Images of the disciplining of psychology, 1890–1940

Over the course of psychology’s first several decades, the language used to convey the subject matter gradually shifted from being free and literary to being strictly constrained and disciplined by increasingly focused theoretical demands. The project described here, “Disciplining Psychology,” aimed to depict this transformation by generating images of the faces of three highly influential psychologists—William James, Sigmund Freud, and B. F. Skinner. Each image is composed of the words used in one of each individual’s most important books. The tightening of the disciplinary vocabulary is revealed in the differences among the three arrays of words themselves, but I have also striven to reflect it in the aesthetic aspects of each image. The method used here could easily be extended to a wider array of authors, texts, and psychological topics.     

Differences Between African American and White Research Volunteers in Their Attitudes,Beliefs and Knowledge Regarding Genetic Testing for Alzheimer’s Disease

Genetic susceptibility testing for common diseases is expanding, but little is known about race group differences in test perceptions. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between African Americans and Whites in knowledge, attitudes, and motivations regarding genetic susceptibility testing for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Before enrolling in an AD genetic testing research trial, 313 first-degree relatives of AD patients (20% African American; 71% female; mean age = 58 years) were surveyed regarding: (1) knowledge about genetics and AD risk; (2) concerns about developing AD; and (3) reasons for seeking testing. In comparison to Whites, African Americans were less knowledgeable about genetics and AD risk (p < .01) and less concerned about developing AD (p < .05), with lower levels of perceived disease risk (p = .04). The results suggest that African Americans and Whites differ notably in their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding genetic testing for AD. Additional research with more representative samples is needed to better understand these differences.     

PKA and PKC are required for long-term but not short-term in vivo operant memory in Aplysia

We investigated the involvement of PKA and PKC signaling in a negatively reinforced operant learning paradigm in Aplysia, learning that food is inedible (LFI). In vivo injection of PKA or PKC inhibitors blocked long-term LFI memory formation. Moreover, a persistent phase of PKA activity, although not PKC activity, was necessary for long-term memory. Surprisingly, neither PKA nor PKC activity was required for associative short-term LFI memory. Additionally, PKA and PKC were not required for the retrieval of short- or long-term memory (STM and LTM, respectively). These studies have identified key differences between the mechanisms underlying nonassociative sensitization, operant reward learning, and LFI memory in Aplysia.     

Screaming, yelling, whining, and crying: categorical and intensity differences in vocal expressions of anger and sadness in children's tantrums

Young children's temper tantrums offer a unique window into the expression and regulation of strong emotions. Previous work, largely based on parental report, suggests that two emotions, anger and sadness, have different behavioral manifestations and different time courses within tantrums. Individual motor and vocal behaviors, reported by parents, have been interpreted as representing different levels of intensity within each emotion category. The present study used high-fidelity audio recordings to capture the acoustic features of children's vocalizations during tantrums. Results indicated that perceptually categorized screaming, yelling, crying, whining, and fussing each have distinct acoustic features. Screaming and yelling form a group with similar acoustic features while crying, whining, and fussing form a second acoustically related group. Within these groups, screaming may reflect a higher intensity of anger than yelling while fussing, whining, and crying may reflect an increasing intensity of sadness.     

Computer models of cognitive processes

Conclusion From the small sample of achievements that I have had time to mention, we can only conclude that automation is here to stay. Nor is there any doubt that more powerful automata will be built. A great many of the higher human abilities will be given to machines. The great rush to automation is sure to stimulate psychologists to learn more about the human symbolic processes being mimicked by the machines. And the computers, which are the ultimate cause of the feverish scramble toward automation, are providing both the framework for describing complex models of behavior and also the means for testing these models. With both the means and the motivation at hand, psychologists are sure to make rapid progress in understanding complex human behavior.Operated with support from the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force.     

The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives

Transportation was proposed as a mechanism whereby narratives can affect beliefs. Defined as absorption into a story, transportation entails imagery, affect, and attentional focus. A transportation scale was developed and validated. Experiment 1 (N = 97) demonstrated that extent of transportation augmented story-consistent beliefs and favorable evaluations of protagonists. Experiment 2 (N = 69) showed that highly transported readers found fewer false notes in a story than less-transported readers. Experiments 3 (N = 274) and 4 (N = 258) again replicated the effects of transportation on beliefs and evaluations; in the latter study, transportation was directly manipulated by using processing instructions. Reduced transportation led to reduced story-consistent beliefs and evaluations. The studies also showed that transportation and corresponding beliefs were generally unaffected by labeling a story as fact or as fiction.     

Eyeblink classical conditioning: hippocampal formation is for neutral stimulus associations as cerebellum is for association-response

Extensive evidence has been amassed that the cerebellum, hippocampus, and associated circuitry are activated during classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane/eyeblink response. In this article, the authors argue that the cerebellum is essential to all eyeblink classical conditioning paradigms. In addition, the septohippocampal system plays a critical role when the classical conditioning paradigm requires the formation of associations in addition to the simple association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. When only a simple conditioned stimulus--unconditioned stimulus association is needed, the septohippocampal system has a more limited, modulatory role. The neutral stimulus association versus simple association-response distinction is one of the ways in which declarative or relational memory can be separated from nondeclarative or nonrelational memory in classical conditioning paradigms.     

Face and mouth inversion effects on visual and audiovisual speech perception

Three experiments examined whether image manipulations known to disrupt face perception also disrupt visual speech perception. Research has shown that an upright face with an inverted mouth looks strikingly grotesque whereas an inverted face and an inverted face containing an upright mouth look relatively normal. The current study examined whether a similar sensitivity to upright facial context plays a role in visual speech perception. Visual and audiovisual syllable identification tasks were tested under 4 presentation conditions: upright face-upright mouth, inverted face-inverted mouth, inverted face-upright mouth, and upright face-inverted mouth. Results revealed that for some visual syllables only the upright face-inverted mouth image disrupted identification. These results suggest that upright facial context can play a role in visual speech perception. A follow-up experiment testing isolated mouths supported this conclusion.     

The impact of lesion laterality on neuropsychological change following posterior pallidotomy: a review of current findings

This paper reviews seven studies evaluating the impact of lesion laterality on the neuropsychological sequelae of posterior pallidotomy for treatment of Parkinson's disease. Left lesions of the internal globus pallidus (GPi) were associated with subtle deficits on measures sensitive to frontal lobe function. The findings of a randomized clinical trial including a patient control group indicated that many of these deficits were transient, resolving by 6 months following surgery. Right GPi lesions were not consistently associated with neuropsychological deficit, except in one study that included a significant proportion of demented patients. It is hypothesized that when neuropsychological decline is present following surgery, this reflects impingement of posterior GPi lesions into proximal regions such as anterior GPi or the external pallidum that participate in cognitive basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits. The findings from neuroimaging will be important for elucidating the relationship between lesion locus and neuropsychological sequelae.