Predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction in individuals living with HIV and AIDS in a resource-constrained setting in South Africa

The burden of HIV disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa (SA). Whilst there have been many studies conducted on the biomedical and socio-psychological aspects of HIV and AIDS, insufficient attention has been paid to the quality of life of those infected with the virus. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (Q-LES) among individuals infected with HIV. A battery of questionnaires, which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), were administered to 121 participants. Data was analysed using SPSS. Of the total sample (n = 121), 74% were females. The study found that a large proportion (49.5%) of the sample within the age group 25–49 years old experienced psychological distress. Those who were not on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were significantly affected (66%). Psychological distress was significantly prevalent among HIV positive individuals and also the strongest predictor of Q-LES among these individuals.     

Culture and Context-sensitive Self: The Amount and Meaning of Context-sensitivity of Phenomenal Self Differ Across Cultures

Self-concepts change from context to context. The experience that one's self is context-sensitive may be universal, however the amount and meaning of context-sensitive self vary across cultures. Cross-cultural differences in the amount and meaning of context-sensitive self were investigated in three Western cultures (Australia, Germany, and UK) and two East Asian cultures (Japan and Korea). The amount of context-sensitivity of self was greater in Japan than in Western cultures and Korea. The meaning of context-sensitive self also varied across cultures. In the Western cultures, a context-invariant self was seen to be clear and true; however, these patterns were not observed in the East Asian cultures. In Korea, a context-invariant self was interpreted to be exhibiting a relational self, which adheres to the ethics of care. In Japan, it was a context-sensitive self that was seen to be true, implying that the true self in Japan may mean to be true to the self-in-context, rather than the transcendental, decontextualized self. The results suggest the importance of differentiating East Asian cultures such as Japan and Korea. The utility of quantitative methods in explicating cultural meaning was highlighted.     

Let it be: expatriate couples' adjustment and the upside of avoiding conflicts

This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor–partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interpersonal effects, to address simultaneously the effects of one's own and the other's avoidance behavior. We found substantial support for our model, especially for expatriate spouses. As expected, and only for expatriate spouses, avoidance moderated the conflict–adjustment relationship such that both one's own and one's counterpart's avoidance behavior diminished the negative effect of conflicts. Because these effects were observed only at T2 and psychological adjustment decreased from T1 to T2, our research suggests that the impact of expatriation-associated interaction particularly manifests itself in the long run.     

On what is bound in figures and grounds

All else being equal, regions providing a quick, good match to object memories are likely to be seen as shaped figures rather than as shapeless grounds. Good matches to object memories occur only if the parts are properly bound spatially. If object memories are accessed in the course of perceptual organization even for regions ultimately seen as shapeless grounds, then binding of parts cannot require attention to figures. Novel silhouette primes were shown immediately before real or novel line drawings. The silhouette contours of half of the primes preceding real line drawings sketched a known shape on the outside, which nevertheless appeared to be a shapeless ground. At short prime-line drawing SOAs, observers took longer to categorize real line drawings following these experimental primes than control primes, suggesting that parts are properly bound spatially for regions perceived to be shapeless grounds, and further that object memories matching grounds are inhibited.     

Knowing what to look for: Voice affects face race judgements

The study examined the effect that auditory information (speaker language/accent: Japanese or French) had on the processing of visual information (the speaker's race: Asian or Caucasian) in two forced-choice tasks: Classification and perceptual judgement on animated talking characters. Two (male and female) sets of facial morphs were constructed such that a 3-D head of Caucasian appearance was gradually morphed (in 11 steps) into one of Asian appearance. Each facial morph was animated in association with spoken French/Japanese or English with a French/Japanese accent. To examine the auditory effect, each animation was played with or without sound. Experiment 1 used an Asian or Caucasian classification task. Results showed that faces heard in conjunction with Japanese or a Japanese accent were more likely to be classified as Asian compared to those presented without sound. Experiment 2 used a same or different judgement task. Results showed that accuracy was improved by hearing a Japanese accent compared to without sound. These results were discussed in terms of the voice information acting as a cue to assist in organizing and attending to face features.     

When bystanders become bothersome: The negative consequences of bystander conflict and the moderating role of resilience

Bystander conflict is a situation in which employees are hindered in their work by parties not involved in the primary process. Public service employees and emergency care workers, such as ambulance employees and firefighters, often encounter this kind of conflict with potentially far-reaching detrimental effects for public or patient safety. Unfortunately, until now, bystander conflict has hardly received scientific attention. In this paper, we will present the results of an experiment (Study 1) and a simulation study (Study 2). Taken together, the results indicate that bystander conflict is negatively related to the affective, behavioural, and cognitive outcomes of individuals. Higher levels of bystander conflict were associated with more negative and less positive feelings (Studies 1, 2), unfavourable bystander appraisals (Studies 1, 2), and lower levels of performance (Study 2). Additionally, Study 2 revealed that bystander conflict was negatively and indirectly related to positive affect and performance through cognitive capacity. We investigated the moderating role of resilience, in order to provide insight into potential factors alleviating these negative associations. In both studies, resilience alleviated the negative associations of bystander conflict. Overall, the results of the two studies provide a first step towards a theory on bystander conflict.     

The importance of social and ideal social dimensions in self‐congruity research

Chronic or situational self‐construal moderates the effects of four self‐congruity (SC) dimensions (i.e., actual, ideal, social, and ideal social) on brand evaluations. Past research has mainly focused on the actual and ideal SC effects; these effects have been found to be stronger than the social and ideal social SC effects. However, the findings of past research are based on samples from individualistic cultures. Individualists have a dominant independent self‐construal. We conduct two experiments to show that the social and ideal social SC effects are stronger than the actual and ideal SC effects for individuals with a dominant interdependent self‐construal. In Study 1, using samples from collectivistic cultures, four SC effects are compared. In Study 2, we examine how primed self‐construal, whether independent or interdependent, impacts the four SC effects. This research documents the importance of the social and ideal social dimensions in SC research.     

Invited Address at the Occasion of the Bertelson Award 2005 Impairments in visual discrimination in amnesia: Implications for theories of the role of medial temporal lobe regions in human memory

A prominent and long-standing view of human long-term memory is that structures within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) work together to support the acquisition of memory for facts and events. In contrast to this view, recent studies in rats and non-human primates suggest dissociations in function between regions comprising the MTL. Evidence in support of such specialisation in humans, however, has been inconclusive, leading some researchers to propose that human MTL functions as a unitary system uniquely specialised for the acquisition and storage of long-term memory. This paper reviews some of the key studies from the animal and human literature that support an account of functional differentiation and discusses the different theoretical positions that have emerged from their findings. A series of recent experiments in humans designed to determine whether there is functional homogeneity in MTL regions across species are also reviewed and an alternative account of human memory—in which long-term memory is dependent upon representations distributed throughout the human brain rather than one specialised system—is proposed.     

Chronic psychological stress and the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines: a glucocorticoid-resistance model.

This study examined whether chronic stress impairs the immune system's capacity to respond to hormonal signals that terminate inflammation. Fifty healthy adults were studied; half were parents of cancer patients, and half were parents of healthy children. Parents of cancer patients reported more psychological distress than parents of healthy children. They also had flatter diurnal slopes of cortisol secretion, primarily because of reduced output during the morning hours. There was also evidence that chronic stress impaired the immune system's response to anti-inflammatory signals: The capacity of a synthetic glucocorticoid hormone to suppress in vitro production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 was diminished among parents of cancer patients. Findings suggest a novel pathway by which chronic stress might alter the course of inflammatory disease.