REACTIVITY IN SELF-RECORDING: OBTRUSIVENESS OF RECORDING PROCEDURE AND PEER COMMENTS

Reactivity refers to behavior change that occurs during self-recording without specific programming of consequences. We analyzed the effects of obtrusiveness of recording procedure and peer comments on reactivity to self-recording. Three first-grade students in Experiment 1 completed math questions during a 5-min work period. When we gave the children recording devices and told them to try to complete more questions than the highest number they had previously completed, math performance increased, as did the number of verbalizations about it. Two children showed more reactivity when they used the more obtrusive recording device. Because the increase in math performance corresponded closely to increases in peer comments, we manipulated peer comments directly in Experiment 2. Four second-grade students completed a math task and an alphabet task. Three of the students showed increased math performance during periods when peer comments occurred compared to periods when peer comments did not occur. Although the data from the math task suggested that peer comments can enhance reactivity, we did not observe this relationship with the alphabet task. These results suggest that the conditions necessary to produce desirable results through self-recording are complex and contextually specific.     

Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills

A self-report inventory for the assessment of mindfulness skills was developed, and its psychometric characteristics and relationships with other constructs were examined. Participants included three samples of undergraduate students and a sample of outpatients with borderline personality disorder Based on discussions of mindfulness in the current literature, four mindfulness skills were specified: observing, describing, acting with awareness, and accepting without judgment. Scales designed to measure each skill were developed and evaluated. Results showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability and a clear factor structure. Most expected relationships with other constructs were significant. Findings suggest that mindfulness skills are differentially related to aspects of personality and mental health, including neuroticism, psychological symptoms, emotional intelligence, alexithymia, experiential avoidance, dissociation, and absorption.     

Rate-decreasing effects of the atypical neuroleptic risperidone attenuated by conditions of reinforcement in a woman with mental retardation

Effects of two doses of risperidone on the performance of a matching task under tangible reinforcement and nonreinforcement conditions were measured in a woman with mental retardation. In both conditions, time to complete the task increased and response rates decreased under two doses of risperidone. Accuracy was generally unchanged. These changes were much smaller in the tangible reinforcement condition; thus, reinforcement seemed to protect performance from the rate-decreasing effects of risperidone.     

Organizational error management culture and its impact on performance: a two-study replication

The authors argue that a high-organizational error management culture, conceptualized to include norms and common practices in organizations (e.g., communicating about errors, detecting, analyzing, and correcting errors quickly), is pivotal to the reduction of negative and the promotion of positive error consequences. Organizational error management culture was positively related to firm performance across 2 studies conducted in 2 different European countries. On the basis of quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional data from 65 Dutch organizations, Study 1 revealed that organizational error management culture was significantly correlated with both organizational goal achievement and an objective indicator of economic performance. This finding was confirmed in Study 2, using change-of-profitability data from 47 German organizations. The results suggest that organizations may want to introduce organizational error management as a way to boost firm performance.     

A magnetic resonance imaging study of regional cortical volumes following stereotactic anterior cingulotomy

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that orbitofrontal cortical volume would be reduced following anterior cingulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Whole brain cortical parcellation was performed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from nine patients, before and 9 (+/-6) months following anterior cingulotomy. No significant volumetric reductions were found in the orbitofrontal cortex. Exploratory findings of reduced volume in ventral temporo-fusiform and posterior cingulate regions were consistent with chance differences, in the face of multiple comparisons. Therefore, though the circumscribed lesions of anterior cingulotomy have recently been associated with corresponding volumetric reductions in the caudate nucleus, no comparable volumetric reductions are evident in cortical territories. Taken together, these results are most consistent with a model of cingulo-striatal perturbation as a putative mechanism for the efficacy of this procedure. While limitations in sensitivity may have also contributed to these negative findings, the methods employed have previously proven sufficient to detect cortical volumetric abnormalities in OCD. The current results may reflect a relatively diffuse pattern of cortico-cortical connections involving the neurons at the site of cingulotomy lesions. Future functional neuroimaging studies are warranted to assess possible cortical or subcortical metabolic changes associated with anterior cingulotomy, as well as predictors of treatment response.     

College Students' Judgments and Perceptions of Persons with AIDS From Different Risk Groups

In this analog study, 104 female and 75 male undergraduate students in the United States read 1 of 8 vignettes that described a person who had just received positive HIV antigen results. The vignettes were identical except for the sex of the person described and his or her risk-group membership (gay, heterosexual, injection-drug user, or hemophiliac). After reading the vignette, the participants completed questionnaires assessing (a) responsibility, blame, and personality characteristics of the person described in the vignette; and (b) their own homophobia and knowledge about AIDS. Results revealed that homophobia was a significant covariate that affected participants' perceptions of the person in the vignette. with homophobia as a covariate, the hemophiliac was judged the least harshly, followed by the heterosexual person, the gay person, and the injection-drug user. No gender differences were revealed. The injection-drug user was evaluated the most negatively on the personality characteristics; the other 3 groups were rated similarly. Analyses without homophobia as a covariate revealed significant gender differences, suggesting that prior research findings of gender differences on perceptions of persons with AIDS may be attributable more to differential levels of homophobia than to gender of the rater.     

Divergent thinking is not a general trait: A multidomain training experiment

Twenty‐one second‐grade subjects received divergent‐thinking training and 20 matched subjects received training in solving mathematical word problems. All subjects were then given five tasks: telling stories, writing stories, writing poems, writing mathematical word problems, and making collages. Experts evaluated the creativity of each product. The divergent‐thinking groups scored significantly higher than controls on the story‐telling, story‐writing, and poetry‐writing tasks. The lack of correlations among scores on the five tasks, however, suggests that several task‐specific factors, rather than one general factor, led to observed group differences. This is consistent with previous research using subjects untrained in divergent thinking in showing that divergent thinking is not a general trait.     

Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM)

This article presents 4 studies (N = 1,413) describing the development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). In Study 1 (n = 428), the authors determined procedures for item development and examined comprehensibility of the initial 25 items. In Study 2 (n = 334), they reduced the initial item pool from 25 to 10 items through exploratory factor analysis. Study 3 (n = 332) evaluated the final 10-item measure in a cross-validation sample, and Study 4 (n = 319) determined validity coefficients for the CAMM using bivariate and partial correlations with relevant variables. Results suggest that the CAMM is a developmentally appropriate measure with adequate internal consistency. As expected, CAMM scores were positively correlated with quality of life, academic competence, and social skills and negatively correlated with somatic complaints, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behavior problems. Correlations were reduced but generally still significant after controlling for the effects of 2 overlapping processes (thought suppression and psychological inflexibility). Overall, results suggest that the CAMM may be a useful measure of mindfulness skills for school-aged children and adolescents.     

Genetic Risk,Perceived Risk,and Cancer Worry in Daughters of Breast Cancer Patients

This study explored relationships between worry, perceived risk for breast cancer, consulting a genetic counselor, having genetic testing, and genetic risk for women whose mothers had breast cancer. Analyses involved data from a community-based phone survey of women whose mothers had breast cancer. Participants were categorized as having low, intermediate, or high genetic risk based on their reported family history, in accordance with an accepted classification scheme. The Lerman Breast Cancer Worry Scale measured worry, and participants reported their perceived lifetime likelihood of breast cancer, risk compared to others, and chance from 1 to 100. ANOVA, chi-square, and multiple regression analyses were conducted as appropriate. One hundred-fifty women participated. Mean age was 38 years, and 81% were Caucasian. Fifty-two women had low, 74 had intermediate, and 24 had high genetic risk for breast cancer. There were no significant differences in worry or perceived risk by hereditary risk category. Most high-risk women (91%) had not spoken with a genetic counselor, and no one had previous genetic testing. These findings suggest perceived risk, worry about breast cancer, and use of expert consultation do not match the genetic contribution to risk. There is a need for effectively stratifying and communicating risk in the community and providing tailored reassurance or referral for high-risk assessment.