Risk Judgment in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Testing a Dual-Systems Account

Dual-systems theorists posit distinct modes of reasoning. The intuition system reasons automatically and its processes are unavailable to conscious introspection. The deliberation system reasons effortfully while its processes recruit working memory. The current paper extends the application of such theories to the study of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Patients with OCD often retain insight into their irrationality, implying dissociable systems of thought: intuition produces obsessions and fears that deliberation observes and attempts (vainly) to inhibit. To test the notion that dual-systems theory can adequately describe OCD, we obtained speeded and unspeeded risk judgments from OCD patients and non-anxious controls in order to quantify the differential effects of intuitive and deliberative reasoning. As predicted, patients deemed negative events to be more likely than controls. Patients also took more time in producing judgments than controls. Furthermore, when forced to respond quickly patients' judgments were more affected than controls'. Although patients did attenuate judgments when given additional time, their estimates never reached the levels of controls'. We infer from these data that patients have genuine difficulty inhibiting their intuitive cognitive system. Our dual-systems perspective is compatible with current theories of the disorder. Similar behavioral tests may prove helpful in better understanding related anxiety disorders. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Politics of Accountability and Teacher Preparation: A Case Study from Pennsylvania

In an effort to understand some of the ways that accountability-based reform efforts have influenced teacher education, this article details the politics of accountability in Pennsylvania that motivated sweeping changes in the policies governing teacher preparation in 2006. This case study provides a poignant example of the kind of complex accountability systems now being constructed across the United States in an effort to change teacher preparation. By analyzing primary documents including the legal statutes governing teacher preparation in Pennsylvania, correspondence from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, related newsletters, memos, reports, transcripts of meetings, and testimony before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the complex nature of the conflicts underlying the development and implementation of teacher education reform is brought into focus. The study's findings suggest that a deep and uncritical acceptance of accountability-based teacher education reform on the part of educational policy makers is likely to do more harm than good. The article concludes by outlining a framework for developing more intelligent measures of accountability that might preserve professional autonomy and judgment.

Melody recognition at fast and slow tempos: Effects of age, experience, and familiarity

Eighty-one listeners defined by three age ranges (18–30, 31–59, and over 60 years) and three levels of musical experience performed an immediate recognition task requiring the detection of alterations in melodies. On each trial, a brief melody was presented, followed 5 sec later by a test stimulus that either was identical to the target or had two pitches changed, for a same–different judgment. Each melody pair was presented at 0.6 note/sec, 3.0 notes/sec, or 6.0 notes/sec. Performance was better with familiar melodies than with unfamiliar melodies. Overall performance declined slightly with age and improved substantially with increasing experience, in agreement with earlier results in an identification task. Tempo affected performance on familiar tunes (moderate was best), but not on unfamiliar tunes. We discuss these results in terms of theories of dynamic attending, cognitive slowing, and working memory in aging.

The Politics of Accountability and Teacher Preparation

In an effort to understand some of the ways that accountability-based reform efforts have influenced teacher education, this article details the politics of accountability in Pennsylvania that motivated sweeping changes in the policies governing teacher preparation in 2006. This case study provides a poignant example of the kind of complex accountability systems now being constructed across the United States in an effort to change teacher preparation. By analyzing primary documents including the legal statutes governing teacher preparation in Pennsylvania, correspondence from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, related newsletters, memos, reports, transcripts of meetings, and testimony before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the complex nature of the conflicts underlying the development and implementation of teacher education reform is brought into focus. The study's findings suggest that a deep and uncritical acceptance of accountability-based teacher education reform on the part of educational policy makers is likely to do more harm than good. The article concludes by outlining a framework for developing more intelligent measures of accountability that might preserve professional autonomy and judgment.

Hearing in the mind's ear: A PET investigation of musical imagery and perception

Neuropsychological studies have suggested that imagery processes may be mediated by neuronal mechanisms similar to those used in perception. To test this hypothesis, and to explore the neural basis for song imagery, 12 normal subjects were scanned using the water bolus method to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) during the performance of three tasks. In the control condition subjects saw pairs of words on each trial and judged which word was longer. In the perceptual condition subjects also viewed pairs of words, this time drawn from a familiar song; simultaneously they heard the corresponding song, and their task was to judge the change in pitch of the two cued words within the song. In the imagery condition, subjects performed precisely the same judgment as in the perceptual condition, but with no auditory input. Thus, to perform the imagery task correctly an internal auditory representation must be accessed. Paired-image subtraction of the resulting pattern of CBF, together with matched MRI for anatomical localization, revealed that both perceptual and imagery. tasks produced similar patterns of CBF changes, as compared to the control condition, in keeping with the hypothesis. More specifically, both perceiving and imagining songs are associated with bilateral neuronal activity in the secondary auditory cortices, suggesting that processes within these regions underlie the phenomenological impression of imagined sounds. Other CBF foci elicited in both tasks include areas in the left and right frontal lobes and in the left parietal lobe, as well as the supplementary motor area. This latter region implicates covert vocalization as one component of musical imagery. Direct comparison of imagery and perceptual tasks revealed CBF increases in the inferior frontal polar cortex and right thalamus. We speculate that this network of regions may be specifically associated with retrieval and/or generation of auditory information from memory.

Prioritization of Potential Mates' History of Sexual Fidelity During a Conjoint Ranking Task

This series of studies is the first to use conjoint analysis to examine how individuals make trade-offs during mate selection when provided information about a partner's history of sexual infidelity. Across three studies, participants ranked profiles of potential mates, with each profile varying across five attributes: financial stability, physical attractiveness, sexual fidelity, emotional investment, and similarity. They also rated each attribute separately for importance in an ideal mate. Overall, we found that for a long-term mate, participants prioritized a potential partner's history of sexual fidelity over other attributes when profiles were ranked conjointly. For a short-term mate, sexual fidelity, physical attractiveness, and financial stability were equally important, and each was more important than emotional investment and similarity. These patterns contrast with participants' self-reported importance ratings of each individual attribute. Our results are interpreted within the context of previous literature examining how making trade-offs affect mate selection.