Feature integration across space, time, and orientation.

The perception of a visual target can be strongly influenced by flanking stimuli. In static displays, performance on the target improves when the distance to the flanking elements increases—presumably because feature pooling and integration vanishes with distance. Here, we studied feature integration with dynamic stimuli. We show that features of single elements presented within a continuous motion stream are integrated largely independent of spatial distance (and orientation). Hence, space-based models of feature integration cannot be extended to dynamic stimuli. We suggest that feature integration is guided by perceptual grouping operations that maintain the identity of perceptual objects over space and time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among WAIS subtest scores, patient's premorbid history, and institutionalization.

Divided 40 schizophrenic patients equally among 4 groups on the basis of premorbid history and length of time hospitalized. The WAIS IQ for poor premorbids tended to be higher than for good premorbids, but good premorbids demonstrated significantly higher motor performance (WAIS Digit Symbol and Block Design). There appeared to be a relationship between lower verbal abstractive and decision-making abilities (WAIS Comprehension and Similarities) and length of institutionalization. Results are interpreted as suggesting that, for schizophrenics at least, performance on certain types of intelligence test tasks may be lower for patients who have undergone prolonged institutionalization. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shared Predictors of Youthful Gambling, Substance Use, and Delinquency.

Given that gambling, alcohol misuse, other drug use, and delinquency are correlated, it is hypothesized that these problem behaviors have shared antecedents. Measures from 3 explanatory domains--sociodemographic factors (age, race, and socioeconomic status), individual factors (impulsivity and moral disengagement), and socialization factors (parental monitoring and peer delinquency)--were tested for links to problem behaviors in 2 longitudinal samples of adolescents. Black youth had lower levels of problem behaviors than Whites. Impulsivity was a significant predictor of alcohol misuse for females and delinquency for males. Moral disengagement predicted gambling for males. Parental monitoring showed a significant inverse relationship to alcohol misuse and other substance use for males. Peer delinquency showed numerous prospective paths to youth problem behaviors for both genders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency, delay of gratification, recidivism, and the Porteus Maze Tests.

Two principal scores are derived from an S's performance on the Porteus Maze Test: Test Age (TA) and Qualitative (Q) score. It was originally thought that a person's delinquent tendencies could be predicted on the basis of the relationship between his/her TA and IQ, but a careful review of the literature does not support this view. Reanalysis of previous studies shows that the Q score was specifically developed to identify delinquents and appears to do so very well. When Q scores of delinquent and normal groups are compared, the differences are consistent and highly significant. When the established cutoff points are used, Q score correctly identifies about 70% of delinquents sampled, as well as 70% of normals. Additional Q score findings within delinquent and nondelinquent groups are also discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency, victimization, and substance use among adolescents with female same-sex parents.

The question of whether parental sexual orientation has an impact on human development has important implications for psychological theories and for legal policy. This study examined associations among family type (same-sex vs. different-sex parents), family and relationship variables, substance use, delinquency, and victimization of adolescents. Participants included 44 adolescents living with female same-sex couples and 44 adolescents living with different-sex couples, matched on demographic characteristics and drawn from a national sample. Analyses indicated that adolescents were functioning well and that their adjustment was not associated with family type. Adolescents whose parents described closer relationships with them reported less delinquent behavior and substance use, suggesting that the quality of parent-adolescent relationships better predicts adolescent outcomes than does family type. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between institutionalization, other demographic variables, and the structure of intelligence in chronic schizophrenics.

A factor analytic investigation was carried out studying the relationship between length of institutionalization and several other premorbid-demographic variables and the structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) in a sample of chronic schizophrenics. Only 3 of these background variables were related to WAIS subtests. 2, education and aging, differentiated within this sample the same way as in the general population: i.e., education was associated with generally higher performance on all subtests while aging was selectively related to lowered psychomotor and memory/attentional functioning. The 3rd, length of institutionalization, showed negative relationship with Comprehension score, suggesting some impairment in social judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pedophilia, sexual orientation, and birth order

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Vagal dysfunction is reported in about 70% of patients with cirrhosis, irrespective of aetiology, as detected by cardiovascular reflex tests. We have previously shown that RR-variability on 24-h ECG is a more sensitive marker of vagal dysfunction in cirrhosis. Angiotensin II inhibits vagal function in animals, and it is elevated in cirrhosis and may be the cause of the vagal dysfunction. Our aim was to observe the effect of captopril on vagal dysfunction in cirrhosis. METHODS: Eight patients with cirrhosis (biopsy proven, male two, female six, mean age 54.25) had 24-h ECG RR-variability performed. They then received captopril 25 mg t.d.s. for 48 h. The 24-h ECG was repeated on therapy. RESULTS: Mean blood pressure remained unchanged: baseline 89.8 +/- 4.8 mmHg (mean +/- sem) versus 91.8 +/- 5.9 mmHg, p = not significant. Median baseline RR-variability was 791 (range 18-5344) counts/24 h and increased in all but one patient, with captopril, to 1548 (56-4824) p = 0.008. Three increased into the normal range. CONCLUSION: The vagal dysfunction of cirrhosis is caused by neuromodulation by angiotensin II and is not due to a neuropathy.     

Self-enhancing and self-defeating ego orientation: Relations with task and avoidance orientation, achievement, self-perceptions, and anxiety.

Recent research in motivation has identified 2 main goal orientations: task orientation and ego orientation. Two studies of 6th- and 8th-grade Norwegian students tested the prediction that there are different dimensions of ego orientation (self-defeating and self-enhancing), that they may be separated from other goal orientations, and that they relate differently to academic achievement, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem, anxiety, and intrinsic motivation. Results from both studies supported the predictions. The correlation between self-defeating and self-enhancing ego orientation was small, and these constructs had different relations to other variables in the study. Self-defeating ego orientation was associated with high anxiety and was negatively related to achievement and self-perceptions. Self-enhancing ego orientation was positively related to achievement, self-perceptions, and intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency and objective personality test factors.

The Objective-Analytic Personality Test Battery was administered to an offender and a nonoffender Navy enlisted sample to determine the validity of these objective test dimensions in differing delinquent from nondelinquent groups. 8 of the 18 objective test factors differentiated the samples at the .05 confidence level or higher. However, when correlations were computed against number of offenses within the offender sample none of the factors was significantly related to the criterion. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

未成年人的犯罪原因与心理矫治对策——以一起未成年犯罪案件为例

通过未成年人犯罪个案分析,运用心理学的理论分析得出早年接触与爱的缺乏等问题会导致问题儿童的产生,甚至这类问题可以追溯到家庭结构问题的传递,而父母早期的管教方式不当会加剧孩子早年人格畸形发育并且一直重复传递.从而进一步提出相应的对策,即预防未成年人犯罪的关键途径就在于婴儿早期爱的给予,而矫治未成年罪犯的关键则在于监管机构建立起家庭治疗模式,提供爱的场所.     

A biophysical model for the developmental time course of retinal orientation selectivity

A quantitative study of the time course of development of the percentage of orientationally selective and isotropic ganglion cells in turtle retina has recently been performed. This study revealed that as soon as ganglion cells start responding to light, a large percentage of them are selective to the orientations of moving visual stimuli. This percentage decreases with age to reach a minimum around hatching, increases dramatically after birth and finally, decreases again following the first month of life to reach adult level. Concomitantly, the percentage of cells responding isotropically to the orientation of elongated stimuli increases monotonically until about 30 days after birth, stabilizing afterwards. To account for both time courses, we propose a biophysical model implementing features ubiquitous to developing vertebrate retinas. These features include early dendritic and synaptic spatial polarization, dendritic growth, and waves of activity generated spontaneously or by visual stimulation sweeping across the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The model also assumes a physiologically plausible Hebbian rule, which includes long-term potentiation and depression. Computer simulations of this model yield good fits of the data. The quality of these fits confirms and extends results from an earlier model using computationally-simple mechanisms, which suggested that early dendritic polarization might be the seed for mature orientation selectivity.     

Right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and prejudice.

Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation have been proposed as 2 major individual difference variables underlying prejudice. This study examined the relationships of these variables to 3 forms of prejudice—affective responses, stereotyping, and attitudes toward equality enhancement—directed at 2 social groups—African Americans and homosexuals. Canonical correlation analyses showed that social dominance orientation was related to most forms of prejudice directed toward both groups and that right-wing authoritarianism was related to affective responses to and stereotyping of homosexuals. In addition, it was found that, as predicted by the social dominance model, stereotyping mediated the relationships between social dominance orientation and other forms of prejudice and that social dominance orientation mediated gender differences in expressions of prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences and institutionalization in the word associations of schizophrenics.

Studied word associations of 20 male and 20 female schizophrenics. Although no significant differences in pathological responses were associated with sex or institutionalization, differences associated with both were found in healthy responses. Females gave more logical coordinate associations (p     

Behavioral differences between acute and chronic schizophrenics: Course of psychosis, effects of institutionalization, or sampling biases?

Notes that scores of studies have been reported which demonstrate behavioral differences between acute and chronic schizophrenics. These data have most often been interpreted as reflecting changes in psychological functioning due to processes intrinsic to the schizophrenic disorder and/or the effects of institutionalizaton. Examination of the construct of chronicity and of the design of these studies suggests that (a) the existence of perceptual and cognitive changes during the course of schizophrenia has not been demonstrated and (b) the observed acute-chronic differences may primarily reflect sampling biases. (60 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ego identity, intimacy, sex role orientation, and gender.

Assessed identity and intimacy in 40 male and 40 female university students, using a semistructured interview and a rating manual. Ss were also administered the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Results show that for males, identity was related to masculinity and intimacy was related to femininity. For females, identity was also related to masculinity; there were more high-intimacy females than males. While high identity/high intimacy was not contingent on androgyny (as hypothesized), proportionately more androgynous than nonandrogynous Ss were in this category. Results lend support to the hypothesis that it is desirable and beneficial for each sex to integrate aspects of the other gender's sex type. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between birth category, achievement, and interpersonal orientation.

Generated hypotheses from theories about the processes underlying a child's relationships with parents and siblings. Birth category was defined in terms of 4 groups: only, firstborn, middle-born, and last born. 1,785 undergraduates were given the Work and Family Orientation Scale, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, Texas Social Behavior Inventory, and University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. Birth category effects in achievement orientation were found with competitiveness and educational aspirations, but not with mastery, willingness to work, or personal unconcern about the costs of achievement. In terms of interpersonal orientation, birth category effects were obtained in locus of control, self-esteem, and self-centeredness, but not loneliness. The influence of gender, family size, and social class on these birth category effects was assessed. Results are discussed in terms of 3 types of processes: those brought about by parents, by sibling interaction, and by sibling absence. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleeping position, orientation, and proximity in bedsharing infants and mothers

The impact of mother-infant bedsharing on infant sleeping position, orientation, and proximity to the mother was assessed in 12 breast-feeding Latino mother-infant pairs. Six routinely bedsharing and six routinely solitary-sleeping pairs slept 3 nights in the sleep laboratory. The first night matched the routine home condition, followed by 1 bedsharing night and 1 solitary-sleeping night in random order. During bedsharing infants were never placed prone, regardless of their routine sleeping condition. On the bedsharing night, mothers and infants spent most of the night oriented toward each other; seven of 12 infants remained oriented toward their mothers the entire night. While sleeping in a face-to-face orientation, most pairs slept most of the time less than 30 cm apart with appreciable amounts of time at less than 20 cm. This orientation and proximity should facilitate sensory exchanges between mother and infant which, we hypothesize, influence the infant's sleep physiology and nocturnal behavior. We conclude that bedsharing minimizes the use of the prone infant sleeping position, probably in part to facilitate breast feeding. By promoting nonprone positions, bedsharing may protect some infants from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), since prone sleeping is a known risk factor for SIDS. The large percentage of the night that mothers spent oriented toward their infants suggests that a higher degree of maternal vigilance may also result from bedsharing.