THE INFLUENCE OF MISOGYNOUS RAP MUSIC ON SEXUAL AGGRESSION AGAINST WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cognitive distortions concerning women on sexually aggressive behavior in the laboratory. Twenty-seven men listened to misogynous rap music and 27 men listened to neutral rap music. Participants then viewed neutral, sexual-violent, and assaultive film vignettes and chose one of the vignettes to show to a female confederate. Among the participants in the misogynous music condition, 30% showed the assaultive vignette and 70% showed the neutral vignette. In the neutral condition, 7% showed the sexual-violent or assaultive vignette and 93% showed the neutral vignette. Participants who showed the sexual-violent or assaultive stimuli reported that the confederate was more upset and uncomfortable in viewing these stimuli than did participants who showed the neutral vignette. These findings suggest that misogynous music facilitates sexually aggressive behavior and support the relationship between cognitive distortions and sexual aggression.     

Depth discrimination from optic flow

A simple scheme for deriving relative depth (time-to-collision, or TTC) from optic flow is developed in which the total flow is first sensed by unconnected motion (imperfect filter) sensors and then the rotational component is subtracted to yield the translational component. Only the latter component yields depth information. This scheme is contrasted with one where the TTC sensors respond only to the translational component at the initial registration of the flow (perfect filter sensors or looming detectors). The simple scheme predicts the results of three experiments on discrimination of TTC: discrimination thresholds are elevated if the objects withdraw from rather than approach the observer, thresholds are elevated if a rotational component is added to the flow, and the amount of threshold elevation resulting from the addition of a rotational component is reduced by prior adaptation to a pure rotational flow. These results confirm the simple model and disconfirm predictions based on the looming detector scheme.     

Reliability of a Measure of Temporal Discounting

The Psychological Record - Participants (N = 17) chose between smaller, immediate and larger, delayed hypothetical money amounts in two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week. The choice procedure...     

Influence of perceived coaching behaviors on burnout and competitive anxiety in female college athletes

Abstract

The focus of this study is on burnout experienced by athletes and coaches, and particularly on how athletes' perceptions of their coach's behavior and communication style may relate to levels of burnout and anxiety experienced by athletes. A modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout in coaches and the Eades Athletic Burnout Inventory was used to measure six components of burnout in athletes. Three multivariate analyses supported links in the study model. Coach burnout was significantly related to perceived coaching styles/behavior, perceived coaching styles/behavior was predictive of athlete burnout, and athlete anxiety and athlete burnout were significantly related. Interestingly, perceived coaching style/behavior was not a significant predictor of athlete anxiety. The results are discussed in relation to psychometric issues in the measure of bumout and coaching behavior as well as the need for sport psychology researchers to examine burnout from within a social contextual perspective.     

Self-disgust mediates the relationship between dysfunctional cognitions and depressive symptomatology

Disgust has been linked to several psychopathologies, although a role in depression has been questioned. However, it has recently been proposed that rather than general disgust sensitivity, disgust directed toward the self (self-disgust) may influence the development of depression, providing a causal link between dysfunctional cognitions and depressive symptomatology. This possibility was examined by developing a scale to measure self-disgust (the Self-Disgust Scale; SDS) and then using mediator analysis to determine if self-disgust was able to explain the relationship between dysfunctional cognitions (measured with the use of the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale) and depressive symptomatology (measured with the use of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale). The developed SDS was found to exhibit a high level of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. Principal-components analysis revealed two factors to underlie responses to SDS items: the 'Disgusting self,' concerned with enduring, context independent aspects of the self, and 'Disgusting ways,' concerned with behavior. Self-disgust was found to mediate the relationship between dysfunctional cognitions and depressive symptomatology, demonstrating for the first time that self-disgust plays a role in depression.     

The Faculty of the Future

This paper examines some implications of predicted demographic changes in Canadian universities that may make them unable to replace retiring faculty members in numbers permitting academic business as usual. If the predictions prove correct, it will be desirable to reinterpret received verities about the relationship between professor/student ratios and effective education, the dual roles of teaching and research, and democratic governance in communities of higher education. Possibilities for restructuring inquiry and instruction in ways consistent with the responsibilities of educators are all too briefly explored. A revised division of instructional labour is suggested, along with changes in the conduct of research and academic administration that would free professors to focus on the tasks for which they have the greatest expertise.     

Effect of Partners’ Disgust Responses on Psychological Wellbeing in Cancer Patients

The aim of this study was to explore quantitatively the relationship between disgust responses in cancer patients and their partners, and in turn their relationship to patients’ psychological well-being. We recruited 50 participants with heterogeneous cancer diagnoses and their partners from cancer-related groups (e.g., charities). Patients completed questionnaires to determine levels of disgust propensity, disgust sensitivity, self-disgust, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Disgust propensity and sensitivity were also assessed in their partners. Partners’ disgust sensitivity was significantly positively correlated with cancer patients’ self-disgust, disgust propensity, and depression. Path analyses suggested that patients’ self-disgust plays a role in mediating the effect of partners’ disgust sensitivity on patients’ psychological well-being. This study provides the first quantitative evidence that psychological well-being in cancer patients is contingent on their partners’ sensitivity to disgust, and that patients’ self-disgust plays a mediating role. Focusing therapeutically on disgust responses could well be beneficial to people with cancer.     

Dog rivalry impacts following behavior in a decision-making task involving food

Dogs learn a great deal from humans and other dogs. Previous studies of socially influenced learning between dogs have typically used a highly trained demonstrator dog who is unfamiliar to the observer. Because of this, it is unknown how dynamics between familiar dogs may influence their likelihood of learning from each other. In this study, we tested dogs living together in two-dog households on whether individual dogs’ rivalry scores were associated with performance on a local enhancement task. Specifically, we wanted to know whether dog rivalry impacted whether an observer dog would approach a plate from which a demonstrator dog had eaten all available food, or whether the observer dog would approach the adjacent plate that still contained food. Dog rivalry scores were calculated using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire and indicated each dog’s tendency to engage aggressively with the other household dog. Low-rivalry dogs were more likely to approach the empty plate than high-rivalry dogs when the observer dog was allowed to approach the plates immediately after the demonstrator had moved out of sight. This difference between low- and high-rivalry dogs disappeared, however, when observer dogs had to wait 5 s before approaching the plates. The same pattern was observed during a control condition when a human removed the food from a plate. Compared to low-rivalry dogs, high-rivalry dogs may pay less attention to other dogs due to a low tolerance for having other dogs in close proximity.