Sleep deprivation adversely affects interpersonal responses to frustration

Sleep deprivation produces negative effects on mood and cognitive function, but existing data have almost exclusively utilized objective rating scales, which do not permit evaluation of idiosyncratic and unstructured responses. In this study, we used a semi-projective measure, the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration (P-F) Study, to assess subjective responses to frustration following two nights without sleep. Twenty-six healthy volunteers completed the P-F at rested baseline and again following 55 h of continuous wakefulness. Participants provided written responses for an ambiguous cartoon character confronted with various frustrating situations. Relative to rested baseline, sleep deprivation was associated with altered responses on several indices, indicating a great number of uncommon types of responses, increased tendency to blame others for problems, and a reduced willingness to alleviate a conflict situation by accepting blame. Individual differences in several aspects of emotional intelligence were predictive of the extent to which responses to frustration changed with sleep loss. These findings suggest that sleep deprivation significantly weakens the inhibition of aggression and willingness to behave in ways that facilitate effective social interaction, possibly through reduced metabolic activity in prefrontal regions of the brain important for personality, affect, and inhibitory behavior.     

Lesbians With Physical Disabilities: A Qualitative Study of Their Experiences With Counseling

The authors interviewed 25 lesbians with physical disabilities about their counseling experiences. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the authors identified 9 themes. Five themes addressed participants' perceptions of their counselors: general satisfaction or dissatisfaction, counselors' general effectiveness, counselors' awareness and education regarding sexual orientation and/or disability, discrimination and bias, and counselor identity. Three themes related to the participants' attempts to negotiate the counseling process: coming out or self‐disclosure, self‐advocacy, and accessibility/accommodations. The final theme related to depression.     

Memory distortion in eyewitnesses: a meta‐analysis of the post‐identification feedback effect

Feedback administered to eyewitnesses after they make a line‐up identification dramatically distorts a wide range of retrospective judgements (e.g. G. L. Wells & A. L. Bradfield, 1998 Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(3), 360–376.). This paper presents a meta‐analysis of extant research on post‐identification feedback, including 20 experimental tests with over 2400 participant‐witnesses. The effect of confirming feedback (i.e. ‘Good, you identified the suspect’) was robust. Large effect sizes were obtained for most dependent measures, including the key measures of retrospective certainty, view and attention. Smaller effect sizes were obtained for so‐called objective measures (e.g. length of time the culprit was in view) and comparisons between disconfirming feedback and control conditions. This meta‐analysis demonstrates the reliability and robustness of the post‐identification feedback effect. It reinforces recommendations for double‐blind testing, recording of eyewitness reports immediately after an identification is made, and reconsideration by court systems of variables currently recommended for consideration in eyewitness evaluations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post‐identification feedback: exploring the effects of sequential photospreads and eyewitnesses' awareness of the identification task

Two experiments tested whether the sequential photospread procedure would protect eyewitnesses against memory distortion from post‐identification feedback. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 245) watched a videotaped event and then viewed a sequential or simultaneous target‐absent photospread. After their identification, participants were randomly assigned to hear confirming feedback ‘Good, you identified the suspect.’ or no feedback (control). Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing testimony‐relevant retrospective judgments. Post‐hoc analyses revealed that the sequential photospread only protected against post‐identification feedback effects for participants who reported that, while they watched the video, they did not expect to make an identification. A second experiment (N = 320) was conducted to manipulate expectations about the identification task and the presence of the target. This experiment revealed that the post‐identification feedback effect persists across witnesses' expectations and lineup type. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Almost There”...Why Clients Fail to Engage in Family Therapy: An Exploratory Study

A great deal of clinical research has sought to describe and suggest remedies for the client dropout phenomenon. However, few studies have addressed the equally pervasive, yet often ignored, non-engagement problem. An exploratory study was conducted to understand why many clients fail to engage in family therapy services after they have completed the initial intake. The results of the study suggest that therapist gender and experience level, clinic policies regarding videotaping sessions, family concerns, and changes in the presenting problem prior to the first session, had an impact on potential clients’ decision to engage in therapy. Implications and future research are discussed.Meng-ning Wang, MA, a doctoral student, and Jonathan Sandberg, PhD, a faculty member in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Syracuse University at Syracuse University are co-first authors. Amy Zavada, MA, Tziporah Rosenberg, MA, Aaron Jeffrey, MA, and Justin McPheters, MA, are doctoral students, and Mona Mittal, PhD, and Anne Gosling, PhD, are faculty in the same program.     

Mail-Ordered Brides vs. Chinese Cyber-Matched Brides: Myths and Realities

International marriage between foreign women and American men, in which both parties engage in the process of correspondence through the internet and marry as a result of online dating, has rapidly flourished in the recent years. Are these cyber-matched brides (CMBs) similar to immigrant women, previously labeled as “mail-ordered-brides,” who were often the victims of spouse abuse? Using Chinese CMBs as a sample and the method of in-depth interview, this project explores four specific domains: (a) the demographic background of Chinese CMBs and their partners; (b) the unique situations and life experiences of their marriages; (c) the process of relational conflicts and their coping strategies; and (d) the explanations of their motivations, feelings, behaviors, and changes in their relationships. The study contributes to the literature by clarifying the myths about foreign brides as sex slaves and domestic servants, and American grooms as exploiters and abusers.     

Endogenous modulation of compatibility effects: an Investigation into the temporal dynamics

Compatibility effects (CEs) arise when multiple stimuli fall within the visual field, providing an indication of stimulus processing. Previous research demonstrated that exogenous factors (e.g., luminance) influence the magnitude of CEs and their time course. The current research investigated the influence of endogenous factors. We used a flanker paradigm with a variable temporal delay (SOA) between a flanker and a subsequent central stimulus appearing. To manipulate endogenous factors, we required responses to the flanker on either half or all of the trials. The results indicate that increasing the task relevance of the flanker strengthened the initial positive CE (measured at short SOAs), consistent with past findings related to exogenous factors. However, at longer SOAs, the CE did not reverse into a negative CE, which stands against findings related to exogenous factors. These results indicate that CEs are subject to endogenous modulation, but the temporal dynamics do not mimic exogenous modulation.     

An investigation into the impact of acute stress on encoding in older adults

Acute psychological stress commonly occurs in young and older adults’ lives. Though several studies have examined the influence of stress on how young adults learn new information, the present study is the first to directly examine these effects in older adults. Fifty older adults (M age = 71.9) were subjected to either stress induction or a control task before learning two types of information: a short video and a series of pictures. Twenty-four hours later, they were exposed to misleading information about the video and then completed memory tests for the video and pictures. Heart rate and cortisol measures suggest that a physiological stress response was successfully induced. Though pre-encoding stress had little impact on memory accuracy, stress did influence errors of omission on the cued recall test for the video. Findings are discussed in the context of previous research examining the effects of stress on memory in older adults.