Perceptions of childfree women: The role of perceivers' and targets' ethnicity

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of ethnicity on perceptions of voluntary childfree women. We were interested in determining whether mothers were viewed as more stereotypically positive than women without children and how the ethnicity of the participant and the target impacted participants' ratings. We utilized vignettes and manipulated motherhood status and ethnicity of the target. Participants (n = 224) were comprised of female university students in the southwestern region of the United States. Results indicated that women view childfree women negatively. Moreover, women view African American mothers more favourably than childfree African American women. Results are discussed in terms of gender roles in communities of colour. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trainee social justice advocacy: investigating the roles of training factors and multicultural competence

Theoretical research asserts that social justice advocacy (SJA) represents an extension of multicultural competence (MC). However, limited empirical literature examines if and how SJA manifests and is developed as an aspect of trainee MC. The current study used path modeling to examine direct and indirect links between aspects of training environment and trainee MC and SJA for a sample of 197 trainees embedded in counseling-oriented training programs. MC demonstrated the strongest positive association with SJA. In addition, multicultural training environment, but not social justice training environment, influenced SJA indirectly through MC. Results are encouraging of a differentiation between multicultural and social justice training emphases, with practical implications for training programs seeking to enhance and foster both MC and SJA among their trainees.     

Determining the influence of tangible items on screaming and handmouthing following an inconclusive functional analysis

A brief experimental analysis was used to compare the effects of the presence of tangible objects in an alone condition following an inconclusive functional analysis of screaming and handmouthing behavior of an 8‐year‐old boy. The alone condition with tangibles involved having toys available throughout the session with no interaction from the therapist and produced a higher percentage of intervals with screaming and handmouthing. The study demonstrates the importance of evaluating the effects of the presence of tangible items during a functional analysis. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The word of others

Tyler Burge has argued that one has an a priori prima facie entitlement to believe in the truth of what one takes to have been presented as true by an interlocutor. This thesis, however, is problematic, since the alleged a priori prima facie entitlement to believe in the truth of our seeming understanding of things presented as true to us, rests on the possibility of determining assertoric force on a purely intellectual basis. This thesis is not plausible and Burge's analogy from memory does not support it. Two routes for defending Burge's thesis of the a priori prima facie entitlement to believe in the truth of what has been asserted can be identified: the Transcendental Route and the Intrinsic Rationality Route. David Lewis' account of linguistic convention would serve as a transcendental argument for the a priori prima facie entitlement to believe in the truth of what has been asserted, but flaws in Lewis' theory leave us deprived of any good transcendental argument for such an entitlement. The Intrinsic Rationality Route is in better standing, but we have yet to see an argument for why we should resort to that measure.     

Emerging adult romantic relationship narratives during COVID-19: Understanding relational challenges and opportunities

This cross-sectional study sought to understand how emerging adult college students currently in relationships experienced and dealt with COVID-19 stress during a key time for romantic relationship development. Using a relational turbulence theory (RTT) framework, we examined romantic relationship narratives in three different groups of students for indicators of uncertainty (break-up anxiety [BUA]), interference (conflict and negative emotion), facilitation (support), and coping strategies. Of particular interest was whether these indicators would vary as a function of when the stress of the pandemic was assumed to be more compared to less disruptive to relationships (Group 1 Fall 2020 and Group 2 Spring 2021, off campus/unvaccinated; Group 3 Fall 2021, on campus/vaccinated). As expected, students interviewed during periods when pandemic stress was assumed to be higher showed more break-up anxiety, increased conflict, and angry word use to describe conflict events. However, contrary to expectations, sad emotions and support did not vary as a function of when students were interviewed. Regardless of when students were interviewed, there were several strategies they used to cope with the stresses of COVID-19. The most frequent strategies students described were using technology/media to stay connected and taking steps to keep themselves and their families healthy.     

Video game experience and its influence on visual attention parameters: An investigation using the framework of the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA)

Experts with video game experience, in contrast to non-experienced persons, are superior in multiple domains of visual attention. However, it is an open question which basic aspects of attention underlie this superiority. We approached this question using the framework of Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) with tools that allowed us to assess various parameters that are related to different visual attention aspects (e.g., perception threshold, processing speed, visual short-term memory storage capacity, top-down control, spatial distribution of attention) and that are measurable on the same experimental basis. In Experiment 1, we found advantages of video game experts in perception threshold and visual processing speed; the latter being restricted to the lower positions of the used computer display. The observed advantages were not significantly moderated by general person-related characteristics such as personality traits, sensation seeking, intelligence, social anxiety, or health status. Experiment 2 tested a potential causal link between the expert advantages and video game practice with an intervention protocol. It found no effects of action video gaming on perception threshold, visual short-term memory storage capacity, iconic memory storage, top-down control, and spatial distribution of attention after 15 days of training. However, observations of a selected improvement of processing speed at the lower positions of the computer screen after video game training and of retest effects are suggestive for limited possibilities to improve basic aspects of visual attention (TVA) with practice.     

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Study

With as many as 1.9 million men and women deployed as part of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increased recognition is being placed on the effect of returning Veterans’ combat experiences on their adjustment and mental health, particularly those with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated effects on families and relationships. Cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy (CBCT) for PTSD is a manualized intervention with demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials with Veterans who have experienced trauma and their intimate partners. This case study involves the successful application of Mindfulness-based CBCT for PTSD to treat an operation Iraqi freedom male Veteran and his wife referred for PTSD and relationship dissatisfaction. In the current study, mindfulness interventions were integrated into the existing CBCT for PTSD protocol and treatment duration was shortened by including a weekend group retreat for couples. Baseline and post-treatment data from self- and partner-report measures demonstrates symptom reduction in posttraumatic stress symptoms as well as an increase in relationship satisfaction. The advantages of incorporating mindfulness strategies into this treatment protocol and recommendations for future work are discussed.     

The eyes grasp,the hands see: Metric category knowledge transfers between vision and touch

Categorization of seen objects is often determined by the shapes of objects. However, shape is not exclusive to the visual modality: The haptic system also is expert at identifying shapes. Hence, an important question for understanding shape processing is whether humans store separate modality-dependent shape representations, or whether information is integrated into one multisensory representation. To answer this question, we created a metric space of computer-generated novel objects varying in shape. These objects were then printed using a 3-D printer, to generate tangible stimuli. In a categorization experiment, participants first explored the objects visually and haptically. We found that both modalities led to highly similar categorization behavior. Next, participants were trained either visually or haptically on shape categories within the metric space. As expected, visual training increased visual performance, and haptic training increased haptic performance. Importantly, however, we found that visual training also improved haptic performance, and vice versa. Two additional experiments showed that the location of the categorical boundary in the metric space also transferred across modalities, as did heightened discriminability of objects adjacent to the boundary. This observed transfer of metric category knowledge across modalities indicates that visual and haptic forms of shape information are integrated into a shared multisensory representation.