Identifying the information for the visual perception of relative phase

The production and perception of coordinated rhythmic movement are very specifically structured. For production and perception, 0 degree mean relative phase is stable, 180 degrees is less stable, and no other state is stable without training. It has been hypothesized that perceptual stability characteristics underpin the movement stability characteristics, which has led to the development of a phase-driven oscillator model (e.g., Bingham, 2004a, 2004b). In the present study, a novel perturbation method was used to explore the identity of the perceptual information being used in rhythmic movement tasks. In the three conditions, relative position, relative speed, and frequency (variables motivated by the model) were selectively perturbed. Ten participants performed a judgment task to identify 0 degree or 180 degrees under these perturbation conditions, and 8 participants who had been trained to visually discriminate 90 degrees performed the task with perturbed 90 degrees displays. Discrimination of 0 degree and 180 degrees was unperturbed in 7 out of the 10 participants, but discrimination of 90 degrees was completely disrupted by the position perturbation and was made noisy by the frequency perturbation. We concluded that (1) the information used by most observers to perceive relative phase at 0 degree and 180 degrees was relative direction and (2) becoming an expert perceiver of 90 degrees entails learning a new variable composed of position and speed.     

Social buffering in rats: prolactin attenuation of active interaction

Stress may result when the present environment is interpreted as threatening, and stress is known to increase the prolactin-secretory response. In the present study, rats (N=83) were exposed to a conditioned-fear paradigm (environment paired with footshock), and on testing day, rats were exposed to the experimental chamber without shock while alone (Alone n=16), with an object (Object n=17), with a euthanized conspecific (Euthanized n=16), or with a social partner (Social n=19). The control group (Control n=15) was exposed to the experimental chamber but was never shocked. The Control group had significantly lower levels of prolactin than the Alone, Object, and Euthanized groups; however, the Control group's levels of prolactin were not significantly different than that of the Social group, which was significantly lower than that for the Alone group. Social interaction decreased fear independent of the distraction provided by a stimulus in the chamber. Active touch appeared to be crucial for social buffering to occur.     

Cognitive activity and risk of alzheimer's disease

Recent research suggests that frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease in old age. We review epidemiological evidence of such an association. We then consider whether cognitive activity can account for the association between higher educational and occupational attainment and reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. Finally, we discuss the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the association between cognitive activity and risk of Alzheimer's disease.     

XIII—Theory Façades

Many common approximation methods in physics practice 'causal process avoidance' in their operative procedures and such methodologies weave densely throughout the usual fabric of 'classical mechanics'. It is observed that Hume was unable to find any grounding for a robust conception of 'cause' largely because he unwittingly looked in those regions of mechanics where genuine causal processes had already been tacitly expunged.     

Do difficulties with emotions inhibit help-seeking in adolescence? The role of age and emotional competence in predicting help-seeking intentions

We examined whether adolescents who are poor at identifying, describing, and managing their emotions (emotional competence) have lower intentions to seek help for their personal-emotional problems and suicidal ideation, as observed in adult studies. We also examined whether age moderated the relationship between competence and help-seeking. Two hundred and seventeen adolescents completed measures of emotional competence, help-seeking, hopelessness, and social support. Results indicated that adolescents who were low in emotional competence had the lowest intentions to seek help from informal sources (i.e., family and friends) and from some formal sources (e.g., mental health professionals), and the highest intentions to seek help from no-one. There was one important age-related qualification: difficulty in identifying and describing emotions was associated with higher help-seeking intentions amongst young adolescents but lower intentions among older adolescents. Social support, hopelessness, and sex could not entirely explain these relationships. Thus, even those who had high quality social support had less intention to use it if they were low in emotional competence.     

Are Faculty Strikes Unethical?

It has been argued that strikes are morally objectionable in the university context. They injure third parties – the students – and for this reason ought to be rejected. More generally, the strike weapon has led to a reduction of the power of Boards of Governors to adjust universities to changing times. And furthermore, the use of the strike weapon and the ensuing conflicts can injure the collegial form of governance that is essential to higher education. It is here argued that these arguments are hardly conclusive, and that there are virtues to having the strike as a means to resolve disputes. But keeping things on track requires both parties to adhere to the moral and social virtue of civility.     

“Master your Johnson”: Sexual rhetoric in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Maxim</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stuff</Emphasis> magazines

This article reports the results of a content analysis of sexual rhetoric in editorial photographs (N=994) in 2001 issues of Maxim and Stuff magazines. Goffman’s (1979) classifications of gender in advertisements were used to examine how this new generation of “lad” magazines uses images to provide readers with cues about sexuality and sexual practice. The findings reveal that both magazines construct sexuality in similar ways. However, as expected, the overall message about sexuality in the photos is different for men than for women. Women are more likely than men to be portrayed as sex objects, such as the common practice of photographing them in contorting or demeaning positions. Both magazines also depict white people as sexier than other races and assume heterosexuality.     

A comparison of verbal and tangible stimulus preference assessment methods in adults with schizophrenia

Verbal stimulus preference assessments were compared with tangible stimulus preference assessments for four adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the verbal assessment, participants were asked, ‘Do you want X or Y?’, the items were not present, and the participant chose an item verbally. In the tangible assessment, pairs of items were placed in front of the participant and s/he was asked to choose by approaching the stimuli. The two assessment methods yielded identical highest preference items for three of the four participants and identical lowest preference items for all participants. In addition, the verbal assessment method took less time to complete than the tangible assessment method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Telling a story or telling it straight: the effects of entertaining versus accurate retellings on memory

People retell events for different reasons. Sometimes they try to be accurate, other times entertaining. What characterizes retellings from different perspectives? How does retelling perspective affect later recall of events? In the current research, participants retold a story either three times or not at all. By instruction, retellings were either entertaining or accurate. Compared to accurate retellings, entertaining retellings contained more affect, but fewer sensory references. On a subsequent memory test, participants who retold with an accuracy goal recalled the greatest number of story events, and their recall protocols were the most accurate and detailed, and least exaggerated. However, recognition memory did not differ across groups, suggesting that differences in retrieval structures (necessary for recall but not recognition) were key to understanding later differences in memory. Compared to telling it straight, the creative process of telling a story leads to qualitative and quantitative changes in later recall. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The composition of attachment networks throughout the adult years

This study assessed the structure of adults' attachment networks, using a questionnaire measure of preferred attachment figures with a large sample of adults (N = 812) representing various ages and life situations. Two broad research questions were addressed. The first question concerned the variety of attachment figures reported by adults and the relative strength of attachment to each, including preferred (primary) attachment figures. The second question concerned the effects of normative life events on attachment networks and the nature of primary attachment figures in different life situations. Overall, the results supported the preeminent role of attachment relationships with romantic partners. However, relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, children, and friends also met the strict criteria used to define full‐blown attachments; further, each of these targets constituted the primary attachment figure for some participants. The structure of the attachment network was related to variables such as age, relationship status, and parental status, attesting to the important role of normative life events. The results have theoretical and applied significance and are related to principles of attachment, caregiving, and socioemotional selectivity.