Augmented input reveals word deafness in a man with frontotemporal dementia

We describe a 57 year old, right handed, English speaking man initially diagnosed with progressive aphasia. Language assessment revealed inconsistent performance in key areas. Expressive language was reduced to a few short, perseverative phrases. Speech was severely apraxic. Primary modes of communication included gesture, pointing, gaze, physical touch and leading. Responses were 100% accurate when he was provided with written words, with random or inaccurate responses for strictly auditory/verbal input. When instructions to subsequent neuropsychological tests were written instead of spoken, performance improved markedly. A comprehensive audiology assessment revealed no hearing impairment. Neuroimaging was unremarkable. Neurobehavioral evaluation utilizing written input led to diagnoses of word deafness and frontotemporal dementia, resulting in very different management. We highlight the need for alternative modes of language input for assessment and treatment of patients with language comprehension symptoms.     

The Islamophobia Scale: Instrument Development and Initial Validation

Opinion poll research suggests that a significant number of Westerners hold negative and fearful perceptions toward Muslims and their religion. Although evidence of Islamophobia has been documented in a number of poll studies, no psychometrically based, multifaceted measure that focuses exclusively on fear related attitudes and is not confounded with a particular group currently exists in the scientific literature. The authors of this study describe the development and psychometric properties of the Islamophobia Scale, which measures cognitive and affective-behavioral facets of fear-related attitudes toward the religion of Islam and Muslims. The results of the study demonstrate a measure of Islamophobia that yielded acceptable psychometric properties of reliability and validity.     

The fading affect bias across alcohol consumption frequency for alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related events

The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) is the tendency for unpleasant emotions to fade more over time than pleasant emotions (Walker, Vogl, & Thompson, 1997). The FAB is negatively related to dysphoria (Walker, Skowronski, Gibbons, Vogl, & Thompson, 2003), which led researchers to suggest that the FAB is a healthy coping mechanism that improves the overall positivity of life (Walker, Skowronski, & Thompson, 2003). The FAB may also reinforce certain maladaptive behaviors, such as drinking alcohol, as the unpleasant emotions associated with those behaviors quickly fade from memory, and increase the likelihood of those behaviors in the future. If the FAB increases the likelihood of maladaptive alcohol consumption, the FAB should be greatest for ordinary events at low alcohol consumption levels, whereas the FAB should be greatest for alcohol events at high alcohol consumption levels. The results of two studies provided support for the hypotheses. The implications are discussed.     

Identity and Location Priming Effects and their Temporal Stability in Young and Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Unlike previous studies, the present experiment was designed to directly compare negative (NP) and positive priming (PP) in 37 young (mean age: 21.5 years) and 37 older adults (mean age: 69.4 years) by means of two independent identity- and location-based priming tasks. While identity PP was shown to be reduced in older adults, no age-related differences were found for location PP. This pattern of results supports the notion that mechanisms involved in identity- and location-based PP are largely independent of each other. Both age groups exhibited reliable identity and location NP although location NP was decreased in older adults. Extremely low temporal test–retest coefficients indicated that mechanisms underlying identity and location NP represent situational states rather than stable traits. This lack of temporal stability may also account for highly ambiguous results obtained in previous studies.     

tolerance of nonconformity and its effect on attitudes toward the legalization of prostitution: a multivariate analysis

An increasingly popular clinical impression is that physical victimization plays an important role in the etiology of bulimia. There are few data based studies, however, which have tested this belief. Therefore, data were collected to determine if those who have been victimized are more apt to be bulimic than those who have not been victimized. The four forms of victimization explored were rape, sexual molestation, child abuse and partner abuse. Only child abuse was statistically significantly related to bulimia in the bivariate analyses, although all relationships were in the predicted direction. In the multivariate analysis, severity of bulimic‐like symptoms was regressed on the four forms of victimization and on nine demographic characteristics. Child abuse was the only form of victimization related to the severity of symptoms, when controlling for the effects of the other variables. Contrary to clinical impressions, the effect of sexual molestation on severity of bulimic symptoms was negative, but not statistically significant. Among the demographic characteristics, only the number of sisters had a significant effect. The combined effect of being both bulimic as well as a victim did not increase the likelihood of seeking therapy for an eating disorder. The need for empirical evidence to verify clinical impressions is stressed.     

Exploring the Influence of Culture on Career Through the Career‐in‐Culture Interview

This study sought to understand how culture in general affects career development. Using an adapted version of the Career‐in‐Culture Interview (Ponterotto, Rivera, & Sueyoshi, 2000 ), the authors interviewed 14 adults from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Through a qualitative analysis of the interviews, themes were identified based on 4 of the interview questions and were reported based on occupations the participants were aware of while growing up, their cultural and ethnic backgrounds, religious/spiritual backgrounds, and family influence. These themes promote a developmental consideration of career‐related issues in counseling. The findings can help counselors better work with clients by focusing not just on the individual but also on cultural influences on career development.     

Cognitive antecedents to adolescent health risk: Discriminating between behavioral intention and behavioral willingness

Abstract

A model of adolescent health risk behavior that is both cognitive and social-psychological in orientation is described, and an aspect of the model is tested empirically. The model suggests that health risk behaviors (e.g., smoking or drunk driving), especially among adolescents, are not always intended or premeditated, but instead are often reactions to risk-conducive circumstances. Because they are not entirely premeditated, such behaviors are not accurately predicted by “traditional” behavioral intention measures, but are predicted by a central construct in the model labeled behavioral willingness. Results of two studies indicate that both intention (expectation) and willingness measures predict future risk behaviors, and do so independent of one another. Additional analyses provide further evidence of discriminant validity between the two constructs by indicating that they relate differently to perceptions of personal vulnerability to the health risks associated with these behaviors.     

Racial identification, racial discrimination, and substance use vulnerability among African American young adults

Two studies examined racial identity (RI) as a protective factor against substance use cognitions among African American young adults who either envisioned or experienced racial discrimination. In Study 1, participants envisioned a discrimination or nondiscrimination scenario, and then their willingness to use drugs and an indirect measure of substance use were assessed. Discrimination was associated with higher levels of use cognitions among participants with low levels of RI. In Study 2, participants were excluded or included in an online game (Cyberball) by White peers and then engaged in an RI-affirmation or control writing task. Participants attributed this exclusion to racial discrimination. Excluded participants who did not affirm their RI reported the highest levels of substance use cognitions, especially if they had engaged in higher levels of previous substance use. These findings highlight the importance of RI among Black young adults and the impact of discrimination on health behaviors.     

How useful are indices of personality pathology when assessing domestic violence perpetrators?

There has been considerable debate about profiling personality pathology when assessing and treating male perpetrators of domestic violence (DV). This study used the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III) to explore the severity and diversity of male perpetrator personality pathology and response bias in a group of DV perpetrators being assessed for a treatment program (N = 177). We analyzed the sample using the interpretive guidelines of White and Gondolf (2000); 54% of profiles in our sample fell into categories indicative of a personality disorder, and 37% of the total sample provided profiles indicative of severe personality pathology. These percentages were higher than White and Gondolf's findings but lower than some others. There was considerable diversity of personality pathology as well, supporting the contention that there is no one male DV perpetrator profile. Because of debate concerning the manner of responding on self-report instruments, we paid special attention to response biases in our sample. Twenty-six percent of our sample exaggerated (12%) or minimized (14%) their responses. We also found that response biases on the MCMI-III Modifying Indices were related to self-reported severity of psychopathology. This suggests that assessing severity of psychopathology is inadequate without reference to such biases.