Psychological Consequences for High School Students of Having Been Sexually Harassed

The psychological and educational consequences of sexual harassment for high school students were investigated in two studies. Both studies involved a modified survey originally designed for the American Association of University Women (1993). In Study 1, which involved 760 male and 779 female high school students (mainly 16- to 19-year-olds), we compared the behaviors and attitudes of (a) students who had recently been harassed and were upset by it, and (b) students who had not been harassed. Harassment led to several negative psychological and educational consequences rather than to a general stress reaction. Consequences varied with the type of harassment experienced. In Study 2, we surveyed 30 male and 67 female university students who were enrolled in a 1st year psychology course. We found that current doubt about romantic relations was associated with two types of harassment experienced during high school. Thus, some specific consequences of harassment might be long-lasting.     

The effects of feature type in operant serial feature-positive discriminations

In two experiments, rats were trained on two operant serial feature positive discriminations in which one feature was a flavored solution and the second feature was a visual or auditory cue. As in a previous study ([Goddard and Holland, 1996]), transfer of a feature’s control to the target of the other discrimination was not observed when the flavor feature and the reinforcer were flavored sucrose solutions (Experiment 1). The performance of comparison groups showed that this lack of transfer was not due to confounded differences in the event contingencies resulting from having similar stimuli serve as feature and reinforcer. By contrast, in Experiment 2, transfer was observed between visual and flavor features when the flavor feature was unsweetened and the reinforcer was plain sucrose. These results suggest that the lack of transfer in Experiment 1 and in [Goddard and Holland, 1996] study were related to the biological significance or hedonic properties of the sucrose feature.     

前额叶皮层在学习记忆中的作用

为了探讨前额叶皮层的功能,在被试进行联合搜索作业(Conjunction search task)时,使用跨颅磁刺激干扰被试者右侧前额叶皮层的活动,观察被试者在学习前后的反应时间的变化。观察到磁刺激干扰前额叶的活动,明显地延长了被试者在学习前的反应时间,对学习之后的反应时间几乎没有变化。这说明右侧前额叶参与了记忆的编码,对记忆的提取没有作用。     

Lifestyle and mental health

Mental health professionals have significantly underestimated the importance of lifestyle factors (a) as contributors to and treatments for multiple psychopathologies, (b) for fostering individual and social well-being, and (c) for preserving and optimizing cognitive function. Consequently, therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLCs) are underutilized despite considerable evidence of their effectiveness in both clinical and normal populations. TLCs are sometimes as effective as either psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy and can offer significant therapeutic advantages. Important TLCs include exercise, nutrition and diet, time in nature, relationships, recreation, relaxation and stress management, religious or spiritual involvement, and service to others. This article reviews research on their effects and effectiveness; the principles, advantages, and challenges involved in implementing them; and the forces (economic, institutional, and professional) hindering their use. Where possible, therapeutic recommendations are distilled into easily communicable principles, because such ease of communication strongly influences whether therapists recommend and patients adopt interventions. Finally, the article explores the many implications of contemporary lifestyles and TLCs for individuals, society, and health professionals. In the 21st century, therapeutic lifestyles may need to be a central focus of mental, medical, and public health.     

Low-Level Properties in Perceptual Experience

Whether perceptual experience represents high-level properties like causation and natural-kind in virtue of its phenomenology is an open question in philosophy of mind. While the question of high-level properties has sparked disagreement, there is widespread agreement that the sensory phenomenology of perceptual experience presents us with low-level properties like shape and color. This paper argues that the relationship between the sensory character of experience and the low-level properties represented therein is more complex than most assume. Careful consideration of mundane examples, like looking at a coin from an oblique angle, show that the low-level properties represented in experience do not necessarily figure in the sensory character of the experience. Furthermore, the sensible properties invoked when characterizing the sensory character of a perceptual experience are not necessarily included in the sensible properties represented in a perceptual experience. On this basis it is argued that perceptual experience has a disunified metaphysics, consisting in distinct sensory and cognitive components. The account is developed in relation to existing unified and disunified accounts, and discussed in terms of its implications for cognitive penetration, the reliability of introspection, the transparency of experience, and cognitive phenomenology.     

The Relational Impact of Multiple Sclerosis: An Integrative Review of the Literature Using a Cognitive Analytic Framework

This integrative literature review uses cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) theory to examine the impact of a chronic illness, multiple sclerosis (MS), on relationships and mental health. Electronic searches were conducted in six medical and social science databases. Thirty-eight articles met inclusion criteria, and also satisfied quality criteria. Articles revealed that MS-related demands change care needs and alter relationships. Using a CAT framework, the MS literature was analysed, and five key patterns of relating to oneself and to others were identified. A diagrammatic formulation is proposed that interconnects these patterns with wellbeing and suggests potential “exits” to improve mental health, for example, assisting families to minimise overprotection. Application of CAT analysis to the literature clarifies relational processes that may affect mental health among individuals with MS, which hopefully will inform how services assist in reducing unhelpful patterns and improve coping. Further investigation of the identified patterns is needed.     

The Importance of Assessing for Childhood Abuse and Lifetime PTSD in Bariatric Surgery Candidates

For bariatric surgery candidates, history of child abuse and PTSD may be under-recognized or under-reported at pre-surgical evaluation. On a range of clinically relevant factors, we studied 3045 candidates for bariatric surgery: (1) those with a history of childhood abuse compared to those without such history; and (2) among candidates with a history of abuse, those with a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD compared to those without that diagnosis. We compared them on current and lifetime eating disorders, physical health problems, health behaviors, physical functioning, psychosocial functioning, psychiatric disorders, emotional wellness, body satisfaction, and self-esteem. We hypothesized that patients with a history of childhood abuse, and within that group, those with a lifetime PTSD diagnosis, would display greater overall impairment. Patients were interviewed with semi-structured interviews and completed self-report questionnaires. Results showed that (1) patients with a history of childhood abuse exhibited significantly greater impairment than those without abuse; and (2) among candidates with a history of abuse, those with a lifetime history of PTSD displayed significantly greater impairment than those without a PTSD diagnosis. The findings suggest that a history of both childhood abuse and lifetime PTSD should be thoroughly assessed for at pre-surgical evaluation, and that greater attention be paid to the experience of PTSD symptoms in abuse survivors presenting for bariatric surgery.     

Exploring the relationship between compressed work hours satisfaction and absenteeism in front-line service work

There has been an upsurge of interest in compressed workweek schedules because of the opportunities they provide for enhanced organizational efficiency and more balanced work and life roles for employees. This study tested a moderated mediation model of the effects of compressed work hours satisfaction on absenteeism with the purpose of exploring both the mediation effects of emotional exhaustion and physical health and the moderating effects of sex on this relationship. It utilized data drawn from a sample of 236 contact-centre service workers linked to absenteeism data collected for a period of 12 months following the survey. Results indicated that compressed work hours satisfaction was associated with lower absenteeism and that this relationship was mediated sequentially through emotional exhaustion and physical health. Although the indirect effect of compressed work hours satisfaction on absenteeism through emotional exhaustion and physical health was not significantly different between women and men, the relationship between compressed work hours satisfaction and physical health was positive for women but not for men. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Can virtue be learned? An exploration of student learning experiences in ethics courses and their implications for influencing moral character

What does it mean to teach virtue, or to learn it? We consider this question through an institutional review board (IRB) supported research study attending to student learning experiences in undergraduate ethics courses at a Catholic university with an explicit commitment to social justice. This essay draws on and interprets qualitative data concerning the outcomes of select pedagogical approaches that involve exposing students to the experiences of others: the use of narratives; participation in structured experiential learning activities; and community engagement through deep listening and facilitated dialogue. We focus our interpretation around the implications of these pedagogies in relation to student understanding of and attitudes regarding three character traits identified as “other‐regarding” virtues in theological and philosophical scholarship – altruism, compassion, and solidarity. This paper considers the implications of these pedagogies and the practical effects of different sorts of teaching strategies on students' self‐understanding as moral agents.