Sex differences in regret: all for love or some for lust?

Few sex differences in regret or counterfactual thinking are evident in past research. The authors discovered a sex difference in regret that is both domain-specific (i.e., unique to romantic relationships) and interpretable within a convergence of theories of evolution and regulatory focus. Three studies showed that within romantic relationships, men emphasize regrets of inaction over action (which correspond to promotion vs. prevention goals, respectively), whereas women report regrets of inaction and action with equivalent frequency. Sex differences were not evident in other interpersonal regrets (friendship, parental, sibling interactions) and were not moderated by relationship status. Although the sex difference was evident in regrets centering on both sexual and nonsexual relationship aspects, it was substantially larger for sexual regrets. These findings underscore the utility of applying an evolutionary perspective to better understand goal-regulating, cognitive processes.     

Motivated self-stereotyping: heightened assimilation and differentiation needs result in increased levels of positive and negative self-stereotyping

This research was conducted to explore the impact of assimilation and differentiation needs on content-specific self-stereotyping. According to optimal distinctiveness theory (M. B. Brewer, 1991), social identities serve the function of satisfying individuals' need for assimilation (in-group inclusion) and their need for differentiation (distinctiveness from others). It was proposed that one of the ways optimal social identities are maintained is through self-stereotyping. In 3 studies, the needs for assimilation and differentiation were experimentally manipulated, and support was found for increased self-stereotyping in response to heightened need arousal across both self-report and behavioral measures and across different social groups. Results also demonstrated that only those participants who were highly identified with their in-group were willing to engage in negative self-stereotyping.     

Aging and attentional guidance during visual search: functional neuroanatomy by positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to examine adult age differences in neural activation during visual search. Target detection was less accurate for older adults than for younger adults, but both age groups were successful in using color to guide attention to a subset of display items. Increasing perceptual difficulty led to greater activation of occipitotemporal cortex for younger adults than for older adults, apparently as the result of older adults maintaining higher levels of activation within the easier task conditions. The results suggest that compensation for age-related decline in the efficiency of occipitotemporal cortical functioning was implemented by changes in the relative level of activation within this visual processing pathway, rather than by the recruitment of other cortical regions.     

Age and distraction by telephone conversation in task performance: implications for use of cellular telephones while driving

Predicted to diminish task performance were (a) distraction by telephone conversation and (b) older age. 38 participants pointed to letters on a randomized or alphabetized letter matrix during distraction by telephone conversation or no distraction. In a within-subjects design, telephone conversation negatively affected completion time but there were no age differences. Implications for cellular telephone use while driving are discussed.     

Odor identification impairments in schizophrenia: relationship with demographic measures, clinical variables, and diagnostic subtypes

Smell identification deficits are consistently found in schizophrenia (SZ), but little is known about the nature and characterization of this deficit or its relationship to the phenomenology of the illness. This study aims to further delineate smell identification errors in SZ by examining the relationship of patient demographic differences with smell-identification performance. Our results showed that a patient's gender and education were related to odor-identification scores, with better performance seen in female patients and in those with greater educational attainment. However, there was no effect related to age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status on odor identification. A smell identification deficit was also unrelated to clinical characteristics of the patients, including age at first hospitalization, number of psychiatric hospitalizations, and duration of illness. Odor identification also did not differ by SZ subtype, nor between SZ and schizoaffective disorder patients. These findings emphasize that odor identification deficits in SZ are unrelated to clinical illness features, cannot be explained by other confounds related to olfaction in the general population, and may be core features related to the SZ disease process.     

Linkages between facial expressions of anger and transient myocardial ischemia in men with coronary artery disease

The authors examined whether facial expressions of emotion would predict changes in heart function. One hundred fifteen male patients with coronary artery disease underwent the Type A Structured Interview, during which time measures of transient myocardial ischemia (wall motion abnormality and left ventricular ejection fraction) were obtained. Facial behavior exhibited during the ischemia measurement period was videotaped and later coded by using the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978). Those participants who exhibited ischemia showed significantly more anger expressions and nonenjoyment smiles than nonischemics. Cook-Medley Hostility scores did not vary with ischemic status. The findings have implications for understanding how anger and hostility differentially influence coronary heart disease risk.     

Memory demands on facial composite identification

Face composites created with FACES 3.0 composite software were used to identify target photographs under varying conditions of memory load. Composites created while viewing a mugshot were presented concurrently with a five‐photograph lineup of actual criminal suspects, immediately preceding the lineup, or with a filled delay between composite and lineup. Compared to a baseline using the mock witness technique, results demonstrated above‐chance identification of target photographs from their composites in all four experiments. Identification was highest with concurrent composite‐lineup presentation and lower under immediate, 30‐second‐delayed, and 4‐minute‐delayed conditions, with no significant identification differences across the three memory conditions. Confidence ratings in target selection only weakly predicted identification accuracy at best. These findings extend the limited research on computerized facial composite systems while addressing composite software use, efficacy, guidelines and limitations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selecting Unskilled and Semi‐Skilled Blue‐Collar Workers: The criterion‐related validity of the PDI‐employment inventory1

Two concurrent criterion‐related validity studies were conducted with blue‐collar workers employed in Australia. The first sample consisted of 77 unskilled and semi‐skilled manufacturing employees. The second sample consisted of 243 stockpeople who worked in piggeries. A range of work‐related criteria was used, and this range differed across the two studies. The results showed that Employment Inventory–Performance was a reasonable predictor of some aspects of supervisor ratings of work performance but unrelated to other aspects. A similar pattern of findings emerged with self‐ratings of work performance. Employment Inventory–Tenure was weakly related to turnover intentions and actual turnover.