Personally-significant information affects performance only within the focus of attention: a direct manipulation of attention

It has been suggested that personally significant (PS) information interferes with performance only when presented within the focus of attention. However, this claim was never tested by a systematic manipulation of attention, but only by using correlative measures of its locus. We addressed this issue in two experiments, utilizing a cued visual search paradigm that allowed us to directly manipulate attention and to measure behavioral and physiological responses. One of the stimuli in the search display had a higher luminance value (i.e., was cued), and, orthogonally, one of the stimuli could be a PS or neutral name. When the cue did not predict target location, PS distractors mildly interfered with task performance, regardless of the cue's location. However, when the cue predicted target location, responses were facilitated for cued targets, indicating that attention was shifted to the cue. Importantly, PS distractors interfered with task performance and elicited enhanced orienting responses only when they were cued. This implies that PS information affects performance only when presented within but not outside the focus of attention.     

Credibility judgments of narratives: language, plausibility, and absorption

Two experiments were conducted in order to find out whether textual features of narratives differentially affect credibility judgments made by judges having different levels of absorption (a disposition associated with rich visual imagination). Participants in both experiments were exposed to a textual narrative and requested to judge whether the narrator actually experienced the event he described in his story. In Experiment 1, the narrative varied in terms of language (literal, figurative) and plausibility (ordinary, anomalous). In Experiment 2, the narrative varied in terms of language only. The participants' perceptions of the plausibility of the story described and the extent to which they were absorbed in reading were measured. The data from both experiments together suggest that the groups applied entirely different criteria in credibility judgments. For high-absorption individuals, their credibility judgment depends on the degree to which the text can be assimilated into their own vivid imagination, whereas for low-absorption individuals it depends mainly on plausibility. That is, high-absorption individuals applied an experiential mental set while judging the credibility of the narrator, whereas low-absorption individuals applied an instrumental mental set. Possible cognitive mechanisms and implications for credibility judgments are discussed.     

Changes in the Composition of the Homeless Population: 1992–2002

This study examines changes in the characteristics of the homeless population before and after a period of extended economic expansion (1992–2002). Data from other sources suggest that, during this 10-year period, the size of the overall population of homeless persons may have declined slightly, though not significantly, both in the city studied and nationally. In-depth surveys of representative samples of homeless adults (N = 249 in 1992–94; N = 220 in 2000–2002) revealed significant differences in the composition of the homeless population across the time period, consistent with queuing theory. Persons experiencing homelessness after the expansion appeared to be a more “chronic,” less readily employable population than those interviewed at the start of the expansion: Those interviewed after were older, spent more time living on the streets, had more health symptoms, were more likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and had more restricted social networks and social support. Policy, research, and service provision implications of the findings are discussed.     

Contributions of Multicultural Counseling to Counselor Competence With Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Clients

This article outlines the contributions of multicultural counseling to 3 areas of counselor competence with lesbian, gay male, and bisexual male and female (LGB) clients: conceptualization of competence, counselor education, and assessment of counselor competence. The authors describe the foundations of multicultural counseling and extend the concepts to counselor competence with LGB clients. Este artículo resume las contribuciones de la consejería multicultural a tres campos de habilidad consejera con clientes homosexuales y hombres y mujeres bisexuales: la conceptualización de la competencia, educación del consejero, y evaluación de competencia para consejería. Los autores describen los fundamentos de la consejería multicultural y extienden estos conceptos a la competencia consejera con clientes homosexuales, lesbianas, y bisexuales.     

The transformation of the Wang Yangming scholarship in the West,ca. 1960–1980: a historical essay

Students of Ming philosophy and the thought of Wang Yangming likely know that the 1960s–1970s was a period during which many scholarships in this field of study were produced in the English language. Indeed, it has been almost half a century since a group of scholars came together at the University of Hawaii to present papers on Wang Yangming in commemoration of the fifth centenary of his birth. That group included, for example, Wing-tsit Chan, David Nivison, and Du Weiming. These scholars, along with two others not present—Julia Ching and Carsun Chang—played a transformative role in introducing Wang Yangming to an English-reading audience. But, the history behind their achievement, as well as how they interpreted him for that audience, has yet to be written. This paper provides a synopsis of that history, explaining why the scholars chose to write about him and what they said about his life and ideas.     

Psychological Distress in Refugee Children: A Systematic Review

Nearly one-quarter of the refugees worldwide are children. There have been numerous studies reporting their levels of psychological distress. The aim of this paper is to review systematically and synthesize the epidemiological research concerning the mental health of refugee children residing in Western countries. A Cochrane Collaboration style review was conducted searching nine major databases, bibliographies, and grey literature from 2003 to 2008. Included studies had to meet the reporting standards of STROBE and investigate mental health in non-clinical samples of asylum seeking and refugee children residing in OECD countries. A total of twenty-two studies were identified of 4,807 retrieved citations, covering 3,003 children from over 40 countries. Studies varied in definition and measurement of problems, which included levels of post-traumatic stress disorder from 19 to 54%, depression from 3 to 30%, and varying degrees of emotional and behavioral problems. Significant factors influencing levels of distress appear to include demographic variables, cumulative traumatic pre-migration experiences, and post-migration stressors. Importantly, the research base demands greater contextual and methodological refining such that future research would have greater generalizability and clinical implications.     

Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly

This paper investigates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological well-being in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in different residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y León (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale , the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of resilience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they develop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulnerable to burnout.     

Suicide and the suicidal body. 2002 Dublin Award Address

This paper focuses on the bodily experiences and attitudes toward the body in suicidal individuals. It is argued that bodily experiences and attitudes toward the body, such as rejection of the body, detachment, numbness, physical anhedonia, and lack of protection can facilitate acts of self-destruction. This argument is supported by theories of developmental psychology, theories on suicide, and empirical data. It is demonstrated that suicidal individuals experience their body differently from other populations and that these are related to suicidal behavior.     

LATERAL DIFFERENCES IN DIGIT AND NONSENSE FORM RECOGNITION AMONG JAPANESE AND ISRAELI SUBJECTS

Digit and nonsense figure sequences which were arranged vertically or horizontally, were tachistoscopically presented to native Japanese and Hebrew readers to the left or right visual field. Both groups showed a right visual field superiority in the horizontal condition and a strong tendency toward a right visual field superiority in the vertical condition for the digit sequences, and no visual field difference was shown both in the vertical and horizontal conditions for the nonsense figure sequences. There was no difference between Japanese and Israelis in either the direction or the degree of the visual field differences. A slight influence of the different directional reading biases between both groups appeared in the analysis of serial position effect in recall, but this influence was not prominent. Based on these findings, cross-cultural influences on cerebral functioning were discussed.