Discussion of “Vitalizing Enactment”

In this discussion of Amy Schwartz Cooney’s paper I heartily endorse her use of the ideas of Anne Alvarez, particularly as regards the vitalizing dimension of our clinical work with adults. I link these ideas with the current sea change in psychoanalysis about the need for theories addressing the ground level of contact making. I question the continued reliance on the concept of enactment and propose instead the establishment of a new language for working at this level, drawing on the writings of field theorists, infant–parent research, and child analytic work in the hope of discovering the medium that best captures the imagination and embodied and vital sensibility of our patients. I end by picking up on Cooney’s reference to necrotic zones and their relationship to “death equivalents” and what we may consider the life/death continuum.     

Does a Woman’s Marital Surname Choice Influence Perceptions of Her Husband? An Analysis Focusing on Gender-Typed Traits and Relationship Power Dynamics

Within Western cultures, most women in heterosexual relationships adopt their husbands’ surnames after marriage. In attempting to explain the enduring nature of this practice, researchers have noted that women tend to encounter stereotypes when they break with tradition by retaining their own surnames after marriage. A complementary possibility is that stereotypes are also directed toward men whose wives violate the surname tradition. The current research provides initial insight into this possibility through three studies that were conducted in the United States and United Kingdom with undergraduate and community samples (total N = 355; 254 women and 101 men). Study 1 revealed that participants predominantly referenced expressive traits when describing a man whose wife retained her surname. Study 2 built on these findings with an experimental design. Relative to a man whose wife adhered to the surname tradition, a man whose wife retained her surname was rated as less instrumental, more expressive, and as holding less power in the relationship. In Study 3, participants high in hostile sexism were particularly likely to rate a man as lower in power when his wife retained her surname. Collectively, findings provide insight into attitudes that may help to explain the longevity of the marital surname tradition. Findings also join with prior research in revealing links between commonplace marriage traditions and gendered power dynamics.     

Does stress run through the leash? An examination of stress transmission between owners and dogs during a walk

Animal Cognition - Humans and dogs have co-evolved for over 10,000 years. Recent research suggests that, through the domestication process, dogs have become proficient at responding to...     

Does Motivation Affect Emerging Adults’ Intelligence and Complex Postformal Problem Solving?

It has been suggested by some past research that there is a relationship between postformal thought and intelligence. Also, prior research suggests that motivated individuals tend to perform better on measured tasks, such as taking tests. The two distinct studies reported here first test the hypothesis that, supposing that IQ and postformal thought tap into some similar cognitive operations, individuals would use some similar patterns of responses in showing both intelligence and reported postformal operations. The participants in this research were two separate samples of 41 emerging adult undergraduate students from Towson University who chose to sign up through the research pool website. In the first study materials consisted of a consent form, demographic questionnaire, a use of postformal thought survey, and the WASI abbreviated test. In the second study a pretest and posttest reported motivation survey were added. In the first study no significant relations were found between the reported use of postformal thought and the WASI IQ scores. In the second study there was a significant correlation between motivation and intelligence and between motivation and an individual’s reported level of postformal thought. However, there was no significant relationship found between postformal thought and intelligence, even with motivation controlled. Further studies of the cognitive mechanisms underlying IQ and postformal complex problem solving may help determine the cognitive skills needed to differentially succeed at each of these skills.     

The over‐pruning hypothesis of autism

This article outlines the over‐pruning hypothesis of autism. The hypothesis originates in a neurocomputational model of the regressive sub‐type (Thomas, Knowland & Karmiloff‐Smith, 2011a, 2011b). Here we develop a more general version of the over‐pruning hypothesis to address heterogeneity in the timing of manifestation of ASD, including new computer simulations which reconcile the different observed developmental trajectories (early onset, late onset, regression) via a single underlying atypical mechanism; and which show how unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD may differ from controls either by inheriting a milder version of the pathological mechanism or by co‐inheriting the risk factors without the pathological mechanism. The proposed atypical mechanism involves overly aggressive synaptic pruning in infancy and early childhood, an exaggeration of a normal phase of brain development. We show how the hypothesis generates novel predictions that differ from existing theories of ASD including that (1) the first few months of development in ASD will be indistinguishable from typical, and (2) the earliest atypicalities in ASD will be sensory and motor rather than social. Both predictions gain cautious support from emerging longitudinal studies of infants at‐risk of ASD. We review evidence consistent with the over‐pruning hypothesis, its relation to other current theories (including C. Frith's under‐pruning proposal; C. Frith, 2003, 2004), as well as inconsistent data and current limitations. The hypothesis situates causal accounts of ASD within a framework of protective and risk factors (Newschaffer et al., 2012); clarifies different versions of the broader autism phenotype (i.e. the implication of observed similarities between individuals with autism and their family members); and integrates data from multiple disciplines, including behavioural studies, neuroscience studies, genetics, and intervention studies.     

‘The Queen Mother and I’: assimilation,contrast, and attitudes toward social groups

We examined whether social group attitudes are subject to context effects. It was hypothesised that manipulating the context in which a group exemplar was rendered accessible would produce different effects when subjects were subsequently asked to evaluate the exemplar's group. In our study, all subjects first expressed their opinion about the (popular) Queen Mother before indicating their attitude toward the British Royal Family. In the ‘non‐redundant’ condition, the two questions were structured such that the Queen Mother was expected to be included in individuals' representation of the Royal Family, leading to a high correlation between the two judgements and a favourable evaluation of the group. Conversely, in the ‘redundant’ condition, the questions were structured such that the Queen Mother was expected to be excluded from individuals' representation of the Royal Family, leading to a lower correlation between the judgements and a less favourable evaluation of the group. The results supported the hypothesis, and are consistent with the Schwarz and Bless (1992a,b) inclusion/exclusion model of assimilation and contrast. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

Animal Cognition - Self-control underlies cognitive abilities such as decision making and future planning. Delay of gratification is a measure of self-control and involves obtaining a more valuable...     

Investigations of operant ABA renewal during differential reinforcement

Operant renewal is a form of relapse in which a previously extinguished response recurs due to a change in context. We designed two experiments to examine the impact of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior on ABA renewal in a translational model of relapse with 12 children. We compared levels of renewal in two 3-phase arrangements. In one arrangement, we reinforced target responding in Context A, extinguished responding in Context B, and returned to Context A while continuing to implement extinction. In a second arrangement, an alternative response produced reinforcement in Context B and during the return to Context A. Results across the 2 experiments indicated 3 general findings. First, extinction plus differential reinforcement disrupted target behavior more consistently in Context B relative to extinction alone. Second, renewal tended to be greater and more persistent during extinction alone relative to extinction plus differential reinforcement. Third, the renewal effect appeared to depend on whether the alternative response had a history of extinction in Context A. We discuss methodological implications for the treatment of severe destructive behavior.