Is the Effect of Behavioral Synchrony on Cooperative Behavior Mediated by Pain Threshold?

Synchronized behavior results in a variety of prosocial behaviors. Research has also implicated that interpersonal synchrony affects pain thresholds, inferred as indicative of endorphin levels. The current study was designed to see if these pain threshold effects mediated the effect of synchrony on interpersonal cooperation. Twenty six individuals were randomly assigned to complete a 30 minute run on a treadmill in either a synchronized or nonsynchronized condition. Pain threshold was measured both before and after exercise as an indicator of endorphin activity. A postrun social investment game measured interpersonal cooperation. Analyses showed that there was a significant direct relationship between condition and cooperation but that this effect was not mediated by pain threshold.     

How psychological resources mediate and perceived social support moderates the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions in college students

There is a high prevalence of depression among college students, which is linked to lower levels of help-seeking intentions. However, there has been a lack of research examining variables that may help explain this relationship. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining whether psychological resources (optimism and self-esteem) mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions, and whether this relationship is moderated by perceived social support. Participants were 8121 college students (66% female) aged 17–25 years (M?=?20.42, SD?=?1.90), who completed the My World Survey Post-Second Level, a national survey on youth mental health. Linear regression analysis confirmed that depressive symptoms predicted lower informal help-seeking intentions. Moderated mediation indicated that social support moderated the direct relationship between depressive symptoms and informal help-seeking intentions and that optimism and self-esteem mediated this relationship, when gender was controlled for. Findings indicate that social support and psychological resources help further our understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking in young people. Campaigns promoting help-seeking in college students should focus on the beneficial role of social support and on fostering optimism and self-esteem as facilitators of help-seeking intentions.     

The time course of location-avoidance learning in fear of spiders

Two experiments were designed to study the time course of avoidance learning in spider fearfuls (SFs) under controlled experimental conditions. To achieve this, we employed an immersive virtual environment (IVE): While walking freely through a virtual art museum to search for specific paintings, the participants were exposed to virtual spiders. Unbeknown to the participants, only two of four museum rooms contained spiders, allowing for avoidance learning. Indeed, the more SF the participants were, the faster they learned to avoid the rooms that contained spiders (Experiment. 1), and within the first six trials, high fearfuls already developed a preference for starting their search task in rooms without spiders (Experiment 2). These results illustrate the time course of avoidance learning in SFs, and they speak to the usefulness of IVEs in fundamental anxiety research.     

Language Experience Affects Grouping of Musical Instrument Sounds

Language experience clearly affects the perception of speech, but little is known about whether these differences in perception extend to non‐speech sounds. In this study, we investigated rhythmic perception of non‐linguistic sounds in speakers of French and German using a grouping task, in which complexity (variability in sounds, presence of pauses) was manipulated. In this task, participants grouped sequences of auditory chimeras formed from musical instruments. These chimeras mimic the complexity of speech without being speech. We found that, while showing the same overall grouping preferences, the German speakers showed stronger biases than the French speakers in grouping complex sequences. Sound variability reduced all participants’ biases, resulting in the French group showing no grouping preference for the most variable sequences, though this reduction was attenuated by musical experience. In sum, this study demonstrates that linguistic experience, musical experience, and complexity affect rhythmic grouping of non‐linguistic sounds and suggests that experience with acoustic cues in a meaningful context (language or music) is necessary for developing a robust grouping preference that survives acoustic variability.     

Split‐Attention and Coherence Principles in Multimedia Instruction Can Rescue Performance for Learners with Lower Working Memory Capacity

This study examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and the principles of Split‐Attention (Experiment 1) and Coherence (Experiment 2) in multimedia learning. Split‐Attention refers to reduced comprehension when learners must divide their attention between images and text, and Coherence refers to reduced comprehension when learners must process irrelevant information. In Experiment 1, those with lower WMC performed worse compared with those with higher WMC when learning from the Split‐Attention condition (audio + on‐screen text + images), but not when learning from the Complementary condition (audio + images). In Experiment 2, those with lower WMC performed worse compared with those with higher WMC when learning from the Incongruent condition (audio + irrelevant images), but not when learning from the Congruent condition (audio + relevant images). Findings reinforce the importance of pedagogically sound instructional design, as it may especially benefit those with lower WMC and equate learning across working memory abilities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simone de Beauvoir and Confucian Role Ethics: Role‐Relational Ambiguity and Confucian Mystification

This article argues that there has been a general misunderstanding of the nature of role relations in Confucian role ethics. Recasting constitutive role relations in light of Beauvoir's ethics of ambiguity will aid in developing Confucian role ethics as a contemporary vision of human flourishing that can internally accommodate the need for a feminist transformation.     

Resilience and Other Possible Outcomes After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: a Systematic Review

The relation between resilience and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcome has been theorized but empirical studies have been scarce. This systematic review aimed to describe the research in this area. Electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, SPORTdiscus, and PILOTS) were searched from inception to August 2015 for studies in which resilience was measured following TBI. The search terms included ‘TBI’ ‘concussion’ ‘postconcussion’ ‘resilience’ and ‘hardiness’. Inclusion criteria were peer reviewed original research reports published in English, human participants aged 18 years and over with brain injury, and an accepted definition of mild TBI. Hand searching of identified articles was also undertaken. Of the 71 studies identified, five studies were accepted for review. These studies were formally assessed for risk of bias by two independent reviewers. Each study carried a risk of bias, most commonly a detection bias, but none were excluded on this basis. A narrative interpretation of the findings was used because the studies reflected fundamental differences in the conceptualization of resilience. No studies employed a trajectory based approach to measure a resilient outcome. In most cases, the eligible studies assessed trait resilience with a scale and used it as a predictor of outcome (postconcussion symptoms). Three of these studies showed that greater trait resilience was associated with better mild TBI outcomes (fewer symptoms). Future research of the adult mild TBI response that predicts a resilient outcome is encouraged. These studies could yield empirical evidence for a resilient, and other possible mild TBI outcomes.     

Developing a Model of Advanced Training to Promote Career Advancement for Certified Genetic Counselors: An Investigation of Expanded Skills,Advanced Training Paths,and Professional Opportunities

There are currently multiple paths through which genetic counselors can acquire advanced knowledge and skills. However, outside of continuing education opportunities, there are few formal training programs designed specifically for the advanced training of genetic counselors. In the genetic counseling profession, there is currently considerable debate about the paths that should be available to attain advanced skills, as well as the skills that might be needed for practice in the future. The Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors (AGCPD) convened a national committee, the Committee on Advanced Training for Certified Genetic Counselors (CATCGC), to investigate varied paths to post-master’s training and career development. The committee began its work by developing three related grids that view career advancement from the viewpoints of the skills needed to advance (skills), ways to obtain these skills (paths), and existing genetic counselor positions that offer career change or advancement (positions). Here we describe previous work related to genetic counselor career advancement, the charge of the CATCGC, our preliminary work in developing a model through which to view genetic counselor advanced training and career advancement opportunities, and our next steps in further developing and disseminating the model.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Girls</Emphasis> and Sex: A Content Analysis of Sexual Health Depictions in HBO’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Girls</Emphasis>

Sex on television has been a topic of interest to scholars and critics alike. History has shown that certain programs break the mold when talking about sex. One show that is currently leading this trend is HBO’s Girls, a fictional comedy-drama show with 4.1 million viewers that has received much attention for its portrayals of sex. This systematic, quantitative content analysis is a case study of the first three seasons of Girls. It examines sexual behaviors, sexual talk, and sexual risk and responsibility. Results revealed kissing to be the most prevalent sexual behavior and talking about own or other’s sexual interests/actions was the most frequent form of sexual talk. Most surprisingly, sexual risk/responsibility was represented much more in Girls than in shows evaluated in previous television content analyses.