Partial Knowledge of Word Meanings: Thematic and Taxonomic Representations

The type of information (taxonomic or thematic) available at different levels of knowledge was investigated. Following extensive norming to identify taxonomic and thematic associates of low-frequency nouns, participants determined if taxonomic or thematic associates were meaningfully related to target words at three levels of knowledge: target words they correctly defined (known), recognized as familiar (frontier), or mistakenly denied as part of the language (unknown). In another experiment, participants reported which type of relationship (taxonomic or thematic) was preferred. Results indicated that both types of information were available at all levels of knowledge. However, accuracy and preference were greater for taxonomic associates across word levels. A differential increase in available thematic information relative to taxonomic information was found. Implications for the acquisition and representation of word meanings are discussed.     

Infants’ responses to objects representing levels of word knowledge and categorical information

The effects of differing levels of word knowledge on infants’ sequential touching behaviors were investigated in two studies. In both, parent report was used to assess three levels of word knowledge: known, frontier, and unknown. In the first study, 14-month-old infants sequentially touched objects consistent with parents’ reports of their word knowledge. In the second study, 20-month-old infants sequentially touched objects by both conceptual category and reported level of word knowledge. It appears that even infants, like adults, can make distinctions among objects on the basis of their knowledge about the objects’ labels.     

Resume Characteristics as Predictors of an Invitation to Interview

The resume is the first contact between an organization and a job seeker, but little empirical evidence exits to guide resume development. This study examined the impact of resume characteristics on decisions to interview graduates. It was found that resume characteristics provided an advantage in obtaining an invitation to interview.     

Morita-Based Therapy and Its Use Across Cultures in the Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

In this article the author presents an overview of classical inpatient Morita therapy, contrasts it with features of rational emotive therapy (RET), and illustrates an intervention program (based on Shoma Morita's theory and practice) for women suffering from bulimia nervosa. Given that Morita therapy is scantly documented in the literature as an outpatient treatment outside Japan, a session-to-session short-term treatment methodology that was used for a pilot study in Australia is provided. A case example is presented with direct dialogue from treatment sessions.     

Incidence of neurological soft signs in children with isolated cleft of the lip or palate

The purpose of this study was to assess neurological soft signs in children and adolescents with isolated cleft of the lip or palate (iCL/P) compared with healthy controls. Children with iCL/P were recruited through the university cleft clinic. Control subjects were recruited through advertisements. Of the 166 subjects who participated (age range 7 to 17 years, M = 12.5, SD = 3.2), 77 had iCL/P (48 male) and 89 were healthy controls (44 male). All participants took the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs and selected tests of motor coordination. A multivariate analysis of variance assessed differences between subjects with and without iCL/P. Also, a Pearson correlation estimated the relationship between the neurological soft signs and age. Subjects with iCL/P scored significantly higher on all neurological soft signs variables. These higher scores were associated with younger age. Findings lend support to the hypothesis of aberrant brain development in children with iCL/P.     

FEED THE HUNGRY BEE: USING POSITIVE PEER REPORTS TO IMPROVE THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF A SOCIALLY REJECTED GIRL IN RESIDENTIAL CARE

We studied how rewarding peers for publicly reporting positive aspects of a socially rejected girl's behavior affected her social interactions and acceptance. The results indicated that positive peer reports reduced negative social interactions (to near zero) and increased positive interactions (to above 70%). In addition, social acceptance ratings of the girl increased from pre- to postintervention.     

Sex differences in parietal lobe morphology: relationship to mental rotation performance

Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the human brain have reported evidence for sexual dimorphism. In addition to sex differences in overall cerebral volume, differences in the proportion of gray matter (GM) to white matter (WM) volume have been observed, particularly in the parietal lobe. To our knowledge there have been no studies examining the relationship between the sex differences in parietal lobe structure and function. The parietal lobe is thought to be involved in spatial ability, and particularly involved in mental rotation. The purpose of this study is to examine whether sex differences in parietal lobe structure are present, and if present to relate these differences to performance on the mental rotations test (MRT). We found that women had proportionately greater gray matter volume in the parietal lobe compared to men, and this morphologic difference was disadvantageous for women in terms of performance on the MRT. In contrast, we found that men compared to women had proportionately greater parietal lobe surface area, and this morphologic difference was associated with a performance advantage for men on mental rotation. These findings support the possibility that the sexual dimorphism in the structure of the parietal lobe is a neurobiological substrate for the sex difference in performance on the mental rotations test.