Treating idealized hope and hopelessness

Hope is understood as being derived from a sense of well-being or a good-object feeling. From object relational and self-psychology perspectives, the author examines variations of hope, from hopelessness through idealized and malignant idealized hope to mature hope. Looking at idealized hope from both progressive and regressive positions, the author studies a case that has a dominant feature of regressive or malignant idealized hope. How group therapy plays a transformational role in addressing the issue of malignant idealized hope and in establishing a healthy sense of hope is developed.     

Graded motor responses in the time course of categorizing atypical exemplars

The time course of categorization was investigated in four experiments, which revealed graded competitive effects in a categorization task. Participants clicked one of two categories (e.g., mammal or fish) in response to atypical or typical exemplars (e.g., whale or cat) in the form of words (Experiments 1 and 2) or pictures (Experiments 3 and 4). Streaming x, y coordinates of mouse movement trajectories were recorded. Normalized mean trajectories revealed a graded competitive process: Atypical exemplars produced trajectories with greater curvature toward the competing category than did typical exemplars. The experiments contribute to recent examination of the time course of categorization and carry implications for theories of representation in cognitive science.     

A diagnostic approach to increase reusable dinnerware selection in a cafeteria

The current project tested a diagnostic approach to selecting interventions to increase patron selection of reusable dinnerware in a cafeteria. An assessment survey, completed by a sample of 43 patrons, suggested that the primary causes of wasteful behavior were (a) environmental arrangement of dinnerware options and (b) competing motivational variables. A functional relation between environmental arrangement and reusable product selection was demonstrated in a reversal design. However, the largest effect occurred as function of a multicomponent intervention involving environmental arrangement, employee involvement, and personal spoken prompts with motivational signs. The results support the use of informant assessments when designing community interventions.     

Attention for emotional faces under restricted awareness revisited: do emotional faces automatically attract attention?

Theoretical models of attention for affective information have assigned a special status to the cognitive processing of emotional facial expressions. One specific claim in this regard is that emotional faces automatically attract visual attention. In three experiments, the authors investigated attentional cueing by angry, happy, and neutral facial expressions that were presented under conditions of limited awareness. In these experiments, facial expressions were presented in a masked (14 ms or 34 ms, masked by a neutral face) and unmasked fashion (34 ms or 100 ms). Compared with trials containing neutral cues, delayed responding was found on trials with emotional cues in the unmasked, 100-ms condition, suggesting stronger allocation of cognitive resources to emotional faces. However, in both masked and unmasked conditions, the hypothesized cueing of visual attention to the location of emotional facial expression was not found. In contrary, attentional cueing by emotional faces was less strong compared with neutral faces in the unmasked, 100-ms condition. These data suggest that briefly presented emotional faces influence cognitive processing but do not automatically capture visual attention.     

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 233 adult nonpatients from Peru

This study is composed of 233 adult nonpatients, all from Peru. Inclusion/exclusion criteria are described. Interrater reliability statistics at the response level are presented along with scores for the Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS; Exner & Erdberg, 2005). Considering the results of this investigation, the researcher suggests a line of multicultural research. The differences between the United States and Peru strengthen the psychometric and qualitative value of this line of investigation.     

The other way around: does health predict perceived support?

The aim in this study was to identify predictors of perceived social support before and after cataract surgery. We hypothesized that physical (comorbidity and visual acuity) and mental (depressive symptoms) health indicators would be directly and indirectly (through actually received support) associated with perceived support. One hundred and thirty-six cataract patients (69% women; mean age = 71.6 years) completed questionnaires before and after cataract surgery. Results showed that received support partially mediated the association between depressive symptoms and perceived support. However, mental and physical health variables were also directly associated with perceived support. We conclude that health status might feedback to perceptions of available support.     

Perceived health contributes to the attractiveness of facial symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism

Symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism (femininity in female faces, masculinity in male faces) are attractive in faces. Many have suggested that preferences for these traits may be adaptations for identifying healthy mates. If they are, then the traits should be honest indicators of health and their attractiveness should result from their healthy appearance. Much research has focused on whether these traits honestly signal health. Here we focused on whether the appeal of these traits results from their healthy appearance. Specifically, we tested whether the attractiveness of symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism is reduced or eliminated when perceived health is controlled, in two large samples of Western faces and a large sample of Japanese faces. The appeal of symmetric faces was largely due to their healthy appearance, with most associations between symmetry and attractiveness eliminated when perceived health was controlled. A healthy appearance also contributed to the appeal of averageness and femininity in female faces and masculinity in male faces, although it did not fully explain their appeal. These results show that perceptions of attractiveness are sensitive to a healthy appearance, and are consistent with the hypothesis that preferences may be adaptations for mate choice.     

Movements execution in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

We evaluated the relationship between motor and neuropsychological deficits in subjects affected by amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and early Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Kinematics of goal-directed movement of aMCI and AD subjects were compared to those of age-matched control subjects. AD showed a slowing down of motor performance compared to aMCI and controls. No relationships were found between motor and cognitive performances in both AD and aMCI. Our results suggest that the different motor behaviour between AD and aMCI cannot be related to memory deficits, probably reflecting the initial degeneration of parietal-frontal circuits for movement planning. The onset of motor dysfunction in early AD could represent the transition from aMCI to AD.