community narratives of formal responders. Interviews were conducted with formal responders working in different types of local agencies (e.g., police, health centers, and non‐governmental agencies). The paper illustrates the major themes that emerged from participants’ narratives describing the multilevel influences that shape the formal system response to violence against women and women's help‐seeking efforts. The implications of these findings for effective response and directions for future research are summarized.