Perceptual comparisons with laterally presented pictures and environmental sounds

Two experiments studied perceptual comparisons with cues that vary in one of four ways (picture, sound, spoken word, or printed word) and with targets that are either pictures or environmental sounds. The basic question probed whether modality or differences in format were factors that would influence picture and sound perception. Also of interest were cue effect differences when targets are presented on either the right or left side. Students responded to a same-different reaction time task that entailed matching cue-target pairs to determine whether the successive stimulus events represented features drawn from the same basic item. Cue type influenced reaction times to pictures and environmental sounds, but the effects were qualified by response type and with picture targets by presentation side. These results provide some additional evidence of processing asymmetry when pictures are directed to either the right or left hemisphere, as well as for some asymmetries in cross-modality cuing. Implications of these findings for theories of multisensory processing and models of object recognition are discussed.     

Recollection is impaired by the modification of interpretation bias

The interpretation paradigm of cognitive-bias modification (CBM-I) was modified with instructions used in process-dissociation procedures for the purpose of investigating processes contributing to performance on the transfer task. In Experiment 1, nonanxious students were trained to interpret ambiguous situations in either a negative or benign way (or they read nonambiguous scenarios). They were then asked to respond to new ambiguous situations, in the same way as contextually similar analogues during training, or to respond differently. Benign training proactively impaired memory for negative outcomes. This effect was replicated by anxious students in Experiment 2 and discussed with respect to the assumptions underlying process-dissociation procedures and directions for future research.     

The role of animacy in European Portuguese relative clause attachment: evidence from production and comprehension tasks

This work presents an analysis of the role of animacy in attachment preferences of relative clauses to complex noun phrases in European Portuguese (EP). The study of how the human parser solves this kind of syntactic ambiguities has been focus of extensive research. However, what is known about EP is both limited and puzzling. Additionally, as recent studies have stressed the importance of extra-syntactic variables in this process, two experiments were carried out to assess EP attachment preferences considering four animacy conditions: Study 1 used a sentence-completion-task, and Study 2 a self-paced reading task. Both studies indicate a significant preference for high attachment in EP. Furthermore, they showed that this preference was modulated by the animacy of the host NP: if the first host was inanimate and the second one was animate, the parser's preference changed to low attachment preference. These findings shed light on previous results regarding EP and strengthen the idea that, even in early stages of processing, the parser seems to be sensitive to extra-syntactic information.     

Influence of the sex and gender in the sexual behavior of adolescents

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relation between gender and sex with the sexual behavior of adolescents. The sample comprised 815 teenagers (M=15.65, Sd.=1.42). The assessment instruments were the BEM Sex Role Inventory, the Sexual Opinion Survey, the Questionnaire of Risk Perception of Bayés and a questionnaire designed for the study. The results revealed that the majority of adolescents do not match the traditional gender stereotypes, defining themselves as adrogynes (34.4%). The teenagers who are defined as adrogynes or masculine carry out more sexual behaviors, and who display more erotophilia. The need to include the variable "gender" as a category of analysis in research on sexual behavior is indicated.     

Sources of Parental Knowledge as Moderators of the Relation Between Parental Psychological Control and Relational and Physical/Verbal Aggression

Previous research demonstrates that aspects of parenting interact to influence child adjustment. We aimed to extend this research by examining parenting strategies associated with behavioral control, specifically sources of parental knowledge regarding child behavior (child disclosure, parental solicitation, parental control), as moderators of the relation between psychological control and relational and physical/verbal aggression. Our sample included 89 children (56% male), ages 9–12. Consistent with prior research on child adjustment, low child disclosure was the only source of parental knowledge associated with both relational and physical/verbal aggression. Moreover, parental solicitation moderated the association between psychological control and relational, but not physical, aggression. That is, at high levels of parental solicitation, psychological control and relational aggression were positively related, whereas at low levels of parental solicitation, psychological control and relational aggression were unrelated. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Death Anxiety and Symbolic Immortality in Relatives at Risk for Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy Type I (FAP I,ATTR V30M)

This study is an investigation of the impact of familial amyloid polyneuropathy type I (FAP I, ATTR V30M) on death anxiety and symbolic immortality. Templer and Drolet’s scales were administered to 524 individuals: (1) 84 relatives at risk, (2) 92 relatives not at risk for FAP I; and (3) a control group (n = 348) with no known hereditary disease in their families. At-risk relatives had, on average, a higher score for death anxiety and a lower score for symbolic immortality, than either those not-at-risk or controls. There were no significant differences in scores on either measure for those not-at-risk versus controls. Being at risk increases death anxiety and threatens the sense of symbolic immortality and psychosocial wellbeing. This may be true for other serious hereditary disorders as well. Genetic counsellors should become familiar with these concepts, feel comfortable initiating discussions about death with their patients, and be able to identify and reinforce their patients’ and family members’ sense of symbolic immortality.     

Effect of video self‐monitoring on procedural integrity

A video self‐monitoring treatment package was used to evaluate the procedural integrity of staff implementing behavioral guidelines for one child with autism. Staff members with low procedural integrity scores were asked to participate. The treatment package incorporated an implementation video which reviewed the relevant behavioral guidelines and a procedural integrity monitoring system. Each participant was taught to score a pre‐training video, which highlighted components of implementing behavioral guidelines, with a procedural integrity tool denoting correct implementation of the procedures. The participant then scored their own baseline video using a similar tool constructed to highlight the target student's behavior plan. Participant scores were compared to experimenter scores and verbal feedback was given by the experimenter if the scores varied. Results showed increased procedural integrity implementing the behavior guidelines from baseline to 100% implementation for two out of three participants. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interpretation training influences memory for prior interpretations

Anxiety is associated with memory biases when the initial interpretation of the event is taken into account. This experiment examined whether modification of interpretive bias retroactively affects memory for prior events and their initial interpretation. Before training, participants imagined themselves in emotionally ambiguous scenarios to which they provided endings that often revealed their interpretations. Then they were trained to resolve the ambiguity in other situations in a consistently positive (n = 37) or negative way (n = 38) before they tried to recall the initial scenarios and endings. Results indicated that memory for the endings was imbued with the emotional tone of the training, whereas memory for the scenarios was unaffected.     

Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment

We describe the development and evaluation of a computer-controlled system for delivering odors in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. The system allows a timely presentation of different odors in synchrony with MRI sequences and participant’s inspiration phase. The rise/fall time of odor deliverance has been optimized to generate prompt and strong stimulations. Equipped with a user-friendly programming interface, the system can be used reliably in a wide range of experimental paradigms. We have paid particular attention to developing a portable system that is relatively easy, rapid, and inexpensive to replicate. The equipment has been tested in a 3-Tesla MRI in a boxcar paradigm, in which stimulation conditions alternated with rest periods (no stimulation). The experiment demonstrated the good functioning of the device and its efficiency in producing the expected activation in the olfactory cortex; it also revealed some methodological and technical aspects to be improved.     

Spanish adaptation of the Adolescents' perceived collective family efficacy scale

The aim of current article was the adaptation and validation of the Adolescents' Perceived Collective Family Efficacy Scale (EFCP/A) in the Spanish context. The sample includes 486 adolescents. Psychometric properties of the EFCP/A were examined with exploratory factor analysis, item analysis and reliability. Construct validity was examined by means of correlations with parental relationships (PBI). The correlations with drug use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis) and coping strategies were also examined. Results supported the unidimensionality and reliability of the EFCP/A scale in the Spanish context. As hypothesised, adolescents' beliefs in collective family efficacy are highly correlated with the quality of their paternal and maternal relationships. Further, the adolescents who are convinced that their family is efficacious display more productive coping strategies and less drug use.