A comparison of adult males' and females' interactions with girls and boys

The verbal interactions of adult males and females with trained girl and boy confederates were compared in an unstructured and an immediately following structured situation. Women did not respond differently based on the child's gender in either situation, while men spoke more and used longer mean length of utterances with the boys than with the girls in the unstructured situation. In the structured situation males did not respond differently to girls and boys, speaking more to both than did females. Correlations between the number of words spoken in female-child pairs were higher, suggesting a greater reciprocity of interaction, than for male-child pairs in both situations. The results are seen as reflecting the outcome of differential sex-role socialization for men and women, especially with respect to children, with females socialized to relate with others and men to need to dominate others.     

A within-subjects analysis of the relationship between memory span and processing rate in short-term memory

A within-subjects analysis of the relationship between memory span and processing rate for four stimulus classes in short-term memory indicated that while the two factors are correlated when averaged data is considered, as shown by Cavanagh (Psychological Review, 1972, 79, 525–530), the strength of the relationship for individual subjects varies from zero to unity. The intersubject correlations for each stimulus class were not consistent with the view that a unified model may be advanced to account for performance in recall and recognition tasks in shortterm memory.     

CA1 Long-Term Potentiation Is Diminished but Present in Hippocampal Slices from α-CaMKII Mutant Mice

Previous work has shown that mice missing the α-isoform of calcium–calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (α-CaMKII) have a deficiency in CA1 hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Follow-up studies on subsequent generations of these mutant mice in a novel inbred background by our laboratories have shown that whereas a deficiency in CA1 LTP is still present in α-CaMKII mutant mice, it is different both quantitatively and qualitatively from the deficiency first described. Mice of a mixed 129SvOla/SvJ;BALB/c;C57Bl/6 background derived from brother/sister mating of the α-CaMKII mutant line through multiple generations (>10) were produced by use of in vitro fertilization. Although LTP at 60 min post-tetanus was clearly deficient in these (−/−) α-CaMKII mice (42.6%, n=33) compared with (+/+) α-CaMKII control animals (81.7%, n=17), α-CaMKII mutant mice did show a significant level of LTP. The amount of LTP observed in α-CaMKII mutants was normally distributed, blocked by APV (2.7%, n=8), and did not correlate with age. Although this supports a role for α-CaMKII in CA1 LTP, it also suggests that a form of α-CaMKII-independent LTP is present in mice that could be dependent on another kinase, such as the β-isoform of CaMKII. A significant difference in input/output curves was also observed between (−/−) α-CaMKII and (+/+) α-CaMKII animals, suggesting that differences in synaptic transmission may be contributing to the LTP deficit in mutant mice. However, tetani of increasing frequency (50, 100, and 200 Hz) did not reveal a higher threshold for potentiation in (−/−) α-CaMKII mice compared with (+/+) α-CaMKII controls.     

New perceptual objects that capture attention produce inhibition of return

New perceptual objects are known to capture attention. We show that such attentional capture is similar to that produced by peripheral luminance changes, as opposed to symbolic central cues, in that it produces inhibition of return. Two experiments employed equiluminant texture changes that attracted attention, producing an initial attentional benefit (in detection and discrimination) followed by inhibition of return. However, when the display was altered so that the texture change did not define a new object, no facilitation or inhibition was observed. The results bolster recent claims of the importance of new perceptual objects and extend our understanding of the effect of such objects on attention.     

What if I am the one? Measuring individual differences in emotional sensitivity to probability and emotional reactivity to possibility

Current theories of risk perception point to the powerful role of emotion and the neglect of probabilistic information in the face of risk, but these tendencies differ across individuals. We propose a method for measuring individuals' emotional sensitivity to probability to assess how feelings about probabilities, rather than the probabilities themselves, influence decisions. Participants gave affective ratings (worry or excitement) to 14 risky events, each with a specified probability ranging from 1 in 10 to 1 in 10,000,000. For each participant, we regressed these emotional responses against item probabilities, estimating a slope (the degree to which emotional responses change with probability) and an intercept (the emotional reaction to an event with a fixed probability). These two parameters were treated as individual difference scores and included in models predicting reactions to several health risk scenarios. Both emotional sensitivity to probability (slope) and emotional reactivity to possibility (intercept) significantly predicted responses to these scenarios, above and beyond the predictive power of other well‐established individual difference measures.     

The roles of delay and probability discounting in texting while driving: Toward the development of a translational scientific program

A sample of 109 college students completed a survey to assess how frequently they send or read text messages while driving. In a novel discounting task with a hypothetical scenario in which participants receive a text message while driving, they rated the likelihood of replying to a text message immediately versus waiting to reply until arriving at a destination. The scenario presented several delays to a destination and probabilities of a motor vehicle crash. The likelihood of waiting to reply decreased as a function of both the delay until the destination and the probability of a motor vehicle crash. Self‐reported higher frequencies of texting while driving were associated with greater rates of both delay and probability discounting. The degree of delay discounting was altered as a function of the probability of a motor vehicle crash and vice versa. These results suggest that both delay and probability discounting are important underlying mechanisms of drivers' decision to text while driving.     

The Use of Relational‐Cultural Theory in Counseling Clients Who Have Traumatic Stress Disorders

Counseling scholarship has increasingly demonstrated the utility of relational‐cultural theory (RCT) in promoting the relationship‐building and growth‐fostering connections many clients require to manage problems in living. The authors applied RCT to counseling clients with traumatic stress disorders rooted in traumas of an interpersonal nature (e.g., child abuse, interpersonal partner violence, sexual assault). An overview of traumatic stress disorders and RCT, as well as the ways in which RCT can inform trauma conceptualization and treatment approaches with victims, is provided.     

Writing Effective Insurance Justification Letters for Cancer Genetic Testing: A Streamlined Approach

The topic of insurance coverage and justification letters for cancer predisposition testing has been the subject of much discussion on the National Society of Genetic Counselors Cancer Special Interest Group (NSGC Cancer-SIG) listserv. Some counselors have stated that they have had difficulty in obtaining insurance coverage for their patients, while others have indicated that they would appreciate seeing examples of successful letters. The purpose of this paper is to provide practical guidance in writing successful letters of justification and to share insurance success stories in the area of cancer genetic testing.