Descartes on Hatred

This paper examines Descartes’ account of hatred. Descartes holds that individuals should not hate, because hatred separates us from goods, causes sadness, and produces vicious character traits. Although some scholars argue that hatred is necessary to protect the body, I argue that Descartes holds that hatred is not necessary to protect the body, because there are other means of protecting the body that do not involve hatred. I conclude this paper by showing the place of hatred in Descartes’ broader moral theory, especially his emphasis on the wellbeing of the soul and the virtue of generosity.     

The Effect of Abolishing Operations on Mand Acquisition During Functional Communication Training

Journal of Behavioral Education - Previously applied research has shown independent manding is not likely to emerge when functional communication training (FCT) is implemented in conjunction with...     

From Boulder to Stockholm in 70 Years: Single Case Experimental Designs in Clinical Research

The Psychological Record - With the objective of increasing the magnitude of treatment effects in behavioral health, there is steadily growing interest in tailoring assessments and interventions to...     

Fornix and hippocampal atrophy in traumatic brain injury

This study compared a fornix cross-sectional-area measurement and hippocampal volume in 86 traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects with 46 normal controls. The TBI group showed a significant reduction in fornix area and hippocampal volume. It was also shown that initial injury severity was related to the degree of atrophy in both structures. Although fornix size and hippocampal volume correlated, such a modest correlation between these two structures suggests differential and potentially independent mechanisms of injury. The General Memory Index score from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was shown to be significantly correlated with hippocampal volume following TBI.     

Yawning: no effect of 3-5% CO2, 100% O2, and exercise

Using human college-age subjects, the present study tested the commonly cited but previously untested hypothesis that yawning is facilitated by higher than normal levels of CO2 or lower than normal levels of O2 in the blood by comparing the effect on yawning of breathing 100% O2 and gas mixtures with higher than normal levels of CO2 (3 or 5%) with compressed air, the control condition. If yawning is a response to heightened blood CO2, the CO2 mixtures should increase yawning rate and/or duration. If low blood O2 produced yawning, breathing 100% O2 should inhibit yawning. The CO2/O2 hypothesis was rejected because breathing neither pure O2 nor gases high in CO2 had a significant effect on yawning although both increased breathing rate. A second study found that exercise sufficient to double breathing rate had no effect on yawning. The two studies suggest that yawning does not serve a primary respiratory function and that yawning and breathing are triggered by different internal states and are controlled by separate mechanisms.     

Characteristics of the rival and the experience of jealousy.

To estimate the relationship between characteristics of the third party and jealousy, 185 subjects read different jealousy-evoking scenarios and then indicated how jealous they would feel. Analysis indicated that two of the manipulated characteristics, prestige and attractiveness, significantly affected the experience of jealousy.     

Doubly Bound: The Impact of Gender and Race on the Politics of Black Women

Gender has been thought to be less salient than race among black women. Data from two national surveys of black Americans, conducted in 1984 and 1996, show that black women identify as strongly on the basis of their gender as their race, and that these gender and racial identities are mutually reinforcing. Nevertheless, among black women, their identification with their race more powerfully affected their political attitudes than did their identification on the basis of gender, except in instances where the interests of blacks directly conflict with the interests of women. These empirically based findings speak to the issue of why the attitudes of black women toward contemporary gender issues can sharply diverge from those of white women.     

Comparing the CASI-4R and the PGBI-10 M for Differentiating Bipolar Spectrum Disorders from Other Outpatient Diagnoses in Youth

We compared 2 rating scales with different manic symptom items on diagnostic accuracy for detecting pediatric bipolar spectrum disorder (BPSDs) in outpatient mental health clinics. Participants were 681 parents/guardians of eligible children (465 male, mean age = 9.34) who completed the Parent General Behavior Inventory-10-item Mania (PGBI-10 M) and mania subscale of the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-Revised (CASI-4R). Diagnoses were based on KSADS interviews with parent and youth. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and diagnostic likelihood ratios (DLRs) determined discriminative validity and provided clinical utility, respectively. Logistic regressions tested for incremental validity in the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10 M in predicting youth BPSD status above and beyond demographic and common diagnostic comorbidities. Both CASI-4R and PGBI-10 M scales significantly distinguished BPSD (N = 160) from other disorders (CASI-4R: Area under curve (AUC) = .80, p < 0.0005; PGBI-10 M: AUC = 0.79, p < 0.0005) even though scale items differed. Both scales performed equally well in differentiating BPSDs (Venkatraman test p > 0.05). Diagnostic likelihood ratios indicated low scores on either scale (CASI: 0–5; PGBI-10 M: 0–6) cut BPSD odds to 1/5 of those with high scores (CASI DLR- = 0.17; PGBI-10 M DLR- = 0.18). High scores on either scale (CASI: 14+; PGBI-10 M: 20+) increased BPSD odds about fourfold (CASI DLR+ = 4.53; PGBI-10 M DLR+ = 3.97). Logistic regressions indicated the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10 M each provided incremental validity in predicting youth BPSD status. The CASI-4R is at least as valid as the PGBI-10 M to help identify BPSDs, and can be considered as part of an assessment battery to screen for pediatric BPSDs.