Assessing Perceived Health and Associated Health-Promoting Behaviors: An Investigation of Methods Used to Assess Health Status

Health assessments have been integral in the development of health behavior and policy recommendations. As the nation's health status improves, information about positive health is needed to continue development of appropriate behavior and policy recommendations. In this study, perceived health, health behaviors, health care usage, and how participants defined health were assessed. Using reported health-promoting behaviors, respondents were grouped into high-, middle-, and low-health groups. Analyses found statistically significant differences ( p <.05) for all health behaviors reported and for life satisfaction. Each group's understanding of health also differed significantly. Results document the discriminating value and importance of positive health-promoting behaviors beyond their traditional role in prevention. Recommendations for health professionals' use of positive health assessments are discussed.     

The relationship between psychological type and the three major dimensions of personality

Five hundred and fifty-four undergraduate students attending a university-sector college in South Wales, United Kingdom, completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Form G) and the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The results showed a number of statistically significant relationships between the two models of personality and drew attention to two substantively significant relationships. In Eysenckian terms, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator constructs of introversion and extraversion translated as “neurotic introversion” and as “stable extraversion.” The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator constructs of judging and perceiving translated as “low psychoticism” and “high psychoticism”. Based on their interpretation of findings, the authors argue that the MBTI and the Eysenckian models should be viewed as interacting in a dynamic and informative fashion, not as unrelated, totally disparate models.     

Optic variables used to judge future ball arrival position in expert and novice soccer players

Although many studies have looked at the perceptual—cognitive strategies used to make anticipatory judgments in sport, few have examined the informational invariants that our visual system may be attuned to. Using immersive interactive virtual reality to simulate the aerodynamics of the trajectory of a ball with and without sidespin, the present study examined the ability of expert and novice soccer players to make judgments about the ball’s future arrival position. An analysis of their judgment responses showed how participants were strongly influenced by the ball’s trajectory. The changes in trajectory caused by sidespin led to erroneous predictions about the ball’s future arrival position. An analysis of potential informational variables that could explain these results points to the use of a first-order compound variable combining optical expansion and optical displacement.     

The effects of age on sensory thresholds and temporal gap detection in hearing, vision, and touch

Differences in sensory function between young (n 5 42, 18&#x2014;31 years old) and older (n 5 137, 60&#x2014;88 years old) adults were examined for auditory, visual, and tactile measures of threshold sensitivity and temporal acuity (gap-detection threshold). For all but one of the psychophysical measures (visual gap detection), multiple measures were obtained at different stimulus frequencies for each modality and task. This resulted in a total of 14 dependent measures, each based on four to six adaptive psychophysical estimates of 75% correct performance. In addition, all participants completed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1997). Mean data confirmed previously observed differences in performance between young and older adults for 13 of the 14 dependent measures (all but visual threshold at a flicker frequency of 4 Hz). Correlational and principalcomponents factor analyses performed on the data from the 137 older adults were generally consistent with task and modality independence of the psychophysical measures.     

Emotional and behavioral reactions to social undermining: A closer look at perceived offender motives

This study examined how perceptions of underlying offender motives affect victims’ emotional and behavioral reactions toward their offender. Perceived offender motives of malice and greed were embedded in a cognition–emotion–behavior model based on theories of attribution, forgiveness and revenge, and tested in the context of social undermining. Findings suggested that victims distinguished between offender malice and greed, and that these attributions shaped subsequent emotional reactions, which in turn demonstrated independent relations with revenge, avoidance, and reconciliation.     

Depression,Sociocultural Factors,and African American Women

The authors discuss depression in African American women from a sociocultural perspective, including aspects of oppression and racism that affect symptom manifestation. The authors highlight John Henryism as a coping mechanism, the history and continuing role of the African American church as a safe haven, and strategies for culturally competent practice. Los autores discuten la depresión en mujeres Afroamericanas desde una perspectiva sociocultural, incluyendo los aspectos de opresión y racismo que afectan a la manifestación de los síntomas. Los autores destacan el John Henry‐ismo como mecanismo de afrontamiento, la historia y el papel constante de la iglesia Afroamericana como refugio seguro, y las estrategias para una práctica culturalmente competente.     

The Effect of a Derogatory Professional Label: Evaluations of a "Shrink"

A study was designed to examine the consequences of hearing a mental health professional referred to as a "shrink." Participants ( N  = 129) viewed a videotape of a simulated therapy session after hearing a psychologist referred to as a shrink , a psychologist , or Mr. Smith . As hypothesized, exposure to shrink lowered evaluations of the therapist. However, this was focused on specific characteristics (e.g., expertise). After hearing the label shrink , participants expressed less interest in seeking therapy from the psychologist portrayed. The commenter of the shrink label was also viewed more negatively. The findings imply that the use of the term shrink may undermine people's attitudes toward mental health professionals, a consequence with implications for the utilization of their services.     

AGGRESSION AS POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN MICE UNDER VARIOUS RATIO‐ AND TIME‐BASED REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES

There is evidence suggesting aggression may be a positive reinforcer in many species. However, only a few studies have examined the characteristics of aggression as a positive reinforcer in mice. Four types of reinforcement schedules were examined in the current experiment using male Swiss CFW albino mice in a resident—intruder model of aggression as a positive reinforcer. A nose poke response on an operant conditioning panel was reinforced under fixed‐ratio (FR 8), fixed‐interval (FI 5‐min), progressive ratio (PR 2), or differential reinforcement of low rate behavior reinforcement schedules (DRL 40‐s and DRL 80‐s). In the FR conditions, nose pokes were maintained by aggression and extinguished when the aggression contingency was removed. There were long postreinforcement pauses followed by bursts of responses with short interresponse times (IRTs). In the FI conditions, nose pokes were maintained by aggression, occurred more frequently as the interval elapsed, and extinguished when the contingency was removed. In the PR conditions, nose pokes were maintained by aggression, postreinforcement pauses increased as the ratio requirement increased, and responding was extinguished when the aggression contingency was removed. In the DRL conditions, the nose poke rate decreased, while the proportional distributions of IRTs and postreinforcement pauses shifted toward longer durations as the DRL interval increased. However, most responses occurred before the minimum IRT interval elapsed, suggesting weak temporal control of behavior. Overall, the findings suggest aggression can be a positive reinforcer for nose poke responses in mice on ratio‐ and time‐based reinforcement schedules.     

Parent and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Parental Attributions

This study examined whether negative parental attributions for adolescent behaviour mediate the association between parental and adolescent depressive symptoms, and whether this relationship is moderated by adolescent gender. Mothers and fathers and 124 adolescents (76 girls and 48 boys; ages 14 to 18) participated. Adolescents were primarily Caucasian, and varied in the level of depressive symptoms (with 27% of the sample meeting diagnostic criteria for a current unipolar depressive disorder). Parents and adolescents completed measures of depressive symptoms, and participated in a videotaped problem-solving discussion. After the discussion, each parent watched the videotape and, at 20 s intervals, offered attributions for their adolescent’s behaviour. Adolescent gender moderated the relation between parental attributions and adolescent depressive symptoms, with stronger associations for female adolescents. For both mothers and fathers, both parental depressive symptoms and negative attributions about the adolescent’s behaviour made unique contributions to the prediction of depressive symptoms in adolescent females. There also was evidence that negative attributions partially mediated the link between depressive symptoms in mothers and adolescent daughters. The results are interpreted as consistent with parenting as a partial mediator between parental and adolescent depressive symptoms, and suggest that adolescent girls may be particularly sensitive to parents’ negative interpretations of their behaviour.