Mind and Its Evolution: A Dual Coding Theoretical Approach

The Psychological Record -     

Optimism, perceived risk of breast cancer, and cancer worry among a community-based sample of women.

Optimism is frequently inversely associated with distress; however, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Optimism can be defined as having a generalized positive expectancy about the future. The authors hypothesized that a specific expectancy might mediate the relationship between optimism and distress. That model was tested using perceived risk of breast cancer as a specific measure of expectancy and cancer worry as a measure of distress in a community-based sample of 1,366 women. It was hypothesized that optimism would be inversely associated with cancer worry and that perceived risk of breast cancer would mediate the relationship between optimism and cancer worry. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived risk partially mediated the relationship between optimism and cancer worry.     

Book reviews

Long, J. and Baddeley, A. Attention and performance IX. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1981. Pp 643. ISBN 0-89859-156-2. £30.

Cutler, A. and Ladd, D. R. (Eds.). Prosody: Models and measurements. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 1983. Pp. ix + 159. ISBN 3-540-12428-4. $24.

Wood, G. Cognitive psychology: A skills approach. Monterey, Cal.: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. 1983. Pp. 352. ISBN 0-534-01262-0.

Engelkamp, J. and Zimmer, H. D. Dynamic aspects of language processing: Focus and presupposition. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 1983. Pp. 102. ISBN 3-540-12433-0

K. Rayner (Ed.). Eye movements in reading: Perceptual and language processes. New York: Academic Press. 1983. pp. xxi + 526. ISBN 0-12-583680-5. £34.40.

Lass, N. J., McReynolds, L. V., Northern, J. L. and Yoder, D. E. (Eds.). Speech, language and hearing. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co. 1982. Vol I: Normal processes. (ISBN 0-7216-5641-2, pp. 422, $26.50.) Vol II: Pathologies of speech and language. (ISBN 0-7216-5642-0, pp. 368, $24.50.) Vol III: Hearing disorders. (ISBN 0-7216-5643-9, pp. 238, $22.50.)

Singleton, W. T. (Ed.). The body at work: Biological ergonomics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1982. Pp. 430. ISBN 0-521-24087-5. £32.50.

Magill, R. A. (Ed.). Memory and control of action. Amsterdam: North-Holland. 1983. Pp. 395. ISBN 0-444-86559-4. $53.25.

Hewstone, M. (Ed.). Attribution theory: Social and functional extensions. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1983. Pp. 256. ISBN 0-631-13322-4. Hardback £25.00; paperback £9.50.

Ellis, A. W. Reading, writing and dyslexia: A cognitive analysis. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1984. Pp. 147. ISBN 0-86377-002-9. Hardback £12.95. Paperback £5.95.     

Introduction to a Special Issue of the Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling

When offender profiles have been presented as evidence in court, although in a few cases they may have been accepted initially, they have invariably been excluded on appeal. But with the evolution of Investigative Psychology as a systematic science with a broader remit than producing ‘offender profiles’, a framework for contributions to investigations has emerged over the last 20 years that maps out the rich potential range of contribution to the legal process. This considers not only the drawing of inferences about offenders from their actions (profiling), but also examination of testimony and what psychological processes may indicate whether it has been distorted deliberately or accidentally. Further, the decision-making processes, especially as part of the investigation that gave rise to evidence presented are also subject to behavioural scrutiny. This special issue of The Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling provides examples of these contributions as a basis for encouraging debate about links between Investigative Psychology and the courtroom. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.