The effect of category learning on the representation of shape: dimensions can be biased but not differentiated

Recent studies have suggested a profound influence of category learning on visual perception, resulting in independent processing of previously integral dimensions. The authors reinvestigate this issue for shape dimensions. They first extend previous findings that some shape dimensions (aspect ratio and curvature) are processed in a separable way, whereas others (radial frequency components) are not. They then show that a category-learning phase improved the discrimination of a relevant with respect to an irrelevant dimension, but only for separable dimensions. No similar effect was found on the relative sensitivity for integral shape dimensions. Thus, category learning is capable of biasing separable shape dimensions but does not alter the status of dimensions in the visual system as either separable or integral.     

A Comparison of AAMFT Approved Supervisors with Master’s and Doctoral Degrees

Given the importance of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisors to education, training, and regulation of marital and family therapists (MFTs), this study used 2001 national survey data to compare masters prepared AAMFT Approved Supervisors with those who possessed a doctorate. There has been a consistent increase from 1976 when 33% of Approved Supervisors were masters practitioners until today where they comprise approximately half of the Approved Supervisors respondents. We found modest differences with some overlap between masters and doctoral supervisors. More doctoral AAMFT Approved Supervisors provided supervision in private practice settings, were involved in professional organizations, had a pluralistic theoretical orientation, and were involved in ongoing MFT scholarship.     

Personality Correlates of Midlife Cardiometabolic Risk: The Explanatory Role of Higher‐Order Factors of the Five‐Factor Model

Varying associations are reported between Five‐Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and cardiovascular disease risk. Here, we further examine dispositional correlates of cardiometabolic risk within a hierarchical model of personality that proposes higher‐order traits of Stability (shared variance of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, inverse Neuroticism) and Plasticity (Extraversion, Openness), and we test hypothesized mediation via biological and behavioral factors. In an observational study of 856 community volunteers aged 30–54 years (46% male, 86% Caucasian), latent variable FFM traits (using multiple‐informant reports) and aggregated cardiometabolic risk (indicators: insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, blood pressure, adiposity) were estimated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The cardiometabolic factor was regressed on each personality factor or higher‐order trait. Cross‐sectional indirect effects via systemic inflammation, cardiac autonomic control, and physical activity were tested. CFA models confirmed the Stability “meta‐trait,” but not Plasticity. Lower Stability was associated with heightened cardiometabolic risk. This association was accounted for by inflammation, autonomic function, and physical activity. Among FFM traits, only Openness was associated with risk over and above Stability, and, unlike Stability, this relationship was unexplained by the intervening variables. A Stability meta‐trait covaries with midlife cardiometabolic risk, and this association is accounted for by three candidate biological and behavioral factors.     

From Victim to Perpetrator of Trauma: Lived Experiences of Gang-Involved Urban Refugee Youth in Kenya

Somali children and youth in displacement are exposed to prolonged trauma and chronic violence. In spite of a striking link among trauma, gang activities, victimization, and perpetration of violence, however, few studies have been conducted with Somali refugee youth in low-resource urban settings. This qualitative study demonstrates how prolonged trauma shapes ecological conditions of refugee life that induce vulnerable youth to forge support systems through gang membership and violence. The accession of the challenges, from loss of family, to discrimination and police brutality, and to chronic impoverishment, forces the high-risk refugee youth to replicate the various forms of violence to which they have been exposed to survive. Undergoing such chronic and cumulated trauma, these youth continue to normalize and become further desensitized to violence. The systems perspective of this study expands understanding of the intersection of trauma and gang membership and implies the need for an expanded approach to trauma and understanding of the complexities of gang involvement, beyond posttraumatic stress disorder treatment and clinical intervention.     

The role of temporal context in norm-based encoding of faces

Research shows that the human brain encodes faces in terms of how they relate to a prototypical face, a phenomenon referred to as norm-based encoding. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of short-term exposure on the development of the norm, independently of global, long-term exposure. We achieved this by varying the sequence of presentation of the stimuli while keeping global exposure constant. We found that a systematic manipulation of the average face in a set of 10 preceding trials can shift this norm toward that average. However, there was no effect of order or recency among these trials; thus, there was no evidence that the last faces mattered more than the first. This suggests that the position of the face norm is modified by information that is integrated across multiple recent faces.     

Characteristics and Effects of the Co-parenting Alliance between Incarcerated Parents and Child Caregivers

We examined co-parenting alliance based on information provided by 57 incarcerated parents and their corresponding child caregivers who took part in the Messages Project, in which incarcerated parents video recorded greetings to children that were then mailed home. We assessed perceptions of co-parenting alliance, measured by the Parenting Alliance Measure, and levels of child contact from both parents and caregivers. We also observed expressions of positive and negative attitudes that prisoners expressed regarding the home caregiver during the video recording. Incarcerated parents reported more frequent phone contact with children and more frequent letter-writing to children than did home caregivers. Incarcerated parents likewise reported higher levels of co-parenting alliance with the home caregiver in comparison to the assessment of co-parenting alliance reported by the home caregiver. Among children observing the video recorded message, a more positive co-parenting alliance between their parent and home caregiver was associated with increased positive mood. More frequent displays of negative attitudes toward caregivers during the recordings were associated with more negative mood indicators among children. Results suggest the importance of a strong co-parenting alliance between incarcerated parents and home caregivers, but imply that incarcerated parents may have a more optimistic view of their connection home than is the case for collaborating caregivers.     

Prospective memory in youth with perinatally-acquired HIV infection

Youth with perinatal HIV infection (PHIV) are at increased risk for neurocognitive impairment (NCI). Prospective memory (PM) is a complex neurocognitive function that has been shown to be impaired in adults with HIV disease and independently associated with poorer daily living skills, including medication nonadherence. The current study sought to determine the presence and extent of PM deficits in youth with PHIV. Participants included 173 youth with PHIV and 85 youth perinatally HIV-exposed but uninfected (PHEU), mean age 14.1 years, 75% black, 18% Hispanic. Among youth with PHIV, 26% had a past AIDS-defining condition (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], Class C), 74% did not (non-C). Adjusted generalized estimating equation models were used to compare groups (PHIV/C, PHIV/non-C, and PHEU) on the Naturalistic Event-Based Prospective Memory Test (NEPT) and the Prospective Memory Assessment for Children & Youth (PROMACY). Secondarily, subgroups defined by HIV serostatus and global NCI were compared (PHIV/NCI, PHIV/non-NCI, PHEU). PHIV/C had significantly lower NEPT scores than PHEU, with decreases of 40% in mean scores, but did not differ from PHIV/non-C. PHIV/NCI had 11–32% lower PROMACY scores and 33% lower NEPT scores compared to PHIV/non-NCI (all p < .05); significantly, lower scores for PHIV/NCI versus PHEU also were observed for PROMACY and NEPT indices. Findings suggest a subset of youth with PHIV (those with a prior AIDS-defining diagnosis) is vulnerable to PM deficits. The extent to which PM deficits interfere with development and maintenance of independent living and health-related behaviors during transition to adulthood requires further study.     

DARMA: Software for dual axis rating and media annotation

Continuous measurement systems provide a means of measuring dynamic behavioral and experiential processes as they play out over time. DARMA is a modernized continuous measurement system that synchronizes media playback and the continuous recording of two-dimensional measurements. These measurements can be observational or self-reported and are provided in real-time through the manipulation of a computer joystick. DARMA also provides tools for reviewing and comparing collected measurements and for customizing various settings. DARMA is a domain-independent software tool that was designed to aid researchers who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of behavior and experience. It is especially well-suited to the study of affective and interpersonal processes, such as the perception and expression of emotional states and the communication of social signals. DARMA is open-source using the GNU General Public License (GPL) and is available for free download from http://darma.jmgirard.com.     

Persistent pursuit of need-satisfying goals leads to increased happiness: A 6-month experimental longitudinal study

University-based community members (N = 181) participated in a four-wave, 6-month longitudinal experiment designed to increase treatment participants’ happiness levels. Participants were randomly assigned to set goals either to improve their life circumstances (comparison condition) or to increase their feelings of autonomy, competence, or relatedness in life (treatment conditions). We hypothesized that sustained gains in happiness would be observed only in the three treatment conditions, and that even these gains would last only when there was continuing goal engagement. Results supported these predictions and the sustainable happiness model on which they were based (Lyubomirsky et al. in Rev Gen Psychol 9:111–131, 2005). Furthermore, participants with initial positive attitudes regarding happiness change obtained larger benefits. We conclude that maintained happiness gains are possible, but that they require both “a will and a proper way” (Lyubomirsky et al. in Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: two experimental longitudinal interventions to boost well-being, 2009).