Cartesian or condillacian linguistics?

This paper intends to deal with Condillacian Linguistics. Although the Condillacian philosophy of mind and analysis of language were the most important in the late eighteenth century, none of them is mentioned in Chomsky's work (1966, Cartesian Linguistics). It would be useful for the history of Western thought if Chomsky's monumental error were generally recognized and if Condillacian Linguistics were at last to find the place it rightly deserves. The main thesis of Condillac's linguistic ideas (language is the first step in the analysis of thought) is briefly presented with reference to its context and consequences.     

Influence of auditory-verbal, visual-verbal, visual, and visual-visual processing speed on reading and spelling at the end of Grade 1

This study examined cognitive processing speed through four modalities (auditory-verbal, visual-verbal, visual, and visual-visual) at the end of Grade 1 and how it influences reading and spelling. The subjects were 124 French-speaking children, selected for their contrasting performance on reading and spelling tasks. The children in the first group (N=69) were average readers; the second group of children (N=55) performed worse or much worse on all reading and spelling tasks. The experimental design consisted of a set of 10 tasks administered in two sessions. The major findings reveal that: (1) the children with reading difficulties displayed low and slow performance on most cognitive tasks, whatever the modality; (2) auditory-verbal and visual-verbal processing speed significantly predicted written language, which was not the case with the visual modalities; and (3) that visual problems did not appear to be a potential cause of reading problems in most delayed readers. The findings also confirm the independence of phonological and naming-speed skills in reading development and reading impairment.     

Neuropsychological Characteristics of Adolescents With Conduct Disorder: Association With Attention-Deficit–Hyperactivity and Aggression

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between neuropsychological deficits and conduct disorder (CD) with and without concurrent attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, we explored the differential neuropsychological performance of aggressive and nonaggressive CD adolescents and the combined effect of this behavioral status and ADHD on performance. Fifty-nine adolescents (mean age of 15.4 years) who met the criteria for CD were compared with 29 controls comparable in age, gender, and socioeconomic status. A neuropsychological battery of current tests measuring executive functions and a battery of language tests were used in the study. Multivariate analyses showed that, compared with controls, CD adolescents had significantly lower verbal skills but did not differ on executive function measures. However, the lower verbal performance of CD adolescents is not explained by the existence of a CD subgroup with concomitant ADHD or aggressiveness. The study confirms with a sample of CD adolescents the association between verbal deficits and antisocial behavior when socioeconomic status is controlled. Our results also demonstrate that CD per se can be a sufficient condition for such deficits.     

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Antisocial Behavior among Adolescents: the Role of Self-Serving Cognitions

Self-serving cognitions and callous-unemotional traits play important roles in adolescent antisocial behavior. The objective of this study was to cross-sectionally explore the mediating role of self-serving cognitions in the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and antisocial behavior. A sample of 972 high-school students completed self-report questionnaires assessing callous-unemotional traits, self-serving cognitive distortions and antisocial behavior. Two competing models exploring indirect effects accounting for the relationships between self-serving cognitive distortions, callous-unemotional traits and antisocial behaviors were tested. Both models revealed significant indirect effects, suggesting both pathways are possible. Gender was found to moderate these models. These findings suggest the importance of targeting self-serving cognitions in therapeutic interventions and increase our understanding of the role of self-serving cognitions in antisocial behavior.     

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Human milk cortisol concentration predicts experimentally induced infant fear reactivity: moderation by infant sex

Little consideration has been given to the possibility of human infant development being shaped via lactocrine programming, and by breast milk cortisol levels specifically. Despite animal models indicating that glucocorticoid (GC) exposure via lactation might modify brain development and behavior, only one study has reported that milk cortisol levels were positively associated with infant negative affectivity, especially fearfulness and sadness—early emerging risk factors for internalizing difficulties such as anxiety. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether human milk cortisol is associated with mother‐reported fearfulness and experimentally induced infant fear reactivity. Mother‐infant dyads (n = 65) enrolled in the FinnBrain Cohort Study participated. Breast milk samples were obtained 2.5 months postpartum, and milk cortisol concentrations were ascertained using validated luminescence immunoassay methodology. Infant fear reactivity was assessed using maternal reports 6 months postpartum and in a laboratory 8 months postpartum. There was a significant interaction between infant sex and milk cortisol such that higher milk cortisol was related to higher infant fear reactivity in a laboratory setting in girls (β = 0.36, p = .04) but not in boys (β = ?0.15, p = .40). Milk cortisol was not associated with mother‐reported infant fearfulness. Results suggest that higher human milk cortisol concentrations are associated with elevated experimentally induced fear in infancy. Findings support lactocrine programming, and suggest that mothers may “communicate” vital information about stressful environments via cortisol contained in breast milk, shaping girls' early emotional reactivity.     

Emotional responses to behavioral economic incentives for health behavior change

Many people aim to change their lifestyle, but have trouble acting on their intentions. Behavioral economic incentives and related emotions can support commitment to personal health goals, but the related emotions remain unexplored. In a regret lottery, winners who do not attain their health goals do not get their prize but receive feedback on what their forgone earnings would have been. This counterfactual feedback should provoke anticipated regret and increase commitment to health goals. We explored which emotions were actually expected upon missing out on a prize due to unsuccessful weight loss and which incentive-characteristics influence their likelihood and intensity. Participants reported their expected emotional response after missing out on a prize in one of 12 randomly presented incentive-scenarios, which varied in incentive type, incentive size and deadline distance. Participants primarily reported feeling disappointment, followed by regret. Regret was expected most when losing a lottery prize (vs. a fixed incentive) and intensified with prize size. Multiple features of the participant and the lottery incentive increase the occurrence and intensity of regret. As such, our findings can be helpful in designing behavioral economic incentives that leverage emotions to support health behavior change.