Complexity of categorical syllogisms: An integration of two metrics

The complexity of categorical syllogisms was assessed using the relational complexity metric, which is based on the number of entities that are related in a single cognitive representation. This was compared with number of mental models in an experiment in which adult participants solved all 64 syllogisms. Both metrics accounted for similarly large proportions of the variance, showing that complexity depends on the number of categories that are related in a representation of the combined premises, whether represented in multiple mental models, or by a single model. This obviates the difficulty with mental models theory due to equivocal evidence for construction of more than one mental model. The “no valid conclusion” response was used for complex syllogisms that had valid conclusions. The results are interpreted as showing that the relational complexity metric can be applied to syllogistic reasoning, and can be integrated with mental models theory, which together account for a wide range of cognitive performances.     

Design and Evaluation of a Decision Aid for Inviting Parents to Participate in a Fragile X Newborn Screening Pilot Study

The major objectives of this project were to develop and evaluate a brochure to help parents make an informed decision about participation in a fragile X newborn screening study. We used an iterative development process that drew on principles of Informed Decision Making (IDM), stakeholder input, design expertise, and expert evaluation. A simulation study with 118 women examined response to the brochure. An independent review rated the brochure high on informational content, guidance, and values. Mothers took an average of 6.5 min to read it and scored an average of 91.1 % correct on a knowledge test. Most women rated the brochure as high quality and trustworthy. When asked to make a hypothetical decision about study participation, 61.9 % would agree to screening. Structural equation modeling showed that agreement to screening and decisional confidence were associated with perceived quality and trust in the brochure. Minority and white mothers did not differ in perceptions of quality or trust. We demonstrate the application of IDM in developing a study brochure. The brochure was highly rated by experts and consumers, met high standards for IDM, and achieved stated goals in a simulation study. The IDM provides a model for consent in research disclosing complicated genetic information of uncertain value.     

“My Culture, My Family, My School, Me”: Identifying Strengths and Challenges in the Lives and Communities of American Indian Youth

Historically, the majority of research with American Indian (AI) youth and communities has focused on vulnerabilities, problems, and needs rather than resilience, strengths, and assets. Adding to the limited research which has examined AI youth and communities using the strengths perspective, we examined community assets, personal strengths, community challenges, and personal hardships as perceived by reservation-based, Northern Plains AI youth via open-ended survey questions. The present study was conducted during the spring and fall of 2009 at a tribal school in the Northern Plains (N = 95; n = 37 males; n = 58 females; aged 14.4–20.95 years; M = 17.3, SD = 1.47 years). The majority of youth self-identified their ethnic background as solely AI (85.3 %), with small percentages reporting additional ethnic backgrounds. Analyses revealed that the people in their lives, especially their families, are significant sources of strength for AI youth. Findings also indicated that AI youth have a positive orientation toward themselves and their communities, which was evidenced by the fact that the youth identified more strengths than challenges in their lives. Somewhat unexpectedly, when asked what aspects of their lives and communities they would most like to change, a significant number of the youth identified they wanted to change “nothing” about their personal lives or their communities. Reasons for these responses are explored.     

A Journey Toward Wholeness, a Journey to God: Physical Fitness as Embodied Spirituality

Physical fitness expressed through exercise can be, if done with the right intention, a form of spiritual discipline that reflects the relational love of humanity to God as well as an expression of a healthy love of the embodied self. Through an analysis of the physiological benefits of exercise science applied to the human body, this paper will demonstrate how such attention to the optimal physical fitness of the body, including weight and cardiovascular training and nutrition, is an affirmation of three foundational theological principles of human embodiment: as created in the “imago Dei”, as unified body/spirit, and as part of God’s creation calling for proper stewardship. In a contemporary climate where women’s bodies in particular are viewed through the lens of commodification—as visual objects for sale based on prescribed notions of superficial esthetics and beauty—as well as the consistently high rates of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and obesity, authors Greenwood and Delgado offer a vision of how women and men can imagine a subjective relationship with their own bodies that reflects the abundant love of God for God’s creation. Spoken from the lived experience of professional fitness competitor and trainer, as well as trained biokineticist, Dr. Greenwood presents the most current scientific data in the field of biokinetics that grounds the theological analysis offered by Dr. Delgado, whose personal journey through anorexia and scholarly emphasis on Christian theological anthropology inform this work. Taken together, Greenwood and Delgado suggest a response to God’s love for humanity, including our physical bodily humanity, which entails a responsibility to attend to the physical fitness of our bodies in order to live into the fullness, flourishing and love of God’s creation as God intended.     

The impact of September 11 on dreaming

This study focuses on a set of dreams related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and their aftermath, using content analysis and cognitive psychology to explore the interweaving of external public catastrophe and internal psychological processes. The study tests several recent claims in contemporary dream research, including the central image theory of Hartmann [Hartmann, E., & Basile, R. (2003). Dream imagery becomes more intense after 9/11/01. Dreaming, 13(2), 61-66; Hartmann, E., & Brezler, T. (2008). A systematic change in dreams after 9/11/01. Sleep, 31(2), 213-218], the media exposure factor postulated by Propper [Propper, R. E., Stickgold, R., Keeley, R., & Christman, S. D. (2007). Is television traumatic? Dreams, stress, and media exposure in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Psychological Science, 18(4), 334-340], the continuity hypothesis of Domhoff [Domhoff, W. G. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. New York: Plenum], the cognitive and metacognitive approach of Kahan [Kahan, T. L. (2001). Consciousness in dreaming: A metacognitive approach. In K. Bulkeley (Ed.), Dreams: A reader on the religious, cultural, and psychological dimensions of dreaming (pp. 333-360). New York: Palgrave], and the threat simulation theory of Revonsuo [Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 877-901]. Our findings suggest the terrorist attacks had a tangible impact on the content of many people's dreams, but did not fundamentally alter the cognitive processing features of their dreaming. The 9/11 attacks affected what they dreamed about, but not the way they dreamed.     

What it means to be and feel like a "true" American: perceptions and experiences of second-generation Americans

Through semistructured interviews, the authors investigated the relationships between the definition of a "true" American, the impact of 9/11, and the war in Iraq and their impact on experiences of fitting into and being excluded from the American identity with a sample of 10 2nd-generation young adults. Using consensual qualitative research methods (C. E. Hill et al., 2005; C. E. Hill, B. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) the authors identified 6 major domains that described participants' experiences, including physical characteristics of true Americans, behavioral characteristics of true Americans, beliefs and values of true Americans, the impact of 9/11 on definitions of true Americans, participants' American identity, and experiences as 2nd-generation Americans.     

The Kosovar sponsoring experience in Northern Alberta

We examine the experiences of sponsors who assisted Kosovar refugees in Northern Alberta. Although the sponsors of the Kosovars did not provide basic financial support to the refugees, many found their role to be onerous, particularly in terms of emotional investment and demands on their time. They would have liked more opportunity to debrief and to have contact with other experienced sponsors. Some of the sponsors' initial expectations of the Kosovars were at odds with reality; conversely, many sponsors felt that the refugees had unrealistic expectations of them and of life in Canada. Recommendations are made for future sponsoring arrangements.     

Stability and change in interests: A longitudinal study of adolescents from grades 8 through 12

The pattern of RIASEC interests and academic skills were assessed longitudinally from a large-scale national database at three time points: eight grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade. Validation and cross-validation samples of 1000 males and 1000 females in each set were used to test the pattern of these scores over time relative to mean changes, stability, crystallization, and interest-career choice congruence as well as how these patterns were moderated by gender. Results indicate that the pattern of interests was fairly stable in grades 8-12 for males and females. Interests were also found to become more crystallized over time; however interest-career choice congruence evidenced an inverted V pattern. With further examination, student interests became less people based and their career choices more people based in grade 12. The results support the importance of grade 12 as a time of focus for research and intervention, and for continuing investigation of gender differences in adolescent career and academic development.     

Dreaming and waking: similarities and differences revisited

Dreaming is often characterized as lacking high-order cognitive (HOC) skills. In two studies, we test the alternative hypothesis that the dreaming mind is highly similar to the waking mind. Multiple experience samples were obtained from late-night REM sleep and waking, following a systematic protocol described in Kahan (2001). Results indicated that reported dreaming and waking experiences are surprisingly similar in their cognitive and sensory qualities. Concurrently, ratings of dreaming and waking experiences were markedly different on questions of general reality orientation and logical organization (e.g., the bizarreness or typicality of the events, actions, and locations). Consistent with other recent studies (e.g., [Bulkeley and Kahan, 2008] and [Kozmová and Wolman, 2006] ), experiences sampled from dreaming and waking were more similar with respect to their process features than with respect to their structural features.