Vulnerability of facial attractiveness perception to early and multi-year visual deprivation

Judgments of facial attractiveness invariably accompany our perception of faces. Even neonates appear to be capable of making such judgments in a manner consistent with adults. This suggests that the processes supporting facial attractiveness require little, if any, visual experience to manifest. Here we investigate the resilience of these processes to several years of early-onset visual deprivation. Specifically, we study whether congenitally blind children treated several years after birth possess the ability to rate facial attractiveness in a manner congruent to normally sighted individuals. The data reveal significant individual variability in the way each newly sighted child perceives attractiveness. This is in marked contrast to data from normally sighted controls who exhibit strong across-subject agreement in facial attractiveness ratings. This variability may be attributable, in part, to atypical facial encoding strategies used by the newly sighted children. Overall, our results suggest that the development of facial attractiveness perception is likely to be vulnerable to early visual deprivation, pointing to the existence of a possible sensitive period early in the developmental trajectory.     

Gender Differences in Playful Aggression During Courtship in College Students

The current study explored gender differences in college students' definitions and enjoyment of playful force and aggression. Ninety-six female and 55 male college students who were predominantly White (96%) and heterosexual (97%) answered questions about playful force during sex and playful aggression at other times. A content analysis showed that the current definitions were very similar to those for children's rough-and-tumble play. However, a qualitative analysis found several potential gender differences. Physically aggressive men appeared to give aggressive definitions of playful force during sex. In addition, there was some disagreement among participants as to the acceptability of playful force during sex. Finally, there may be gender differences in the assumed agency of playful force and aggression.     

An educational intervention improves developmental progress of young children in a Romanian orphanage

From 1991 to 1994, a group of Romanian and American colleagues undertook an experimental and humanitarian effort to try to improve the quality of life, mental health, and developmental progress of young children in a Romanian orphanage. In the context of institutional care, we experimentally introduced stable adult–child relationships, small group size, and a protocol of enriched caregiving and educational activities. These procedures were adapted from an intervention in childcare centers in the United States that had been proven effective in reducing intellectual decline in at‐risk children. Developmental scores for orphanage children were derived from the Denver II (a revision of the Denver Developmental Screening Test; Frankenburg & Dodds, 1990), which was translated into Romanian and administered as a pre‐ and posttest to the experimental subjects and comparison groups in the same institution. Mixed models combining both within‐ and between‐subject heterogeneous variance‐covariance structures were utilized to analyze the impacts of time, intervention/control group assignment, child sex, child age, and interaction of Group × Time on the developmental scores. For the developmental outcome variables, the effects of group assignment (experimental vs. comparison) were highly significant. There also was a Group × Time interaction effect. We conclude that an educational intervention which includes the addition of resources and training can be initiated and sustained in an orphanage for young children as a way of improving institutional care. ©2005 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Managed Mental Health Care: Intentional Misdiagnosis of Mental Disorders

Managed health care regulations affect the manner in which counselors provide and deliver services. Counselors are challenged by ethical and legal dilemmas when diagnostic codes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) are not honored for insurance reimbursement. In this article, the authors examine violations of codes of ethics and legal statutes and the consequences related to intentional misdiagnosis of mental disorders for reimbursement. They explore implications for counselors and offer suggestions for professional conduct.     

Replies to Comesaña and Yablo

There are few indulgences academics can crave more than to have their work considered and addressed by leading researchers in their field. We have been fortunate to have two outstanding philosophers from whose work we have learned a great deal give ours their thoughtful attention. Grappling with Stephen Yablo’s, and Juan Comesaña’s comments and criticisms has helped us gain a better understanding of our ideas as well as their shortcomings. We are extremely grateful to them for the attentiveness and seriousness with which they have considered our arguments and to philosophical studies for giving us this opportunity. Given the substantive difference between the two response papers, there is not much beyond sincere gratitude that we can covey to them jointly. We will therefore address them in turn.     

What Experiences Do Expository Books on Recommended Book Lists Offer to K–2 Students?

Teachers can use expository texts to teach academic vocabulary, content knowledge, text structure, and text features. National associations' recommended book lists are often used to identify books for classrooms. Previously we identified expository texts on these lists from 2001–2002 and 2011–2012. The current study explored instructional possibilities these expository books afford. More recent books have more content, academic vocabulary, and supplementary information. However, many earlier and recent books lack text features such as page numbers, tables of contents, glossaries, and indexes. Teachers will need to supplement these books with other texts to provide experiences enabling proficiency with exposition.     

Is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Related to Neuropsychological Function in Healthy Older Adults? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have identified cognitive deficits in adults with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). However, quantitative analysis of the association between OSA and neuropsychological performance has not been conducted specifically in older adults, for whom there is a greater risk of cognitive decline. We searched Medline, Embase and PsycINFO through August 2016 for studies describing associations between OSA and neuropsychological outcomes in people aged>50 years. Meta-analyses were performed on these studies for overall cognition and within cognitive domains. Subgroup analyses were performed taking into account risk of bias and moderating differences in study design. 13 studies met eligibility criteria for analysis. A small negative association was found between OSA and all neuropsychological outcomes combined, g=0.18(95% CI 0.04–0.32), and in memory and processing speed domains. Small case-control studies from sleep clinic populations observed the greatest associations, while larger cohort studies from community samples illustrated no association. Analysis accounting for publication bias resulted in a null overall association, g=0.02 (95%CI -0.12 to 0.16). Associations between OSA and cognition in later life are highly variable and the findings differ based on the type and setting of study. It appears some older adults may be at risk of cognitive impairments attributable to OSA; however, the risk of bias renders the evidence inconclusive. High quality research is warranted in clinically diagnosed OSA patients as well as those already experiencing neuropsychological impairment and who may be regarded at higher risk of further cognitive decline.