Handedness and Hemispheric Asymmetry in the Control Of Movements

This study investigated the influence of hemispheric specialization of function on the motor performance of the hands. Right-handed (n=17), ambidextral (n=21), and ambisinistral (n=12) subjects performed Fitts' (1954) reciprocal tapping task under two conditions with each hand. Conditions had the same index of difficulty but differed in movement precision. The left hand of righthanders was superior in the condition requiring the greatest amount of preprogramming. Conversely, the right hand was not superior in the condition having the greatest demand for feedback control. For ambidextrals, left-hand superiority in the relatively preprogrammed condition was also revealed. Ambisinistrals showed no significant difference between conditions with either hand. The results partially support the hypothesis that the motor performance of the hands mirrors the dominant processing mode of their contralateral hemisphere. Failure to find supportive evidence in ambisinistrals is consistent with the contention that they lack hemispheric specialization of function.     

Philosophy as a kind of courage

It is possible to reveal and to examine the collective and social fields of consciousness experimentally. An account is given of planned experiments based on quantitative calculations, which indicate that the effects of individual and collective fields of consciousness on matter may elicit directly observable physical results. Moreover, it is shown that collective coherent consciousness fields may enhance the physical effects of consciousness at a significant rate. The predicted results have a significance in our picture of our consciousness, in self‐assertion and dynamising of consciousness, the expansion of collective fields of consciousness, and thus the raising of the level of consciousness for humanity.     

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Event-Related Potentials: Evidence for Deficits in Allocating Attentional Resources to Relevant Stimuli

Current research on the nature of attentional deficits in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is reviewed with a focus on studies using event-related potentials (ERPs). A robust effect is the smaller amplitude of the P3 wave to both auditory and visual stimuli for individuals with ADHD than for normal controls. This effect is indicative of deficits in the allocation of attentional resources to task-relevant information. The Nd wave is also smaller for individuals with ADHD, an effect that suggests impairments in the discrimination and preferential processing of task-relevant information, rather than distractibility by irrelevant stimuli. Studies of the effects of methylphenidate on ERPs in ADHD indicate that this stimulant enhances the quality of stimulus evaluation and speeds response time. These specific effects support the view that ADHD involves deficits in energetic processes that are required for processing task-relevant stimuli.     

Psychosocial factors associated with hiv testing amongst scottish gay men

This article describes the relationship between HIV testing and a range of psychosocial, sexual and socio-demographic variables. Trained research staff distributed a self-report questionnaire in the gay bars of Glasgow and Edinburgh, in May 2000. Questionnaires were completed by 803 men (a response rate of 78%). We present the results of both bivariate and multivariate analyses identifying key variables associated with never having had an HIV test. Thus we outline some psychosocial barriers to HIV testing. Multivariate analysis indicated that the most important factor associated with never having tested was fear of a positive result; this was particularly true for those men who reported higher levels of risky sexual conduct. We discuss the relevance of these findings in terms of presenting a psychosocial agenda which demands that stigma and the social exclusion of HIV positive people should be addressed before gay men are encouraged to seek HIV testing.     

Bulk modulus of semiconductors and its pressure derivatives

Expressions for the bulk modulus and its first and second pressure derivatives for group I–VII, II–VI, III–V and IV–IV semiconductor binary compounds are derived using an ab initio pseudopotential approach to the total crystal energy within the framework of local density functional formalism. The computed results are very close to the available experimental data.     

Japanese education: A context for test anxiety

In this article the context of Japanese education is examined to highlight those aspects most identified with the issue of testing and test anxiety. The unique organization of the Japanese formal educational system is explored as well as its governance and administration. The centralized nature of Japanese education contributes to the hierarchical nature of the system and the centrality of both local and national examinations. The existence of a parallel, less regulated educational system, generally referred to as juku, is also discussed thereby revealing the complex mix of factors that influence and shape the testing environment.     

Assessment of dental anxiety: A facet approach

Dental anxiety is a complicated phenomenon, and its multicomponent nature is often not acknowledged in existing measurement instruments. Using a facet design, a new Dental Anxiety Inventory (DAI) was constructed. Facets chosen were: time (made up of four elements: at home, on your way to the denstist, in the denstist's waiting room, in the dental chair), situation (three elements: introductory aspects, dentist-patient interaction, actual dental treatment), and reaction (three elements: subjective feelings, physical reactions, cognitive reactions). Psychometric qualities of the DAI are good. The internal structure of the DAI was studied by linear and nonlinear techniques, and was partially recovered from the data. The construct and criterion validity of the DAI was supported in several studies.     

Test anxiety and comprehension efficiency: The role of prior knowledge and working memory deficits

The hypotheses that test anxiety is associated with a deficit in prior knowledge and/or working memory capacity, that anxiety impairs comprehension efficiency, and that deficits in knowledge and capacity underlie the efficiency impairment, were tested. In Study 1, high-anxiety students were characterized by lower scores in several vocabulary measures, compared with low-anxiety students. In Study 2, high-anxiety individuals showed inferior working memory capacity to low-anxiety individuals under evaluative stress conditions, but not under non-stress conditions. In Study 3 high-anxiety subjects exhibited lower efficiency scores than low-anxiety subjects in expository texts without a summary: The former employed a greater amount of reading time than the latter to acquire an equivalent amount of information. In addition, the disadvantage in efficiency associated with anxiety was removed when differences in vocabulary knowledge were partialled out statistically. Instead, that disadvantage was only reduced, but not eliminated, when differences in transitory working memory capacity were partialled out. Therefore, the prior knowledge deficit hypothesis accounts for the impairment in reading efficiency associated with high anxiety better than the transitory working memory reduction hypothesis.     

Measuring test anxiety in children: Scale development and internal construct validation

Given the increased testing of school-aged children in the United States there is a need for a current and valid scale to measure the effects of test anxiety in children. The domain of children's test anxiety was theorized to be comprised of three dimensions: thoughts, autonomic reactions, and off-task behaviors. Four stages are described in the evolution of the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS): planning, construction, quantitative evaluation, and validation. A 50-item scale was administered to a development sample (N=230) of children in grades 3–6 to obtain item analysis and reliability estimates which resulted in a refined 30-item scale. The reduced scale was administered to a validation sample (N=261) to obtain construct validity evidence. A three-factor structure fit the data reasonably well. Recommendations for future research with the scale are described.     

Younger and older adults weigh multiple cues in a similar manner to generate judgments of learning

One’s memory for past test performance (MPT) is a key piece of information individuals use when deciding how to restudy material. We used a multi-trial recognition memory task to examine adult age differences in the influence of MPT (measured by actual Trial 1 memory accuracy and subjective confidence judgments, CJs) along with Trial 1 judgments of learning (JOLs), objective and participant-estimated recognition fluencies, and Trial 2 study time on Trial 2 JOLs. We found evidence of simultaneous and independent influences of multiple objective and subjective (i.e., metacognitive) cues on Trial 2 JOLs, and these relationships were highly similar for younger and older adults. Individual differences in Trial 1 recognition accuracy and CJs on Trial 2 JOLs indicate that individuals may vary in the degree to which they rely on each MPT cue when assessing subsequent memory confidence. Aging appears to spare the ability to access multiple cues when making JOLs.