Effects of alcohol sensitivity on P3 event-related potential reactivity to alcohol cues.

Although alcoholics and individuals at risk for alcoholism often show smaller amplitude of the P3 event-related brain potential (ERP), recent data (K. Namkoong, E. Lee, C. H. Lee, B. O. Lee, & S. K. An, 2004) indicate that alcohol-related cues elicit larger P3 amplitude in alcoholics than in controls. Little is known concerning the ERP profiles or alcohol cue reactivity of social drinkers at risk for alcoholism due to low sensitivity to alcohol's effects. Participants differing in alcohol sensitivity viewed images of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages while ERPs were recorded and provided information about their alcohol use patterns at baseline and 4 months later. Compared to high-sensitivity participants, those low in sensitivity showed larger P3s to alcohol cues, even when recent alcohol use was statistically controlled for. Moreover, the P3 elicited by alcohol cues predicted alcohol use at follow-up, a finding supporting the idea that P3 amplitude reflects the motivational significance of substance-related cues. These findings point to risk status, not consumption history, as an important predictor of cue reactivity effects.     

Prospective associations of co-rumination with friendship and emotional adjustment: considering the socioemotional trade-offs of co-rumination

Co-ruminating, or excessively discussing problems, with friends is proposed to have adjustment tradeoffs. Co-rumination is hypothesized to contribute both to positive friendship adjustment and to problematic emotional adjustment. Previous single-assessment research was consistent with this hypothesis, but whether co-rumination is an antecedent of adjustment changes was unknown. A 6-month longitudinal study with middle childhood to midadolescent youths examined whether co-rumination is simultaneously a risk factor (for depression and anxiety) and a protective factor (for friendship problems). For girls, a reciprocal relationship was found in which co-rumination predicted increased depressive and anxiety symptoms and increased positive friendship quality over time, which, in turn, contributed to greater co-rumination. For boys, having depressive and anxiety symptoms and high-quality friendships also predicted increased co-rumination. However, for boys, co-rumination predicted only increasing positive friendship quality and not increasing depression and anxiety. An implication of this research is that some girls at risk for developing internalizing problems may go undetected because they have seemingly supportive friendships.     

Think Leader, Think Male and Female: Sex vs. Seating Arrangement as Leadership Cues

This investigation challenged the long-accepted male-oriented ideology of “think male, think leader” by using social and gender identity theoretical frameworks to examine same-gender biases and the situational leadership cue of the end-of-the-table position. In an experiment consisting of 241 undergraduates enrolled in a large southwestern university in the U.S. (105 men, 135 women, and 1 sex unreported), participants viewed diagrams of male and female figures, in either same-sex or mixed-sex groups, and selected a leader. The end-of-the-table cue held, but the 120 participants (74 women, 46 men) shown mixed-sex groups with a man and a woman shown at both ends of a table chose same-gender leaders significantly more than opposite-gender leaders. Whereas the results suggest that the “think leader, think male” ideology still holds among young men, findings also demonstrated a shift away from this ideology among young women.     

Stimulus presentation versus stimulus removal in the Good Behavior Game

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention to reduce disruptive behavior. The GBG typically involves immediate stimulus presentation (e.g.., delivery of a token) following disruptions; however, experimenters have also removed tokens contingent upon disruptions. In the present study, we compared the effects of the GBG-stimulus presentation (P) and GBG-stimulus removal (R) on levels of disruptions in a 2nd-grade general education classroom. In addition, we measured student prompts, teacher praise and correctives, and student and teacher preference. The GBG-P and GBG-R versions of the game were similarly effective in reducing disruptions. However, the teacher chose to implement the GBG-R and the majority of students reported a preference for the GBG-R.     

The Impact of Contextual Self‐Ratings and Observer Ratings of Personality on the Personality–Performance Relationship1

This study examined 2 possible ways of increasing the predictive validity of personality measures: using observer (i.e., supervisor and coworker) ratings and work‐specific self‐ratings of Big Five personality factors. Results indicated that among general self‐ratings of Big Five personality dimensions, Conscientiousness was the best predictor of in‐role performance, and Agreeableness and Emotional Stability were the best predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Observer ratings of personality accounted for incremental variance in job performance (in‐role performance and OCB) beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings. However, contrary to our expectations, work‐specific (i.e., contextual) self‐ratings of personality generally did not account for incremental variance in job performance beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings.     

Pubertal development and behavior: Hormonal activation of social and motivational tendencies

Adolescence is a time of dramatic changes including rapid physical growth, the onset of sexual maturation, the activation of new drives and motivations, and a wide array of social and affective changes and challenges. This review focuses on behavioral changes in this interval and is organized by the claim that a key set of these adolescent changes are part of a more general re-orientation of social behavior. More specifically we hypothesize that pubertal maturation is associated with the activation of social and motivational tendencies, which in turn influence behavior and emotion in adolescence depending upon interactions with social context. We focus on evidence for two examples of these motivational changes: (1) increases in sensation-seeking (motivational tendency to want to experience high-intensity, exciting experiences) and (2) stronger natural interest in—and pursuit of—contact with peers and potential romantic partners. We consider how these motivational changes contribute to the broader social re-orientation of adolescence, including exploration of social experiences, development of skills and knowledge relevant to taking on adult social roles, individuation from family, and establishment of an individual identity, all of which represent core developmental tasks during this period in the life span ( 9, 16 and 62). The paper also emphasizes the importance of investigating and understanding the direct influences of puberty on behavior and disentangling these from the broader set of changes during adolescent development.     

Working memory training in older adults: evidence of transfer and maintenance effects

Few studies have examined working memory (WM) training-related gains and their transfer and maintenance effects in older adults. This present research investigates the efficacy of a verbal WM training program in adults aged 65-75 years, considering specific training gains on a verbal WM (criterion) task as well as transfer effects on measures of visuospatial WM, short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and fluid intelligence. Maintenance of training benefits was evaluated at 8-month follow-up. Trained older adults showed higher performance than did controls on the criterion task and maintained this benefit after 8 months. Substantial general transfer effects were found for the trained group, but not for the control one. Transfer maintenance gains were found at follow-up, but only for fluid intelligence and processing speed tasks. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive plasticity in older adults.     

Type-D personality and body image in men: The role of exercise status

The ‘Distressed’ or Type-D personality is described by the interaction between high levels of negative affectivity and social inhibition. This study investigated the prevalence of Type-D personality in men of different exercise status, the association between Type-D and body image perceptions, and the moderating effect of exercise status. Participants were 564 British males aged between 18 and 55 years. Of these 200 were classified as sedentary, 148 as active and 216 as weight trainers. Participants completed the DS14 and Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire. Results showed that more individuals were classified as Type-D in the sedentary group (45%) than the two active groups, and in the weight training (24.5%) than the active (14.2%) group. Both Type-D and a sedentary lifestyle were associated with a significantly poorer body image. However, exercise mode was not associated with body image differences. Sedentary Type-D men scored significantly lower in Body Areas Satisfaction and higher in Self-Classified Weight than both active groups. Regular exercise might provide a pathway for Type-D men to develop a more positive body image.     

Predictors of Farmers’ Market Shopping among People Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits

Promoting use of farmers’ markets (FMs) is a promising community‐level strategy to increase access to nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables. Yet, FM shopping among people with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits remains low. This research examined predictors of FM shopping among SNAP recipients living within 1 mile of a FM. A cross‐sectional survey of SNAP participants (N = 270) was conducted in 2015 in Cleveland and East Cleveland, OH, USA. Multinomial regression and zero‐truncated Poisson regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with FM shopping. Results indicate 48% reported shopping at a FM at least once in the past year, 26% had shopped at a FM before, but not in the last year, and 26% had never shopped at a FM. The multivariable analyses found awareness of FMs and a healthy food incentive program, and four dimensions of healthy food access are significantly associated with FM shopping among SNAP recipients. The food access dimensions included service delivery, spatial‐temporal, personal, and social access. Findings highlight modifiable leverage points for improving the reach of FMs among low‐income populations.     

Adolescents’ neural response to social reward and real-world emotional closeness and positive affect

Feeling emotionally close to others during social interactions is a ubiquitous and meaningful experience that can elicit positive affect. The present study integrates functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate whether neural response to social reward (1) is related to the experience of emotional closeness and (2) moderates the association between emotional closeness and positive affect during and following social interactions. In this study, 34 typically developing adolescents (ages 14–18 years) completed a social-reward fMRI task, a monetary-reward fMRI task, and a 2-week EMA protocol regarding their social and affective experiences. Adolescents with greater right posterior superior temporal sulcus/temporoparietal junction (pSTS/TPJ) response to social reward reported greater mean momentary emotional closeness. Neural response to social reward in the right pSTS/TPJ moderated how strongly momentary emotional closeness was associated with both concurrent positive affect and future peak happiness, but in different ways. Although emotional closeness had a significant positive association with concurrent positive affect among adolescents at both high and low right pSTS/TPJ response based on a follow-up simple slopes test, this association was stronger for adolescents with low right pSTS/TPJ response. In contrast, emotional closeness had a significant positive association with future peak happiness among adolescents with high right pSTS/TPJ response, but not among those with low right pSTS/TPJ response. These findings demonstrate the importance of neural response to social reward in key social processing regions for everyday experiences of emotional closeness and positive affect in the context of social interactions.