Representational coexistence in the God concept: Core knowledge intuitions of God as a person are not revised by Christian theology despite lifelong experience

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Previous research has shown that in the minds of young adult religious adherents, acquired theology about the extraordinary characteristics of God (e.g.,...     

Who Do You Think You Are? Evolving Ethical Meaning Making

People must develop ways to determine and manage acceptable and unacceptable behaviors within their communities, although not all communities create the same ethical systems. Understanding differences in ethical systems, including between constructivists and their critics, might benefit from considering constructive-developmental theory, which views ethics as related to evolving individual self-identities in a context of accompanying cultural evolution. By considering that people's ethical frameworks evolve over the life span and that current society consists of people at various levels within that evolutionary process, we may arrive at a better understanding of ethical differences and include a wider range of perspectives in our discourse.     

A Response to <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion</Emphasis> from two Perspectives

This review considers the The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion (Rambo and Farhadian 2014) from the perspective of Western counseling practice and its applicability to Eastern religious traditions. The Handbook presents a nuanced approach to conversion that emphasizes its complex and dynamic qualities, providing counselors/pastors with practical perspectives to enhance their understanding of people in various stages of a conversion career. By addressing non-Abrahamic traditions, The Handbook also looks at “conversion” from a wider perspective, raising issues about whether it can legitimately be applied to traditions that do not share Western religious assumptions (such as exclusivity) and religious identity. From both perspectives, The Handbook challenges readers to expand their perspectives and rethink their preconceived notions of religious conversion, especially those assumptions based on Western Protestant interpretation of the story of Paul’s conversion.     

An intentional stance modulates the integration of gesture and speech during comprehension

The present study investigates whether knowledge about the intentional relationship between gesture and speech influences controlled processes when integrating the two modalities at comprehension. Thirty-five adults watched short videos of gesture and speech that conveyed semantically congruous and incongruous information. In half of the videos, participants were told that the two modalities were intentionally coupled (i.e., produced by the same communicator), and in the other half, they were told that the two modalities were not intentionally coupled (i.e., produced by different communicators). When participants knew that the same communicator produced the speech and gesture, there was a larger bi-lateral frontal and central N400 effect to words that were semantically incongruous versus congruous with gesture. However, when participants knew that different communicators produced the speech and gesture--that is, when gesture and speech were not intentionally meant to go together--the N400 effect was present only in right-hemisphere frontal regions. The results demonstrate that pragmatic knowledge about the intentional relationship between gesture and speech modulates controlled neural processes during the integration of the two modalities.     

Carving up space at imaginary joints: can people mentally impose arbitrary spatial category boundaries?

Empirical attempts to understand connections between abstract cognition and sensori-motor processes have pointed toward an embodied view of cognition, where cognitive activity is strongly tied to sensori-motor activity. Here the authors test the ability of the cognitive system to impose structure on the world using a well-established phenomenon in spatial cognition--biases near spatial category boundaries. Results from 5 experiments suggest that participants were unable to mentally impose a spatial category boundary without perceptual support, even when explicitly instructed to do so. The authors conclude by considering the implications of these findings for abstraction within other domains of cognition.     

End-point focus manipulations to determine what information is used during observational learning

We required two groups of participants to observe an end-point model (ENDPT) while another two groups viewed a full-body, point-light model (FULL) to determine the role of relative motion information in acquisition of a multi-limb, whole-body action. One ENDPT and one FULL group also bowled a ball. Following retention, all groups observed the FULL model. The participants' movements were compared to the model and outcome attainment was quantified. There was no difference in shoulder-elbow coordination between groups in acquisition or retention. The FULL groups replicated hip-knee coordination more accurately than did ENDPT groups in early acquisition only, with no significant differences in late acquisition or retention. Both bowling groups became more accurate at the task across acquisition, but the ENDPT group was more accurate and consistent in retention. Providing intra-limb relative motion in re-acquisition did not improve coordination for the ENDPT groups, but it did facilitate movement control (peak wrist velocity) and outcome attainment (target accuracy). The acquisition of coordination during observational learning is not only a result of copying relative motion information, but also involves copying of end-point trajectory information from the primary effector.     

Fusion or Internalized Homophobia? A Pilot Study of Bowen's Differentiation of Self Hypothesis With Lesbian Couples

Bowen, using the concept of differentiation, hypothesized that the way individuals learn to deal with their relationships with families of origin will influence the way they manage their relationships with their partners. This study surveyed a group of 53 lesbian couples on differentiation of self, internalized homophobia, and relationship satisfaction. We found that lesbian couples were not significantly different in their level of differentiation than random pairs. We also found that there was a positive relationship between differentiation of self and relationship satisfaction and that when considered together, internalized homophobia had the more significant connection to relationship satisfaction than did differentiation of self Implications for therapy are drawn from these findings.     

A Dynamic Neural Field Model of Visual Working Memory and Change Detection

ABSTRACT— Efficient visually guided behavior depends on the ability to form, retain, and compare visual representations for objects that may be separated in space and time. This ability relies on a short-term form of memory known as visual working memory. Although a considerable body of research has begun to shed light on the neurocognitive systems subserving this form of memory, few theories have addressed these processes in an integrated, neurally plausible framework. We describe a layered neural architecture that implements encoding and maintenance, and links these processes to a plausible comparison process. In addition, the model makes the novel prediction that change detection will be enhanced when metrically similar features are remembered. Results from experiments probing memory for color and for orientation were consistent with this novel prediction. These findings place strong constraints on models addressing the nature of visual working memory and its underlying mechanisms.