Beyond Similarities: Cross-Gender and Cross-Orientation Best Friendship in a Sample of Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Young Adults

The research investigates differences between heterosexual (n?=?714) and lesbian and gay men (n?=?386) young adults regarding best friendship patterns, well-being, and social anxiety. Based on data from a paper-pencil survey of 1,100 Italian young adults aged 18 to 26, this study underlines the importance of the best friend in young adults’ psychological adjustment, highlighting patterns of friendship in heterosexual and lesbian and gay men young adults. Overall, the majority of participants declared that they had best friends; in the total sample, significant differences were found between women and men, and between lesbian/gay men participants and heterosexual young adults. Lesbian and gay men participants reported more cross-gender best friendships than heterosexual participants did, as well as more cross-orientation best friendships. Gender differences were found only with regards to cross-gender friendships: gay men reported more cross-gender friendships than lesbians did, while heterosexual females reported a higher percentage of cross-gender best friendship than heterosexual males did. MANOVA analysis, only in the gay and lesbian sample, showed the effect of gender, cross-gender, and cross-orientation on well-being and social anxiety. For the well-being dimension, gay men participants with female best friends reported higher scores. In terms of social anxiety, lesbian and gay young adults with cross-gender and cross-orientation best friends reported lower levels of social anxiety.     

Superstitious behavior in sport: A literature review

The objective of this first literature review, in this area, is to unveil the current status of knowledge on superstition in sport. Its outcome reveals that superstitious behaviors vary with the type of sport, athletic level, as well as athletic role. In agreement with past theories, they increase with the level of challenge, as reflected by the importance of the competition, as well as with the level of uncertainty. Cultural factors, in conjunction with the education level, as well as gender, have a strong influence on superstitious behaviors in sports. Based on current thoughts, religiosity and superstition are different psychological constructs used as psychological aids by several athletes. Personality factors appear to mediate the manifestation of the behavior. Elite athletes are clearly more superstitious than non‐elite athletes, An interaction between athletic skill and task‐difficulty emerges to be another strong predictor of superstition in sport. It is evident that a set of complex personal and situational factors interact in the manifestation of superstitious behavior in sport that is used for the regulation of emotions in a quest for optimal performance. It is concluded that the objective benefits (i.e., success) of superstition in sport may be ascribed to the placebo effect that yields an increased sense of control and mental reassurance in unpredictable contest situations.     

Free-ranging dogs assess the quantity of opponents in intergroup conflicts

In conflicts between social groups, the decision of competitors whether to attack/retreat should be based on the assessment of the quantity of individuals in their own and the opposing group. Experimental studies on numerical cognition in animals suggest that they may represent both large and small numbers as noisy mental magnitudes subject to scalar variability, and small numbers (≤4) also as discrete object-files. Consequently, discriminating between large quantities, but not between smaller ones, should become easier as the asymmetry between quantities increases. Here, we tested these hypotheses by recording naturally occurring conflicts in a population of free-ranging dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, living in a suburban environment. The overall probability of at least one pack member approaching opponents aggressively increased with a decreasing ratio of the number of rivals to that of companions. Moreover, the probability that more than half of the pack members withdrew from a conflict increased when this ratio increased. The skill of dogs in correctly assessing relative group size appeared to improve with increasing the asymmetry in size when at least one pack comprised more than four individuals, and appeared affected to a lesser extent by group size asymmetries when dogs had to compare only small numbers. These results provide the first indications that a representation of quantity based on noisy mental magnitudes may be involved in the assessment of opponents in intergroup conflicts and leave open the possibility that an additional, more precise mechanism may operate with small numbers.     

iMap: a novel method for statistical fixation mapping of eye movement data

Eye movement data analyses are commonly based on the probability of occurrence of saccades and fixations (and their characteristics) in given regions of interest (ROIs). In this article, we introduce an alternative method for computing statistical fixation maps of eye movements—iMap—based on an approach inspired by methods used in functional magnetic resonance imaging. Importantly, iMap does not require the a priori segmentation of the experimental images into ROIs. With iMap, fixation data are first smoothed by convolving Gaussian kernels to generate three-dimensional fixation maps. This procedure embodies eyetracker accuracy, but the Gaussian kernel can also be flexibly set to represent acuity or attentional constraints. In addition, the smoothed fixation data generated by iMap conform to the assumptions of the robust statistical random field theory (RFT) approach, which is applied thereafter to assess significant fixation spots and differences across the three-dimensional fixation maps. The RFT corrects for the multiple statistical comparisons generated by the numerous pixels constituting the digital images. To illustrate the processing steps of iMap, we provide sample analyses of real eye movement data from face, visual scene, and memory processing. The iMap MATLAB toolbox is editable and freely available for download online ().     

Normal body scheme and absent phantom limb experience in amputees while dreaming

While dreaming amputees often experience a normal body image and the phantom limb may not be present. However, dreaming experiences in amputees have mainly been collected by questionnaires. We analysed the dream reports of amputated patients with phantom limb collected after awakening from REM sleep during overnight videopolysomnography (VPSG). Six amputated patients underwent overnight VPSG study. Patients were awakened during REM sleep and asked to report their dreams. Three patients were able to deliver an account of a dream. In all dreaming recalls, patients reported that the amputated limbs were intact and completely functional and they no longer experienced phantom limb sensations. Phantom limb experiences, that during wake result from a conflict between a pre-existing body scheme and the sensory information on the missing limb, were suppressed during sleep in our patients in favour of the image of an intact body accessed during dream.     

Combined recruitment of two fixation chains during cyclic movements of one arm

Voluntary adduction-abduction movements of one arm in the horizontal plane discharge a reaction torque which would rotate the trunk in the direction opposite to arm acceleration. Rotation is impeded by muscular fixation chains that exert forces counterbalancing the reaction torque. We examined how two different fixation chains cooperate in stabilising the trunk during the above movements. Standing subjects (n = 6), with shoulders ante-flexed, performed cyclic adductions-abductions of the right arm (1.5 Hz) while grasping a fixed handle with the left hand. In this set-up, reaction torque is contrasted by: (1) a leg fixation chain, exerting on the ground a torque around the vertical axis (Tz), recorded by a force platform; and (2) a left arm fixation chain, exerting on the handle a force in the medial-lateral direction (Fh), recorded by a load cell. Subjects performed 20 trials (15 cycles each). It was found that Tz and Fh underwent sinusoidal changes at the same frequency as arm movements and contributed in counteracting the reaction torque. The intensity of the handle grip, monitored by EMG activity in the left Flexor Digitorum Superficialis, was changed from trial to trial and kept constant during each trial. As grip strength increased, Fh amplitude increased linearly while amplitude of Tz linearly decreased. In conclusion, voluntarily strengthening the handle grip progressively deviates the postural actions from the legs to the left arm.     

Individual characteristics and response to Contingency Management treatment for cocaine addiction

Voucher-based contingency management (CM) research has demonstrated efficacy for treating cocaine addiction, but few studies have examined associations between individual baseline characteristics and response to CM treatments. The aim of this study, involving 50 cocaine outpatients receiving CM for cocaine addiction, was to assess the impact of baseline characteristics on abstinence outcomes after six months of treatment. Patients who were abstinent after six months of treatment accounted for 58% of the sample. Patients with higher scores on the Alcohol area of the EuropASI and patients that were non-abstinent during the first month of treatment were less likely to achieve abstinence. These outcome predictors have implications both for treatment research and for clinical practice. Patients who do not respond early to treatment may need a more intensive intervention, and concomitant problematic alcohol use should be detected and treated. The remaining baseline variables examined were not statistically significant predictors of abstinence. This finding is important for the generalizability of CM across the range of individual characteristics of treatment-seeking cocaine abusers.     

Local Jekyll and global Hyde: the dual identity of face identification

The main concern in face-processing research is to understand the processes underlying the identification of faces. In the study reported here, we addressed this issue by examining whether local or global information supports face identification. We developed a new methodology called "iHybrid." This technique combines two famous identities in a gaze-contingent paradigm, which simultaneously provides local, foveated information from one face and global, complementary information from a second face. Behavioral face-identification performance and eye-tracking data showed that the visual system identified faces on the basis of either local or global information depending on the location of the observer's first fixation. In some cases, a given observer even identified the same face using local information on one trial and global information on another trial. A validation in natural viewing conditions confirmed our findings. These results clearly demonstrate that face identification is not rooted in a single, or even preferred, information-gathering strategy.     

Adjective checklist to assess the big five personality factors in the Argentine population

The aim of this work was to develop an adjective checklist to assess the Big Five personality factors in the Argentine population. The new instrument was administered to pilot (n= 112), validation (n= 372), and replication (n= 309) samples. The final version of the checklist included 67 adjectives encompassing its 5 dimensions. Factor analysis results were consistent with the Five-factor model. Internal consistency of scales was very good and convergent correlations with the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) were substantial. Face validity, as evaluated by 2 independent raters, was good. Preliminary evidence of validity for the checklist is presented. Finally, the Adjective Checklist for Personality Assessment and BFI are compared, taking into consideration their psychometric properties in our cultural context. Study limitations and future research are discussed.     

Social skills in women with Turner Syndrome

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a group of women with Turner Syndrome (TS) in interpersonal situations where several social skills were required, and to compare the results with unaffected sisters. Fifty-two TS females aged 15-35 years and 33 sisters aged 16-43 were evaluated using Del-Prette Social Skills Inventory (SSI) and individual interviews. Thirty mothers to subjects and sisters answered questionnaires. It was found that TS girls' performance in SSI was as good as their sisters' and even better in meeting new people and facing unknown situations (p = 0.020). Older TS women scored better than younger ones, differently from their sisters. There were no significant correlations between total score of TS women and their age at diagnosis, time of follow-up and height z-score. Mothers reported having more problems with TS girls than with sisters. Although TS girls demonstrated having social difficulties, just a few of them spontaneously complained about interpersonal problems in the interview. Results suggest that social difficulties may not cause TS girls major problems nor make them unhappy with their social lives, and/or TS girls may not be able to perceive their own difficulties. Good performance in SSI also suggests that TS girls can identify adequate skills in presented situations and answer in a way to obtain good scores, but they may not necessarily use their skills due to other factors like anxiety and shyness. They may also have a tendency to answer SSI in a way they consider socially desirable, masking their real difficulties.