Cardiovascular Reactivity During Marital Conflict in Laboratory and Naturalistic Settings: Differential Associations with Relationship and Individual Functioning Across Contexts

Cardiovascular reactivity during spousal conflict is considered to be one of the main pathways for relationship distress to impact physical, mental, and relationship health. However, the magnitude of association between cardiovascular reactivity during laboratory marital conflict and relationship functioning is small and inconsistent given the scope of its importance in theoretical models of intimate relationships. This study tests the possibility that cardiovascular data collected in laboratory settings downwardly bias the magnitude of these associations when compared to measures obtained in naturalistic settings. Ambulatory cardiovascular reactivity data were collected from 20 couples during two relationship conflicts in a research laboratory, two planned relationship conflicts at couples’ homes, and two spontaneous relationship conflicts during couples’ daily lives. Associations between self‐report measures of relationship functioning, individual functioning, and cardiovascular reactivity across settings are tested using multilevel models. Cardiovascular reactivity was significantly larger during planned and spontaneous relationship conflicts in naturalistic settings than during planned relationship conflicts in the laboratory. Similarly, associations with relationship and individual functioning variables were statistically significantly larger for cardiovascular data collected in naturalistic settings than the same data collected in the laboratory. Our findings suggest that cardiovascular reactivity during spousal conflict in naturalistic settings is statistically significantly different from that elicited in laboratory settings both in magnitude and in the pattern of associations with a wide range of inter‐ and intrapersonal variables. These differences in findings across laboratory and naturalistic physiological responses highlight the value of testing physiological phenomena across interaction contexts in romantic relationships.     

Multi-Iteration Usability Testing of the U.S. Navy's Performance Management System

The U.S. Navy has undertaken the second of two iterations of usability testing for the Navy's Human Performance Feedback and Development (HPFD) and ePerformance system. This second of two iterations included 34 officer and enlisted supervisors and nonsupervisors in usability testing conducted at three Navy locations—Naval Meteorology and Oceanographic Center (NAVMETOCCEN) Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia; USS HOWARD (DDG 83) in San Diego, California; and the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in Arlington, Virginia. Each participant completed a usability test scenario in addition to pretest and posttest surveys designed to obtain Navy personnel's subjective impressions of the HPFD and ePerformance systems. Results from analyses comparing data from Iteration 1 (reported in Schwerin, Dean, Robbins, Bourne, &; Reed, 2006 Schwerin, M. J., Dean, E., Robbins, K. M., Bourne, M. J. and Reed, L. 2006. Subjective and objective results of usability testing for the U.S. Navy's Performance Management System.. Military Psychology, 18(3): 227–245. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Iteration 2 (reported in Dean, Aspinwall, Schwerin, &; Kendrick, 2006 Dean, E., Aspinwall, K. R., Schwerin, M. J. and Kendrick, D. 2006. Usability results from Human Performance Feedback and Development (HPFD) and ePerformance system users (Tech. Rep. No. 1)., Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) show an overall reduction in user burden (e.g., fewer errors and less time to complete usability tasks) and increased user satisfaction (e.g., more satisfied with the professionalism, efficiency, and overall effectiveness). These findings indicate that the Navy HPFD and ePerformance systems are easier to use but, more generally, results support the value and effectiveness of usability in human systems integration (HSI) and usability testing. Recommendations for system refinement, policy development, and implementation planning are discussed.     

The dynamical structure of handball penalty shots as a function of target location

We used principal components analysis (PCA) to investigate variations in the dynamical structure of handball penalty shots as a factor of target location and phase of shot. Participants completed a total of 10 successful shots to each of four target locations in the handball goal. Three dimensional movement time series data were analyzed. Also, data were analyzed across three temporally distinct time windows in line with the evolving kinematic chain. Statistical analyses were undertaken to determine differences across target locations. There were no significant differences between dynamical structures as a factor of target or phase. Covariance between time evolutions as a factor of target reduced in line with the ranking of the component. When shots were analyzed as three distinct time windows, only the low time evolution covariances suggested differences between targets in any time window. Our findings show that the dynamical structure underpinning the handball penalty shot does not differ greatly across locations. However, the time evolution of principal components suggests there are some variations in dynamics which may differentiate shot direction.     

Specificity and transfer effects in time production skill: examining the role of attention

Two experiments examined transfer of a prospective, time production skill under conditions involving changes in concurrent task requirements. Positive transfer of the time production skill might be expected only when the attentional demands of the concurrent task were held constant from training to test. However, some positive transfer was found even when the concurrent task at retraining was made either easier or more difficult than the concurrent task learned during training. The amount and direction of transfer depended more on the pacing of the stimuli in the secondary task than on the difficulty of the secondary task, even though difficulty affects attentional demands more. These findings are consistent with the procedural reinstatement principle of skill learning, by which transfer from one task to another depends on an overlap in procedures required by the two skills.     

Terrorists and Democrats: Individual Reactions to International Attacks

Three experiments conducted in 1997 and 1998 explored individual responses to reported fictitious international conflict involving the United States and other nations. Participants escalated the conflictual level of their responses to repeated attacks. In Experiment 1, escalation of conflict was greater in response to terrorist attacks than to military ones. In Experiment 2, after the initial attacks, men were more conflictual in responding to terrorist attacks by a democratic nation than by a nondemocratic nation, whereas the opposite pattern was found for women. In Experiment 3, participants responded with a higher level of conflict to terrorist attacks on military targets than to attacks on cultural/educational targets. Participants with greater personality dominance showed steeper escalation of conflict in their responses across successive attacks. These results are interpreted within the framework of an image theory of international relations and an expansion of the democratic peace hypothesis.     

Global inhibition and midcourse corrections in speeded aiming

When some perceptual-motor relationships are reversed, participants might adopt a global inhibition strategy that replaces all normal movements with reversed movements. In two experiments, participants practiced moving a cursor from a start position to target locations. In a perceptual-motor reversal condition, in which horizontal but not vertical movements were reversed, participants were trained to move only to certain locations. Testing involved moving to all locations under the same reversal condition. Training on a subset of locations yielded partial transfer to untrained locations. These results support a global inhibition hypothesis modified to include both midcourse corrective movements and training specificity.     

A mental practice superiority effect: less retroactive interference and more transfer than physical practice

Two experiments explored the benefits to retention and transfer conferred by mental practice. During familiarization, participants typed 4-digit numbers and took an immediate typing test on both old and new numbers. Participants then typed old 4-digit numbers, either physically or mentally, with either a different response configuration or the opposite hand from that used during familiarization. On a delayed test, participants physically typed both old and new numbers with the same response configuration and hand used during familiarization. Mental practice led to less retroactive interference and more transfer than did physical practice, supporting the hypothesis that mental practice strengthens an abstract representation that does not involve specific effectors.     

Cognitive complications moderate the speed‐accuracy tradeoff in data entry: a cognitive antidote to inhibition

Three experiments explored a speed‐accuracy tradeoff reflecting decreasing response times (RTs) and increasing errors across trials in a data entry task. In Experiment 1, cognitive and motoric stressors were independently added to data entry, with the combination of stressors yielding the greatest decline in accuracy across blocks. Experiment 2 compared mental multiplication and simple data entry and manipulated the provision of feedback. Accuracy improved with both mental multiplication and feedback. Experiment 3 varied only the concluding keystroke; this extra requirement led to overall improvements in accuracy. In each experiment, RTs improved across trials. These results suggest that cognitive complications can serve as antidotes to inhibitory effects and can overcome the decline in accuracy due to continuous work on data entry. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.