Alexithymia and psychopathy: comparison and application of California Q-set Prototypes

Although alexithymia and psychopathy have long been linked, the relationship between the two constructs remains unclear. In this study, we used the California Q-set Alexithymia Prototype (CAQ-AP; Haviland & Reise, 1996) and Psychopathy Prototype (CAQ-PP; Reise & Oliver, 1994) to clarify the relationship between the two constructs and evaluate both in a sample of contemporary and historical political leaders (N = 42). Our data show that both individuals with prototypic alexithymia and psychopathy lack empathy and insight and are not introspective. The prototypic person with alexithymia, however, is anxious, overcontrolled, submissive, boring, ethically consistent, and socially conforming, whereas the prototypic individual with psychopathy is anxiety-free, undercontrolled, dominant, charming, deceitful, and nonconforming. Characteristics of both were relatively common among the 13 controversial and notorious leaders and relatively uncommon among the 29 generally respected leaders in the sample. The CAQ-AP and the CAQ-PP appear to be useful for evaluating alexithymic and psychopathic features in public figures.     

When do the stigmatized make attributions to discrimination occurring to the self and others? The roles of self-presentation and need for control

Two experiments examined how the goals of self-presentation and maintenance of control over one's outcomes influence women's tendencies to make or to avoid making attributions to discrimination. Demonstrating the importance of self-presentational goals, Experiment 1 showed that targets of discrimination were just as likely as similar others to make attributions to discrimination under private reporting conditions, but they were significantly less likely to do so under public reporting conditions. This experiment also provided initial evidence that need for personal control increases discrimination attributions. Experiment 2 demonstrated that targets' minimization of discrimination, observed in public reporting conditions, was eliminated when the need to reassert personal control was induced. Both experiments also demonstrated that failing to view events as discrimination has negative psychological costs.     

Priming problem solving with conceptual processing of relevant objects

In the present study, the author explored the effect of processing relevant information on producing solutions to brief insight problems. She hypothesized that the conceptual processing of objects relevant to the target solution would facilitate that solution relative to unrelated objects or the shallow processing of words. The author also explored the effect of knowledge of the relationship between the initial object-processing task and the problem-solving task. The results showed that participants who conceptually processed objects related to the target solution (Experiment 1), but not those who shallowly processed words related to the target solution (Experiment 2), were more likely to produce the solution relative to the control; and knowledge of the relationship between objects and solutions made no difference in the frequency of target solutions produced. The results of Experiment 3 showed that conceptual processing of an object could prime a nondominant solution for an ambiguously worded problem. Taken together, the results of the studies supported the effect of conceptual processing on facilitating insight in problem solving.     

Modeling the effects of prior knowledge on learning incongruent features of category members

The authors conducted 3 experiments addressing the issue of how observations and multiple sources of prior knowledge are put together in category learning. In Experiments 1 and 2, learning was faster for critical features, which were predictable on the basis of prior knowledge, than for filler features, and this advantage increased as more observations were made. In addition, learning was fastest for incongruent features that could only be predicted using knowledge from other domains. In Experiment 3, presenting contradictory features that violated prior knowledge led to rote learning rather than use of prior knowledge. The results were simulated with the Baywatch model, which addresses how observations of category members lead to recruitment and selection of sources of prior knowledge.     

Using logistic regression to estimate delay-discounting functions

The monetary choice questionnaire (MCQ) and similar computer tasks ask preference questions in order to ascertain indifference, the perceived equivalence of immediate versus larger delayed rewards. Indifference data are then fitted with a hyperbolic function, summarizing the decline in perceived value with delay time. We present a fitting method that estimates the hyperbolic parameterk directly from survey responses. Binary preferences are modeled as a function of time (X₂) and a transformed reward ratio (X ₁), yielding logistic regression coefficients β₂ and β₁. The hyperbolic parameter emerges ask = β₂/β₁, where the logistic predictedp = .5 (the definition of indifference). The MCQ was administered to 1,073 adolescents and was scored using both standard and logistic methods. The means for ln(k) were similar (standard, −4.53; logistic, −4.51), and the results were highly correlated (ρ = .973). Simulated MCQ data showed thatk was unbiased, except where β₁ ≥ −1, indicating a vague survey response. Jackknife standard errors provided excellent coverage.     

Inhibition and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults

The inhibitory account of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was tested by examining the performance of college-aged adults on a variety of inhibitory tasks. The poorer performance of adults with ADHD compared with controls on negative priming, stopping, and continuous performance tasks, combined with similar group performances on a test of working memory capacity, indicates a specific inhibitory deficit as opposed to a general limitation in attentional capacity. Overall results provide evidence for extending the inhibitory deficit hypothesis to adult ADHD, not only for mechanisms of response (or motor) inhibition but also for mechanisms of cognitive inhibition.     

The role of intent and harm in judgments of prejudice and discrimination

Four experiments examined how an actor's intent and the harm experienced by a target influence judgments of prejudice and discrimination. The presence of intent increased the likelihood that participants judged an actor as prejudiced and the actor's behavior as discriminatory. When intent was uncertain, harm influenced judgments of the behavior, which in turn influenced judgments of the actor, and participants were more cautious in their judgments about an actor than an actor's behavior. Harm also played a stronger role in targets' than observers' judgments. Understanding the role of intent and harm on perceptions of prejudice can help explain variations in targets' versus observers', and possibly targets' versus actors', judgments of discrimination and prejudice.     

Recurrent Trisomies: Chance or Inherited Predisposition?

Two patients experiencing recurring trisomic pregnancies involving a different chromosome each time are presented. Mechanisms to explain recurrent trisomies include a gene or genes predisposing to nondisjunction in general or to nondisjunction of the acrocentric chromosomes, maternal age effects, and germ-line mosaicism. Genetic counseling is complicated by the lack of a clear explanation for the recurrences, difficulty in quoting a specific recurrence risk, concern regarding the risk for uniparental disomy, and the frustration, grief and guilt reactions of the patients.