Contextualizing the History of Yoga in Geoffrey Samuel’s The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: A Review Symposium

International Journal of Hindu Studies -     

Can Accidents and Industrial Mishaps Be Predicted? Further Investigation into the Relationship Between Cognitive Failure and Reports of Accidents

The ability of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) to predict accidents and job performance ratings was investigated. A participant pool of 240 electrical workers anonymously completed the CFQ and an information sheet. Results indicated that CFQ scores and the Blunder factor could predict automobile accidents and work accidents, while the Blunders and Distractibility subscales could predict overall performance ratings. Additionally, to increase the generalizability of the study both self-reports and objective reports of safety behavior were collected. Results demonstrated that both types of reports overlapped substantially. Implications and limitations of the present study are discussed, as well as future research.     

First-trial adaptation to prism exposure

Terminal target-pointing error on the 1st trial of exposure to optical displacement is usually less than that expected from the optical displacement magnitude. Such 1st trial adaptation was confirmed in 2 experiments (N = 48 students in each) comparing pointing toward optically displaced targets and toward equivalent physically displaced targets (no optical displacement), with visual feedback delayed until movement completion. First-trial performance could not be explained by ordinary target undershoot, online correction, or reverse optic flow information about true target position and was unrelated to realignment aftereffects. Such adaptation might be an artifact of the asymmetry of the structured visual field produced by optical displacement, which induces a felt head rotation opposite to the direction of the displacement, thereby reducing the effective optical displacement.     

In Eating‐Disordered Inpatient Adolescents,Self‐Criticism Predicts Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury

We examined the role of depressive traits—self‐criticism and dependency—in nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation among inpatient adolescents with eating disorders. In two studies (N = 103 and 55), inpatients were assessed for depressive traits, suicidal ideations, and NSSI. In Study 2, motivation for carrying out NSSI was also assessed. In both studies, depression predicted suicidal ideation and self‐criticism predicted NSSI. In Study 2, depression and suicidal ideation also predicted NSSI. The automatic positive motivation for NSSI was predicted by dependency and depressive symptoms, and by a two‐way interaction between self‐criticism and dependency. Consistent with the “self‐punishment model,” self‐criticism appears to constitute a dimension of vulnerability for NSSI.     

Presentation duration and false recall for semantic and phonological associates

Two experiments examined false recall for lists of semantically and phonologically associated words as a function of presentation duration. Veridical recall increased with long exposure durations for all lists. For semantically associated lists, false recall increased from 20-250 ms, then decreased. There was a high level of false recall with 20 ms durations for phonologically associated lists (47 and 44% for Experiments 1 and 2, respectively), which declined as duration increased. In Experiment 2, for lists presented at 20 and 50 ms rates, false recall given zero correct recall was observed frequently, suggesting that conscious recollection of studied words was not necessary for phonological false memory. Differences between phonologically and semantically associated lists were consistent with a feature integration model based on automatic initial processing of phonetic features of words.     

Intermanual transfer of prism adaptation

The authors measured intermanual transfer in participants (N = 48) whose exposed or unexposed right or left hand was tested 1st after participants experienced prismatic displacement. Test order did not affect either participants' performance during prismatic exposure or the usual aftereffects, but transfer occurred only when the authors tested the exposed right hand 1st. Transfer did not occur, and proprioceptive shift for the exposed left limb decreased when the authors tested the unexposed right limb 1st. The present results suggest that transfer occurs during testing for aftereffects of prism exposure, but not during prism exposure itself, as researchers have previously assumed. Results are consistent with those of previous research that has shown that limb control is lateralized in opposite hemispheres and that the left hemisphere contains a spatial map only for the right limb.     

A comparison of the correlational structures and elevation patterns of the MMPI-2 restructured clinical (RC) and clinical scales

The relationship between the MMPI-2 restructured clinical scales and the original clinical scales was evaluated using an outpatient clinical sample (N = 150). Similar patterns of correlations to those reported by Tellegen et al. in 2003, such as high correlations between the restructured scales and their original scale counterparts and lower intercorrelations among the restructured scales than among the original scales, were found in the outpatient sample. The former provided evidence of convergence between the two sets of scales, whereas the latter increases the potential for discriminant validity in the restructured scale profiles. Mean T-scores of the restructured scales were significantly lower than their original scale counterparts for every clinical scale except Scale 1 (hypochondriasis). Individual profiles exhibited fewer scale elevations using the restructured clinical scales (M = 2.15, Mdn = 2.0) than the original clinical scales (M = 3.29, Mdn = 3.0). The majority of client profiles (56%) had fewer scale elevations when plotted using the restructured scales versus the original clinical scales.     

Researchers discover what they already knew about validity: The case of the family-of-Origin Scale

This article is concerned with two recnet studies of the Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS), Gavin and Wamboldt (1992) and Ryan, Kawash, Fine, and Powel (1994). The external validity analyses conducted for the FOS in these studies assumed the scale to be a unidemsional measure. The present discussion centers on methodological decisions and interpretive strategies that may have prevented a more complete understanding of the scale's dimensional structure and theoretical meaning. It is concluded that a unidimensional view of the FOS is an oversimplification that is inconsistent with the available data. A case is made for a more comprehensive and technically adequate evaluation of the FOS. Specific suggestions are offered.     

Factors affecting proprioceptive adaptation to prismatic displacement

Two prism displacement experiments were conducted to determine the effects of reducing proprioceptive feedback on resultant adaptation magnitude. In Experiment 1, proprioceptive reduction was produced by requesting subjects to employ passive Ivs. active) and/or fast- Ivs. slow-) paced arm movement during prism exposure. When both of these conditions were present, a significant reduction in the magnitude of proprioceptive adaptation and a significant increase in the magnitude of visual adaptation were produced. In Experiment 2, hypnotic anesthesia was employed to reduce felt sensation in an adapting limb during a prism displacement situation. This manipulation reduced proprioceptive adaptation to a nonsignificant level. The combined results of the two experiments reveal several conditions that can serve to reduce proprioceptive adaptation during prism displacement.     

A feminist challenge to practices of medicine

Susan Sherwin's No Longer Patient: Feminist Ethics and Health Care is a readable book that is accessible to a wide range of medical practitioners. It presupposes no prior training in ethics or feminism (and for just this reason, it may be somewhat less satisfying, although not necessarily less useful, for philosophers). The book is a feminist bioethics primer that introduces medical practitioners to issues that feminist theory makes prominent and that illuminate tensions in the structure and practice of medicine.