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Results for “SUPERSTITIONS”

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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Functional analysis of challenging behaviour in dementia: the role of superstition.

BACKGROUND: Intervention for challenging behaviour of residents living in care homes is a neglected area of research. Pharmacological methods of management are widespread, although support for their efficacy is, on the whole, poor. AIMS: There is little research on non-pharmacological methods of management and the present study aimed to add to the small literature in this area, by examining the meaning of behaviour for a given resident, within a functional analytic experimental framework. METHODS: The study involved a systematic manipulation of specific trigger situations to evaluate their influence on challenging behaviour, using a single case experimental design. RESULTS: Five residents with agitated and aggressive behaviour were successfully managed. The difficulties in engaging staff in the use of non-pharmacological, rather than pharmacological, methods and the scope for future randomised trials using psychological and environmental interventions to manage challenging behaviour, are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Subitizing: magical numbers or mere superstition?

It is widely believed that humans are endowed with a specialized numerical process, called subitizing, which enables them to apprehend rapidly and accurately the numerosity of small sets of objects. A major part of the evidence for this process is a purported discontinuity in the mean response time (RT) versus numerosity curves at about 4 elements, when subjects enumerate up to 7 or more elements in a visual display. In this article, RT data collected in a speeded enumeration experiment are subjected to a variety of statistical analyses, including several tests on the RT distributions. None of these tests reveals a significant discontinuity as numerosity increases. The data do suggest a strong stochastic dominance in RT by display numerosity, indicating that the mental effort required to enumerate does increase with each additional element in the display, both within and beyond the putative subitizing range.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Between "science" and "superstition": moral perceptions of induced abortion among young adults in Vietnam.

Despite the increasing use of reproductive technologies the world over, anthropological studies have paid remarkably limited attention to the ethical dilemmas involved in people's choices of such technologies. Against this background, the author analyzes moral perceptions of induced abortion among unmarried young adults in urban North Vietnam. While the ethical aspects of abortion are shrouded in silence in public life in Vietnam, the young people participating in the study expressed strong moral scepticism towards the practice of abortion, even while undergoing it themselves. Through the analysis of young people's experiences and perceptions, the paper demonstrates how moral ideas are tied to particular social situations and structured by larger socio-political circumstances. It is argued that moral notions which are dominant in a society's public sphere may not be representative of the moral sentiments that are lived in practice and felt in private.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1980

The rat's resistance to superstition: role of the hippocampus.

Superstitious operant behavior, in all possible respects similar to that described for pigeons, was found to characterize the behavior of male rats with bilateral hippocampal lesions (hippocampals). Robust superfluous activitiess accompanied noncontingent (random time) and shifts from contingent (random interval) to noncontingent pellet delivery. These activities were minimized but not eliminated by an operant contingency. In contrast, sham-operate performance was distinguished by a stripping away of superfluities in all contingency conditions. Although a variety of responses were emitted superstitiously, the topography of behavior in hippocampal rats was not different from that of sham operates. Unlike sham operates, which varied their behavior spontaneously and in response to experimental changes, hippocampals did not cease their repetitive, high frequency sequences until reinforcers were withheld. As the detection of a free operant contingency seems to depend upon response-cued discrimination learning, and in view of the hippocampal failure to generate these cues, a link between superstitious response output and response rigidity is hypothesized. It is proposed that the hippocampus permits the control of behavior by contingency and that without the structure, operant behavior is guided by simple response-reinforcer contiguity.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Superstition and post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The objective was to determine whether post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages occur more frequently in redheaded children, in patterns of threes, on Friday-the-13th days, or with the full moon. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control analysis. METHODS: The authors performed multiple statistical analyses of all children undergoing tonsillectomy at Temple University Children's Medical Center (Philadelphia, PA) during a 29-month period. Children readmitted to the hospital with or without surgical control of bleeding were compared with children who did not bleed. Relation of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages to the phase of the moon was evaluated using a standard normal deviate. The frequency of surgery performed on Friday-the-13th days was compared with a differently dated Friday chosen at random. Clusters of three hemorrhages in a 7-day period were recorded. Families of children were contacted and asked whether their child had red hair. A chi analysis compared redheaded and non-redheaded tonsillectomy patients. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of 589 tonsillectomy cases performed required readmission for bleeding events. Twenty tonsillectomies occurred on a full-moon day, resulting in one bleeding event. One cluster of three post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages occurred in a 7-day period. Four of the children who bled had red hair. Two tonsillectomies occurred on Friday the 13th, with no associated hemorrhage. Statistical analysis revealed a random pattern to post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages do not occur in clusters of three and are not more frequent with the full moon or on Friday the 13th. The bleeding rate among children with red hair is similar to that of non-redheaded children.

Case-Control Studies↗