Reliability of the bipolar form of the profile of mood states using an alternative test protocol

The bipolar version of Profile of Mood States was completed by 124 participants (58 women and 66 men, M age 26.5, SD=3.9 yr.) on two occasions--once when the measure was self-administered according to that test protocol and once when POMS-BI items were projected onto a screen with participants being asked to provide oral responses to items. Data from both modes of administration provided similar support for the internal consistency of the measure (alpha values ranged from .78 to .90).     

Coping sense of humor reduces effects of stereotype threat on women's math performance

Two studies demonstrated that coping sense of humor buffered women against the effects of stereotype threat on math performance. Using a correlational design, Study 1 demonstrated that women low in coping sense of humor assessed their performance on standardized math tests lower than did men and lower than did women high in coping sense of humor. Using an experimental design, Study 2 showed that coping sense of humor was positively related to women's performance on a math test taken under conditions of stereotype threat but not under conditions of no stereotype threat. Mediation analyses suggest that in the stereotype-threat condition, state anxiety mediated the relationship between coping sense of humor and test performance. Women higher in coping sense of humor performed better because they felt less anxiety while taking the test.     

Psychophysics with junctions in real images

Junctions, formed at the intersection of image contours, are thought to play an important and early role in vision. The interest in junctions can be attributed in part to the notion that they are local image features that are easy to detect but that nonetheless provide valuable information about important events in the world, such as occlusion and transparency. Here I test the notion that there are locally defined junctions in real images that might be detected with simple, early visual mechanisms. Human observers were used as a tool to measure the visual information available in local regions of real images. One set of observers was made to label all the points in a set of real images where one edge occluded another. A second set of observers was presented with variable-size circular subregions of these images, and was asked to judge whether the regions were centered on an occlusion point. This task is easy if junctions are visible, but I found performance to be poor for small regions, not approaching ceiling levels until observers were given fairly large (approximately 50 pixels in diameter) regions over which to make the judgment. Control experiments ruled out the possibility that the effects are just due to junctions at multiple scales. Experiments reported here suggest that, although some junctions in real images are locally defined and can be detected with simple mechanisms, a substantial fraction necessitate the use of more complex and global processes. This raises the possibility that junctions in such cases may not be detected prior to scene interpretation.     

The cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder: results from the BOSCOT trial

Borderline personality disorder places a significant burden on healthcare providers and other agencies. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy plus treatment as usual compared to treatment as usual alone for patients with borderline personality disorder. The economic analysis was conducted alongside a multi-center, randomized controlled trial. The costs of primary and secondary healthcare utilization, alongside the wider economic costs, were estimated from medical records and patient self-report. The primary outcome measure used was the quality-adjusted life year (QALY), assessed using EuroQol. On average, total costs per patient in the cognitive behavior therapy group were lower than patients receiving usual care alone (-689 pounds sterling), although this group also reported a lower quality of life (-0.11 QALYs). These differences were small and did not approach conventional levels of statistical significance. The use of cognitive therapy for borderline personality disorder does not appear to demonstrate any significant cost-effective advantage based on the results of this study.     

Developmental patterns of African American and Caucasian adolescents' alcohol use

This study examined the developmental alcohol use trajectories of Caucasian and African American adolescents. Participants were 1,358 adolescents (77.6% Caucasian). Results suggest that not only do patterns of alcohol use differ for Caucasian and African American adolescents, but that there is substantial within group variation as well. Results suggest that using a within-groups developmental approach is one promising way to identify subgroups of adolescents at greatest risk for substance use.     

More of a (wo)man offline? Gender roles measured in online and offline environments

The increased availability of and access to the Internet has resulted in online psychological assessment becoming an attractive mode of collecting data. However, equivalence between online measures and their offline counterpart cannot be assumed. The aim of the current study was to examine for the first time the online and offline equivalence of a commonly employed measure of gender role orientation: the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) short-form. Participants (N = 372) completed the BSRI short-form either online (n = 244) or offline (n = 128). Equivalence was assessed through reliability measures and mean differences. Reliability analyses indicated good and comparable levels of internal consistency. There was no significant difference between femininity scores depending on mode of administration. However, masculinity scores were significantly higher when the BSRI short-form was administered offline. An additional and unexpected finding was that there was no significant difference between men and women’s masculinity scores. Explanations for the pattern of results seen are considered, including the possible role of social desirability. Future research should further consider conceptualisations of gender in the online environment. Given the findings reported here, it is recommended that researchers collecting gender role data online interpret their findings mindful of possible administration mode effects.