Development and psychometric evaluation of a rapid intimate partner violence perpetration screening tool

Current methods of identifying intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration rely upon lengthy screening instruments, partner injury, and legal involvement. There exist no viable, brief screening tools to facilitate the rapid and early identification of IPV perpetration. The development of a brief IPV screening tool would reduce participant burden and compensation in research as well as aid in self‐identification and appropriate consultation for treatment. Three samples were recruited and administered an IPV assessment measure. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to determine a critical subset of items that could be rapidly administered and used to accurately detect physical IPV perpetrators. A set of four items emerged that were capable of differentiating between partner violent and nonviolent participants in Samples 1 (the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) = .95, SE = .02), 2 (AUC = .98, SE =.01), and 3 (AUC = .94, SE = .04). Internal consistency of the screening items was acceptable across samples and the scores on the screening tool were significantly associated in the expected direction with all assessed risk factors for IPV. Initial evaluation of the rapid IPV perpetration screening tool suggests that it may help satisfy the growing need to quickly determine research eligibility and to help college students self‐identify risk, offering objective data upon which to base the decision for follow‐up consultation.

     

On the Road to Self-Perception: Interpretation of Self-Behaviors Can Be Altered by Priming

ABSTRACT In 3 experiments, some participants read a story describing ambiguously mean behaviors performed by another person. Other participants read the story and imagined that they performed the behaviors. Results showed that (a) exposure to a conceptual priming manipulation caused assimilation effects in actor meanness judgments, regardless of whether the actor was self or other, (b) tasks designed neither to heighten self-concept accessibility nor to threaten the self moderated the effects of conceptual meanness primes on self-meanness judgments, and (c) this lack of moderation occurred despite considerable evidence of self–enhancement effects elsewhere in self-judgments. A fourth experiment examined the extent to which priming affected interpretations of real self or other behavior. Results were consistent with the idea that priming altered event interpretation and subsequent judgments but also suggested that judgments were influenced by self-enhancement motivation. Implications of the results for theorizing in personality and self-knowledge acquisition are discussed.     

When death thoughts lead to death fears: Mortality salience increases death anxiety for individuals who lack meaning in life

Research derived from terror management theory demonstrates that subtle reminders of mortality increase strivings for meaning. It is argued that such strivings reflect efforts to prevent the anxiety that death reminders may otherwise cause. However, no research has directly tested the assertions that subtle mortality primes increase death anxiety and perceptions of meaning in life moderate this effect. The current study examined these predictions. Meaning in life was measured, death cognition primed, and death anxiety assessed. A mortality prime increased death anxiety, but only for individuals who lack perceptions of meaning in life. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

From Maclean's Triune Brain Concept to the Conflict Systems Neurobehavioral Model: The Subjective Basis of Moral and Spiritual Consciousness

This paper builds upon a critically clarified statement of the triune brain concept to set out the conflict systems neurobehavioral model. The model defines the reciprocal algorithms (rules of procedure) of behavior from evolved brain structure. The algorithms are driven by subjectively experienced behavioral tension as the self-preservational programming, common to our ancestral vertebrates, frequently tugs and pulls against the affectional program-ming of our mammalian legacy. The yoking ( zygon ) of the dual algorithmic dynamic accounts for the emergence of moral and spiritual consciousness as manifested in the universal norm of reciprocity and in the work of such thinkersas Martin Buber and Paul Tillich.     

A prologue to nostalgia: savouring creates nostalgic memories that foster optimism

How are nostalgic memories created? We considered savouring as one process involved in the genesis of nostalgia. Whereas nostalgia refers to an emotional reflection upon past experiences, savouring is a process in which individuals deeply attend to and consciously capture a present experience for subsequent reflection. Thus, having savoured an experience may increase the likelihood that it will later be reflected upon nostalgically. Additionally, to examine how cognitive and emotional processes are linked across time, we tested whether nostalgia for a previously savoured experience predicts optimism for the future. Retrospective reports of having savoured a positive event were associated with greater nostalgia for the event (Study 1). Retrospective reports of savouring a time period (college) were associated with greater nostalgia for that time period when participants were in a setting (alumni reunion event) that prompted thoughts of the time period (Study 2). Savouring an experience predicted nostalgia for the experience 4–9 months later (Study 3). Additionally, nostalgia was associated with greater optimism (Studies 2-3). Thus, savouring provides a foundation for nostalgic memories and an ensuing optimism.     

Porn Sex Versus Real Sex: How Sexually Explicit Material Shapes Our Understanding of Sexual Anatomy,Physiology, and Behaviour

Given that consumption of sexually explicit material (SEM) and sexual behaviour are inextricably linked, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency of SEM consumption predicts knowledge of sexual human anatomy, physiology, and typically practiced sexual behaviour. A secondary purpose was to investigate self-perceived effects of SEM consumption and whether participants report SEM as a positive or negative contributor to various aspects of life. Using a modified version of the Pornography Consumption Questionnaire and the Falsification Anatomy Questionnaire, we determined that contrary to expectations, frequency of SEM exposure did not contribute to inaccurate knowledge of sexual anatomy, physiology, and behaviour. Rather, the opposite relationship was found. However, in concert with previous literature, participants reported greater positive self-perceived effects of SEM consumption than negative effects.     

Block of glucocorticoid synthesis during re-activation inhibits extinction of an established fear memory

BackgroundThe pharmacology of traumatic memory extinction has not been fully characterized despite its potential as a therapeutic target for established, acquired anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here we examine the role of endogenous glucocorticoids in traumatic memory extinction.MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were injected with corticosterone (10 mg/kg, i.p.) or metyrapone (50 mg/kg, s.c.) during re-activation of a contextual fear memory, and compared to vehicle groups (N = 10–12 per group). To ensure that metyrapone was blocking corticosterone synthesis, we measured corticosterone levels following re-activation of a fear memory in metyrapone- and vehicle-treated animals.ResultsCorticosterone administration following extinction trials caused a long-lasting inhibition of the original fear memory trace. In contrast, blockade of corticosteroid synthesis with metyrapone prior to extinction trials enhanced retrieval and prevented extinction of context-dependent fear responses in mice. Further behavioral analysis suggested that the metyrapone enhancement of retrieval and prevention of extinction were not due to non-specific alterations in locomotor or anxiety-like behavior. In addition, the inhibition of extinction by metyrapone was rescued by exogenous administration of corticosterone following extinction trials. Finally, we confirmed that the rise in corticosterone during re-activation of a contextual fear memory was blocked by metyrapone.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that extinction of a classical contextual fear memory is dependent on endogenous glucocorticoid synthesis during re-activation of a fear memory. Our data suggest that decreased glucocorticoids during fear memory re-activation may contribute to the inability to extinguish a fear memory, thus contributing to one of the core symptoms of PTSD.