Tactile memory in sighted and blind observers: the influence of orientation and rate of presentation

Sighted, early blind, and late blind subjects attempted to identify numerals or number sequences printed on their palms. The numerals were either upright, or inverted, or rotated perpendicular to the arm axis. Stimulus rotation degraded recognition in the early blind subjects, suggesting the influence of experience with visual frames of reference. Slower rates of presentation with upright number sequences improved recall in both sighted and blind observers. An experiment on tactual-visual braille recognition in the sighted observers showed that tilt degraded pattern identification, but visual guidance of the fingertip and ballpoint minimized this loss. A further experiment was performed to distinguish between visual imagery and visual frame of reference explanations of the visual guidance effect on recognition of rotated braille. Subjects explored upright or tilted braille characters while viewing only a light emitting diode on the exploratory fingertip. Sight of scanning movements did not aid pattern recognition with tilt. The results indicate that the benefits of visual guidance on recognition of tilted patterns were probably due to frame of reference information. It is concluded that spatial reference information may aid tactile memory in the sighted and late blind, since the early blind performed at a lower level in the retention task. It is proposed that visual imagery may only explain the superiority of the sighted and late blind when familiar stimuli are studied.     

Delay in retention of forms.

10 forms were drawn on the palms of 48 subjects who were without vision. Subjects were then required haptically to explore three forms and choose the drawn shape. Three intervals, 0, 5, and 15 sec., were inserted between the presentation of the drawn form and the choice. It was expected that there would be a decline in the accuracy of form recognition with an increase in delay. Form recognition was significantly superior with no delay and loss of shape information seems to occur rather quickly since there was no significant difference in the accuracy of form recognition between the two longer delays.     

The neurodynamics of emotion: delineating typical and atypical emotional processes during adolescence

The study of development is, in and of itself, the study of change over time, but emotions, particularly emotional reactivity and emotional regulation, also unfold over time, albeit over briefer time‐scales. Adolescence is a period of development characterized by marked changes in emotional processes and rewiring of the underlying neural circuitry, making this time of life formative. Yet this period is also a time of increased risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Changes in the temporal dynamics of emotional processes (e.g. magnitude, time‐to‐peak and duration) occur during this developmental period and have been associated with risk for mood and anxiety disorders. In this article, we describe how the temporal dynamics of emotions change during adolescence and how they may increase risk for these psychopathologies. We highlight studies that illustrate how formalizing temporal neurodynamics of emotion may enhance links among levels of analyses from neurobiological to real‐world, moment‐to‐moment experiences.     

The Complexity of Justice - A Challenge to the 21st Century

The author discusses two questions, the relation between liberalism and democracy, and the relation between ethics, morality and law. As to the first question, she argues that neither liberalism nor democracy are merely formal. Roughly spoken, it can be said that liberalism stands for negative liberties, whereas democracy stands for positive ones. She observes a non-contingent tension between the ethos of liberalism (personal freedom) and the ethos of democracy (equality; majority rule). It is the task of morality to maintain and restore the balance between these two kinds of ethos. As to the second question, she is worried about the balance between law (legal regulation), ethics, and morality. On the one hand, abolishing legal regulations would amount to abolishing the freedom of the moderns. On the other hand, the substitution of legal regulations for ethical regulations would lead to a similar result: the end of the freedom of the moderns through the homogenisation of life. In the former case, personal support, charity, magnanimity, and caring would get lost, while in the latter there would be no escape from community pressure towards uniformity.     

The Future of Multilateral Ecumenical Dialogue

This article offers an overview of work undertaken in multilateral ecumenical dialogue, as it has been conducted at the international level by the commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to clarify the issues discussed in this dialogue and the methods used. In particular, the article analyzes the statements on unity made at various WCC assemblies. While they demonstrate a certain continuity regarding the key points of church unity they identify, they clearly mark a shift in the overall understanding of how unity is conceived. The second part of the article examines the current ecumenical situation and its importance for this dialogue, to show how Faith and Order has responded and what further progress in multilateral dialogue might look like.     

Sensitivity to criticism and theory of mind: A cross cultural study on Japanese and Italian children

Although recent studies have shown cross-cultural differences in theory of mind (ToM) between children in Western and Eastern cultures, little is known about cross-cultural differences pertaining to social correlates. The present research investigated cultural variations in the relationship between sensitivity to criticism and ToM. Japanese (n = 76) and Italian (n = 76) 6-year-olds completed a sensitivity-to-criticism task (either the teacher condition or the peer condition), second-order false-belief tasks, and a verbal ability test. The results replicated previous findings of an association between ability rating after teacher criticism and ToM in both countries. Cultural variation was found in emotional response and motivation after teacher, but nor peer, criticism. Japanese children responded to teacher criticism more positively than did Italian children. Moreover, Japanese children who failed the second-order false-belief task were more motivated after teacher criticism than were Italian children. These results are discussed in relation to differences in cultural factors.     

No blank slates: Pre-existing schemas about pharmaceuticals predict memory for side effects

Objectives: Attribution of symptoms as medication side effects is informed by pre-existing beliefs about medicines and perceptions of personal sensitivity to their effects (pharmaceutical schemas). We tested whether (1) pharmaceutical schemas were associated with memory (recall/recognition) for side effect information (2) memory explained the attribution of a common unrelated symptom as a side effect.

Design: In this analogue study participants saw the patient leaflet of a fictitious asthma drug listing eight side effects.

Main outcome measures: We measured recall and recognition memory for side effects and used a vignette to test whether participants attributed an unlisted common symptom (headache) as a side effect.

Results: Participants who perceived pharmaceuticals as more harmful in general recalled fewer side effects correctly (r_{Correct Recall} = ?.273), were less able to differentiate between listed and unlisted side effects (r_{Recognition Sensitivity} = ?.256) and were more likely to attribute the unlisted headache symptom as a side effect (r_{side effect attribution} = .381, ps < .01). The effect of harm beliefs on side effect attribution was partially mediated by correct recall of side effects.

Conclusion: Pharmaceutical schemas are associated with memory for side effect information. Memory may explain part of the association between pharmaceutical schemas and the attribution of unrelated symptoms as side effects.