The Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence

The procedures undergone to establish the validity of the Separation- Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA) are described. The test consists of six scales designed to measure key dimensions of adolescent separation-individuation. Each scale was subjected to three stages of validation: theoretical-substantive, internal-structural, and external-criterion. The results of data with 305 adolescents are reported. Although particular modifications from the original form are planned, appreciative levels of validity were established for the SITA's various scales.     

Effects of intrahemispheric interference on reaction times to lateral stimuli

Earlier work (Green, 1977) indicated that response by a given hand was slower when stimuli occurred in the visual half field ipsilateral to the body side of hand origin. It was hypothesized that this was due to interference between processing demands originating within the same hemisphere. The present experiments provide evidence regarding the relationship between such interference and the magnitude and type of processing demands. The eight experiments indicate that intrahemispheric interference affects a variety of tasks, including letter shape, letter name, or face matching. The results indicate that reduction in response processing demands reduces the interference. Evidence of interference appeared with a more demanding choice response, but not with a simpler go-no-go response. Manipulations hypothesized to reduce initial, perceptual stimulus processing demands did not reduce the magnitude of interference, possibly because the level of more central stimulus processing demands was still sufficient to interfere with response processing. Interference tended to be minimal on right-hand, match trials, which are hypothesized to involve reduced response processing and reduced central stimulus processing demands. Further investigation of the effects of stimulus processing demands is required.     

Envisioning motherhood: Mental-state language in caregiving narratives across the perinatal period

Nancy Suchman's work highlighted the fundamental role of maternal mentalization in maternal addiction, mental health, and caregiving challenges. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of mental-state language (MSL) as a measure of mentalization in prenatal and postnatal narratives and their sentiment in a sample of 91 primarily White mothers from the western United States, followed from the second trimester of pregnancy, through the third trimester, to 4 months postpartum. Specifically, we investigated the use of affective and cognitive MSL in prenatal narratives when mothers visualized caring for their baby and postnatal narratives when mothers compared their prenatal visualization to the current caregiving reality. Results indicated moderate consistency in MSL between the second and third trimesters, but prenatal and postnatal MSL was not significantly correlated. Across all time points, higher use of MSL was related to more positive sentiment, indicating an association between mentalization and positive caregiving representations across the perinatal period. Women used more affective than cognitive MSL in prenatal imagination of caregiving, but this pattern was reversed in their postpartum reflection. Implications on assessing parental mentalization prenatally and considering the relative dominance of affective and cognitive mentalizing are discussed while considering study limitations.     

Intentional response distortion during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has abruptly and unexpectedly transformed nearly every aspect of work, including but not limited to increased unemployment rates and uncertainty regarding future job prospects. Response distortion has always been a concern given that many organizations rely on information that is self-reported by applicants regarding their potential employability (e.g., responses to self-reported personality instruments, resumes, interview responses). Drawing from the Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy (VIE) theory of motivation, we propose that the uncertainty surrounding jobs may lead to amplified distorted responses on these measures in areas where COVID-19 was most salient. In a sample of 213 working adults [~50% female, age M = 38.48], the present study shows that increases in response distortion on a measure of conscientiousness were more pronounced as a function of (a) local COVID positivity rates and (b) job type, such that frontline workers distorted their responses the most. Findings are discussed in the context of VIE theory, personality measurement, and challenges with maintaining effective selection procedures.     

Rapport-building: Chat versus in-person witness interviews

Tactics recommended for rapport-building consist of verbal (e.g., finding common ground or shared experiences) and non-verbal (e.g., affirmations, displaying empathy) behaviours. Most of the research on rapport, however, has examined it in in-person contexts, where both verbal and non-verbal behaviours are present. In this study, we were interested in the effectiveness of rapport-building when conducting online witness interviews via chat, which de-emphasises the use non-verbal rapport behaviours, compared to traditional in-person interviews. Participants (N = 131) experienced a virtual reality (VR) scenario depicting a mock crime and were interviewed either in person or online via the chat function in Skype. Participants perceived rapport more positively when interviewed in person for three measures: attentiveness, trust and respect and expertise. Two other measures, cultural similarity and connected flow, were not perceived differently across interview medium. Participants interviewed online via chat disclosed similar amounts of crime-related information and were just as accurate as participants interviewed in person. We found that in-person interviews yielded better rapport ratings than interviews via chat but were equally productive in terms of the quality of information obtained, as measured by crime-related details and accuracy. If witnesses are to be interviewed via chat, investigators must carefully consider how to compensate for the lack of those non-verbal rapport tactics that influence witnesses' perceptions of attentiveness, trust/respect and investigator's expertise.     

Error patterns in a chord keyboard response task

Errors in a serial choice-reaction time experiment employing two-finger chord responses to alphabetic stimuli are shown to be distributed in a significantly non-random fashion. Two factors are postulated which are relevant to prediction of the error response. These are the presence or absence of a common finger, and the difference in finger separation, between the actual and the required response. It is suggested that the chord response is coded in terms of a pattern (the distance between the two response components). Responses which mirror the correct response about the centre of the hand are also shown to be significantly more frequent.