The planning and execution of sequential eye movements: saccades do not show the one target advantage

The present experiment examined the one-target advantage (OTA) with regard to saccadic eye movements. The OTA, previously found with manual pointing responses, refers to the finding that movements are executed faster when the limb is allowed to stop on the target compared to the situation where it has to proceed and hit a second target. Using an adapted limb movement OTA task, saccades of 5 degrees and 15 degrees were made to (a) a single target (one-target), (b) one target and immediately to another target without a change in direction (two-target-extension), and (c) one target and immediately back to the start location (two-target-reversal). Unlike manual movements, the movement times for the initial saccade in the two-target-extension condition were not prolonged compared to either of the other two conditions. Moreover, this pattern of results was found for both the shorter and longer amplitude saccades. The results indicate that the OTA does not occur in the oculomotor system and therefore is not a general motor control phenomenon.     

Responsivity to two odorants, androstenone and amyl acetate, and the affective impact of odors on interpersonal relationships

Substantial variation exists in the importance of olfaction in influencing individuals' preferences, yet the sources of this variation remain elusive. The authors explored responsivity to 2 odorants as 1 potential source. Participants (N = 258) completed the Affective Impact of Odor Scale and were assessed for responsivity to the putative human pheromone androstenone and amyl acetate. Results showed a significant relationship between odorant responsivity and self-reports of the influence of odors. People able to smell androstenone more commonly reported odors as having a negative effect on interpersonal relationships than did people anosmic to androstenone, whereas responsivity to amyl acetate was associated with positive effects of odors on relationships. Responsivity to certain odorants may be an important factor affecting human social interactions.     

Flanker and negative flanker effects in letter identification

In a speeded choice reaction time task, responses to centrally presented letter targets can be altered by the identity of surrounding task-irrelevant letters (flankers). In the standard flanker effect, flankers associated with the same response as the target lead to faster and more accurate responses, whereas flankers associated with a different response lead to slower and more error-prone responses. B. A. Eriksen and C. W. Eriksen (1974, pp. 143-149) have argued that these flanker effects occur through response competition. We present data from a novel version of the Eriksen task, in which some targets and flankers consist of letter forms that are morphed versions of target letters. In this paradigm, flankers induce classic flanker effects on well-formed targets. But flankers induce an opposite effect, termed a negative flanker effect on morphed letter targets. For example, targets that are morphs between the letters "A" and "H" are more likely to be identified as an "A" when flanked by an "H." The interpretation advanced here is that there are two distinct kinds of flanker effects contrast enhancement in perceptual processes and response competition in response selection processes.     

Environmental support promotes expertise-based mitigation of age differences on pilot communication tasks

The authors investigated whether expertise is more likely to mitigate age declines when experts rely on environmental support in a pilot/Air Traffic Control (ATC) communication task. Pilots and nonpilots listened to ATC messages that described a route through an airspace, while they referred to a chart of the airspace. They read back (repeated) each message and then answered a probe question about the route. In a preliminary study, participants could take notes while listening to the messages and performing the read-back and probe tasks. In Experiment 1, opportunity to take notes was manipulated. Note taking determined when expertise mitigated age differences on the read-back task. With note taking, read-back accuracy declined with age for nonpilots but not for pilots. Without note taking, similar age-related declines occurred for pilots and nonpilots. Benefits of expertise, younger age, and note taking occurred for probe accuracy, but mitigation did not occur. The findings suggest that older adults take advantage of a domain-relevant form of environmental support (note taking) to maintain performance on some complex tasks despite typical age-related declines in cognitive ability.     

Medical slang in British hospitals

The usage, derivation, and psychological, ethical, and legal aspects of slang terminology in medicine are discussed. The colloquial vocabulary is further described and a comprehensive glossary of common UK terms provided in appendix. This forms the first list of slang terms currently in use throughout the British medical establishment.     

Contemporary longitudinal methods for the study of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder

Traditional methods for analyzing trends in longitudinal data have typically emphasized average group change over time. In this article, we propose multilevel, regression-based methods for examining inter-individual differences in intra-individual change and apply these methods to research in trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The outcome or dependent variable of interest is reconceptualized as an index of dynamic change reflecting the trend or trajectory of an individual's PTSD symptom severity scores across time. A basic statistical model is presented, and analyses and findings are demonstrated with an existing database used in previously published studies. The methods offer promise for future study of the natural course of PTSD chronicity or recovery, risk and resilience factors that influence individual growth or decline, and critical timepoints for intervention.     

Children's nighttime fears: parent-child ratings of frequency, content, origins, coping behaviors and severity

The present study investigated nighttime fears in normal school children aged 4 to 12 yr (N=176). Children and their parents were interviewed about the frequency, content, origins, coping behaviors and severity of children's nighttime fears. Results showed that 73.3% of the children reported nighttime fears, indicating that these fears are quite prevalent. Inspection of the developmental course of nighttime fears revealed that these fears are common among 4- to 6-year-olds, become even more frequent in 7- to 9-year-olds and then remain relatively stable in 10- to 12-year-olds. Inspection of the origins of nighttime fears revealed that most of the children (i.e., almost 80%) attributed their fear to negative information; conditioning and modeling were endorsed less frequently (25.6% and 13.2%, respectively). A substantial percentage of the children (24.0%) indicated that learning experiences had not played a role in the acquisition of their nighttime fears. Children reported a variety of coping strategies in order to deal with their nighttime fears and generally rated these strategies as helpful in reducing anxiety. Furthermore, children's nighttime fears were associated with moderate levels of anxiety. Moreover, in about 10% of the children, nighttime fears were related to one or more DSM-III-R anxiety disorders. Finally, parental reports of children's nighttime fears substantially deviated from children's reports. Most importantly, parents provided a marked underestimation of the frequency of nighttime fears, at least as reported by their children.     

Self-injurious behavior: gene-brain-behavior relationships

This paper summarizes a conference held at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development on December 6-7, 1999, on self-injurious behavior [SIB] in developmental disabilities. Twenty-six of the top researchers in the U.S. from this field representing 13 different disciplines discussed environmental mechanisms, epidemiology, behavioral and pharmacological intervention strategies, neurochemical substrates, genetic syndromes in which SIB is a prominent behavioral phenotype, neurobiological and neurodevelopmental factors affecting SIB in humans as well as a variety of animal models of SIB. Findings over the last decade, especially new discoveries since 1995, were emphasized. SIB is a rapidly growing area of scientific interest to both basic and applied researchers. In many respects it is a model for the study of gene-brain-behavior relationships in developmental disabilities.     

Time Perspectives of Strategic Planning Processes and Plans as a Function of Gender and Echelon Socialization

The psychological time perceptions and theperspectives defined for an organization's strategicplanning processes and plans by males and females ofdifferent hierarchical positions are studied. Thefindings obtained reinforce the socialization-centeredperspective: middle class males and females direct theorganization's strategic planning processes and planstoward similar time perspectives when positioned at the same hierarchical level. The findingsenable us to conclude that hierarchical position has astronger influence on strategic managerial behaviorsthan gender.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder in a national sample of female and male Vietnam veterans: risk factors, war-zone stressors, and resilience-recovery variables

Relationships among pretrauma risk factors (e.g., family instability, childhood antisocial behavior), war-zone stressors (e.g., combat, perceived threat), posttrauma resilience-recovery variables (e.g., hardiness, social support), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity were examined. Data from a national sample of 432 female and 1,200 male veterans were analyzed using structural equation modeling. For both genders, direct links to PTSD from pretrauma, war-zone, and posttrauma variable categories were found; several direct associations between pretrauma and posttrauma variables were documented. Although war-zone stressors appeared preeminent for PTSD in men, posttrauma resilience-recovery variables were more salient for women. Researchers, policymakers, and clinicians are urged to take a broad view on trauma and its sequelae, especially regarding possible multiple exposures over time and the depletion and availability of important resources.