The primacy of thinking about possibilities in the development of reasoning

One of the main tenets of the mental model theory is that when individuals reason, they think about possibilities. According to this theory, reasoning on what is possible from the truth of a sentence would be psychologically basic, whereas reasoning the other way round, on the truth or falsity of a sentence from a given state of affairs, would require some meta-ability. The present study tested the developmental corollary of this theory, which is that reasoning about possibilities should develop first, whereas the development of reasoning about truth-value should be delayed. For this purpose, 3rd, 6th, and 9th graders as well as adults were presented with tasks requiring them to evaluate either the possibilities compatible with conditional sentences or the truth-value of these sentences from these same possibilities. The results revealed 2 phenomena. First, the same developmental trend was observed in both tasks with 3 successive interpretational levels: conjunctive, biconditional, and then conditional. Second, there was a developmental lag between the 2 forms of reasoning--with developmental transitions from one level to the next occurring about 3 years later when reasoning about truth-value. The implications of these results for theories of cognitive development and of reasoning are discussed.     

Developmental differences in working memory: Where do they come from?

Several models assume that working memory development depends on age-related increases in efficiency and speed of processing. However, age-related increases in the efficiency of the mechanisms that counteract forgetting and restore memory traces may also be important. This hypothesis was tested in three experiments by manipulating both the processing duration within a working memory task and the time available to restore memory traces. Third- and sixth-grade children performed a complex span task in which they maintained series of letters while adding numbers to series of digits. When we equated processing and restoration times between ages, the developmental difference in working memory span was reduced but remained significant. However, this residual difference was eliminated when the time available to reactivate memory traces was tailored to the processing speed of each age group. This indicates that children employ active mechanisms for maintenance and restoration of memory traces that develop with age.     

Human newborns match tongue protrusion of disembodied human and robotic mouths

No evidence had been provided so far of newborns’ capacity to give a matching response to 2D stimuli. We report evidence from 18 newborns who were presented with three types of stimuli on a 2D screen. The stimuli were video-recorded displays of tongue protrusion shown by: (a) a human face, (b) a human tongue from a disembodied mouth, and (c) an artificial tongue from a robotic mouth. Compared to a baseline condition, neonates increased significantly their tongue protrusion when seeing disembodied human and artificial tongue movements, but not when seeing a 2D full-face protruding tongue. This result was interpreted as revealing the exploration of top-heavy patterns of the 2D face that distracted infants’ attention from the tongue. Results also showed progressively more accurate matching (full tongue protrusion) throughout repeated exposure to each kind of stimulus. Such findings are not in line with the predictions of the innate releasing mechanism (IRM) model or of the oral exploration hypothesis. They support the active intermodal mapping (AIM) hypothesis that emphasizes not only the importance of repeated experience, as would the associative sequence learning (ASL) hypothesis, but also predicts a differential learning and progressive correction of the response adapted to each stimulus.     

Closed-loop bird–computer interactions: a new method to study the role of bird calls

In the field of songbird research, many studies have shown the role of male songs in territorial defense and courtship. Calling, another important acoustic communication signal, has received much less attention, however, because calls are assumed to contain less information about the emitter than songs do. Birdcall repertoire is diverse, and the role of calls has been found to be significant in the area of social interaction, for example, in pair, family, and group cohesion. However, standard methods for studying calls do not allow precise and systematic study of their role in communication. We propose herein a new method to study bird vocal interaction. A closed-loop computer system interacts with canaries, Serinus canaria, by (1) automatically classifying two basic types of canary vocalization, single versus repeated calls, as they are produced by the subject, and (2) responding with a preprogrammed call type recorded from another bird. This computerized animal–machine interaction requires no human interference. We show first that the birds do engage in sustained interactions with the system, by studying the rate of single and repeated calls for various programmed protocols. We then show that female canaries differentially use single and repeated calls. First, they produce significantly more single than repeated calls, and second, the rate of single calls is associated with the context in which they interact, whereas repeated calls are context independent. This experiment is the first illustration of how closed-loop bird–computer interaction can be used productively to study social relationships.     

Public self‐consciousness disposition effect on reactions to waiting in line

In this paper, we investigate how high public self‐conscious subjects may display specific reactions while waiting in line with strangers at a movie theatre. Results suggest that, when compared with low public subjects, high public self‐conscious subjects will have an attentional focus directed toward time, will attribute more control to service managers for the cause of the wait and will evaluate the service more negatively. Results concerning relationships between attribution of control, behavioural intentions and service evaluation support those of previous studies and are both directly and indirectly moderated by the public self‐consciousness disposition. This research opens the way to conducting future studies attempting to link other personality dispositions with consumer behaviour in the services domain. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Gender congruence and body satisfaction in nonbinary transgender people: A case control study

Abstract

Background: Binary transgender people access gender affirming medical interventions to alleviate gender incongruence and increase body satisfaction. Despite the increase in nonbinary transgender people, this population are less likely to access transgender health services compared to binary transgender people. No research has yet understood why by exploring levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction in nonbinary transgender people.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction in nonbinary transgender people to controls [binary transgender people and cisgender (nontrans) people].

Method: In total, 526 people from a community sample in the UK took part in the study (97 nonbinary, 91 binary, and 338 cisgender identifying people). Participants were asked to complete an online survey about gender congruence and body satisfaction.

Results: There were differences in gender congruence and body satisfaction between nonbinary and binary transgender people. On sex-specific parts of the body (i.e., chest, genitalia, and secondary sex characteristics), nonbinary transgender people reported significantly higher levels of gender and body satisfaction compared to binary transgender people. However, there was no difference in congruence and satisfaction with social gender role between the two transgender groups (nonbinary and binary). Cisgender people reported significantly higher levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction compared to transgender people (nonbinary and binary).

Conclusions: There are differences in gender congruence and body satisfaction between nonbinary and binary transgender people. Nonbinary individuals may be less likely to access transgender health services due to experiencing less gender incongruence and more body satisfaction compared to binary transgender people. Transgender health services need to be more inclusive of nonbinary transgender people and their support and treatment needs, which may differ from those who identify within the binary gender system.