Prediction of adolescent and adult delinquency from childhood Rorschach ratings

Relatively few studies have predicted adolescent or adult delinquency from childhood Rorschach data. Incremental validity of Rorschach measures over other known consistent and more easily obtained predictors has typically not been investigated. We addressed Rorschach data's incremental validity over mother's reports of externalizing behavior and mother-child relations for predicting officially registered adolescent and adult delinquency in a longitudinal study of 122 Swedish men. The Rorschach measures we used were aggregates of blind, prospectively performed, global expert ratings based on a holistic evaluation of protocols. An aggregate of Rorschach-based ratings of ego strength significantly improved the prediction of delinquency in adolescence and adulthood over and above earlier identified best predictors (mother's ratings of mother-child relations and externalizing problem behavior).     

What wild primates know about resources: opening up the black box

We present the theoretical and practical difficulties of inferring the cognitive processes involved in spatial movement decisions of primates and other animals based on studies of their foraging behavior in the wild. Because the possible cognitive processes involved in foraging are not known a priori for a given species, some observed spatial movements could be consistent with a large number of processes ranging from simple undirected search processes to strategic goal-oriented travel. Two basic approaches can help to reveal the cognitive processes: (1) experiments designed to test specific mechanisms; (2) comparison of observed movements with predicted ones based on models of hypothesized foraging modes (ideally, quantitative ones). We describe how these two approaches have been applied to evidence for spatial knowledge of resources in primates, and for various hypothesized goals of spatial decisions in primates, reviewing what is now established. We conclude with a synthesis emphasizing what kinds of spatial movement data on unmanipulated primate populations in the wild are most useful in deciphering goal-oriented processes from random processes. Basic to all of these is an estimate of the animal’s ability to detect resources during search. Given knowledge of the animal’s detection ability, there are several observable patterns of resource use incompatible with a pure search process. These patterns include increasing movement speed when approaching versus leaving a resource, increasingly directed movement toward more valuable resources, and directed travel to distant resources from many starting locations. Thus, it should be possible to assess and compare spatial cognition across a variety of primate species and thus trace its ecological and evolutionary correlates. This contribution is part of the special issue “A Socioecological Perspective on Primate Cognition” (Cunningham and Janson 2007b)     

Adaptation and communicative design.

Two theoretical frameworks that examine the nature of adaptability and mutual influence in interaction, interpersonal deception theory and interaction adaptation theory, were used to derive hypotheses concerning patterns of interaction that occur across time in truthful and deceptive conversations. Two studies were conducted in which senders were either truthful or deceptive in their interactions with a partner who increased or decreased involvement during the latter half of the conversation. Results revealed that deceivers felt more anxious and were more concerned about self‐presentation than truthtellers prior to the interaction and displayed less initial involvement than truthtellers. Patterns of interaction were also moderated by deception. Deceivers increased involvement over time but also reciprocated increases or decreases in receiver involvement. However, deceivers were less responsive than truthtellers to changes in receiver behavior. Finally, partner involvement served as feedback to senders regarding their own performance.     

Externalising behaviour from infancy to mid-adolescence: Latent profiles and early predictors

The overall aim of the current study was to identify typical trajectory classes of externalising behaviour, and to identify predictors present already in infancy that discriminate the trajectory classes. 921 children from a community sample were followed over 13 years from the age of 18 months. In a simultaneously estimated model, latent class analyses and multinomial logit regression analyses suggested a five-class solution for developmental patterns of externalising problem behaviours: High stable (18% of the children), High childhood limited (5%), Medium childhood limited (31%), Adolescent onset (30%), and Low stable (16%). Six risk factors measured at 18 months significantly discriminated among the classes. Family stress and maternal age discriminated the High stable class from all the other classes. The results suggest that focusing on enduring problems in the relationship with the partner and partners' health may be important in preventive and early intervention efforts.     

Wild capuchin monkeys anticipate the amount of ripe fruit in natural trees

Tropical forests have a high diversity of tree species which have very low densities and vary across time in their seasons of peak fruiting and maturation rates. As evidence of the ability of primates to track or anticipate changes in fruit production at individual trees, researchers have used the increased speed of primate groups toward more rewarding food patches. We analyzed the speed of approach to natural trees of wild capuchin monkeys under the effect of scramble competition, after excluding any plausible visual, olfactory and auditory cues. We conducted all-day group follows of three habituated capuchin groups at Iguazú National Park, Argentina, collecting data on ranging behavior and patterns of visits to fruit trees in relation with their location and fruit availability. Travel speed varied according to the expected reward at a feeding tree, increasing as rewards increased from low values, but decreasing again at very high values. Also, travel speed varied with time of day, decreasing from the time of first activity as the monkeys became less hungry, and increasing again toward late afternoon. Measures of unripe fruit cover did not explain variation in travel speed at any distance from a focal tree. Our data imply that, after excluding sensory cues, capuchins appear to anticipate time-varying ripe fruit quantity of natural resources, suggesting that they use memory of tree location and anticipation of fruit maturation. We also confirm that speed is a good measure about expectations of resources, as has been shown in previous studies.     

Measuring Effortful Control Using the Children's Behavior Questionnaire–Very Short Form: Modeling Matters

Effortful control (EC) is an important concept in the research on self-regulation in children. We tested 2 alternative factor models of EC as measured by the Children's Behavior Questionnaire–Very Short Form (CBQ–VSF; Putnam &; Rothbart, 2006 Putnam, S. P., &; Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Development of short and very short forms of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 103–113. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa8701_9[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in a large sample of preschoolers (N = 1,007): 1 lower order and 1 hierarchical second-order structure. Additionally, convergent and predictive validity of EC as measured by the CBQ–VSF were investigated. The results supported a hierarchical model. Moderate convergent validity of the second-order latent EC factor was found in that it correlated with compliance and observed EC tasks. Both CBQ–VSF EC measures were also negatively correlated with child physical aggression. The results have implications for the measurement, modeling, and interpretation of EC applying the CBQ.     

A socioecological perspective on primate cognition,past and present

The papers in this special issue examine the relationship between social and ecological cognition in primates. We refer to the intersection of these two domains as socioecological cognition. Examples of socioecological cognition include socially learned predator alarm calls and socially sensitive foraging decisions. In this review we consider how primate cognition may have been shaped by the interaction of social and ecological influences in their evolutionary history. The ability to remember distant, out-of-sight locations is an ancient one, shared by many mammals and widespread among primates. It seems some monkeys and apes have evolved the ability to form more complex representations of resources, integrating “what-where-how much” information. This ability allowed anthropoids to live in larger, more cohesive groups by minimizing competition for limited resources between group members. As group size increased, however, competition for resources also increased, selecting for enhanced social skills. Enhanced social skills in turn made a more sophisticated relationship to the environment possible. The interaction of social and ecological influences created a spiraling effect in the evolution of primate intelligence. In contrast, lemurs may not have evolved the ability to form complex representations which would allow them to consider the size and location of resources. This lack in lemur ecological cognition may restrict the size of frugivorous lemur social groups, thereby limiting the complexity of lemur social life. In this special issue, we have brought together two review papers, five field studies, and one laboratory study to investigate the interaction of social and ecological factors in relation to foraging. Our goal is to stimulate research that considers social and ecological factors acting together on cognitive evolution, rather than in isolation. Cross fertilization of experimental and observational studies from captivity and the field is important for increasing our understanding of this relationship. This contribution is part of the Special Issue “A Socioecological Perspective on Primate Cognition”.     

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