Predicting recidivism with the Psychopathy Checklist: are factor score composites really necessary?

In two previous studies on general and violent recidivism (Walters & Heilbrun, 2010; Walters, Knight, Grann, & Dahle, 2008), the summed composite antisocial facet of the Psychopathy Checklist displayed incremental validity relative to the other 3 facets (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle), whereas the other 3 facets generally failed to demonstrate incremental validity relative to the antisocial facet. Because summed composite scores do not account for ordinal item distributions, the 6 Walters et al. (2008) samples were reanalyzed with factor score composites derived from a 4-factor confirmatory factor analysis. The results, however, showed little change from what had been obtained earlier with summed composite scores. Two additional samples not previously included in any incremental validity analyses of the Psychopathy Checklist evidenced a 3-factor structure, with the lifestyle and antisocial facets merged into a single factor. This single factor displayed incremental validity relative to the interpersonal and affective facets, but the reverse was not true regardless of whether summed composite scores or factor score composites were used. A comparison of zero-order correlations from all 8 samples revealed that the antisocial summed composite score predicted significantly better than the summed composite scores for the other 3 facets and that a superordinate factor failed to improve on the performance of either the antisocial summed composite score or the antisocial factor score composite.     

Undergraduate psychology students' experiences of volunteering at a chronic mental health facility

A volunteer program for undergraduate psychology students at a chronic mental health facility was evaluated. All 53 volunteers found the program beneficial, 96.2% reported improved understanding of psychopathology, 98.1% noted increased knowledge of the mental health care system, 86.8% reported increased interest in clinical psychology, and 47.2% felt less anxious about working with persons with mental illness as a result of the program.     

The evil of death and the Lucretian symmetry: a reply to Feldman

In previous work we have defended the deprivation account of death’s badness against worries stemming from the Lucretian point that prenatal and posthumous nonexistence are deprivations of the same sort. In a recent article in this journal, Fred Feldman has offered an insightful critique of our Parfitian strategy for defending the deprivation account of death’s badness. Here we adjust, clarify, and defend our strategy for reply to Lucretian worries on behalf of the deprivation account.     

The effects of relationship context and modality on ratings of funniness

There is evidence to suggest that humour is an important part of mate choice and that humour may serve as an indicator of genetic quality. The current study investigated how rated funniness from a video clip was related to an individual’s attractiveness as a short-term or long-term partner. We additionally tested for the presence of an attractiveness halo effect on humour ratings by comparing ratings of funniness from video clips, audio-only presentations, and photographs. We found that funniness was most strongly correlated with attractiveness for short-term relationships, especially in videos of males. We also found that attractiveness was related to funniness ratings differently across video, audio-only clips, and photographs. Relative to their rated funniness in the audio-only condition, with no appearance cues, attractive individuals were rated as funnier in video clips than less attractive individuals. An additional study demonstrated that ratings of flirtatiousness and funniness were strongly correlated. Perceived similarity between producing humour and flirting may explain why humour is more preferable in a short-term partner as flirting may be seen to signal proceptivity. The effects of attractiveness on humour judgement may also be explained by an association with flirtation as flirting may be most enjoyable when directed by attractive individuals.     

Administering Quantitative Instruments With Qualitative Interviews: A Mixed Research Approach

The authors demonstrate how collecting quantitative data via psychometrically sound quantitative instruments during the qualitative interview process enhances interpretations by helping researchers better contextualize qualitative findings, specifically through qualitative dominant crossover mixed analyses. They provide an example of this strategy, whereby a baseline was established using a quantitative scale and normative data to help interpret qualitative interviews, resulting in what they call a mixed methods interview. Philosophical and practical implications are discussed.     

Correlates of Dispositional and State Flow in Tennis Competition

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological correlates and flow in tennis competition. Using a cross-sectional design, the sample of 261 junior tennis athletes showed moderate-to-strong correlations between flow (dispositional and state) and confidence (r _disp = .59; r _state = .35), imagery use (r _disp = .58; r _state = .32), and action control (r _disp = .41; r _state = .40), whereas absorption was orthogonal to flow. Commonality analysis revealed that imagery and confidence accounted for 34.2% of the variance in dispositional flow. The results are discussed for the development of intervention studies in order to enhance flow in competition.     

The Role of Hierachy in Parental Nurturance

This article discusses the importance of parental hierarchy in regard to meeting the developmental nurturing needs of the child. It builds on Stonefish's (2000) epigenetic model of hierarchical relationship development. Through complementary and supplementary relationships between the parent and child, the child is able to have his or her nurturing needs met.     

Absence of an interaction between navigational strategies based on local and distal landmarks

In 3 experiments, rats were required to escape from a Morris pool by swimming to a submerged platform that was located at the apex of a notional, equilateral triangle with 2 different landmarks occupying the corners at the base. Training for 1 group was always conducted in view of the landmarks surrounding the pool and with the triangular array in a fixed orientation. Subjects could therefore identify the direction of the platform from a single landmark within the pool by reference to cues outside the pool or to the other landmark within the pool. Both strategies were used, and the results from additional groups revealed that the first of these strategies did not affect the acquisition of the second one.