Look into my eyes: Gaze direction and person memory

The current research considered the effects of gaze direction on a fundamental aspect of social cogition: person memory. It was anticipated that a person's direction of gaze (i.e., direct or averted) would impact his or her subsequent memorability, such that recognition would be enhanced for targets previously displaying direct gaze. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with faces displaying either direct or averted gaze in a person‐classification (i.e., conceptual) task. Then, in a surprise memory test, they were required to report whether a presented face had been seen before. As expected, a recognition advantage was observed for targets displaying direct gaze during the initial classification task. This finding was replicated and extended in a second experiment in which participants initially reported the spatial location (i.e., perceptual task) of each face. We consider the implications of these findings for basic aspects of social‐cognitive functioning and person perception.     

The feasibility,reliability and validity of the EORTC QLQ-C30 in assessing the quality of life of patients with a symptomatic HIV infection or AIDS (CDC IV)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, reliability and validity of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (the QLQ-C30) in a longitudinal study of the quality of life (QoL) of patients with a symptomatic HIV infection or AIDS. The OLQ-C30 is a 30-item questionnaire composed of five functional subscales. 3 symptom subscales, an overall QoL subscale, and a number of additional single item symptom measures. The questionnaire was administered serially to a sample of 156 Dutch patients. The average time to complete the questionnaire was less than 11 minutes, with most patients requiring no assistance. With one exception (role functioning subscale), the data supported the hypothesized scale structure of the questionnaire. Eight of the 9 subscales met or approached the minimal criterion for reliability (Cronbach's alpha ≤ .70) at baseline and/or follow-up. The validity of the QLQ-C30 was supported by 3 findings: (1) the correlations observed among the subscales. while statistically significant, were of only a moderate magnitude, indicating that distinct components of QoL are being assessed; (2) a number of the subscales could discriminate clearly between patients differing in stage of disease and in Karnofsky Performance Status; and (3) significant changes in QLQ-C30 scores in the expected direction, were observed over time. These results lend support to the QLQ-C30 as a reasonably reliable and valid instrument for assessing the QoL of patients with HIV infection. Additional research is needed to improve the role functioning subscale. to evaluate the QLQ-C30's concurrent validity by comparing it with other available QoL instruments, and to examine more thoroughly its responsiveness to clinically important changes in patients' health status over the entire disease and treatment trajectory.     

Use of correlational data to examine the effects of risk perceptions on precautionary behavior

Abstract

The idea that perceptions of high personal risk lead people to adopt precautionary behavior (the “motivational hypothesis”) is mainly tested with correlational data. A review of studies from selective journals reveals a high proportion with methodological and conceptual problems that make them invalid as tests of this hypthesis. Three problems arc emphasized: (1) the misinterpretation of correlations from cross-sectional studies as testing the motivational hypothesis when they actually indicate the accuracy of risk perceptions; (2) the failure to control for prior behavior in prospective studies; and (3) the we of prospective studies in situations of little behavior change. Path models are used to help explain these problems. Recommendations for selecting research designs and for calculating the least problematic correlations are given, along with warnings about the many assumptions needed to interpret even these correlations.

Summary

Overall, 27 of the 61 cross-sectional analyses listed in Tables 2 and 3 were conducted using clearly inappropriate variables. The appropriateness of the remaining correlations rest on one or two rather questionable assumptions: (1) that people do not distort their risk perceptions to justify their behavior or intentions and (2) that negative screening results a problem like breast cancer do not affect perceptions of future risk. The correlations preferred for testing the motivational hypothesis are listed in Table 4.

Summary

When the amount of precautionary behavior in a population has become relatively stable and behavior at time t+1 is well-predicted from behavior at time t, no independent variable other than B_t will have much predictive value in a prospective design. To avoid this problem, research should be conducted at a time when a substantial change in behavior is occurring, such as soon after the risk is recognized. If this is not possible, interventions that lead people to change their behavior (e.g., by raising risk perceptions or by lowering barriers to action) are required. In effect, they remove the system from equilibrium and allow one to watch what happens as people seek a new equilibrium. The least satisfactory choice is to use a cross-sectional correlation, such as R _H?B, that represents a summation over previous changes in behavior. The assumptions required to interpret such a correlation have been discussed earlier.     

Cognitive and GMA Testing in the European Community: Issues and Evidence

This article reviews the evidence on General Mental Ability (GMA) and cognitive ability tests in connection with employment in the European Community (EC). Five themes are reviewed: prevalence, applicant reactions, testing standards, criterion validity, and recent advances. The first section shows that GMA and cognitive ability tests are used more often in Europe than in America. The second section, regarding applicant reactions, shows that the studies carried out in the EC have shown that there are no differences between Europe and America. The third section shows that there is an initiative to harmonize the standards used across the European countries. In the fourth section, we report on a validity generalization study carried out using the primary studies conducted in Great Britain and Spain. The results showed that GMA and cognitive tests are valid predictors of job performance and training success in both countries and they generalize validity across occupations. Furthermore, the size of the observed validity estimates is similar to those found in the American meta-analyses. Finally, two recent advances are mentioned: the British "Project B" and the use of virtual reality technology for predicting job performance.     

Combat Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Portuguese Special Operation Forces Deployed in Afghanistan

Several combat- and noncombat-related stressors have been reported in Afghanistan. There is now accumulating evidence that suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is linked to combat experiences; however, little is known about how these exposures might affect elite combat troops. This research aims to evaluate the prevalence of combat and noncombat related stressors, as well as PTSD in Portuguese Special Forces deployed in Afghanistan. Overall, participants reported high levels of exposure to combat and adverse physical conditions but also high levels of within-unit comradeship. The analysis also exposed that 2.7% of the participants reported symptoms compatible with PTSD and 8.8% with compatible partial PTSD. When the authors conducted a binary logistic regression, only the higher levels of combat exposure explained the symptoms of PTSD.     

Irrational Beliefs and Socio-Political Extremism

This paper discusses the role of irrational beliefs and socio-political extremism. A central feature of extremist ideology involves utopian beliefs regarding the perfectability of individuals or society. The relationship between these ideas and the absolute beliefs described in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy is considered.     

Navy Self-Paced Computer-Based Courses: Practical Implications of Saving Time Under Instruction (UI)

Previous research has shown that converting courses to computerized self-paced format usually decreases average time under instruction (UI). This study addressed three different Navy A-School course conversions, with a total of 4,417 students over 3 years. Converting courses to computerized self-paced format decreased UI by 12–42%, resulting in significant cost savings. These savings persisted, even when considering a decreased graduation rate in one class and increased time awaiting transfer (AT) in others. However, some aspects of instructional management became more difficult because of the increased dispersion of students' UI times. These findings have implications for instructional design.     

More Than Peaks and Valleys: Introduction to the Special Issue on Typical and Maximum Performance

Studies on the effect of enforced waiting periods in human-computer interac- tion caused by system response times (SRTs) have shown that work style and psychophysiological stress level are markedly influenced by the mean SRT length but hardly by SRT variability, although the latter is supposed to induce temporal uncertainty which is well known as a potent stressor. Hence, this study tests the hypothesis that temporal uncertainty can be induced by SRTs without any variability when their duration is so large that the user cannot ac- curately anticipate the next work step because of his or her limited temporal sensitivity. Reaction time (RT) measures on simulated system breakdowns show that accuracy of temporal anticipation of the next work step under SRTs between 2 and 8 sec is much worse than results of psychophysical stud- ies on time perception would predict, and deteriorates deviating from Weber's Law when SRT length exceeds 6 sec. Completion time of work steps, varied as a second factor, shows no significant main effects on predictability. The result suggests that predictability of work flow is markedly affected by long SRTs leading to changes in work style as shown by performance measures.     

Believe it or not: Exploring the relationship between dogmatism and openness within non-religious samples

Personality and dogmatic thinking within religious individuals have been examined by previous research, but neglected for non-religious individuals. In this experiment, we distinguish between two types of non-religious groups; those who ascribe themselves to an identity (atheists) and those who do not (no beliefs in particular). A total of 103 non-religious individuals (36% atheists and 64% with no particular beliefs) completed an online questionnaire measuring dogmatism and openness traits, with an additional Christian group (n = 91) serving as a control. After confirming a relationship between identity salience and dogmatism, and validating a measure of dogmatism (DOG) in both non-religious groups, we note key personality differences between the two. Those with no beliefs in particular demonstrated a traditional negative correlation between openness and dogmatism (along with Christians) while these variables correlated positively for atheists (in particular, on ‘unconventionality’). This study is the first to establish differences between the relationship of dogmatism and openness within non-religious populations and explain these differences through group identity. Thus, identity strength and group belief systems are suggested to be key contributors to observed group differences between non-religious individuals.