Post‐identification feedback: exploring the effects of sequential photospreads and eyewitnesses' awareness of the identification task

Two experiments tested whether the sequential photospread procedure would protect eyewitnesses against memory distortion from post‐identification feedback. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 245) watched a videotaped event and then viewed a sequential or simultaneous target‐absent photospread. After their identification, participants were randomly assigned to hear confirming feedback ‘Good, you identified the suspect.’ or no feedback (control). Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing testimony‐relevant retrospective judgments. Post‐hoc analyses revealed that the sequential photospread only protected against post‐identification feedback effects for participants who reported that, while they watched the video, they did not expect to make an identification. A second experiment (N = 320) was conducted to manipulate expectations about the identification task and the presence of the target. This experiment revealed that the post‐identification feedback effect persists across witnesses' expectations and lineup type. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Camping Programs for Children with Chronic Illness as a Modality for Recreation, Treatment, and Evaluation: An Example of a Mission-Based Program Evaluation of a Diabetes Camp

Summer camps have been recognized as a valuable means of delivering services to children with chronic illnesses. Although these camps exist in abundance across the United States, they have been largely underrepresented in the clinical psychology literature. Particularly, there is a staggering discrepancy between the number of camps in existence and the number of published articles pertaining to the systematic evaluation of these camps. We outline the potential benefits of camping programs for children who are chronically ill, describe the importance of systematically evaluating them, and provide a model for this evaluative process. We describe an evaluation of a diabetes summer camp and present implications of this study for camp decision makers and clinical psychologists working in pediatric medical settings.     

Evolution of an Inpatient Pediatric Psychology Consultation Service: Issues Related to Reimbursement and the Use of Health and Behavior Codes

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an inpatient pediatric psychology consultation service, with particular focus on issues related to financial reimbursement for services. Information was gathered over a four year period (2001–2005) regarding number of consults, referral source and referral question, type of insurance, and reimbursement rates for health and behavior codes versus mental health codes. The financial impact of hiring an insurance verification specialist was also explored. Results indicated that reimbursement rates for health and behavior codes were higher than reimbursement rates for mental health codes. Health and behavior codes were rejected in 31% of cases that they were billed; the primary reason for rejection was that these codes were not a covered service by Medicaid. Hiring an insurance verification specialist was found to be a cost-effective method for improving the financial “bottom-line” for psychology services. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Perceptual representation of spam and phishing emails

Understanding how computer users allocate attention to features of potentially dangerous emails could help mitigate costly errors. Which features are salient? How stable is attention allocation across variation in email features? We attempted to measure the mental salience of several email features common in spam and/or phishing emails. We created two email sets: one in which messages contained company logos and urgent actionable links and one without these features. Participants rated pairwise similarity of emails within each set. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis was conducted to quantify psychological similarity between emails. A separate group rated the same emails for presence of five other features: important downloadable content, collecting personal information, account deletion or suspension, advertisement, and large images with clickable content. Regressing feature ratings onto the MDS coordinates revealed that similarity judgments were influenced mostly by advertisement/large images and collecting personal information, regardless of presence or absence of company logos and urgent actionable links.     

Toward a More Complete Understanding of Bystander Willingness to Help: What Role Does Critical Consciousness Play?

Sexual assault is a common phenomenon on university campuses with about one in five women victimized while in college. Consequently, bystander intervention programs have been gaining momentum. To improve such programs, research has begun to identify factors that may facilitate or impede individuals’ willingness to help a potential victim of sexual assault. The current study adds to this literature by: (a) examining potential differences in rape myth acceptance, critical consciousness, and willingness to help based on types of self-reported exposure to sexual assault; (b) exploring the previously unexamined mediating role of critical consciousness in the relationship between exposure to sexual assault and willingness to help; and (c) clarifying how the extent of rape myth acceptance impacts the relationship between exposure to sexual assault and willingness to help. Using a sample of 511 U.S. undergraduate students, results generally demonstrated that those with multiple types of exposure to sexual assault victimization demonstrated the highest levels of critical consciousness and greater willingness to help. Additionally, there was both a significant indirect effect of exposure to sexual assault on willingness to help via critical consciousness and a conditional effect of exposure to sexual assault on willingness to help that was stronger at lower levels of rape myth acceptance. Results highlight the importance of programming targeted at increasing critical consciousness.

     

Retraction Note: Unexpected events disrupt visuomotor working memory and increase guessing

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - The authors are retracting this article (Finzi et al., 2018) because after publication they discovered a mistake in the behavioral analysis.     

Between-subject PREE and within-subject reversed PREE in spaced-trial extinction with pigeons

Three experiments explored the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE; greater resistance to extinction after partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement training), in a spaced-trial situation with pigeons. Experiments 1 and 2 report conventional PREEs with 24-h intertrial intervals and between-subject designs. The corresponding outcome (food reinforcement or nonreinforcement) was delivered after satisfaction of a fixed-ratio 10 (Experiment 1) or a fixed-ratio 1 (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 reports a reversed PREE in a within-subject design with a fixed-ratio 10 requirement. Extinction occurred faster for the response paired with 50% partial reinforcement than for the response paired with continuous reinforcement. A third response paired with a small reinforcer (1 pellet/trial) in 100% of the trials extinguished faster than a response paired with a large reinforcer (15 pellets/trial). These results are discussed in the context of spaced-trial instrumental performance (key pecking and running), in pigeons.     

Gender Awareness Inventory-VA: A Measure of Ideology,Sensitivity, and Knowledge Related to Women Veterans' Health Care

Within the Veterans Health Administration, it has become increasingly important to assess health-care workers' attitudes toward and beliefs about female patients, sensitivity to the unique needs of female patients, and knowledge about women veterans and the programs and services available to them. The current study describes the development of the Gender Awareness Inventory-VA, an instrument that assesses 3 components: gender-role ideology, gender sensitivity, and knowledge among health-care staff. Data were drawn from various samples of Veterans Health Administration employees in a large geographical region (overall N > 1,100; nationally, this population includes roughly 37% minorities). In a series of psychometric inquiries, evidence for reliability and validity was established, and preliminary evidence was provided for the instrument's underlying factor structure.     

Grip morphology and hand use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence of a left hemisphere specialization in motor skill

Three experiments on grip morphology and hand use were conducted in a sample of chimpanzees. In Experiment 1, grip morphology when grasping food items was recorded, and it was found that subjects who adopted a precision grip were more right-handed than chimpanzees using other grips. In Experiment 2, the effect of food type on grasping was assessed. Smaller food items elicited significantly more precision grips for the right hand. In Experiment 3, error rates in grasping foods were compared between the left and right hands. Significantly more errors were made for the left compared with the right hand. The cumulative results indicate that chimpanzees show a left-hemisphere asymmetry in motor skill that is associated with the use of precision grips.     

COR V2: Teaching observational research with multimedia courseware

Courseware for Observational Research (COR Version 2) is an interactive multimedia program designed to teach the foundation of the scientific method: systematic observation. COR uses digital video with interactive coding to teach basic concepts, such as creating precise operational definitions; using frequency, interval, and duration coding; developing sampling strategies; and analyzing and interpreting data. Through lessons, a case study, and laboratory exercises, it gradually scaffolds students from teacher-directed learning into self-directed learning. The newest addition to COR is a case study in which students work collaboratively, using their own observations to make recommendations about a child’s disruptive behavior in an after-school program. Evaluations of the lessons showed that classes using COR received better grades on their field observations than did those using methods that are more traditional. Students’ confidence and knowledge increased as they moved through each section of the program.