Visual and verbal modes of information processing and their relation to the effectiveness of cognitively-based anxiety-reduction techniques

This study examined the interaction between preferred modes of information processing (visual and verbal) and two cognitively-based anxiety-reduction techniques. One technique was based on the use of images as a coping strategy while the other employed a self-instructional approach. Thirty-six subjects reporting high levels of dental fear were assigned to one of three groups (two types of treatment and a no-treatment control). One-half of the subjects in each group had been identified as preferring the visual mode of information processing while for the other half the verbal mode was preferred. After treatment, subjects viewed an anxiety-inducing videotape depicting a visit to the dentist. Results indicated that, while both treatments were significantly effective in reducing self-reports of discomfort while viewing the videotape, there was no significant interaction between the type of treatment and preferred cognitive mode. The results were interpreted as indicating that treatment may override individual cognitive styles. Furthermore, the data suggested that the normal individual has the ability to adapt to divergent and non-preferred forms of information processing.     

Assessing depressive symptoms with the Borg centiMax Scale® in a Swedish sample of patients and students

The Borg centiMax Scale, is a psychophysically composed general intensity ratio scale, which could enable more precise inter- and intraindividual comparisons of the intensity of depressive symptoms. In the present study, the properties of the centiMax scale were examined in 38 patients with clinical depression and 109 students. Additionally, preliminary centiMax cut-off scores for mild, moderate and severe depression were estimated. The psychometric properties of the centiMax were found to be satisfactory regarding internal consistency, convergent, discriminative and predictive validity. Moreover, the centiMax was demonstrated to provide meaningful comparisons of symptom intensity, which makes it possible to evaluate the relative importance of individual symptoms in a profile and make more precise comparisons within and between individuals. With regard to intraindividual comparisons, patients rated , for example, the intensity of feeling “guilt” twice as strong as feelings of “being punished,” and the intensity of “loss of pleasure” almost three times as strong as “being punished.” With regard to interindividual comparisons, patients rated e.g., the intensity of “being punished” as 12 times stronger than controls, and the intensity of “worthlessness” about nine times stronger. In conclusion, the centiMax was shown to be reliable and valid for assessing depressive symptoms. The centiMax with level anchored ratio data, appears to be highly advantageous as it permits rather precise values of symptom intensity for intra- and interindividual comparisons that could be useful in the diagnostic process and in treatment planning.     

Impaired finger dexterity in Parkinson's disease is associated with praxis function

A controversial concept suggests that impaired finger dexterity in Parkinson’s disease may be related to limb kinetic apraxia that is not explained by elemental motor deficits such as bradykinesia. To explore the nature of dexterous difficulties, the aim of the present study was to assess the relationship of finger dexterity with ideomotor praxis function and parkinsonian symptoms. Twenty-five patients with Parkinson’s disease participated in the study. Their left and right arms were tested independently. Testing was done in an OFF and ON state as defined by a modified version of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Finger dexterity was assessed by a coin rotation (CR) task and ideomotor praxis using a novel test of upper limb apraxia (TULIA), in which the patients were requested to imitate and pantomime 48 meaningless, as well as communicative and tool-related gestures. Coin rotation significantly correlated with TULIA irrespective of the motor state and arm involved, but not with the MDS-UPDRS. This association was significantly influenced by Hoehn and Yahr stage.The strong association of finger dexterity with praxis function but not the parkinsonian symptoms indicates that impaired finger dexterity in Parkinson’s disease may be indeed apraxic in nature, yet, predominantly in advanced stages of the disease when cortical pathology is expected to develop. The findings are discussed within a cognitive-motor model of praxis function.     

Pedestrians’ road crossing decisions and body parts’ movements

This study aims to examine pedestrians' crossing decision, body parts' movement and full body movement, just before and during road crossing in a simulated setup. To accomplish this, a novel experimental setup for analyzing pedestrians’ crossing behavior and motion was developed where the simulated display was synchronized with a 3D motion capturing system. Twenty participants, divided into control and an experimental time pressure group, observed sixteen short (less than 30 s) and long road (70 s or more) crossing scenarios with varying crossing opportunities. Based on the crossing opportunities they were asked to cross a 3.6 m wide one-lane one way urban road. It was found that the crossing initiation process consists of four incremental movements of body parts: the head and the shoulder first; the hip, wrist and elbow second; the knee as a separate joint, and finally the ankle. Results showed that pedestrians’ decision to cross and body parts movement are influenced by time pressure and wait time for a safe crossing opportunity. Specifically, pedestrians prepare their body parts earlier, initiate their crossing earlier, and adjust their speed to compensate for the risk taken in less safe or non-safe crossing opportunities. Within the control group, women tended to be more risk avoiding than men, however those differences disappeared in the time pressure group. Most importantly, the findings provide initial evidence that this novel simulation configuration can be used to gain precise knowledge of pedestrians’ decision-making and movement processes.     

Walking dreams in congenital and acquired paraplegia

To test if dreams contain remote or never-experienced motor skills, we collected during 6 weeks dream reports from 15 paraplegics and 15 healthy subjects. In 9/10 subjects with spinal cord injury and in 5/5 with congenital paraplegia, voluntary leg movements were reported during dream, including feelings of walking (46%), running (8.6%), dancing (8%), standing up (6.3%), bicycling (6.3%), and practicing sports (skiing, playing basketball, swimming). Paraplegia patients experienced walking dreams (38.2%) just as often as controls (28.7%). There was no correlation between the frequency of walking dreams and the duration of paraplegia. In contrast, patients were rarely paraplegic in dreams. Subjects who had never walked or stopped walking 4–64 years prior to this study still experience walking in their dreams, suggesting that a cerebral walking program, either genetic or more probably developed via mirror neurons (activated when observing others performing an action) is reactivated during sleep.     

On the possibility of the reemergence of a dysgenic trend with respect to intelligence in American fertility differentials

This paper examines the relationship between IQ and fertility in a sample of men and women aged 25–34 as of the late 1970s. This sample is of unusual interest for two reasons: (1) it is a national probability sample, representative of the non-institutional civilian population of the U.S. as a whole, and (2) it is for a post-World War II cohort. Most previous studies of the IQ/fertility relationship have employed nationally unrepresentative samples of cohorts born in the pre-war period, 1910–1940. The bias, in both time and place, of the samples used in these studies has not been adequately grasped by those who cite them as evidence of a eugenic trend with respect to intelligence.The major finding of these previous studies was that the IQ/fertility relationship is slightly positive, contrary to expectations though confirmatory of the so-called Eugenic Hypothesis. My working hypothesis is that this finding is special to the cohort chosen for study, i.e., one whose child-bearing took place during a period of rising birth rates (cohorts born between 1910 and 1940 were largely responsible for the baby boom after World War II). That is, in periods of rising birth rates, persons with higher intelligence tend to have fertility equal to, if not exceeding, that of the population as a whole. In periods of falling birth rates, the opposite is the case, according to my thesis.This thesis is generally supported by the data set described above. Fertility differentials to date within the post-World War II cohort, which entered its reproductive years during a period of falling birth rates, show a negative relationship between intelligence and fertility. The relationship is less negative for white men than for white women and for white women than for black women (black men are omitted from this study due to deficiencies in the data). The stated intentions of this cohort with respect to future fertility, if realized, will moderate the degree of this relationship, particularly for whites, but not change its sign.     

Modeling influence of change readiness on knowledge acquisition process: A case study

Change readiness (CR) has important impact on the success of knowledge acquisition (KA). So it is necessary for managers to know how KA is shaped by CR elements. Review of the extant literature shows a paucity in this regard specially regarding intra-organizational rather than inter-organizational level. Therefore, to bridge this gap, this study aims to present a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) model in which interactions among CR elements for KA are identified. To do so, first, elements for measuring CR for KA were extracted from the relevant literature. Then, the identified elements were screened through distributing the first designed questionnaire among the select sample of survey organization. Then, the second questionnaire was used to measure the select elements and find the relation between them, using FCM and Mental Modeler Software. To improve CR for KA, some scenarios are suggested by the managers and the impact of each scenario on the whole CR elements is identified using sensitive analysis of the FCM model. After comparing the scenarios, it is concluded improving more elements in one scenario does not necessarily result in better impact on the whole CR for KA. This is due to the interaction among the elements which sometimes could be negative. The proposed model might help managers of the survey organization evaluate their CR improvement plans for KA before taking any actions. In addition, this study can give an idea to other organizations and industries to apply this approach according to their own relevant criteria. This study is among the first in its kind which presents a model using FCM method in which the interactions among the CR elements influencing KA are considered.     

Domestic cat walking parallels human constrained optimization: Optimization strategies and the comparison of normal and sensory deficient individuals

To evaluate how fundamental gait parameters used in walking (stride length, frequency, speed) are selected by cats we compared stride characteristics selected when walking on a solid surface to those selected when they were constrained to specific stride lengths using a pedestal walkway. Humans spontaneously select substantially different stride length–stride frequency–speed relationships in walking when each of these parameters is constrained, as in walking to a metronome beat (frequency constrained), evenly spaced floor markers (stride length constrained) or on a treadmill (speed constrained). In humans such adjustments largely provide energetic economy under the prescribed walking conditions. Cats show a similar shift in gait parameter selection between conditions as observed in humans. This suggests that cats (and by extension, quadrupedal mammals) also select gait parameters to optimize walking cost-effectiveness. Cats with a profound peripheral sensory deficit (from pyridoxine overdose) appeared to parallel the optimization seen in healthy cats, but without the same level of precision. Recent studies in humans suggest that gait optimization may proceed in two stages – a fast perception-based stage that provides the initial gait selection strategy which is then fine-tuned by feedback. The sensory deficit cats appeared unable to accomplish the feedback-dependent aspect of this process.     

Visual placing by human infants

Prior research has not agreed that extension of the arms by the human infant on approach to a surface is a visual response. In this research, human infants 8 to 11-months-old extended their arms on approach to a patterned surface covered with glass. The arms did not extend to a patterned surface 14 in. below the glass. Thus, the response is a visual, not a vestibular, proprioceptive one. Ambiguity of the visual stimulus that elicits the response is shown by the finding that the infants also extended their arms almost as much to a gray surface just beneath the glass as they did to the patterned one.