Value Predicate Analysis: A Language‐Based Tool for Diagnosing Behavioral Tendencies of Religious or Value‐Based Groups in Regions of Conflict

This article introduces a language‐based tool for addressing the role of religion in violent conflicts. Value predicate analysis (VPA) is an easily transportable, relatively uncomplicated early warning tool for measuring the probable near‐future behavior of modest‐sized religious groups in settings of potential conflict. We show that it is possible to identify a range of nine types of probable group behavior toward other groups. This approach significantly refines current binary assessments of violent/not‐violent group conduct. The authors (1) provide a warrant for diagnosing religion‐group behavior through performative analysis; (2) present a theoretical overview of VPA; (3) summarize their research, data analysis, and field collection methods; (4) present field test results; and (5) conclude with recommendations for further research.     

Early maturity of face recognition: No childhood development of holistic processing, novel face encoding, or face-space

Historically, it was believed the perceptual mechanisms involved in individuating faces developed only very slowly over the course of childhood, and that adult levels of expertise were not reached until well into adolescence. Over the last 10 years, there has been some erosion of this view by demonstrations that all adult-like behavioural properties are qualitatively present in young children and infants. Determining the age of maturity, however, requires quantitative comparison across age groups, a task made difficult by the need to disentangle development in face perception from development in all the other cognitive factors that affect task performance. Here, we argue that full quantitative maturity is reached early, by 5-7 years at the latest and possibly earlier. This is based on a comprehensive literature review of results in the 5-years-to-adult age range, with particular focus on the results of the few previous studies that are methodologically suitable for quantitative comparison of face effects across age, plus three new experiments testing development of holistic/configural processing (faces versus objects, disproportionate inversion effect), ability to encode novel faces (assessed via implicit memory) and face-space (own-age bias).     

Memory conjunction errors for realistic faces are consistent with configural processing

Conjunction faces are formed from feature sets learned across different faces. In previous studies, false alarms (“old” responses) to conjunctions have been very high, approaching hits to old faces; this is surprising, because, perceptually, upright faces are processed configurally, with strong integration of parts into the whole. We test the idea that the atypical reliance on unrelated parts could be due to using unnatural line drawings as stimuli, and to forming conjunctions across external features (e.g., hair) and internal features (e.g., eyes, mouth). We used realistic face stimuli and conjunctions made entirely from internal features. Results were, as expected, consistent with configural processing for upright faces (hits to old faces much greater than FA to conjunctions) and not for inverted faces (hits to old = FA to conjunctions).     

Tobacco use in adolescence: longitudinal links to later problem behavior among African American and Puerto Rican urban young adults

In this study, the authors assessed the relationship between adolescent tobacco smoking and measures of inner control, deviant behavior, and associating with deviant peers, which are indicators of problem behavior. African American (N = 333) and Puerto Rican (N = 329) early adolescents completed questionnaires in their classrooms in 1990 at Time 1 (T1) and were individually interviewed thereafter when they were late adolescents in 1995 at Time 2 (T2) and as young adults in 2000 at Time 3 (T3). The authors used ordinary least squares regression analysis to assess the comparative association of adolescent smoking patterns at T1 and T2 and the young adult outcomes at T3; they controlled for demographic variables, level of the outcome measure at T2, and marijuana use at T2. The analyses suggested that experimental tobacco smokers demonstrated more problem behaviors than did nonsmokers, and late and continuous smokers demonstrated more problem behaviors as young adults than did experimental smokers and nonusers. These findings may provide a useful guide to a next step that involves translational research.     

Cystic Fibrosis Prenatal Screening in Genetic Counseling Practice: Recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors

For over a decade, prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) has been considered a model for the integration of genetic testing into routine medical practice. Data from pilot studies and public policy discourse have led to recommendations by some professional organizations that CF screening should be offered or made available to pregnant women and their partners, and to couples planning a pregnancy. It is crucial that genetic counselors gain thorough understanding of the complexities of CF and the implications of positive test results, so that they may serve as a reliable, educated referral base and resource for health care providers and their patients. While not all pregnant women will be referred for genetic counseling prior to CF carrier testing, genetic counselors often will be asked to counsel clients after they have a positive test result, or who are found to be at increased risk. Genetic counselors can play an important role in providing accurate and current information as well as support for patients informed decisions. These recommendations were created by a multicenter working group of genetic counselors with expertise in CF and are based on personal clinical experience, review of pertinent English language medical articles, and reports of expert committees. The recommendations should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of management, nor does the use of such recommendations guarantee a particular outcome. These recommendations do not displace a health care providers professional judgment based on the clinical circumstances of a particular client.     

Why the other-race effect matters: Poor recognition of other-race faces impacts everyday social interactions

What happens to everyday social interactions when other-race recognition fails? Here, we provide the first formal investigation of this question. We gave East Asian international students (N = 89) a questionnaire concerning their experiences of the other-race effect (ORE) in Australia, and a laboratory test of their objective other-race face recognition deficit using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). As a ‘perpetrator’ of the ORE, participants reported that their problems telling apart Caucasian people contributed significantly to difficulties socializing with them. Moreover, the severity of this problem correlated with their ORE on the CFMT. As a ‘victim’ of the ORE, participants reported that Caucasians' problems telling them apart also contributed to difficulties socializing. Further, 81% of participants had been confused with other Asians by a Caucasian authority figure (e.g., university tutor, workplace boss), resulting in varying levels of upset/difficulty. When compared to previously established contributors to international students' high rates of social isolation, ORE-related problems were perceived as equally important as the language barrier and only moderately less important than cultural differences. We conclude that the real-world impact of the ORE extends beyond previously identified specialized settings (eyewitness testimony, security), to common everyday situations experienced by all humans.