A computer-controlled olfactometer for fMRI and electrophysiological studies of olfaction

A design for an inexpensive and reliable olfactometer is presented. The design has several advantages for fMRI and electrophysiology investigators. These advantages include relatively rapid odorant rise times, computer control, multiple odor administration, and no ferrous materials near the subjects. In addition, the device is contamination resistant, and, because the air is neither warmed nor humidified, it is unlikely to become an incubator for bacteria. The olfactometer is constructed of off-the-shelf chromatography parts that require little modification.     

Gender, Somatization, and Psychopathic Traits in a College Sample

The structure of psychopathic traits and their association with somatization symptoms were investigated in a sample of 199 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory psychology classes. Using multiple measures of psychopathic traits, an iterated principal axis (IPA) analysis revealed two dimensions of psychopathy that were similar to ones typically found in forensic samples. One dimension focused on a cold, callous, and unemotional interpersonal style and the second dimension focused on an impulsive and antisocial lifestyle. These two dimensions emerged for both men and women, although the correlation between the two was somewhat higher for men than women. Also, the callous and unemotional dimension was negatively correlated with somatization symptoms, and the impulsive and antisocial dimension was positively associated with somatization symptoms. This pattern of associations was similar for both men and women and it suggests that somatization symptoms may be one aspect of the high rate of negative affectivity experienced by antisocial individuals.     

THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY, AND CAREER SUCCESS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN

The present study investigated the relationship of traits from the 5-factor model of personality (often termed the "Big Five") and general mental ability with career success. Career success was argued to be comprised of intrinsic success (job satisfaction) and extrinsic success (income and occupational status) dimensions. Data were obtained from the Intergenerational Studies, a set of 3 studies that followed participants from early childhood to retirement. The most general findings were that conscientiousness positively predicted intrinsic and extrinsic career success, neuroticism negatively predicted extrinsic success, and general mental ability positively predicted extrinsic career success. Personality was related to career success controlling for general mental ability and, though adulthood measures of the Big Five traits were more strongly related to career success than were childhood measures, both contributed unique variance in explaining career success.     

Retribution and Restoration as General Orientations Towards Justice

We proposed two distinct understandings of what justice means to victims and what its restoration entails that are reflected in individual‐level justice orientations. Individuals with a retributive orientation conceptualize justice as the unilateral imposition of just deserts against the offender. In contrast, individuals with a restorative orientation conceptualize justice as achieving a renewed consensus about the shared values violated by the offence. Three studies showed differential relations between these two justice orientations and various individual‐level values/ideologies and predicted unique variance in preferences for concrete justice‐restoring interventions, judicial processes and abstract justice restoration goals. The pattern of results lends validity to the understanding of justice as two distinct conceptualizations, a distinction that provides much needed explanation for divergent preferences for injustice responses. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal Debt,Cognitive Delinquency and Techniques of Governmentality: Neoliberal Constructions of Financial Inadequacy in the UK

In the UK in recent years, there has been a considerable and sustained increase in both levels of personal debt and over‐indebtedness. This commentary argues that recent UK policy formulation on personal debt management has sidelined problematic macroscopic political and economic changes by locating personal debt as a problem of individual financial incompetence. Through specific institutions, tools, techniques and practices, certain configurations of people in debt have been rendered knowable and changeable. In doing so, public policies that have brought about a greater need for a greater number of people to rely on personal debt remain largely beyond public view and have instead been reconstituted as problems of access to financial capability training. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.