Spatial reasoning in Tenejapan Mayans

Language communities differ in their stock of reference frames (coordinate systems for specifying locations and directions). English typically uses egocentrically-defined axes (e.g., “left–right”), especially when describing small-scale relationships. Other languages such as Tseltal Mayan prefer to use geocentrically-defined axes (e.g., “north–south”) and do not use any type of projective body-defined axes. It has been argued that the availability of specific frames of reference in language determines the availability or salience of the corresponding spatial concepts. In four experiments, we explored this hypothesis by testing Tseltal speakers’ spatial reasoning skills. Whereas most prior tasks in this domain were open-ended (allowing several correct solutions), the present tasks required a unique solution that favored adopting a frame-of-reference that was either congruent or incongruent with what is habitually lexicalized in the participants’ language. In these tasks, Tseltal speakers easily solved the language-incongruent problems, and performance was generally more robust for these than for the language-congruent problems that favored geocentrically-defined coordinates. We suggest that listeners’ probabilistic inferences when instruction is open to more than one interpretation account for why there are greater cross-linguistic differences in the solutions to open-ended spatial problems than to less ambiguous ones.     

Substance Use and Health and Safety among Homeless Youth

This study examines how substance use is associated with the health and safety of homeless youth using cross-sectional, self-report data from 285 homeless adolescents. Path models were used to examine concurrent relationships between youth’s substance use and multiple aspects of their health and safety, including measures of psychological distress, housing risk and instability, and medical problems. Substance use was examined with both global (i.e., a composite of days of use across various drugs and alcohol) and specific (i.e., rates of use of specific drugs, injection drug use) measures. After controlling for demographic and historical variables, number of days of use was significantly related to psychological distress, whereas injection drug use was significantly related to housing risk. Examination of specific drugs revealed relationships between psychological distress and the use of alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines, and a specific relationship between housing risk and the use of heroin. None of the measures of substance use was significantly related to youth’s medical problems. Implications for interventions with homeless adolescents are discussed.     

Exogenous and endogenous attention orienting in autism spectrum disorders.

Fifteen children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 15 children with typical development completed an attentional cuing task using peripheral cues (exogenous orienting) and central cues (endogenous orienting). Results showed that participants with ASD had impaired exogenous and intact endogenous orienting. The pattern of exogenous orienting was related to motor functioning. Individuals with ASD who had poor motor functioning displayed slowed exogenous orienting. However, individuals with ASD who had relatively good motor functioning showed typical levels of exogenous orienting when given a short time but decreased orienting when given a longer amount of time. These results suggest attention impairments in ASD may not be specific to social orienting and instead may represent a more general orienting impairment.     

The relationship between adolescent depression and a history of sexual abuse

The purpose of this study was to examine the occurrence of depression among adolescents attending family planning clinics, and to determine the relationship among depression, a history of sexual abuse, and other risk behaviors. The sample consisted of 279 minority females. Results of the study indicated that 40 adolescents (14.3%) scored at or above a raw score of 77 for depression based on the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS). This suggests that these adolescents should be identified for further evaluation. Results of the Stepwise Linear Regression indicated that a history of sexual abuse was the most potent factor in predicting depression. These findings highlight the importance of screening concurrently for depression and a history of sexual abuse in family planning and other healthcare settings.     

The Effect of Disruptions During Counseling on Recall of Genetic Risk Information: The Case of Cystic Fibrosis

Genetic counseling is a communication process with two main functions: information provision and supportive counseling. The information transmission function may be compromised by disruptions that occur during counseling. At least two mediators are possible: (a) disruptions may interfere with memory by creating distractions and divided attention during encoding or (b) disruptions may degrade the flow of interaction which requires that participants engage in conversation repair rather than the task at hand. This study examined both alternatives in a group of parents (N=20 families, 40 individual parents) whose infant had received a newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF). Upon arrival at the hospital, each parent completed a questionnaire designed to assess his or her knowledge of CF. Their interaction with the genetic counselor was videotaped and coded for the presence of disruptions. Six weeks after the counseling, parents again completed the knowledge measure. The data showed a direct negative effect for disruptions during counseling on memory for CF-related risk information six weeks later. Disruptions also produced the anticipated effect on conversation, but counter to expectations, interruptions of conversation flow was positively associated with knowledge at time 2.     

Functional neuroimaging of autobiographical memory

Functional neuroimaging studies of autobiographical memory have grown dramatically in recent years. These studies are important because they can investigate the neural correlates of processes that are difficult to study using laboratory stimuli, including: (i) complex constructive processes, (ii) recollective qualities of emotion and vividness, and (iii) remote memory retrieval. Constructing autobiographical memories involves search, monitoring and self-referential processes that are associated with activity in separable prefrontal regions. The contributions of emotion and vividness have been linked to the amygdala and visual cortex respectively. Finally, there is evidence that recent and remote autobiographical memories might activate the hippocampus equally, which has implications for memory-consolidation theories. The rapid development of innovative methods for eliciting personal memories in the scanner provides the opportunity to delve into the functional neuroanatomy of our personal past.     

Ethnic Diversity and the Use of Humor in Counseling: Appropriate or Inappropriate?

Humor can reflect the healthy release of feelings during the counseling process, the type of emotional release that leads to significant therapeutic gains. It can also be a disturbing distraction, possibly causing early termination, if used inappropriately. Counselors need to exert particular caution before attempting to apply humor in working with a client from a culture different from the counselor's. This article explores the available literature and offers contributions on the subject from 4 “ethnically diverse” perspectives. Finally, a general approach based on existential theory is presented along with 5 general conditions to ascertain the appropriate use of humor.     

Public Discourse: Creating the Conditions for Dialogue Concerning the Common Good in a Postmodern Heterogeneous Democracy

This paper offers a philosophical `history' of the nature of`public discourse' – a basic element of human rights. It beginswith Enlightenment views from Condorcet and Jefferson, turns to Dewey,and then to Habermas. Over a couple of centuries not only does thecentral character of discourse change but so too does the definition ofa public person.