Stress on the dance floor: the cortisol stress response to social-evaluative threat in competitive ballroom dancers

The social self-preservation theory states that humans have a fundamental motivation to preserve the social self and that threats to the social self perturb biological markers such as cortisol. Five studies were designed to examine the cortisol response to competitive ballroom dancing as a paradigm for real-life social-evaluative threat. Competitive dancing produced substantial increases in cortisol compared to a control day. These increases were not due to the physical strain of dancing and were greater than those found during social-evaluative laboratory stressors. Responses did not habituate across competitions and were mostly elevated under highly focused conditions of threat (couple vs. group competition). These findings support the notion of a social self-preservation system that is physiologically responsive to threats to the social self.     

Diagnosis of psychological impairment in employment discrimination claims

The United States Supreme Court recently held that while psychological harm or injury is not a prerequisite to proof of liability in employment discrimination lawsuits, such harm or injury may be considered in determining employer liability. Other recent legal developments have also greatly expanded the opportunity for psychologists and other mental health professionals to contribute to determinations of both liability and damages in this legal context. This article briefly examines some of the aspects of workplace claims that evaluating mental health experts We need to address. Then the article focuses on the role of psychodiagnostic testing in the context of legal decisionmaking. Finally, the article points to gaps in knowledge regarding the role of psychodiagnostic testing in employment cases and suggests areas for future research on this timely but understudied topic.     

Measuring stress resilience and coping in vulnerable youth: the Social Competence Interview

A brief interview to measure stress coping capabilities was developed and tested in 4 samples of African American and White adolescents in low-income neighborhoods of 2 large U.S. cities. The Social Competence Interview (SCI) is a 10-min social stressor that assesses physiological and social-emotional responses to a recurring real-life problem. A new behavioral coding system using audiotapes permits reliable and valid assessment of components of social competence, including Interpersonal Skills (expressiveness, empathy), Goal-Oriented Strivings in coping (self defense, social acceptance, competitiveness, stimulation-pleasure, approval, self improvement), and Social Impact (high vs. low affiliation/control). High SCI expressiveness and self-defensive striving create a critical-aggressive social impact, which is correlated with increased hostility and anger.     

Appetitive and aversive olfactory learning induce similar generalization rates in the honey bee

Appetitive and aversive learning drive an animal toward or away from stimuli predicting reinforcement, respectively. The specificity of these memories may vary due to differences in cost–benefit relationships associated with appetitive and aversive contexts. As a consequence, generalization performances may differ after appetitive and aversive training. Here, we determined whether honey bees show different rates of olfactory generalization following appetitive olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response, or aversive olfactory conditioning of the sting extension response. In both cases, we performed differential conditioning, which improves discrimination learning between a reinforced odor (CS+) and a non-reinforced odor (CS?) and evaluated generalization to two novel odors whose similarity to the CS+ and the CS? was different. We show, given the same level of discriminatory performance, that rates of generalization are similar between the two conditioning protocols and discuss the possible causes for this phenomenon.     

Visual context modulates potentiation of grasp types during semantic object categorization

Substantial evidence suggests that conceptual processing of manipulable objects is associated with potentiation of action. Such data have been viewed as evidence that objects are recognized via access to action features. Many objects, however, are associated with multiple actions. For example, a kitchen timer may be clenched with a power grip to move it but pinched with a precision grip to use it. The present study tested the hypothesis that action evocation during conceptual object processing is responsive to the visual scene in which objects are presented. Twenty-five healthy adults were asked to categorize object pictures presented in different naturalistic visual contexts that evoke either move- or use-related actions. Categorization judgments (natural vs. artifact) were performed by executing a move- or use-related action (clench vs. pinch) on a response device, and response times were assessed as a function of contextual congruence. Although the actions performed were irrelevant to the categorization judgment, responses were significantly faster when actions were compatible with the visual context. This compatibility effect was largely driven by faster pinch responses when objects were presented in use-compatible, as compared with move-compatible, contexts. The present study is the first to highlight the influence of visual scene on stimulus–response compatibility effects during semantic object processing. These data support the hypothesis that action evocation during conceptual object processing is biased toward context-relevant actions.     

Test of a Factor Mixture-Based Taxonic-Dimensional Model of Anxiety Sensitivity and Panic Attack Vulnerability among University and Clinical Samples in Mexico City

The aim of the present study was to evaluate a factor mixture-based taxonic-dimensional model of anxiety sensitivity (AS) (Bernstein et al. Behavior Therapy 41:515-521, 2010), as measured by the ASI-3 (Taylor et al. Psychological Assessment 19:176-188, 2007), in regard to panic attacks, anxiety symptoms, and behavioral impairment among a university sample (N = 150, n _females  = 107, M _age = 21.3 years, SD = 4.3) and a clinical sample (N = 150, n _females  = 102, M _age = 39.0 years, SD = 12.0) from Mexico City, Mexico. Findings demonstrated cross-national support for the conceptual and operational utility of the AS taxonic-dimensional hypothesis (Bernstein et al. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 20:1-22, 2007b). Specifically, (1) the FMM-based AS taxon class base rate was significantly greater among the clinical relative to the university sample; (2) risk for panic attacks was significantly greater among the AS taxon class relative to the AS normative class; and (3) continuous individual differences in AS physical and psychological concerns, within the AS taxon class, were associated with level of risk for panic attacks, as well as panic attack severity and anxiety symptom levels. Similar AS taxonic-dimensional effects were observed in relation to degree of behavioral impairment across domains of functioning. The study results are discussed with respect to their implications for better understanding the nature of AS-related cognitive vulnerability for panic and related anxiety psychopathology.     

The effectiveness of personalized e-mail newsletters and the role of personal characteristics

Personalizing communication means creating persuasive messages that refer to aspects of a person's self. Although the use of personalization is increasing, research on its effectiveness is limited and the results are mixed. This study examined the persuasiveness of personalized e-mail newsletters in terms of increased attention, cognitive activity, evaluation, attitude, intention, and behavior by means of an experiment (n=109). Participants randomly received either a personalized or a generic newsletter advertising a sports center. Personalization triggered a more positive evaluation of the message; however, it did not influence the other effect variables. The effects were moderated by consumers' need for uniqueness, trust, and privacy concerns, suggesting that personalization is a good strategy to increase message evaluation only among individuals who have a high need for uniqueness.