Conservatism,sensation-seeking and music preferences

Wilson-Patterson Conservatism (C) and Zuckerman's Sensation-seeking (SS) scores were investigated in relation to music preferences in a group of 43 students. High C scorers preferred familiar pieces of music relative to low C scorers (r = 0.30, P < 0.05). A tendency for conservatives to prefer simple music just failed to reach significance. Relationships between SS scores and music preferences were non-significant with the present sample, though SS scores were inversely related to C scores (r = –0.48, P < 0.01).     

Relationship between job burnout and personal wellness in mental health professionals

This study aimed to determine the nature of the relationship between job burnout and personal wellness among mental health professionals. The authors performed intercorrelations and multivariate multiple regression analyses to identify the relationship between subscales of job burnout and personal wellness. Results showed that all subscales of job burnout, except for the Negative Work Environment subscale, significantly predicted a large amount of the variance in the collective personal wellness subscales. Implications for mental health professionals’ clinical practice, training, and supervision and limitations and prospects for future studies are discussed.     

Personality as a Source of Individual Differences in Cognition among Older African Americans

Previous research suggests that demographic factors are important correlates of cognitive functioning in African Americans; however, less attention has been given to the influence of personality. The present study explored how dimensions and facets of personality predicted individual variability in cognition in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging. Cognition was assessed by verbal learning and attention/working memory measures. Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised. Linear regressions controlling for demographic factors showed that Neuroticism, Openness, and Agreeableness were significant regression predictors of cognitive performance. Individual facets of all five personality dimensions were also associated with cognitive performance. These findings suggest personality is important in understanding variability in cognition among older African Americans.     

Gaze behavior predicts memory bias for angry facial expressions in stable dysphoria

Interpersonal theories suggest that depressed individuals are sensitive to signs of interpersonal rejection, such as angry facial expressions. The present study examined memory bias for happy, sad, angry, and neutral facial expressions in stably dysphoric and stably nondysphoric young adults. Participants' gaze behavior (i.e., fixation duration, number of fixations, and distance between fixations) while viewing these facial expressions was also assessed. Using signal detection analyses, the dysphoric group had better accuracy on a surprise recognition task for angry faces than the nondysphoric group. Further, mediation analyses indicated that greater breadth of attentional focus (i.e., distance between fixations) accounted for enhanced recall of angry faces among the dysphoric group. There were no differences between dysphoria groups in gaze behavior or memory for sad, happy, or neutral facial expressions. Findings from this study identify a specific cognitive mechanism (i.e., breadth of attentional focus) that accounts for biased recall of angry facial expressions in dysphoria. This work also highlights the potential for integrating cognitive and interpersonal theories of depression.     

‘Play skills’ for shy children: development of a Social Skills Facilitated Play early intervention program for extremely inhibited preschoolers

The aim of the present study was to develop and provide a preliminary evaluation of a social‐skills‐based early intervention program specifically designed to assist extremely inhibited preschoolers. Participants were a sample of n=22 extremely inhibited preschool‐aged children, who were randomly assigned to either the Social Skills Facilitated Play (SST) or Waitlist Control (WLC) condition. As compared to wait‐list controls, extremely inhibited children who participated in the SST‐facilitated play program sessions demonstrated a significantly greater post‐intervention decrease in observed socially wary behaviours and a significantly greater increase in social and socially competent behaviours at preschool. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of developing and refining early intervention programs for extremely inhibited young children. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Green construction and energy training program for at‐risk individuals: a case study

Training individuals who are at risk of unemployment/underemployment to increase their employability is a mission of many nonprofit agencies. These training programs, often supported by government funding, attempt to reduce these individuals’ reliance on government assistance. The purpose of this study is to obtain hard data and an in‐depth understanding about the factors that contribute to the success of the Green Construction training program. The methodology used is a multimethod, multimeasure approach, which provides a reasonably robust triangulation of results. The findings indicate that the program is successful because it has good participant retention, knowledge gain, and placement rates.     

Neurocognitive Sequelae of Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease: A Review of the Literature

This literature review summarizes all studies relating neuropsychological performance to neuroimaging findings in pediatric sickle cell disease (N=28; published 1991–2005). Although inconsistencies exist within and across domains, deficits in intelligence (IQ), attention and executive functions, memory, language, visuomotor abilities, and academic achievement have been identified. Overall neurocognitive compromise was revealed to be related to the level of neurological injury and the location of silent infarct. Attentional and executive dysfunction is prevalent and related to frontal lobe abnormalities.     

Psychopathic Sexuality: The Thin Line Between Fantasy and Reality

In two studies, we explored the relations between psychopathic traits and sexual fantasy content. In Study 1, we rated content themes in the fantasy narratives of 195 men and women recruited at a Canadian university. In Study 2, we administered a sexual fantasy questionnaire to a sample of 355 Canadian undergraduate students. In Study 1, we found that psychopathic traits predicted themes of anonymous, uncommitted, and nonromantic sexual activity after controlling for participant sex. In Study 2, we found that psychopathy added to the prediction of self‐reported engagement in unrestricted, dominant, submissive, deviant, and adventurous sexual activity, even after controlling for participant sex and level of fantasizing about that activity. Furthermore, an interaction between psychopathy and level of fantasizing was observed for unrestricted and deviant sexual behavior, such that participants who reported high levels of fantasizing about these sexual themes were more likely to engage in that behavior if they also reported high levels of psychopathic traits. These findings suggest that psychopathy is related not only to interest in particular sexual behaviors, but also to whether individuals will translate these fantasized behaviors into reality.