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Intelligence as a correlate of children's problem solving.

Previous work on children's problem solving was extended by directly comparing the strategies of intellectually gifted, average, and mentally retarded children on 2 two-dimensional integration problems--the balance scale and inclined plane. Comparisons of the distributions of strategies for each group showed that most gifted children integrated dimensional information by addition and many average children used lexicographic strategies. Mentally retarded children relied on a single dimension of the balance scale, but they were more likely to use lexicographic strategies for the inclined plane. Possible explanations for the large number of unclassified mentally retarded children were discussed.

Adolescent↗

Health and appearance concerns in young Caucasian and African-American women.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to examine the health- and appearance-related concerns of young African-American and Caucasian females. RESEARCH METHODS: Participants were twenty Caucasian and twenty African-American college women, who were matched on age and BMI. All participants were administered the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), a demographics instrument, and a short inventory to assess concerns about health, appearance, and weight management, in a single testing session; height and weight data were self-reported. RESULTS: African-American women and Caucasian women were not significantly different in their level of health consciousness or perception of health; however, African-American women were significantly more satisfied with their physical appearance in comparison to Caucasian women. Among African-American women, perception of health and level of health consciousness were highly related; this relationship was not found in Caucasian women. In addition, perception of health was related to satisfaction with appearance in both groups, although the relationship was stronger among African-Americans. Among Caucasian women, satisfaction with physical appearance was highly correlated with perception of weight status (from underweight to very overweight); this relationship was not found among African-American females. An inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI) and appearance evaluation was found only for Caucasian females. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that, on the whole, young African-American and Caucasian college females report similar evaluations of health and values placed on appearance and health, and differ primarily in terms of satisfaction with physical appearance.

Adult↗

Colours in black and white: the depiction of lightness and brightness in achromatic engravings before the invention of photography.

What is it like to see the world in black and white? In the pioneer days of cinema, when movies displayed grey worlds, was it true that no 'colours' were actually seen? Did every object seen in those projections appear grey in the same way? The answer is obviously no--people in those glorious days were seeing a world full of light, shadows, and objects in which colours were expressed in terms of lightness. But the marvels of grey worlds have not always been so richly displayed. Before the invention of photography, the depiction of scenes in black-and-white had to face some technical and perceptual challenges. We have studied the technical and perceptual constraints that XV-XVIII century engravers had to face in order to translate actual colours into shades of grey. An indeterminacy principle is considered, according to which artists had to prefer the representation of some object or scene features over others (for example brightness over lightness). The reasons for this lay between the kind of grey scale technically available and the kind of information used in the construction of 3-D scenes. With the invention of photography, photomechanical reproductions, and new printing solutions, artists had at their disposal a continuous grey scale that greatly reduces the constraints of the indeterminacy principle.

Art↗

Physiological and perceptual responses to cyclic heat stress variations.

The effect of the time presentation of a given external heat load was examined on five subjects exercising at a constant work load (50 W). The subjects, dressed in briefs, were exposed to cyclic variations for 120 min in air temperatures between 51 degrees C and 23 degrees C, under three different schedules involving heat pulses of 10-min, 20-min and 30-min duration, respectively. The strain induced by each of these conditions was compared in terms of both physiological and perceptual criteria. Results showed that between conditions, there were significant differences in skin temperature levels but not in core temperature levels, body heat storage, or body weight loss. Perception of effort and thermal sensation ratings both exhibited similar changes in all three conditions. Due to the time constant of the sweating response, sweating rates and skin wettednesses at the end of the heat pulses were lower for 10-min heat pulses than for those of 20- and 30-min duration, and these differences were perceived by the subjects. Lower perceived skin wettedness ratings are thus suggested as the main factor to explain why all subjects rated the 10-min heating-cooling cycle as the least strenuous and uncomfortable condition. It is concluded that under the conditions of this study, perceptual criteria associated with physiological criteria represent a useful means of discriminating slight differences in strain.

Adult↗

Beliefs and practices of First Nation women about weight gain during pregnancy and lactation: implications for women's health.

Many Cree women in northern Quebec experience excessive weight gain during pregnancy and retain the weight between pregnancies. This contributes to poor maternal-fetal outcomes and increased rates of obesity-related health problems. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore (a) Cree women's perceptions of weight gain in pregnancy and weight loss following pregnancy, (b) the barriers that women face in maintaining a healthy body weight, and (c) the sociocultural context of health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 women who had given birth within the preceding 12 months. Many women spoke of the negative health consequences of excessive weight gain, yet they found it difficult to lose weight due to individual constraints such as lack of time, cultural beliefs about diet while breastfeeding, and community constraints including lack of child care and lack of community programs for mothers.

Adolescent↗

The acquisition of passive avoidance, active avoidance, and spatial navigation tasks by animals prenatally exposed to cocaine.

Pregnant Long-Evans rats were administered cocaine orally (60 mg/kg) on gestational days 14-21. One control group was administered the vehicle and another left untreated. Cocaine treatment produced some maternal lethality, and the weight gain of the surviving dams was reduced approximately 15%. Offspring of mothers treated with cocaine did not differ from those of untreated mothers in their numbers, birth weight, or growth. Weanling offspring were tested in a passive avoidance task, and adult offspring were tested for two-way active avoidance and in a spatial navigation task. Although a few animals in the cocaine group showed poor retention of passive avoidance, the group differences were not statistically significant. The adult animals showed normal performance in both the active avoidance and spatial navigation tasks.

Analysis of Variance↗

Primary care weight management counseling: physician and patient perspectives.

UNLABELLED: This paper examines the use of the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services for behavioral counseling for overweight patients in the primary care setting. METHODS: Study 1 assessed counseling practices of family physicians with a 13-item physician questionnaire based on the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. Study 2 assessed the perception of weight loss recommendations made to obese primary care patients attending a family practice clinic. RESULTS: 46% of the family physicians responded. The most common referrals were made to dieticians and exercise programs. The patient survey indicated that 80.3% had received weight loss recommendations, and 68.9% had received counseling on diet change or exercise. CONCLUSIONS: This study found adequate rates of compliance with the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. However, these results have highlighted the need to expand the guidelines to counsel patients more specifically with regard to weight loss recommendations and to focus on improving patient compliance and motivation.

Adult↗

Self-perceived weight status and exercise adequacy.

The growing prevalence of obesity and inadequate physical activity levels in the population highlight an opportunity to examine public opinion about exercise, as well as the perceived adequacy of exercise among adults. This article summarizes findings from a 2004 survey of exercise habits and beliefs among Michigan adults using bivariate and logit analysis. It examines perceptions of weight status and adequacy of exercise, illuminates public opinion regarding the importance and value of exercise as one aspect of active living and highlights some of the perceived barriers and facilitators to exercise. The results indicate that people believe that they exercise enough, but that demographic, socio-economic and attitudinal factors may be potential barriers to physical activity. It is important to establish and/or bolster individual and community support structures while also minimizing potential barriers to exercise at the individual, organizational and community levels.

Adult↗

The relationships of age, sex, ethnicity, and weight to stereotypes of obesity and self perception.

In order to assess the relationships of stereotypes of obesity and of self perceptions to age, sex, ethnicity and weight, 447 adults and children varying in sex, ethnic background and weight rated 12 line drawings of people who varied in age, sex and weight, as well as giving self ratings on similar scales. The normal weight stimuli, compared with the fat oe thin ones, were more wanted as friends and were seen as happier, having more friends, being smarter, and better looking but less lonely and mean. The thin stimulus figures were seen as having more friends, being better looking, smarter and meaner than the fat ones. These trends held for both the sexes, all ages, all ethnic groups, and children of all weights. Names or nicknames assigned to the stimuli also reflected stereotypes: Fat nicknames were given primarily to the fat stimuli; Thin and Height-related ones were given to the thin stimuli; and the average stimuli received more Neutral/Normal and Clearly Positive and fewer Other/Ambiguous and Clearly Negative names. Self evaluations suggested that fifth graders and American Indians were lowest in self concept on some scales, consistent with other research. Overweight subjects were generally similar to average and underweight ones in self ratings, contrary to expectation. Apparently these subjects did not perceive themselves as negatively as previous research and their ratings of the obese stimuli might have caused us to expect.

Adult↗

Correlates of overweight and obesity among lesbian and bisexual women.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies find lesbians at greater risk for overweight and obesity than heterosexual women. While this may reflect differences in attitudes concerning weight and body shape, little is actually known about risk factors within this group. This study examines correlates of obesity and exercise frequency among lesbians and bisexual women. METHODS: Data from a snowball sample (n = 1209) of lesbians/bisexual women living in Los Angeles Country were utilized. Overweight was defined as BMI >/= 25 kg/m(2); obesity as BMI >/= 30. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics, exercise frequency, health indicators, and weight-related measures were evaluated to identify independent predictors of BMI and exercise frequency. RESULTS: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among lesbians varied by racial/ethnic background. Higher BMI was associated with older age, poorer health status, lower educational attainment, relationship cohabitation, and lower exercise frequency. Higher BMI, perceptions of being overweight, and reporting a limiting health condition were identified as independent predictors of infrequent exercise. Women were generally quite accurate in self-perceptions of weight status. CONCLUSIONS: Correlates of overweight and obesity among lesbians and bisexual women are generally comparable to those observed in studies of heterosexual women. Evidence that lesbians' higher BMI is associated with higher levels of fitness is not supported.

Adult↗

Perceptions of effort and heaviness during fatigue and during the size-weight illusion.

Previous work has shown that force perception and the sense of motor effort are different attributes of sensorimotor function. This study explores the hypothesis that one reason force and effort perceptions are distinct is to inform an individual of impaired motor function when muscular force lags effort. This hypothesis predicts that effort and force perceptions will dissociate when motor function is impaired by fatigue but not during the size-weight illusion. All subjects reported a distinct increase in effort when lifting a standard test weight as fatigue developed. When fatigue was sufficiently marked so that they could barely lift the test weight, they rated their effort as similar to that required to lift a maximal weight in the unfatigued state. The perceived heaviness of the test weight also increased as fatigue developed, but this fatigue-weight illusion was smaller than the increase in effort for all subjects and displayed greater variability. In contrast, both the perceived weight of a small object and the effort required to lift it increased in parallel when small and large objects were lifted sequentially. The size-weight and size-effort illusions appear to be examples of a common phenomenon in which perceptual experience is rescaled to maintain acuity under different working conditions. The fatigue-weight illusion also has the effect of increasing perceptual acuity as the subject's weight lifting range decreases due to fatigue.

Adolescent↗

Veterans' reports of pain and associations with ratings of health, health-risk behaviors, affective distress, and use of the healthcare system.

The improved management of pain among veterans seeking care in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities has been established as a priority. This study documents the high prevalence of reports of pain among a convenience sample of 685 veterans seeking care in a VHA primary care setting. Also reported are associations of pain complaints with self-rated health, an index of emotional distress, health-risk behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol use, health-related concerns about diet and weight, and perceptions of the availability of social support. The relationship between the presence of pain and use of outpatient and inpatient medical and mental health services is also examined. Nearly 50% of the sample reported that they experience pain regularly and that they were concerned about this problem at the time of the index visit to their primary care provider. Persons acknowledging the presence of pain, relative to those not reporting pain, were younger, reported worsening health over the past year, had greater emotional distress, used tobacco, had diet and/or weight concerns, and were found to use more outpatient medical, but not inpatient medical or mental health services. Results support the goals of the VHA National Pain Management Strategy designed to reduce unnecessary pain and suffering among veterans receiving care in VHA facilities.

Adult↗