The massage in the medium: Transfer of connotative meaning from typeface to names and products

All text must be written in some particular style of lettering, known as its typeface or font. If it is once accepted that different typefaces generate their own connotations then every written word originates two meanings. Three experiments demonstrate that people who are asked to evaluate names and products are affected by transfer of meaning from the typeface in which they are presented. The meaning of the word is pulled towards the meaning of the typeface (assimilation), rather than pushed away from it (contrast). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postdeployment Suicide Risk Increases Over a 6‐month Period: Predictors of Increased Risk among Midwestern Army National Guard Soldiers

National Guard (NG) soldiers returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan were surveyed at 6 and 12 months following their return (N = 970). The overall prevalence of suicide risk at 6 and 12 months following their return was assessed, as were changes in suicide risk among soldiers initially at high or low risk. Factors associated with changes in risk were assessed. The percentage of NG soldiers with high suicide risk increased from 6.8% at 6 months to 9.2% at 12 months (odds ratio = 1.7, p = .02). In the 882 soldiers initially at low risk, 5.9% (52/882) became high risk at 12 months; in the 64 soldiers initially at high risk, 46.9% (30/64) became low risk at 12 months. Initial levels of depressive symptoms were predictive of changing to high risk; this association appeared to be partially explained by soldier reports of increased search in the meaning in life and higher levels of perceived stress. Because suicide risk increases over the first 12 months, continued risk assessments during this time period should be considered. Supporting soldiers to find meaning in their life after deployment and enhancing their capacity to cope with perceived stress may help prevent increases in suicide risk over time.     

Ready or not? Stages of change as predictors of brief group therapy outcome in bulimia nervosa

Although group therapy is often recommended for the treatment of bulimia nervosa, relatively little is known about predictors of short-term outcome. This pilot study examined whether a standardized measure of readiness for change might be related to changes in binge frequency. Sixteen bulimic patients participated in short-term cognitive behavioral group therapy for twelve weeks. Each patient completed the Change Assessment Scale prior to treatment, along with a battery of symptom measures which were readministered at the conclusion of therapy. Bulimic patients with positive outcome in binge frequency were at a higher stage of readiness for change at pretreatment than were patients with negative outcome. Results indicated that there may be methods of determining who would be most likely to benefit from cognitive behavioral group therapy, and tentatively suggest that interventions may be more successful when readiness for change is taken into consideration.     

Newcomer Information Seeking: Individual and Contextual Influences

This study examined situational and individual influences on the proactive information seeking of newcomers. Task interdependence was expected to be positively related to information seeking, given that it links newcomers to organizational insiders. Newcomers' work related self-efficacy and the physical accessibility of organizational insiders were both predicted to moderate the relationship between task interdependence and information seeking. Usable surveys were completed by 421 co-op students (295 males and 126 females) who had been participating in career-relevant internships for approximately 4.5 weeks. All students were enrolled in an educational programme that rotates students between twelve weeks in class and twelve weeks on internship over a period of five years. Controlling for the number of previous internships and size of work group, results supported the joint moderating effect, with newcomers low on self-efficacy exhibiting greater information seeking when task interdependence and accessibility were high. Applied implications of the results and directions for future research on proactive information seeking and socialization are discussed.     

Substance Abuse Counselors in Recovery: Implications for the Ethical Issue of Dual Relationships

The issue of dual relationships is a significant ethical challenge for all counselors. For the counselor recovering from an addiction to substances, this issue can be even more problematic. Existing codes of ethics offer insufficient guidance to the recovering counselor. Following an overview of dual relationships, the author reviews the ethical codes of the American Counseling Association and the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, with particular attention paid to their applicability to the recovering counselor. Potentially difficult situations are considered, and recommendations are offered both for the recovering counselor and for the counseling field in general to minimize the incidence of unethical behavior due to dual relationship issues.     

University Residence Hall Assistants as Mediators: An Investigation of the Effects of Disputant and Mediator Relationships on Intervention Preferences1

The present research investigated whether (a) preexisting affiliation (bias) between a mediator and 1 disputant and (b) interpersonal hostility between 2 disputants affected university Residence hall Assistants' (RAs') mediation strategies. Respondents (N = 45) read 1 of 4 versions of a dispute scenario; versions varied independent variables according to a 2 × 2 design (high vs. low mediator affiliation and high vs. low disputant hostility). Respondents indicated the probability of using 18 mediation techniques. Results suggested that both independent variables significantly affected strategy selection. When friends with the complainant, the RA was likely to first avoid mediating. Hostility between disputants was related to less problem solving. In all conditions. RAs mentioned techniques consistent with stage theories of mediation, moving from problem definition to problem solving to pressing the parties.     

Effects of Deviant Child Behavior on Parental Distress and Alcohol Consumption in Laboratory Interactions

Levels of adult distress and ad lib alcohol consumption following interactions with child confederates were investigated in parents of children with no diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Sixty parents (20 married couples and 20 single mothers) interacted with boys trained to enact behaviors characteristic of either normal children or deviant children with externalizing behavior disorders — attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Relative to the normal child role, interactions with deviant confederates were rated as significantly more unpleasant, resulted in feelings of role inadequacy, and produced significantly more anxiety, depression, and hostility. After the interactions, parents were given the opportunity to drink as much of their preferred alcoholic beverage as they desired while anticipating a second interaction with the same child. The participants consumed more alcohol following exposure to deviant as opposed to normal confederates.     

Orienting and humor responses: A synthesis

Evidence is presented for a hypothesis that a humor response is an instance of a more general orienting response. The two responses both occur to stimulus novelty or incongruity and are identical behaviorally and physiologically, althouth their subjective components may differ. Evidence for the hypothesis is based on a series of paremeters that affect orienting and humor responses identically. Parameters on which the responses show strong parallels are the effects of habituation and the degree of stimulus change. Weaker parallels exist for such parameters as direction of stimulus change, number of habituation trials, stimulus complexity, salience, intensity, and the subject's arousal level. The weaker parallels are also areas in which additional humor research is needed.     

Teaching chained skills in a non-school setting using a divided half instructional format

This investigation evaluated the use of dyadic instructional arrangements in teaching chained skills to four students with moderate mental retardation. Each instructional dyad consisted of two students. Each of the three cooking skills was divided into two equal parts, and each student in a dyad received direct instruction on one part of the task analysis during each instructional session. During the following session, the two parts were reversed and a student received instruction on the second part. A constant time delay procedure was used to teach the targeted skills in an off-campus setting. A multiple probe design across skills and replicated across students evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional procedure and teaching arrangement. Results indicate that each of the four students learned the three cooking skills. Implications for future research are discussed.