Making faces: Creating three-dimensional parameterized models of facial expression

Previous studies of the perceptual processing and dynamics of emotional expression in faces have been limited by the lack of realistic yet controlled stimuli. The present work offers researchers a method for creating such stimuli for exploring these phenomena. We describe the creation of the stimuli and a series of experiments testing the validity of these stimuli with respect to emotional expressions in humans. Participants evaluated synthesized facial images and standardized photographs of six basic emotional expressions for intensity and accuracy of perceived emotion. Comparisons of these measures were qualitatively similar for synthesized and photographed faces. A manipulation of the magnitude of the synthesized expressions yielded a significant effect on the perceived intensity of expression. In a subsequent multidimensional scaling study, no systematic differences were uncovered in the derived configurations of the synthesized expressions and the photographs. These results are discussed in the context of possible future research applications.     

Anaphoric inference during reading

Three experiments provide evidence that an anaphoric noun phrase reinstates its antecedent in the course of comprehension. Subjects read a series of texts each containing a target item. Immediately after the last line of each text, the item was probed using a recognition task in Experiment 1 and a naming task in Experiment 2. Subjects were faster to respond to the item when the last line contained an anaphoric reference to it than when the last line referred to a different item from the text. Additional control conditions ensured that the effect was not due to semantic priming and that the probed item was not in working memory when the last line was encountered. A third experiment suggested that previous evidence for reinstatement reflected interference from a change of topic in the last line rather than facilitation due to reinstatement of the probed item.     

A computer program for determining optimal data transformations minimizing skew

A program is presented that solves for an optimal transformation of data that minimizes skew. Various possible transformations are represented by a function that depends upon a single parameter, λ. A process of iterative approximations is employed to find a value of λ that will transform the data so as to produce a third moment equal to zero. The transformation found by this process may be used as computed or used to indicate which of the commonly employed transformations will most adequately counteract skew. The use of this program in processing data before analysis of variance is discussed.     

Comparison of outcomes across low-intensity psychological interventions for depression and anxiety within a stepped-care setting: A naturalistic cohort study using propensity score modelling

Low-intensity interventions for common mental disorders (CMD) address issues such as clinician shortages and barriers to accessing care. However, there is a lack of research into their comparative effectiveness in routine care. We aimed to compare treatment effects of three such interventions, utilizing four years' worth of routine clinical data. Users completing a course of guided self-help bibliotherapy (GSH), internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) or psychoeducational group therapy (PGT) from a stepped-care service within the NHS in England were included. Propensity score models (stratification and weighting) were used to control for allocation bias and determine average treatment effect (ATE) between the interventions. 21,215 users comprised the study sample (GSH = 12,896, iCBT = 6862, PGT = 1457). Adherence-to-treatment rates were higher in iCBT. All interventions showed significant improvements in depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and functioning (WSAS) scores, with largest effect sizes for iCBT. Both propensity score models showed a significant ATE in favour of iCBT versus GSH and PGT, and in favour of GSH versus PGT. Discernible differences in effectiveness were seen for iCBT in comparison with GSH and PGT. Given variance in delivery mode and human resources between different low-intensity interventions, building on these findings would be valuable for future service provision and policy decision making.     

Research and Action for Bridging Science and Practice in Prevention

There is a well-known gap between science and practice. To address this gap in the areas of Child Maltreatment (CM) and Youth Violence (Y/V), the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) embarked on a Dissemination/Implementation (D/I) planning project. The project was aimed at identifying better ways to connect research and practice through reviews of the literature as well as through discussions with experts on violence prevention and research utilization. This introductory article sets the stage for the rest of the special issue by defining terms, providing a rationale for the planning project, describing the planning process, and summarizing what is to come in the rest of the issue. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.     

Promoting Science-based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention: Proactively Engaging the Three Systems of the Interactive Systems Framework

In the field of teen pregnancy prevention many efficacious prevention programs are available but adoption of these programs is slow at the community level. In this article, we present a multi-site, capacity-building effort called the Promoting Science-based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention project (PSBA) as a case example of a proactive application of the Interactive System Framework (ISF) for dissemination and implementation. The ISF is a multi-system model leading to dissemination and implementation of science-based prevention programming through the work of three interactive systems: The "Prevention Delivery," "Prevention Support," and "Prevention Synthesis & Translation" Systems. This article describes the proactive use of the ISF to conceptualize and bolster the PSBA program's goal of assisting local prevention partners in the use of science-based approaches (SBA) to prevent teen pregnancy. PSBA uses all three systems of the ISF to facilitate practice improvements and offers valuable research opportunities to investigate factors related to dissemination and implementation processes across these systems. Describing our application of this framework highlights the feasibility of actively using the ISF to build prevention infrastructure and to guide large-scale prevention promotion strategies in the area of teen pregnancy prevention. The program's ongoing evaluation is presented as an example of early efforts to develop an evidence base around the ISF. Research implications are discussed.     

Mnemonic Context Effect in Two Cultures: Attention to Memory Representations?

In two experiments we demonstrate a substantial cross-cultural difference in a mnemonic context effect, whereby a magnitude estimate of a simple stimulus such as a line or circle is biased toward the center of the distribution of previously seen instances of the same class. In support of the hypothesis that Asians are more likely than Americans to disperse their attention to both the target stimulus and its mnemonic context, this effect was consistently larger for Japanese than for Americans. Moreover, the cultural difference was attenuated by an experimentally induced belief in class homogeneity that augmented the context effect itself in both cultures. More important, these belief effects happened in the absence of any objective change in stimulus distribution. Implications for sociocultural shaping of cognition are discussed.     

Personality moderators of the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' resistance

Results of a study using data collected at 2 points in time, separated by 6 months, suggested that subordinates resisted their supervisors' downward influence tactics with greater frequency when their supervisors were more abusive and that subordinates' personality moderated the effects of abusive supervision. The relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' dysfunctional resistance was stronger among subordinates who were lower in conscientiousness than among subordinates who were higher in conscientiousness, but this effect emerged only for subordinates who were also lower in agreeableness. The relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' constructive resistance was stronger among subordinates who were higher in conscientiousness than among subordinates who were lower in conscientiousness. The study's implications for theory and research are discussed.     

To master or perform? Exploring relations between achievement goals and conceptual change learning

Background. Research is needed to explore conceptual change in relation to achievement goal orientations and depth of processing. Aims. To address this need, we examined relations between achievement goals, use of deep versus shallow processing strategies, and conceptual change learning using a think‐aloud protocol. Sample and Method. Seventy‐three undergraduate students were assessed on their prior knowledge and misconceptions about Newtonian mechanics, and then reported their achievement goals and participated in think‐aloud protocols while reading Newtonian physics texts. Results. A mastery‐approach goal orientation positively predicted deep processing strategies, shallow processing strategies, and conceptual change. In contrast, a performance‐approach goal orientation did not predict either of the processing strategies, but negatively predicted conceptual change. A performance‐avoidance goal orientation negatively predicted deep processing strategies and conceptual change. Moreover, deep and shallow processing strategies positively predicted conceptual change as well as recall. Finally, both deep and shallow processing strategies mediated relations between mastery‐approach goals and conceptual change. Conclusions. Results provide some support for Dole and Sinatra's (1998) Cognitive Reconstruction of Knowledge Model of conceptual change but also challenge specific facets with regard to the role of depth of processing in conceptual change.