Eyewitness Evidence Obtained with the Self‐Administered Interview© Is Unaffected by Stress

The Self‐Administered Interview© (SAI) serves to elicit eyewitness statements directly after the crime. Witnesses could still experience stress then. Because stress during retrieval produces memory‐impairing effects, this study sought to compare the SAI with free recall under stress. An interaction between stress and interview was expected such that the SAI would elicit more comprehensive accounts than free recall in the control, but not in the stress group. One hundred and twenty‐seven participants underwent a stress or control task. They witnessed a live staged crime and completed an SAI or a free recall. The SAI elicited a higher number of correct verifiable event details and a higher number of correct and incorrect perpetrator details than free recall. Accuracy rates were unaffected. Unexpectedly, despite causing moderate stress‐induced cortisol elevations, stress exposure did not influence memory performance and did not interact with interview type. Hence, the SAI can safely be used, when witnesses are moderately stressed.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of appraisal in dysphoric affect reactivity to positive laboratory films and daily life events in depression

Hedonic deficits are linked to protracted dysphoric affect (DA) in depression, a disorder characterised by emotion context insensitivity (ECI). Recent findings from daily life studies contradict the ECI view. This study longitudinally investigated DA across laboratory and daily life contexts and the conditions associated with discrepancies in DA reactivity. Thirty-three healthy controls and 41 adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) provided responses to neutral and positive (a) films viewed in the laboratory and (b) daily events recorded over the course of three days using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology. The current study reports on participants’ appraisals of films and events and their subsequent DA, both rated individually after each task and daily event. Despite large group similarities in appraisals of the positive film and life events, MDDs appraised the neutral film and neutral life events as less important (film: d?=?.58; event: η²?=?.07) and less pleasant (film: d?=?.56; event: η²?=?.18) relative to controls. While MDDs reported higher DA both in the laboratory and in daily life, they experienced larger decreases in DA during positive life events (B?=??.77, SE?=?.28, t(73)?=??2.70, p?=?.009), but not in response to the positive film relative to controls. Results indicate that higher pleasantness appraisals in daily life predicted larger decreases in DA among MDDs than controls (B?=??.24, SE?=?.06, t(73)?=??4.10, p?B?=?1.28, SE?=?.46, t(73)?=?2.77, p?=?.006). The implications of valence and relevance of context for DA reactivity and mood repair are discussed.     

‘Baby brain’ in pregnancy: A review of social psychological explanations and future research directions

The colloquial concept of ‘baby brain’ suggests that throughout pregnancy and into the immediate postpartum period, women have reduced cognitive abilities and are more distracted, forgetful, and incompetent. To date, a plethora of cognitive and neuropsychological research testing the cognitive functioning of pregnant women relative to other groups has yielded inconsistent and unclear findings. However, there is a notable lack of literature that adopts a social psychological perspective, critically assessing the contribution of social context to the ‘baby brain’ phenomenon. In this paper, we review the current ‘baby brain’ literature and outline two potential social perspectives that provide insights into this research area: stereotype threat theory and objectification theory. We argue that inconsistencies in the ‘baby brain’ cognitive literature may be impacted by under-explored social phenomena, which may result from activation of stereotypes or objectifying cues throughout pregnancy and into early new motherhood. We end with suggestions for future social and personality psychological research directions in the area of ‘baby brain’.     

Temporal stability of behavioural intention as a moderator of intention–health behaviour relationships

Seven prospective studies of health behaviours containing eight prospective datasets testing the moderating role of intention stability on intention–behaviour and past behaviour–behaviour relationships were examined within the context of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The measure of intention stability was based on lack of change in intentions between the two measurement time points. Across different behaviours, samples and time frames more stable intentions were associated with intentions at time 1 that were stronger predictors of behaviour at time 2. Intention stability did not consistently moderate the past behaviour–behaviour relationship. Across studies the frequency-weighted mean correlation between intentions and behaviour was substantially greater for stable (r ₊?=?0.60) compared to unstable (r ₊?=?0.27) intentions (Z _difference?=?6.65, p?<?0.001). The past behaviour–behaviour correlation was also stronger for stable (r ₊?=?0.50, p?<?0.001) compared to unstable (r₊ ?=?0.34, p?<?0.001) intentions (Z _difference?=?3.12, p?<?0.01). Perceived behavioural control was the variable most strongly related to stable intentions. Implications for understanding the role of health cognitions in the performance of health behaviour are discussed.     

The use of implementation intentions and the decision balance sheet in promoting exercise behaviour

Although increasing exercise and fitness has often been associated with positive health outcomes, infrequent exercise participation has remained a problem. Since two distinct motivational and volitional phases to goal pursuit have been proposed, a combined motivational (decision balance sheet, DBS) and volitional (implementation intentions) intervention was predicted to be more effective in increasing exercise behaviour than a control or either strategy alone. A total of 86 students were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions, and were all asked to try to exercise two more times a week than they currently did, over a four week period. Their fitness levels were measured through fitness tests conducted pre- and post-intervention. A priori orthogonal contrasts indicated that the experimental strategies produced a greater increase in exercise frequency and total time spent exercising per week and accordingly showed greater fitness improvements than the control group. Moreover, the volitional groups taken together produced greater increase in time spent exercising and a marginally greater improvement in frequency than the DBS alone. The combined intervention led to improvements in fitness and marginal increases in frequency over the implementation intention alone group. It is proposed that for the combined group the DBS may have aided recall of the implementation intention or increased commitment to it, as remembering and then acting on the plan, in the stated place and time, mediated the implementation intention–behaviour relationship. The combined intervention produced the greatest fitness improvements, indicating that this strategy can lead to important health benefits.     

Mobilizing Communities and Building Capacity for Youth Violence Prevention: The National Academic Centers of Excellence for Youth Violence Prevention

Violence, including its occurrence among youth, results in considerable physical, emotional, social, and economic consequences in the US. Youth violence prevention work at the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasizes preventing youth violence-related behaviors, injuries, and deaths by collaborating with academic and community partners and stakeholders. In 2000 and 2005, DVP funded the National Academic Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Youth Violence Prevention. Most ACE Centers focus on building community capacity and competence so that evidence-based programs for youth violence prevention can be successfully implemented through effective and supportive research-community partnerships. This commentary provides historical information about the ACE Program, including the development, goals, accomplishments of the Centers, and the utilization of a community-based participatory research approach to prevent youth violence.     

Validation of the Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) in suicidal behavior by self‐poisoning

Intentional self‐poisoning is the leading method of suicidal behavior leading to medical attention worldwide. The medical severity of self‐poisoning events has major treatment, prognostic, and medico‐legal implications, yet measures of severity are limited. The Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) is a widely used scale but validation data are limited, particularly in the study of suicidal behavior per se. The sample was a consecutive series of intentional self‐poisoning patients aged 13 to 65 treated at a large university medical center (n = 673). PSS scores, with a range 0 (none) to 4 (death), were calculated along with other structured clinical data and analyzed in a series of linear regressions adjusted for age and sex. Higher PSS scores were consistently associated with greater medical morbidity and more intensive acute medical treatments, and nearly all effect sizes were large. Results support the validity of the PSS in hospital‐treated self‐poisoning patients.