Altered Sexuality and Body Image after Gynecological Cancer Treatment: How Can Psychologists Help?

Once medical treatment for gynecological cancer is completed, what happens to patients' sexuality and body image? Due to the delicate nature of the cancer site, treating this cancer typically affects sexual functioning and body image adversely, making it critical to identify the concerns of these patients and do so in a manner less restrictive than paper-and-pencil assessment. To gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenological experiences in question, we interviewed nine gynecological cancer patients and seven cancer-free women. After implementing a relaxation protocol, we asked each woman to describe her feelings and thoughts on her sexuality and body image in one-on-one interviews. A variety of themes emerged on patients' attitudes and perspectives concerning sexuality and body image following diagnosis and treatment of the cancer. The themes that were considerably different from those of the cancer-free women included decreased sexual functioning and body image, abrupt shifts in self-identity due to loss of physical integrity, and distancing in intimate relationships. Several implications of these findings for clinical practice are discussed, as well as the need to train medical professionals to properly assess these patients' alterations in sexuality.     

Explaining intra-individual variability in social behavior through idiographic assessment: The case of humor

Much variability in social behavior is intra-individual; people vary their actions strategically across contexts. Yet most personality assessment methods are inter-individual; they chart between-person differences in average behavioral tendencies. The present research advanced novel idiographic assessment methods to predict intra-individual variability in a behavioral domain of long-standing interest to personality psychologists: humor. Individuals participated in three assessment sessions. Personal beliefs about reasons for using humor were assessed either idiographically or with respect to a nomothetic system of humor-related reasons for action. The subjective relevance of nomothetically- and idiographically-identified reasons to everyday social situations was assessed. Subsequently, participants reported their perceived likelihood of using humor in specific social contexts. As predicted, likelihood of humor use varied substantially as a function of the relevance of situations to idiographically-identified reasons, but did not vary as a function of the relevance of situations to reasons identified nomothetically. Implications for personality and assessment are discussed.     

The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth

The present study examined ethnic, gender, and age differences in perceived discrimination and the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents. Data are from the National Survey of African Life (NSAL), which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth. Results indicate that the majority of Black youth perceived at least 1 discriminatory incident in the previous year. Adolescents at later stages of development perceived more discrimination than those at earlier stages, and African American and Caribbean Black males perceived more discrimination than their female counterparts. Perceptions of discrimination were positively linked to depressive symptoms and were negatively linked to self-esteem and life satisfaction, regardless of ethnicity. However, Caribbean Black youth appear to be more vulnerable when they perceive high levels of discrimination.     

The effects of music exposure and own genre preference on conscious and unconscious cognitive processes: a pilot ERP study

Did Beethoven and Mozart have more in common with each other than Clapton and Hendrix? The current research demonstrated the widely reported Mozart Effect as only partly significant. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 16 professional classical and rock musicians during a standard 2 stimulus visual oddball task, while listening to classical and rock music. During the oddball task participants were required to discriminate between an infrequent target stimulus randomly embedded in a train of repetitive background or standard stimuli. Consistent with previous research, the P3 and N2 ERPs were elicited in response to the infrequent target stimuli. Own genre preference resulted in a reduction in amplitude of the P3 for classical musicians exposed to classical music and rock musicians exposed to rock music. Notably, at the pre-attentive stage of processing (N2) beneficial effects of exposure to classical music were observed for both groups of musicians. These data are discussed in terms of short and long-term music benefits on both conscious and unconscious cognitive processes.     

The Case for Creating a DBA Program – A Virtue-based Opportunity for Universities

Although efforts have been made to increase the opportunities for American-born minorities to obtain doctoral degrees in business, the actual number of business students who are American-born minorities has been extremely low. At the same time more than half of all PhD candidates in business schools are foreign-born. We suggest that business schools owe an ethical duty to provide role models for minority business students, and that this duty can be achieved by initiating Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs that can enable working professionals who are American-born minorities to obtain terminal degrees in business. We outline eight steps that can be taken to implement a viable and cost effective DBA program.     

An Energetic Comparison of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Human Gait

This article contrasts the mechanical energy profiles of asymmetrical galloping with those of symmetrical running in adult humans. Seven female subjects were filmed while performing overground running and galloping at their preferred velocities. A previous study (Whitall & Caldwell, 1992) showed that kinematic differences between these gait modes included higher preferred velocity for running than galloping, with distinct differences in interlimb coordination but surprisingly similar intralimb patterns. Energetically, in the present study the whole body center of mass during galloping was found to behave much as it does in walking; kinetic and potential energy profiles were out of phase, as compared with running, which exhibited in-phase fluctuations of kinetic and potential energies. The primary reason for these center of mass differences was found in the energetics of the back leg of galloping, which demonstrated alterations in timing of its energy fluctuations and less energy generation than the front leg. Analysis of the power sources underlying the segmental energies during swing phase showed that the back leg's energy changes were accomplished mainly through reduced use of the hip muscles and less interlimb energy transfer. The back leg's energetics during swing also displayed a shift toward greater reliance on nonmuscular energy sources. A pattern of energy inflow during early swing and energy outflow during late swing was common to both running and galloping, although the galloping legs both demonstrated more abrupt transitions between these phases. The possibility is raised that the 67/33 interlimb phasing ratio used in galloping is selected to reduce mechanical energy variations of the total body center of mass. These data suggest that models of asymmetric gait in humans must account for more than merely phase alteration.     

Whither goest our redoubtable mentor, the MMPI/MMPI-2?

Four areas of MMPI use and development toward the year 2000 and beyond are discussed. First, although the MMPI-2 booklet is a clear improvement, we will continue to need to use both profiles, the MMPI-2 for normative purposes and the MMPI profile for pattern interpretation. Applying MMPI expectations to MMPI-2 profiles is a violation of Meehl's basic actuarial prediction concepts. Secondly, as psychologists begin prescribing medications, we may be able to substantially refine drug choices. Thirdly, the measurement of socioeconomic status levels appears to be the major, missing moderator variable in MMPI/MMPI-2 interpretation. Lastly, an effective and positive MMPI/MMPI-2 feedback paradigm is discussed that fits well within the managed care context.