Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? The interweaving of values and science

The role of values in the scientific process is widely debated. But evidence and values cannot be neatly separated. Instead, values infuse the entire scientific process, starting with the choice of research questions. Research avenues are selected based on prior beliefs about the workings of the world. In fact, informally assigned prior probabilities and normalizing constants play an essential role in distinguishing causes from correlations and ignoring irrelevant associations that would otherwise be suggested by raw data. But since these initial probabilities often have a heterogeneous pedigree – often not all that went into their formation is known or knowable – it becomes difficult to cleanly separate evidence from values. At the same time, this reality does not undermine science’s unique status in generating knowledge. This is because it is not the evidence per se generated by science, but rather the method by which science generates it, that justifies science’s privileged role.     

Effect of developmental care for very premature infants on neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age

BackgroundTo determine the effect of developmental care on neurodevelopmental outcome in formerly preterm infants at a corrected age of 2 years.MethodsA prospective phase-lag study was performed at an Austrian neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). From January 2003 to December 2005 (study period of conventional care) and January 2007 to December 2009 (study period of developmental care), we enrolled all infants born in Tyrol at less than 32 weeks of gestation. During this period a total of 261 of 359 preterm infants (participation rate 72.7%) completed the follow-up visit at 2 years of age; there were 124 children in the conventional and 137 in the developmental care group. The association between developmental care and delayed motor or mental development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development II; psychomotor or mental developmental index <85) was analyzed by means of logistic regression analysis at a corrected age of 24 months.ResultsChildren in the developmental care group showed less psychomotor delay than did those in the control group (developmental care group: 16.1%, conventional care group 27.4%; adjusted odds ratio 0.37 [95% confidence interval: 0.19–0.74], P = 0.005). Not smoking in pregnancy and higher gestational age were also significant predictors for a better psychomotor outcome at 2 years of age. Regarding cognitive outcome, no significant difference was observed between these two groups.ConclusionOur data implicate that developmental care may result in an improved 2-year psychomotor outcome in formerly preterm infants.     

Developmental outcomes of toddlers of young Latina mothers: Cultural,family, and parenting factors

Children of adolescent mothers are at risk for poor developmental outcomes. This study is among the first to examine how cultural, family, and parenting factors prospectively predict the cognitive and language development of children of young Latina mothers (N = 170; M_age = 17.9 years). Mothers were interviewed and observed interacting with their children at 18 months (W1). Children were tested at 18 (W1) and 24 (W2) months. Mothers’ cultural orientation (W1) was related to aspects of the childrearing environment (W1), which in turn had implications for the children's development (W2). Specifically, a stronger orientation toward American culture was related to higher mother-reported engagement in parenting by their own mothers (grandmothers), which in turn predicted stronger gains in cognitive and expressive language functioning from W1 to W2. A stronger Latino orientation related to the display of more directiveness and greater mother-reported engagement by the children's biological fathers; directiveness, in turn, predicted fewer gains in cognitive functioning only when father engagement was low and did not predict expressive language development. Finally, mothers’ display of more positive affect, a stronger American orientation, and higher grandmother engagement uniquely predicted gains in W2 expressive language functioning. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

Motor imagery ability and internal representation of movement in children with probable developmental coordination disorder

It has been hypothesised that deficits in the functioning of the mirror neuron system (MNS) and internal modelling may contribute to the motor impairments associated with DCD. These processes can be explored behaviourally through motor imagery paradigms. Motor imagery proficiency of children with and without probable DCD (pDCD) was examined using a complex hand rotation task to explore whether motor imagery strategies could be used during more complex tasks. Forty-four boys aged 7–13 years participated, 22 with pDCD (mean = 9.90 years ± 1.57) and 22 controls (mean = 9.68 years ± 1.53). Participants completed the task twice: with and without motor imagery instructions. Stimuli were presented in two rotational axes – palm/back, and eight 45° rotational steps. Both groups showed evidence of following the biomechanical and postural constraints of actual movements. Responses of children with pDCD were slower and less accurate than controls, with group differences increasing alongside task complexity. A greater impact of biomechanical constraints for accuracy was observed in the DCD group. The response characteristics of children with pDCD likely reflects a reduced capacity to mentally manipulate a body schema and reduced visuo-motor processing capabilities. Behaviourally, these processes are linked to MNS and internal modelling function, suggesting deficits in these systems may contribute to the movement difficulties characteristic of DCD.     

Reprint of “Co-occurring motor,language and emotional–behavioral problems in children 3–6 years of age”

PurposeDevelopmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) has been shown to co-occur with behavioral and language problems in school-aged children, but little is known as to when these problems begin to emerge, or if they are inherent in children with DCD. The purpose of this study was to determine if deficits in language and emotional–behavioral problems are apparent in preschool-aged children with movement difficulties.MethodTwo hundred and fourteen children (mean age 4 years 11 months, SD 9.8 months, 103 male) performed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd Edition (MABC-2). Children falling at or below the 16th percentile were classified as being at risk for movement difficulties (MD risk). Auditory comprehension and expressive communication were examined using the Preschool Language Scales 4th Edition (PLS-4). Parent-reported emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).ResultsPreschool children with diminished motor coordination (n = 37) were found to have lower language scores, higher externalizing behaviors in the form of increased aggression, as well as increased withdrawn and other behavior symptoms compared with their typically developing peers.ConclusionsMotor coordination, language and emotional–behavioral difficulties tend to co-occur in young children aged 3–6 years. These results highlight the need for early intervention.     

Social Context and the Dynamics of Cooperative Choice

Recent work using decontextualized economic games suggests that cooperation is a dynamic decision‐making process: Automatic responses typically support cooperation on average, while deliberation leads to increased selfishness. Here, we performed two studies examining how these temporal effects generalize to games with richer social context cues. Study 1 found that time pressure increased cooperation to a similar extent in games played with in‐group members and out‐group members. Study 2 found that time pressure increased cooperation to a similar extent in games described as competitions and games described as collaborations. These results show that previous positive effects of time pressure on cooperation are not unique to neutrally framed games devoid of social context and are not driven by implicit assumptions of shared group membership or cooperative norms. In doing so, our findings provide further insight into the cognitive underpinnings of cooperative decision making. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patterns of psychotherapy development: A mixed-method analysis using assimilation indices

Understanding how assimilation develops is essential in promoting personal change. By attending to signs or indices of assimilation in the speech of clients, therapists can use this process to assess how the therapy is developing and to tailor intervention. The system of assimilation indices was developed to use assimilation to understand the process of change. This system signals five sub-processes of assimilation: external distress, pain, noticing, decentring, and action. This study consisted of a longitudinal mixed-method analysis, following a multiple cases embedded design. The system of assimilation indices was applied to the recordings of nine psychotherapies and contrasted with both the outcome of the therapy and the perspectives of the therapists and clients about their therapy process. The results show that the system of indices is useful in understanding multiple pathways for assimilation. The system of indices is seen as a useful tool for understanding assimilation and as having clinical value in anticipating challenges to the success of the therapy. This study also shows how the indices are sensitive to the nuances in the change process observed in clinical settings.     

The Community Story,Relationality and Process: Bridging Tools for Researching Local Knowledge in a Peri‐urban Township

In intervening in social challenges impacting local communities, Western forms of dispute/conflict resolution have been critiqued for imparting norms, values and practices that marginalise worldviews of indigenous people. From a decolonizing stance, indigenous scholars have emphasised the need for recovery of ‘lost’ values, beliefs and practices to advance indigenous knowledge. We highlight some of the conceptual challenges associated with applying ‘indigenous knowledge’ and culture‐specific ‘indigenous methodologies’ to a marginalised peri‐urban, ethnically plural township community situated on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. In embracing the mutuality of indigenous and Western knowledge forms, we explore three elements: the community story, relationality and process in relation to initial engagements with our study community. We attempt to transcend the dualism between ‘Western’ epistemologies and ‘indigenous knowledge’ through these ‘bridging concepts’. What is offered is not a formula or model but an orientation that aims to foster mutual learning through collaborative partnerships within and between communities and researchers with a view to inspiring possibilities for creative and meaningful solutions for violence prevention and dispute/conflict resolution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dev E-R: A computational model of early cognitive development as a creative process

This paper describes a computational model named Dev E-R (Developmental Engagement-Reflection) that, inspired by Piaget’s theory, simulates the assimilation-accommodation adaptation process. It is implemented with a new extended version of the computational model of creativity known as Engagement-Reflection. That is, this model simulates adaptation as a creative activity. We introduce here the implementation of our model on an agent that is initialized with basic reflex conducts and that through the interaction with a 3D virtual world, it is able to build new behaviors autonomously. The new acquired skills, according to Piaget’s theory, are typically observed in children that have reached the second substage of the sensorimotor period.