Impulsive responses to positive mood and reward are related to mania risk

Bipolar disorder is characterised by impulsivity, and recent research suggests it is important to consider more specific forms of impulsivity. In two student samples, we examined associations of self-reported impulsivity with mania risk (Hypomanic Personality Scale, HPS). We hypothesised that mania risk would relate to impulsivity in the context of opportunities for rewarding activities (Delaying Gratification Inventory, DGI), reward pursuit (Fun-Seeking subscale of the Behavioural Activation Scale, BAS), and when experiencing positive affect (Positive Urgency Measure, PUM). In Study 1 (N=823), the HPS was uniquely related to Fun-Seeking and PUM scores. Study 2 (N=482) replicated the correlation of HPS scores with PUM while documenting positive associations between PUM and trait-like responses to positive affect. Findings across both studies stress the importance of considering the role of positive emotion in driving the impulsivity among persons at risk for mania. These findings have implications for refining our understanding of the aetiology of bipolar disorder and for treatment development.     

IN DEFENSE OF THE BODY: THE EFFECT OF MORTALITY SALIENCE ON FEMALE BODY OBJECTIFICATION

Previous research has illustrated the negative psychological consequences of female body objectification. The present study explores how female body objectification may serve as a defense against unconscious existential fears. Drawing from terror management theory, an experiment was designed to test the potential functionality of female body objectification. Men and women were primed to think about either their own mortality or an aversive control topic, and levels of body objectification were then assessed for both self- and other (women)-objectification. Findings supported the hypothesis that priming mortality would increase both self- and other-objectification among women, and self-objectification among those who derive self-esteem from their body. Implications for this research are discussed.     

Renewing the Identity of Catholic Colleges: Implementing Lonergan's Method for Education

Abstract. This article addresses the epistemological disarray and secularizing trends in American culture, while also suggesting a way for Catholic institutions to meet their responsibilities under Ex Corde Ecclesiae. It employs Bernard Lonergan's work to establish a theoretical foundation for education and outlines two specific liberal arts courses, Beginning with Knowing, in which students develop a methodological foundation for objective knowledge, and The Catholic Tradition, which transmits important Catholic perspectives and values.     

Confusable gratings selectively elicit orientation-contingent colour aftereffects

Induction of orientation-selective colour aftereffects (the McCollough effect) was studied with groups of young children who differed in their ability to discriminate an oblique grating from its mirror-image under recognition conditions. If the McCollough effect is generated through associative learning, children who failed to learn simple identifying responses to oblique lines as a function of the direction in which the lines point should also fail to associate colour lablels selectively to these same stimuli. Instead, the ease with which the McCollough effect was induced by alternate exposure to left-oblique lines in green light and right-oblique lines in red light was independent of the ability of the young child to discriminate direction of line under recognition conditions.     

Unique associations between anxiety,depression and motives for approach and avoidance goal pursuit

This study investigated the shared and distinct associations between depressive and anxious symptoms and motives for pursuing personal goals. One hundred and thirty-six undergraduates generated approach and avoidance goals and rated each on intrinsic, identified, introjected and external motives. Anxious and depressive symptoms showed significant unique associations with distinct motives. Specifically, depressive symptoms predicted significant unique variance in intrinsic motivation for approach goals (but not avoidance goals), whereas anxious symptoms predicted significant unique variance in introjected regulation for approach and avoidance goals. Some of these findings were moderated by gender. The findings broadly support the notion that depression is uniquely characterised by reduced enjoyment of approach goal pursuit whereas anxiety is uniquely characterised by pursuit of goals in order to avoid negative outcomes. We suggest that these findings are compatible with regulatory focus theory and suggest that motives for goal pursuit are important in understanding the relation between goals and specific mood disorder symptoms.     

Psychological correlates of the French sound system

Six samples of CCVC phoneme sequences were devised to represent linguistically specifiable distances from existing French words, distance being measured in terms of number of substitutions needed to make an existing French word. Fifty-four native speakers of French rated the sound sequences for their subjective proximity to French, using ungraded rating scales. Results showed a general correspondence between the linguistic and psychological measurements, although certain phoneme sequences did not follow the predicted order. These were examined to see if their displacement could be attributed to the number of different French words reached through substitutions.     

Case Report: Direct Access Genetic Testing and A False-Positive Result For Long QT Syndrome

We report the case of a woman who pursued direct access genetic testing and then presented with concerns regarding a positive test result for Long-QT syndrome. Although the result ultimately proved to be a false positive, this case illustrates that costs associated with follow-up of direct access genetic testing results can be non-trivial for both the patient and for health care systems. Here we raise policy questions regarding the appropriate distribution of these costs. We also discuss the possibility that, when confronted by a direct access genetic test result that reports high risk for one or more actionable diseases, a family physician might feel compelled to act out of a desire to avoid liability, even when information regarding the accuracy and validity of the testing were not easily accessible. This case outlines lessons that can easily be translated into clinical practice, not only by genetic counselors, but also by family physicians, medical specialists and members of the public.     

Writing for publication group: professional development situated in the interstices of academia and performativity

This article features nine ‘narratives of experience’ illustrative of academics engaged in an alternative Professional Development (PD) activity, referred to as Writing for Publication, in a regional Australian university. Each narrative adopts a critical stance to academic practice situated in what Ball defines as a ‘culture of performativity’ perpetuated by a ‘global neoliberal environment’. Contrary to professional development built primarily around sporadic content-provision and credential-based activities, Writing for Publication represents an alternative approach to professional development, a loose-coupling model, that gives validation to academics engaged in navigating dominant neoliberal discourses driving higher education filtered through the interstices or sites for identity-creation, agency formation and emerging communities of practice.