Factors influencing the temporal relationship between alcohol consumption and experiences with aggression among college women.

The authors assessed temporal relationships among alcohol use, aggression, and mood using daily data from 179 college women. Participants called an interactive voice response system over an 8-week period. The odds of experiencing verbal, sexual, and physical aggression (odd ratios = 2.25, 19.44, and 11.84, respectively) were significantly higher on heavy drinking days (M = 7.46 drinks) compared to nondrinking days. Both a history of victimization and greater psychological symptom severity influenced the odds of involvement in verbal aggression. The odds of alcohol consumption were 3 times higher during the 24 hr following verbal aggression compared with days in which verbal aggression did not occur. On the day immediately following involvement in either verbal or physical aggression, positive mood decreased and negative mood increased. During the week (2-7 days) following sexual aggression, women's positive mood was decreased. These findings reinforce the need for interventions aimed at reducing heavy episodic drinking on college campuses.     

Recognizing National Hockey League greatness with an ignorance-based heuristic.

This study examined whether people adhered to the recognition heuristic (i.e., inferred that a recognized hockey player had more total career points than an unrecognized player) and whether using this heuristic could yield accurate decisions. On paired comparisons, having participants report whether they recognized each player plus any knowledge they had about each player permitted players to be classified as either unrecognized (UR), merely recognized (MR), or recognized with additional knowledge (RK), thus producing six possible trial types. Participants adhered to the recognition heuristic on 95% of MR-UR trials and were accurate on 81% of those trials. They chose the recognized player on 98% of RK-UR trials, yielding 94% accuracy. Women had less knowledge and recognized fewer players than men, yet they were nearly as accurate as men. Future research should examine the conditions under which the recognition heuristic is an adaptive strategy.     

Short-Term Inpatient DBT Combined with Metacognitive Interventions for Personality Disorders: A Pilot Acceptability and Effectiveness Study

This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of an intensive 1-month residential treatment course in an Italian psychiatric unit for patients meeting criteria for personality disorders (PD). This study involved 189 patients consecutively admitted to the unit and assessed at admission and discharge. The inpatient program was based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) combined with Metacognitive interventions. Primary outcome was a reduction of general symptom severity (as measured by SCL-90-R). Secondary outcomes were reduction in depression (BDI), interpersonal problems (IIP-47). Other outcomes were impulsivity (BIS-11), aggressiveness (AQ), and dissociation (DES). We found a significant reduction in symptom severity, as well as in depression, interpersonal problems, dissociation, impulsivity and aggressiveness. The size of this benefit was predicted mostly by number of criteria met at SCID-II and intake scores mostly for impulsiveness and dissociation. In conclusion, intensive 1-month residential DBT combined with metacognitive interventions can be effective in treating patients with any PD presenting with severe global suffering, prominent self-harm and suicidal risk.

     

Health Beliefs and Behaviors of Women Who Have Received Genetic Counseling For Breast Cancer

There are both genetic and behavioral risk factors for breast cancer, but the interaction between these factors is not clear. Little is known about the impact of receiving genetic risk information for breast cancer on behaviors such as diet and physical activity. Seven focus groups were conducted with 23 women who had recently received genetic counseling for breast cancer, in order to explore health beliefs and behaviors following genetic counseling. Findings revealed that there was much confusion and uncertainty about the associations between health behaviors and breast cancer risk, and participants reported that receiving genetic counseling had little impact on health protective behaviors. Further research is required to understand variation in response to genetic risk information, and to assess the impact of providing additional information regarding lifestyle factors.     

Stigmatization,Culture and Counseling A Commentary on Growing Up and Living with NF1: a UK–Bangladeshi Case Study—by Santi Rozario

Rozario's presentation of the cultural manifestations of stigma experienced by a British Bangladeshi woman with Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is unusual in its detail of one woman's account of others' interactions with her and the impact on her life. It raises issues that are readily recognisable to genetic counselors and are familiar themes in the literature on the psychology of appearance. We draw on the genetics literature and on a body of expertise in research on the psychology of visible difference to consider the role of the genetic counselor in response to expressions of stigmatization or poor self-esteem by those with a visible difference caused by a genetic condition.     

Assessing self-critical perfectionism in clinical depression

Several facets of perfectionism have been strongly associated with depression and anxiety. Dunkley and Blankstein (2000) combined these maladaptive traits with self-criticism to create a general construct labeled self-critical perfectionism. In this study, we employed confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate a model for assessing self-critical perfectionism in a clinically depressed sample using scales from 3 instruments. Participants were 356 depressed adult outpatients who completed 2 multidimensional measures of perfectionism and a measure of self-criticism. A confirmatory factor model that separated a self-critical perfectionism construct from a more adaptive, achievement-striving component of perfectionism was supported. A composite scale assessing self-critical perfectionism demonstrated much larger correlations with distress measures compared to a composite scale assessing achievement striving and also showed evidence of discriminant validity. In this study, we provided further support for the valid assessment of self-critical perfectionism and extended evidence for its assessment to a clinically depressed sample.     

Chicks prefer to peck at insect-like elongated stimuli moving in a direction orthogonal to their longer axis

Spontaneous preferences towards possible prey have been little investigated using targets in motion. Preferences of domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) to peck at video-images of stimuli representing live insects moving along their longer body axis (i.e. “forwards”) or along the shorter body axis (i.e. “sideways”) were investigated. Chicks presented with both types of stimulus displayed a significant preference for pecking at stimuli moving sideways. This preference was already present on day 1 post-hatching, and it strengthened on day 6 for those chicks that had experienced pecking at live insects. Head angles used to fixate the stimuli prior to pecking were also analysed and were consistent (i.e. 30°–35° and 60°–65°) with those reported for fixation of non-edible targets (larger stimuli at a distance). In a first control experiment the same video-presented stimuli were used but the insect’s legs were removed to reduce flickering. In a second control experiment, paper-printed images of the whole insect were used. In both cases, the sideways direction of movement was clearly preferred. Overall, our data show that chicks have a spontaneous preference to peck at video-images resembling live insects moving along their shorter body axis. Sideways movement may constitute a crucial signal attracting chicks’ attention and enhancing predatory responses possibly because of stronger stimulation of motion detectors.     

The effect of insulin-induced hypoglycemia on NaCl hunger in the adrenalectomized rat

Rats that have developed a polydipsia for a saccharinglucose solution (S-G) are less likely after ADX to drink quantities of NaCl which are necessary for adequate body maintenance. Their appetite for the S-G interferes with the more regulatory NaCl appetite. It was hypothesized, then, that a need-related, S-G polydipsia established via insulin administration prior to ADX would result in an even greater dysfunction after ADX when S-G and NaCl were available as drinking fluids. And,a fortiori, rats with simultaneous adrenal insufficiency (via ADX) and an insulin-induced hypoglycemia would be so maximally responsive to S-G that they would be maximally resistant to NaCl regulation. Anda fortiori, rats with simultaneous adrenal insufficiency (via ADX) and an insulin-induced hypoglycemia would show maximum inertia to reverse a preoperatively-established S-G preference to a NaCl preference. The results were mixed. Preference for NaCl was equal in all ADX animals regardless of experimental condition. However, while ADX rats with a previous need-related S-G polydipsia sustain considerably long periods of weight loss (indicating poor adaptation), the insulin-injected, ADX rats manifest markedly more adaptive weight gains. The results are discussed in light of hierarchies and cross-linkages in behavioral and physiochemical homeostasis.     

Pavlovian conditioning of drug reactions: Some implications for problems of drug addiction

This paper reviews the classical conditioning of drug reactions, with special emphasis on the relationship of this phenomenon to drug addiction. Several aspects of drug addiction such as drug craving, high relapse tendencies, and the recurrence of withdrawal symptoms are reviewed and interpreted in light of classical conditioning theory and data. A theory is proposed that attempts to account for various aspects of the addictive process. The implications and empirical methods for testing this theory are outlined.     

Potassium chloride preference in normal,sodium—and sodium—potassium—deficient rats

KCl water preference was examined in diet-replete, sodium-and sodium—potassium-deficient postpubertal rats of different ages. While diet-replete rats displayed a KCl preference-aversion profile similar to that found using other salts, when retested 30 days later, these same animals had no KCl preference. Na-and Na—K-deficient rats preferred KCl over a broad range of concentrations when tested in early postpuberty and the Na—K-deficient group had a markedly reduced KCl preference threshold (0.12%) when compared to all other groups in the study. But Na-and Na—K-deficient rats older by 2 1/2 months did not prefer KCl. The notion of specific food hungers can be invoked to account for some of the preferences. But hedonics, age and KCl experience must also be considered based on (1) the quantities of KCl consumed, (2) the preference reversals within animals, as well as (3) the significantly increased heart—and kidney—body weight ratios in the rats with the greatest KCl preference.