Does early care affect joint attention in great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Pongo abelii, Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla)?

The ability to share attention with another is the foundation on which other theory of mind skills are formed. The quality of care received during infancy has been correlated with increased joint attention in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of care style (responsive or basic) and caregiver type (ape or human) during the first 6 months on joint attention in 4 great ape species (Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo spp., and Pan pansicus). Great apes engaged in joint attention with conspecifics and humans regardless of the style of early care they experienced from either a great ape mother or human caregiver. This finding suggests that joint attention is a robust ability in great apes that is resilient against at least some differences in early care. Future studies using additional measures of early care quality are recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constraints on great apes' imitation: Model and action selectivity in rehabilitant orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) imitation.

We discuss selectivity in great ape imitation, on the basis of an observational study of spontaneous imitation in free-ranging rehabilitant orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Research on great ape imitation has neglected selectivity, although comparative evidence suggests it may be important. We observed orangutans in central Indonesian Borneo and assessed patterns in the models and actions they spontaneously imitated. The patterns we found resembled those reported in humans. Orangutans preferred models with whom they had positive affective relationships (e.g., important caregiver or older sibling) and actions that reflected their current competence, were receptively familiar, and were relevant to tasks that faced them. Both developmental and individual variability were found. We discuss the probable functions of imitation for great apes and the role of selectivity in directing it. We also make suggestions for more effective elicitation of imitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gravity and solidity in four great ape species (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus): Vertical and horizontal variations of the table task.

Three experiments modeled after infant studies were run on four great ape species (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) to investigate their reasoning about solidity and gravity constraints. The aims were: (a) to find out if great apes are subject to gravity biased search or display sensitivity for object solidity, (b) to check for species differences, and (c) to assess if a gravity hypothesis or more parsimonious explanations best account for failures observed. Results indicate that great apes, unlike monkeys, show no reliable gravity bias, that ape species slightly differ in terms of their performance, and that the errors made are best explained by a gravity account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the Work Components Study with new college-level employees.

Reports data based on 869 male and 344 female new college-level employees which show the reliability and structure of the Work Components Study (WCS). A comparison of those persons who remain with the company with those who leave at the company's initiative and with those who leave of their own initiative shows few differences in their orientations toward work as measured by the WCS. However, when the company's rating of how many years it will take the new hires to reach the 3rd level of management was taken as a criterion, it was found that those who score highest on WCS Score 3, Competitiveness desirability, highest on the School and College Abilities Test verbal ability score, and highest on a personality measure of responsibility are those perceived by the company as moving ahead fastest. These results suggest that it is not the "organization man" type who is likely to be promoted, but the man perceived to be highly competitive, intelligent, and responsible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing symbol usage versus symbol competency.

Responds to comments by S. Sugarman (see record 1984-22390-001) and C. A. Ristau (see record 1984-22382-001) on the present authors' (see record 1984-22384-001) article on chimpanzee language acquisition. The assumption that chimpanzees use their acquired symboling capacity in a manner different from that of human children is addressed. It is concluded that these differences are not significant in that they reflect the need, with ape Ss, to report data that are not open to criticisms of cuing, rather than real differences in communicative purpose. It is argued that a distinction must be made between the totality of an ape's symbol production and the ape's capacity to respond correctly in particular test settings. This separation reveals the inappropriateness of criticizing the tests of ape capacities as though such tests were the only extant behavioral evidence of symboling capacity. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Assessment of Generalization of Imitation in Two Enculturated Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

Deferred imitation of object-related actions and generalization of imitation to similar but not identical tasks were assessed in two human-reared (enculturated) orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Each ape displayed low levels of deferred imitation but did not provide evidence of generalization of imitation. Results suggest that enculturated orangutans may not possess social-cognitive abilities similar to that which enculturated chimpanzees are assumed to possess. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonenculturated Orangutans' (Pongo pygmaeus) Use of Experimenter-Given Manual and Facial Cues in an Object-Choice Task.

Several experiments have been performed, to examine whether nonhuman primates are able to make use of experimenter-given manual and facial (visual) cues to direct their attention to a baited object. Contrary to the performance of prosimians and monkeys, great apes repeatedly have shown task efficiency in experiments such as these. However, many great ape subjects used have been "enculturated" individuals. In the present study, 3 nonenculturated orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were tested for their ability to use experimenter-given pointing, gazing, and glancing cues in an object-choice task. All subjects readily made use of the pointing gesture. However, when subjects were left with only gazing or glancing cues, their performance deteriorated markedly, and they were not able to complete the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Particularistic and universalistic evaluation in the social comparison process.

In this article we argue that people are motivated to evaluate both the universalistic and particularistic standing of their abilities. One's universalistic standing is assessed by comparing with others who are similar to oneself on attributes related to the ability being assessed. One's particularistic standing is assessed by comparing with reference others, those with whom one shares an identity or bond. In five studies we attempted to distinguish between these two types of evaluation. We manipulated reference closeness by varying the distinctiveness of a shared attribute. In Studies 1 and 2 we gave subjects the choice of comparing a test score with that of either a distinctively similar (reference) other or a nondistinctively similar (nonreference) other. Although the two choices provided equivalent universalistic information, subjects overwhelmingly preferred to compare with the distinctively similar other. Studies 3–5 provided evidence that subjects actually did identify more closely with distinctively similar others than with nondistinctively similar others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal interaction in families of normal and expressive-language-delayed children.

Developmental expressive language disorder (ELD) is a condition characterized by a delay in the development of expressive language compared with receptive language and IQ. Conditions that might contribute to the origins or maintenance of ELD are poorly understood. Unusual verbal interactions between parents and ELD children might be implicated in the origins of ELD or might represent parental reactivity to the child's limited expressive skills. We compared verbal interactions in the homes of 28-month-old ELD children, and 17-month-old normal children matched on expressive ability with the ELD children. We analyzed frequencies of major pragmatic categories of parent and child verbal behavior as well as sequential relations involving those categories. Pragmatic interactions in the ELD families were substantially similar to those in the families of the normal younger children and different from those in the older normal children. A measure of the structural complexity of maternal speech (MLU) did not differ across the groups. These results indicate that pragmatic language interactions in the families of ELD children are determined largely by the children's level of expressive ability rather than by their age or receptive abilities. In this regard, the child directed speech of parents of ELD children cannot be considered deviant and cannot be implicated in the etiology of ELD. The sensitivity of parents to their child's level of expressive ability suggests the need for refinement in current hypotheses concerning child directed speech. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the beginning was the "name."

Contends that in emphasizing the ability to generate sentences as a uniquely human skill, psycholinguists have overlooked an equally important and perhaps more fundamental skill—the ability to refer with names. The same oversight can be attributed to the 1st generation of projects devoted to teaching an ape to use a language. In the absence of referential naming, it is doubtful that syntax would have developed in human languages. Accordingly, students of human language and researchers who seek to establish linguistic skills in nonhuman Ss (e.g., E. S. Savage-Rumbaugh [1981; also see PA, Vol 72:3196] and Savage-Rumbaugh and colleagues [1977, 1978, 1985; also see PA, Vols 63:440, 65:9701, and 66:7332]) should reap dividends by continuing their efforts to examine critically the ontogeny of naming. It is suggested that, at least as much as any other ability, the ability to name has provided a unique impetus to the evolution of human language. (123 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness for tool use correlates with cerebellar asymmetries in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Recent studies have shown that great ape species possess patterns of macrostructural neocortical asymmetries that are similar to those found in humans. However, little is known about the asymmetry of subcortical structures in great apes. To address this lack of data, the authors assessed left-right asymmetry of the anterior and posterior aspects of cerebellum from MRI brain scans of 53 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). No population-level bias was found for either the anterior or the posterior region of the cerebellum. However, a significant inverse association was found in the asymmetry quotients of the anterior and posterior regions, indicating that the cerebellum was torqued at the individual level. Additionally, handedness for tool use but not other measures was associated with variation in cerebellar asymmetries. Last, older chimpanzees had a smaller cerebellum after brain volume was adjusted for. The results are discussed in the context of brain changes in primate evolution related to tool use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increment-threshold spectral sensitivity in the squirrel monkey.

Measured the spectral sensitivity of 5 adult squirrel monkeys and 2 human males in an increment-threshold context. Under conditions of dark adaptation the spectral sensitivity of the squirrel monkey was closely similar to that of man. For conditions of light adaptation, the squirrel monkey showed maximal sensitivity at 540 nm. with subsidiary peaks at 600 and 440 nm. Relative to man, the squirrel monkey was considerably less sensitive to wavelengths longer than 580 nm. For this species there are substantial differences between the spectral sensitivity functions determined by increment-threshold methods and those obtained using critical flicker frequency (CFF) techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction of tannin with human salivary proline-rich proteins

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds, widely distributed in plant-based foods, which have harmful effects on animals including humans. Salivary proline-rich proteins (PRPs) may act as a defence against tannins by forming complexes with them and thereby preventing their interaction with other biological compounds and absorption from the intestinal canal. The aim here was to compare the ability of members of the family of human PRPs to form insoluble complexes with tannin and to assess the stability of such complexes under conditions similar to those in the alimentary tract. Basic PRPs (BPRPs), which have no other known biological functions, were very effective in forming insoluble complexes with both condensed tannin and tannic acid. Practically no tannin bound to acidic PRPs (APRPs) and glycosylated PRPs (GPRPs), suggesting that tannin in the diet would not affect their biological activities. There were only small differences in the tannin-precipitating ability of various BPRPs of different sizes or sequences, indicating that, although there is considerable phenotypic variation of PRPs, it is not likely to cause marked individual variation in tannin-binding ability. Tryptic digestion of an APRP led to a marked increase in tannin binding to the resulting proline-rich peptides, supporting observations in other studies that there may be an interaction between the proline-poor N-terminal and the proline-rich C-terminal regions in native APRPs, which inhibits the biological activities of the proteins. Deglycosylation of a GPRP also led to a dramatic increase in tannin-binding ability, showing that the carbohydrate side-chains prevent binding of tannin. Most of the condensed tannin-PRP complexes remained insoluble under conditions similar to those in the stomach and small intestine, supporting the proposal that PRPs act as a defence against tannin.     

Use of experimenter-given manual and facial cues by gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) in an object-choice task.

Captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) were tested for their ability to use experimenter-given manual and facial cues in an object-choice task. Performance levels were high when the experimenter tapped on or pointed at an object that contained a reward. Performance remained good when the experimenter withheld manual gestures and instead gazed with eyes and head oriented toward the correct object. In contrast, when only the experimenter's eye orientation served as the cue, the gorillas did not appropriately complete the task. Repeated attempts to establish prolonged mutual eye contact with 1 gorilla failed. The gorillas' failure to use eye signals as a cue may be due to an aversion to direct eye contact and contrasts with findings in other great apes. The results may indicate a difference among great ape species in detection of intentionality, but an alternative interpretation is that performance in such tests is influenced by factors such as rearing experience and temperament. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors determining the potency of mydriatic drugs in man

1 The mydriasis resulting from topical application of five atropine-like drugs was measured photographically in man. Drug potency was obtained from log dose-response curves. 2 The in vitro potency of eight cholinoceptor blocking drugs, including those studied in man, was obtained by measuring their affinity constants for binding to the receptors of an isolated preparation of the rabbit sphincter pupillae. Values agreed closely with those obtained for the muscarinic receptors of guinea-pig ileum. 3 In vitro and in vivo potency was compared to obtain a quantitative measure of the relative ease with which drugs gain access to the receptors after topical application. 4 The large differences that occur in the intensity and duration of the mydriatic response to atropine-like drugs is primarily the result of differences in their ability to blcok the receptors. Only with tropicamide does its relatively high accessibility affect its potency in man.     

Memory for pictures of upright and inverted primate faces in humans (Homo sapiens), squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), and pigeons (Columba livia).

Humans (Homo sapiens) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were tested for memory of upright and inverted primate faces. Working memory was tested in Exp 1 with a delayed matching-to-sample procedure, and reference memory was examined in Exp 2 by requiring Ss to learn to discriminate between successive pairs of upright or inverted pictures. Both human and monkey subjects showed better working memory for upright than for inverted human faces and better reference memory for upright than for inverted human and great ape faces. In Exp 3, reference memory tests with pigeons (Columba livia) showed no effects of inversion on rate of learning with face pictures. We argue that these findings cannot be explained easily by an individual primate's lifetime experiences with primate faces. We suggest that similar evolved mechanisms for primate face recognition in people and monkeys are responsible for the pattern of data reported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related changes in hepatic and splenic insulin receptors and serum insulin and glucose levels in inbred mice

A 62-year-old man and 26-year-old man with re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) after thoracic drainage as a treatment for pneumothorax are presented. Blood cell counting and biochemical serum analysis were performed throughout their treatment in both patients, and biochemical sputum analysis was in one patient. The results showed transient marked leukocytosis just after RPE. Total protein and albumin concentrations of sputum approximated to those of serum. The above results suggested that RPE is based on pulmonary microvascular injury, which may introduce leukocytosis.     

Lectin-carbohydrate complexes of plants and animals: an atomic view

Lectins are a structurally diverse class of proteins, their only common features being the ability to bind carbohydrates specifically and reversibly, and to agglutinate cells. Some, however, can be grouped together into distinct families, such as those of the legumes or the cereals that are structurally similar, or the C-type (Ca(2+)-dependent) animal lectins that contain homologous carbohydrate recognition domains. Recent high-resolution X-ray crystallographic studies have revealed the structures of the sugar complexes of over half a dozen lectins. These studies demonstrate that the combining sites of lectins are also structurally diverse, although they may be similar in the same family.     

Differential expression of flectin in the extracellular matrix and left-right asymmetry in mouse embryonic heart during looping stages

The characteristics of six different indicators of response distortion on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) were evaluated by having college students complete the PAI under positive impression management, malingering, and honest responding conditions. The six indicators were the PAI Positive Impression (PIM) and Negative Impression (NIM) scales, the Malingering and Defensiveness Indexes, and two discriminant functions, one developed by Cashel and the other by Rogers. Protocols of students asked to malinger were compared with those of actual clinical patients, while protocols of students asked to manage their impression in a positive direction were compared with those of students asked to respond honestly. Comparisons between groups were accomplished through the examination of effect sizes and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. All six indicators demonstrated the ability to distinguish between actual and feigned responding. The Rogers function was particularly effective in identifying malingering. The Cashel function was less effective than other measures in identifying positive impression management, although it appears to also have promise as an indicator of malingering.