Fluctuations in self-esteem and paranoia in the context of daily life

Studies investigating the relationship between self-esteem and paranoia have specifically focused on self-esteem level, but have neglected the dynamic aspects of self-esteem. In the present article, the authors investigated the relationship between self-esteem and paranoia in two different ways. First, 154 individuals ranging across the continuum in level of paranoia were studied with the Experience Sampling Method (a structured self-assessment diary technique) to assess the association between trait paranoia and level and fluctuation of self-esteem in daily life. Results showed that trait paranoia was associated with both lower levels and higher instability of self-esteem. Second, the temporal relationship between momentary (state) paranoia and self-esteem was investigated in the daily life of these individuals. Results showed that a decrease in self-esteem was associated with an immediate increase in paranoia. The findings indicate that paranoid individuals are not only characterized by a lower level of self-esteem but also by more fluctuations in their self-esteem and that fluctuations in self-esteem predict the degree of subsequent paranoia. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that paranoia is associated with dysfunctional strategies of self-esteem regulation.     

Starting with the "right" foot minimizes sprint start time

Although asymmetries in hand and foot performance have been examined using a variety of movement tasks that require the fine control of the timing and amplitude of force generation, foot asymmetries in a functional gross motor movement task, such as the track and field sprint start, have yet to be examined. Twenty individuals (10 experienced, 10 inexperienced) were assessed for pedal asymmetries using the track and field sprint start. Each participant performed 48 starts (24 right foot starts and 24 left foot starts). The pattern of pedal asymmetries was consistent with that of manual asymmetries in that a left foot (i.e., left foot in rear position) reaction time advantage was found while there was a right foot (i.e., right foot in rear position) advantage for movement time and total response time (time from stimulus presentation until the end of the movement). These results are consistent with a right hemisphere specialization for spatio-temporal and attentional processes, and a left hemisphere specialization for movement execution.     

Ethnic‐Related Curricula and Intergroup Attitudes in College: Movement Toward and Away From the In‐Group1

Using a 5‐year longitudinal study, we investigated the long‐term effects of courses with ethnic studies content and courses with Latino or Black professors on university students' intergroup attitudes. We found that these curricular variables significantly affected the intergroup attitudes of students beyond pre‐existing differences in attitudes and beyond other curriculum variables. As expected, we found differences between ethnic groups: White students showed movement toward other groups as a result of these curricular factors, whereas Latino and African American students showed both increased tolerance toward other groups and movement toward the in‐group. The results are discussed in terms of group status differences between the dominant White majority and the stigmatized Latino and Black minority groups.     

Intergenerational effects of cocaine on maternal aggressive behavior and brain oxytocin in rat dams

Gestational cocaine treatment results in significantly increased maternal aggression towards an intruder by postpartum day six, while acute postpartum treatment dose dependently decreases maternal aggressive (MA) behavior. Both increased and decreased aggression in the cocaine-treated dams are correlated with either decreased or increased levels of oxytocin in the amygdala, respectively. The current study was an effort to determine whether the effect of gestational cocaine on maternal aggression is transient or would continue into the postpartum period; whether an intermittent cocaine treatment regimen, which incorporates gestational and postpartum intermittent cocaine treatment, would differ from chronic daily gestational treatment; and finally, whether next generation female offspring of cocaine-treated or control dams would have altered MA behavior and oxytocin system changes attributable to either prenatal drug exposure, rearing condition or both. We now report no increase in maternal aggression following chronic gestational treatment and significantly lower levels of aggression in intermittently treated dams on postpartum day eight, with no significant effects in either group on postpartum day 12. Young adult female offspring of the cocaine-treated and control dams, who reared their own natural litters and were tested on postpartum day eight for maternal aggression, had higher levels of maternal aggression towards an intruder attributable to both prenatal cocaine exposure and rearing condition. Higher aggression in cocaine-reared next generation dams was associated with lower levels of oxytocin in the amygdala. Intergenerational effects of cocaine were apparent with respect to aggression and oxytocin system changes.     

Intra-amygdala anxiogenic drug infusion prior to retrieval biases rats towards the use of habit memory

In a dual-solution plus-maze task that can be acquired using either hippocampus-dependent "cognitive/place" learning or dorsal striatal-dependent "habit/response" learning, pre-acquisition peripheral or intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) injections of anxiogenic drugs result in the predominant use of response learning. The present experiments examined the effect of anxiogenic drug treatment on the relative use of multiple memory systems when administered prior to memory retrieval. Adult male Long-Evans rats were trained for two days (6 trials/day, 30s ITI) in a dual-solution plus-maze task to swim from the same start point (south) to an escape platform that was located in a consistent goal arm (west). On day three, prior to a memory retrieval probe trial from a novel start point (north), rats received a peripheral (0.03, 0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg), or intra-BLA (0.1 microg/0.5 microl) injection of the anxiogenic alpha(2)-adrenoreceptor antagonist RS 79948-197, or saline. Relative to saline controls, rats receiving either peripheral or intra-BLA infusions of RS 79948-197 predominantly displayed response learning on the probe trial. In an additional experiment peripheral (0.1 mg/kg) or intra-BLA (0.1 microg) drug injections administered prior to both acquisition and retrieval also resulted in the predominant use of response learning. The findings indicate that (1) similar to acquisition, peripheral injection of an anxiogenic drug prior to memory retrieval biases rats towards the use of habit/response memory, (2) intra-BLA infusions of an anxiogenic drug is sufficient to produce this modulatory effect of emotional state on memory retrieval, and (3) state-dependency does not appear to play a role in the effects of anxiogenic drug treatment on multiple memory system use. The findings may have implications for understanding the interaction between brain function, emotion, and the relative use of multiple memory systems in human psychopathology.     

Memory outcome after pediatric epilepsy surgery: objective and subjective perspectives.

Memory was investigated in 27 children and adolescents in a longitudinal study before and at one and two years after epilepsy surgery. A comparison group with intractable epilepsy (n = 15), matched in age, sex, age of seizure onset, and IQ, was studied at comparable points in time. Methods included administration of standardized measures of story recall and face recognition, and qualitative interviews to probe the participants' perceptions of their memory function over time. There was no significant change over time in either group on the standardized measures. Site and laterality of excision, age at surgery, and seizure outcome were not predictive of change within the surgical group. The narratives revealed facets of memory that were problematic in daily life. The objective and subjective results showed low concordance regarding change, possibly due to limitations in the objective measures for capturing semantic and autobiographical memory.     

Views of Employee Participation, Higher Order Needs, Altruism, Pride in Craftsmanship, and Collectivism: Implications for Organizational Practice and Public Policy

Using a sample of 749 individuals, we examine the correlation of views of employee participation and higher order needs, altruism, pride in craftsmanship, and collectivism. Structural equation modeling (accounting for measurement errors) shows that views of employee participation are correlated positively with higher order needs, altruism, pride in craftsmanship, and collectivism. Our model also shows equivalency across 3 different age groups. Implications of our results for organizational practice and public policy are discussed.     

Online control of discrete action following visual perturbation

We examined the spatial and temporal limitations of the visual corrective process in goal-directed aiming, as well as gender differences in online control. An initial experiment was conducted to test the utility of a monocular switch procedure as a method of rapidly introducing a visual perturbation. The results revealed minimal effect of the monocular switch on movement time and the endpoint error. Following this control experiment, prismatic displacement was introduced at the initiation of and during the movement. In the third experiment, the prism was presented prior to movement initiation, and then removed at the beginning of or during the movement. Movement trajectories were most influenced by the early presentation and removal of the prism, and female performance was significantly more affected by both perturbations than male performance.     

Church Attendance and Marital Commitment Beliefs of Undergraduate Women

Marital commitment between spouses has been found to be an important predictor of successful marriages. Beliefs about marital commitment among never-married young adults are of interest because of their probable influence on subsequent marital behaviors. The current study examined social-cognitive processes; specifically, religiousness, locus-of-control beliefs, and gender role attitudes, in the prediction of marital commitment beliefs among 294 undergraduate never-married women. We found that higher religiousness and lower chance locus of control were significantly correlated with stronger marital commitment beliefs. Multiple regression analyses revealed that religiousness was the best predictor of marital commitment beliefs in this sample. Social learning processes are implicated in the development of marital commitment beliefs. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.