Processing emotional category congruency between emotional facial expressions and emotional words

Facial expressions are critical for effective social communication, and as such may be processed by the visual system even when it might be advantageous to ignore them. Previous research has shown that categorising emotional words was impaired when faces of a conflicting valence were simultaneously presented. In the present study, we examined whether emotional word categorisation would also be impaired when faces of the same (negative) valence but different emotional category (either angry, sad or fearful) were simultaneously presented. Behavioural results provided evidence for involuntary processing of basic emotional facial expression category, with slower word categorisation when the face and word categories were incongruent (e.g., angry word and sad face) than congruent (e.g., angry word and angry face). Event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to the presentation of the word–face pairs also revealed that emotional category congruency effects were evident from approximately 170 ms after stimulus onset.     

A Comparative Analysis of Social Learning and Social Control Theories in the Prediction of College Crime

This research examines the comparative ability of social control and social learning theories to predict crime on a college campus. Data were obtained from self-report surveys from the first wave of a longitudinal study at a liberal arts college in the Mid-Atlantic region. Results from correlation and regression analyses indicate that both social control and social learning components are related to crime and drug use, with the greatest amount of variance explained by models that include elements of both theories. Issues such as the temporal ordering of peer and individual delinquency and the similarity between belief and definitions are discussed.     

The effect of prenatal androgen exposure on the development of neural reactivity systems: A study of the HEXACO Personality Inventory

The ratio of the lengths of the second and fourth digits of hands (2D:4D) seems to vary as a function of systematic differences in prenatal androgen exposure (Hönekopp & Watson, 2010). The 2D:4D ratio has been shown to be related to a variety of personality attributes. This study predicted that 2D:4D would covary with scores on the emotionality dimension of the six-facet HEXACO personality assessment, due to emotionality’s relationship with neural reactivity systems controlled by the amygdala (Hines, Allen, & Gorski, 1992), but that 2D:4D would relate to no other facet. Consistent with hypotheses, data showed that men had smaller ratios than women on both the right, t(405) = 2.84, p < .05, d = .28, and left hands, t(405) = 4.51, p < .05, d = .45, and the relationship between 2D:4D and emotionality was outside of sampling error of zero, r = .18, p < .001. Additionally, 2D:4D was unrelated to the remaining HEXACO facets. Findings suggest that prenatal testosterone exposure has an organizing effect on personality traits.     

Primary Trauma of Female Partners in a Military Sample: Individual Symptoms and Relationship Satisfaction

Research traditionally has focused on the development of symptoms in those who experienced war trauma directly but overlooked the impact of trauma in the partners of soldiers. The current study reports data from 45 couples where the male partners were Army soldiers who recently returned from deployments to Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) or Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). Results from this study indicated that female partner primary trauma, particularly trauma related to PTSD re-experiencing and arousal symptoms, has an influence on levels of relationship satisfaction, both for female partners and soldiers.     

Connecting Youth Violence Prevention, Positive Youth Development, and Community Mobilization

Several disconnects serve to weaken the use of evidence based programming in community settings. Communities face the need to address the challenges of multiple risk behaviors faced by adolescents in their communities, but must also work to support successful transitions to adulthood and the broader positive development of their youth. The stronger integration of positive youth development and prevention of youth risk at the community level may offer an opportunity to support the implementation and ongoing development of evidence-based practices (EBPs). This article provides an overview of the VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development Institute's community mobilization effort in Richmond, Virginia and reports preliminary findings from our integrated mobilization efforts. First, we review the role of our Community Advisory Council in their collaborative work to support positive youth development and reduce risk for youth violence. Next, we present examples of institute efforts in providing technical assistance relevant to supporting the use and development of EBPs. We then discuss the adaptation of an evidence-based program to target positive youth development. We also present overviews from qualitative investigations examining barriers and supports that inform and are relevant to the implementation of EBPs. Finally, we consider ways in which community efforts inform and shape institute efforts to develop EPBs. Taken together, these activities provide examples of how community-based mobilization efforts can integrate and inform the implementation of EBPs and the role and use of prevention science as a tool in supporting effective programming to promote positive youth development and prevent youth violence.     

Behavioral Health Interventions Being Implemented in a VA Primary Care System

The integration of behavioral health and primary care has received much attention in the literature. Behavioral health providers (BHPs) in integrated settings are faced with different treatment constraints than those who work in specialty mental health. The existing literature focuses on what BHPs should do in primary care settings; however, little research exists specifying what BHPs are actually doing. This study provides a glimpse into what types of interventions BHPs are using, and what types of patients they are seeing, in primary care. A chart review was conducted of patients (N?=?180) seen by BHPs in five Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. Depression was the most common diagnosis, while less common presenting problems included substance abuse/dependence, psychosis, and bipolar disorder. Common interventions used were medical management, psycho-education, elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and supportive psychotherapy. Future research should examine the efficacy of brief interventions in primary care settings.     

Journal of Counseling & Development Publication Patterns: Author and Article Characteristics From 1994 to 2009

Publication patterns of articles in the Journal of Counseling & Development from 1994 to 2009 were reviewed. Trends over time were analyzed in article content (e.g., type, content topic) and author demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, nation of domicile, and employment setting). Of particular interest because of the scientific underpinnings of the counseling profession, research articles were analyzed specifically for type of research approach, classification, methodology, sample, sample size, and statistics used.     

The Structure and Nature of the Broader Autism Phenotype in a Non-clinical Sample

The broader autism phenotype (BAP) is a subclinical behavioral phenotype that is qualitatively similar to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Research on the BAP has used different conceptualizations of this construct. To more closely approximate the nature of the BAP, the current study utilized traditional construct validation methods to identify the BAP structure and characterize its nomological net in undergraduates. A conjoint exploratory factor analysis of the scales from three self-report measures of the construct was used to derive three robust BAP dimensions reflecting pragmatic language difficulties, aloofness, and rigidity. These dimensions were then correlated with theoretically-relevant personality, psychopathology, and interest variables in order to evaluate the criterion validity of the BAP. Correlations were generally consistent with our predictions and showed strongest relations between BAP dimensions and poor communication skills, impaired social functioning, and behavioral and cognitive rigidity. This research represents a first step in the identification and utilization of a common conceptualization of the BAP.     

Post‐identification feedback effects: Investigators and evaluators

We investigated the effects of post‐identification feedback and viewing conditions on beliefs and interviewing tactics of participant‐investigators, crime reports of participant‐witnesses and participant‐evaluators' credibility judgments of the witnesses. Study 1 participants assumed the roles of witness and investigator (N = 167 pairs). Witnesses' view of a simulated crime video was manipulated by distance from viewing monitor: 2 or 9 ft. Participants made a line‐up identification and received either positive feedback or no feedback. Significant effects for witnesses and investigators were associated with viewing condition and post‐identification feedback. Interviews between investigator‐witness pairs were videotaped. Investigators asked more positive, leading questions when they were led to believe that the witness had identified the suspect. In Study 2 evaluators (N = 302) viewed the witness‐investigator interviews. Viewing condition had no effect on judgments of witness credibility but positive post‐identification feedback led evaluators to judge witnesses as more credible than witnesses who received no feedback. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Superior identification of familiar visual patterns a year after learning

Practice improves visual performance on simple tasks in which stimuli vary along one dimension. Such learning frequently is stimulus-specific and enduring, and has been associated with plasticity in striate cortex. It is unclear if similar lasting effects occur for naturalistic patterns that vary on multiple dimensions. We measured perceptual learning in identification tasks that used faces and textures, stimuli that engage multiple stages in visual processing. Performance improved significantly across 2 consecutive days of practice. More important, the effects of practice were remarkably stable across time: Improvements were maintained approximately 1 year later, and both the relative difficulty of identifying individual stimuli and individual differences in performance were essentially constant across sessions. Finally, the effects of practice were largely stimulus-specific. Our results suggest that the characteristics of perceptual learning are similar across a spectrum of stimulus complexities.