Adaptive Dynamics of the Leg Movement Patterns of Human Infants: II. Treadmill stepping in Infants and Adults

Infant treadmill steps have many temporal and kinematic similarities to adult walking. Kinematic similarities can result from different patterns of underlying torque, however. In this study, we used inverse dynamics to compare the patterns and contributions of active (muscle) and passive (gravity and motion-dependent) torques in the swing phase of treadmill stepping in 7-month-old infants and adults. Results indicated that adults consistently used muscle torque to initiate and terminate swing, but that passive torques accounted for leg motion during most of the swing phase. Infants, in contrast, displayed multiple patterns of torque contributions during swing. In the most frequently occurring infant pattern, muscle torque remained flexor throughout swing and joint reversals were due to the dominant passive gravitational torque. The kinetic data suggest that the temporally and kinematically similar treadmill steps produced by adults and infants do not emanate from a unique set of neural commands to the muscles, but from a flexible interplay between multiple internal as well as external elements. These data suggest that the intrinsic dynamics of the human system provide a medium out of which, given a supportive context, stable patterns can emerge spontaneously. During development, voluntary controlled movement patterns must build on these intrinsic dynamics.     

Effects of victim gender and physical vs. psychological trauma/injury on observers' perceptions of sexual assault and its aftereffects

Researchers have examined many underlying attitudes toward rape. Studies have focused on female victims while an increasing number of reported male rape victims has been overlooked. This study compared observers' attribution of guilt toward rape victims and their rapists. It also specified the trauma inflicted by either physical or psychological concomitants of rape victimization and compared the effect of such information on both blame and expectation of recovery. Participants were university students, primarily Caucasian, with mean ages 20.56 and 21.21 years for males and females, respectively. Female victims were judged more harshly than male victims. Length of imprisonment considered appropriate for guilty assailants was found to be greater when injury was done to one's own gender. Recovery was expected to be a lengthy process. Implications for social gender stereotyping and public attitudes concerning aftereffects of traumatic stress are discussed.

     

The role of neuroticism on psychological and physiological stress responses

This study examined the influence of personality on stressor appraisals and emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress. Appraisals were used to classify participants as threatened (they believed their coping resources were inadequate relative to stressor demands) or challenged (they believed their coping resources were commensurate with stressor demands). Neuroticism predicted threat appraisals, and both were related to negative emotional experience and poor task performance. The influence of neuroticism on negative emotions and poor performance was mediated by threat appraisals. High neuroticism confers stress vulnerability, but only when conditions are construed as threatening.     

Distinctions Among Stigmatized Groups1

This research investigated how individuals classify and distinguish among stigmatized groups. In Study 1, participants sorted 54 stigmas based on perceived similarity and then provided evaluations. Cluster analysis revealed 7 stigma clusters, including physical disability, mental disability, economically disadvantaged, social deviants, physical appearance, sexual identity, and racial identity. Multidimensional scaling showed that the stigmas differed on dimensions of social undesirability, controllability, and general pity. In Study 2, participants provided evaluation ratings of stigmas across 6 situations. Results confirmed the validity of the 7‐cluster solution.     

Buddhist Meditation as a Mystical Practice

Philosophia - On the basis of many years of personal experience the paper describes Buddhist meditation (Zazen, Vipassanā) as a mystical practice. After a short discussion of the role of some...     

Drawn to danger: trait anger predicts automatic approach behaviour to angry faces

Most people automatically withdraw from socially threatening situations. However, people high in trait anger could be an exception to this rule, and may even display an eagerness to approach hostile situations. To test this hypothesis, we asked 118 participants to complete an approach-avoidance task, in which participants made approach or avoidance movements towards faces with an angry or happy expression, and a direct or averted eye gaze. As expected, higher trait anger predicted faster approach (than avoidance) movements towards angry faces. Crucially, this effect occurred only for angry faces with a direct eye gaze, presumably because they pose a specific social threat, in contrast to angry faces with an averted gaze. No parallel effects were observed for happy faces, indicating that the effects of trait anger were specific to hostile stimuli. These findings suggest that people high in trait anger may automatically approach hostile interaction partners.     

Embodied mood regulation: the impact of body posture on mood recovery,negative thoughts,and mood-congruent recall

Previous work has shown that a stooped posture may activate negative mood. Extending this work, the present experiments examine how stooped body posture influences recovery from pre-existing negative mood. In Experiment 1 (n?=?229), participants were randomly assigned to receive either a negative or neutral mood induction, after which participants were instructed to take either a stooped, straight, or control posture while writing down their thoughts. Stooped posture (compared to straight or control postures) led to less mood recovery in the negative mood condition, and more negative mood in the neutral mood condition. Furthermore, stooped posture led to more negative thoughts overall compared to straight or control postures. In Experiment 2 (n?=?122), all participants underwent a negative mood induction, after which half received cognitive reappraisal instructions and half received no instructions. Mood-congruent cognitions were assessed through autobiographical memory recall. Again, stooped (compared to straight) position led to less mood recovery. Notably, this was independent of regulation instruction. These findings demonstrate for the first time that posture plays an important role in recovering from negative mood.     

Improving Accuracy on Bayesian Inference Problems Using a Brief Tutorial

Research suggests that most people struggle when asked to interpret the outcomes of diagnostic tests such as those presented as Bayesian inference problems. To help people interpret these difficult problems, we created a brief tutorial, requiring less than 10 minutes, that guided participants through the creation of an aid (either graph or table) based on an example inference problem and then showed the correct way to calculate the positive predictive value of the problem (i.e., likelihood that positive tests correctly indicate presence of condition). Approximately 70% of those in each training condition found the correct response on at least one problem in the format for which they were trained. Just under 55% of those in the control condition (i.e., no training) were able to find the correct response on at least one table or graph problem. We demonstrated a relationship between numeracy and performance on both problem formats, although we did not find evidence for a relationship between graph literacy and performance for either problem format. Potential improvements to and applications of the tutorial are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Issues Arising in Psychological Consultations to Help Parents Talk to Minor and Young Adult Children about their Cancer Genetic Test Result: a Guide to Providers

The defining difference between genetic and traditional medicine is that genetic findings have implications not just for the patient, but also for their relatives. Discussion of a test result between parent and child is both a transformative and a translational moment in the life of a family. Parents report wanting help in talking to their children. The challenge for genetic counselors and other providers is to be able to recognize which issues are at the core of parental distress and be able to offer recommendations to empower and support parents. The complexity of potential genetic findings, including variants of uncertain significance (VUS) and incidental findings have vastly increased, requiring considerable explanation and leaving less time for discussion of emotional issues. While the nature of the testing (single gene to multigene panel and genomic testing) is dramatically changing, the nature of parent concerns remains remarkably constant. Families differ in many respects, so no “recipe” suffices to answer parents’ questions about how this important task should be approached in each family. Successful consultation to parents requires true counseling, matching parents’ fears and questions with information, exploration and advice specific to their concerns, their circumstances and strengths.