The concept of the 50-minute hour: Time forming a frame for the unconscious

Abstract

The 50-minute hour is a feature of psychoanalytic work that is most commonly discussed in the context of case reports. This paper examines it as a concept. The author starts by describing the origin of the 50-minute hour and its development as an element of the psychoanalytic setting or framework. Next, he considers the significance of the clock as a relational factor in the session and reflects on the alienness of the time of day to the unconscious, and the consequences of this alienness. He then uses a clinical example to illustrate the phenomenon of the stretching effect of time in analytic sessions. Finally, the author demonstrates how cleverly the 50-minute hour excises the time needed for unconscious processes from our accelerated present; he shows that it challenges the social convention of time, and has a structuring effect in that it “times” psychic processes.     

The medium can influence the message: Print-based versus digital reading influences how people process different types of written information

While electronic reading devices are extremely popular, research is equivocal regarding their benefits for outcomes such as reader comprehension. Integrating literatures on reading medium comparisons and matching effects in persuasion, this research tested whether comprehension is maximized when the content of the material (e.g., whether it is traditional vs. modern) matches the medium (e.g., reading from a traditional book vs. digital e-reader). In Study 1, participants read a traditional- or modern-themed short story from either a book or an e-reader. Story comprehension was greater when participants read from the printed medium compared to the e-reader, an effect that was marginally moderated by story content, consistent with a matching effect. In Study 2, participants read a persuasive message that emphasized either a traditional versus modern solution to improving health in either a magazine format or on an iPad. Message comprehension was marginally greater among participants who read their message in a printed format. Participants’ interest in weight loss showed evidence of a matching effect – participants were more interested in losing weight when a modern solution to obesity article was presented on an iPad compared to a printed format. The results are applied to the study of reading and attitude change.     

Numerosity discrimination in deep neural networks: Initial competence,developmental refinement and experience statistics

Both humans and non‐human animals exhibit sensitivity to the approximate number of items in a visual array, as indexed by their performance in numerosity discrimination tasks, and even neonates can detect changes in numerosity. These findings are often interpreted as evidence for an innate ‘number sense’. However, recent simulation work has challenged this view by showing that human‐like sensitivity to numerosity can emerge in deep neural networks that build an internal model of the sensory data. This emergentist perspective posits a central role for experience in shaping our number sense and might explain why numerical acuity progressively increases over the course of development. Here we substantiate this hypothesis by introducing a progressive unsupervised deep learning algorithm, which allows us to model the development of numerical acuity through experience. We also investigate how the statistical distribution of numerical and non‐numerical features in natural environments affects the emergence of numerosity representations in the computational model. Our simulations show that deep networks can exhibit numerosity sensitivity prior to any training, as well as a progressive developmental refinement that is modulated by the statistical structure of the learning environment. To validate our simulations, we offer a refinement to the quantitative characterization of the developmental patterns observed in human children. Overall, our findings suggest that it may not be necessary to assume that animals are endowed with a dedicated system for processing numerosity, since domain‐general learning mechanisms can capture key characteristics others have attributed to an evolutionarily specialized number system.     

Implied body action directs spatial attention

Research confirms that the body influences perception, but little is known about the embodiment of attention. We investigated whether the implied actions of others direct spatial attention, using a lateralized covert-orienting task with nonpredictive central cues depicting static, right/left-facing bodies poised in midaction. Validity effects (decreased response times for validly compared with invalidly cued trials) indicated orienting in the direction of the implied action. In Experiment 1, we compared action (running, throwing) with nonaction (standing) cues. Only the action cues produced validity effects, suggesting that implied action directs attention. The action cues produced faster responses overall, suggesting that action cues prime motor responses. In Experiment 2, we determined whether action cues shifted attention in a specific direction rather than to a general side of space: Two cues had similar action speed and motor effort but differed in implied direction (jumping, vertical; throwing, horizontal). Validity effects were found only for the throw cues for which the implied motion direction was consistent with lateralized target locations. In Experiment 3, we compared block-like stimuli to the throwing action stimuli to examine whether lower level perceptual information could account for the attention effects alone. Validity effects were found only for the human-action stimuli. Overall, the results suggest that predictive simulations of action shift attention in action-consistent directions.     

Is Television a Health and Safety Hazard? A Cross‐Sectional Analysis of At‐Risk Behavior on Primetime Television1

Twenty‐four top‐rated primetime television shows were observed weekly during 1997 and 1998 (242 episodes). The study examined behaviors of vehicle occupants; violence and risky sex; and use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Findings were compared to studies conducted in the mid‐1980s and 1994. Characters in vehicles were unrestrained 74% of the time in 1998, compared to 73% and 78% in 1994 and 1986, respectively. Violence, risky sex, and substance use were shown in 47%, 29%, and 55%, respectively, of 30‐min intervals observed in 1998. Similar data were recorded in 1994, with some negligible improvements. Results indicated that risky behaviors were rarely followed by punishing consequences, and irresponsible behaviors were modeled on primetime television. The relevance to social modeling and public health is discussed.     

Facilitating particularization of repeated similar events with context‐specific cues

Ninety‐five dental care patients participated in a quasi‐experiment in which they were interviewed twice about dental visits they had made during the past ten years. Objective truth was established by analysing their dental records. The main purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent context‐specific cues could facilitate particularization (i.e., recollection of events and details) of repeated and similar events. A mixed design was employed and the effects of three types of cues were explored: two types of context‐specific cues vs. cues commonly used in police practise when interviewing plaintiffs. In line with our hypothesis, context‐specific cues tended to be more effective for recollection of individual events than the comparison cues. In addition, context‐specific cues generated more details than the comparison cues and the difference was marginally significant. Rehearsal of the memories by telling them to others was associated with an increased number of recollected events and details. The results are discussed from a legal psychology perspective with focus on recollection of repeated abuse.     

Rational endorsement

It is valuable for inquiry to have researchers who are committed advocates of their own theories. However, in light of pervasive disagreement (and other concerns), such a commitment is not well explained by the idea that researchers believe their theories. Instead, this commitment, the rational attitude to take toward one’s favored theory during the course of inquiry, is what I call endorsement. Endorsement is a doxastic attitude, but one which is governed by a different type of epistemic rationality. This inclusive epistemic rationality is sensitive to reasons beyond those to think the particular proposition in question is true. Instead, it includes extrinsic epistemic reasons, which concern the health of inquiry more generally. Such extrinsic reasons include the distribution of cognitive labor that a researcher will contribute to by endorsing a particular theory. Recognizing endorsement and inclusive epistemic rationality thus allows us to smooth a tension between individual rationality and collective rationality. It does so by showing how it can be epistemically rational to endorse a theory on the basis of the way this endorsement will benefit collective inquiry. I provide a decision theoretic treatment for inclusive epistemic rationality and endorsement which illustrates how this can be accomplished.     

The Promise and Pitfalls of Facebook Advertising: a Genetic Counselor’s Perspective

Facebook advertising is a powerful tool for increasing the outreach and recruitment of research participants. We describe our experience as genetic counselors within the context of an internet-based research study, recruiting subjects for a Parkinson disease (PD) biomarker study.     

Longitudinal links between childhood peer acceptance and the neural correlates of sharing

Childhood peer acceptance is associated with high levels of prosocial behavior and advanced perspective taking skills. Yet, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these associations have not been studied. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the neural correlates of sharing decisions in a group of adolescents who had a stable accepted status (n = 27) and a group who had a chronic rejected status (n = 19) across six elementary school grades. Both groups of adolescents played three allocation games in which they could share money with strangers with varying costs and profits to them and the other person. Stably accepted adolescents were more likely to share their money with unknown others than chronically rejected adolescents when sharing was not costly. Neuroimaging analyses showed that stably accepted adolescents, compared to chronically rejected adolescents, exhibited higher levels of activation in the temporo‐parietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus, temporal pole, pre‐supplementary motor area, and anterior insula during costly sharing decisions. These findings demonstrate that stable peer acceptance across childhood is associated with heightened activity in brain regions previously linked to perspective taking and the detection of social norm violations during adolescence, and thereby provide insight into processes underlying the widely established links between peer acceptance and prosocial behavior.