Harbour seals (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phoca vitulina</Emphasis>) are able to time precisely

Time along with space is one of the two fundamental dimensions of life. Whereas spatial aspects have been considered in experiments with marine mammals, research has so far not focused on timing per se although it is most likely involved in many behaviours such as foraging or navigation. This study investigated whether harbour seals possess a sense of time and how precisely they are able to discriminate time intervals. Experiments took place in a chamber that allowed keeping ambient illumination constant at 40 lx. The animal was presented with a white circle on a black background on a monitor displayed for a preset time interval. In a two-alternative forced-choice experiment, the animal had to indicate the presence of the standard or a longer comparison time interval by moving its head to one out of two response targets. Time difference thresholds were assessed for various standard intervals between 3 to 30 s adopting a staircase procedure. The experimental animal found access to the task easily and discriminated time intervals with difference thresholds partly in the millisecond range. Thus our study revealed a well-developed sense of time in a pinniped species. Time, besides information provided by the classical senses, is thus most likely an important parameter seals can rely on for various tasks including navigation and foraging.     

Children's Moral Emotion Attribution in the Happy Victimizer Task: The Role of Response Format

Previous research in the happy victimizer tradition indicated that preschool and early elementary school children attribute positive emotions to the violator of a moral norm, whereas older children attribute negative (moral) emotions. Cognitive and motivational processes have been suggested to underlie this developmental shift. The current research investigated whether making the happy victimizer task less cognitively demanding by providing children with alternative response formats would increase their attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation. In Study 1, 93 British children aged 4–7 years old responded to the happy victimizer questions either in a normal condition (where they spontaneously pointed with a finger), a wait condition (where they had to wait before giving their answers), or an arrow condition (where they had to point with a paper arrow). In Study 2, 40 Spanish children aged 4 years old responded to the happy victimizer task either in a normal or a wait condition. In both studies, participants' attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation was significantly higher in the conditions with alternative response formats (wait, arrow) than in the normal condition. The role of cognitive abilities for emotion attribution in the happy victimizer task is discussed.     

Gender Differences in the Organization of Guilt and Shame

Lewis [(1971) Shame in Guilt in Neurosis, New York: International Universities Press] argues that guilt and shame represent distinct modes of perceiving and experiencing information about the self that are congruent with gender-linked differences in socialization. We tested predictions from Lewis' model that shame-proneness in adult White females (n = 102), but guilt-proneness in adult White males (n = 99), would account for a substantial proportion of the variance in measures assessing their characteristic use of defense mechanisms and endorsement of gender roles. Certain results confirmed Lewis' broader claim that guilt for men, but shame for women, were predominant modes of organizing information about the self. Other results did not support certain specific predictions made by Lewis or they provided only equivocal support (e.g., in men, the joint positive relationship of guilt-proneness to communal orientations but its negative relationship to externalization). Similar discrepant findings emerged for females' construal of guilt, which also related positively to internalization. Although shame-proneness did emerge as the principal emotion variable for females, it was linked to both internalization and externalization. Lewis' model is reconsidered in light of recent empirical findings and the need to conduct more on-line investigations of transgression-emotion induction-emotion reduction cycles.     

A COMPARISON OF SIMULTANEOUS AND DELAYED REINFORCEMENT AS TREATMENTS FOR FOOD SELECTIVITY

This study compared the relative efficacy of providing simultaneous or delayed reinforcement on food acceptance during meals. The participant was a 7-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder and a history of food selectivity. Results indicated that both procedures were effective in increasing acceptance; however, the simultaneous reinforcement procedure produced more rapid behavior change and a higher overall percentage of food acceptance.     

The relationship between family history,gender role attitudes,and susceptibility to gender inequitable perceptions of family and family member functioning

This research examined how family roles, gender of family leadership, beliefs about the consequences of maternal employment, and family history of parental division of responsibility related to young adults' perceptions of family and individual family member functioning. One hundred seven (107), predominantly Anglo American undergraduate students completing courses in educational psychology at a large midwestern university rated two videotaped family interviews. One interview demonstrated a matriarchal style of family interaction and the second demonstrated a patriarchal style. It was found in perceptions of family functioning that a personal family history characterized by elevated paternal involvement in family tasks and child care in combination with traditional gender-related attitudes was associated with views favoring male family leadership. In ratings of individual family member functioning, it was found that individuals whose family history was characterized by elevated paternal involvement and whose gender attitudes were more traditional held more favorable views of the matriarchal mother than the mother in the patriarchal interview in comparison to adults whose fathers were less involved and whose attitudes were less traditional regarding gender roles. It was also found that individuals whose family history was characterized by elevated paternal involvement and whose gender attitudes were more traditional held more favorable views of the father in the patriarchal interview than the matriarchal father in comparison to adults whose fathers were less involved and whose attitudes were less traditional regarding gender roles. These findings suggest that adults may be vulnerable to biased views of families and individuals within family settings related to gender roles, personal history, and attitudes.     

BEHAVIORAL COMMUNITY INTERVENTION TO REDUCE THE RISK OF SKIN CANCER

Peer leader modeling, posted feedback, posted goals, and a commitment raffle were used at two swimming pools to increase behaviors associated with skin cancer prevention. During the intervention condition, pool lifeguards modeled the protective behaviors by wearing sunglasses, t-shirts, and hats, using zinc oxide and sunscreen, and staying in the shade. Children and adolescents (1 to 16 years old) increased their use of two or more protective behaviors from a baseline mean of 6.5% to 26.9% during the intervention. Adults (older than 16 years) increased their protective behaviors from a baseline mean of 22% to 37.95% during the intervention. The lifeguards increased their use of all the protective behaviors from a baseline mean of 16.7% to 63.5% during intervention. Ways to improve and expand this intervention are discussed.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION FOR BREATH HOLDING

We conducted a functional analysis of breath-holding episodes in a 7-year-old girl with severe mental retardation and Cornelia-de-Lange syndrome. The results showed that breath holding served an operant function, primarily to gain access to attention. The intervention, consisting of extinction, scheduled attention, and use of a picture card communication system, resulted in decreased breath holding.     

A Comparative Study in the levels of Human Values: People's Republic of China, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States

This study investigates the relative importance of human values at four levels: (a) global, (b) national, (c) family, and (d) individual, among university students from four countries – the United States (137 females, 78 males, one unspecified), the People's Republic of China (66 females, 170 males, one unspecified), Taiwan (156 females, 101 males), and Singapore (148 females, 119 males). Students rated the importance of passing on the 68 items in the Child Socialization Value Survey to their children or to future generations. Principal Components Analysis was performed on the pooled sample of student responses and revealed a five-factor solution described by: universalism, family, nationalism, prestige, and autonomy. This study demonstrates that the values endorsed by samples of Chinese across different geopolitical backgrounds are not consistent.     

Event-related potentials in cognitive neuropsychology: Methodological considerations and an example from studies of aphasia

Recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from neurological patients introduces some methodological problems that are unique to this type of work. Important issues include, for example, the signal-to-noise ratio in patients relative to control subjects and changes in conductivity that are due to brain lesion. Therefore, in order to be able to reliably interpret possible changes in the ERP effects of brain-damaged patients as reflecting changes in underlying cognitive processes, it is important to clearly identify the factors that might contaminate the results of the experiments and to apply appropriate controls. Possible controls are discussed, and, as an example, some studies illustrating the use of ERPs in aphasic patients are reviewed.     

Taking “the boss” into the real world: Field interrater reliability of the Short‐Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version

There is emerging evidence that the performance of risk assessment instruments is weaker when used for clinical decision‐making than for research purposes. For instance, research has found lower agreement between evaluators when the risk assessments are conducted during routine practice. We examined the field interrater reliability of the Short‐Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV). Clinicians in a Dutch secure youth care facility completed START:AV assessments as part of the treatment routine. Consistent with previous literature, interrater reliability of the items and total scores was lower than previously reported in non‐field studies. Nevertheless, moderate to good interrater reliability was found for final risk judgments on most adverse outcomes. Field studies provide insights into the actual performance of structured risk assessment in real‐world settings, exposing factors that affect reliability. This information is relevant for those who wish to implement structured risk assessment with a level of reliability that is defensible considering the high stakes.