Visual temporal processing in dyslexia and the magnocellular deficit theory: the need for speed?

A controversial question in reading research is whether dyslexia is associated with impairments in the magnocellular system and, if so, how these low-level visual impairments might affect reading acquisition. This study used a novel chromatic flicker perception task to specifically explore temporal aspects of magnocellular functioning in 40 children with dyslexia and 42 age-matched controls (aged 7-11). The relationship between magnocellular temporal resolution and higher-level aspects of visual temporal processing including inspection time, single and dual-target (attentional blink) RSVP performance, go/no-go reaction time, and rapid naming was also assessed. The Dyslexia group exhibited significant deficits in magnocellular temporal resolution compared with controls, but the two groups did not differ in parvocellular temporal resolution. Despite the significant group differences, associations between magnocellular temporal resolution and reading ability were relatively weak, and links between low-level temporal resolution and reading ability did not appear specific to the magnocellular system. Factor analyses revealed that a collective Perceptual Speed factor, involving both low-level and higher-level visual temporal processing measures, accounted for unique variance in reading ability independently of phonological processing, rapid naming, and general ability.     

The influence of attachment and temperament on venipuncture distress in 14-month-old infants: the Generation R Study

Objective

This study examined the effects of attachment and temperament on infant distress during venipuncture.

Method

The study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a prospective population-based study. Two different research procedures (i.e., blood sampling and the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure) yielded measures of venipuncture distress and attachment security and disorganization in 246 infants aged 14 months. Four temperament traits (distress to limitations, fear, recovery from distress, and sadness) were assessed using the maternally reported Infant Behavior Questionnaire - Revised, at the age of 6 months.

Results

There were no differences between mean levels of distress during venipuncture in infants classified as having insecure attachment, but there was a trend for disorganized attachment. The temperament traits were not related to distress. However, children with a disorganized attachment and higher temperamental fear had more venipuncture distress.

Conclusion

When different risk factors are present simultaneously, infant distress is heightened.     

Touching my left elbow: the anatomical structure of the body affects the illusion of self-touch

A self-touch paradigm is used to create the illusion that one is touching one's own left elbow when one is actually touching the examiner's arm. Our new self-touch illusion is sensitive to the anatomical structure of the body: you can touch your left elbow with your right index finger but not with your left index finger. Illusion onset was faster and illusion ratings were higher when participants administered touch using the plausible right index finger compared with the implausible left index finger.     

Prejudice,polyculturalism, and the influence of contact and moral exclusion: A comparison of responses toward LGBI,TI, and refugee groups

Prejudice toward marginalized groups is recognized as a complex and harmful social issue. The present study investigates the role of polyculturalism in undermining prejudice toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people and refugees. A pilot study (N = 76) compared participants' prejudice, contact, and moral exclusion toward lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) and transgender or intersex (TI) people. There were differences for three out of four variables; thus, LGB and TI variables were separated in the study proper (N = 154). In this study, we investigated moral exclusion and contact (quantity and quality) relating to LGB, TI, and refugee groups as simultaneous mediators of the relationship between polyculturalism and prejudice, while taking into account openness as per previous research. Structural equation modeling indicated that moral exclusion and contact quality acted as mediators between polyculturalism and prejudice for LGB people, TI people, and refugees.     

Rage and hatred in infants: conditions which facilitate development versus those which result in tragic delays or alarming distortions

The paper traces some possible trajectories of aggressive behaviour in children and adolescents. It distinguishes three contributing factors: 1. Disturbance or Disorder; 2. Deficit and Neglect; and 3. Deviance. Therapeutic technique may need adjusting depending on which factor is dominant at any moment. Two dimensions which seem to run through these categories are first, the question of which type of violence is occurring - that is, the motivation and emotion which accompany the violence; the second question is whose violence: that is, when we study the inner world of aggressive children we discover vast differences in the relationships between the self and the internal objects or representational figures of other people. These two questions will be raised whenever we try to treat these children or adolescents.     

The impact of counsellor training on emotional intelligence

This study evaluated the impact of counsellor training on emotional intelligence (EI) in 45 undergraduates and 58 postgraduates. Significant improvements were recorded by students on completion of both programmes, suggesting that these were attributable to training which enhanced intra- and interpersonal aspects of emotional functioning. As a group, postgraduates were older than undergraduates, and at the outset of the study, EISAQ scores were comparable; however, at follow-up, undergraduates recorded significantly higher EISAQ scores. Students’ EI was not significantly related to their age, and these findings indicate the potential for effective EI-skills training which is unrelated to quantity of life experiences. It is hoped that this study contributes to a growing quantitative evidence base from which the counselling profession can evaluate its training profile.     

STABILIZING ALETHIC PLURALISM

Alethic pluralism is the view that the nature of truth is not uniform across domains. There are several ways of being true (T₁ ... T_n). A simple argument, the 'instability challenge', purports to show that this view is inherently unstable. One can simply say that something is uniformly true if and only if it is T₁ or ... or T_n. Being uniformly true is a single truth property that applies across the board, and so the nature of truth is uniform across domains, contra pluralism. I defend pluralism against the instability challenge. I show that the challenge bifurcates: one challenge is formulated in terms of predicates, and the other is formulated in terms of properties. The pluralist has the resources to defuse both of these. The sparse/abundant property distinction and considerations of explanatory asymmetry play a crucial role in my argument.     

Planning for the near and distant future: How does temporal distance affect task completion predictions?

In everyday life people estimate completion times for projects in the near and distant future. How might the temporal proximity of a project influence prediction? Given that closer events elicit more concrete construals, we proposed that temporal proximity could enhance two kinds of concrete cognitions pertinent to task completion predictions: step-by-step plans and potential obstacles. Although these cognitions have opposite implications for prediction, and thus could cancel each other out, we hypothesized that temporal proximity would have a greater impact on cognitions that were relatively focal. Thus contextual factors that alter the relative focus on plans vs. obstacles should determine whether and how temporal proximity affects prediction. Six studies supported this reasoning. In contexts that elicited a focus on planning, individuals predicted earlier completion times for close than distant projects. In contexts that prompted a focus on obstacles, individuals predicted later completion times for close than distant projects.     

Social Buffering by God: Prayer and Measures of Stress

Social buffering is characterized by attenuation of stress in the presence of others, with supportive individuals providing superior buffering. We were interested in learning if the implied presence of a supportive entity, God, would reduce acute stress. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: prayer, encouraging self-talk, and control. They were subsequently placed in a stressful situation. Self ratings of stress were lower among the prayer and self-talk conditions relative to controls. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures only among those who prayed were lower than controls; however, prayer and self-talk did not differ. Prayer alone did not significantly reduce stress, perhaps because the majority of students in the prayer condition did not consider reading a prayer to constitute praying.