Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys.

Using the cups task, in which subjects are presented with limited visual or auditory information that can be used to deduce the location of a hidden reward, Call (2004) found prima facie evidence of inferential reasoning by exclusion in several great ape species. One bonobo (Pan paniscus) and two gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) appeared to make such inferences in both the visual and auditory domains. However, common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were successful only in the visual domain, and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in neither. The present research built on this paradigm, and Experiment 1 yielded prima facie evidence of inference by exclusion in both domains for two common chimpanzees, and in the visual domain for two Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that two specific associative learning explanations could not readily account for these results. Because an important focus of the program of research was to assess the cognitive capacities of lesser apes (family Hylobatidae), we modified Call's original procedures to better suit their attentional and dispositional characteristics. In Experiment 1, testing was also attempted with three gibbon genera (Symphalangus, Nomascus, Hylobates), but none of the subjects completed the standard task. Further testing of three siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus) and a spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) using a faster method yielded prima facie evidence of inferential reasoning by exclusion in the visual domain among the siamangs (Experiment 4). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative and familial analysis of handedness in great apes.

Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right handedness, whereas gorillas and orangutans do not. All ape species showed evidence of population-level handedness when considering specific tasks. Familial analyses in chimpanzees indicated that offspring and maternal (but not paternal) handedness was significantly positively correlated, but this finding was contingent upon the classification criteria used to evaluate hand preference. Overall, the proportion of right handedness is lower in great apes compared with humans, and various methodological and theoretical explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cardiac startle and orienting responses in the great apes.

An investigation of cardiac patterns of startle and orienting in response to auditory and vibrotactile stimuli in 3 infant chimpanzees and 1 gorilla revealed cardiac acceleration in response to the initial presentations of stimuli of either modality. Cardiac acceleration was subject to rapid habituation and replaced on subsequent trials by cardiac deceleration. Results from chimpanzees and the gorilla were similar, although a slower rate of habituation was apparent in the gorilla. Findings are consistent with those obtained from humans and monkeys. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tracking and inferring spatial rotation by children and great apes.

Finding hidden objects in space is a fundamental ability that has received considerable research attention from both a developmental and a comparative perspective. Tracking the rotational displacements of containers and hidden objects is a particularly challenging task. This study investigated the ability of 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-year-old children and great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) to (a) visually track rotational displacements of a baited container on a platform and (b) infer its displacements by using the changes of position or orientation of 3 landmarks: an object on a container, the color of the containers, and the color of the platform on which the containers rested. Great apes and 5-year-old and older children successfully tracked visible rotations, but only children were able to infer the location of a correct cup (with the help of landmarks) after invisible rotations. The ability to use landmarks changed with age so that younger children solved this task only with the most explicit marker on the baited container, whereas older children, particularly 9-year-olds, were able to use landmark orientation to infer correct locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Twenty-five years of recommended readings in psychology.

Conducted a survey of recommended reading in psychology. The results of this survey combined with results of previous surveys indicate that several books of lasting influence have been recommended for the past 25 yrs. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Twenty-five years of progress: twenty-five more?

This address outlines important steps for ensuring the future of biofeedback and applied psychophysiology. These steps are contained in the acronym PHUTRE, wherein PH stands for Political activism of the Hard and fast variety, U represents United front, T encompasses Transfer of knowledge (from clinician to researcher, researcher to clinician, and from both to students in training), R refers to our Research base, and E represents the Excitement that our field has the potential to generate.     

Environmental models and mental modes: Representational processes in the great apes and man.

Argues that psychologists are interested principally in those behaviors that imply some type of functional image or representation of the environment. When man's categories of experience are imposed on the great apes, solid evidence of correspondence between their construction of reality and our own is obtained. Their sensory capacities are similar, and they spontaneously classify their experiences with objects in ways that resemble those of man. These analytic dispositions are complemented by the ability to synthesize heterogeneous attributes as different properties of the same "object." It is clear that the unwelten of ape and man are similar in many respects. Although it is true that the contrast between ape and man seems greatest in the ability for creative reconstruction of experience--to display foresight, to imagine, to plan ahead--even here the differences may be more in degree than in kind. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family-based obesity treatment, then and now: Twenty-five years of pediatric obesity treatment.

Objective: Family-based treatments for pediatric obesity were developed over 25 years ago. Over that time, youth have become more obese and the environment more obesiogenic, which may influence efficacy of pediatric weight control. Mixed-effects regression models were used to compare the efficacy of programs initiated 20 to 25 years ago to current programs through 24-month follow-up, as well as to reanalyze 10-year outcomes of previous research using contemporary measures and analytic strategies. Main outcome measures: z-BMI and percent overweight. Results: Results showed significant reductions over time, with no differences in z-BMI change for older versus contemporary studies. Age was a predictor of z-BMI up to 24 months, with younger children showing larger change. Mixed-effects regression models replicated previous long-term effects of family-based interventions. Gender was a predictor of long-term z-BMI change, with girls benefiting more over time than did boys. Conclusion: The efficacy of the family-based behavioral approach to treating pediatric obesity replicates over a 25-year period. Challenges in evaluating treatment effects over time are discussed. Ideas for studying choice of treatments that vary in effect size and for strengthening family-based behavioral treatments are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent discoveries of Dryopithecus shed new light on evolution of great apes

The origin and early evolution of the great ape/human clade (Hominidae) is currently a subject of debate. The controversy is fuelled by the fragmentary nature of the fossils which renders it difficult to determine clearly derived features that permit the recognition of fossil members of this clade. We report here the recent discovery of a facial skeleton and a temporal fragment with the petrosal bone of Dryopithecus laietanus, which provides a way out of an impasse. The lack of the fossa subarcuata is a great ape and human clade synapomorphy, and proves unequivocally that Dryopithecus belongs to this clade. The zygomatic possesses derived characters which reveal that Dryopithecus is related to the Ponginae and not to the African apes/humans, as recently suggested. The remaining morphological features are plesiomorphic and thus provide a good model of a common ancestor of all Hominidae.     

The site of 5S RNA genes in primates. I. The great apes

Phospho-accepting proteins in bovine sera have been detected by the use of immobilized protein kinase from rat muscle and (gamma32P)-ATP in an in vitro system. A partial biochemical characterization points to the generation of typical phosphoproteins. Differences in the phosphorylation pattern between fetal serum and calf serum as demonstrated by electrophoresis in the presence of dodecylsulfate are described.     

Privacy and behavioral research.

There is a "conflict of… scientific research with the right… of private personality." Traditional methods of behavioral research may, on occasion, involve a violation of the individual claim to private personality. 2 central ethical issues are the degree of individual consent that exists and the degree of confidentiality that is maintained. Whenever possible, "both consent and anonymity should be sought in behavioral research." 7 principles are suggested for inclusion in a general code of ethics for behavioral research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interspecies comparative genome hybridization and interspecies representational difference analysis reveal gross DNA differences between humans and great apes

Comparative chromosome G-/R-banding, comparative gene mapping and chromosome painting techniques have demonstrated that only few chromosomal rearrangements occurred during great ape and human evolution. Interspecies comparative genome hybridization (CGH), used here in this study, between human, gorilla and pygmy chimpanzee revealed species-specific regions in all three species. In contrast to the human, a far more complex distribution of species-specific blocks was detected with CGH in gorilla and pygmy chimpanzee. Most of these blocks coincide with already described heterochromatic regions on gorilla and chimpanzee chromosomes. Representational difference analysis (RDA) was used to subtract the complex genome of gorilla against human in order to enrich gorilla-specific DNA sequences. Gorilla-specific clones isolated with this technique revealed a 32-bp repeat unit. These clones were mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to the telomeric regions of gorilla chromosomes that had been shown by interspecies CGH to contain species-specific sequences.     

Sex differences in the sciatic notch of great apes and modern humans

The sciatic notch has been widely used as a sexing criterion in modern humans. In order to better understand the sex differences of this feature in modern humans and great apes, four measurements of the sciatic notch were taken on samples of modern humans and great apes of known sex. Univariate (ANOVA) analysis and discriminant function analysis were performed on the extant taxa to determine: (1) the discriminating power of each variable in these samples of known group membership; and (2) which of these extant taxa shows the best discrimination between the sexes for the sciatic notch. Of the four extant taxa, the sciatic notch of Homo sapiens is the most sexually dimorphic, followed by Gorilla gorilla, and more weakly by Pongo pygmaeus, while Pan troglodytes is the least dimorphic of these taxa. Since the presence of a well defined sciatic notch is a hominid trait resulting from the dorsal extension of the posterior ilium, the close approximation of the sacrum to the acetabulum, the shortened ischium, and the accentuation of the ischial spine as part of the bipedal adaptation, it seems likely that the configuration of the sciatic notch in hominids was initially related to bipedalism, not reproduction. The development of sex differences in the sciatic notch of modern humans is more likely to have occurred after the transition to bipedality.     

Mental evolution and development: Evidence for secondary representation in children, great apes, and other animals.

Recent interest in the development and evolution of theory of mind has provided a wealth of information about representational skills in both children and animals. According to J. Perner (1991), children begin to entertain secondary representations in the 2nd year of life. This advance manifests in their passing hidden displacement tasks, engaging in pretense and means-ends reasoning, interpreting external representations, displaying mirror self-recognition and empathic behavior, and showing an early understanding of "mind" and imitation. New data show a cluster of mental accomplishments in great apes that is very similar to that observed in 2-year-old humans. It is suggested that it is most parsimonious to assume that this cognitive profile is of homologous origin and that great apes possess secondary representational capacity. Evidence from animals other than apes is scant. This analysis leads to a number of predictions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review and meta-analysis of research on the relationship between behavioral intentions and employee turnover.

Reexamined literature cited in previous reviews (W. H. Mobley et al [see PA, Vol 62:9973]; P. M. Muchinsky and M. L. Tuttle [see PA, Vol 64:4296]; and L. Porter and R. M. Steers [see PA, Vol 51:4029]) on the relationship between behavior intentions and employee turnover using meta-analysis procedures. The extent to which moderator variables could be employed to explain variation in findings across intent–turnover studies was assessed. A weighted average correlation of .50 was calculated between behavioral intentions and employee turnover. Intentions were more predictive of attrition than overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with work itself, or organizational commitment. The length of time between procurement of predictor and criterion data influenced the magnitude of intent–turnover relationships. (83 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of behavioral research on animals.

Presents facts documented by references to provide evidence regarding the value of behavioral research on animals. It is argued that attempts by radical animal activists to mislead humane people by repeatedly asserting such research is completely without any value and by other false statements are a disservice to animal welfare by deflecting funds from worthy activities. Some of the contributions of animal research have led to improvements in the welfare of animals. Animal research has also led to advances in psychotherapy, especially behavior therapy and behavioral medicine; rehabilitation of neuromuscular disorders; understanding and alleviating effects of stress and pain; discovery and testing of drugs for treatment of anxiety, psychosis, and Parkinson's disease; knowledge about mechanisms of drug addiction, relapse, and damage to the fetus; and understanding the mechanisms of some deficits of memory that occur with aging. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Localization of human midisatellite and macrosatellite DNA sequences on chromosomes 1 and X in the great apes

We report the case of a 38-year-old man who, 2 weeks after a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication, was referred to our Unit because of acute wrap herniation and intrathoracic gastric perforation. Although both of these complications have already been described, this is the first case in which they have occurred simultaneously and not as an immediate consequence of the operation. Intraoperative findings suggested that diaphragmatic crura had not been reapproximated and that the gastric wrap had not been fixed to them. This observation and the fact that immediately after hospital discharge the patient had sustained intense physical efforts can explain acute wrap herniation. Placement of full-thickness sutures may account for gastric perforation. These pathogenetic determinants and their preventive measures are discussed in the light of a review of the literature.     

Beyond expected utility: Rethinking behavioral decision research.

Much research in psychology has evaluated the quality of people's decisions by comparisons with subjective expected utility (SEU) theory. This article suggests that typical arguments made for the status of utility theory as normative do not justify its use by psychologists as a standard by which to evaluate decision quality. It is argued that to evaluate decision quality, researchers need to identify those decision processes that tend to lead to desirable outcomes. It is contended that a good decision-making process must be concerned with how (and whether) decision makers evaluate potential consequences of decisions, the extent to which they accurately identify all relevant consequences, and the way in which they make final choices. Research that bears on these issues is reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The past and future of U.S. prison policy. Twenty-five years after the Stanford prison experiment

In this article, the authors reflect on the lessons of their Stanford Prison Experiment, some 25 years after conducting it. They review the quarter century of change in criminal justice and correctional policies that has transpired since the Stanford Prison Experiment and then develop a series of reform-oriented proposals drawn from this and related studies on the power of social situations and institutional settings that can be applied to the current crisis in American corrections.