A Comparison of Single and Multi-Test Working Memory Assessments in Predicting Academic Achievement in Children

Children assessed as having low working memory capacity have also been shown to perform more poorly than their same-aged peers in measures of academic achievement. Early detection of working memory problems is, therefore, an important first step in reducing the impact of a working memory deficit on the development of academic skills. In this study, we compared a single-test assessment, the Working Memory Power Test for Children (WMPT) and a multi-test assessment, the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA), in their ability to predict academic achievement in reading, numeracy, and spelling. A total of 132 Australian school children (mean age 9 years, 9 months) participated in the research. Strong positive correlations between the WMPT and AWMA total scores were found, indicating good convergent validity of the single and multi-test measures. WMPT scores correlated with each of the four AWMA subtests designed to assess verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory. WMPT and AWMA scores separately predicted performance on Word Reading, Numerical Operations, and Spelling. Compared with either measure alone, the WMPT and the AWMA in combination predicted more of the variance in Word Reading and Numerical Operations, but not in Spelling. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Stressors Experienced During Deployment Among Canadian Armed Forces Personnel: Factor Structure of Two Combat Exposure Scales

Combat exposure is linked to increased mental health problems among military personnel. Reliable, precise, and efficient measurement of combat experiences can facilitate understanding of the effects of combat on mental health. This study examined the psychometric properties of 2 scales used to assess deployment experiences in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel in 2 different settings: during a Third Location Decompression (TLD) program after deployment, and during routine postdeployment screening. Principal components analyses yielded similar results for the 2 measures. The components containing items relevant to Exposure to the Dead and Injured, Dangerous Environment, and Active Combat were common across both surveys. The TLD results revealed a fourth component, Personal Suffering, while the postdeployment screening data revealed a fourth component, Perceived Responsibility. This study found categories of deployment stressors that can be used for further analysis, and underscores the importance of assessing a broad range of exposures in the combat environment.     

Surgeons and the Spirit: A Study on the Relationship of Religiosity to Clinical Practice

This study aimed to identify the religious practices and beliefs of surgeons and the relationship between surgeons locus of control and religiosity. Thirty-five surgeons completed a survey that included items from the Duke University Religion Index, the Salesian Center Intrinsic Religiosity Scale for Clinicians, and Rotters Locus of Control Scale. Over 68% of sampled surgeons affirmed that their religious beliefs play a part in their practice, 47% attend religious services at least weekly, and 44% pray daily. There was no correlation between locus of control and religiosity. These results challenge the myth of the egocentric, agnostic surgeon.     

Dual processes in recognition: Does a focus on measurement operations provide a sufficient foundation?

Current theoretical thinking about dual processes in recognition relies heavily on the measurement operations embodied within the process dissociation procedure. We critically evaluate the ability of this procedure to support this theoretical enterprise. We show that there are alternative processes that would produce a rough invariance in familiarity (a key prediction of the dual-processing approach) and that the process dissociation procedure does not have the power to differentiate between these alternative possibilities. We also show that attempts to relate parameters estimated by the process dissociation procedure to subjective reports (remember-know judgments) cannot differentiate between alternative dual-processing models and that there are problems with some of the historical evidence and with obtaining converging evidence. Our conclusion is that more specific theories incorporating ideas about representation and process are required.     

Emotional learning and glutamate: translational perspectives

Anxiety disorders are a common focus of clinical concern and certain forms of anxiety may be conceptualized as disorders of emotional learning. Behavior therapies effective in the treatment of anxiety are modeled on extinction training as a means of reducing pathological anxiety. The present understanding of human anxiety has been informed by preclinical research using rodent models to study the acquisition and extinction of fear. Glutamate appears to have a central role in both of these processes. The authors review this literature and discuss novel applications of D-cycloserine, a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, for the treatment of anxiety.     

The internal adaptation processes of professional boxers during the Showtime Super Six Boxing Classic: A qualitative thematic analysis

ObjectivesThe Super Six World Boxing Classic was conceived by Showtime Sports to feature the best six professional boxers in the super middleweight division (168 pounds) throughout a modified round robin tournament. The objective was to explore the adaptation and mal-adaptation processes of the tournament's original six tournament participants over time.DesignMedia data in the form of documentary episodes (n = 12 episodes, ～30 min each from the foregoing source were transcribed verbatim. Data included athletes' responses prior to their first bout and as each progressed or was eliminated. Boxers' post-bout explanations were also included.MethodThe original six contestants (mean age = 28.8 years at tournament start) from the tournament, with a record of 157 wins and 4 losses, were included within the project. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis (see Braun & Clarke, 2006).ResultsThe following themes were identified: (a) pre-conditions: moving into the tournament (subthemes: positive anticipation, uncertainty), (b) outcomes: moving through the tournament (subthemes: tournament progression, tournament regressions), and (c) consequences: moving out of the tournament (sub-themes: responses of the defeated, the king's adaptation).ConclusionsThis study highlights the adaptation processes of the six tournament contestants, demonstrating how one athlete adapted successfully and became champion through personal focus. The remaining athletes lost at least once, with pre-bout adaptation processes suggesting performance regression. These findings add to the adaptation literature, further contextualizing how adaptation meanings change and unfold over time.     

The long, steep path to equality: progressing on egalitarian goals

The present research examined the impact that perceived progress on egalitarian goals had on subsequent racial bias. In particular, a new bogus pipeline procedure was used to provide feedback to participants that they were becoming incrementally more egalitarian. The impact of this information on intergroup behavior and attitudes was tested. In particular, we looked at the effect of goal feedback on outgroup discrimination and ingroup favoritism, as well as implicit racial attitudes. Three studies found that participants demonstrated greater racial bias after receiving feedback that they were progressing on egalitarian goals versus either feedback that they were failing on egalitarian goals or no feedback. Specifically, participants who were told that they were progressively becoming more egalitarian sat farther away from Blacks and closer to Whites and demonstrated greater implicit racial prejudice. The implication of these findings for current theories on prejudice, intergroup relations, and social goals are discussed.     

In perfect harmony: synchronizing the self to activated social categories

The self-concept is one of the main organizing constructs in the behavioral sciences because it influences how people interpret their environment, the choices they make, whether and how they initiate action, and the pursuit of specific goals. Because belonging to social groups and feeling interconnected is critical to human survival, the authors propose that people spontaneously change their working self-concept so that they are more similar to salient social categories. Specifically, 4 studies investigated whether activating a variety of social categories (i.e., jocks, hippies, the overweight, Blacks, and Asians) increased associations between the self and the target category. Whereas Studies 1 and 2 focused on associations between stereotypic traits and the self, Studies 3 and 4 examined self-perceptions and self-categorizations, respectively. The results provide consistent evidence that following social category priming, people synchronized the self to the activated category. Furthermore, the findings indicate that factors that influence category activation, such as social goals, and factors that induce a focus on the interconnectedness of the self, such as an interdependent vs. independent self-construal, can impact this process. The implications of changes to the working self-concept for intergroup relations are discussed.     

What if we fake emotional intelligence? A test of criterion validity attenuation

We evaluate the extent to which established self-report measures of emotional intelligence (EI) are susceptible to socially desirable responding. A study was conducted to assess the relationship between EI and multiple outcomes across 3 experimental faking conditions. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the criterion validities of self-report EI measures in the prediction of life satisfaction, psychological distress, rational coping, and detachment coping are not attenuated in moderate social desirability settings, but are somewhat attenuated when faking is maximized. Moreover, partialing out social desirability does not yield any improvement of the predictive validity of self-report EI.     

The transgender parent: Experiences and constructions of pregnancy and parenthood for transgender men in Australia

Background: Transgender (trans) men are commonly born with the reproductive anatomy that allows them to become pregnant and give birth and many wish to do so. However, little is known about Australian trans men's experiences of desiring parenthood and gestational pregnancy.

Aims: The present study aims to address this gap in the literature through addressing the following research questions: how do Australian trans men construct and experience their desire for parenthood? And, how do Australian trans men construct and experience gestational pregnancy?

Methods: This study aimed to explore these experiences, through a mixed-methods research design using online survey data and one-on-one interviews, with 25 trans men, aged 25–46 years old, who had experienced a gestational pregnancy. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: For our participants, parenthood was initially described as alienating and complex, however transitioning enabled participants to negotiate and construct their own parenting identity. Pregnancy was positioned as a problematic but “functional sacrifice,” however formal assisted fertility experiences were rife with exclusion. At the same time dysphoria associated with withdrawing from testosterone and the growing fecund body were significantly troubling. Changes to the chest were of particular concern for participants. Exclusion, isolation, and loneliness were the predominant features of trans men's experiences of gestational pregnancies. Healthcare systems are not generally supportive of trans bodies and identities and trans men encounter significant issues when interacting with healthcare providers. As such, the results reinforce the importance of inclusive and specialized health services to support trans men through pregnancy.