Speaker overestimation of communication effectiveness and fear of negative evaluation: Being realistic is unrealistic

Speakers systematically overestimate their communication effectiveness (Keysar & Henly, 2002). We argue that doing so is adaptive, reducing the risk of social anxiety and withdrawal from social situations. This hypothesis was tested by having speakers who scored low and high for fear of negative evaluation (FNE), a hallmark of social phobia, attempt to convey a specific meaning of ambiguous statements to a listener and then estimate their communication effectiveness. Low-FNE speakers consistently overestimated their effectiveness, expecting the listener to understand their intended meaning more often than listeners actually did. In contrast, high-FNE speakers’ estimates of communication effectiveness were consistent with the listener’s actual understanding. Signal detection analysis revealed that low- and high-FNE speakers were equally able to discriminate communication success from failure, but low-FNE speakers exhibited a stronger positive response bias. In conclusion, overestimating one’s communication effectiveness is adaptive, and accurate estimation is associated with dysfunction.     

What coping tells about personality

In this study, 123 participants (non‐psychology students) who responded to an interpersonal stress situation staged in the laboratory were judged by unacquainted observers in terms of the Big Five dimensions, intelligence and social attractiveness. Coping behaviour appeared to predict personality impressions in a way that mirrors the relations between personality and coping observed in previous research: Overall, higher levels of Extraversion (E), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C) and Openness to experience (O) (as well as intelligence and social attractiveness) were predicted by problem‐focussed behaviour and cognitive restructuring, whereas higher levels of Neuroticism (N) were predicted by withdrawal/passivity. The interpersonal impact of the particular coping reactions, as indicated by a positive personality impression, were largely inconsistent with their impact on affect following the stress induction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clamped Corticosterone (B) Reveals the Effect of Endogenous B on Both Facilitated Responsivity to Acute Restraint and Metabolic Responses to Chronic Stress

To determine the effects of both corticosterone (B) and chronic stressors on acute ACTH responses to restraint, young male rats were exposed to streptozotocin-induced diabetes, cold (5-7 degreesC) or intracerebroventricular (icv) neuropeptide Y (NPY) for 5 d and then exposed to restraint within 2 h after lights on. Two groups of rats were studied: intact and adrenalectomized replaced with B pellets that maintained plasma B in the normal mean 24-h range of intact rats. In addition to ACTH and B responses to restraint on d 5, body weight, food intake, fat depots, glucose and other hormones were measured to determine the role of stress-induced elevations in B on energy balance. ACTH responses to restraint were normal in intact rats subjected to diabetes or cold. By contrast, there was no ACTH or B response to restraint in NPY-infused intact rats. All 3 groups of chronically stimulated adrenalectomized rats with clamped B had facilitated ACTH responses to restraint compared to their treatment controls. Overall food intake increased in all groups of stressed rats; however, augmented intake occurred only during the light in intact rats and equally in the light and dark in B-clamped rats. White adipose depot weights were decreased by both diabetes and cold and increased by NPY in intact rats; the decreases with cold and increases with NPY were both blunted and changes in fat stores were not significant in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats. We conclude that: 1. diabetes- and cold-induced facilitation of restraint-induced afferent input to hypothalamic control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is opposed in intact rats by the elevated feedback signal of B secretion; 2. NPY does not induce facilitation of afferent stress pathways; 3. chronic stimulation of the HPA axis induces acute hyperresponsiveness of hypothalamic neurons to restraint provided that the afferent input of this acute stimulus is not prevented by B feedback; 4. stimulus-induced elevations in B secretion result in day-time feeding; 5. insensitivity of both caloric efficiency and white fat stores to chronic stress in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats results from loss of normally variable B levels.     

Auditory frequency generalization in the goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Auditory frequency generalization in the goldfish was studied at five points within the best hearing range through the use of classical respiratory conditioning. Each experimental group received single-stimulus conditioning sessions at one of five stimulus frequencies (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 Hz), and were subsequently tested for generalization at eight neighboring frequencies. All stimuli were presented 30 db above absolute threshold. Significant generalization decrements were found for all subjects. For the subjects conditioned in the range between 100 and 800 Hz, a nearly complete failure to generalize was found at one octave above and below the training frequency. The subjects conditioned at 1600 Hz produced relatively more flat gradients between 900 and 2000 Hz. The widths of the generalization gradients, expressed in Hz, increased as a power function of frequency with a slope greater than one.     

Health care utilization by low-income clients of a community clinic: an archival study

An archival study was done of 500 medical records from a community clinic serving a low income predominantly Hispanic area of Los Angeles. The data collected included demographic characteristics and presented symptoms or reasons for visit, as well as diagnosis and treatment. The greatest number of patient visits were made for family planning services. A large porportion of the patients who received initial family planning services failed to return to the clinic for follow ups or additional supplies. A total of 208 pregnancy tests were performed in 151 of the 500 cases sampled. Of these, 152 were positive. The most frequently stated reason for requesting pediatric services was for physical exams, accounting for 30% of the visits. It should be noted that the discontinuity of care and insufficient utilization of preventive care seen in these results deserve serious attention by medical clinic administrators. The rate of patients who do not return for family planning after the initial visit is worrisome. A greater effort to attract women to family planning services at the time they request pregnancy verification could reduce the need for abortion of unwanted pregnancy. The data also indicate that changes in the wording of certain questions commonly asked of clients may be needed. This study allowed service providers to obtain important information about their performance, their needs, and the future direction that their services might take. This type of analysis is relatively low in cost and can yield important benefits, espicially if done on a periodical base in a search for policy implications.     

Connaissances et contrôle exécutif : deux facteurs cognitifs de protection contre le vieillissement de la mémoire épisodique ?

In this study we refer to Craik and Bialystok's model distinguishing the “knowledge” (cultural learning experience that forms the basis for knowledge of the world) and the “executive control” (set of operations that control and regulate cognitive performance) as two main factors susceptible accounting for the age-related negative effects on the cognitive functioning, and for a possible age-related protective effect. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the possible protective effect of these two factors on the age-related decline in a cued-recall task. Four age groups of participants (20–39 years, 40–59 years, 60–74 years and 75–90 years) were administered with a word-stem cued-recall test to assess episodic memory, a “vocabulary” sub-test of the WAIS-R to assess knowledge and a reading span test to assess control. Results showed an age-related effect on the episodic memory, the control performance and the knowledge measure, indicating that performance decreases with age. A GLM analysis revealed a positive effect of the knowledge and the control factors on the cued-recall performance, and interaction between age and the knowledge factor resulting from a positive effect of the knowledge level only for the youngest group of participants (20–39 years). Furthermore, results revealed an interaction between age and the control factor, indicating a positive effect of the control level for the two oldest groups of participants (60–74 years and 75–90 years). These results suggest that, contrary to the knowledge, the control factor could be an effective protection against the age-related negative effects on the episodic memory.     

Attachment,perceptions of care and caregiving to romantic partners and friends

Across two studies, we examined the extent to which adults' caregiving responses reflect the quality of care received from their attachment figures. Study 1 showed that romantic caregiving reflected the quality of perceived parental and partner care. Moreover, perceived partner care mediated the link between parental care and romantic caregiving, suggesting that one's parental care affects the type of care one seeks or receives from partners, which in turn affects one's romantic caregiving. This describes a possible process for the intergenerational transmission of caregiving styles. Romantic attachment anxiety was associated with compulsive caregiving to partners. Study 2 examined causal mechanisms by priming a representation of perceived peer care and examining its effect on caregiving responses. As hypothesized, caregiving responses reflected the quality of primed peer care and were associated with attachment orientation. Findings provide evidence that individuals mentally represent the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of the care‐seeker and the caregiver during interactions and both influence one's caregiving to partners and friends. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.