The development and validation of Spanish versions of the State and Trait Food Cravings Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: We developed and tested the psychometric properties of Spanish versions of the Trait and State Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQ-T and FCQ-S respectively). METHOD: The instruments were translated and adapted to Spanish and administered to undergraduate students from a Southern university in Spain (N = 271). The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to compare the factor structure of the English and Spanish versions of both questionnaires. RESULTS: The factors structure of both questionnaires obtained excellent fit indices across their Spanish versions with the one exception that some factors of the FCQ-S were more highly intercorrelated among the Spanish sample than the American. DISCUSSION: This study supports the conceptualization of food cravings as universal multidimensional motivational states that can be reliably measured and supports the use of the Spanish versions of the FCQ.     

Stimulus control and generalization of point-loss punishment with humans

Two experiments demonstrated stimulus control and generalization of conditioned punishment with humans. In both studies, responses first were reinforced with points exchangeable for money on a variable-interval schedule in the presence of one line length (S(D)). Next, a second line length was introduced, and point loss followed every response in the presence of that line (S(D)p). In the final training condition, points were deducted at session end. Response rate was lower in the presence of the S(D)p despite equal rates of points for money in the presence of both stimuli. In generalization testing for Experiment 1, the two lines were included in a 10-line continuum; S(D)p fell in the middle and the trained SD was at one end. Lines were presented randomly, and point delivery and loss contingencies were as in training but with points available in the presence of all lines. For all subjects, response rates were lowest around S(D)p and increased towards the SD end of the continuum. Because testing included only one or two lines beyond S(D), this pattern did not rule out S(D) generalization. Thus, in Experiment 2, stimuli beyond S(D) were added to generalization tests. Response rates did not decrease as a function of distance from S(D), clarifying the demonstration of punishment generalization.     

A History of Women and Feminist Perspectives in Community Psychology

Using an historical framework, we document and assess efforts to include women, women's issues, and feminism in community psychology and in the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA). Initiatives of the SCRA Task Force/Committee on Women are traced from its inception to present. We also chronicle the dilemmas and difficulties of moving toward a feminist community psychology. The history is divided into five phases. Each phase is described in terms of women's involvement in the field and efforts to integrate feminist content into research and practice of the field. Reflections on the qualities of contexts that have both supported and inhibited inclusion are identified. We look to this history to try to understand the observation that while women have been increasingly visible in leadership roles and women's professional development has been encouraged, less progress has been made toward building a feminist community psychology.     

Stories of Relative Privilege: Power and Social Change in Feminist Community Psychology

Stories about community work in New Zealand and Scotland are presented to describe and reflect on issues central to feminist community psychology. Organizing a lesbian festival, Ingrid Huygens describes feminist processes used to equalize resources across Maori (indigenous) and Pakeha (white) groups. Heather Hamerton presents her experiences as a researcher using collective memory work to reflect on adolescent experiences related to gender, ethnicity, and class. Sharon Cahill chronicles dilemmas and insights from focus groups about anger with women living in public housing in Scotland. Each story chronicles experiences related to oppression and privilege, and describes the author's emotions and reflections. Individually and collectively, the stories illustrate the potential offered by narrative methods and participatory processes for challenging inequalities and encouraging social justice.     

Noradrenergic receptor blockade of the NTS attenuates the mnemonic effects of epinephrine in an appetitive light-dark discrimination learning task

These experiments examined the contribution of noradrenergic neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in mediating the memory-facilitating effects of epinephrine. In Experiment 1, saline or 0.05 or 0.1 mg/kg of epinephrine was given intraperitoneally (ip) to rats after the second day of training in a light-dark Y-maze discrimination task. On a 20-trial retention test given 2 and 7 days later, the 0.1 mg/kg epinephrine group made significantly more correct responses than controls and required fewer trials to reach criterion. In Experiment 2, phosphate-buffered saline or the noradrenergic antagonist dl-propranolol (0.3 or 1.0 microg/0.5 microl) was infused into the NTS prior to an ip injection of saline or 0.1 mg/kg of epinephrine. The memory-enhancing effects of epinephrine were attenuated by the infusion of 0.3 microg/0.5 microl of dl-propranolol into the NTS. These findings indicate an involvement of NTS noradrenergic neurons in mediating the effects of peripheral epinephrine on memory storage processes.     

What do bonobos (Pan paniscus) understand about physical contact?

The present study aimed to test what bonobos (Pan paniscus) understand about contact. The task consisted of a clear horizontal tube containing a piece of food and a stick with a disk attached. The bonobos chose which side to push or pull the stick for the disk to contact the food and make it accessible. There were 9 variations in tube design, which differed in the positions of the stick, disk, and food. All 5 bonobos passed at least 1 configuration. A recent study (A. E. Helme, N. S. Clayton, & N. J. Emery, 2006) found that rooks could learn only tube configurations that provided an asymmetrical stick cue, whereas bonobos did not demonstrate an understanding of contact but showed more individual variation, attending to the positions of the food, disk, and stick.     

Global and local processing in adult humans (Homo sapiens), 5-year-old children (Homo sapiens), and adult cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

This study compared adults (Homo sapiens), young children (Homo sapiens), and adult tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) while they discriminated global and local properties of stimuli. Subjects were trained to discriminate a circle made of circle elements from a square made of square elements and were tested with circles made of squares and squares made of circles. Adult humans showed a global bias in testing that was unaffected by the density of the elements in the stimuli. Children showed a global bias with dense displays but discriminated by both local and global properties with sparse displays. Adult tamarins' biases matched those of the children. The striking similarity between the perceptual processing of adult monkeys and humans diagnosed with autism and the difference between this and normatively developing human perception is discussed.     

Co-occurrence of personality disorders with mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders in a young adult population

The purpose of this study was to determine the co-occurrence of DSM- III-R personality disorders (PDs) with mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders in a young adult population. The members of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Project, living in the city of Oulu with an age of 31 years (N = 1,609) were invited to participate in a two-phase field study. The SCID I and II were used as diagnostic instruments. One hundred and seventy-seven out of 321 interviewed subjects met the criteria for mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders. Altogether 72 (41%) of the subjects with an Axis I disorder met the criteria for at least one PD. The weighted co-occurrence rate of any PD varied from 28% for mood disorders to 47% for anxiety disorders. PDs, especially those in Cluster C, are highly associated with Axis I psychiatric disorders in population.