THE BENDER GESTALT VISUAL MOTOR TEST IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Although the Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Test has been used across cultures, evidence indicates that performance may be related to differences in experience including exposure to Western acculturation. Thus in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with relatively recent exposure to Western systems of education, it might be expected, particularly in view of available cognitive research data, that performance would lag somewhat by comparison with norms from American or other Western samples. Thus normative data for PNG is required before the V.M.T. may be systematically used for diagnostic work. The present paper describes the V.M.T. performance of 245 children from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and 74 Australian children living in the same area. V.M.T. scores were compared also with American data. Consistent with the research on cognitive development in the literature, V.M.T. scores for the PNG children seemed to be about three to four years delayed, though the same kind of decrease in error scores with chronological age was evident.     

Clarifying the convergence between obsessive compulsive personality disorder criteria and obsessive compulsive disorder

In this study we examined the convergence between obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) criteria and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Baseline assessments of 629 participants of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study were used to examine the associations between OCPD criteria and diagnoses of OCD. Three of the eight OCPD criteria--hoarding, perfectionism, and preoccupation with details--were significantly more frequent in subjects with OCD (n = 89) than in subjects without OCD (n = 540). Logistic regressions were used to predict the probability of each OCPD criterion as a function of Axis I diagnoses (OCD, additional anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorder). Associations between OCD and these three OCPD criteria remained significant in the logistic regressions, showing unique associations with OCD and odds ratios ranging from 2.71 to 2.99. In addition, other anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder showed few associations with specific OCPD criteria. This study suggests variability in the strength of the relationships between specific OCPD criteria and OCD. The findings also support a unique relationship between OCPD symptoms and OCD, compared to other anxiety disorders or major depression. Future efforts to explore the link between Axis I and Axis II disorders may be enriched by conducting analyses at the symptom level.     

Genetic associations of alcohol dehydrogenase with alcohol use disorders and endophenotypes in white college students

Associations of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene polymorphisms (ADH1B*2 and ADH1C*1) with a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) were examined in White college students. Alcohol-related endophenotypes likely to be influenced by elevations in acetaldehyde were also assessed. Individuals with an ADH1B*2 allele had lower rates of AUDs, consumed a lower maximum number of drinks in a 24-hr period, reported a greater level of response to alcohol, were more likely to have experienced alcohol-induced headaches following 1 or 2 drinks, and reported more severe hangovers than those lacking this allele. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced sensitivity to alcohol and lower levels of alcohol use reflect the mechanism by which ADH1B*2 protects against developing an AUD.     

Methodological Encounters with the Phenomenal Kind

Block's well-known distinction between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness has generated a large philosophical literature about putative conceptual connections between the two. The scientific literature about whether they come apart in any actual cases is rather smaller. Empirical evidence gathered to date has not settled the issue. Some put this down to a fundamental methodological obstacle to the empirical study of the relation between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness. Block (2007) has drawn attention to the methodological puzzle and attempted to answer it. While the evidence Block points to is relevant and important, this paper puts forward a more systematic framework for addressing the puzzle. To give it a label, the approach is to study phenomenal consciousness as a natural kind. The approach allows consciousness studies to move beyond initial means of identifying instances of the kind like verbal report, and to find its underlying nature. It is well-recognised that facts about an underlying kind may allow identification of instances of the kind that do not match the initial means of identification (cp. non-liquid samples of water). This paper shows that the same method can be deployed to investigate phenomenal consciousness independently of access consciousness.     

Cultural Adaptation of a Cognitive Behavior Therapy Guided Self‐Help Program for Mexican American Women With Binge Eating Disorders

Data on the compatibility of evidence‐based treatment in ethnic minority groups are limited. This study utilized focus group interviews to elicit Mexican American women's (N= 12) feedback on a cognitive behavior therapy guided self‐help program for binge eating disorders. Findings revealed 6 themes to be considered during the cultural adaptation process and highlighted the importance of balancing the fidelity and cultural relevance of evidence‐based treatment when disseminating it across diverse racial/ethnic groups.     

Intention in motor learning through observation

The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether learning an action through observation is enhanced by the intention to reproduce the observed behaviour. Two groups of participants observed a model practise a timing task and performed a 24-hour delayed retention test. Participants in the first group of observers were explicitly instructed that they would be required to execute the timing task that they had observed as accurately as possible during the delayed retention test. Observers in the second group were instructed that they would be required to describe as accurately as possible the behaviour that they had observed. A control group of participants, who did not observe the model, was also administered the delayed retention test. The results of the retention test indicated that absolute timing (parameterization) was learned by the observers to the same extent with or without intention to reproduce the task. Indeed, on the retention test absolute timing for the two groups of observers was as effective as that for the models. However, observing with an intention to reproduce the task was beneficial for learning the movement's relative timing structure. Results are discussed with respect to a potential mechanism by which intention enhances observation.     

Effects of an Auditory Model on the Learning of Relative and Absolute Timing

The effects of an auditory model on the learning of relative and absolute timing were examined. In 2 experiments, participants attempted to learn to produce a 1,000- or 1,600-ms sequence of 5 key presses with a specific relative-timing pattern. In each experiment, participants were, or were not, provided an auditory model that consisted of a series of tones that were temporally spaced according to the criterion relative-timing pattern. In Experiment 1, participants (n = 14) given the auditory template exhibited better relative- and absolute-timing performance than participants (n = 14) not given the auditory template. In Experiment 2, auditory and no-auditory template groups again were tested, but in that experiment each physical practice participant (n = 16) was paired during acquisition with an observer (n = 16). The observer was privy to all instructions as well as auditory and visual information that was provided the physical practice participant. The results replicated the results of Experiment 1: Relative-timing information was enhanced by the auditory template for both the physical and observation practice participants. Absolute timing was improved only when the auditory model was coupled with physical practice. Consistent with the proposal of D. M. Scully and K. M. Newell (1985), modeled timing information in physical and observational practice benefited the learning of the relative-timing features of the task, but physical practice was required to enhance absolute timing.     

The Influence of Reminder Trials on Contextual Interference Effects

Two experiments investigated the proposition of the elaboration explanation for contextual interference that more than one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a random schedule but that only one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a blocked schedule. Three motor tasks were performed as fast as possible in either a random or blocked practice schedule. At the end of practice, a reminder trial for each task was either given or not given. Acquisition performance was slower for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice conditions. Retention performance was faster for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice condition that did not receive a reminder trial for each task. Importantly, performance differences were not found between the random practice conditions and the blocked practice condition that did receive a reminder trial for each task. A blocked practice condition with a beneficial acquisition and reminder task order pairing performed faster during both acquisition and retention than a comparable random practice condition. Reminder trials can facilitate detailing of task characteristics, and their effectiveness is determined by the elapsed time and number of intervening tasks during acquisition and retention.     

Differential Transfer Benefits of Increased Practice for Constant,Blocked, and Serial Practice Schedules

The effects of practice schedule and amount of practice on the development of the generalized motor program (GMP) and on parameter estimation were investigated. Participants (N = 108) practiced the same relative timing but different absolute durations of a multisegment timing task. Practice schedules (constant, blocked, or serial) were crossed with amounts of practice (low and high). Inclusion of a constant practice condition allowed the authors to investigate the variability of practice prediction. Participants practiced the same proportional durations in a serial or a blocked schedule, which enabled the authors to examine contextual interference. A constant practice schedule enhanced GMP performance when task parameters remained the same, but varied practice schedules were beneficial when task parameters changed. A serial as opposed to a blocked practice schedule was superior when the performance of a task governed by a different GMP was required. Increased practice led to a consolidated task representation that was unavailable for updating.