A Statistical Consideration Regarding the Threshold of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised

The Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL–R; Hare, 2003 Hare, R. D. (2003). Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised technical manual (2nd ed.). Toronto, ON, Canada: Multi-Health Systems. [Google Scholar]) is one of the most commonly used measures of psychopathy. Scores range from 0 to 40, and legal and mental health professionals sometimes rely on a cut score or threshold to classify individuals as psychopaths. This practice, among other things, assumes that all items contribute equally to the overall raw score. Results from an item response theory analysis (Bolt, Hare, Vitale, &; Newman, 2004 Bolt, D. M., Hare, R. D., Vitale, J. E., &; Newman, J. P. (2004). A multigroup item response theory analysis of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised. Psychological Assessment, 16, 155–168. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.16.2.155[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), however, indicate that PCL–R items differ in the amount of information they can provide about psychopathy. We examined the consequences of these item differences for using a cut score, detailing the consequences for a previously applied cut score of 30 as an example. Results indicated that there were more than 8.5 million different response combinations that equaled 30 and more than 14.2 million that equaled 30 or more. This raw score, like others, corresponded to a broad range of PCL–R-defined psychopathy, indicating that applying cut scores on this measure results in imprecise quantifications of psychopathy. We show that by using the item parameters along with an individual's particular scores on the PCL–R items, it is possible to arrive at a more precise understanding of an individual's level of psychopathy on this instrument.     

Violent Attitudes and Antisocial Behavior: Examining the Code of the Street’s Generalizability among a College Sample

Drawing on Elijah Anderson’s (1999) Code of the Street thesis, this study assesses the generalizability of street code attitudes. Using a sample of college students from a large Midwest university, the current study contributes to the literature by examining: (1) the generalizability of street code attitudes; (2) the correlates of street code attitudes, including various forms of strain; and (3) the predictive power of street code attitudes on criminal and non-criminal behavior. Our results reveal that street code attitudes are generalizable to college students, strain constructs are important correlates of street code attitudes, and street code attitudes are associated with criminal behavior. However, the effect of street code attitudes on criminal behavior becomes non-significant once measures of strain are included. Further, street code attitudes do not predict non-criminal behavior.     

Categorical Perception Beyond the Basic Level: The Case of Warm and Cool Colors

Categories can affect our perception of the world, rendering between‐category differences more salient than within‐category ones. Across many studies, such categorical perception (CP) has been observed for the basic‐level categories of one's native language. Other research points to categorical distinctions beyond the basic level, but it does not demonstrate CP for such distinctions. Here we provide such a demonstration. Specifically, we show CP in English speakers for the non‐basic distinction between “warm” and “cool” colors, claimed to represent the earliest stage of color lexicon evolution. Notably, the advantage for discriminating colors that straddle the warm–cool boundary was restricted to the right visual field—the same behavioral signature previously observed for basic‐level categories. This pattern held in a replication experiment with increased power. Our findings show that categorical distinctions beyond the basic‐level repertoire of one's native language are psychologically salient and may be spontaneously accessed during normal perceptual processing.     

Are Pre-Assembly Shared Work Experiences Useful for Temporary-Team Assembly Decisions? A Study of Olympic Ice Hockey Team Composition

The purpose of this study was to investigate if pre-assembly shared work experiences among temporary team members facilitate individual and team performance. Archival data from the 2014 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament (12 teams, 25 players each) was used in the study. Measures of social network centrality were computed based on the pre-assembly shared work experiences among national team members derived from professional and amateur affiliations. These measures were used to predict objective individual and team performance criteria. Players’ closeness centrality scores, from pre-assembly shared work experience networks, positively predicted their goals, assists, and being involved in more positive than negative plays. Teams with less centralized pre-assembly shared work experience network structures tended to perform better than teams with more centralized pre-assembly shared work experience network structures. Temporary teams are commonly used by organizations to perform tasks that are specific, important, and of short duration. Because temporary teams have little time to develop the shared properties required for effective team functioning, assembly decisions are of paramount importance. The results from this study suggest that centrality measures derived from pre-assembly shared work experiences are useful to consider when assembling temporary teams. Few studies have investigated the impact of pre-assembly shared work experiences on individual and team performance. Using objective data, this study provides evidence that pre-assembly shared work experiences relate to individual and team performance in temporary teams, supporting the need for expanded research in this area.     

Usability of a Smartphone Application to Support the Prevention and Early Intervention of Anxiety in Youth

Mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders are common in youth with anxiety problems being among the most prevalent, typically failing to spontaneously remit, and placing some youth at risk for additional difficulties. Mobile health (mHealth) might be a novel avenue to strengthen prevention efforts for child anxiety, since program effects are generally small. However, although a significant number of mHealth tools have been developed, few have been evaluated in terms of usability (or even clinical effectiveness). Usability testing is the first level of evaluation in responsible mHealth efforts as it is one of the main barriers to usage and adoption. As such, the objective of this research was to evaluate the usability of a smartphone application (app) corresponding to an indicated prevention and early intervention targeting youth anxiety. To accomplish this, 132 children (M_age = 9.65, 63% girls) and 45 service providers (M_age = 29.13, 87% female) rated our app along five established dimensions of usability (ease of use, ease of learning, quality of support information, satisfaction, and stigma). Findings showed that the app was highly and positively rated by youth and providers, with some variations (lower ratings when errors occurred). Path analyses also showed that system understanding was significantly related to greater system satisfaction, but that such relation occurred through the quality of support information offered by the app. Together, this has research and clinical implications as it highlights avenues for advancing youth care via mHealth usability evaluation, including prior to establishing effectiveness.     

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in College Students: A Review of the Literature

The current review presents a theory-guided review of the existing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in college students. Across the eight studies that investigated this topic, moderate reductions were shown in inattentive symptoms but little to no change was reported in hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Results indicated a moderate treatment effect on self-reported quality of life and school/work functioning, yet less of an impact on GPA, response inhibition, social functioning, and executive functioning. Methodological and statistical problems and inconsistencies were noted. Since college students are emerging adults, it is likely that the optimum CBT intervention for college students with ADHD lies somewhere in between the existing clinic-based adult ADHD CBT interventions as well as the school-based adolescent ADHD psychosocial interventions. Directions for future research and recommendations for clinicians in university settings are provided in an attempt to further develop the existing college students CBT clinical research evidence base.     

A time-lagged investigation of the mediating role of person–organization fit in the relationship between leader–member exchange and employee affective organizational commitment

This study provides a new perspective on the relationship between LMX and affective organizational commitment, treating person-organization fit (P-O fit) as an explanatory mechanism and identifying co-worker support and customer recognition as moderators of the first stage of this indirect relationship. Results of a three-wave time-lagged study of survey responses obtained from 137 employees working in the retail service sector over a three-year period were consistent with the proposed model. Multiple regression and moderated mediation analyses revealed that LMX indirectly and positively predicted affective organizational commitment through its positive relationship with P–O fit, suggesting that LMX provides a means by which supervisors are able to instill organizational values in employees and/or signal the degree to which their values match those of the organization. Moreover, co-worker support and customer recognition each moderated the first stage of this indirect relationship, such that the relationship between LMX and P–O fit and, in turn, its indirect relationship with affective organizational commitment is stronger as support from co-workers or customer recognition is lacking. At high levels of co-worker support and customer recognition, LMX exhibits no significant relationship with P–O fit. Together, these results provide new explanations for how and under which conditions LMX might influence employee commitment, suggesting that LMX is particularly salient when employees are lacking other sources of relational support or recognition and that high-quality relations with co-workers and/or customers may serve to compensate for low LMX quality in shaping P–O fit and affective organizational commitment.     

Positive parenting predicts cortisol functioning six years later in young adults

Research which indicates that adverse experiences influence hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis functioning illustrates the social environment ‘getting under the skin’. The present study extended this literature by examining whether positive social forces within the caregiving environment can also impact cortisol functioning. We conducted a prospective investigation of over 300 youth, half of whom were White and half were Black. Attachment, bonding and parental rewards for positive behaviors were observed or reported by the youth as an 8th grader. Twelve repeated measures of salivary cortisol were examined six years later when youth were young adults (mean age 20). Race differences were explored. Stronger attachment, bonding and teen‐reported positive parenting were predictive of high waking cortisol and steeper diurnal slopes six years later. This effect was nonlinear and additive, such that youth whose social contexts were characterized by the strongest attachment, bonding and rewarding parental relationships had the highest waking cortisol. When effects were moderated by race, findings were such that links of positive parenting with HPA functioning were more consistent for White than Black youth. Findings suggest that positive aspects of the caregiving environment can also ‘get under the skin’ and these effects are additive across a range of caregiving indices. These findings dovetail with an emerging literature on the powerful role of social support for shaping the body's stress response system and are interpreted as consistent with the Adaptive Calibration Model which suggests that cortisol regulation can have adaptive significance. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/8evHXpt_TXM .     

Adolescent development of insula‐dependent interoceptive regulation

Adolescence is hypothesized to be a critical period for the maturation of self‐regulatory capacities, including those that depend on interoceptive sensitivity, but the neural basis of interoceptive regulation in adolescence is unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and psychophysiology to study interoceptive regulation in healthy adolescent females. Participants regulated their gut activities in response to a virtual roller coaster by deep breathing aided by visually monitoring their online electrogastrogram (EGG) activity through a virtual thermometer (i.e. gut biofeedback), or without biofeedback. Analyses focused on the insula, given its putative role in interoception. The bilateral posterior insula showed increased activation in the no‐biofeedback compared to biofeedback condition, suggesting that the participants relied more on interoceptive input when exteroceptive feedback was unavailable. The bilateral dorsal anterior insula showed activation linearly associated with age during both induction and regulation, and its activation during regulation correlated positively with change of EGG in the tachygastria frequency band from induction to regulation. Induction‐related activation in the bilateral ventral anterior insula was nonlinearly associated with age and peaked at mid‐adolescence. These results implicate different developmental trajectories of distinct sub‐regions of the insula in interoceptive processes, with implications for competing neurobiological theories of female adolescent development.