MedWorm: Psychology

Behold the Power of Qi : The Importance of Qi in the Discourse of Acupuncture

Research on Language and Social Interaction — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:07:55 +0100

(Source: Research on Language and Social Interaction)

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Independence Giving or Autonomy Taking? Childhood Predictors of Decision-Sharing Patterns Between Young Adolescents and Parents

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:04:25 +0100

This article reports on a study of whether young adolescents make decisions autonomously, share decisions with their parents, or have decisions made for them by parents. Using a sample of 2,632 12- and 13-year-olds from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child Survey we examine how childhood behavior and competence influence decision patterns in young adolescence. Individual models are used to test whether traits predict decision patterns, and sibling fixed-effects models allow us to estim\ate effects of child characteristics net of stable family contributions. In both individual and sibling fixed-effects models, children with higher verbal ability share more decision making with parents. Children with greater mathematical aptitude and children who are impulsive are more likely...

Encore Interview: Erasing the Stigma of Suicide

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:26:36 +0100

This week, as National Survivors of Suicide Day approaches tomorrow, we've been exploring the impact of suicide, both on a personal and societal level. Michael Behmer, a marriage and family therapist and co-founder of the family-support organization Chaos to Connection, had this to say.What can people do to help eliminate the stigma that surrounds suicide? I think you would have to convince people to not run from painful experiences. Stigmas exist because there is fear to engage them and explore a remedy. There is mostly a stigma with the affected parties because they take on responsibility and believe, whether true or not, that they could have done more to offer hope to this person.Experts always speak of the person who committed suicide, but those left behind have a tough road to travel....

Five Tricks to Help Stressed Stepparents Enjoy the Holidays

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:18:13 +0100

A special guest post by stepmother, researcher, and author Jacquelyn Fletcher (A Career Girl's Guide to Becoming a Stepmom). While it's written specifically with stepmothers in mind, men with stepkids can benefit from Jacque's insights here as well...As Thanksgiving approaches, instead of feeling the warm anticipation of a day to spend with family, stepmothers across America are downing antacids. And really it's no surprise. "All of our experimental and clinical research confirms that the sense of having little or no control is always distressful," says Paul J. Rosch, MD, a clinical professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College and president of the American Institute of Stress in Yonkers, N.Y.Considering the fact that most stepmothers feel they have zero control over wha...

An interview with Erin Munroe: Almost everything you should know about 'stepparenting' and 'friendship'

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:45:27 +0100

The role of being a stepparent has some inherent challenges. So I was pleased to interview Erin Munroe, author of The Everything Guide to Stepparenting: Practical, reassuring advice for creating healthy, long-lasting relationships, about some of the boundary issues between the roles of stepparent and friend.Can a stepparent be a "friend" with a birth parent? It depends on the situation and the situations are so mixed that this is a tough question to answer. If there was never a marriage between the birth parents or they had a very happy divorce and are still friendly with one another, it makes a stepparent being friendly with a birth parent a little easier for everyone.If there is animosity, however, or potential for one parent to be manipulating another then it is a slippery slope. Being ...

The Dream Notebook

Psychology Today — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

You will consider yourself mad (Source: Psychology Today)

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Daydream Believer

Psychology Today — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

What dreams reveal about your psyche (Source: Psychology Today)

That Damn Dream Again!

Psychology Today — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Unraveling the mystery of recurrent dreams (Source: Psychology Today)

The Nightmare Files

Psychology Today — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

A sleep psychologist logs his strangest cases (Source: Psychology Today)

Altered rectal sensory response induced by balloon distention in patients with functional abdominal pain syndrome

BioPsychoSocial Medicine — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: An inconsistency of visceral sensitivity between lower and higher pressure distention might be a key feature for understanding the pathogenesis of FAPS. (Source: BioPsychoSocial Medicine)

Training the next generation of school professionals to be prevention scientists: The Missouri Prevention Center model

Psychology in the Schools — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Empirically supported school-based programs have been shown to reduce the present and future risk for various emotional disturbances. Unfortunately, few of these programs have been successfully transported or maintained outside the context of controlled research studies. Central to attaining this goal is the pressing need to train the next generation of school psychology faculty leaders, versed in evidence-based practices (EBPs), who can train school personnel to deliver existing EBPs, design and develop innovative new practices, and conduct rigorous research to evaluate the effectiveness of these practices. In part to address this critical need, we developed the Missouri Prevention Center (MPC). In this article we describe the training, service, and research activities associated with MPC...

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Too late to coordinate: Contextual influences on behavioral synchrony

European Journal of Social Psychology — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The temporal coupling of behavior serves as a foundation for effective social exchange with synchronized actions moderating core components of social-cognitive functioning. Questions remain, however, regarding the precise conditions under which this form of behavioral coordination emerges. In particular, do social factors moderate the extent to which people synchronize their movements with others? Given that synchrony serves as an important non-verbal route through which interpersonal connections can be forged, the current investigation considered whether contextual influences moderate the emergence of behavioral coupling. To explore this issue, movements were recorded while participants performed a repetitive activity (i.e., stepping) with an interaction partner who either turned up for t...

Do Psychologists Reject Science?

Psychology Today Personality Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:28:19 +0100

Do psychologists reject science (as Sharon Begley writes in her October 12, 2009 column in Newsweek Magazine)? In this column, Begley states that clinical psychologists (of the Freudian or psychodynamic type) ignore scientific data in favor of their own devices and experiences. In contrast, she lauds cognitive/behavioral approaches that ostensibly and strictly speaking presumably utilize such scientific bases to their treatment. The unalloyed truth here is that a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, or an M.S.W. in clinical social work, or an M.D. in psychiatry or an R.N. in psychiatric nursing solely, in the absence of further postgraduate work, does not really prepare a clinician to do substantial work. Therefore, Begley's position is well taken but only for clinicians who practice immediately ...

Dreams From My Daughter

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:30:17 +0100

One way of looking at Barack Obama's youth is as the story of a boy raised by a single mother and her parents who by dint of hard work and natural gifts overcame great odds to become President of the United States. This is a true story.Another way of looking at it is as the story of a person who, because his father was from Africa, looks black. Since he grew up in a white family, however, he had to overcome impediments to developing a racial identity for which American culture provides no easy answers. This is also a true story.Yet another way of looking at it is as the story of a boy losing his Luo ties before he knew he had them, becoming an American in Hawaii, and then being uprooted and taken with his new family to Indonesia at the age of 6, before leaving them behind to return to Hawa...

My New New Boss

Psychology Today Work Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:14:52 +0100

Shuffle Ball change. That's the current dance step in so many offices.It's ironic in a way. With the job market frozen so that even the unhappiest amongst us are advised to take a deep breath and endure for the nonce, some companies are undergoing internal change at an unexpected pace."It's my third boss in two years." said one Assistant Superintendent in a school district where School Superintendents have the life span of fruit flies.‘We merged again." explained a banking investments advisor. "And while I'm singing the grateful-to-have-a-job anthem, which is the god's honest truth, I inherited a boss from the gang that ate us. I can't imagine relaxing around any of them.""I always understood I was an outsider working in a family business," said a printing Sales Director. "But I never fe...

You're Just Not That Into Him (Part 2) - You Married Him Anyway

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:59:08 +0100

Awhile back I wrote about 3 typical paths that dating relationships take (two healthy and one unhealthy) when one partner is more "in love" or devoted than the other. Read You're Just Not That Into Him (Part 1) to get the full story. A reader's comments about a 4th path moved me to write about what happens when one partner is less in love - and gets married anyway.Path 4-What all too frequently happens.Submitted by Anonymous on October 25, 2009"Sandy decides to stay with Philip because she hasn't found anything better and thinks maybe she is being too hard on him as there are way worse men out there. Sandy tries to convince herself that most people in relationships and marriages have a pretty dull and boring relationship. Neither she nor Philip are particularly happy, but Philip seems cont...

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How to fight Recession Fatigue at Work

Psychology Today Work Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:32:40 +0100

This recession has gone on long enough. Jobs are still scarce. Layoffs are still happening. While the end looks in sight one day, the next day it seems to disappear.Last fall, when the bottom fell out of our economy, anyone who still had a job was willing to do the work of three people. That person understood that their supervisor's bad mood was caused by stress.O.K., that was over a year ago and many people are still dealing with stressed out bosses and doing the work of three people. Others struggle with fear and anxiety over their job search process.Emotions are high: fear, panic and stress are in the air like the H1V1 flu. Let's consider using other attitudes to get us all through this time:1 - Try Giving rather than getting - We may not be getting those big bonuses, big mortgages, and...

Fifteen Tips to Avoid Nagging.

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:17:05 +0100

Today: Back by popular demand...fifteen tips to avoid nagging. I've posted this list before, but I'm posting it again, because the issue of nagging is something that people raise with me frequently in discussions of happiness. It turns out that being a nag is just as unpleasant as being nagged -- so figuring out how to end nagging brings a real happiness boost to a relationship. But even though no one enjoys an atmosphere of nagging, in marriage, or any partnership, chores are a huge source of conflict. How do you get your sweetheart to hold up his or her end, without nagging? One of my best friends from college has a very radical solution: she and her husband don’t assign. That’s right. They never say, “Get me a diaper,” “The trash needs to go out,” etc. This only works becaus...

Renting to Owning: An Exploration of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Homeownership Domain

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Multilingual Groups: Effects of Linguistic Ostracism on Felt Rejection and Anger, Coworker Attraction, Perceived Team Potency, and Creative Performance

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

The Motivational Roots of Norms for Environmentally Responsible Behavior

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

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When Self-Censorship Norms Backfire: The Manufacturing of Positive Communication and Its Ironic Consequences for the Perceptions of Groups

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Shame in Physician-Patient Interactions: Patient Perspectives

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Image Induction and Social Influence: Explication and Initial Tests

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Proactive Coping with Racial Discrimination

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Spousal Age Differences and Sex Differences in Life Expectancy are Confounders of Matrilateral Biases in Kin Investment

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

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Boundaries of Regulatory Fit: Is It the Thought That Counts?

Basic and Applied Social Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:43 +0100

(Source: Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Will I Be Part of “Gen U,” the Generation Unretired?

Psychology Today Work Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:16:02 +0100

Many of us grew up with a stereotypical life plan: I'll go to school, college, get a job, get married, have a family, get a home, and maybe even have a white picket fence and a dog. “Then magically, at 65, I will retire and can finally relax.” Some of these notions have faded into oblivion - in fact, “retirement” has been virtually redefined.We have reached a critical mass in which Baby Boomers now say they do not plan to retire. Retirees are applying for jobs, either out of economic necessity or the realization that it’s not “greener” on the golf course or tennis court. These individuals comprise what I call “Gen U,” or Generation Unretired, and many of us are headed in that direction.The Signs If, during the dotcom boom, you were certain that you could eventually ...

Depression As Deadly As Smoking, But Anxiety May Be Good For You

Anxiety News From Medical News Today — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0100

A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking. (Source: Anxiety News From Medical News Today)

Book Review: Sattler, J. M. (2008). Assessment of children: Cognitive foundations (5th ed.). San Diego: Author. Sattler, J. M. (2008). Resource guide to accompany Assessment of Children: Cognitive Foundations (5th ed.). San Diego: Author

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

(Source: Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment)

An Exploratory Investigation of the Factor Structure of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS)

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

This study investigated the factor structure of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) using rigorous exploratory factor analytic and factor extraction procedures. The results of this study indicate that the RIAS is a single factor test. Despite these results, higher order factor analysis using the Schmid—Leiman procedure indicates that all subtests are aligned with their theoretically consistent factors. All analyses in this study, including the minimum average partial test, parallel analysis, the Schmid—Leiman procedure, as well as principal factors with orthogonal and oblique rotation, support interpretation at the composite intelligence index level and suggest caution when moving to interpretation at the verbal and nonverbal index levels. The memory subtests sho...

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Self-Perceptions, Discrepancies Between Self- and Other-Perceptions, and Children's Self-Reported Emotions

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

Self and others’ perceptions of victimization, bullying, and academic competence were examined in relation to self-reported anxiety, depression, anger, and global self-worth in a non-clinical sample of second- and third-grade children. Previous studies document links between negative emotions and self-perceptions that are less favorable than others’ perceptions. However, the current study suggests that the impact of discrepant self—other-perceptions (in bullying, victimization, and academic competence) on emotions is complex, sometimes involving interactions between perceptions of self and other informants. (Source: Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment)

Psychometric Assessment and Reporting Practices: Incongruence Between Theory and Practice

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

The aim of the current study is twofold: (a) to investigate the rates at which researchers assess and report on the psychometric properties of the measures they use in their research and (b) to examine whether or not researchers appear to be generally employing sound/unsound rationales when it comes to how they conduct test evaluations. Based on a sample of 368 articles published in four journals in the year 2004, the findings suggest that, although evidence bearing on score precision/reliability and the internal structure of item responses remains under-reported, researchers appear to be assessing the relationships between test scores and external variables relatively more frequently than in the past. However, findings also indicate that, all told, very few researchers are assessing and r...

Relationship Between Parenting Stress and Ratings of Executive Functioning in Children With ADHD

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

This study’s hypothesis was that higher ratings of children’s executive dysfunction are associated with parenting stress. Parents of 32 children (ages 8-12 years) with ADHD completed the Parenting Stress Index and two executive function rating scales, the BRIEF and CEFS. Stress produced by child and family system characteristics was significantly correlated with composite scores and subscales from the executive function rating scales. Findings suggest that parent ratings of their children’s executive functioning appear related to the stress they experience being parents, particularly with regard to their children’s challenging behaviors. (Source: Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment)

Concordance of the Children's Executive Functions Scale With Established Tests and Parent Rating Scales

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:35 +0100

This study examined the utility of the Children’s Executive Functions Scale (CEFS), a 99-item parent-report measure. The CEFS was designed to measure a variety of behaviors related to executive functioning, including social appropriateness, inhibition, problem solving, initiative, and motor planning. A sample of 59 children was evaluated with the CEFS, established tests of executive functioning, Child Behavior Checklist, and Conners’ Rating Scale. Correlations between the CEFS and the test variables were modest and produced a pattern slightly different from correlations obtained for the other parent report measures. The CEFS was significantly correlated with the other parent report measures; however, the magnitude of the coefficients suggests that the CEFS is providing unique i...

Aggressive athletes: Out of control and unapologetic

Psychology Today Personality Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:01:48 +0100

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems -- not people; to focus your energies on answers -- not excuses." -William Arthur WardRecently, University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert was called out by ESPN for punching, kicking, shoving, and throwing elbows against opponents after her team fell behind in a conference tournament game. In her most blatant attack, she yanked back an opponent's ponytail, ripping her to the ground.News coverage of these incidents follows a time-worn pattern: the highlight reels run, the sports talk jockeys express outrage, the player makes a media apology, the commissioner steps in to deliver a light sentencing, pundits debate whether the punishment was severe enough, the player eventually returns to business as usual, and the video clip liv...

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When Harry Met Sally

Psychology Today — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

How couples meet can determine how they will end (Source: Psychology Today)

Creating Meaningful Relationships

Psychology Today — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Stand the test of time together (Source: Psychology Today)

Husbands and Wives

Psychology Today — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Who's happier? (Source: Psychology Today)

10 Habits of Happy Couples

Psychology Today — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

What it takes to be happy in a relationship (Source: Psychology Today)

Procrastination, guilt, excuses and the road less traveled

Psychology Today Work Center — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:01:58 +0100

People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent. (Bob Dylan). I certainly agree with the first part of this Dylan quote, but I'm quite sure that there's more to it than repentance, including: distraction, forgetting, trivialization, self-affirmation and denial of responsibility to name a few.Since the 1950's with Leon Festinger's (and his students') initial work on cognitive dissonance, psychologists have spent countless hours studying how acting counter-attitudinally leads to a negative emotional state. Why? Well, most people try to maintain a consistent and positive sense of self. Most people want to act competently, morally, and to be able to predict their behavior. When our actions and beliefs or even two beliefs are in conflict, they are dissonant. Disso...

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Integrated models of school-based prevention: Logic and theory

Psychology in the Schools — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

School-based prevention programs can positively impact a range of social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Yet the current climate of accountability pressures schools to restrict activities that are not perceived as part of the core curriculum. Building on models from public health and prevention science, we describe an integrated approach to school-based prevention. These models leverage the most effective structural and content components of social-emotional and behavioral health prevention interventions. Integrated interventions are expected to have additive and synergistic effects that result in greater impacts on multiple student outcomes. Integrated programs are also expected to be more efficient to deliver, easier to implement with high quality and integrity, and more sustainable...

Manuscripts Accepted for Publication

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

(Source: Journal of Research on Adolescence)

Value Similarities Among Fathers, Mothers, and Adolescents and the Role of a Cultural Stereotype: Different Measurement Strategies Reconsidered

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

We examined similarities in 8 social[ndash]cultural value orientations among fathers, mothers, and adolescents from 433 Dutch families. Results revealed different outcomes when using ordinary correlations (r), absolute difference scores (d), or profile correlations (q). Similarly, different influences of a cultural stereotype were found when applying different measurement strategies. We discuss which measurement strategies are best used under which circumstances and which role the cultural stereotype plays. (Source: Journal of Research on Adolescence)

A Cross-Cultural Study of Adolescent Procrastination

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

In this study, we explore academic procrastination and associated motivation variables in 612 adolescents from Canada and Singapore. Few studies have explored adolescent procrastination and no previous studies have investigated adolescent procrastination using a cross-cultural framework. Singaporean adolescents reported higher levels of procrastination and lower levels of self-efficacy for self-regulation than Canadian adolescents. Males across settings reported higher levels of procrastination and lower levels of self-efficacy for self-regulation than females. Bivariate relationships between procrastination and the motivation variables showed similar patterns in Singapore and Canada. Multigroup structural equation modeling revealed that self-efficacy for self-regulation showed the stronge...

The Role of Task Values in Adolescents' Educational Tracks: A Person-Oriented Approach

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The present study examined what kinds of patterns of task-values adolescents show, and whether these patterns predict their educational and occupational expectations and school track. Six hundred and fourteen adolescents were examined twice before their transition to secondary education and once thereafter. The clustering-by-cases analyses identified 6 groups: (1) those who placed a high value on all school subjects, (2) those who did not value any of the subjects, (3) those who valued Finnish and social sciences, (4) those who valued in particular practical and art subjects, (5) those who valued only practical and art subjects, and (6) those who especially valued mathematics and science. The patterns of task-values also predicted adolescents' occupational and educational expectations. (So...

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Adolescents Exiting Homelessness Over Two Years: The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model (RAAM) demonstrates that negative contact with socializing agents amplify risk, while positive contact abates risk for homeless adolescents. To test this model, the likelihood of exiting homelessness and returning to familial housing at 2 years and stably exiting over time are examined with longitudinal data collected from 183 newly homeless adolescents followed over 2 years in Los Angeles, CA. In support of RAAM, unadjusted odds of exiting at 2 years and stably exiting over 2 years revealed that engagement with prosocial peers, maternal social support, and continued school attendance all promoted exiting behaviors. Simultaneously, exposure to family violence and reliance on shelter services discouraged stably exiting behaviors. Implications for f...

Losing Sleep Over It: Daily Variation in Sleep Quantity and Quality in Canadian Students' First Semester of University

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Daily covariation of sleep quantity and quality with affective, stressful, academic, and social experiences were observed in a sample of Canadian 17[ndash]19-year-olds in their first year of university. Participants (N=191) completed web-based checklists for 14 consecutive days during their first semester. Multilevel models predicting sleep quantity and quality from daily experiences indicated that more time on schoolwork, expecting a test, and alcohol use predicted less sleep whereas socializing predicted more sleep. More positive affect and no alcohol use predicted better sleep quality. Models predicting daily experiences from sleep the night before indicated that less sleep preceded increases in negative affect, decreases in schoolwork time, and a higher likelihood of socializing. Bette...

Individual and Issue-Specific Differences in Parental Knowledge and Adolescent Disclosure in Chile, the Philippines, and the United States

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Perceived parental knowledge and adolescents' disclosure to parents were predicted from parental warmth and monitoring and adolescents' disclosure, agreement, and beliefs about obligation to obey and parental legitimacy (N=698 Chilean, Filipino, and U.S. 13[ndash]20-year-olds). The correlates of knowledge are similar in all three countries, but the relative strength of the correlations differs. Global agreement was associated with greater knowledge. Parents knew most about issues governed by rules and those where adolescents agreed, felt obliged to obey, and disclosed. Monitoring predicted knowledge only in Chile and the Philippines. Warmth was a stronger predictor of knowledge in the United States. Key predictors of disclosure include agreement in Chile, agreement and rules in the Philipp...

Attachment Style With Mother, Father, Best Friend, and Romantic Partner During Adolescence

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Self-reported attachment styles with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner were assessed longitudinally across adolescence. Three cohorts (ages 13, 16, and 19 years; N=373) from a community sample were followed across 2 years. There was only one change in attachment styles with age: the oldest adolescents were more dismissive than the younger. Adolescents were more secure with mother than with father, and most dismissive and fearful with father. Boys were more dismissing than girls, who were more fearful with a romantic partner (n=158). Across time, attachment insecurity with father was associated with insecurity with a best friend. Attachment insecurity with a romantic partner was associated primarily with insecurity with friend, but changes over time tended to be associated w...

Adolescents' Triangulation in Marital Conflict and Peer Relations

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study examined the association between youths' triangulation in marital conflict and three aspects of their peer relations in 416 families during early adolescence. A 4-wave, longitudinal research design was used. As hypothesized, triangulation was associated negatively with perceived support from friends and positively with perceived peer rejection. Triangulation was a risk factor for both sons and daughters. Adolescent problem behavior did not mediate the significant association between triangulation and perceived friendship support. Adolescent problem behavior, particularly internalizing problems, completely me diated the association between triangulation and adolescents' perceptions of peer rejection, suggesting the important developmental role of adolescents' anxiety, depressive ...

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The Longitudinal Interplay of Maternal Warmth and Adolescents' Self-Disclosure in Predicting Maternal Knowledge

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study examined the longitudinal associations among maternal warmth, adolescents' self-disclosure, and maternal knowledge during the transition to adolescence. Three years of self-report data were collected from 131 married mothers and their adolescents. Results from longitudinal analysis using adolescent reports indicated that greater maternal warmth in sixth grade predicted higher levels of adolescents' self-disclosure in seventh grade, which in turn led to higher levels of maternal knowledge in eighth grade. Thus, adolescents' self-disclosure served as an indirect link between higher maternal warmth and greater knowledge over time. An alternative model with prior self-disclosure predicting subsequent maternal warmth and knowledge was not supported. Overall, this study demonstrated a...

Acculturation and Enculturation Trajectories Among Mexican-American Adolescent Offenders

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study examines changes over time in ethnic affirmation/belonging and ethnic identity achievement, Spanish language use, English language use, Mexican/Mexican-American affiliation/identification and Anglo affiliation/identification in a sample of Mexican-American adolescents participating in a longitudinal study of juvenile offenders. The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II were completed by the Mexican-American adolescents 7 times over a 3-year period. The findings from longitudinal growth modeling analyses and growth mixture modeling analyses indicate that there is heterogeneity in the initial scores and changes over time on these variables that are related to markers for the cultural qualities of the home environment (i.e., ...

Longitudinal Trajectories of Ethnic Identity During the College Years

Journal of Research on Adolescence — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The goals of this study were to examine trajectories of change in ethnic identity during the college years and to explore group-level and individual-level variations. Participants were 175 diverse college students who completed indices of ethnic identity exploration and commitment, self-esteem, and domain-general identity resolution. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that exploration and commitment continued to increase during the college years. Although there were ethnic differences in initial levels of ethnic identity, the rate of change did not vary by ethnicity. Domain-general identity was positively associated with exploration and commitment and mediated the association between self-esteem and commitment. The findings highlight the ongoing development of ethnic identity beyond ad...

School mental health and prevention science in the Baltimore City schools

Psychology in the Schools — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This article provides background on school mental health (SMH) programs in Baltimore and efforts to integrate evidence-based preventive interventions into the schools served by these programs. We describe the triangular model of SMH promotion, building at the base from environment and relationship enhancement, followed by universal and selective prevention, efforts taken at each of these levels, challenges experienced, and ideas for overcoming challenges. The agenda to integrate evidence-based preventive interventions into schools offers much promise for improving valued outcomes for students and schools. This is a difficult agenda, however, with many dimensions, including program infrastructure, training, building and sustaining school administrator and staff support, and addressing compe...

Is maternal PTSD associated with greater exposure of very young children to violent media?

Journal of Traumatic Stress — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study examined media viewing by mothers with violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related media exposure of their preschool-age children. Mothers (N = 67) recruited from community pediatric clinics participated in a protocol involving a media-preference survey. Severity of maternal PTSD and dissociation were significantly associated with child exposure to violent media. Family poverty and maternal viewing behavior were also associated. Maternal viewing behavior mediated the effects specifically of maternal PTSD severity on child exposure. Clinicians should assess maternal and child media viewing practices in families with histories of violent trauma exposure and related psychopathology. (Source: Journal of Traumatic Stress)

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Avoiding the effect of item wording by means of bipolar instead of unipolar items: An application to social optimism

European Journal of Personality — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Scales including positively and negatively worded items usually show an impaired degree of homogeneity. The transformation of unipolar positively and negatively worded items into bipolar items can avoid this disadvantageous effect. The precondition for this transformation is that each pair of items refers to the same topic. It is this topic that serves as the heading of the bipolar item. This scale construction method is demonstrated in the items of the social optimism scale (Schweizer & Schneider, 1997) that comprises unipolar items. The investigation of both the original and the transformed scales in a sample of 808 participants revealed equivalence and a high quality for both scales. Results of an additional sample confirmed the validity of both social optimism scales. Copyright © 2009...

Combating Co-witness contamination: Attempting to decrease the negative effects of discussion on eyewitness memory

Applied Cognitive Psychology — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Witnesses who discuss an event with others often incorporate misinformation encountered during the discussion into their memory of the event. Two experiments were conducted to establish whether this memory conformity also occurs in the context of an interview and whether it is possible to reduce the effect. Participants viewed a crime-video which they then discussed with a co-witness. Some participants were warned they may have been exposed to misinformation during the discussion before all were interviewed individually. In Experiment 1, participants made remember/know judgments about each component of their free recall, and in Experiment 2 they were asked to indicate the source of their memories. Co-witness information was incorporated into participants' testimony, and this effect could n...

Papertrain Your Problem Relatives for Thanksgiving *

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:06:03 +0100

An ounce of flattery will get you a well behaved guest Do you have any relatives or friends that ruin everyone's time on Thanksgiving or Christmas and you can't un-invite them? Do you feel guilty at wishing they'll either have other plans or be too sick to come? Do you wish there was a way to papertrain them so they don't mess on everyone else's good time? Here is how using a little applied emotional intelligence can save the day. One thing most of these high-maintenance (easy to upset, difficult to please) people have in common is that they feel as if the world is not treating them well enough. In essence they don't feel important or special enough in the world (usually because their awful personality has gotten in the way of success which they are bitter about). This is where thinking ah...

Don't Get Hooked by the Family Craziness: Using Brain-Wise Meditation For a Better Thanksgiving

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:49:44 +0100

Most of us have a lovely vision of Thanksgiving: Driving along the road to Grandma's house on a familiar road, graced by autumn leaves. We imagine being greeted by warmth and family, feeling grateful and eating our familiar favorites. The kids have made turkey drawings by tracing around their adorable little hands, and the real turkey is large and golden and perfectly moist. We've brought little handmade paper pilgrims to adorn the perfectly set table, just like on the covers of the magazines at the grocery check-out.Yeah, well.Maybe the road to Grandma's Thanksgiving is familiar, but for many, from an emotional standpoint, it isn't exactly a road graced with beautiful scenery or a peaceful, relaxing dinner full of gratitude that we wish would greet us.There's the disappointment that the g...

Online mindfulness meditation therapy for stress management

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:06:19 +0100

The single major cause of emotional suffering and stress in our lives comes from the accumulated habitual emotional reactions to life events that we acquire through unconscious learning. We become victims of recurrent negative thoughts and patterns of emotional reactivity that operate automatically in the mind, and that operate outside the sphere of conscious choice. We become prisoners of our habitual thinking and suffer accordingly. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we want to reduce our level of emotional stress and suffering, we must learn new strategies to counteract and neutralize our conditioned habitual reactivity, and regain freedom and choice in how to respond to the demands of life. Mindfulness Meditation Therapy teaches you how to work with your habitual reactivity through...

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Unfriend: Not a simple verb by any means

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:38:36 +0100

The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb "unfriend" as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: "to remove someone as a ‘friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook." The word "has both currency and potential longevity," explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford's senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog.The choice of this year's word is telling because the act of unfriending (or defriending) is part of the normal pruning process of maintaining a presence on social media like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. It's easy to collect more friends than you want or need, including many contacts that may turn out not to be "friends" by any reasonable definition of the word.Fortunately, if someone posts too often, bores you, lurks without posting, has questionable politic...

The Secret for People Who Don’t Believe in VooDoo

Psychology Today Work Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:26:46 +0100

The latest fad in motivation is the Law of Attraction or more popularly The Secret after the motion picture and book by Rhonda Byrne. The idea being that if you use the power of The Secret you will attract health, wealth and friends to you in abundance. The Secret takes an old idea and repackages it for today’s society. The core idea is that your thoughts control the world around you. If you have positive thoughts, good things come your way. If you have negative thoughts then bad things come your way. In other words, if you wish hard enough for the things you want -- you will get them. Simple. Or is it? If it were simple, then countless people throughout history would have figured it out over and ...

Surviving After A Loved One's Suicide: Part II

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:10:26 +0100

What did you think of the first part of my attempt to process my father's death? The story continues...let me know what you think!The next thing I knew, my mother's screaming startled me awake. She came home, walked through the door and found a note taped to the giraffe mirror outside our bathroom. She found my father in the bathtub, saw the note again and it all came together. "Our time together was too brief..." started the note. It was written in my dad's undeniable large, bold-print handwriting, and the message shot right through our hearts.But it was already too late. He'd been dead for about 15 minutes by the time my mom got home, the coroners would tell us later. My father was dead. He electrocuted himself while I had been asleep and my mom took was out. Being an e...

At-Risk College Students Reduce HBP, Anxiety, Depression Through Transcendental Meditation

Anxiety News From Medical News Today — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective method to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and anger among at-risk college students, according to a new study to be published in the American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009. (Source: Anxiety News From Medical News Today)

A Good Play Ethic

CounsellingResource.com News and Features — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:45:35 +0100

I don't wish to defend laziness but rather to speak in favour of play. Play has a lightheartedness that the work ethic lacks.Tags: mindful awareness, self-esteem, work-life (Source: CounsellingResource.com News and Features)

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Handbook of Clinical Psychology Competencies

Springer Psychology titles — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:01:53 +0100

In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in psychology as a field of study and in the number of students of clinical psychology in particular. The latter is partly due to the proliferation of professional schools of psychology that are devoted to practitioner-oriented degrees, rather than the traditional research-oriented course of study. Whatever school students emerge from, ... (Source: Springer Psychology titles)

Susan S. Levine: Loving Psychoanalysis: Technique and Theory in the Therapeutic Relationship

Clinical Social Work Journal — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:22:47 +0100

Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Book ReviewDOI 10.1007/s10615-009-0244-yAuthors Cathy Siebold, 128 East 91st A3 New York NY USA Journal Clinical Social Work JournalOnline ISSN 1573-3343Print ISSN 0091-1674 (Source: Clinical Social Work Journal)

Country of Loners

Psychology Today — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Is the American psyche tipping toward solitude? (Source: Psychology Today)

Are You Misunderstood?

Psychology Today — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Introverts are one of several misunderstood types. (Source: Psychology Today)

Introversion and Shyness

Psychology Today — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

They're not the same. (Source: Psychology Today)

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Field Guide to the Loner

Psychology Today — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The real insiders. (Source: Psychology Today)

Handbook of Clinical Psychology Competencies

Springer Psychology titles — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:41 +0100

Linking prevention science and social and emotional learning: The Oregon Resiliency Project

Psychology in the Schools — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This article reviews the contributions of the Oregon Resiliency Project, an effort to enhance positive social-emotional development of children and youth through social and emotional learning (SEL). The project was launched in 2001 as a collaborative effort between faculty and graduate student researchers at the University of Oregon. The primary aims have included training, outreach, and research in school-based mental health promotion. One of the major contributions has been the development of the Strong Kids programs, SEL curricula designed to be used by educators and mental health personnel at the pre-K through Grade 12 level as a brief and low-cost way to promote SEL. The Strong Kids programs and the process of developing and refining them are described. The yield of several feasibilit...

Mutual influence of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and chronic pain among injured accident survivors: A longitudinal study

Journal of Traumatic Stress — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The relationship between acute stress disorder (ASD), posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), and chronic pain was investigated in a longitudinal study of injured accident victims (N = 323, 64.7% men). Assessments took place 5 days (T1), 6 (T2) months, and 12 (T3) months postaccident. Relations between pain and posttraumatic stress symptoms were tested by structural equation modeling. Subjects diagnosed with full or subsyndromal PTSD at T2 and at T3 (14 and 19%) reported significantly higher pain intensity. Cross-lagged panel analysis yielded a mutual maintenance of pain intensity and ASD or PTSD symptoms across T2. Across the second half year, PTSD symptoms impacted significantly on pain but not vice versa. Clinicians need to pay careful attention to PTSD symptoms in accident survi...

Posttraumatic stress disorder, guilt, depression, and meaning in life among military veterans

Journal of Traumatic Stress — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Veterans of various service eras (N = 174) completed an Internet survey about combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, guilt, and meaning in life. Results of a hierarchical regression indicated that younger age; higher levels of combat exposure, depression, and guilt; and lower meaning in life predicted greater PTSD severity. The interaction between meaning in life and depression also was significant, with a stronger inverse relation between meaning and PTSD at lower levels of depression. Meaning in life may be an important treatment concern for veterans with PTSD symptoms, particularly at higher levels of functioning. (Source: Journal of Traumatic Stress)

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Ontogeny and phyletic size change in living and fossil lemurs

American Journal of Primatology — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Lemurs are notable for encompassing the range of body-size variation for all primates past and present - close to four orders of magnitude. Benefiting from the phylogenetic proximity of subfossil lemurs to smaller-bodied living forms, we employ allometric data from the skull to probe the ontogenetic bases of size differentiation and morphological diversity across these clades. Building upon prior pairwise comparisons between sister taxa, we performed the first clade-wide analyses of craniomandibular growth allometries in 359 specimens from 10 lemuroids and 176 specimens from 8 indrioids. Ontogenetic trajectories for extant forms were used as a criterion of subtraction to evaluate morphological variation, and putative adaptations among sister taxa. In other words, do species-level differenc...

Disseminating Incredible Years series early-intervention programs: Integrating and sustaining services between school and home

Psychology in the Schools — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The Incredible Years (IY) Series is a well-established set of parent, teacher, and child programs for treating and preventing conduct problems and promoting social competence and emotional regulation in young children. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of this evidence-based series within the context of a prevention science framework. We first summarize the conceptual grounding of the intervention series including the risk and protective factors that are targeted by IY. We then review the extensive literature demonstrating the impact of the various programs. The bulk of this article, however, focuses on the challenge of disseminating evidence-based programs with high fidelity. To help overcome these challenges, we describe a model and a set of strategies for implem...

Race and ethnicity as factors in mental health service use among veterans with PTSD

Journal of Traumatic Stress — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Many veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) either do not seek treatment or participate in treatment only episodically. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data to determine rates of mental health care use and to examine whether the odds of service use varied by race or ethnicity. They examined all veterans with a new diagnosis of PTSD during a one-year period. Analyses used logistic or negative binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to measure associations of race and ethnicity with mental health service use after controlling for demographic, disability, and access factors. After adjustment, veteran race, but not Hispanic ethnicity, was associated with decreases in some pharmacotherapy m...

Sleep quality, cortisol levels, and behavioral regulation in toddlers

Developmental Psychobiology — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study examines the association between nighttime sleep characteristics and cortisol levels and how these variables relate to aspects of children's temperament and behavior. Twenty-seven healthy children, aged 12-36 months, attending group childcare settings, participated in the study. Each child's sleep was measured at home with actigraphy over three nights. Saliva samples were collected by the mothers at bedtime and within 30 min of awakening. In addition, both the mother and the daycare teacher rated the child's behavioral difficulties and negative emotionality. It was found that children with more fragmented sleep displayed higher awakening cortisol levels compared to children with more efficient sleep. Moreover, elevated awakening cortisol levels were correlated with teachers' rat...

Evidence-based cognitive hypnotherapy for depression

Contemporary Hypnosis — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This article describes Cognitive Hypnotherapy (CH), an evidence-based multimodal treatment for depression, which can be applied to a wide range of patients with depression. The components of CH are described in sufficient detail to allow for their replication and validation. Moreover, CH for depression provides a template for studying the additive effect of hypnosis as an adjunctive treatment with other medical and psychological disorders. Although this article emphasizes evidence-based practice, this approach should not limit the scope of therapists' creativity in the application of hypnosis to the management of depression. Copyright © 2009 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (Source: Contemporary Hypnosis)

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Genes and Jobs

Psychology Today Work Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:49:36 +0100

The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) comes into full effect this Saturday, November 21st. Employers need to take note, and employees should be aware of their rights.Congress passed GINA almost unanimously, and President Bush signed it on May 21, 2008. Described by the late Senator Ted Kennedy as "the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences," GINA protects individuals from genetic information discrimination in health insurance and employment. A detailed description can be found here.Even some well-informed commentators seem to have missed this landmark piece of legislation. So have some employers. The University of Akron (UA), for example, adopted a policy as recently as August that could require any candidate for employment to submit a DNA sam...

A final friendship disappointment?

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:24:15 +0100

QUESTIONDear Irene,My friend has been going through marriage problems ever since I've known her (13 years now). I have been there for her when she needed someone to talk to. When the problems got too big to deal with, I suggested counseling since I didn't want their marriage problems to affect the friendship that I have with her husband too and that my husband has with them.Now, my dilemma is that I personally have gone through a very stressful period in my life with the loss of several family members. I really don't want to talk about all her stresses anymore! I know she feels hurt by this. But the main issue revolves around the funeral of one of my family members. My daughter and my friend, at the funeral home, exchanged words and my daughter ended up in tears out in th...

"Why Are There Two Turkeys?" Happy Holidays for Stepfamilies

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:38:26 +0100

Stepfamilies are under extra stress as the holidays--with their pressure cooker of "family" expectations--get underway. While they now outnumber first families in the U.S., many stepfamily members report feeling second-best and misunderstood when our thoughts turn to turkey, yultide, and latkahs. This is in large part because so many of us unrealistically expect stepfamilies to be just like first families--super close, ultra-cohesive, and happy, happy, happy.Sure, plenty of stepfamilies are doing just fine. But knowing that even first family life isn't one Hallmark moment after another can take some of the pressure off, and allow stepfamilies to enjoy their holiday time together more. So can letting go of the Three Big Myths of Stepfamily Life that I explode in my book Stepmonster:Myth #1:...

You again! The role of significant others in our social interactions

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:56:42 +0100

Some patterns in our lives tend to repeat. You may meet a new person, and suddenly find that you talk as though you were back in college with them. Or, you may meet a new romantic interest, and you speak to them as if they were an old significant other. Or you my have a boss and you find yourself talking to him as if he was your father.What is going on?It is hard to have to treat each new person in your life fresh. After all, there must be some value to all of the experience you have had with other people you have met.Research by Susan Andersen, Serena Chen, and their colleagues suggests that we do use our experience with important people in our lives to help us figure out how to act with new people that we meet.The basic idea is simple. If you meet a new person, and he h...

If You Want Intimacy, Then Find Someone Who....

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:45:07 +0100

One day in class we were discussing INTIMACY in romantic relationships, and one of the women made the comment, “I just can’t figure out why men don’t want to be intimate.” In response (obviously speaking before thinking), a young man in the back of the room blurted out: “We do too want to be intimate, but you women just won’t put out.” Common mistaken notion --- that the roots of intimacy are to be found in sexual behavior. It is no doubt accurate to say that intimacy and sex are connected, but the nature of this connection is not what many may suspect. It can probably best be captured by this summary statement offered by a long-term investigator of this intimacy / sex linkage: “Men are inclined to use intimacy to get sex, whereas women are inclined to use...

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Trumping eyes. Part 2.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Gregory R, Heard P PMID: 19911624 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Perception)

Effect of photographic negation on face expression aftereffects.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Benton CP Our visual representation of facial expression is examined in this study: is this representation built from edge information, or does it incorporate surface-based information? To answer this question, photographic negation of grey-scale images is used. Negation preserves edge information whilst disrupting the surface-based information. In two experiments visual aftereffects produced by prolonged viewing of images of facial expressions were measured. This adaptation-based technique allows a behavioural assessment of the characteristics encoded by the neural systems underlying our representation of facial expression. The experiments show that photographic negation of the adapting images results in a profound decrease of expression aftereffect. Our visual representation...

Integrating gaze direction and sexual dimorphism of face shape when perceiving the dominance of others.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Main JC, Jones BC, DeBruine LM, Little AC Although gaze direction and face shape have each been shown to affect perceptions of the dominance of others, the question whether gaze direction and face shape have independent main effects on perceptions of dominance, and whether these effects interact, has not yet been studied. To investigate this issue, we compared dominance ratings of faces with masculinised shapes and direct gaze, masculinised shapes and averted gaze, feminised shapes and direct gaze, and feminised shapes and averted gaze. While faces with direct gaze were generally rated as more dominant than those with averted gaze, this effect of gaze direction was greater when judging faces with masculinised shapes than when judging faces with feminised shapes. Additionally, ...

What are the uncurved lines in our visual field? A fresh look at Helmholtz's checkerboard.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Oomes AH, Koenderink JJ, van Doorn AJ, de Ridder H What are the uncurved lines in our visual field? To answer this question, Helmholtz developed a geometrical model of line-curvature perception, and demonstrated it with his famous checkerboard pattern with pin-cushion distortion. He claimed it looked perfectly regular when viewed monocularly at close range while fixating the centre. Recently, doubts have been expressed whether this demonstration actually works. We tested twenty monocular, stationary observers who could adjust the distortion of a checkerboard pattern over a large range, from barrel-shaped to pin-cushion-shaped. Their task was to adjust the curvature of the edges of the checks such that the checkerboard looked straight and regular. In one condition they had to f...

Visual globes, celestial spheres, and the perception of straight and parallel lines.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Rogers B, Rogers C Helmholtz's famous distorted chessboard pattern has been used to make the point that perception of the straightness of peripherally viewed lines is not always veridical. Helmholtz showed that the curved lines of his chessboard pattern appear to be straight when viewed from a critical distance and he argued that, at this distance, the contours stimulated particular 'direction circles' in the field of fixation. We measured the magnitude of the distortion of peripherally viewed contours, and found that the straightness of elongated contours is indeed misperceived in the direction reported by Helmholtz, but that the magnitude of the effect varies with viewing conditions. On the basis of theoretical considerations, we conclude that there cannot, in principle, be ...

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The visual search of an illusory figure: a comparison between 6-month-old infants and adults.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Bulf H, Valenza E, Simion F The aim of the present study was to investigate how perceptual binding and selective attention operate during infants' and adults' visual search of an illusory figure. An eye-tracker system was used to test adults and infants in two conditions: illusory and non-illusory (real). In the illusory condition, a Kanizsa triangle was embedded among distractor pacmen which did not generate illusory contours. In the non-illusory condition, a real triangle was included in the same pacmen's display. The results showed that adults detected both the Kanizsa and the real figure automatically and without focal attention (experiment 1). In contrast, 6-month-old infants showed a pop-out effect only for the real figure (experiment 2). The failure of the illusory figu...

Kicking to bigger uprights: field goal kicking performance influences perceived size.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

We present evidence that the perceived height and width of an American-football field goal post relates to the perceiver's kicking performance. Participants who made more successful kicks perceived the field goal posts to be farther apart and perceived the crossbar to be closer to the ground compared with participants who made fewer kicks. Interestingly, the current results show perceptual effects related to performance only after kicking the football but not before kicking. We also found that the types of performance errors influenced specific aspects of perception. The more kicks that were missed left or right of the target, the narrower the field goal posts looked. The more kicks that were missed short of the target, the taller the field goal crossbar looked. These results demonstrate t...

Processing Navon letters can make wines taste different.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Lewis MB, Seeley J, Miles C Previous work has demonstrated that providing a verbal description of a wine impairs its recognition (Melcher and Schooler, 1996 Journal of Memory and Language 35 231-245). It was proposed that the effect was due to disruption of the perceptual memory by the verbalisation process as seen in face recognition. A similar impairment can be observed in face recognition after reading the small (local) letters of Navon stimuli. Here, it is suggested that the effect in wine recognition is due to a change in the processing style following the provision of a verbal description. In the current experiment we investigated whether the reading of Navon letters also affected the recognition of wines. We found that wine recognition was more accurate after the readin...

Aging and the discrimination of object weight.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Norman JF, Norman HF, Swindle JM, Jennings LR, Bartholomew AN A single experiment was carried out to evaluate the ability of younger and older observers to discriminate object weights. A 2-alternative forced-choice variant of the method of constant stimuli was used to obtain difference thresholds for lifted weight for twelve younger (mean age = 21.5 years) and twelve older (mean age = 71.3 years) adults. The standard weight was 100 g, whereas the test weights ranged from 85 to 115 g. The difference thresholds of the older observers were 57.6% higher than those of the younger observers: the average difference thresholds were 10.4% and 6.6% of the standard for the older and younger observers, respectively. The current findings of an age-related deterioration in the ability to di...

Do left and right matter for haptic recognition of familiar objects?

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Craddock M, Lawson R Two experiments were carried out to examine the effects of dominant right versus non-dominant left exploration hand and left versus right object orientation on haptic recognition of familiar objects. In experiment 1, participants named 48 familiar objects in two blocks. There was no dominant-hand advantage to naming objects haptically and there was no interaction between exploration hand and object orientation. Furthermore, priming of naming was not reduced by changes of either object orientation or exploration hand. To test whether these results were attributable to a failure to encode object orientation and exploration hand, experiment 2 replicated experiment 1 except that the unexpected task in the second block was to decide whether either exploration h...

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Sequential stream segregation affects localisation of diotic tones among tones with time-varying interaural time difference.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

In this study, I examined how sequential stream segregation contributes to the detection of diotic tones among tones with time-varying interaural time differences (ITDs). Target (T) and distractor (D) tones, and a silent duration (-) formed a sequence (DTD -) and this sequence was presented repeatedly. A frequency difference was introduced between target and distractor tones. The distractor tones were also given time-varying ITDs to produce a percept of smooth auditory motion along the interaural axis. In half of the trials, the target tones were not given time-varying ITDs, and thus were diotically presented. The task of the listeners was to determine whether the repeated sequences of DTD - had target tones without motion. The sensitivity d' for the detection of diotic target tones was hi...

Listeners discern affective variation in computer-generated musical sounds.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Bailes F, Dean RT We carried out two experiments to test the relationship between real-time perception of structural change in stylistically unusual musical sounds, and perception of its affect (arousal and valence). Computer music was used because of its unfamiliarity and our capacity to control it in ecologically appropriate ways. In experiment 1, thirteen participants unselected for musical training participated in tasks to detect segmentation and changes in affect. Changes in affect occurred upon detection of segmentation; but not all algorithmically distinct segments conveyed distinct affect. Short segments followed by long segments led to greater changes in arousal and valence at the point of segmentation than vice versa. In experiment 2, intra-segment sound transitions ...

Illusory movement of dotted lines.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Ito H, Anstis S, Cavanagh P When oblique rows of black and white dots drifted horizontally across a mid-grey surround, the perceived direction of motion was shifted to be almost parallel to the dotted lines and was often nearly orthogonal to the real motion. The reason is that the black/white contrast signals between adjacent dots along the length of the line are stronger than black/grey or white/grey contrast signals across the line, and the motion is computed as a vector sum of local contrast-weighted motion signals. PMID: 19911636 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Perception)

Amodal completion is not completed only behind the occluder.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Takashima M, Fujii T, Shiina K We investigated amodal completion with changes in two parameters: figure orientation, and the shape of the occluding and occluded figures. First, Markovich's [2002, Visual Mathematics 4(1); http://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/fila] figure was presented in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal orientations. The results supported Markovich's finding of amodal completion by smooth continuity and symmetry. Amodal completion was also affected by orientation: symmetrical shape tended to appear when the pattern had vertical axis whilst smooth continuity appeared in diagonal orientation. Next, the shape of the exposed side of the occluded figure was changed from straight to curved. Finally, the shape of the grey occluder was changed from a disk to a half-disk ...

Darwin illusion: evolution in a blink of the eye.

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Jenkins R, Wiseman R PMID: 19911638 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Perception)

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Global shape mediates the perception of the parts of a picture, not vice versa: comments on "Ellipses on the surface of a picture" by Hammad et al (2008).

Perception — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:03 +0100

Authors: Maniatis LM PMID: 19911639 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Perception)

Two Clues That Shout It's Over

Psychology Today Relationships Center — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:02:15 +0100

When it comes to relationships, the question I am most often asked is, “how do I know my relationship is okay, that he’s still into me?” To which I answer, there are two well kept secrets to knowing how others feel about us, one we see with the hands, the other, less well known, with the belly. In “The Ten Must Know Body Language Secrets of Dating,” I talk about how little behaviors can give us valuable insight. Here are two examples that accurately reveal when a relationship is good or in trouble. The hands and fingers are very powerful transmitters of our emotional state. Remember that great scene in the movie “Ghost” when Patrick Swayze envelopes Demi Moore’s hands as she sculpts the clay? Touch matters, and how we touch is crucial to relationships. We ...

Dual and single route models for beginning readers: A comparison by means of multinomial processing tree models.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:01 +0100

There has been a lot of attention for the idea that the reading of a single word (visual word recognition) involves a single mechanism only. This mechanism first maps the orthographic input onto a sublexical phonological code via which, in a second step, the lexicon is accessed. This mechanism is called a single route phonological model, and it should be contrasted with a dual route model, which also assumes an orthographic route. This orthographic route maps the orthographic input onto a lexical orthographic code without phonological recoding. In this paper, both the single route phonological and the dual route models were formulated as multinomial processing tree (MPT) models. These two MPT models were applied to the data of two experiments in which the participants (children in Grades 1...

Multinomial processing tree models for discrete choice.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:01 +0100

This paper shows how to develop new multinomial processing tree (MPT) models for discrete choice, and in particular binary choice. First it reviews the history of discrete choice with special attention to Duncan Luce’s book Individual Choice Behavior. Luce’s choice axiom leads to the Bradley-Terry-Luce (BTL) paired-comparison model which is the basis of logit models of discrete choice used throughout the social and behavioral sciences. It is shown that a reparameterization of the BTL model is represented by choice probabilities generated from a finite state Markov chain, and this representation is closely related to the rooted tree structure of MPT models. New MPT models of binary choice can be obtained by placing restrictions on this representation of the BTL model. Several of these n...

Semantically clustered words are stored with integrated context: Validating a measurement model for source memory, storage, and retrieval in free recall.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:01 +0100

Source memory (i.e., memory for context) has been studied with recognition tasks almost exclusively. However, encoding context affects recall stronger than recognition, presumably because of more complex retrieval strategies in the former task. An extension of Batchelder and Riefer (1980) pair-clustering model is proposed which is intended to measure the storage and retrieval of clusterable word pairs as well as the memory for the sources in which these were presented. In two experiments, the construct validity of the central model parameters is demonstrated. Furthermore, there was a strong stochastic dependency between recalling the sources of the first and the second word of a clustered pair, respectively, suggesting that not only semantic but also contextual features are bound together ...

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Modeling guessing: The influence of multinomial models on the evolution of process-dissociation theory.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:01 +0100

Multinomial processing-tree modeling has had a major impact on process-dissociation theory. Buchner, Erdfelder, and Vaterrodt-Plünnecke (1995) added guessing parameters to the original model of Jacoby (1991) and created a class of process-dissociation models. Furthermore, Erfelder and Buchner (1998) formulated criterion values of the dual-process signal-detection model (Yonelinas, 1994) as multinomial parameters. Buchner, Erdfelder, Steffens, and Martensen (1997) suggested a new approach by proposing a multinomial source-monitoring model for process-dissociation data. Two experiments described here demonstrated that dual-process signal-detection theory must assume different levels of familiarity in inclusion and exclusion tests. Similarly, in some cases the source-monitoring model must as...

Multinomial processing tree models: A review of the literature.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:01 +0100

Multinomial processing tree (MPT) models have become popular in cognitive psychology in the past two decades. In contrast to general-purpose data analysis techniques, such as log-linear models or other generalized linear models, MPT models are substantively motivated stochastic models for categorical data. They are best described as tools (a) for measuring the cognitive processes that underlie human behavior in various tasks and (b) for testing the psychological assumptions on which these models are based. The present article provides a review of MPT models and their applications in psychology, focusing on recent trends and developments in the past 10 years. Our review is nontechnical in nature and primarily aims at informing readers about the scope and utility of MPT models in different b...

New directions in multinomial modeling.

Zeitschrift fur Psychologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

This special issue provides an overview of recent developments in the specification and use of multinomial processing tree (MPT) models in experimental psychology. MPT models are versatile instruments for the analysis of discrete data, and they have become increasingly popular especially among cognitive psychologists. Formally, MPT models can be regarded as a specific family of models in the more general class of parameterized multinomial or product-multinomial models. This issue provides an introduction to and overview of the family of MPT models, and it presents new applications in the field of MPT modeling. Beyond their ability to deal with the potential threats of parameter heterogeneity to the validity of traditional analyses, hierarchical modeling approaches have important merits: By...

Do mastery approach goals and research outcome expectations mediate the relationship between the research training environment and research interest? Test of a social cognitive model.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

The conduct of research is inherently an achievement-oriented process, yet little research has examined the role of achievement motives relative to important research-relevant outcomes. The present study examined the role of mastery approach goals as potential mediators of the relations between the research training environment (RTE) on one hand, and research outcome expectations and research interest on the other. Participants consisted of 217 doctoral students in counseling psychology. Structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation was used to test the mediational hypotheses. Results of ?² difference testing indicated that both mastery approach goals and research outcome expectations mediated the relationship between the RTE and research interest. Sobel tests of indirec...

“Impairment” and performance issues in clinical supervision: After the 2008 ADA Amendments Act.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

This article briefly describes the historical use of the term impairment, discusses the legal risks associated with the misapplication of the construct, and presents best practices in clinical supervision when addressing supervisee performance within the legal constraints of the ADA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Training and Education in Professional Psychology)

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Reading in graduate school: A survey of doctoral students in clinical psychology.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

To what extent do graduate students in clinical psychology complete assigned readings? A total of 744 graduate students in American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral programs completed an online survey regarding reading in graduate school (67% response rate, of those viewing the survey). The reported amount of assigned reading varied widely, with an average of 330 pages per week. Compliance ratings suggested that about half the assigned reading is completed thoroughly and that thorough reading is more common than skimming or not reading assigned material. Motivating and hindering factors for reading are reported, and implications for faculty are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Training and Education in Professional Psychology)

Teaching evidence-based interventions: Perceptions of influences on use in professional practice in school psychology.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

This study examined perceptions of school psychologists regarding their use of evidence-based interventions in school settings after completing a graduate course in school-based psychosocial interventions. Ninety-four individuals who completed the course during the 10 years prior to the study were asked to complete a survey that focused on personal and organizational factors affecting the implementation of evidence-based interventions through assessment of (a) the extent of their use of interventions in professional school psychology practice, (b) perceptions of facilitators to implementation, and (c) perceptions of barriers to implementation. Fifty-four responded (a 57% response rate); analyses were conducted on the responses of 34 individuals who indicated that they were currently school...

A brief feedback intervention for diagnostic overshadowing.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

This study tested whether two types of instruction and brief feedback interventions reduced the likelihood of DO. Specifically, content-based feedback and principle-based feedback significantly reduced the likelihood of DO among doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology (N = 220). An intervention effect was found when the training task and the target task were highly similar. Recommendations for improving diagnostic decision-making among trainees in professional psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Training and Education in Professional Psychology)

Life-long competency development in clinical health psychology.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

A model for defining competencies in clinical health psychology has recently been proposed (France et al., 2008), focusing on the core foundational and functional competency domains outlined by the Cube Model (Rodolfa, Bent, Eisman, Nelson, Rehm, & Richie, 2005). The model characterizes competencies expected of graduates of doctoral training programs with emerging interests and expertise in clinical health psychology. The current paper extends the model by specifically considering the third dimension of the cube model, namely the developmental perspective, with an emphasis beyond the parameters of doctoral training to the predoctoral internship, postdoctoral residency, and postlicensure continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Training and Education ...

Variations of doctoral training programs in clinical health psychology: Lessons learned at the box office.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0100

Using the metaphor of viewing a movie premiere, characteristics of doctoral programs in clinical health psychology are outlined. Common elements of training include: uniform training competencies, graduated sequence of training, emphasis upon broad and general training, reliance on the biopsychosocial model, and integration of scientific and practical competencies. Exclusive programs, in which all students are being trained in one area of concentration, are differentiated from programs embedded within general training in clinical or counseling psychology. Elucidation of these program characteristics assists prospective students, faculty members who develop these programs, and those developing educational and training guidelines within clinical health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (...

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Enhancing preparation among entry-level clinical health psychologists: Recommendations for “best practices” from the first meeting of the Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs (CCHPTP).

Training and Education in Professional Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:59 +0100

Recent discussions in clinical health psychology regarding foundational (knowledge-based) and functional (applied) competencies have been guided by the cube model of core competencies (Rodolfa et al., 2005). Proposed competencies for doctoral-level clinical health psychologists were recently published (France et al., 2008). Based on the 2008 Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs conference, we discuss how the proposed competencies might be incorporated into doctoral-level training. Because we view these competencies and training practices to be aspirational, we also address the challenges inherent in making curricular decisions pertaining to which competencies are emphasized in individual programs and within the context of American Psychological Association accreditation ...

The relationship between spectral changes in heart rate variability and fatigue.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

The objective of this study was to determine the association between fatigue and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is regarded as an indicator of the autonomic regulation activity of heart rate, specifically sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. Spectral changes in low-frequency (LF; 0.04–0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF; 0.15–0.4 Hz) components of HRV have been reported to be associated with distressing conditions such as hemorrhagic shock, acute myocardial infarction, elevated anxiety, and depressed mood. While HRV changes have been found in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome, its association with fatigue in healthy individuals still needs clarification. HRV was assessed in a total of 50 participants who were asked to perform a task until becoming fatigued. Low-frequency HRV ac...

The relationship between frontal brain asymmetry and exercise addiction.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

This study explores the hypothesized relationship between exercise addiction and the level of baseline frontal activity asymmetry, as measured by EEG. Regularly active women (n = 28, M age = 32.43, SD = 10.89) were recruited to participate in the study. Exercise addiction status was determined by the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) (Terry, Szabo, & Griffiths, 2004). After completing the EAI, each participant took part in an EEG session consisting of eight 1-min resting trials, four with eyes open, and four with eyes closed, presented in counterbalanced order. Electrodes were applied to the left and right frontal sites (F3 and F4). A regression analysis, predicting exercise addiction from frontal asymmetry, was significant, F(1, 27) = 6.4, p < .05, and indicated that greater relative lef...

Functional locus of intensity effects in choice reaction time tasks.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

Long reaction times (RT) paradoxically occur with extremely loud auditory stimuli (Van der Molen & Keuss, 1979, 1981) or with ultrabright and large visual stimuli (Jaskowski & Wlodarczyk, 2006) when the task requires a response choice. Van der Molen and Keuss (1981) hypothesized that this effect results from an arousal-driven elongation of response-selection processes. We tested this hypothesis using visual stimuli and chronopsychophysiological markers. The results showed that the latency of both early (P1 recorded at Oz) and late (P300) evoked potentials decreased monotonically with intensity. In contrast, the latency of stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potentials (LRP) abruptly increased for the most intense stimuli, thus mirroring the reaction time–intensity relationship. Respons...

Error monitoring in college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

Recent error-related event-related potential (ERP) studies suggest that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display deficits in error monitoring compared to control children. Information regarding error monitoring deficit in adults with ADHD, however, is scarce. We investigated error monitoring in a sample of college students with ADHD and compared them to their control peers. In addition to error (-related) negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), we examined behavioral performance such as reaction time (RT) as well as self-reported monitoring behaviors in daily-life situations. Thirty-two college students with no known disorders and 36 college students with ADHD between 18 and 30 years of age participated in this study. Results showed that college students...

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Reduction in pain sensitivity from pharmacological elevation of blood pressure in persons with chronically low blood pressure.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

Recent studies have revealed evidence for increased pain sensitivity in individuals with chronically low blood pressure. The present trial explored whether pain sensitivity can be reduced by pharmacological elevation of blood pressure. Effects of the sympathomimetic midodrine on threshold and tolerance to heat pain were examined in 52 hypotensive persons (mean blood pressure 96/61 mmHg) based on a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. Heat stimuli were applied to the forearm via a contact thermode. Confounding of drug effects on pain perception with changes in skin temperature, temperature sensitivity, and mood were statistically controlled for. Compared to placebo, higher pain threshold and tolerance, increased blood pressure, as well as reduced heart rate were observed und...

Effect of heart rate variability on defensive reaction and eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers.

Journal of Psychophysiology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0100

The study examines the effect of heart rate variability (HRV) on the cardiac defence response (CDR) and eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. Female chocolate cravers (n = 36) and noncravers (n = 36) underwent a psychophysiological test to assess their HRV during a 5-min rest period, followed by three trials to explore the CDR, elicited by an intense white noise, during the viewing of chocolate, neutral, and unpleasant pictures. After the test, participants completed a questionnaire to measure eating disorder symptomatology. The HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR and to eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. In addition, the HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR when viewing unpleasant pictures but not to neutral or chocolate ...

Sex differences in coping styles and implications for depressed mood.

International Journal of Stress Management — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:56 +0100

Based on a sample of young adults in Miami-Dade County, Florida, this paper examined the extent to which there were sex differences in 3 coping style types: problem focused, emotion focused, and avoidance focused (Endler & Parker, 1990). Further examined were the extent to which sex differences in coping styles could be explained by sex differences in chronic strain; the extent to which sex differences in depressed mood could be explained by sex differences in coping style; and whether the effects of different coping style types on depressed mood varied by sex. Results suggested somewhat complex relationships among sex, coping, chronic strain, and depression. No sex differences in the use of problem-focused coping were observed when statistical controls for socioeconomic status were applie...

Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships.

International Journal of Stress Management — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:56 +0100

The authors tested the hypothesized unidirectional or bidirectional effects of 5 types of teachers’ work-related stressors on each of the 4 types of psychological strain: somatic complaints, burnout, and intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction. The authors used structural regression analyses to analyze the responses of a representative sample of 404 high school teachers who had completed both our T1 (beginning of school year) and T2 (end of school year) questionnaires. The authors found support for the expected unidirectional effects of the T1 work-related stressors on the respondents’ T2 somatic complaints (with baseline somatic complaints controlled for), and also for the expected unidirectional effects of T1 intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction on the T2 values of the fiv...

Work pressure, workplace social resources, and work–family conflict: The tale of two sectors.

International Journal of Stress Management — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:56 +0100

Although research has extensively examined work–family issues in the private sector, little is known about sector-related differences. Here, we used data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce and multiple-group structural equation modeling to compare the levels and mechanisms through which work pressure and 3 workplace social resources (i.e., work–family culture, supervisor support, and coworker support) are related to work–family conflict in the public and private sectors. First, work–family culture affected work–family conflict directly in the private sector and indirectly, through reduced work pressure, in the public sector. Moreover, work–family culture had a much stronger impact on supervisor support in the private sector. Second, public sector employees p...

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Personal resources and political uprooting: The Israeli experience.

International Journal of Stress Management — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:55 +0100

The authors assessed distress in Israeli society before and after Israel’s disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank during the summer of 2005. Random samples of 701 Israelis residing in various parts of Israel (Study 1) and 246 Israelis residing in Gaza and the northern West Bank who were to be uprooted (Study 2) were interviewed by telephone several weeks before the disengagement (T1), with 462 and 124 of these respondents, respectively, reinterviewed several weeks after the disengagement (T2). Anxiety related to the national and security situation was lower at T2 than at T1 in both studies. A personal resource, namely mastery–optimism, contributed negatively to both anxiety and hostility before the disengagement in both studies. In Study 1, it also predicted lower postdisen...

Workaholism among medical residents: It is the combination of working excessively and compulsively that counts.

International Journal of Stress Management — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:55 +0100

Workaholism is defined as an irresistible inner drive to work excessively. Accordingly, it is assessed with a questionnaire that measures working excessively (WE) and working compulsively (WC), representing the behavioral and cognitive aspects of workaholism, respectively. A cluster-analysis using a nationwide sample of Dutch medical residents (N = 2,115) resulted in 4 groups: (a) workaholics, (b) nonworkaholics, (c) hardworking residents, and (d) compulsive working residents. As predicted, the combination of WE and WC was related to the most unfavorable conditions in terms of resident’s job demands (i.e., work overload, work–home conflict, overwork, role conflict, mental demands, emotional demands, and organizational demands), job resources (i.e., social support from colleagues, parti...

Health care reform is coming.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:55 +0100

During my career in Congress, we have achieved some success in expanding health insurance coverage and keeping services affordable, but the problem of 46 million uninsured and 25 million underinsured must be addressed. In February 2009, I introduced the Healthy Americans Act (S. 391/H.R. 1321; Wyden, 2009), a comprehensive bipartisan health care reform bill that covers all Americans without breaking the bank, by weaving together the Democratic idea that we need to give every single person in the country health care coverage and the Republican belief in a private-market approach. This bill would favorably affect providers in nonprofit institutions, public institutions, and school systems, by ending cost shifting from public program underpayments to the privately insured. (PsycINFO Database ...

Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: General self-efficacy’s relationship to PTSD prevalence and severity.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:55 +0100

Hurricane Katrina survivors (N = 399) on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were surveyed to examine the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general self-efficacy. As hypothesized, general self-efficacy was found to be inversely correlated with PTSD severity and prevalence, women reported greater PTSD severity and lower general self-efficacy, as compared with men, and hurricane impact was found to be positively correlated with PTSD severity and prevalence. Age was not significantly associated with general self-efficacy, PTSD severity, or PTSD prevalence, and sex was not found to be significantly related to PTSD prevalence. Hierarchical multiple regression and hierarchical logistic regression analyses further demonstrated the strong association between PTSD and general sel...

Validation of the MMPI-2 Computerized Adaptive version (MMPI-2-CA) in a correctional intake facility.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:51 +0100

Computerized adaptive testing in personality assessment can improve efficiency by significantly reducing the number of items administered to answer an assessment question. The time savings afforded by this technique could be of particular benefit in settings where large numbers of psychological screenings are conducted, such as correctional facilities. In the current study, item and time savings, as well as the test–retest and extratest correlations associated with an audio augmented administration of all the scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 Computerized Adaptive (MMPI-2-CA) are reported. Participants include 366 men, ages 18 to 62 years (M = 33.04, SD = 10.40), undergoing intake into a large Midwestern state correctional facility. Results of the current...

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Effect of a motivation enhancement intervention on veterans’ engagement in PTSD treatment.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:51 +0100

This study is the first randomized controlled trial of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) motivation enhancement (PME) Group, a brief intervention based on Motivational Interviewing and designed to enhance combat veterans’ engagement in PTSD treatment by increasing awareness of the need to change PTSD-related problems. Outpatients in a year-long, group- and cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT)–oriented Veterans Affairs PTSD treatment program were randomly assigned to 4 sessions of the PME Group (n = 60) or a Psychoeducation Group (n = 54) in the 2nd month of treatment. Hypotheses about the proposed impact of the PME Group on PTSD treatment engagement (i.e., readiness to change, perceived treatment relevance, and PTSD program attendance) were all supported, although predicted diff...

The public health approach to youth violence and child maltreatment prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:51 +0100

Millions of people in the United States suffer the consequences of violence, including physical injuries, psychological trauma, and death. Solutions to violence have traditionally been reactive. Through the lens of the public health perspective, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) views violence as predictable based on various contributing factors, and thus as preventable. Within CDC, the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) leads efforts to prevent injury, death, and disability, and to reduce the suffering and medical costs caused by violence. DVP employs a multidisciplinary, public health approach to identify factors associated with violence, and to develop, evaluate, and disseminate preventive interventions. Psychology is one discipline that has contributed to our appr...

The role of physical health functioning, mental health, and sociodemographic factors in determining the intensity of mental health care use among primary care medical patients.

Psychological Services — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:51 +0100

The present study examined sociodemographic and attitudinal predisposing factors (gender, age, marital status, health insurance, household income, attitudes about mental health care), and need/illness variables (depression severity, physical and mental health functional status) as predictors of past-year mental health care use intensity (i.e., visit counts) and use/nonuse. The sample included 283 adult primary care patients from the Midwestern United States in a cross-sectional study. Nonlinear regression models demonstrated that past-year treatment use intensity was significantly associated with both married status and poorer physical health functioning, while the use (vs. nonuse) of treatment was associated with depression severity. A sociodemographic and attitudinal multivariate predict...

Happily hopeless: Adaptation to a permanent, but not to a temporary, disability.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:47 +0100

Conclusion: These findings suggest that knowing an adverse situation is temporary can interfere with adaptation, leading to a paradoxical situation in which people who are better off objectively are worse off subjectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Negative attitudes to transition in post-communist Albania and acute coronary syndrome.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:47 +0100

Objective: The authors assessed the association of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with attitudes to the socioeconomic aspects of rapid change in transitional Albania. Design: A population-based case–control study conducted in Tirana, Albania, in 2003–2006 included 467 nonfatal ACS patients (370 men, 97 women; 88% response) and a population-sampled control group (469 men, 268 women; 69% response). Main Outcome Measures: Reaction to transition was assessed as a composite score of 3 items capturing attitudes toward socioeconomic aspects of transition in Albania. Results: Using logistic regression, there was a strong linear relationship of the attitude score with ACS. When categorized as negative, intermediate, or positive attitudes, the age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the negativ...

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Predicting Greek adolescents’ intentions to smoke: A focus on normative processes.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:47 +0100

Conclusions: Prosmoking norms in one’s environment become internalized into biased normative beliefs about smoking, and increase susceptibility to smoke under social pressure. The effect of subjective norms on intentions to smoke was stronger among adolescents with low self-esteem, suggesting that self-esteem may act as a vulnerability factor in the process of smoking initiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Implementation intention formation reduces consultations for emergency contraception and pregnancy testing among teenage women.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:47 +0100

Conclusion: These results suggest that implementation intention formation is a simple yet effective means of promoting pregnancy prevention among teenagers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Social–cognitive beliefs, alcohol, and tobacco use: A prospective community study of change following a ban on smoking in public places.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:47 +0100

Conclusion: Results suggest that the smoking ban may have positive health benefits that are supported by social–cognitive change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Bronze is beautiful but pale can be pretty: The effects of appearance standards and mortality salience on sun-tanning outcomes.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusions: Study 1 demonstrated that mortality salience led to higher tanning intentions when the association between tanned skin and physical attractiveness was made salient and reduced intentions when the attractiveness of paler skin was highlighted. In Study 2, beachgoers, after reminders of death, reported greater preference for high sun protection sunscreen after reading an article about the attractiveness of paler skin tones. These findings contribute to an emerging understanding of how mortality concerns can influence health-related judgment and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Alerting the general population to genetic risks: The value of health messages communicating the existence of genetic risk factors for public health promotion.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: Alerting the public to the existence of genetic risk factors may not necessarily be beneficial to public health. Public health promoters should be aware of the possible adverse effects of alerting the general population to genetic risk factors, and should simultaneously educate the public about the meaning and consequences of such factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

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Maternal-fetal disease information as a source of exercise motivation during pregnancy.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: Information grounded in PMT is effective in influencing pregnant women’s beliefs and intentions as well as changing their initial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Assessing yourself as an emotional eater: Mission impossible?

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: The results suggest that self-reported emotional eaters do not increase food intake during emotional encounters in the laboratory. Implications of these findings are discussed, including the idea that it may be complex to adequately assess one’s own emotional eating behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Motivational “spill-over” during weight control: Increased self-determination and exercise intrinsic motivation predict eating self-regulation.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: Increased general self-determination and exercise motivation seem to facilitate improvements in eating self-regulation during weight control in women. These motivational mechanisms also underlie the relationship between improvements in exercise behavior and eating regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Predicting behavioral intentions and physical exercise: A test of the health action process approach at the intrapersonal level.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: The HAPA could be confirmed on the within-person level. Future studies should focus on testing other theories of health behavior at the within-person level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions: A meta-regression.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: Classifying interventions according to component techniques and theoretically derived technique combinations and conducting meta-regression enabled identification of effective components of interventions designed to increase physical activity and healthy eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

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Pathways between physical activity and quality of life in adults with multiple sclerosis.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusion: The observed pattern of relationships supports the possibility that physical activity is indirectly associated with improved QOL through pathways that include fatigue, pain, social support, and self-efficacy in individuals with MS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Opt-out testing for stigmatized diseases: A social psychological approach to understanding the potential effect of recommendations for routine HIV testing.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Discussion: A social psychological approach to health services can be used to show how testing policies can influence both the stigmatization associated with testing and participation rates. An understanding of how testing policies may affect patient decision making and behavior is imperative for creating effective testing policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Standard care quality determines treatment outcomes in control groups of HAART-adherence intervention studies: Implications for the interpretation and comparison of intervention effects.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:46 +0100

Conclusions: Variation in SCQ provided to control groups may substantially influence effect sizes of behavior change interventions. Future trials should therefore assess and report SCQ, and meta-analyses should control for variability in SCQ, thereby producing more accurate estimates of the effectiveness of behavior change interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)

Patient preference for and reports of provider behavior: Impact of symmetry on patient outcomes.

Health Psychology — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:45 +0100

Conclusion: These findings provide further support for the importance of congruence between patient characteristics and contextual characteristics in predicting patient outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Health Psychology)