Attending, ignoring, and repetition: on the relation between negative priming and inhibition of return

A series of spatial localization experiments is reported that addresses the relation between negative priming and inhibition of return. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrate that slowed responses to repeated location stimuli can be obscured by repetition priming effects involving stimulus dimensions other than spatial location. The results of Experiments 2, 3A, and 3B demonstrate that these repetition priming effects may occur only when participants are required to respond to the prime display. Together, these results suggest that differences between attended and ignored repetition effects in selective attention studies of spatial localization do not provide a basis for distinguishing between spatial negative priming and inhibition of return.     

Attributional Style, Self-Esteem, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Test of the Hopelessness and Self-Esteem Theories of Depression

Research on the hopelessness and self-esteem theories of depression (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989; Metalsky, Joiner, Hardin, & Abramson, 1993) suggests that HIV-infected persons with depressotypic attributional style (AS) and low self-esteem (SE) may be at risk for onset of a syndrome referred to as hopelessness depression (HD). In a prospective study conducted to test these theories, measures of anxiety and depression, AS, and SE were administered to 85 HIV+ and 43 HIV– men; symptoms were reassessed 6 months later. Results indicated that: (1) The interaction of AS, SE, and HIV status predicted change in HD symptoms, but not overall depression or anxiety symptoms; (2) HIV+ men with depressotypic AS and high SE had increased HD symptom levels while other men with high SE had decreased HD symptom levels; (3) HD symptoms remained stable over the 6-month interval among men with low SE; and (4) High SE predicted decreases in anxiety symptoms among HIV– men, but not among HIV+ men. Contrary to the study hypothesis, these findings suggest that among individuals with life-threatening illnesses such as HIV infection, those with depressotypic AS and high SE may be at highest risk for onset of HD.     

Evaluating fidelity: predictive validity for a measure of competent adherence to the Oregon model of parent management training

When efficacious interventions are implemented in real-world conditions, it is important to evaluate whether or not the programs are practiced as intended. This article presents the Fidelity of Implementation Rating System (FIMP), an observation-based measure assessing competent adherence to the Oregon model of Parent Management Training (PMTO). FIMP evaluates 5 dimensions of competent adherence to PMTO (i.e., knowledge, structure, teaching skill, clinical skill, and overall effectiveness) specified in the intervention model. Predictive validity for FIMP was evaluated with a subsample of stepfamilies participating in a preventive PMTO intervention. As hypothesized, high FIMP ratings predicted change in observed parenting practices from baseline to 12 months. The rigor and scope of adherence measures are discussed.     

Cognition and Self-Control: Cognitive Control of Painful Sensory Input

Eighty Ss were first tested for base-level response to a pain-producing stimulus and then were re-tested on the same pain stimulus after receiving 1 of 8 experimental treatments. The 8 treatments were arranged in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design: presence or absence of hypnotic induction procedure; presence or absence of instructions for anesthesia; and presence or absence of demands for honest reports. Neither the hypnotic-induction procedure nor the demands for honesty affected the Ss'reports of the degree of pain experienced. The anesthesia instructions--"think of the hand as numb and insensitive as if it were a piece of rubber..."--produced an equal degree of pain reduction in hypnotic and non-hypnotic Ss and in Ss who were and those who were not exposed to demands for honesty. The results indicate that (a) Ss' reports of pain are less affected by demands for honesty and are more closely related to their actual experiences than has been previously assumed and (b) instructions which direct Ss to exercise cognitive control over painful sensory input are effective (with or without 'hypnosis') in reducing the experience of pain.     

The Association of American Medical Colleges and the Association of Medical School Psychologists: Finding Psychology’s Place in Academic Medicine

This paper highlights the role of the Association of Medical School Psychologists (AMSP) as a bridge between academic medicine and psychology. AMSP’s affiliation with Division 12 of the American Psychological Association is discussed, but the primary focus is AMSP’s affiliation with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the AAMC’s Council of Academic Societies (CAS). The history, structure, activities, and goals of AAMC and CAS are examined. AMSP’s affiliation with AAMC is important for psychologists in medical schools and academic medical centers, and for psychology in general, because AAMC is the major voice of academic medicine in the US. AAMC activities affect medical education at all levels, as well as research and health services at academic medical centers, and health care policy at the national level. AMSP’s dual affiliation with AAMC’s CAS and APA’s Society of Clinical Psychology will increase psychology’s visibility and influence in academic medical centers and enhance the two-way flow of ideas and information between academic medicine and psychology.     

Use of interactive voice response (IVR) technology in health research with children

This article reports on the feasibility of using interactive voice response (IVR) technology to obtain daily reports of attitudes toward alcohol and tobacco use among children 9–13 years of age. Two studies were conducted. The first was an investigation of the use of IVR technology to obtain daily data from a sample of primary school children over a period of 8 weeks. The second was an extension of the research to a large sample of primary and secondary school children in urban and rural areas who provided daily data over a 4-week period. Retention and compliance rates comparable to those obtained with adults were evident in both studies, supporting the feasibility of this technology with children. The results are discussed in relation to the benefits of this methodology for health research, particularly for studies of sensitive topics conducted with children and adolescents.     

Scented memories of literature

This study examined the effects on recall of story details of congruity or incongruity between the hedonic valence of literary texts and odours inhaled while reading them. During the reading session, 24 undergraduates (12 males and 12 females) read two passages involving positive subject matter and two with negative subject matter while sniffing pleasant or unpleasant odours in a within-subject fully counterbalanced design. Subjects rated their experience of each text on eleven 7-point scales. During the test session 48 hours later, subjects read a two-word title associated with each of the passages and inhaled the odour that was paired with it in the reading session. They also rated their experience on six of the scales that had been used during the reading session. Results showed that hedonic congruence between the passage and the odour fostered enhanced recall during the test session. The combination of positive subject matter and positive odour was reflected in more accurate recall of character details, while pairing negative subject matter and negative odour resulted in more accurate recall of setting details. Regression analysis showed that overall recall accuracy was increased by identifying with the characters in the stories and for passages that were found pleasing and personally meaningful. Consistent with the literature on implicit learning involving odours, recall accuracy varied inversely with perceived odour intensity. Implicit learning involving odours and literary passages is therefore fostered by unity in the reading experience.