Lateral asymmetries in the naming of words and corresponding line drawings

Laterally displaced line drawings and the words which name these drawings were tachistoscopically presented to adult subjects. For words, as expected, a right visual field-left hemisphere advantage was obtained. For line drawings, in contrast to previous studies which have typically reported a right visual field-left hemisphere advantage, no visual field asymmetry was found. The absence of a visual field asymmetry for line drawings is consistent with reports of a shift toward greater right hemisphere involvement in the recognition of pictographic as compared to phonetic writing systems and concrete/imageable words as compared to abstract/nonimageable words. Further, the present results seem consistent with findings on picture recognition and naming abilities in brain-damaged patients.     

Effect of list length on recall after dichotomous visual presentation

A visual analogue of an auditory dichotic listening experiment was carried out using what may be termed dichotomous visual presentation of lists of either three or four stimuli. Each stimulus consisted of several identical letters which were arranged so as to form the outline of a second, large letter. Subjects attended to either the small or large letters, and recalled either the attended or unattended letters first. It was found that the results for the three-stimulus and four-stimulus lists differed substantially; they were interpreted as consistent with the model of short-term memory proposed by Broadbent (1975).     

Possible psychometric problems in a test for selective deficits of conceptualization

We administered a modified version of the test of Semenza, Denes, Lucchese, and Bisiacchi (Brain and Language, 10, 243-248 (1980)) for selective deficits in conceptualization to a group of normals and psychiatric patients. Analysis of the results obtained with the normal sample revealed several psychometric problems. The two components of the test (one for thematic and one for class relationships) each had poor internal consistency and were significantly different from each other on a measure of discriminating power. It is not clear if our results are related to difficulty in applying the test to an English-speaking population or reflect inherent psychometric problems.     

Human peak shift: Analysis of the effects of three-stimulus discrimination training

In a series of studies, the effects of different types of intradimensional discrimination training on human auditory frequency generalization were examined. When subjects were trained with a single S− located on one or the other side of S+, postdiscrimination gradients were displaced away from S−. Subjects trained with two negative stimuli both on one side of S+ showed a greater extent of displacement with true peak shift. In a second experiment the procedures were repeated with two fixed amounts of training: either 12 or 42 training trials. Again the subjects trained with two negative stimuli showed more shift than those trained with one S−, and this effect was independent of amount of training. Experiment 3 showed increased peak shift when two positive stimuli surrounded a central S− as compared to groups with a single S+ and S−. The general conclusion is that training with more difficult, three-stimulus discrimination problems results in enhanced peak shift.     

The roles of event contingencies and reinforcement in human autoshaping and omission responding

Four experiments were conducted to test those features deemed to play an important role in the acquisition and/or maintenance of autoshaping and omission responding with human subjects, viz., event contingencies, reinforcement, stimulus generalization, the type of CS employed, conditioned reinforcement, and response topography. One important aspect of these studies is that the boundary conditions were made to resemble those pertaining to the majority of nonhuman animal studies, i.e., magazine training followed by paired CS-US presentations. The results demonstrated the importance of CS-UR or, alternatively, CS-US contiguity together with generalization and a response-reinforcer contingency for autoshaped response initiation and maintenance, respectively. The conditioned reinforcing effect of CS offset appears to play a part in generating and maintaining some responding during omission training, especially during a response-terminated CS procedure. Similar response topography was observed when the form of the UR was compared to that of the CR or autoshaped response. Taken as a whole the results of these experiments with humans are directly comparable to results previously reported using a wide variety of nonhuman animals.     

Mozambican immigrants to South Africa: Their xenophobia and discrimination experiences

We explored Mozambican immigrants’ lived experiences of xenophobia and discrimination in South Africa. Informants were 15 Mozambican immigrants (female = 7, male = 8) living in an informal settlement in Zandspruit, Gauteng Province. They completed open-ended written narratives on xenophobic and discriminatory experiences. Following thematic analysis, we identified three themes to characterise the Mozambican immigrants’ experiences of xenophobia and discrimination: (i) abusive attitudes, (ii) ethnic discrimination, and (iii) scapegoating. The Mozambican immigrants’ experiences of xenophobia and discrimination are consistent with findings from the extant international literature on ingroup/outgroup social strife with real or perceived scarcity of resources.     

Sexual risk behaviour among HIV-infected women in the first twelve months after delivery in South Africa

This study aimed to assess sexual risk behaviour and its social correlates in HIV-infected women living in rural South Africa at six and twelve months post-partum. Participants were 699 HIV-positive women recruited prenatally by systematic sampling from twelve community health centres in Mpumalanga province, South Africa (mean age = 28.4 years, SD = 5.7; married =41.1%; serodiscordant or unknown partner status = 74.9%). They self-reported on their sexual activity six to twelve months after delivery; including use of condoms and partner involvement. Generalised linear mixed models were utilised to estimate unsafe sex outcomes from a prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) intervention, socio-demographic factors, disclosure, and male involvement. About 20% of sexually active women in the past week had used condoms inconsistently at six and twelve months after delivery. Moreover, 16% and 18% of the women had not used a condom at last sex and 11% and 13% had unprotected sex with HIV-uninfected or unknown-status partners following delivery at six and twelve months, respectively. Higher inconsistent condom use was likely with lower male involvement. Promotion of condom use post-partum, as well as male involvement in sexual decisions, are important for safer sex post-partum by seropositive women.     

Experiences of supervising postgraduate community psychology students at Wits university,South Africa

In this article, the authors discuss problems and challenges of supervising postgraduate community psychology students at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. As part of their community work, students developed community projects in schools in Alexandra Township, aimed at dealing with social ills such as HIV/AIDS, gangs, violence, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy. Students found community work to be extremely exhausting, stressful and demanding. Therefore, community psychology supervision became an important space in helping students to reflect on the experiences, anxieties and frustrations. This article discusses key themes that have emerged in community supervision, including gender, race and class issues. In conclusion, recommendations are provided on how to improve community psychology supervision based our experiences. Supervisors need to be proactive in helping students to reflect on their experiences and actively engage with some of the theoretical and practical issues that emerge in community work. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luria in Uzbekistan: The Vicissitudes of Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology

If the material conditions of culture shape cognitive structures, as Luria and Vygotsky argued, the extraordinarily deep and rapid restructuring of historical forms (Luria, 1971, 265) in the Soviet Republics that followed the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 provided a natural laboratory to determine whether processes of modernization changed traditional ways of thinking. This was the purpose of Luria's 1931 expedition to the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan in central Asia. Luria's initial reports attracted vitriolic criticism because he had allegedly belittled primitive Uzbeki culture. The lasting importance of the Uzbek expedition is its emphasis on culture as a determinant of cognitive processes that remains valid to the present: in 1984, Gilbert replicated Luria's field studies in South Africa with near-identical results. Yet current neuropsychology has been slow to recognize the need for culturally sensitive assessment.     

Training Family Therapists in a Multicultural Setting

Authors describe a multicultural training model for family therapists and psychologists at a traditionally conservative Afrikaans speaking university in South Africa. Black psychologists are now receiving high priority in a masters degree program that leads to professional registration licensure because of the needs of the population. The authors emphasize the importance of being able to think multidimensionally and creating a context in which students can do the same in such contexts.