Age, time of testing, and proactive interference.

A four-list version of a release from proactive interference paradigm was used to assess the degree to which older and younger adults tested at optimal and nonoptimal times of day are vulnerable to interference effects in memory, effects that may increase at nonoptimal times. Morning type older adults and Evening type younger adults were tested either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Standard buildup and release effects were shown for all age groups except for older adults tested in the afternoon; they failed to show release. Recall and intrusion data suggested that older adults are more vulnerable to proactive interference than younger adults and that for older adults at least, interference effects are heightened at nonoptimal times of day. The data are discussed in terms of an inhibitory model of control over the contents of working memory (Hasher, Zacks, & May, 1999).     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the psychopathy checklist: screening version in offenders with axis I disorders

One hundred forty-nine inpatients within a maximum security psychiatric facility were assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Within the total sample, 68% had a psychotic disorder and 30% met criteria for psychopathy. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors tested the 2-factor PCL:SV model of psychopathy and recent 3- and 4-factor models. Results indicated good fit for each model, with the 4-factor model showing best overall fit. Structural equation modeling was used to determine which psychopathy factors predicted 6-month follow-up of inpatient aggression. The 2-, 3-, and 4-factor models, respectively, accounted for 16%.27%. and 3l% of the variance in aggression.     

Epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in Mexico

Prevalence rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were estimated from a probability sample of 2,509 adults from 4 cities in Mexico. PTSD was assessed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; WHO, 1997). Lifetime prevalence of exposure and PTSD were 76% and 11.2%, respectively. Risk for PTSD was highest in Oaxaca (the poorest city), persons of lower socioeconomic status, and women. Conditional risk for PTSD was highest following sexual violence, but nonsexual violence and traumatic bereavement had greater overall impact because of their frequency. Of lifetime cases, 62% became chronic; only 42% received medical or professional care. The research demonstrates the importance of expanding the epidemiologic research base on trauma to include developing countries around the world.     

The projection of implicit and explicit goals

In 3 studies, the authors analyzed whether projection occurs for both conscious and nonconscious goals. In Experiment 1, participants who were predisposed to hold a learning goal over a performance goal rated others as possessing more of a learning goal. In Experiment 2, participants who were either implicitly primed with or explicitly assigned to have the goal to compete perceived others as striving for competitive goals more than control participants. In Experiment 3, the authors demonstrated that it was the actual goal to compete rather than the trait construct of competitiveness that was projected. The control of automatic goal projection effects is discussed, and interpersonal consequences of goal projection are delineated.     

Religious Geography and County‐Level Sex Ratios in China

The sex ratio at birth in China is highly imbalanced in favor of boys. Past research on sex ratios in China emphasizes economic factors for their weakening effect on the Confucian tradition of son preference. Research in the sociology of religion suggests that religious geography may affect sex ratios through the spill‐over of religious teachings to those living in areas dominated by a religious tradition. To assess this linkage, we investigate the relationship between religious geography and county‐level child sex ratios using the 2000 China Population Census and the 2004 China Economic Census, the most complete and recent data available on religious presence in China. Applying spatial analyses of 2,685 counties (over 90% of all counties), we find that counties with a greater presence of Daoist temples have more imbalanced (male‐biased) sex ratios, whereas a greater presence of Buddhist temples and Islamic mosques is associated with less imbalanced sex ratios.     

Outcomes of a practical approach for improving conversation skills in adults with autism

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in conversation skills that can interfere with the development of personal and professional relationships. Further research is needed on efficient interventions for targeting conversation skills in adults with ASD and for evaluating the social validity of the outcomes. In this study, 2 practitioners implemented a 4‐week training program for 5 adults with ASD that combined individualized computer‐based instruction (CBI) and practice with peers to promote the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of conversation skills. Training was associated with improvements in 12 of 13 skills across participants. These findings, along with peer ratings of the participants' conversation skills, suggest that this model is a promising, socially valid approach for improving conversation skills in adults with ASD.     

Development of a Health Related Quality of Life Measure for Adolescents and Young Adults Following Invasive Meningococcal Disease

This study describes the key areas that matter to adolescent survivors of Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD). Satisfaction with Life After Meningitis is a brief multidimensional measure of health related quality of life that is reliable and correlates with criterion variables in a theoretically meaningful way. To develop a Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) measure for adolescent and young adult survivors of (IMD) we used a cross-sectional study and focus groups. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1 a pool of potential items were generated based on the following: a review of existing measures, focus groups with IMD survivors, and an expert group consultation. Phase 2 involved administration of the questionnaire to a sample of adolescent and young adult IMD survivors. Factor analysis suggested a correlated four factor solution: Wellbeing, Positive about Future, Social Support, and Confidence. These factors were significantly correlated in a theoretically predictable way with scores from the Beck Depression Inventory (correlations ranged from ?0.77 to ?0.81) and the eight domains of the SF-36 Health Survey (correlations ranged from 0.32 to 0.79). The reliability of all subscales was high ranging from 0.85 to 0.92. The Satisfaction with Life After Meningitis (SLAM) questionnaire is a HRQoL self-report measure that produces reliable scores and is appropriate for use with young survivors of IMD. There is also evidence of concurrent validity with existing measures of physical and psychological well-being.     

Expressing passion for luxury enhances perceived authenticity

Consumers are often viewed unfavorably when using luxury products. They are seen as seeking status and managing impressions, and therefore judged as inauthentic. How can luxury consumers alleviate these negative social consequences? Our pilot studies suggest that although many consumers are passionate about luxury products and brands, they avoid sharing this passion with others because they fear being judged negatively. However, we propose that publicly expressing one's passion for luxury can mitigate the social costs of luxury consumption. Six experiments (including three supplemental experiments) show that expressing passion for luxury causes others to perceive luxury consumers as more authentic, consequently increasing perceptions of their warmth and trustworthiness, and leading others to demonstrate greater interest in knowing more about them. Expressing passion for luxury enhances perceived authenticity by prompting observers to attribute the luxury consumption more to intrinsic motivation (e.g., consuming luxury for inherent enjoyment and pleasure) rather than extrinsic motivation (e.g., status enhancement). The effects of passion expression are attenuated for non-luxury consumption because non-luxury consumption is generally unlikely to elicit inferences about extrinsic motives.     

Critical Incidents in the Professional Lives of First Year MFT Students

First year MFT students engaged in a journaling project, selecting one event daily which captured something about being a student, including the process of therapy, consultation, and supervision, that struck them as important in terms of their professional development. On reflection, the students saw therapeutic success and professional confidence as systemic products of a variety of contextual factors: transient and enduring aspects of the self and the client, faculty, peer, and family influences, and treatment setting and program factors. Students and faculty experienced this formative self study as valuable and believe that it should be done at the beginning, middle, and end of an educational program and the results shared with both faculty and students.     

Negative priming for spatial location?

The term negative priming has been used to describe the deleterious consequences for performance when the current target shares properties with an ignored distractor from the previous trial. Location-based negative priming was first reported by Tipper, Brehaut, and Driver (1990) who used a prime-probe procedure wherein the task was to localize targets defined by their identity (shape). Design imbalances in this seminal study, and others, are illustrated and it is indicated how these might have contaminated the reported effects. The findings, from three experiments using an unbiased design, suggest that negative priming in the spatial location procedure may be more closely related to inhibition of return (IOR), or to the automatic attraction of attention by new objects, than to the concepts of distractor inhibition, episodic retrieval, and feature mismatch, which have traditionally been used to explain negative priming for spatial location.