The representation of ontological category concepts as affected by healthy aging: normative data and theoretical implications

Attributes associated with concept representations, such as familiarity, typicality, and age of acquisition, have been shown to be important influences on lexical-semantic processing. In most previous studies of healthy and pathological aging, these attributes are not equated for younger and older adults separately on the stimuli used. In this study, normative data were collected to test whether there exist any age differences in these attributes. The results demonstrate that the ratings given by younger and older adults on natural and manmade category items correlated positively. However, age differences were also apparent, whereby older adults provided higher ratings overall than younger adults. Suggestions and hypotheses are presented to explain this pattern of age differences, which relate to how category concepts may be represented by healthy younger and older adults. Also, the possible implications for these differential age ratings on lexical-semantic processing are discussed. The age differences apparent in this study demonstrate the need to consider age-appropriate normative ratings in the selection of stimuli for use in lexical-semantic processing studies of aging, and the normative data presented provide a means of equating category stimuli. The complete list of all the means is available at www.psychonomic.org/archive.     

The moderating roles of self-esteem and neuroticism in the relationship between group and individual undermining behavior

The authors developed and tested a multilevel interactive model of the relationship between group undermining and individual undermining behavior in 2 multiwave studies of group members. Integrating the literature on group influences on individual behavior with the individual difference literature, the authors predicted a 3-way Group Undermining x Self-Esteem x Neuroticism interaction, such that the relationship between group and individual undermining would be strongest among those simultaneously high in self-esteem and neuroticism. The 3-way interaction was supported in Study 1 (457 participants in 103 groups) and replicated in Study 2 (415 participants in 93 groups) with additional controls and alternative measures of key constructs. The authors discuss the implications of the research and identify future research directions.     

Community based cognitive therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder following the Omagh bomb

Studies in academic research centres with selected patients have shown that several cognitive behaviour therapies are effective in the treatment of PTSD following traumas affecting individuals or small groups. Little information is available on the extent to which these positive findings will generalize to more routine clinical settings with less selected patients or to a trauma that affects a whole community. The present study addresses these generalization issues. A consecutive series of 91 patients with PTSD resulting from a car bomb which exploded in the centre of Omagh, Northern Ireland in August 1998 were treated with cognitive therapy, along lines advocated by Ehlers and Clark (2000). There were no major exclusion criteria and 53% of patients had an additional axis I disorder (comorbidity). Therapists were NHS staff with heavy caseloads and modest prior training in CBT for PTSD. A brief training in specialist procedures for PTSD was provided. Patients received an average of eight treatment sessions. Significant and substantial improvements in PTSD were observed. Degree of improvement was comparable to that in previously reported research trials. Comorbidity was not associated with poorer outcome, perhaps because comorbid patients were given more sessions of treatment (average 10 vs 5 sessions). Patients who were physically injured improved less than those who were not physically injured. Overall, the results indicate that the positive findings obtained in research settings generalize well to a frontline, non-selective service.     

Abusive supervision and subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior

The relationship between subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision and supervisors' evaluations of subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) was explored among a sample of 373 Air National Guard members and their military supervisors. As predicted, the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' OCB was stronger among subordinates who defined OCB as extra-role behavior (compared with those defining OCB as in-role behavior), and this effect was fully mediated by the interactive effect of procedural justice and OCB role definitions. The study's implications for theory and research are discussed, its limitations are identified, and directions for future research are suggested.     

After the break-up: How divorcing affects individuals at work

Divorce is one of life's most stressful events. By pairing two studies, using mixed-methods, and drawing on conservation of resources theory, we contribute new and previously unavailable information about three questions. How and to what extent does going through a divorce affect individuals at work? What factors differentiate a lower versus higher impact on work? Do work outcomes improve after a divorce has been completed? In Study 1, individuals currently in the process of divorcing report more negative mood at work, lower job performance, and lower health in comparison to employees recently divorced, divorced over 5 years ago, or never divorced. Qualitative findings illustrate vivid reports of intrusive negative affect and reduced focus at work. At the same time, nearly 39% of individuals reported that divorcing had a positive impact on their job, work, or career. Qualitative findings reveal that for some, divorcing frees up time and energy and amplifies motivation for work. Study 2 is a longitudinal survey study of individuals in the process of a divorce. Findings indicate that levels of divorce-related grief, quality of the dissolving marriage, the presence of children, and anticipated post-divorce financial stability differentiate between those with better and worse work outcomes. Individuals improve on work-related cognitive and physical engagement, job performance, and health after their divorces are completed. Our results extend empirical knowledge and theory with new insights about work outcomes associated with divorcing as well as the recovery of work outcomes over time.     

The relationship of the acquisition of manual signs to severity of aphasia: A training study

To investigate the relationship between success in the acquisition of signs and the degree of severity of aphasic impairment 12 chronic severely aphasic subjects participated in a training program for the acquisition of a vocabulary of manual signs. The results demonstrate a clear and significant relationship between severity of aphasia and success in the acquisition and generalization of manual signs. The results also indicate that there may be a threshold of severity of aphasia below which acquisition is negligible. Discussion is presented relative to the theoretical, clinical, and methodological implications of these findings.     

Cognition and Citizen Participation in Social Action1

Citizen participation in social action may depend, in part, on certain beliefs about the world and one's power to initiate change. Existing tests of internality and belief in a just world were modified, creating independent measures of belief in personal power and belief in possible injustices in society. The paper reports data on the reliability and the convergent and discriminant validity of the new Personal Power and Injustice scales. In Studies 1 and 2 the scales predicted outcomes in theoretically relevant experiments. In Study 3 they discriminated among community groups who did, or did not, engage in social action.     

Visual misalignment in arc and chevron figures

Five experiments investigated an apparent misalignment effect in 90 degrees arc figures. Preliminary observations showed that the effect occurs also in chevron figures, in an afterimage of the arc figure, and haptically in arc- and chevron-shaped objects. The experiments showed that the effect is greater with 3 radial lines than with 2, absent without them, and present in a figure consisting of only 3 radial lines. The effect with arc figures was consistently greater than that with chevron figures, a difference found not to be due to an apex marking the midpoint of the latter, and it was of intermediate size in figures with 1 arc boundary and 1 chevron boundary. The misalignment was also greater in narrow, elongated figures. The issues singled out for discussion are the effect of context on the misalignment effect with 3 radial lines, a possible explanation in terms of perceptual compromise, the difference in the effect between arcs and chevrons, and the relationship between this illusion and the Morinaga illusion.     

School Families: Implementation and Evaluation of a Middle School Prevention Program

The authors describe a school prevention program called School Families that emphasizes normal developmental needs of middle school students. In addition, the results of an in-depth qualitative evaluation of the program are presented. The School Families groups comprised middle school students, teachers, and adults from the university and community who meet weekly during the school day to process issues related to academic performance, decision making, self-esteem, and social skills. On the basis of written narratives, individual interviews, and focus-group discussions, the 35 participants (12 middle school students, 14 teachers, and 9 university students) reported that the School Families program largely had a beneficial influence on them.     

An evaluation of the long-term outcomes of small-group work for counsellor development

A questionnaire was designed which enquired into the long-term professional applications and outcomes of Rogerian small-group and Tavistock Group Dynamics training. The 92 respondents were graduates of either a Master's degree or a Diploma in Human Relations or Counselling Studies in a university course where a 'small-group' module was a compulsory element of the taught course. Respondents were drawn from graduates of these one-year full-time or two-year part-time courses over a 21-year period. All respondents were involved either directly in professional or voluntary counselling, in the application of counselling skills in their work, or in training in counselling and counselling skills at work. The respondents reported no loss of learning gains over time: ascribed the application of many specific counselling skills to the small-group training process; reported on the affective component of the learning process; and provided only minimal evidence of forms of psychological damage which could be directly ascribed to the experience. These outcomes have to be considered in the light of the relatively low response rate of 33% and the difficulties in monitoring the precise behaviour of the facilitators in the groups.