Political Affiliation,Spirituality, and Religiosity: Links to Emerging Adults’ Life Satisfaction and Optimism

The goal of this study was to extend the existing literature regarding the intersection between belief systems shaping psychological processes and subjective well-being among emerging adults. A nationwide sample of 3966 college students reported on their political affiliation, spirituality, and religiosity in relation to their subjective well-being. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that politically conservative participants were significantly more optimistic and satisfied with life than their liberal counterparts and Republican emerging adults reported significantly higher life satisfaction than Democrats. Republican emerging adults also reported significantly higher rates of religiosity and spirituality than Democratic and Independent politically affiliated emerging adults. Our findings corroborate and expand upon existing literature regarding belief systems and political identity as determinants of subjective well-being in emerging adults.     

Emotional health,support, and self‐efficacy in young adults with a history of language impairment

Children and adolescents with language impairment (LI) are at risk of emotional health difficulties. However, less is known about whether these difficulties continue into adulthood for this group, or about the potential role of environmental resources (e.g., social support) or internal resources (e.g., self‐efficacy). This study investigates emotional health in 81 adults with a history of developmental LI (aged 24) compared with 87 age‐matched peers (AMPs) using Beck Inventories. Social support and self‐efficacy measures were examined as predictors. The results were fourfold: (1) adults with LI had higher levels of emotional health problems; (2) whilst the availability of social support was similar across groups, people with LI received more help from others compared to peers; (3) social support was not significantly related to emotional health in those with LI – in contrast, for AMPs, uptake of support indicated poorer emotional health; (4) self‐efficacy was the strongest predictor of emotional health in both groups and fully mediated the relationship between language and emotional health (no moderation by group). This cross‐sectional study has implications for concurrent factors that might affect emotional health outcomes for children and young people with and without LI.     

Vivid: How valence and arousal influence word processing under different task demands

In this study, we used event-related potentials to examine how different dimensions of emotion—valence and arousal—influence different stages of word processing under different task demands. In two experiments, two groups of participants viewed the same single emotional and neutral words while carrying out different tasks. In both experiments, valence (pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral) was fully crossed with arousal (high and low). We found that the task made a substantial contribution to how valence and arousal modulated the late positive complex (LPC), which is thought to reflect sustained evaluative processing (particularly of emotional stimuli). When participants performed a semantic categorization task in which emotion was not directly relevant to task performance, the LPC showed a larger amplitude for high-arousal than for low-arousal words, but no effect of valence. In contrast, when participants performed an overt valence categorization task, the LPC showed a large effect of valence (with unpleasant words eliciting the largest positivity), but no effect of arousal. These data show not only that valence and arousal act independently to influence word processing, but that their relative contributions to prolonged evaluative neural processes are strongly influenced by the situational demands (and by individual differences, as revealed in a subsequent analysis of subjective judgments).     

The effects of reinforcer choice on rates of challenging behavior and free operant responding in individuals with severe disabilities

A multielement design was used to evaluate the effects of three reinforcement conditions on the free-operant and challenging responses of two individuals with severe disabilities. Preference assessments identified three stimuli that could function as reinforcers for each participant. Reinforcers were delivered on a variable ratio schedule for a free-operant response. In the participant-selected condition, each reinforcer delivery consisted of placing an array of three different stimuli in front of the participant, who was allowed to select one. In the constant condition, each reinforcer delivery consisted of placing an array of three identical stimuli in front of the participant. Within each session the three stimuli were held constant, but varied across sessions. In the experimenter-selected condition, each reinforcer delivery consisted of an array of three identical stimuli being placed in front of the participant. Within each session, the three stimuli were presented in an order predetermined by the experimenter such that, on average, each stimulus was available every third reinforcer delivery. For both individuals, the participant-selected condition resulted in lower average rates of challenging responses and slightly higher average free-operant response rates. No differences in responding were noted between the constant condition and the experimenter-selected condition. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using Toys and Models in Interviews with Young Children

The present study examined the conditions under which toys and model items facilitate children's accounts of personally experienced events. In three experiments, 109 five- to six-year-old children were interviewed about an event in which they had participated. Experiment 1 varied the similarity of the props to the items from the event while Experiments 2 and 3 varied the number of model items and the method of their presentation. Results showed that increasing the physical similarity of the props to items from the event, adding spatial layout cues, or increasing the number of props provided enhanced the facilitative effects of props on children's accounts. The implications of these results for interviewing children in clinical and legal contexts are discussed. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genetic Influence on the Variance in Coincidence Timing and its Covariance with IQ: A Twin Study

Performance measures on a coincidence timing task have previously been associated with psychometric IQ suggesting that the ability of an individual to devote processing resources at the required time may account for some of intelligence test variance. Using the twin design, this study investigates whether genetic variability explains some of the variance in coincidence timing and whether common genetic factors account for the association with intellectual functioning. Fifty-five 16-year old twin pairs (28 MZ, 27 DZ) were tested. Individual differences in number of hits (HITS), mean absolute error (MAE), and intra-individual trial-to-trial consistency (SD) were significantly influenced by genetic factors, accounting for approximately 50 percent of the variance. The correlation between coincidence timing and psychometric IQ was confirmed and ranged from 0.11 to 0.53 with a mean correlation of 0.33. In the limited sample, the correlation between IQ and the coincidence timing measures appeared to be mediated largely by a unique environmental factor, with only a small loading of SD on the genetic factor influencing IQ. However, as the confidence intervals in the other genetic cross loadings are large, we cannot exclude the possibility of a much stronger genetic influence.     

Spousal perpetuation of chronic pain behavior

The literature reviewed here demonstrates that spousal response to pain display can reinforce and thereby perpetuate the patient's pain behavior. Relationships characterized as sick-role homeostatis reflect a nexus of behavioral contingencies which are highly resistant to treatment. Though such relationships could developde novo subsequent to accident or injury, modeling and familial effects in chronic pain suggest a rich personal and family history of chronic pain learning experiences. Spousal reinforcement of pain behavior is greater in satisfied relationships and tends to involve contingent attention and caring rather than assistance or taking over tasks and chores. As the vast majority of pain patients and spouses report being satisfied with their marriages, spousal involvement in chronic pain treatment is critical.     

The effects of legislative reform on civil commitment admission rates: A critical analysis

Many jurisdictions across North America have revised their statutes pertaining to the criteria for civil commitment with the legislative intent to either increase or decrease the use of involuntary hospitalization. The impact of these revised statutes has been examined in many jurisdictions, but there has been no consensus regarding their effectiveness in changing the rates of involuntary admissions. The present article reviews the literature from a methodological perspective, comparing the differing analyses, results and interpretations. When the legislative revision has sought to expand medical prerogative, results indicate a sustained increase in civil commitments. When legislation has aimed at limiting medical discretion, there was an immediate decline in civil commitment rates, but a subsequent increase in the period following the initial post-reform declines. These results are discussed in terms of readmission trends, deinstitutionalization, and the possible reaction of mental health professionals who perceive legislation as an unnecessary constraint in the treatment of the mentally ill.     

Moderating influences of hypnotic susceptibility on signal-detection task performance

This study investigated the differential influence of hypnotic susceptibility level on signal detection task (SDT) performance in waking and hypnotic conditions. As assessed by the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS: A) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS: C), 20 high (9–12), 20 medium (4–8), and 20 low (0–3) hypnotizables participated. In counterbalanced conditions of waking and hypnosis, Ss (Subjects) were given 36 signal detection trials, consisting of 12 strong signals, 12 weak signals, and 12 “no” signals. No differences were observed in the waking condition between low, medium, and high hypnotizables on strong and weak signal trials. In hypnosis, high hypnotizables exhibited significantly superior performance on the strong signal trials in comparison with low hypotizables, and performed significantly better on the weak signal trials than did the low and medium hypnotizables. Low and medium hypnotizables performed similarly in waking and hypnotic conditions, while high hypnotizables showed significant enhancements in performance for strong and weak signal trials during hypnosis. This research was supported, in part, by a grant from Fort Hays State University.