Computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for children using cochlear implants or hearing aids

The present study examined computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Sweden using cochlear implants or hearing aids, or a combination of both. The study included 48 children, 5, 6 and 7 years of age. Sixteen children with normal hearing (NH) served as a reference group. The first purpose of the study was to compare NH and DHH children's reading ability at pre and post‐intervention. The second purpose was to investigate effects of the intervention. Cognitive and demographic factors were analyzed in relation to reading improvement. Results showed no statistically significant difference for reading ability at the group level, although NH children showed overall higher reading scores at both test points. Age comparisons revealed a statistically significant higher reading ability in the NH 7‐year‐olds compared to the DHH 7‐year‐olds. The intervention proved successful for word decoding accuracy, passage comprehension and as a reduction of nonword decoding errors in both NH and DHH children. Reading improvement was associated with complex working memory and phonological processing skills in NH children. Correspondent associations were observed with visual working memory and letter knowledge in the DHH children. Age was the only demographic factor that was significantly correlated with reading improvement. The results suggest that DHH children's beginning reading may be influenced by visual strategies that might explain the reading delay in the older children.     

Psychopathy and the ability to read the “language of the eyes”: Divergence in the psychopathy construct

The capacity to interpret others people's behavior and mental states is a vital part of human social communication. This ability, also called mentalizing or Theory of Mind (ToM), may also serve as a protective factor against aggression and antisocial behavior. This study investigates the relationship between two measures of psychopathy (clinical assessment and self‐report) and the ability to identify mental states from photographs of the eye region. The participants in the study were 92 male inmates at Bergen prison, Norway. The results showed some discrepancy in connection to assessment methodology. For the self‐report (SRP‐III), we found an overall negative association between mental state discrimination and psychopathy, while for the clinical instrument (PCL‐R) the results were more mixed. For Factor 1 psychopathic traits (interpersonal and affective), we found positive associations with discrimination of neutral mental states, but not with the positive or negative mental states. Factor 2 traits (antisocial lifestyle) were found to be negatively associated with discrimination of mental states. The results from this study demonstrate a heterogeneity in the psychopathic construct where psychopathic traits related to an antisocial and impulsive lifestyle are associated with lower ability to recognize others' mental states, while interpersonal and affective psychopathic traits are associated with a somewhat enhanced ability to recognize others' emotional states.     

Do Economic Reforms Alleviate Subjective Well-Being Losses of Economic Crises?

Major economic crises tend to be followed by crises in subjective well-being. Following the financial and debt crises, politicians and social scientists have engaged in heated discussions of ways to alleviate such losses. In particular, should governments intervene more or less? This paper explores whether liberalizing economic institutions, a type of reform favoured by some economists, is likely to alleviate such loses. Estimating the effects of crises across European states 1975–2011 suggest that countries with relatively easy market regulations suffered smaller well-being losses.     

How Comparable are the Gallup World Poll Life Satisfaction Data?

This paper explores the degree to which the new data on life satisfaction from the Gallup World Poll are comparable to those used in previous empirical studies, predominantly those from the World Values Survey. Differences might arise due to the timing and anchoring of questions in the Gallup data. The paper identifies a set of large outlier countries, and estimates suggest that the two datasets tend to generate rather different results, questioning the degree to which they measure the same concept.     

Masked singleton effects

In the present study, we tested whether visual singletons remaining outside awareness are processed. Singletons differ by at least one feature from their more homogeneous neighbors. Here, we used backward masking to prevent awareness of shape singleton primes (Experiments 1-4) or color singleton primes (Experiment 5). Masked singleton primes nonetheless produced a congruence effect: Congruent singletons indicating the location of subsequent visible targets facilitated responses, in comparison with incongruent singletons at positions away from the targets. This congruence effect was found with singletons defined by feature presence or feature absence. It was at least partly due to attentional capture by singletons remaining outside of the participants' awareness. Results are discussed in light of theories pertaining to singleton effects and masked-priming effects.     

God in the Hands of Future Science

There is reasonable evidence suggesting that humans have an innate tendency toward being religious. Consequently, religion is unlikely to disappear; the question then is how this feature will impact on future society. Three scenarios are discussed: One, science will dominate; two, religion will dominate; and three, the present conflict between the two is resolved. The latter scenario may happen through a realization that religion has the potential for doing more good than bad, in terms of individual quality of life and in improving society. Obtaining maximum benefit of religion will require a concept of God that is compatible with science, and that can be accepted as a common core for the various faiths. Science may help in this endeavor.     

Poor Sleep as a Risk Factor for Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between poor sleep and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and to test the hypothesis that poor sleep is a risk factor for the development of NSSI in young adolescents. Questionnaire data were used from a 2-wave longitudinal study of a community sample of 881 young Swedish adolescents. The results showed that 7 % of the girls reported poor sleep (never or seldom sleeping well), and 20–26 % of the girls reported repeated NSSI (at least 5 instances). Poor sleep was associated prospectively with NSSI among girls, but not among boys. Of girls who responded that they seldom or never slept well at T1, 77 % reported repeated NSSI 1 year later. Poor sleep at T1 was found to predict the incidence of new cases of repeated NSSI in girls at T2, independently of their degree of psychopathology. No similar relationship between poor sleep and NSSI was found in boys. The present results suggest that screening for poor sleep in adolescents may serve to identify a subgroup of girls at risk for developing NSSI. It is concluded that poor sleep in young girls should be taken seriously, even in the absence of other self-reported psychological problems, and that interventions targeted at sleep disturbances may be important for prevention.     

Gestures in Instructional Animations: A Helping Hand to Understanding Non‐human Movements?

Recent research on dynamic visualizations suggests that these visualizations are effective for learning human movements such as knot tying or paper folding. Using embodied theories of cognition, this study investigated whether learning non‐human movements from a dynamic visualization can also be enhanced by grounding these movements in the learner's motor system. University students viewed an animation on lightning formation, and followed the animation's movements with gestures, saw an on‐screen human hand follow the movements or saw an arrow follow the movements. Results showed that observing an on‐screen human hand following the movements in the animation, but not actually performing these movements, enhanced retention and transfer performance compared with watching the animation without gestures. This suggests that observation of human hand movement in animation‐based instruction, which plays an important role in learning of procedural‐motor tasks, can also improve people's learning from other dynamic systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concepts from research literature and practical assessment of risk awareness: The Swedish driving test from the perspective of cognitive psychology

The Swedish driving test (SDT) was compared to theoretical concepts found in research literature (CRLs) with respect to the rated importance of the CRLs for the overall assessment of risk awareness and the five specific assessment areas used in the SDT. 116 traffic inspectors responded to questionnaires. Results show that visual search was the CRL given the highest rating, and that the assessment of risk awareness can be conceptualised as assessment of lower-order and higher-order cognitive functions. The assessment areas taxing higher-order cognitive functions were rated as most important for risk awareness, and visual search behaviour can be regarded as the best indicator of higher-order cognitive skills.     

Between listening and expression

This paper sets out to conceptualize what goes on in the analyst's mind as he listens—and expresses something—to the patient. Bion's ideas of approaching the patient's O, without memory and desire, are discussed. An alternate, more permissive, attitude to desire is suggested. This is based on the idea that containment, instead of denoting a dyadic interaction between mother and child, is a process which links the child to a begetting couple, thus a triad. Containing the patient corresponds, in the unconscious, to thinking about a sexual couple in a mutually beneficent interaction. Since the patient's anxiety, in his unconscious, parallels a frightening primal scene, containment is viewed as a continuous translation of a primitive primal scene into a mature act of love. A specific kind of genital desire is thus necessary for containment. This finds expression in the analyst's resonance with the patient. Clinical material from an analysis with a 7-year old boy is provided.