The relationship between intelligence and vigilance in children at risk

The purpose of this study was to compare two competing models as an explanation of the relationship between intelligence and sustained attention in educationally at-risk kindergarten children. One model assumes that lower-IQ subjects allocate greater amounts of attentional resources to information-processing tasks than higher-IQ subjects, whereas the other model assumes that a less-than optimal level of arousal is associated with decrements in task performance across time. Twenty-nine teacher-nominated at-risk and 29 normal achieving kindergarten students were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Revised (WPPSI-R) and vigilance tasks. Signal detection measures of stimulus detectability (d), decision criterion (), correct detections, and false alarms were used to assess children's sustained attention across three time periods (2, 4, and 6 min). The important results were (a) high-risk children were inferior on dmeasures when compared to normal achieving children, (b) vigilance measures did not vary over time in either group, and (c) intelligence and vigilance shared a common factor in high-risk, but not low-risk, children. The results suggest that children educationally at risk suffer deficits related to attentional capacity for processing information. Special appreciation is expressed to Ron Jarman for his comments on the statistical analysis and the Courtenay School District, British Columbia, Canada, for providing participants. The authors also thank two anonymous reviewers who provided comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Comprehensive system Rorschach data on Vietnam combat veterans

To better understand and, therefore, treat Vietnam combat veterans with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Rorschach was administered to 50 patients so diagnosed. The most important findings were that, on average: (a) These patients have a low level of stress tolerance and are, therefore, likely to respond impulsively to stressful situations; (b) this low stress tolerance appears to be a long-term adjustment problem; and (c) their perception of reality is unconventional and often distorted. A primary therapeutic indication from these data is that the use of structure would be important for successful therapy. Other findings and therapeutic recommendations are also discussed.     

Improving same-sex and heterosocial interactions of emotionally disturbed adolescents

This study attempted to increase the occurrence of sexual-social interactions of emotionally disturbed adolescents. Two males' and two females' sexual-social interactions were analyzed within a special eduction classroom. An extension of a reversal design (baseline/individual) contingency and response cost/group contingency /individual contingency and response cost ) was used to assess treatment effects on same-sex and heterosocial interactions. In addition, the group contingency condition was staggered in a multiple baseline fachion across the two response classes. The results indicate that, regardless of sex, group contingencies are more effective than individual contingencies in increasing positive sexual-social interactions. More important, it was inferred from the results that emotionally disturbed adolescents' social interactions represent difficulties of performance rather than competence.     

Goals and task difficulty expectations modulate striatal responses to feedback

The striatum plays a critical role in learning from reward, and it has been implicated in learning from performance-related feedback as well. Positive and negative performance-related feedback is known to engage the striatum during learning by eliciting a response similar to the reinforcement signal for extrinsic rewards and punishments. Feedback is an important tool used to teach new skills and promote healthful lifestyle changes, so it is important to understand how motivational contexts can modulate its effectiveness at promoting learning. While it is known that striatal responses scale with subjective factors influencing the desirability of rewards, it is less clear how expectations and goals might modulate the striatal responses to cognitive feedback during learning. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of task difficulty expectations and achievement goals on feedback processing during learning. We found that individuals who scored high in normative goals, which reflect a desire to outperform other students academically, showed the strongest effects of our manipulation. High levels of normative goals were associated with greater performance gains and exaggerated striatal sensitivity to positive versus negative feedback during blocks that were expected to be more difficult. Our findings suggest that normative goals may enhance performance when difficulty expectations are high, while at the same time modulating the subjective value of feedback as processed in the striatum.     

SCIENCE MEETS BIBLICAL EXEGESIS IN THE GALILEO AFFAIR

Abstract Although Galileo's venture into theology, as discussed by McMullin, is limited to Galileo's exegesis of Scripture, it can be seen as an important element in a broader role in theology, namely in ecclesiology and in the development of doctrine. From the Council of Trent, the Reformation Council, until today there has been a development in the Church concerning the manner in which Sacred Scripture should be interpreted and as to whether it can be said to be in conflict with our scientific knowledge of nature. Galileo made a significant contribution to this development. With his telescopic observations he was, in fact, undermining the prevailing Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day and was defending the birth of modern science against a mistaken view of Scripture. The Church of his time was not prepared to accept his contribution to this theological development. What does this history have to contribute to the challenges we face today in the interactions between science and religious belief?     

Comprehensive System Rorschach Data on Vietnam Combat Veterans

To better understand and, therefore, treat Vietnam combat veterans with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Rorschach was administered to 50 patients so diagnosed. The most important findings were that, on average: (a) These patients have a low level of stress tolerance and are, therefore, likely to respond impulsively to stressful situations; (b) this tow stress tolerance appears to be a long-term adjustment problem; and (c) their perception of reality is unconventional and often distorted. A primary therapeutic indication from these data is that the use of structure would be important for successful therapy. Other findings and therapeutic recommendations are also discussed.