János Kállai

Gender differences in wayfinding strategies and anxiety about wayfinding: A cross-cultural comparison

Two studies examined gender and cultural differences in wayfinding strategies and anxiety about wayfinding. Men in both Hungary and the United States reported greater preference for a strategy of orienting to global reference points, whereas women reported greater preference for a strategy based on route information. A higher level of wayfinding anxiety was reported by Americans, and women in both countries reported greater wayfinding anxiety than did men. Women in the United States, but not in Hungary, reported less childhood wayfinding experience than did men; women in both countries reported feeling less safe than did men. Feeling of personal safety and wayfinding strategy preferences mediated the gender difference in wayfinding anxiety.

The development of a short form of the EMBU: Its appraisal with students in Greece, Guatemala, Hungary and Italy

Abstract Out of the necessity of having an abbreviated form of the EMBU, a measure of perceived parental rearing behaviour, a short form (s-EMBU) consisting of three scales (rejection, emotional warmth and protection) with, respectively, 7, 6 and 9 items (plus 1 unscaled item) was developed from the original 81-item version. The factorial and/or construct validity and reliability of this s-EMBU were examined among samples of 2373 students from Italy, Hungary, Guatemala and Greece. The data were presented for the four national groups separately. The 23-item s-EMBU is recommended as a reliable functional equivalent to the 81-item early EMBU. Attention was drawn to the need for further research to explain some of the observed cross-national differences in the correlations between parental rearing styles and personality.

Sex role identity related to the ratio of second to fourth digit length in women

Prenatal gonadal hormones have been implicated as important factors in the development of sex-role identity. The aim of the study reported here was to examine the relationship between adult sex-role preference and the second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D ratio) in healthy women. There is evidence that the ratio of the length of second and fourth digits associates negatively with prenatal testosterone and positively with prenatal oestrogen. In this study the 2D:4D ratio was measured on a sample of 46 female university students. The subjects completed the form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). It was found that the lower 2D:4D ratios associated significantly with higher, masculinized bias scores in BSRI indicating that 2D:4D ratio predicts the female or male self-reported sex-role identity in females.

Confirmation of the Three-Factor Model of Problematic Internet Use on Off-Line Adolescent and Adult Samples

As the Internet became widely used, problems associated with its excessive use became increasingly apparent. Although for the assessment of these problems several models and related questionnaires have been elaborated, there has been little effort made to confirm them. The aim of the present study was to test the three-factor model of the previously created Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ) by data collection methods formerly not applied (off-line group and face-to-face settings), on the one hand, and by testing on different age groups (adolescent and adult representative samples), on the other hand. Data were collected from 438 high-school students (44.5 percent boys; mean age: 16.0 years; standard deviation=0.7 years) and also from 963 adults (49.9 percent males; mean age: 33.6 years; standard deviation=11.8 years). We applied confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the measurement model of problematic Internet use. The results of the analyses carried out inevitably support the original three-factor model over the possible one-factor solution. Using latent profile analysis, we identified 11 percent of adults and 18 percent of adolescent users characterized by problematic use. Based on exploratory factor analysis, we also suggest a short form of the PIUQ consisting of nine items. Both the original 18-item version of PIUQ and its short 9-item form have satisfactory reliability and validity characteristics, and thus, they are suitable for the assessment of problematic Internet use in future studies.

Cognitive and affective aspects of thigmotaxis strategy in humans.

The present article describes the cognitive and emotional aspects of human thigmotaxis (a wall-following spatial strategy) during exploration of virtual and physical spaces. The authors assessed 106 participants with spatial and nonspatial performance-based learning-memory tasks and with fear and anxiety questionnaires. The results demonstrate that thigmotaxis plays a distinct role at different phases of spatial learning. The 1st phase shows a positive correlation between thigmotaxis and general phobic avoidance, whereas there is no association between thigmotaxis and general phobic avoidance during later phases of learning. Furthermore, participants who underperformed in working memory tests and in a spatial construction task exhibited greater thigmotaxis and a higher potential for fear response. Findings are interpreted in the framework of interactions among emotion-, action-, and knowledge-controlled spatial learning theories.

Sensitivity and specificity of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, Frontal Assessment Battery and Mini Mental State Examination for diagnosing dementia in Parkinson's disease

INTRODUCTION Among the non-motor features of Parkinsons disease (PD), cognitive impairment is one of the most troublesome problems. Highly sensitive and specific screening instruments for detecting dementia in PD (PDD) are required in the clinical practice. METHODS In our study we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of different neuropsychological tests (Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination, ACE; Frontal Assessment Battery, FAB and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, MDRS) in 73 Parkinsons disease patients without depression. By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, these screening instruments were tested against the recently established clinical diagnostic criteria of PDD. RESULTS Best cut-off score for ACE to identify PDD was 80 points (sensitivity = 74.0%, specificity = 78.1%). For FAB the most optimal cut-off value was 12 points (sensitivity = 66.3%, specificity = 72.2%); whereas for MDRS it was 125 points (sensitivity = 89.8%, specificity = 98.3%). Among the examined test batteries, MDRS had the best clinicometric profile for detecting PDD. CONCLUSION Although the types of applied screening instruments might differ from movement disorder clinic to clinic within a country, determination of the most specific and sensitive test for the given population remains to be an important task. Our results demonstrated that the specificity and sensitivity of MDRS was better than those of ACE, FAB and MMSE in Hungary. However, further studies with larger sample size and more uniform criteria for participation are required to determine the most suitable screening instrument for cognitive impairment.

Spatial orientation strategies in morris-type virtual water task for humans

The present study characterized frequent motion patterns (search strategies) that occurred during spatial navigation in a virtual maze. The research focused on identifying and characterizing some search strategies, the temporal progression of strategy-use, and their role in spatial performance. Participants were 112 undergraduate students (42 males and 70 females). We identified three search strategies that predicted spatial performance. Enfilading refers to an approach-withdrawal pattern of active exploration near a target location. Thigmotaxis refers to a search strategy that involves continuous contact with the circular wall of the maze. Visual scan involves active visual exploration while the subject remains in a fixed spatial location and turns round. In addition to identifying these motion patterns, some significant points of the spatial learning process were also detailed where strategies appeared to shift systematically. The applied search strategies in these transitional points have determined overall spatial performance.

MRI-assessed volume of left and right hippocampi in females correlates with the relative length of the second and fourth fingers (the 2D: 4D ratio)

Atrophy of the left or right side of the hippocampus has been related to cognitive deficits and psychiatric disease. In this study, we examined the correlation between the hippocampal volume laterality index and the relative lengths of the second (index finger) and fourth (ring finger) digits (2D:4D) in healthy female subjects. The 2D:4D ratio is fixed in utero, and the ratio is higher in women than in men. There is evidence that this ratio is an indicator of the intrauterine concentration of testosterone, which influences the development of different regions of the brain. Assessing the volume of different parts of the brain of 40 healthy adult female students by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we found that the 2D:4D ratio was associated with an asymmetry in the hippocampal sub-regions. Smaller volume on the left side was found in the posterior part of the hippocampus in females with a low (masculine type) 2D:4D ratio. On the other hand, smaller volume on the left side was found in the middle part of the hippocampus in females with a high (female type) 2D:4D ratio. Thus, the development of the middle and posterior regions of the hippocampal formation may respond in opposite ways to prenatal levels of testosterone. Other brain regions such as the amygdala, the cerebral cortex, the total volume hippocampus, and the head of the hippocampus did not show such a difference.

An Experimental Study to Operationally Define and Measure Spatial Orientation in Panic Agoraphobic Subjects, Generalized Anxiety and Healthy Control Groups

In an experimental study with panic agoraphobic patients, generalized anxiety patients and normals we operationally defined and measured spatial orientation of the three research groups. The observation, that patients suffering from agoraphobia have a very narrow exploratory activity range, is as important from the point of view of therapy as theory. Our study observed panic agoraphobic patients through their exploratory abilities. We examine panic agoraphobic, generalized anxiety and normal subjects, as they utilized their exploration skills in a complicated maze. We determined that the cognitive maps drawn by the panic agoraphobic patients are inaccurate. They got lost more often and utilized far fewer navigation points during their walk in the maze, compared to the generalized anxiety or normal subjects. The frame of the conceptualization was based on personal attentional strategies, spatial orientation deficit, and exploratory activity abnormalities.

The rubber hand illusion increases heat pain threshold

Accumulating evidence shows that manipulations of cortical body representation, for example, by simply viewing ones own body, can relieve pain in healthy subjects. Despite the widespread use of the rubber hand illusion (RHI) as an effective experimental tool for the manipulation of bodily awareness, previous studies examining the analgesic effect of the RHI have produced conflicting results.