G. Neil Martin

Sex and cross-cultural differences in the estimated multi-faceted intelligence quotient score for self, parents and siblings

Abstract Over four hundred young people from Britain, Hawaii and Singapore estimated their own, their parents and their siblings IQ score on each of Gardner (1983) fundamental human intelligences: verbal (linguistic), logical (mathematical), spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. They also answered six simple questions concerning intelligence tests. There were both cultural and sex differences in the estimation of overall own intelligence score. Males gave higher scores than females (109 vs 107) while the British gave the highest score (109) compared with the Singaporeans (106) and Hawaiians (104). Factor analysis of the seven dimensions yielded either a two or three factor solution, the latter being verbal (verbal, inter-intrapersonal), mathematical (mathematical and spatial), and musical (musical, body-kinesthetic). There were consistent sex differences in the estimations of the three factors for self, but not of parents, and only marginally of sisters. Males more than females, and the British more than the other groups, were more likely to believe in sex and race difference in intelligence.

Ability, demography, learning style, and personality trait correlates of student preference for assessment method

More than 400 students from four universities in America and Britain completed measures of learning style preference, general knowledge (as a proxy for intelligence), and preference for examination method. Learning style was consistently associated with preferences: surface learners preferred multiple choice and group work options, and viewed essay‐type and dissertation options less favourably. Deep learners, on the other hand, favoured essay‐type and oral exams as well as final dissertations. Males favoured oral (viva voce) exams and females coursework assessment. Extraverts preferred multiple choice, oral, and group work assessment, while openness was positively associated with essays and oral exams but negatively associated with multiple choice and group work. Regression analysis showed that personality, learning style, general knowledge, and demographic factors accounted for 5–10% of the variance in preferred examination technique. Results in part replicate earlier studies and are discussed in terms of changes in examination methods.

Mental health literacy among university students

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the mental health literacy of students. This study is part of the growing interest in mental health literacy among young people., – Over 400 university students indicated their knowledge of over 90 psychiatric illnesses labels derived from DSM:IV. They rated disorders on six questions concerning whether they had heard of the disorder; knew anybody with it; could define or describe it; knew what causes it; whether those with it can be cured; and whether it is common., – On average, participants had heard of just over one‐third of the various illnesses. Those who rated the conditions as more common deemed them to have more known causes and to be more curable. Emotionally intelligent, open‐to‐experience females who had studied relevant academic subjects claimed to be better informed. The participants age and personality, as well as whether they had studied clinical psychology, related to their awareness., – The paper favours recognition of mental disorders over an attempt to understand how well young people understand mental illness., – No study has attempted this methodology in the study of mental health literacy.

The effects of audience laughter on men's and women's responses to humor

Forty participants (20 men and 20 women) listened individually to a recording of a radio comedy show under one of two conditions: an experimental condition, with audience laughter present, or a control condition, with laughter absent. While the participants were listening to the tape, their spontaneous responses were covertly videotaped so that the frequency of laughter and smiling could be measured. After listening to the program, the participants rated the material for funniness and enjoyment. Those participants who listened with laughter present gave significantly higher ratings of the funniness and enjoyability of the recording. Moreover, they laughed and smiled more in the experimental condition, although the score for the difference in smiling failed to reach significance. In contrast with some published studies, no differences between men and women were found--a result that is attributed to the greater ecological validity of the context and to the stimuli used in the present study.

Olfactory remediation: Current evidence and possible applications

A number of recent psychological investigations has suggested a significant role for olfactory stimulation in the alteration of cognition, mood and social behaviour. These orthodox investigations have a common, if uneasy, relationship with the holistic practice of so-called aromatherapy. This paper reviews the therapeutic effects of dour on health-related behaviour. It distinguishes two types of research activity, one which is quantitative and science- and medicine-based, the other which is qualitative and anecdote- and experience-based. Both of these endeavours are critically assessed and suggestions are made for improvement in methodology and experimental design.

Early cognitive profiles of emergent readers:a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examined the contribution of phonological awareness, phonological memory, and visuospatial ability to reading development in 142 English-speaking children from the start of kindergarten to the middle of Grade 2. Partial cross-lagged analyses revealed significant relationships between early performance on block design and matching letter-like forms tasks and later reading ability. Rhyme awareness correlated with later reading ability during the earliest stages, but onset awareness did not emerge as important until after the children had started reading. Digit span correlated significantly with future reading ability at every stage. These findings indicate that although phonological awareness, phonological memory, and visuospatial ability are all necessary for emergent reading, their relative importance varies across the first 2 years of reading development.

‘A good odour to breathe?’ The effect of pleasant ambient odour on human visual vigilance

The present study examined the effect of an alerting and a relaxing odour on human visual vigilance. Three groups of undergraduates (N = 54) completed a sustained visual vigilance task which required them to respond whenever a target stimulus appeared on a computer monitor. One group completed the task in the presence of an alerting odour (peppermint), another did so in the presence of a relaxing odour (bergamot) and a third group completed the task in an unscented environment. A 2×3×2 (sex×odour×diurnal preference) MANOVA was performed in order to determine group differences in response times and number of correct detections. Participants in the bergamot condition detected fewer targets correctly within 1.25 seconds of the target appearing than did those in the peppermint or no-odour groups. Exposure to bergamot was also associated with significantly fewer correct detections in the second than in the first half of the task, when compared with the other two conditions. The results suggest that sustained exposure to a relaxing odour can impair visual vigilance. Copyright

The effect of exposure to odor on the perception of pain

Objective: To investigate the effect of a pleasant and unpleasant ambient odor on the perception of human pain and to test two hypotheses of the role of distraction and attention in pain perception. Method: Sixty healthy men and women experienced experimentally induced pain (cold-pressor test) during exposure to an ambient pleasant odor (lemon), an ambient unpleasant odor (machine oil), or no odor. Participants reported the degree of pain they experienced at 5-minute intervals for 15 minutes. Results: Individuals exposed to both odors reported significantly greater pain than did those in the control condition at 5 minutes. At 15 minutes, individuals exposed to the unpleasant odor experienced greater pain than did the control group. Conclusion: The results suggest that exposure to odors judged to be pleasant and unpleasant may not lead to pain relief. Rather, their perception is associated with greater pain than is no odor. The implications for attentional theories of pain are discussed, as are avenues for future research. CAM = complementary or alternative medicine.

The neuropsychology of smell and taste

“The neuropsychology of smell and taste” book provides a comprehensive, critical, up-to-date review and analysis of the role of the brain in two major and inter-related senses, gustation and olfaction. It describes the effect of odour and taste on behaviour and will evaluate the contribution of neuroimaging and cognitive neuropsychology to our understanding of the neural basis of olfactory and gustatory perception. It will describe the physiology, anatomy and neuropsychology of these senses, describe the neurophysiological causes of disorders of smell and taste and review the function of both systems in physical and mental illness. The book is an entry to Psychology Press’s ‘Brain damage, behaviour and cognition’ series, edited by Chris Code and Glyn Humphreys.”