Environmental control of morphine tolerance in the hamster

Tolerance to morphine-induced hypoactivity in hamsters was investigated under conditions designed to test a Pavlovian conditioning model of morphine tolerance. One group of animals received i.p. injections of morphine (50 mg/kg) in the test environment and saline in the home cage; a second group received saline in the test environment and morphine in the home cage; a third group received saline in both environments. A subsequent morphine challenge in the test environment gave evidence of both associative and nonassociative tolerance. Associative tolerance was detectable 1 week later during a second morphine challenge. Compensatory hyperactivity, however, was not observed during a saline challenge in the presence of morphine-associated cues. Following the acquisition of tolerance, nonreinforced exposure to morphine-associated cues produced an attenuation of morphine tolerance (i.e., extinction of tolerance). The results are interpreted as providing partial support for the Pavlovian model and are discussed in terms of alternative associative models of tolerance.     

Breaking Down the Coercive Cycle: How Parent and Child Risk Factors Influence Real-Time Variability in Parental Responses to Child Misbehavior

Objective. Parent–child coercive cycles have been associated with both rigidity and inconsistency in parenting behavior. To explain these mixed findings, we examined real-time variability in maternal responses to children’s off-task behavior to determine whether this common trigger of the coercive cycle (responding to child misbehavior) is associated with rigidity or inconsistency in parenting. We also examined the effects of risk factors for coercion (maternal hostility, maternal depressive symptoms, child externalizing problems, and dyadic negativity) on patterns of parenting. Design. Mother–child dyads (N = 96; M child age = 41 months) completed a difficult puzzle task, and observations were coded continuously for parent (e.g., directive, teaching) and child behavior (e.g., on-task, off-task). Results. Multilevel continuous-time survival analyses revealed that parenting behavior is less variable when children are off-task. However, when risk factors are higher, a different profile emerges. Combined maternal and child risk is associated with markedly lower variability in parenting behavior overall (i.e., rigidity) paired with shifts toward higher variability specifically when children are off-task (i.e., inconsistency). Dyadic negativity (i.e., episodes when children are off-task and parents engage in negative behavior) are also associated with higher parenting variability. Conclusions. Risk factors confer rigidity in parenting overall, but in moments when higher-risk parents must respond to child misbehavior, their parenting becomes more variable, suggesting inconsistency and ineffectiveness. This context-dependent shift in parenting behavior may help explain prior mixed findings and offer new directions for family interventions designed to reduce coercive processes.     

Antisocial Behaviour in Children and Eysenck's Theory of Personality: An evaluation

Antisocial behaviour in children and youth was examined in relation to the biosocial personality theory of Hans Eysenck. Eysenck's theory is based on three independent personality traits that reflect hypothesised temperament source traits affecting behavioural predisposition. The theory holds that the interaction of the three temperament traits Psychoticism (P), Extroversion (E), and Neuroticism (N) with socialisation experiences produce personality. Eysenck's measurement instruments also contain a Lie (L) scale that has been shown to function as an index of socialisation or social conformity. Eysenck's antisocial behaviour (ASB) hypothesis predicts that individuals at risk for developing ASB have above average P scale scores. Further, individuals who are also high on the E and N scales and below average on the L scale are at the greatest risk. The current article provides an overview of the theory and an evaluation of the research support for the ASB hypothesis in children and youth. The evaluation supported the role of P and L in ASB. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Do beez buzz? Rule-based and frequency-based knowledge in learning to spell plural -s

There has been much discussion about whether certain aspects of human learning depend on the abstraction of rules or on the acquisition of frequency-based knowledge. It has usually been agreed, however, that the spelling of morphological patterns in English (e.g., past tense -ed) and other languages is based on the acquisition of morphological rules, and that these rules take a long time to learn. The regular plural -s ending seems to be an exception: Even young children can spell this correctly, even when it is pronounced /z/ (as in bees). Reported here are 3 studies that show that 5- to 9-year-old children and adults do not usually base their spellings of plural real-word and pseudo-word endings on the morphological rule that all regular plurals are spelled with -s. Instead, participants appeared to use their knowledge of complex but untaught spelling patterns, which is based on the frequency with which certain letters co-occur in written English.     

The Consequences of School Desegregation in a Kansas Town 50?Years After Brown

This article examines the legacy of segregation and desegregation in the town of Parsons, Kansas. We argue that school desegregation, the goal of which was to increase access and equalize educational opportunities for African Americans, did not have that desired affect. Fifty years after the closing of the all-Black Douglass School, Parsons’ citizens had not openly acknowledged the effects this event had on the African American community. Three generations later, African American student achievement still lags behind that of White students. These unresolved issues have contributed to a number of losses in the Black community, including loss of Black teachers and loss of talented Black young people. We use theories of social capital and cultural capital as a framework to illustrate how White, middle class students had greater access to school resources, and to identify the social and cultural resources within the Black community that the school district could build upon, such as strong leadership and a sense of resolve and resiliency.

Accumulating evidence for parent-child interaction therapy in the prevention of child maltreatment

In a randomized controlled trial, the effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and correlates of maltreatment outcomes were examined. Mothers (N = 150) had a history or were at high risk of maltreating their children. After 12 weeks and compared to waitlist, PCIT mothers were observed to have improved parent-child interactions and reported better child behavior and decreased stress. At PCIT completion, improvements continued and mothers reported less child abuse potential and had improved maternal sensitivity. Also, PCIT completers were less likely to be notified to child welfare than noncompleters. Finally, those families not notified post-PCIT showed greater reductions in child abuse potential and improvements in observed sensitivity during treatment. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

‘They’re True Stories? Yeah,No They’re Not’ Questions of Authenticity and Authority Raised by the Use of Comic Books to Represent Biblical Narratives in Religious Education

ABSTRACT

The affordances of the comic book medium facilitate individual, interpretive readings of narrative and as such challenge the notion of a single message or meaning. This article explores how secondary school students encounter and re-orientate themselves to personal concepts of religious and educational authority and authenticity as a consequence of reading a comic book biblical narrative in a Religious Education lesson. Through this encounter and dialogue with one another, they negotiate these concepts, the meanings of which are necessarily embedded in the social and are thus enabled to take a stance on competing truth claims. This article also considers the implications of rendering sacred texts as comic books.