Further evidence that object-based correspondence effects are primarily modulated by object location not by grasping affordance

Tipper, Paul and Hayes found object-based correspondence effects for door-handle stimuli for shape judgments but not colour. They reasoned that a grasping affordance is activated when judging dimensions related to a grasping action (shape), but not for other dimensions (colour). Cho and Proctor, however, found the effect with respect to handle position when the bases of the door handles were centred (so handles were positioned left or right; the base-centred condition) but not when the handles were centred (the object-centred condition), suggesting that the effect is driven by object location, not grasping affordance. We conducted an independent replication of Cho and Proctor's design, but with behavioural and event-related potential measures. Participants made shape judgments in Experiment 1 and colour judgments in Experiment 2 on the same door-handle objects. Correspondence effects on response time and errors were obtained in both experiments for the base-centred condition but not the object-centred condition. Effects were absent in the P1 and N1 data, which are consistent with the hypothesis of little binding between visual processing of grasping component and action. These findings question the grasping-affordance view but support a spatial-coding view, suggesting that correspondence effects are modulated primarily by object location.     

Make the manikin move: Symbolic approach–avoidance responses affect implicit and explicit face evaluations

The present research aimed to replicate and extend findings of Huijding, Muris, Lester, Field, and Joosse (2011), investigating whether symbolic approach–avoidance responses can induce implicit and explicit evaluation biases. Faces with a neutral expression were shown on a computer screen, and participants were instructed to repeatedly move a manikin towards some faces (approach) and away from other faces (avoidance). An affective priming task and a face rating task were used to assess training-compatible differences in implicit and explicit face evaluations, respectively. Results showed that the manikin training was successful: The priming task revealed more positive implicit evaluations of approached than avoided faces, and approached faces were rated more positively than avoided ones in the face rating task. These findings replicate those of Huijding and colleagues by demonstrating training effects on explicit evaluations, and they extend them by demonstrating effects on implicit evaluations.     

Linguistic and prosodic aspects of child-directed speech: The role of maternal child-rearing experiences

This study explored if the quality of mothers’ reported child-rearing experiences influences the prosodic and linguistic features of maternal child-directed speech. Lexical, syntactic, functional and prosodic aspects of maternal speech directed towards their 24-month-old children were examined. Results showed that mothers with different child-rearing histories differed in the ways they talked to their children. Mothers who recalled the caregiving they received during childhood as characterized by high levels of care and low levels of control, used a lexically and syntactically more complex speech and expressed more positive emotions. This kind of input seems to be more attuned with the typical growing skills of two-year-old children. Implications for the study of mother–infant relationship as well as for the study of child language development are addressed.     

Adapting Parent–Child Interaction Therapy for Deaf Families That Communicate via American Sign Language: A Formal Adaptation Approach

While our field has made positive strides in adapting psychotherapeutic interventions for diverse groups of people, considerable work is still needed in this area. We present our formal adaptation procedure for parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) with Deaf persons. This includes a review of the cultural adaptation process for psychological interventions, including PCIT, as well as an introduction to Deaf culture. Details regarding the specific adaptation of PCIT for Deaf persons are outlined. We found that the utilization of a clear framework to guide the cultural adaptation process facilitated careful consideration of the numerous linguistic and cultural variables involved, while maintaining integrity of the treatment model. While the current focus was on adapting PCIT for Deaf families who communicate via American Sign Language, this framework can also be applied to other populations and/or interventions.     

Processing fluency as a predictor of salience asymmetries in the Implicit Association Test

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is the most popular indirect measure of attitudes in social psychology. Rothermund and Wentura (2001, 2004) suggested that artifacts such as salience asymmetries are a source of compatibility effects in the IAT, and, therefore, the IAT does not necessarily measure attitude. They claim that salience asymmetries correspond with visual search asymmetries, such that the stimulus categories that are more quickly detected in a visual search task are also compatible in the IAT. We propose that processing fluency is a more reliable indicator of salience asymmetries in the IAT than are visual search asymmetries. To test this hypothesis, we set processing fluency in opposition to visual search asymmetry to see which variable better predicted IAT effects. In one pair of categories, the category that was more quickly detected in visual search was also more fluently processed in a binary classification task. In a second pair of categories, the category that was more quickly detected in visual search was the less fluently processed category. Across four experiments, we demonstrated that compatibility effects in the IAT corresponded with differences in processing fluency between categories, rather than with visual search asymmetries.     

Information structuring improves recall of emergency discharge information: a randomized clinical trial

This article examines the extent to which structuring Emergency Department discharge information improves the ability to recall that information, and whether such benefits interact with relevant prior knowledge. Using three samples of students with different levels of prior medical knowledge, we investigated the amount of information recalled after structured vs. non-structured presentation of information. Across all student samples, the structured discharge information led to a relative increase in recalled items of 17% compared to non-structured discharge information (M = 9.70, SD = 4.96 vs. M = 8.31, SD = 4.93). In the sample with least medical knowledge, however, the structured discharge information resulted in a relative increase in recall by 42% (M = 8.12 vs. M = 5.71). These results suggest that structuring discharge information can be a useful tool to improve recall of information and is likely to be most beneficial for patient populations with lower levels of medical knowledge.     

Muscular Activation Pattern of Bilateral Extensors Response to Asymmetric Hand Lifting During Trunk Flexion–extension Performance

The authors' purpose was to test the effect of asymmetric hand lifting on muscular activation patterns of 3 bilateral extensors. Eighteen male university students without back pain were volunteered. Each performed flexion–extension randomly with conditions of right lifting, left lifting, and nonlifting. Surface electromyography from bilateral thoracic, lumbar erector spinae, and hamstring was recorded. The cross-correlation and relative intensity in paired muscles of bilateral extensors was calculated in flexion as well as extension period. The results showed that the cross-correlation coefficient was decreased and the phase lag as well as the relative intensity of bilateral extensors was increased significantly in thoracic level. The phase lag as well as the relative intensity of bilateral extensors was increased significantly in lumbar level. It was concluded that asymmetric lifting has a significant effect on muscular activation of bilateral extensors in thorax level, which causes the ipsilateral extensor to activate larger and longer. Asymmetric lifting also has some effect on muscular activation of bilateral extensors in lumbar level but with less extent than in thorax level, which causes contralateral extensor to activate larger and longer. Asymmetric lifting seems to have no significant effect on muscular activation of bilateral hamstring.     

Relations of positive and negative expressivity and effortful control to kindergarteners’ student–teacher relationship,academic engagement,and externalizing problems at school

The current study examined the role of naturally-occurring negative and positive emotion expressivity in kindergarten and children’s effortful control (EC) on their relationships with teachers, academic engagement, and problems behaviors in school. Further, the potential moderating role of EC on these important school outcomes was assessed. Emotion and engagement were observed at school. EC was assessed by multiple methods. Teachers reported on their student–teacher relationships and students’ externalizing behaviors. Children’s emotion expressivity and EC were related to engagement and relationships with teachers as well as behavioral problems at school. Children low in EC may be particularly vulnerable to the poor outcomes associated with relatively intense emotion expressivity as they struggle to manage their emotions and behaviors in the classroom.     

A Case Study Demonstrating Reduction of Aggressive Client Behaviors Using the Neuro-Occupation Model: Addressing Professional Burnout through Nonlinear Thinking

This single case study suggests that mental health practitioners adopt nonlinear modes of thinking within the neuro-occupation model to avoid professional burnout. Accordingly, the elimination of severely aggressive behavior of an institutionalized client was reviewed following an intervention using the model. Provided with new opportunities, the client self-extinguished aggressive interactions, reinstated social behaviors, and expanded occupations. Accepting clients as their own change agents limits our role to facilitators and reframes service delivery in mental health, which argues for comparison studies that measure reduced burnout in occupational therapists using the model.