Anticipation from biological motion: the goalkeeper problem

People can often anticipate the outcome of another person's actions based on visual information available in the movements of the other person's body. We investigated this problem by studying how goalkeepers anticipate the direction of a penalty kick in soccer. The specific aim was to determine whether the information used to anticipate kick direction is best characterized as local to a particular body segment or distributed across multiple segments. In Experiment 1, we recorded the movements of soccer players as they kicked balls into a net. Using a novel method for analyzing motion capture data, we identified sources of local and distributed information that were reliable indicators of kick direction. In Experiments 2 and 3, subjects were presented with animations of kickers' movements prior to foot-to-ball contact and instructed to judge kick direction. Judgments were consistent with the use of distributed information, with a possible small contribution of local information.     

The six most essential questions in psychiatric diagnosis: a pluralogue part 3: issues of utility and alternative approaches in psychiatric diagnosis

In face of the multiple controversies surrounding the DSM process in general and the development of DSM-5 in particular, we have organized a discussion around what we consider six essential questions in further work on the DSM. The six questions involve: 1) the nature of a mental disorder; 2) the definition of mental disorder; 3) the issue of whether, in the current state of psychiatric science, DSM-5 should assume a cautious, conservative posture or an assertive, transformative posture; 4) the role of pragmatic considerations in the construction of DSM-5; 5) the issue of utility of the DSM ?C whether DSM-III and IV have been designed more for clinicians or researchers, and how this conflict should be dealt with in the new manual; and 6) the possibility and advisability, given all the problems with DSM-III and IV, of designing a different diagnostic system. Part 1 of this article took up the first two questions. Part 2 took up the second two questions. Part 3 now deals with Questions 5 & 6. Question 5 confronts the issue of utility, whether the manual design of DSM-III and IV favors clinicians or researchers, and what that means for DSM-5. Our final question, Question 6, takes up a concluding issue, whether the acknowledged problems with the earlier DSMs warrants a significant overhaul of DSM-5 and future manuals. As in Parts 1 & 2 of this article, the general introduction, as well as the introductions and conclusions for the specific questions, are written by James Phillips, and the responses to commentaries are written by Allen Frances.     

Prospective memory reminders: a laboratory investigation of initiation source and age effects

Prior research indicates that, in some circumstances, reminders may facilitate prospective remembering. However, it remains unclear whether this effect is dependent on the initiation source (self vs. external), whether it is moderated by task type (event vs. time based), or whether the provision of standardized reminders particularly benefits older adults. In the current study, young (n?=?48) and older adults (n?=?47) were tested on a laboratory-based prospective memory task in which they encountered three counterbalanced reminder conditions: no reminders, self-initiated reminders, and experimenter-initiated reminders. The results indicated that while the provision of reminders enhanced prospective memory performance, no difference was seen between self-initiated and experimenter-initiated reminder conditions, nor was there any interaction with age or prospective memory type (event vs. time based). These data support the role of both self- and externally generated external reminders as an aid to prospective remembering. However, the absence of any interaction with age is not consistent with theoretical models of ageing that consider the provision of such reminders to reduce strategic demands (or increase automatic processing).     

The next generation of psychological autopsy studies: part 2. Interview procedures

The psychological autopsy (PA) is a systematic method of assessing the psychological and contextual circumstances preceding suicide. The method requires interviews with one or more proxy respondents (i.e., informants) of suicide decedents. Procedural challenges that need to be addressed to conduct PA interviews are described in this article and recommendations for meeting these challenges in future PA investigations are made. Procedures addressed include determining the timing of PA interviews after suicide, designing the structure and flow of interviews, selection of proxy respondents, integrating interview data with information gathered from records, and selecting and training interviewers. This methodological article is the second in a two-part series-the first article focused on interview content.     

Mutual Humanization: A Visual Exploration of Relationships in Medical Care

In this article, I explore the work of the artist Robert Pope (b.1957- d.1992) who published a series of paintings and drawings which documented his decade-long experience with Hodgkin's lymphoma. More widely, Pope was interested in 'the culture' of cancer within hospitals and the relationships embedded in experiences of illness and care. Pope published a book that contains much of this work--Illness and Healing: Images of Cancer (1991). Many of the original artworks have been toured throughout Canada and the United Kingdom at cancer centres and medical schools. Using a visual methodology, I present three of Pope's images to examine and understand the experiences of patients within acute care settings. I conclude that Pope's work can be efficacious in exploring relationships in acute care settings.     

Psychosocial Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Extreme Obesity

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial differences among obese pediatric patients, particularly those who are "extremely obese" as compared to "obese." Information was collected for 249 subjects at a multidisciplinary treatment clinic for obese youth. A battery of measures was administered and demographic data and height/weight was obtained. The results showed positive correlations between degree of obesity, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life. Specifically, the "extremely obese" were significantly more depressed, more socially anxious, and had poorer quality of life than the "obese" group. Girls and Caucasians were more socially anxious than boys and African Americans, respectively. There is mounting evidence that children and adolescents who are extremely obese are most at risk for psychiatric and medical disorders. Thus, targeting this group for assessment and/or designing treatment options specific for "extremely obese" youth is critical for the successful management of this population.     

The Frequency of Suicides around Major Public Holidays: Some Surprising Findings

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the recorded number of U.S. daily suicides, 1972–1976. The paper shows that: there is a dip in suicides on and just before major public holidays; there is a peak in suicides just after these holidays; and, the dip in suicides is somewhat larger than the peak—hence, there is a net decrease in suicides around the holidays. On balance, the holidays appear to reduce the number of suicides, not increase them, as was previously believed. In addition, previous research has focussed on the negative psychological impact of holidays. Our findings indicate that holidays have a positive component, which should be taken into account in future research.