Changing Race Boundary Perception by Reading Narrative Fiction

Participants read a story about a counterstereotypical Muslim woman and were then asked to determine the race of ambiguous-race Arab-Caucasian faces. Compared to a content-matched control condition, participants who read the narrative exhibited lower categorical race bias by making fewer categorical race judgments and perceiving greater genetic overlap between Arabs and Caucasians (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, participants determined the race of ambiguous-race Arab-Caucasian faces depicting low and moderate anger. Emotion-related perceptual race bias was observed in the control conditions where higher intensity anger expressions led participants to disproportionately categorize faces as Arab. This bias was eliminated in the narrative condition.     

The impacts of goal orientation,terminology effect,and source credibility on communication effectiveness

This research explores the interaction effect of terminology and source credibility on communication effectiveness between prevention‐focused and promotion‐focused individuals. Results reveal that communication messages containing terminologies are more effective than those containing no terminologies for promotion‐focused individuals, whereas messages containing no terminologies are more effective than those containing terminologies for prevention‐focused individuals. Furthermore, messages containing terminologies endorsed by either a high‐ or a low‐credibility source are more effective than those containing no terminology information for promotion‐focused individuals. However, for prevention‐focused individuals, communication messages containing terminologies endorsed by a highly credible source are more effective than those containing no terminology information. Alternatively, communication messages containing no terminology information are more effective than those containing terminologies endorsed by a low credible source.     

Type A Behavior,Experience, and Salesperson Performance

The findings of this study indicate that Type A behavior pattern, working indirectly through role clarity and effort, has a significant impact on performance. Experience was also found to relate to performance both directly and through role clarity. In the particular type of outcome-based sales setting where individual autonomy and entrepreneurship are encouraged, personal characteristics have significance for performance. Recruiting appropriate salespeople and retaining effective experienced individuals is critically important in environments that emphasize individualism and internal competition.     

The Phenomenology of Hairpulling in College Students

This study examined the phenomenology of hairpulling in a large nonclinical college student sample. Given that hairpulling is conceptualized as occurring on a continuum of severity, we expected to inform the assessment and treatment of Trichotillomania (TTM) by examining hairpulling behavior across its range of presentation. Hairpulling occurred at a rate of 9.7%, while average age of onset was 13.57 years. Self-reported hairpulling styles were identified with 31.3% endorsing focused hairpulling, while 68.7% endorsed an automatic hairpulling style. The most commonly endorsed ritual was “examine the root (37.3%) while the scalp was the most frequently endorsed hairpulling site (49%). Eyelashes were more frequently endorsed as a pulling site by focused (43.8) compared to automatic (5.7%) hairpullers. The hairpulling environments most often endorsed were “while reading” and “while studying” (75%). Affective states were found to change across the pulling cycle in support of hairpulling serving in an emotion regulation capacity. Focused hairpullers endorsed significantly higher trait anxiety than automatic hairpullers. Depression scores (BDI) were elevated for hairpullers compared to non-hairpullers. Implications for assessment and treatment were discussed and directions for future research were provided.     

Within the Limits of Civic Training: Education Moderates the Relationship Between Openness and Political Attitudes

Research demonstrates that the Big‐Five's Openness to Experience is inversely associated with political conservatism. This literature, however, implicitly assumes that the strength of this relationship is invariant across the electorate. We challenge this assumption by arguing that education—an institution designed to increase civic competence—affects the degree to which personality predicts various political attitudes. Specifically, we posit that education facilitates people's ability to identify issue positions that (theoretically) resonate with their personality. Using a national probability sample of New Zealand voters (n = 6,518), we show that education consistently moderates the relationship between personality and a host of political attitudes. Whereas Openness to Experience is inversely associated with politically conservative issue positions among the highly educated, it is often uncorrelated with the same attitudes among those with low levels of educational attainment. These results identify an important—though often neglected—moderator of the relationship between personality and political attitudes.     

Is Cinderella resurging? The impact of consumers' underdog disposition on brand preferences: Underdog brand biography and brand status as moderators

This research attempts to explore the moderating roles of underdog brand biography and brand status in the impact of consumers' underdog disposition on brand preferences. A total of 218 on‐the‐job graduate students were randomly assigned to a 2 (explicitness of underdog brand biography: implicit vs. explicit) × 2 (brand status: emerging brands vs. established brands) factorial design. Results show that consumers with strong underdog disposition are likely to generate stronger brand preferences for established brands accompanied with explicit underdog brand biographies than emerging brands accompanied with explicit underdog brand biographies; in contrast, consumers with strong underdog disposition are likely to engender no differential brand preferences for emerging brands accompanied with implicit underdog brand biographies over established brands accompanied with implicit underdog brand biographies. Moreover, consumers with a weak underdog disposition are likely to engender stronger brand preferences for established brands than emerging brands, regardless of the explicitness of underdog brand biography. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Videoconferencing and forensic mental health in Australia

Videoconferencing is in common use in Australian forensic mental health services. It provides opportunities to link remote prisons, courts, and psychiatric clinics with distant specialist services, and enables a range of activities including assessment, treatment and feedback, expert testimony, education, and inter-service planning. These functions are acceptable to patients and clinicians, and in Australia videoconferencing minimizes disruption to small services and their patients, who might otherwise face lengthy journeys. In particular, marginalized patient groups, including indigenous people and prisoners, may receive better services. The evidence base supports use of videoconferencing despite a number of practical, legal, and clinical issues that may reduce its effectiveness compared with face-to-face assessments. Videoconferencing technologies are critical to effective forensic mental health services in Australia.     

Cognitive behaviour therapy: an evidence-based clinical framework for working with dysfunctional thoughts

This paper discusses and illustrates three evidence-based clinical strategies that could be used to work with modifying clients’ dysfunctional thoughts. An effective strategy in shifting the client's dysfunctional thought is to engage the client in an examination of the logic of his/her dysfunctional thinking and to develop objective and abstract thinking that the client could relate to his/her personal experience/problem. Another useful strategy is to help the client to realize the consequences of holding on to his/her dysfunctional thinking and the potential benefits of changing. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the conceptual and practical issues that underpin an evidence-based clinical framework for working with dysfunctional thoughts. This framework will be of interest to practitioners and counsellor working in diversity of settings such as schools, university and college counselling centres, mental health clinics and hospitals.     

Healing and Hope in the Midst of Devastation: reflections on Katrina in the Aftermath of September 11

This article reflects on Hurricane Katrina within the background and context of 9/11. Included are other tragedies experienced in the School of Medicine when, combined with 9/11, laid the foundation for our continued working through Katrina.