Cross-modal congruency benefits for combined tactile and visual signaling

This series of experiments tested the assimilation and efficacy of tactile messages that were created based on five common military arm and hand signals. We compared the response times and accuracy rates for these tactile representations against responses to equivalent visual representations of the same messages. Experimentally, such messages were displayed in either tactile or visual forms alone, or using both modalities in combination. There was a performance benefit for concurrent message presentations, which showed superior response times and improved accuracy rates when compared with individual presentations in either modality alone. Such improvement was due largely to a reduction in premotor response time. These improvements occurred equally in military and nonmilitary samples. Potential reasons for this multimodal facilitation are discussed. On a practical level, these results confirm the utility of tactile messaging to augment visual messaging, especially in challenging and stressful environments where visual messaging is not feasible or effective.     

Diagnostic Comorbidity in Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Impact of Comorbidity on Psychotherapy Outcome and Impact of Psychotherapy on Comorbid Diagnoses

The current study examined the impact of comorbidity on cognitive and behavioral therapies for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) as well as the impact of these therapies on diagnoses comorbid to GAD. Seventy-six treatment-seeking adults with principal diagnoses of GAD received 14 sessions of therapy. Most (n = 46; 60.5%) of the sample had at least one comorbid diagnosis. Although the presence of comorbid diagnoses was associated with greater severity of GAD symptoms at pretreatment, greater severity of comorbid major depression, simple phobia, and social phobia was associated with greater change in symptoms of GAD in response to treatment, with no effect on maintenance of gains during a 2-year follow-up. Further, psychotherapy for principal GAD led to a reduction in number of comorbid diagnoses and in severity of social phobia, simple phobia, and major depression at posttreatment. At 2-year follow-up severity of social and simple phobia remained below pretreatment levels, whereas severity of depression was no longer significantly below pretreatment levels. These results suggest that although people with comorbid disorders enter treatment with more severe GAD symptomatology, they demonstrate greater change, and therefore such comorbidity does not diminish the efficacy of cognitive and behavioral therapies for GAD. In addition, the impact of these treatments for GAD may generalize to reduced severity of simple phobia, social phobia, and major depression; however, gains in severity of major depression are not maintained.     

The effects of priming legal concepts on perceived trust and competitiveness, self-interested attitudes, and competitive behavior

Socio-legal scholars have suggested that, as a ubiquitous social system, law shapes social reality and provides interpretive frameworks for social relations. Across five studies, we tested the idea that the law shapes social reality by fostering the assumptions that people are self-interested, untrustworthy, and competitive. In Studies 1 and 2, we found that people implicitly associated legal concepts with competitiveness. Studies 3-5 showed that these associations had implications for social perceptions, self-interested attitudes, and competitive behavior. After being primed with constructs related to the law, participants perceived social actors as less trustworthy and the situation as more competitive (Study 3), became more against a political issue when it conflicted with their normative self-interest (Study 4), and made more competitive choices during a prisoner’s dilemma game when they believed that social relations were basically zero-sum in nature (Study 5). The implications and applications of these results are discussed.     

Wimpy and undeserving of respect: Penalties for men’s gender-inconsistent success

Results of an experimental study varying the sex of the employee and the gender-type of the job demonstrated that men, as well as women, are penalized when they are successful in areas that imply that they have violated gender norms. But the nature of these penalties differed. When depicted as being successful at a female gender-typed job, men were characterized as more ineffectual and afforded less respect than women successful at the same job or than men successful in a gender-consistent position. Women, in contrast, were more interpersonally derogated and disliked when said to be successful at a male gender-typed job. Regardless of these differing characterizations, both men and women successful in gender-inconsistent jobs were reported to be less preferable as bosses than their more normatively consistent counterparts. These results suggest that success, when it violates gender norms, can be disadvantageous for both men and women, but in different ways.     

Introduction to the special series on integrating personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy using interpersonal assessment

The interpersonal paradigm in personality assessment employs multiple models, measures, and methods to examine the interpenetration of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. Its organizing framework is the nomological net of agency and communion, which are fundamental metaconstructs that can be conceptualized and measured at multiple levels ranging from broad interpersonal motives to stable interpersonal dispositions to specific interpersonal behaviors. This Special Series presents diverse research and clinical applications of interpersonal theory and assessment to (a) enhance diagnosis, case conceptualization, and treatment planning; (b) identify developmental catalysts of and current influences on psychopathological symptoms; and (c) articulate different ways in which personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy are interrelated. Each article demonstrates the integrative nature of interpersonal assessment while concurrently exemplifying the unique assumptions and methods of contemporary interpersonal diagnosis.     

Soames on ethics: A new vision for the future of analytic philosophy?

Philosophical Studies -     

Mother–child and metapelet–child touch behavior with three‐year‐old kibbutz children in two contexts

The frequency and function of self‐touch and of touching another was studied among 32 three‐year‐old kibbutz children, their mothers, and their metaplot [caretakers; singular: metapelet] in two contexts: coconstruction of a narrative with Duplo toys, and coconstruction of a narrative with an emotion‐evoking picture book without text. Self‐touch, mainly fidgeting, was more frequent for children during the task with the picture book and more frequent for adults during the task with the Duplo toys. Mothers and children touched each other more often than metaplot and children. Adults' touches of the children were perceived as either expressions of affection or as acts of grooming and were task‐related. The children's touching of the adults was mainly task‐related. It appears that self‐touch is for children and adults alike a mode of self‐regulation of mild stress and that touching the other has a wide range of functions, especially in intimate relationships. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy on anxiety,depression and condom use in people with HIV in Mexico City: a pilot study

Anxiety and depression in people living with HIV (PLWH) are negatively associated with healthy sexual behaviours. We pilot-tested a Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based intervention to reduce anxiety and depression, aimed to increase serostatus disclosure to sexual partners, quality of sexual life (QoSL) and condom use. The study had a single-case experimental design (AB) with follow-up measures. Eleven PLWH with moderate/severe anxiety/depression received six-module CBT intervention delivered in ten one-hour individual weekly sessions. Anxiety, depression, consistent/correct condom use and QoSL were measured. Depression and anxiety decreased after the intervention (depression baseline [BL] Mdn = 21, final [F] Mdn = 3, z = -2.934, p = .003; anxiety BL Mdn = 30, F Mdn = 4, z = -2.941, p = .003). QoSL improved (BL Mdn = 28, F Mdn = 13, z = -2.625, p = .009), along with participants’ ability to use condoms (57.14 vs.100, z = -2.937, p = .003). Effect size was large, changes were maintained at follow-up measurements. The CBT intervention had positive effects in reducing anxiety and depression, which could facilitate the acquisition of healthy sexual behaviours. Further studies are important to clarify the benefits of targeting emotional variables to improve wellbeing and prevention behaviours in PLWH.