Sign on the Dotted Line: The Informed Consent Process (ICP) as Induced Compliance1

We investigated the social implications of signing an informed consent form (ICF) on participant behavior. ICF research fails to consider that the decision to participate in research is a process that occurs in a social and cultural context. Understanding the meaning of giving consent in this social context is critical. In separate experiments, we found significantly greater agreement to return to complete a study and persistence at a task in participants who signed the ICF versus those who did not. Signing the ICF may be putting participants at risk of induced compliance with study protocols, rather than empowering them to withhold consent or withdraw. Future research should investigate the psychosocial factors affecting participants' decision making in the informed consent process.     

Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment

The violent video game literature has previously not extended to the domain of violence against women. The current investigation tested the effects of exposure to sex-typed video game characters versus images of professional men and women on judgments and attitudes supporting aggression against women. Results showed experimental effects of short-term exposure to stereotypical media content on sexual harassment judgments but not on rape myth acceptance. A significant interaction indicated that men exposed to stereotypical content made judgments that were more tolerant of a real-life instance of sexual harassment compared to controls. Long-term exposure to video game violence was correlated with greater tolerance of sexual harassment and greater rape myth acceptance. This data contributes to our understanding of mass media’s role in socialization that supports violence against women.     

Low-level relationship aggression and couple therapy outcomes.

Increasing evidence supports the efficacy of conjoint therapies that focus on intimate partner violence for couples who engage in mild to moderate physical aggression but want to preserve the relationship and end the aggression. However, there has been no examination of how this population responds to couple therapy that does not have a specific focus on aggression. This lacuna in the research literature is of concern because couples with a history of low-level aggression often seek couple therapy, but couple therapy without a focus on violence is thought to potentially exacerbate aggression. In the current study, the authors examined the efficacy of non-aggression-focused behavioral couple therapy for couples with and without a history of mild physical aggression. One hundred thirty-four couples, 45% of whom had experienced low-level aggression in the year prior to therapy, completed up to 26 sessions of couple therapy and 2 years of follow-up assessments. Results demonstrated no significant differences in relationship and individual outcomes by history of aggression. In addition, couples maintained very low levels of physical aggression during and after treatment and showed reductions in psychological aggression when relationship and individual functioning improved.     

The role of color in visual search in real-world scenes: evidence from contextual cuing

Because the importance of color in visual tasks such as object identification and scene memory has been debated, we sought to determine whether color is used to guide visual search in contextual cuing with real-world scenes. In Experiment 1, participants searched for targets in repeated scenes that were shown in one of three conditions: natural colors, unnatural colors that remained consistent across repetitions, and unnatural colors that changed on every repetition. We found that the pattern of learning was the same in all three conditions. In Experiment 2, we did a transfer test in which the repeating scenes were shown in consistent colors that suddenly changed on the last block of the experiment. The color change had no effect on search times, relative to a condition in which the colors did not change. In Experiments 3 and 4, we replicated Experiments 1 and 2, using scenes from a color-diagnostic category of scenes, and obtained similar results. We conclude that color is not used to guide visual search in real-world contextual cuing, a finding that constrains the role of color in scene identification and recognition processes.     

Proxytypes and Linguistic Nativism

Prinz (Perceptual the Mind: Concepts and Their Perceptual Basis, MIT Press, 2002) presents a new species of concept empiricism, under which concepts are off-line long-term memory networks of representations that are ‘copies’ of perceptual representations – proxytypes. An apparent obstacle to any such empiricism is the prevailing nativism of generative linguistics. The paper critically assesses Prinz’s attempt to overcome this obstacle. The paper argues that, prima facie, proxytypes are as incapable of accounting for the structure of the linguistic mind as are the more traditional species of empiricism. This position is then confirmed by looking in detail at two suggestions (one derived from recent connectionist research) from Prinz of how certain aspects of syntactic structure might be accommodated by the proxytype theory. It is shown that the suggestions fail to come to terms with both the data and theory of contemporary linguistics.     

Does Religion Increase the Prevalence and Incidence of Obesity in Adulthood?

Previous research reveals that religion in America is related to variations in body weight. This article examines the relationships between religion and both body mass index (BMI) and obesity, which have increased in prevalence in the United States over the past two decades. Using longitudinal data from a national sample of adults, this study prospectively examines whether dimensions of religious life are associated with weight gain and the development of obesity during eight years of follow-up. We examine four dimensions of religiosity (attendance, salience, media practice, and consolation) and religious affiliation. Ordinary least squares regression analyses reveal that high levels of religious media practice are associated with higher BMI in women. Logistic regression analyses reveal that high levels of religious media practice and affiliation with a Baptist denomination increased the risk of obesity for women, but that a high level of religious consolation reduced the risk of obesity incidence for men. Attendance at religious services was associated with a lower risk of the incidence of obesity for women, suggesting the importance of studying links between dimensions of religious life and body weight.     

Attachment and the experience and expression of emotions in romantic relationships: a developmental perspective

In this longitudinal study, the authors tested a developmental hypothesis derived from attachment theory and recent empirical findings. Target participants were 78 individuals who have been studied intensively from infancy into their mid-20s. When targets were 20-23 years old, the authors tested the way in which interpersonal experiences at 3 pivotal points in each target's earlier social development--infancy/early childhood, early elementary school, and adolescence--predicted the pattern of positive versus negative emotions experienced with his or her romantic partner. A double-mediation model revealed that targets classified as securely attached at 12 months old were rated as more socially competent during early elementary school by their teachers. Targets' social competence, in turn, forecasted their having more secure relationships with close friends at age 16, which in turn predicted more positive daily emotional experiences in their adult romantic relationships (both self- and partner-reported) and less negative affect in conflict resolution and collaborative tasks with their romantic partners (rated by observers). These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory and how antecedent life experiences may indirectly shape events in current relationships.     

The state of research and practice in augmentative and alternative communication for children with developmental/intellectual disabilities

Augmentative and alternative communication is a compilation of methods and technology designed to supplement spoken communication for people with limited speech or language skills, including children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The field of AAC has evolved rapidly within the last 10 years, due to a combination of empirical advances from research as well as rapid changes in technology. This article reviews some of the most significant aspects of this growth as it relates to children with developmental disabilities. Major issues within the field, the evidence base available to practitioners and researchers, and promising areas of future growth are identified.     

From H = log s(n) to conceptual framework: a short history of information

"Information" has become a widely used term in psychology, especially within cognitive psychology. However, despite its status as a technical term, the word now rarely receives explicit definition. By contrast, when information entered the vocabulary of psychologists in the late 1940s, it had an explicit mathematical definition largely derived from developments in information theory. This article examines how information entered psychology, how its meaning changed, and how it remained a technical term in the vocabulary of psychologists in the second part of the 20th century. "Information" became a term that was required to speak to ever more diverse theoretical concerns and its earliest definitions in psychology could not sustain such uses. As a consequence, "information" became a term whose technical uses became increasingly difficult to differentiate from its everyday meanings. I argue that this has not necessarily made "information" a worthless term but one whose lack of specificity may now be unsettling to some psychologists.     

Investigation of Ethnic Self‐Labeling in the Latina Population: Implications for Counselors and Counselor Educators

Using a qualitative approach, the author explored the process of ethnic label selection, change, and the meaning assigned to ethnic labels. Ten women of Mexican descent participated in semistructured, in‐depth interviews. Phenomenological analysis of the data revealed several themes, including the importance of family, ancestral traditions, and cultural traits; label as identity; and labels as complex and dynamic. Factors that influenced label choice, meaning, and change; implications for counselors and counselor educators; and limitations and suggestions for future research were addressed.