Age differences in personality traits across cultures: self‐report and observer perspectives

Using self‐report measures, longitudinal studies in the US and cross‐sectional studies from many cultures suggest that the broad factors of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience decline from adolescence to adulthood, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness increase. Data are inconsistent on the rate of change during adulthood, and on the generalizability of self‐report findings to informant ratings. We analysed cross‐sectional data from self‐reports and informant ratings on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory in Czech (N = 705) and Russian (N = 800) samples. Some curvilinear effects were found, chiefly in the Czech sample; informant data generally replicated self‐reports, although the effects were weaker. Although many of the details are not yet clear, there appear to be pan‐cultural trends in personality development that are consistent with the hypothesis of intrinsic maturation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Basolateral amygdala inactivation impairs learned (but not innate) fear response in rats

Numerous studies have suggested that the amygdala is involved in the formation of aversive memories, but the possibility that this structure is merely related to any kind of fear sensation or response could not be ruled out in previous studies. The present study investigated the effects of bilateral inactivation of the amygdaloid complex in rats tested in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task. This task concomitantly evaluates aversive memory (by discrimination of the two enclosed arms) and innate fear (by open-arm exploration). Wistar rats (3-5 months-old) were implanted with bilateral guide cannulae into basolateral amygdala. After surgery, all subjects were given 1 week to recover before behavioral experiments. Afterwards, in experiment 1, 15 min prior to training, 0.5 μl of saline or muscimol (1 mg/ml) was infused in each side via microinjection needles. In experiment 2 the animals received injections immediately after the training session and in experiment 3 rats were injected prior to testing session (24 h after training). The main results showed that (1) pre-training muscimol prevented memory retention (evaluated by aversive arm exploration in the test session), but did not alter innate fear (evaluated by percent time in open arms); (2) post-training muscimol impaired consolidation, inducing increased percent in aversive arm exploration in the test session and (3) pre-testing muscimol did not affect retrieval (evaluated by aversive enclosed arm exploration in the test session). The results suggest that amygdala inactivation specifically modulated the learning of the aversive task, excluding a possible secondary effect of amygdala inactivation on general fear responses. Additionally, our data corroborate the hypothesis that basolateral amygdala is not the specific site of storage of aversive memories, since retention of the previously learned task was not affected by pre-testing inactivation.     

Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale: A psychometric study in a Portuguese sample

BackgroundThe Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS, Brazelton &; Nugent, 1995) is an instrument conceived to observe the neonatal neurobehavior. Data analysis is usually performed by organizing items into groups. The most widely used data reduction for the NBAS was developed by Lester, Als, and Brazelton (1982).ObjectiveExamine the psychometric properties of the NBAS items in a sample of 213 Portuguese infants.MethodThe NBAS was performed in the first week of infant life (3 days ± 2) and in the seventh week of life (52 days ± 5).ResultsPrincipal component analyses yielded a solution of four components explaining 55.13% of total variance. Construct validity was supported by better neurobehavioral performance of 7-week-old infants compared with 1-week-old infants.ConclusionChanges in the NBAS structure for the Portuguese sample are suggested compared to Lester factors in order to reach better internal consistency of the scale.     

Grammatical and nongrammatical contributions to closed-class word selection

Closed-class word selection was investigated by focusing on determiner production. Native speakers from three different languages named pictures of objects using determiner plus noun phrases (e.g., in French "la table" [the-sub(feminineA) table], while ignoring distractor determiners printed on the pictures (e.g., "le" [the-sub(masculine)]. The target and distractor expressed either shared or different grammatical and nongrammatical features (gender, number, and definiteness). A gender-facilitation effect was observed and attributed to noun processing. Crucially, across five experiments, distractors that shared a feature with the target determiner never resulted in longer naming latencies than distractors that were more different. These results indicate that activating related candidates is not detrimental for determiner retrieval, suggesting a noncompetitive mechanism of closed-class word selection.     

Does bilingualism hamper lexical access in speech production?

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that bilingualism may cause a linguistic disadvantage in lexical access even for bilinguals' first and dominant language. To this purpose, we conducted a picture naming experiment comparing the performance of monolinguals and highly-proficient, L1-dominant bilinguals. The results revealed that monolinguals name pictures faster than bilinguals, both when bilinguals perform picture naming in their first and dominant language and when they do so in their weaker second language. This is the first time it has been demonstrated that bilinguals show a naming disadvantage in their L1 in comparison to monolingual speakers.     

Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures

We examined patterns of trait similarity (assortative mating) in married couples in four cultures, using both self-reports and spouse ratings on versions of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. There was evidence of a subtle but pervasive perceived contrast bias in the spouse-rating data. However, there was strong agreement across methods of assessment and moderate agreement across cultures in the pattern of results. Most assortment effects were small, but correlations exceeding .40 were seen for a subset of traits, chiefly from the Openness and Agreeableness domains. Except in Russia, where more positive assortment was seen for younger couples, comparisons of younger and older cohorts showed little systematic difference. This suggested that mate selection, rather than convergence over time, accounted for similarity. Future research on personality similarity in dyads can utilize different designs but should assess personality at both domain and the facet levels.     

Understanding Pamina's recovery: An application of the hermeneutic single‐case efficacy design

This article reports an effectiveness case study of the individual systemic therapy of a 22‐year‐old Portuguese woman with a diagnosis of paranoid personality disorder, conducted in a university‐based clinic in Lisbon, Portugal. Data were analysed using the hermeneutic single‐case efficacy design, a non‐experimental interpretive approach that aims to determine whether change occurred, whether change was due to therapeutic strategies, and what in therapy caused the change. Results indicate that the treatment was effective and that de‐pathologising Pamina's condition and genogram‐based exploration techniques played a crucial role in her recovery.     

Rabbis and Health: A Half-Century Review of the Mental and Physical Health Care Literature:1950–1999

Electronic searches were conducted on PubMed and the American Psychological Association's database (PsycINFO) for articles that discussed the role of rabbis in relation to some aspect of healthcare. The two searches were conducted in each electronic database using the search-terms: (1) (rabbi OR rabbinical OR synagogue) OR (2) (Judaism OR Jewish) AND (clergy OR chaplain). Articles were classified by the year of their publication, professional discipline, type of journal (either religious or secular), and type of article: either research, or narrative and expositional. Rabbis were discussed most often in psychology, psychiatry, and behavior-related fields, and close to two-thirds of the articles dealt with mental health concerns. A statistically significant increase in articles across decades was found in the secular journals, r=.98, p≤.01, with over 70% of the articles about rabbis in the secular journals being published between 1980 and 1999. Many of the articles addressed collaboration between rabbis, psychiatrists, and other and mental health professionals and discussed previously identified themes related to professional collaboration and referral.     

Person‐factors in the California Adult Q‐Set: closing the door on personality trait types?

To investigate recent hypotheses of replicable personality types, we examined data from 1540 self‐sorts on the California Adult Q‐Set (CAQ). Conventional factor analysis of the items showed the expected Five‐Factor Model (FFM). Inverse factor analysis across random subsamples showed that none of the previously reported person‐factors were replicated. Only two factors were replicable, and, most importantly, these factors were contaminated by mean level differences in item endorsement. Results were not due to sample size or age heterogeneity. Subsequent inverse factor analysis of standardized items revealed at least three replicable factors; when five person‐factors were extracted, they could be aligned precisely with the dimensions of the FFM. The major factors of person similarity can be accounted for entirely in terms of the FFM, consistent with the hypothesis that there are no replicable personality types in the CAQ. Published in 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validation of a Portuguese version of the multidimensional measure of employability

This study describes the validity and reliability evidence of the multidimensional measure of employability (MME) based on the internal structure and relations to career self-efficacy and career success. Two hundred forty seven Portuguese persons (75.7% women) aged from 21–73 years old (M = 39.9, SD = 10.9) participated. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested adequate fit in the correlational and hierarchical models. Measurement reliability was good for total score and each factor. Correlations with the additional measures provided evidence of validity. MME provides a tool for research and career counseling, enabling comprehensive employability assessment and personalized interventions, while recognising the interplay between employability dimensions.