Coping With Vicarious Trauma in the Aftermath of a Natural Disaster

This study documents the vicarious psychological impact of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti on Haitians living in the United States. The role of coping resources—family, religious, and community support—was explored. The results highlight the importance of family and community as coping strategies to manage such trauma. Este estudio documenta el impacto psicológico vicario que tuvo el terremoto de 2010 en Haití sobre los residentes haitianos que viven en Estados Unidos. Se explora el papel de los recursos de afrontamiento—apoyo familiar, religioso y comunitario. Lo resultados destacan la importancia de la familia y la comunidad como estrategias de afrontamiento para superar un trauma de esas características.     

Real men are made,not born! Incidental exposure to energy drinks may promote men's tolerance of physical pain

The energy drink market has grown exponentially since the debut of Red Bull. Advertising of energy drinks tends to reinforce an emphasis on masculine identification. However, no previous study has addressed the symbolic effect of energy drinks on pain tolerance, that is, a particular masculine characteristic. We conducted a priming‐based experiment to show that energy drink primes elevated men's pain tolerance. Induced conformity to masculinity norms mediated the priming effect of energy drinks on pain tolerance. These findings suggest that mere reminders of masculinity‐related products can lead men to behave accordingly in seemingly irrelevant domains (i.e., pain tolerance). Besides distraction and placebo treatment, the connection between a symbolic masculinity prime and greater tolerance of pain may shed lights on an alternative route for pain control.     

Conditional same/different concept learning in the short‐beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Echidnas have evolved separately from other mammalian groups for around 200 million years and incorporate a mixture of reptilian and mammalian features. Because of these attributes, they have historically been considered “primitive” animals. However, they have successfully adapted to a wide variety of ecological niches and their neurophysiology demonstrates a number of unusual and apparently sophisticated characteristics, including a relatively large brain and cerebral cortex and a comparatively massive frontal cortex. Studies of learning in the echidna have thus far been limited to only a handful of experiments which demonstrated relatively basic abilities such as forming a position habit in a T‐maze, successive habit‐reversal learning, and simple visual and instrumental discrimination. This study aimed to expand on these results and test the “primitive” echidna on what are generally considered more advanced cognitive tasks—same/different and conditional same/different concept learning. The results demonstrated that echidnas are able to discriminate on the basis of a relational same/different concept, using simultaneously presented multi‐element stimuli, and transfer that discrimination to novel stimuli. After further training, they were then able to repeat the performance when the correct choice was conditional on the background color of the stimulus panels.     

Mechanisms of Quality of Life and Social Support in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Cognitive and social factors are essential considerations in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient management, but existing research is limited. This study aims to expand the IBD literature by examining the relationship between social supports and QoL, while examining mechanisms in these relationships. Consenting patients attending an IBD outpatient clinic were provided a survey package (N = 164). Regressions evaluated predictors of IBD-QoL, and catastrophizing and optimism were examined as mediators between social support and IBD-QoL. Diminished IBD-QoL was predicted by younger age, greater negative spousal responses, and less perceived spousal support. Mediation models showed helplessness catastrophizing to be the lone mediator, acting as a mechanism between both negative spousal responses and perceived spousal support with IBD-QoL. Social interaction variables are associated with IBD-QoL, but patients’ experience of helplessness acts to reduce their ability to benefit from social support. Patient care should consider supportive social and cognitive factors to improve IBD-QoL.     

Can a right to health care be justified by linkage arguments?

Linkage arguments, which defend a controversial right by showing that it is indispensable or highly useful to an uncontroversial right, are sometimes used to defend the right to health care (RHC). This article evaluates such arguments when used to defend RHC. Three common errors in using linkage arguments are (1) neglecting levels of implementation, (2) expanding the scope of the supported right beyond its uncontroversial domain, and (3) giving too much credit to the supporting right for outcomes in its area. A familiar linkage argument for RHC focuses on its contributions to the right to life. Among the problems with this argument are that it requires a positive conception of the right to life that is not uncontroversial and that it only justifies the subset of RHC that seeks to prevent loss of life. A linkage argument for RHC with better prospects claims that a well-realized right to health care enhances the realization of a number of uncontroversial rights.     

“You’ve Got Mail”: a Daily Investigation of Email Demands on Job Tension and Work-Family Conflict

Journal of Business and Psychology - Email represents a useful organizational tool that can facilitate rapid and flexible communication between organizations, managers, and employees regardless of...     

Decision-Making in Mental Healthcare: A Phenomenological Investigation of Service User Perspectives

As Victorian asylums closed down in the United Kingdom, community mental health services were set up to support patients in exercising choice and freedom; in finding a place in society. The success of these services has been questioned, so further policies have been introduced in an effort to protect rights and improve social inclusion. However, capacity to make decisions has been interpreted as no more than a process of rational mental calculation. This article reports on a phenomenological study that explores the decision-making experiences of three men who have endured psychosis. It is not only associated with choice and freedom but also with responsibility, blame, and social exclusion. These men appear to have faced common existential dilemmas, but have sought to express emotional will in conflict with other people and have, perhaps, been placed under more social pressure and become more isolated as individuals, while enduring experiences that are difficult to make meaningful for others. It seems that, paradoxically, efforts have been made to empower these men by controlling them, and medication has been imposed on them so as to regulate thoughts and moods, in attempts to serve their best interests.     

The Use of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy With Older Adults in Mexico: A Preliminary Study

This preliminary study investigated the use of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) with older adults in Mexico. The three session SFBT treatment focused on a self-defined problem, such as relationship issues or psychological well-being. Compared with a waiting list control group, the treatment group showed significant posttest improvements as indicated by the Outcome Questionnaire, the participant and an independent assessor. There was a significant difference between groups on participants' perception of goal achievement and in pre-post change during therapy on the Outcome Questionnaire. This study provides preliminary tentative support for the use of SFBT with the geriatric population in Mexico.     

Combining disparate views of objects: Viewpoint costs are reduced by stereopsis

An issue of central concern in the object recognition literature is whether changes in the viewpoint from which an object is depicted produces systematic costs in performance, or whether performance is (largely) unaffected by such changes. This issue has generated a vigorous and lengthy debate because viewpoint-dependent or viewpoint-independent performance has been seen as a reflection of the underlying object representations. The current experiment shows that the effect of viewpoint differences between objects is strongly affected by whether or not they are depicted with stereoscopic depth, a result that is predicted by neither of the main approaches to object recognition. Instead, it is proposed that viewpoint costs in object recognition experiments are a function of the extent to which the information a subject is provided with generalizes across views, without this holding any necessary implications for the nature of the underlying object representations.