Maternal perceptual style and mother-infant play behavior

Normal mothers' perceptions of an older child at play were used to assess maternal perceptual biases. Mothers then engaged in play encounters with their 15-month-old infants. Perceptual biases were related to infant and mother play behaviors. For example, positive perceptions were related to positive play and interpersonal behaviors, including mutual play and exchange games. The data suggest support for the hypothesis that maternal perceptions of child behavior may affect maternal behavior and thereby influence mother-child interactions.     

Sexual decision making in young black adolescent females

Participant observation and a questionnaire guide were used to conduct in-depth interviews with five 14-year-old, black, pregnant or recently delivered girls to obtain a broad and detailed view of perceptions and interpretations of the factors that led to the initiation of sexual activity and the decision to maintain the pregnancy that resulted. Four key and several supporting factors that influenced the girls' sexual decisions emerged from the data. The key factors centered around the girls' attempt to establish a relationship based on trust, a belief in their lack of vulnerability to become pregnant, family structure, and their beliefs about the alternatives available once a pregnancy was confirmed. Some of the findings were consistent with those reported in the literature, while others were not. Further research is needed on the father of the infant as well as the mother of the adolescent girl to assess their perceptions of the factors they believe influence teenagers' sexual decisions.     

New Bergsons

John Mullarkey. Bergson and Philosophy (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1999), 206 pp. ISBN 0 7486 0957 1 (paperback), US$20; Keith Ansell Pearson, Philosophy and the Adventure of the Virtual : Bergson and the Time of Life (London: Routledge, 2002), 246 pp. ISBN 0 415 23727 0 (cloth), US$90, 0 415 23728 9 (paperback), US$27.95; Leonard Lawlor, The Challenge of Bergson: Phenomenology, Ontology, Ethics (New York: Continuum, 2003), 153 pp. ISBN 0 8264 6802 0 (cloth), US$73.50, 0 8264 6803 9 (paperback), US$24.95; John Mullarkey, ed., The New Bergson [Angelaki Humanities] (New York: Manchester University Press, 1999), 235 pp. ISBN 0 7190 5380 3 (cloth), US$69.95; 0 7190 5553 9 (paperback), US$29.95; John Mullarkey and Keith Ansell Pearson, eds., Bergson: Key Writings [Athlone Contemporary European Thinkers], trans. Melissa McMahon (New York: Continuum, 2002), 402 pp. ISBN 0 8264 5728 2 (cloth), US$99.95, 0 8264 5729 0 (paperback), US$33.95.     

Perception,Memory, and Duration: The Binding Problem and the Synthesis of the Past

Theories of perception and of memory are closely allied. The binding problem (which considers how bits of perception are reassembled by the brain) leads to neurophysiological subjectivism. This could be outflanked by arguing with Bergson that perceiving consciousness is out in the world. Thus the brain would bind only behavioral “maps.” In turn, consciousness would retain our personal pasts. Such personal (episodic) memories both help us to recognize present objects and to perform creative acts. Memory, although retentive, is also creative. This is important in rethinking biological and evolutionary memory.     

Disillusionment and Change: A Cognitive-Emotional Theory of Gang Exit

Exit from street gangs has received increased attention in recent years; however, a number of important questions regarding the process of leaving remain unanswered. Relying on identity theory, we present a cognitive-emotional theory of gang exit that emphasizes functional dimensions of anger in terms of motivating individuals to pursue identity change related to gang membership. Specifically, anger provides gang members with an opportunity to identify the gang as a major source of their problems. According to identity theory, anger is generated when there is an inability to meet an identity standard. This article argues that an inability to meet identity goals produces disillusionment and anger, which reduces the relative importance of the gang identity and facilitates exit from gangs.     

Assessment of the Construct Validity of the EQ-5D in Patients with Acute Cough/Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

Although EQ-5D has been used in the context of acute cough/lower respiratory tract infections (acute cough/LRTI), it has not been formally validated in this disease area. The primary aim of this study is to assess the construct validity of EQ-5D as a measure for economic evaluation in the context of acute cough/lower respiratory tract infections. Data were collected alongside an observational study of the management of patients with acute cough/LRTI in thirteen European countries. However, the analysis was limited to 349 patients from the UK. Hypotheses were specified a priori and tested in order to establish the construct validity of EQ-5D. Statistical methods used to test the a priori hypotheses included Wilcoxon signed rank sum test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square test and regression analysis. Most of the relationships that were tested were in line with the a priori hypotheses. The main results indicate that there was a negative relationship between symptom severity scores and EQ-5D, smoking was associated with worse EQ-5D scores and EQ-5D was able to discriminate between patients with headache, interference with normal activities and disturbed sleep. This study also showed that the EQ-5D is moderately responsive in patients with acute cough/LRTI, and is a suitable measure for use in economic evaluation studies of acute cough/LRTI     

Supervenience and neuroscience

The philosophical technical term “supervenience” is frequently used in the philosophy of mind as a concise way of characterizing the core idea of physicalism in a manner that is neutral with respect to debates between reductive physicalists and nonreductive physicalists. I argue against this alleged neutrality and side with reductive physicalists. I am especially interested here in debates between psychoneural reductionists and nonreductive functionalist physicalists. Central to my arguments will be considerations concerning how best to articulate the spirit of the idea of supervenience. I argue for a version of supervenience, “fine-grained supervenience,” which is the claim that if, at a given time, a single entity instantiates two distinct mental properties, it must do so in virtue of instantiating two distinct physical properties. I argue further that despite initial appearances to the contrary, such a construal of supervenience can be embraced only by reductive physicalists.