On the Relation Between Subjective Importance and Elicitation Order of Constructs

The subjective importance of constructs elicited with the repertory grid technique (RGT) has been conjectured to depend on elicitation order. Constructs elicited early in an interview are assumed to be subjectively more important than later ones. For the RGT, this conjecture is based on only one empirical study with a small sample size using person role titles as elements. This study has not been replicated or tested for other domains. The research for other elicitation techniques shows that the conjecture does not always hold true for nonperson domains. To assess if the order importance relation can be replicated for person and nonperson domains, we conducted two RGT studies with different designs (German study, triadic, nonperson elements, N = 60; Spanish study, dyadic, person elements, N = 61). Construct importance was assessed using importance rankings and ratings. We found no relation between the order of elicitation and importance for the nonperson elements and only a small significant relation using persons as elements. The results indicate that the conjecture should be treated with caution, as it may be weaker than previously assumed for the personal domain and not generalizable to other domains.     

Everyday dilemmas: New directions on the judgment and resolution of benevolence–integrity dilemmas

Many everyday dilemmas reflect a conflict between two moral motivations: the desire to adhere to universal principles (integrity) and the desire to improve the welfare of specific individuals in need (benevolence). In this article, we bridge research on moral judgment and trust to introduce a framework that establishes three central distinctions between benevolence and integrity: (1) the degree to which they rely on impartiality, (2) the degree to which they are tied to emotion versus reason, and (3) the degree to which they can be evaluated in isolation. We use this framework to explain existing findings and generate novel predictions about the resolution and judgment of benevolence–integrity dilemmas. Though ethical dilemmas have long been a focus of moral psychology research, recent research has relied on dramatic dilemmas that involve conflicts of utilitarianism and deontology and has failed to represent the ordinary, yet psychologically taxing dilemmas that we frequently face in everyday life. The present article fills this gap, thereby deepening our understanding of moral judgment and decision making and providing practical insights on how decision makers resolve moral conflict.     

Effects of Training Volume on Hormones and Mood in Basketball Players

Mood and basal hormone levels were measured before and after a 4-month training period in 20 professional basketball players on 2 different teams. Training volume was daily quantified by intensities, showing that Team 1 trained nearly twofold the volume of Team 2. Apart from the lack of differences between teams in anthropometric and physical variables, results showed mood improvements in the total sample without differences between teams. However, cortisol levels decreased in Team 1 and increased in Team 2, while the free testosterone–cortisol ratio, free testosterone, prolactin, and luteinizing hormone did not show significant changes. Changes in cortisol were positively related to depression and negatively related to training volume. Results suggest that differences exist in sensitivity and/or timing of both psychological and hormonal responses to 2 given volumes of training.     

A semi-persistent adult ocular dominance plasticity in visual cortex is stabilized by activated CREB

The adult cerebral cortex can adapt to environmental change. Using monocular deprivation as a paradigm, we find that rapid experience-dependent plasticity exists even in the mature primary visual cortex. However, adult cortical plasticity differs from developmental plasticity in two important ways. First, the effect of adult, but not juvenile monocular deprivation is strongly suppressed by administration of barbiturate just prior to recording visual evoked potentials, suggesting that the effect of adult experience can be inactivated acutely. Second, the effect of deprivation is less persistent over time in adults than in juveniles. This correlates with the known decline in CREB function during maturation of the visual cortex. To compensate for this decline in CREB function, we expressed persistently active VP16-CREB and find that it causes adult plasticity to become persistent. These results suggest that in development and adulthood, the regulation of a trans-synaptic signaling pathway controls the adaptive potential of cortical circuits.     

Influence of metacognitive variables and thought suppression on number of thoughts, discomfort they produce and number and quality of auditory illusions

Based on the model proposed by Morrison, Haddock & Tarrier (1995) on auditory hallucinations, this study explores the relationships between certain metacognitive variables and number of thoughts, the discomfort they produce, number of auditory illusions and the quality with which they are perceived in a sample from a non-clinical population. After group administration of the Metacognitions Questionnaire, 61 participants were randomly assigned to a suppression group (n = 31) or a focalization group (n = 30) in relation to thoughts with different degrees of self-discrepancy. Forty-eight hours after the set task, a non-vocal auditory stimulus was presented, and subjects were required to say whether they heard any words and, if so, how clearly. The results show how the metacognitive factors studied are useful for predicting our findings only for the suppression group and not for that of focalization. These data are discussed in the light of Morrison et al.'s model of auditory hallucinations.     

Correlates of adolescent pregnancy in La Paz,Bolivia: findings from a quantitative-qualitative study

Recent data indicate that nearly one in three Bolivian adolescent females becomes pregnant prior to reaching age twenty. This article presents the results of a study undertaken to address the question of why some female adolescents in La Paz, Bolivia, become pregnant while others in similar circumstances avoid early pregnancy. The study utilized mixed qualitative-quantitative methods based on a case-control design. Among the potential explanatory factors considered were family structure, parental relationships, partner relationships, knowledge of pregnancy risks, self-esteem, and locus of control. Significant differences between girls experiencing a pregnancy and those who had not were observed on two of the six factors considered-relationships with parents and self-esteem. Girls who had experienced a pregnancy were less likely to have reported affectionate and supportive parents, more likely to have reported fighting in their home, and exhibited lower levels of self-esteem than those who had never been pregnant. Focus-group discussions suggested that adolescent females in La Paz lack trustworthy support networks that would empower them to seek information regarding sex and contraception and to act upon such information.     

MMPI-2 scores of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and U.S. Latino college students: a research note

In this brief report, we present MMPI-2 basic validity and clinical scale data of Latino-descent persons from Puerto Rico (n = 290), Mexico (n = 1,920), and the United States (n = 28). All were administered one of three Spanish translations of the MMPI-2. A review of the mean scores of these respective groups indicates similarities across all scales. Differences among these three groups, with the exception of the Mf scale (which is keyed to sex), were well within the one standard deviation band. More importantly, these findings are promising given the fact that three different translations of the MMPI-2 were applied.     

MMPI-2 profiles of Colombian, Mexican, and Venezuelan university students

Performance of 82 Colombian, 87 Mexican, and 96 Venezuelan university students and adult community dwellers on Spanish translations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were compared. Findings suggest more comprehensive research is required on applications of the MMPI-2 in Latin America and greater consideration of the roles of culture and nationality.     

The basis of transfer in artificial grammar learning

In two experiments, we examined the extent to which knowledge of sequential dependencies and/or patterns of repeating elements is used during transfer in artificial grammar learning. According to one view of transfer, learners abstract the grammar's sequential dependencies and then learn a mapping to new vocabulary at test (Dienes, Altmann, & Gao, 1999). Elements that are repeated have no special status on this view, and so a logical prediction is that learners should transfer as well after exposure to a grammar without repetitions as after exposure to a grammar with them. On another view, repetition structure is the very basis of transfer (Brooks & Vokey, 1991; Mathews & Roussel, 1997). Learners were trained on grammars with or without repeating elements to test these competing views. Learners demonstrated considerable knowledge of sequential dependencies in their training vocabulary but did not use such knowledge to transfer to a new vocabulary. Transfer only occurred in the presence of repetition structure, demonstrating this to be the basis of transfer.