Timed picture naming: Extended norms and validation against previous studies

Factors affecting word retrieval were compared in a timed picture-naming paradigm for 520 drawings of objects. In prior timed and untimed studies by Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980) and Snodgrass and Yuditsky (1996), concerns were raised that participants could not reliably name large numbers of items in a single session. We show that reliable results are obtained in a single session for 520 items and validate our method against previous findings by Snodgrass and colleagues for overlapping items. For these items, comparable levels of name agreement and latency are obtained, and we replicate effects of length, frequency, both objective and subjective age of acquisition, and visual complexity on reaction time (RT) and name agreement measures. Name agreement is unaffected by order of presentation, although there is a gradual increase in RTs across the session, requiring use of multiple random orders. Current extensions of our method include cross-linguistic, bilingual, developmental, and neuropsychological studies and comparisons of action naming and object naming.     

Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/and /l/: Long-term retention of learning in perception and production

Previous work from our laboratories has shown that monolingual Japanese adults who were given intensive high-variability perceptual training improved in both perception and production of English /r/-/l/ minimal pairs. In this study, we extended those findings by investigating the long-term retention of learning in both perception and production of this difficult non-native contrast. Results showed that 3 months after completion of the perceptual training procedure, the Japanese trainees maintained their improved levels of performance on the perceptual identification task. Furthermore, perceptual evaluations by native American English listeners of the Japanese trainees’ pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up speech productions showed that the trainees retained their long-term improvements in the general quality, identifiability, and overall intelligibility of their English /r/-/l/ word productions. Taken together, the results provide further support for the efficacy of high-variability laboratory speech sound training procedures, and suggest an optimistic outlook for the application of such procedures for a wide range of “special populations.” nt]mis|This work was supported by NIDCD Training Grant DC-00012 and by NIDCD Research Grant DC-00111 to Indiana University.     

An examination of the effects of adult age on explicit and implicit learning of figural sequences

Memory for previously learned figural sequences and item-to-item covariations within figural sequences was examined under explicit and implicit instructional conditions in three age groups: young adults (17-23 years); middle-aged adults (35-45 years); and older adults (55-65 years). In Phase 1 of the experiment, the acquisition phase, half the subjects in each age group learned sequences of three to eight items in which the item-to-item changes conformed to an artificial grammar, and the other half of the subjects in each age group learned strings in which the item-to-item changes were nongrammatical. In Phase 2, the implicit/explicit test phase, subjects made forced-choice judgments about parts of the strings that they learned in Phase 1, under either explicit or implicit instructions. Analyses of Phase 2 data revealed that subjects in both instructional conditions used item-to-item covariations in making decisions about grammatical strings. However, use of previously learned covariations as well as the number of correct judgments about previously learned strings was greater in the explicit condition than in the implicit condition. An age-related deficit was found for explicit recognition of grammar-following sequences.     

Menstrual Knowledge and Taboo TV Commercials: Effects on Self-Objectification among Italian and Swedish Women

Despite menstruation being a physiological phenomenon in women’s life, social research has highlighted that there are still many taboos, also conveyed by advertising, which prevent an open discourse on the topic and can have negative impacts on women’s well-being. The present study examined the influence of the exposure to existing TV advertisements for sanitary napkins depicting menstruation as a taboo on self-objectification in women from Italy (n = 160) and Sweden (n = 159). To do so, we also investigated the moderating role of menstrual knowledge in this relationship. Our findings showed that in the Italian sample, exposure to the taboo TV commercial led to more self-objectification especially for participants with lower knowledge of menstruation. These effects did not occur for their Swedish counterparts, showing no differences in self-objectification when women were exposed to the taboo advertisement. The present results are discussed in light of cultural differences in sexual and menstrual education between the two countries. Theoretical and practical implications are drawn.     

Counselor Education Students’ Perceptions of Wellness and Mental Health in African American Men: The Effects of Colorism

Colorism is discrimination based on skin tone. Skin color influences clinicians’ diagnostic impressions. The degree to which colorism influences counseling students’ clinical decision making is unknown. This study examined colorism's effect on counselor education master's students’ (N = 154) clinical decisions. Analysis of covariance failed to produce statistically significant results when comparing students’ evaluations of a male African American's mental health and wellness, when controlling for presentation management, across 4 skin tones. Counselors should include colorism in diversity training. El colorismo es la discriminación basada en el tono de la piel. El tono de la piel influye en las impresiones diagnósticas de los profesionales clínicos. Se desconoce hasta qué punto el colorismo influye en las decisiones clínicas de los estudiantes de consejería. Este estudio examinó el efecto del colorismo en las decisiones clínicas de estudiantes de maestría en educación de consejeros (N = 154). El análisis de la covarianza no produjo resultados estadísticamente significativos al comparar las evaluaciones de los estudiantes sobre la salud mental y el bienestar de un cliente afroamericano varón, controlando la gestión de la presentación de 4 tonos de piel diferentes. Los consejeros deberían incluir el colorismo en la capacitación de diversidad.     

Genetic Counseling as a Tool for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention: A Genetic Counseling Framework for Common Polygenetic Disorders

Advances in genetic epidemiology have increased understanding of common, polygenic preventable diseases such as type 2 diabetes. As genetic risk testing based on this knowledge moves into clinical practice, we propose that genetic counselors will need to expand their roles and adapt traditional counseling techniques for this new patient set. In this paper, we present a genetic counseling intervention developed for a clinical trial [Genetic Counseling/Lifestyle Change for Diabetes Prevention, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01034319] designed to motivate behavioral changes for diabetes prevention. Seventy-two phenotypically high-risk participants received counseling that included their diabetes genetic risk score, general education about diabetes risk factors, and encouragement to participate in a diabetes prevention program. Using two validated genetic counseling scales, participants reported favorable perceived control and satisfaction with the counseling session. Our intervention represents one model for applying traditional genetic counseling principles to risk testing for polygenetic, preventable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.     

The ‘theory theory’ of mind and the aims of Sellars’ original myth of Jones

Recent proponents of the ??theory theory?? of mind often trace its roots back to Wilfrid Sellars?? famous ??myth of Jones?? in his 1956 article, ??Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind??. Sellars developed an account of the intersubjective basis of our knowledge of the inner mental states of both self and others, an account which included the claim that such knowledge is in some sense theoretical knowledge. This paper examines the nature of this claim in Sellars?? original account and its relationship to more recent debates concerning ??theory of mind??, in particular the theory theory. A close look reveals that Sellars?? original view embodied several distinctions that would enable more recent theory theorists to accommodate certain phenomenological objections that have been raised against that outlook. At the heart of the philosophical issue is an overlooked complexity involved in Sellars?? account of the ??theory/observation?? distinction, involving a conception of the distinction that is both independently plausible and a key to the issue in dispute.     

Exploring the role of primary and supplementary motor areas in simple motor tasks with fNIRS

Studies employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have highlighted a covariation between the amplitude of hemodynamic responses recorded in primary and supplementary motor areas (M1 and SMA) and the duration of a motor task. A subset of these studies have hinted to a possible functional dissociation between processing carried out in these areas, with SMA primarily involved in action preparation, while M1 involved in action execution. This proposed functional dissociation was explored in the present study using a different technique—functional near-infrared spectroscopy—which enabled a finer-grained monitoring of the temporal characteristics of the hemodynamic response compared to fMRI. Here, hemodynamic responses in M1 and SMA were recorded in 7 participants during a right-finger-tapping task of short (1 s) or long (3 s) duration. Hemodynamic responses of larger amplitude were recorded from both contralateral M1 and SMA during long-duration than short-duration tapping. Furthermore, the analysis of the temporal profiles of these responses revealed a more sustained and prolonged activity for long-duration versus short-duration tapping in M1, but not in SMA. Rather than functionally dissociable areas, the present results are more compatible with the hypothesis that M1 and SMA subserve different, though strongly interacting, functional subroutines subtended in motor task preparation and execution.     

International Migration and Religious Selection

Migrants are selected by several characteristics (age, education, skill, health, and family migration experience). Often less examined is religious selection. Using Guatemalan data, this research note tests whether religious affiliation is significantly associated with migration to the United States, net of other competing factors. Results are robust, demonstrating that Protestants are more likely than other religious groups to migrate. Additionally, mediating factors (social networks, cultural norms, and ideological links) are tested to identify social mechanisms behind the Protestant effect. The research note concludes with implications of religious selection and how religious selection can be further examined in migration and religion studies.     

Emotional cues do not increase the likelihood of tip-of-the-tongue states

In a recent article, Schwartz (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17:82?C87, 2010) reported the effects of emotion on tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs). He found increased TOTs for emotion-inducing questions, as well as a carryover effect in which high TOT rates were observed following emotion-inducing questions. In the present study, we sought to replicate these findings while controlling for word frequency, but we found an increased TOT rate neither for emotion-inducing questions nor following emotion-inducing questions. We report three attempts to replicate Schwartz??s (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17:82?C87, 2010) effect that focused on systematic differences in word frequency between stimulus sets in the original study; none of the key findings reported by Schwartz (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17:82?C87, 2010) were found in any of the experiments. These results fail to support prior claims concerning the effects of emotion on TOTs Schwartz (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17:82?C87, 2010). The discussion focuses on the importance of controlling for systematic differences in word characteristics between groups of items.