The prevention of depressive symptoms in rural Australian women

Two interventions aimed at preventing depressive symptoms in women living in Western Australian rural communities were evaluated against a no‐intervention control condition. The standard intervention was based upon traditional cognitive‐behaviour treatments for depression; the experimental intervention was based upon prevention strategies derived from the learned helplessness model of depression (e.g. Peterson, Maier, & Seligman, 1993 ). Seventy‐six women were randomly assigned to either the standard or the experimental group, and a further 20 women formed a no‐intervention control group. The standard group showed a reduction in depressive symptoms at post‐test, but no effects at 6‐week or 6‐month follow‐ups. In contrast, a reduction in depressive symptoms did not appear for the experimental group until the 6‐week follow‐up at which time a less depressive attributional style was also evident; these effects were even more pronounced at the 6‐month follow‐up. The no‐intervention control group showed no changes across time. It is argued that these results support the applicability of prevention strategies based on the learned helplessness model to this population. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in adolescents and young adults with Type 1 diabetes.

This study compared 3 models of association between personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in a cross-sectional design. These models were as follows: (a) Emotional stability determines self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs, and conscientiousness is a direct predictor of self-care; (b) emotional stability determines self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs, and conscientiousness moderates the association between beliefs and self-care; (c) both emotional stability and conscientiousness determine self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs. Participants (N = 358, aged 12-30 years) with Type 1 diabetes completed measures of personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care. Structural equation modeling indicated that Model C was the best fit to the data.     

A digital system for recording startle,responses in small animals

An easily constructed, isometric startle-recording system is described. The animal enclosure is attached to a plywood board-which, in ten, is mounted in a “springboard” arrangement. Movement is detected by a phonocartridge mounted beneath the chamber, and a digital record of this movement is obtained through the use of a voltage-to-frequency converter. A brief experiment in which the system was used to assess the rat’s reaction to electric footshock is also presented.     

Practice,refractive error,and feedback as factors influencing peripheral motion thresholds

Motion thresholds were determined in the fovea and in the horizontal peripheral meridian under conditions of practice, correction of refractive error, and feedback. While foveal determinations did not change significantly, peripheral motion thresholds were lowered for all conditions. Both practice and practice with feedback produced significantly better motion discrimination, these effects showing a longevity of several months. However, the largest improvement resulted from correction of peripheral refractive error, which also reduced individual differences. This suggests that peripheral sensitivity to movement is ordinarily limited primarily by dioptric rather than neural factors. Implications for perceptual learning and peripheral vision research are discussed.     

RECOVERY TIME AFTER GLARE: An experimental investigation of glare after-effect under night driving conditions

Preliminary experiments suggest that the changes in adaptation level due to glaring light in a night traffic meeting situation give no practically important deterioration of visibility. To obtain a more complete answer, one experiment was done in a 'real' night driving situation, and two experiments were carried out using a glare simulator, aimed at quantifying the change in the level of adaptation in terms of redetection time of a target made invisible due to glare. The effect of three factors were studied: duration of glare, maximum illuminance of glare, and contrast ratio between background and target. The preliminary suggestions were fully confirmed.     

Parental Involvement in Elite Junior Slalom Canoeing

This study's aim was to examine elite youth athletes’ views on parental involvement in training, competition, and at home. Eight canoeists were interviewed up to 4 times and completed written diaries over a 6-week period. Results indicated that parents were generally deemed to have a positive influence through domain specific and cross-domain behaviors. Positive behaviors included parents focusing on their children's holistic development at home, motivational and constructive evaluation at training, and limiting demands on athletes through the provision of practical support, reading and understanding the situation and their child, and supporting the development of growth mind-set across all domains.     

Grabbing Your Bootstraps: Threats to Economic Order Boost Beliefs in Personal Control

Individuals are motivated to maintain perceptions of order and predictability in the social environment. Compensatory control theory proposes that when an individual’s perception of her or his own control is threatened, the individual can turn to external systems that may provide a perception of control (e.g., organized government). Conversely, the theory also predicts that when external systems of control are threatened, individuals may respond by exaggerating perceptions of personal control, although this effect has received relatively little empirical support. In the present study, we examined how a threat to an external system of economic control affects individual perceptions of personal control. Specifically, we found that a threat to the perceived distribution of economic resources based on hard work and effort (i.e., meritocracy) led to greater perceptions of personal control. Moreover, this increase in personal control directly increased participants’ optimism about their future economic outcomes. This study provides important insight into the broad influence of external systems on individuals' perceptions of personal control and assessment of future action.