Female degus (Octodon degus) monitor their environment while foraging socially

Vigilance or scanning involves interruptions in foraging behavior when individuals lift their heads and conduct visual monitoring of the environment. Theoretical considerations assume that foraging with the "head down", and scanning ("head up") are mutually exclusive activities, such that foraging precludes vigilance. We tested this generalization in a socially foraging, small mammal model, the diurnal Chilean degu (Octodon degus). We studied spontaneous bouts of scanning of captive degus when foraging in pairs of female sibs and non-sibs. We examined the extent to which foraging (head down postures) and scanning (head up postures) were mutually exclusive in subjects exposed to none, partial, and complete lateral visual obstruction of their partners. In addition, we monitored the orientation of their bodies to examine the target of attention while foraging and scanning. Lastly, we examined the temporal occurrence of scanning events to assess the extent of scanning coordination, and whether this coordination is kin-biased. Visual obstruction had a significant influence on degu vigilance. Focal degus increased their quadrupedal and semi-erect scanning when foraging under a partially obstructed view of their partners. Degus oriented their bodies toward partners when foraging and scanning. Despite this, degus did not coordinate scanning bouts; instead, they scanned independently from one another. Relatedness among cage mates did not influence any aspect of degu behavior. Contrary to theoretical expectations, these results indicate that foraging and vigilance are not mutually exclusive, and that kinship per se does not influence scanning behavior and coordination.     

An Analysis of the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychological Well-Being in Chilean Older People Using Structural Equation Modeling

Journal of Religion and Health - Using a representative sample, we explored the relationship of organizational (ORA), non-organizational (NORA), and intrinsic religiosity (IR) with depressive and...     

Hand Switching Costs are not Uniform Across Response Components

We investigated the extent to which a complex finger sequence impacts on hand switching costs in a sequential action. Response component latencies (premotor, motor, and movement) were compared in no-switch (same finger performed the action of pressing and reaching) and switch conditions (pressing with one finger and completing the reaching action with the homologous finger from the other hand). Results showed that the switch condition presented longer latency for premotor and movement components. For the motor component, however, switch condition was faster. This expands the previous literature investigating switching costs using simple finger movements in more complex tasks. A mechanical explanation of the interplay between response subcomponents is provided to explain the inversion of response pattern for the motor component.     

I Will Put My Law in Their Minds: Social Control and Cheating Behavior Among Catholics and Protestants

Catholics and Protestants differ in terms of social autonomy versus heteronomy. We propose that the regulation of behavior in accordance with social norms depends on the social control exercised by an authority for Catholics more than it does for Protestants. Two experiments measured cheating behavior (the transgression of a social norm) as a function of the religious group (Protestant vs. Catholic) and social control (with vs. without). Catholics were found to be more responsive to social control, that is, to cheat less when social control was salient, whereas Protestants' behavior did not depend on this dimension. In Study 2, intrinsic‐extrinsic religiousness was found to mediate this difference. Results are discussed in the context of the effects of public policies based on social control.     

Cognitive stimulation for healthy older adults through computer-based programs: a review of the literature / Estimulación cognitiva para personas mayores sanas mediante programas computarizados: una revisión de la literatura

Abstract

Cognitive stimulation programs are widely used as a preventive tool for cognitive decline in older adults, as they can favour positive ageing by maintaining older persons’ autonomy and preserving their cognitive functions. Because of this, and due to its potentially easy application on a large scale and at a low cost, the incorporation of technologies for the cognitive stimulation of older adults has become an area of growing interest. This review outlines the advantages and disadvantages of computer-based cognitive stimulation programs aimed at healthy older adults, focusing on aspects that influence their effectiveness and future direction. Twenty-five articles were considered, including original studies, literature reviews and meta-analyses, published between 2013 and 2017. It was concluded that there is a need to generate more randomized studies with active control groups to assess the effectiveness of cognitive stimulation through computer-based programs, as well as develop designs to establish strategies that increase older adults’ adherence and ensure their motivation to carry out these activities.     

Chile's Environmental Assessments: Contested Knowledge in an Emerging Democracy

Abstract

In 1990, Chile transitioned to democracy after 17 years of military rule. The new democracy built the country's first environmental institutions and began efforts to revitalize science, among them attempts to connect scientific expertise to public decision-making. Just over a decade into these efforts, conflicts over the environmental impacts of large industrial projects began to multiply. These environmental conflicts were often also credibility contests, where the authority of science to speak to public issues was contested. Two such conflicts, a gold mine called Pascua Lama and a hydroelectric project called HidroAysén, enrolled several scientific teams, yet in each case the state made its final decision on each project autonomously from science. Though some scientists became central participants in each conflict, carving out for themselves access to needed resources that they used to practice ever-narrower forms of science, their credibility was called into question by many of their scientific colleagues. Chile's scientific community fractured over how to define credible science. Divisive and decisive issues included the source of funding, ethics, access to resources, and being local. Although some scientists and non-scientists used boundary work to try to affirm the authority of science, no stable map of scientific credibility resulted from these efforts. Chile's new democracy is more plural than its recent military dictatorship but still lacks adequate spaces in which to negotiate what counts as credible science. These experiences highlight the need to better understand how science fares through regime transitions and what it contributes to emerging democracies.     

Racial phenotypicality bias in educational expectations for both male and female teenagers from different socioeconomic backgrounds

In three experiments (N = 56, 99, and 225), we showed that racial phenotypicality bias characterizes educational expectations for Chilean mestizo students: participants displayed more positive educational expectations for light complexioned than for dark complexioned high school students. In Study 1, with male high school target students, the relation between racial phenotypic appearance and educational expectations was mediated by differences in perceived competence. Study 2 suggests that the gender of the target student did not influence the occurrence of racial phenotypicality bias. Study 3 showed that racial phenotypicality bias occurs in both university students and high school teachers' judgements. Although socioeconomic background of the target student partially explained the effects of racial phenotypic appearance (especially in teachers), the latter exerted an additional and independent influence on educational expectations. These results underline the fact that effects of racial phenotypicality bias should not be overlooked in the educational domain. As mediational analyses suggested, these effects only partly occur because of stereotypical associations between racial phenotypic appearance and socioeconomic background, but also because of stereotypical associations between racial phenotypic appearance and attributed competence.     

The Syzygy,Reformulation and New Perspectives: Dreams,Anima-Animus and Gender1

The main objective of this qualitative and quantitative research paper is to explore the occurrences and relations of the anima, animus and androgynous in dreams, with particular emphasis on the consideration of the androgynous in the human psyche. The sample consists of 9 series of dreams (141 dreams in total), from 9 dreamers, 7 women (female sex/gender) and 2 men (male sex/gender), aged 25–57, heterosexual, undergoing Jungian psychotherapy, and presenting couple-related themes. Statistical results and qualitative analysis offer new input for the re-vision of the classical anima-animus model, and the addition of in-depth explorations into the androgynous, paving the way for a new model of psychopathology and psychotherapeutic clinical work, in transition.