The visual system rapidly represents the mean size of sets of objects. Here, we investigated whether mean size is explicitly encoded by the visual system, along a single dimension like texture, numerosity, and other visual dimensions susceptible to adaptation. Observers adapted to two sets of dots with different mean sizes, presented simultaneously in opposite visual fields. After adaptation, two test patches replaced the adapting dot sets, and participants judged which test appeared to have the larger average dot diameter. They generally perceived the test that replaced the smaller mean size adapting set as being larger than the test that replaced the larger adapting set. This differential aftereffect held for single test dots (Experiment 2) and high-pass filtered displays (Experiment 3), and changed systematically as a function of the variance of the adapting dot sets (Experiment 4), providing additional support that mean size is adaptable, and therefore explicitly encoded dimension of visual scenes.

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The authors assessed the effectiveness of a home visitation program in enhancing the early parenting history of infants born at medical risk--a population that is at risk for mistreatment. A randomized clinical trial design was used to compare the effects of a cognitively based extension of the Healthy Start home visitation program (HV+) with a visitation condition that did not include this component (HV). In the HV+ condition, they observed (a) a lower use of corporal punishment, (b) greater safety maintenance in the home, and (c) fewer reported child injuries. The sample (N = 102) was primarily Latino; however, the effects of the intervention were not qualified by ethnicity, maternal education, or immigration status.

Comparisons were made of differences in the hormonal sensitivity of preterm versus full-term infants to maternal depression, as reflected in children's cortisol levels. In Study 1 (N = 25), a comparison was made between preterm versus healthy full-term children. In Study 2 (N = 80), a comparison was made between preterm infants and full-term infants with mild or moderate medical problems. Preterm infants were found be highly reactive to maternal depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory). That is, they demonstrated higher cortisol levels when paired with depressed mothers and lower cortisol levels when paired with non-depressed mothers. No equivalent effects were found for children who were full-term, even when they had experienced other medical problems at birth. It was concluded that premature infants are exceptionally sensitive to the "emotional climate" in their home environment. As a result, they may manifest very different hormonal outcomes --with implications for their later development.Considerable attention has been given historically to the fact that high levels of stress early in life predict later problems. More recently, such effects have been interpreted in terms of biological changes as mediators of this process. Researchers concerned with developmental psychopathology have given increasing attention to the neurohormonal responses of very young children to early trauma or stress (e.g., Bremner & Narayan, 1998;Gunnar, 2000; Nelson, 2000). However, interests have expanded beyond concern with trauma to a broader consideration of early experiences that predict children's later outcomes. It has also extended to consider possible variations in child vulnerability. Repetti, Taylor and Seeman (2000), in a review of literature concerning the biological outcomes of children in "risky" families (e.g., those characterized by aggression/conflict or coldness/neglect), concluded that child vulnerability and family risk combine to predict dysregulation of the child's stress response system --a consequence that ultimately has negative implications for their later health and well-being. In this study, we focused attention on maternal depression as a potential source of early stress for infants. Our specific concern here was on the differential vulnerability of preterm versus full-term infants to maternal depression -in terms of their stress-relevant hormonal responses.Maternal Depression-Maternal depression has repeatedly been found to have negative implications for maternal responsiveness and sensitivity to infants -which in turn has Corresponding author: Daphne Bugental, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, Email: bugental@psych.ucsb.edu, David A. Beaulieu, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, Email: beaulieu@psych.ucsb.edu, Alex F. Schwartz, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, Email: schwartz@psych.ucsb.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited ma...

Developmental psychologists have long been concerned with the ways that early adversity influences children’s long-term outcomes. In the current study, activity of the HPA axis of medically at-risk (e.g., preterm) infants was measured as a result of maternal participation in a novel cognitively-based home visitation program (versus a Healthy Start home visitation program). Maternal participation in the cognitive intervention predicted lower basal cortisol levels among infants – with reduced levels of maternal avoidance/withdrawal serving as a mediator of this relation. Lower cortisol levels in infancy, in turn, predicted higher verbal short-term memory at age 3. Short-term memory represents a cognitive ability that has importance for children’s later educational outcomes. Findings provide experimental evidence concerning the pathway by which an early intervention may produce hormonal changes that can, in turn, influence children’s learning outcomes.

The role of constitutional courts in deeply divided societies is complicated by the danger that the salient societal cleavages may influence judicial decision‐making and, consequently, undermine judicial impartiality and independence. With reference to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia‐Herzegovina, this article investigates the influence of ethno‐national affiliation on judicial behaviour and the extent to which variation in judicial tenure amplifies or dampens that influence. Based on a statistical analysis of an original dataset of the Court's decisions, we find that the judges do in fact divide predictably along ethno‐national lines, at least in certain types of cases, and that these divisions cannot be reduced to a residual loyalty to their appointing political parties. Contrary to some theoretical expectations, however, we find that long‐term tenure does little to dampen the influence of ethno‐national affiliation on judicial behaviour. Moreover, our findings suggest that this influence may actually increase as a judge acclimates to the dynamics of a divided court. We conclude by considering how alternative arrangements for the selection and tenure of judges might help to ameliorate this problem.

Mothers of medically at-risk infants were randomly assigned to a Healthy Start intervention (HV) or a cognitive reframing intervention (HV+). Outcome measures were taken at the conclusion of the intervention (1 year) and at the 3-year follow-up visit. At age 3, children in the HV+ condition (in comparison with those in the HV condition) showed fewer aggression problems (as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist). Maternal emotional unavailability (as measured by combined scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and avoidance items on the Conflict Tactics Scale) at the 1-year visit mediated the effects of the intervention on children's aggression at age 3. Findings suggest that an early, cognitively based intervention may lead to reduced child aggression as a result of increased maternal social-emotional availability within the caregiving relationship.