In Search of Bandhood: Consultation with Original Music Groups

Original music groups present a unique and under-explored example of self-initiated task groups. The intragroup life and negotiation of creative differences in three diverse original music groups from New York City were explored. Establishment of a shared group ideology and management of organizational tensions, identified in Murnighan and Conlon's study of professional string quartets, appeared central in the bands' cohesion. The role of group therapist, as a band consultant, was examined.     

Schizophrenia: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective

Diverse lines of research suggest that schizophrenia is a genetically influenced neurodevelopmental disorder. Family, twin, and adoption studies suggest that most cases of schizophrenia involve a genetic diathesis that is necessary but not sufficient for development of the disorder. Histological, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological findings converge in providing evidence for medial-temporal and frontal lobe dysfunction that likely predates the onset of psychosis. Behavioral phenomenology and neurobiology suggest that dopamine plays a crucial moderating role between these structural abnormalities and functional impairment. Recently, investigators have used animal models and clinical syndromes to integrate these findings into neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia that hold great potential for yielding etiological insight.     

Maximizing versus satisficing: happiness is a matter of choice

Can people feel worse off as the options they face increase? The present studies suggest that some people--maximizers--can. Study 1 reported a Maximization Scale, which measures individual differences in desire to maximize. Seven samples revealed negative correlations between maximization and happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positive correlations between maximization and depression, perfectionism, and regret. Study 2 found maximizers less satisfied than nonmaximizers (satisficers) with consumer decisions, and more likely to engage in social comparison. Study 3 found maximizers more adversely affected by upward social comparison. Study 4 found maximizers more sensitive to regret and less satisfied in an ultimatum bargaining game. The interaction between maximizing and choice is discussed in terms of regret, adaptation, and self-blame.     

Formal lexical paragraphias in a single case study: how "masterpiece" can become "misterpieman" and "curiosity" "suretoy"

Formal lexical errors are relatively rare in the production of aphasic patients. In this study, we report the case of DW, who makes a high proportion of these errors. A few other cases have previously been reported, but DW shows a number of distinguishing characteristics. First, formal lexical errors are made in spelling and not in spoken speech. Second, they are associated with morphological errors and not with semantic errors. Third, they often combine lexical units in ways which are semantically and morphologically illegal. Finally, the majority of morphological errors involve the insertion, rather than the deletion, of suffixes. This pattern can be explained by hypothesizing that DW's errors arise because of confusions among a cohort of lexical neighbors activated top-down from a phonological input and bottom-up from shared letters. One possible cause of the confusions is lack of proper inhibition among lexical competitors.     

The lateralized stroop: a meta-analysis and its implications for models of semantic processing

The prevailing theory in the literature concerning the lateralization of Stroop effects involves a speed of processing account (see ). Because the left hemisphere (LH) demonstrates an overall advantage relative to the right hemisphere (RH) on most verbal tasks, interference effects are hypothesized to be greater in the LH than in the RH. Inspection of the data, however, reveals that many studies find no difference in magnitude of Stroop interference between the hemispheres. Given findings within the lateralized semantic priming literature, this is not surprising. A meta-analysis on a subset of lateralized Stroop experiments was conducted to determine whether or not the LH produces significantly more interference than the RH in this paradigm. Based on a number of exclusionary criteria, a total of 19 different studies were included, representing a potential 26 effect size estimates of differential interference. The effect size representing interference using congruent conditions as the baseline (d+=.06) reveals that there is no significant difference between the hemispheres in magnitude of the Stroop interference effect. The LH interference effect was d+=.73, which is significant. Likewise, the RH interference effect, d+=.67, was significant. In summary, while there was no significant difference between the hemispheres, each hemisphere, when examined independently, did exhibit significant within hemisphere interference effects. These findings are presented in light of the lateralized semantic priming literature.     

Making a life worth living: neural correlates of well-being

Despite the vast literature that has implicated asymmetric activation of the prefrontal cortex in approach-withdrawal motivation and emotion, no published reports have directly explored the neural correlates of well-being. Eighty-four right-handed adults (ages 57-60) completed self-report measures of eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, and positive affect prior to resting electroencephalography. As hypothesized, greater left than right superior frontal activation was associated with higher levels of both forms of well-being. Hemisphere-specific analyses documented the importance of goal-directed approach tendencies beyond those captured by approach-related positive affect for eudaimonic but not for hedonic well-being. Appropriately engaging sources of appetitive motivation, characteristic of higher left than right baseline levels of prefrontal activation, may encourage the experience of well-being.     

Meaning construction and integration in children with hydrocephalus

Text comprehension processes were investigated in children with hydrocephalus, a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with good word decoding, but deficient reading comprehension. In Experiment 1, hydrocephalus and control groups were similar in processes related to activating word meanings and using context to enhance meaning. The hydrocephalus group was poorer at suppressing contextually irrelevant meanings. In Experiment 2, the hydrocephalus group had difficulty integrating information from an earlier read sentence to understand a new sentence as textual distance between the two propositions increased, suggesting difficulty in reactivation processes related to comprehension. Results are discussed in relation to cognitive and neurocognitive models of comprehension.     

Does Receiving Genetic Counseling Impact Genetic Counselor Practice?

This study was an investigation of whether genetic counselors have received genetic counseling and if so, how they believe it affects their practice. One thousand genetic counselors were mailed surveys about the nature of genetic counseling services received, impact on their clinical practice, frequency and reasons for disclosing about their receipt of counseling to their clients, and demographics. Ninety-three of the 510 respondents reported receiving genetic counseling. Of these, almost three-fourths were practicing genetic counselors while receiving services. Reasons for services include prenatal concerns, family history of cancer, and history/risk of other genetic conditions. Frequently endorsed effects on practice include increased empathy and understanding of client decisions, feeling more connected with clients, greater emphasis on psychosocial support, and sympathy. Forty-six respondents disclosed to clients about their receipt of genetic counseling. Prevalent reasons include client asked, help clients feel they are not alone, demonstrate counselor understanding, decrease client anxiety, build rapport, and normalize client feelings. Practice and research recommendations are given.     

The DRD4 VNTR polymorphism influences reactivity to smoking cues

Recent research has indicated that craving for tobacco can be reliably elicited by exposure to smoking cues, suggesting that cue-elicited craving for tobacco may be a useful phenotype for research on genetic factors related to nicotine dependence. Given the potential role of dopamine in cue-elicited craving, the authors examined whether the DRD4 VNTR polymorphism is associated with cue-elicited craving for tobacco. Participants who were homozygous or heterozygous for the 7 repeat (or longer) allele were classified as DRD4 L, and all other participants were classified as DRD4 S. Participants were exposed to smoking cues before smoking either high-nicotine cigarettes or control cigarettes. Analyses suggested that participants in the L group demonstrated significantly greater craving, more arousal, less positive affect, and more attention to the smoking cues than did the participants in the S group.     

Tangible pictures: viewpoint effects and linear perspective in visually impaired people

Perception of raised-line pictures in blindfolded-sighted, congenitally blind, late-blind, and low-vision subjects was studied in a series of experiments. The major aim of the study was to examine the value of perspective drawings for haptic pictures and visually impaired individuals. In experiment 1, subjects felt two wooden boards joined at 45 degrees, 90 degrees, or 135 degrees, and were instructed to pick the correct perspective drawing from among four choices. The first experiment on perspective found a significant effect of visual status, with much higher performance by the low-vision subjects. Mean performance for the congenitally blind subjects was not significantly different from that of the late-blind and blindfolded-sighted subjects. In a further experiment, blindfolded subjects drew tangible pictures of three-dimensional (3-D) geometric solids, and then engaged in a matching task. Counter to expectations, performance was not impaired for the 3-D drawings as compared with the frontal viewpoints. Subjects were also especially fast and more accurate when matching top views. Experiment 5 showed that top views were easiest for all of the visually impaired subjects, including those who were congenitally blind. Experiment 5 yielded higher performance for 3-D than frontal viewpoints. The results of all of the experiments were consistent with the idea that visual experience is not necessary for understanding perspective drawings of geometrical objects.