Domestic dogs’ (Canis familiaris) choices in reference to agreement among human informants on location of food

When interacting with others, informants may offer conflicting information or information of varying accuracy. Recent research suggests that young children do not trust all informants equally and are selective in both whom they solicit for information and whose claims they support. We explored whether domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are similarly sensitive to agreement among informants. To this end, we utilized a common human gesture, pointing, to which recent research suggests dogs are sensitive. We conducted two experiments in which an experimenter secretly hid food in one of two clear containers while the dog was distracted. Next, a small group moved to indicate the food's location using stationary points positioned above the containers. In Experiment 1, two experimenters moved to stand behind the non-baited container, while a third experimenter moved to stand behind the baited container. Then, all directed one static point at the container in front of them. Experiment 2 exactly resembled Experiment 1 with the exception that the single experimenter standing behind the baited container directed two static points at the container (one with each hand). Dogs chose the container indicated by the majority in Experiment 1 significantly more often than chance, but chose the container indicated by the minority in Experiment 2 significantly more often than chance. This suggests that the number of points, not the number of people, more strongly influenced dogs' choices.     

The Predictive Power of Combined Neuropsychological Measures for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children

The present study explores the predictive power of seven neuropsychological assessment tools used in combination in classifying children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty-one ADHD boys and 22 community control children participated. Group differences were significant on the continuous performance test only; however, battery analysis did increase overall predictive power, which was moderate. This study highlights the difficulty in identifying consistent mean differences on tests of frontal/executive functioning across studies, as well as the need to assess the predictive validity of these tests in classifying children with ADHD. The study suggests that these tests may provide greater predictive validity when used in combination. Inconsistencies in the literature are discussed, with consideration of research methodology, the heterogeneity of the ADHD population, and comorbid diagnoses.     

Long-range channelling in low energy ion implantation into silicon

Abstract

Low energy (50 eV) implantation of boron and silicon into crystalline Si through the {110} and {100} faces is studied by a molecular dynamics simulation and the results compared with a binary-collision crystalline computer model and SIMS data. It is found that long-range channelling of the B particles takes place and that their ranges far exceed those predicted by transport theory in random media or Monte-Carlo computer models. It is found that channelling of B occurs only in the 〈110〉 direction. The Si atoms which are displaced by more than the nearest-neighbour spacing always originate from near to the surface as a result of direct knock-ons from ions which do not channel. These displacements show a distinct angular dependence because of the crystalline nature of the solid. For the Si implantation, the attractive forces between the incoming ion and the crystal atoms play an important role in limiting the ion range.     

Social anxiety and the accuracy of predicted affect

Social anxiety is theorised to arise from sustained over-activation of a mammalian evolved system for detecting and responding to social threat with corresponding diminished opportunities for attaining the pleasure of safe attachments. Emotional forecasting data from two holidays were used to test the hypothesis that greater social anxiety would be associated with decreased expectations of positive affect (PA) and greater anticipated negative affect (NA) on a holiday marked by group celebration (St. Patrick's Day) while being associated with greater predicted PA for daters on a romantic holiday (Valentine's Day). Participants completed symptom reports, made affective forecasts and provided multiple affect reports throughout each holiday. Higher levels of social anxiety were associated with greater anticipated PA for Valentine's Day daters, but lower experienced PA on the holiday; this was not found for trait anxiety and depression. Alternatively, trait anxiety, depression and social anxiety were associated with less predicted PA for St. Patrick's Day, greater anticipated NA and diminished experienced PA/greater NA during the holiday. Results are discussed in light of perceived hope for rewarding safe emotional contact for those daters in contrast to the greater possibility for social threat associated with group celebration typical of St. Patrick's Day.     

Prospective remembering in younger and older adults: Role of the prospective cue

In these studies, adult age differences in event-based prospective memory were examined using an adapted version of G.O. Einstein and M.A. McDaniel's (1990) task. In Experiments 13, we varied prospective cue specificity by assigning a specific target word or an unspecified word drawn from a given taxonomic category. In Experiment 3, we manipulated cue typicality by presenting low or high typicality target words. Results yielded positive effects of cue specificity on prospective performance. Age effects occurred when high typicality target words served as prospective cues (Exps. 1 and 3), but younger and older adults performed comparably with moderate and low typicality words (Exps. 2 and 3). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age accounted for a small but significant amount of variance in prospective memory, although the contribution of age was substantially reduced after statistically controlling for recognition memory. Implications of these data for current views on prospective remembering are discussed.     

A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Study of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval

Memory for the experiences of one's life, autobiographical memory (AM), is one of the most human types of memory, yet comparatively little is known of its neurobiology. A positron emission tomography (PET) study of AM retrieval revealed that the left frontal cortex was significantly active during retrieval (compared to memory control tasks), together with activation in the inferior temporal and occipital lobes in the left hemisphere. We propose that this left frontal lobe activation reflects the operation of control processes that modulate the construction of AMs in posterior neocortical networks.     

Traumas With and Without a Sense of Agency

The authors differentiate two types of traumatic experience: trauma with agency and trauma without agency. The types are different despite the fact that the symptoms of both look similar enough to fall within the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The differentiating factor is the sufferer's sense of agency during the circumstances surrounding the trauma. What is traumatizing is that the individual acted in some way that, however adaptive in the moment of threat and crisis, was ultimately loathed simultaneously or subsequently by the person's larger self and seen by this larger self as defining of character. Traumatized clients with a sense of agency require treatment that comes from being cared for and loved despite this hated facet of self.     

Parental religiosity,abuse history and maintenance of beliefs taught in the family

Both anecdotal and empirical investigations have indicated that childhood sexual abuse may negatively impact one's religiosity as an adult. However, few studies have examined the impact of other forms of abuse on the development of religiosity. In the present study, 167 participants recruited from a Pacific Northwest university completed questionnaires measuring parental religiosity, as well as both physical and emotional abuse history, to assess the impact of these factors on the participants’ maintenance of beliefs taught in the family. Results demonstrated that report of abuse was negatively associated with belief maintenance. Alternatively, parental religiosity was positively associated with belief maintenance, and negatively associated with report of abuse. These findings are discussed in terms of social learning theory and the lifestyle behaviours of religious individuals.     

Representation of mental illness in Christian self-help bestsellers

The present study examined messages about mental illness in 14 contemporary Christian self-help bestsellers. Content analysis revealed that most texts focused upon depression. Categories of textual units included Underlying Assumptions Regarding Depression, Representations of Depression, Roots/Causes/Reasons for Depression, and Christian Responses to Depression. Demonic influence was the most frequently cited reason for depression. Other reasons included negative cognitions, failure as a Christian, and negative emotions. Christian responses to depression included trusting God, religious activity, and individual willpower. Discussion of these results focused upon the problematic impact of these messages upon individuals with depression, and upon suggestions for reducing mental illness stigma in religious communities.