A Web-Based Contingency Management Program With Adolescent Smokers

The present study evaluated a new 30-day Web-based contingency management program for smoking abstinence with 4 daily-smoking adolescents. Participants made 3 daily video recordings of themselves giving breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples at home that were sent electronically to study personnel. Using a reversal design, participants could earn money for continued abstinence during the treatment phases (CO ≤ 5 ppm). All participants were compliant with the treatment (submitting 97.2% of samples), and all achieved prolonged abstinence from smoking.     

The use of aftereffects in the study of relationships among emotion categories

The perception of visual aftereffects has been long recognized, and these aftereffects reveal a relationship between perceptual categories. Thus, emotional expression aftereffects can be used to map the categorical relationships among emotion percepts. One might expect a symmetric relationship among categories, but an evolutionary, functional perspective predicts an asymmetrical relationship. In a series of 7 experiments, the authors tested these predictions. Participants fixated on a facial expression, then briefly viewed a neutral expression, then reported the apparent facial expression of the 2nd image. Experiment 1 revealed that happy and sad are opposites of one another; each evokes the other as an aftereffect. The 2nd and 3rd experiments reveal that fixating on any negative emotions yields an aftereffect perceived as happy, whereas fixating on a happy face results in the perception of a sad aftereffect. This suggests an asymmetric relationship among categories. Experiments 4-7 explored the mechanism driving this effect. The evolutionary and functional explanations for the category asymmetry are discussed.     

The effects of curvature on haptic judgments of extent in sighted and blind people

A series of experiments was carried out to examine the effect of curvature on haptic judgments of extent in sighted and blind individuals. Experiment 1 showed that diameters connecting the endpoints of semicircular lines were underestimated with respect to straight lines, but failed to show an effect of visual experience on length judgments. In experiment 2 we tested are lengths. The effects of curvature on perceived path length were weaker, but were still present in this experiment. Visual experience had no effect on path length judgments. Another experiment was performed to examine the effect of repeated tracing (1, 5, 9, or unlimited number of traces) on judgments of the lengths of straight lines and diameters of semicircles. Judgments of extent were more accurate when subjects engaged in larger numbers of traces. There was no effect of number of traces on curve-height judgments, suggesting that subjects were not using height estimates to judge diameters of semicircles. In a further experiment we tested the effect of number of traces on curves that varied in height. Restricting subjects to a single trace magnified the effect of path length on judgments of the distance between the endpoints of curves. Additional experiments showed that curvature effects on diameter judgments were not eliminated when stimuli were in the frontal plane or when the curves were explored with the use of two hands. Arm support had no effect on judged length in experiment 7. A final experiment showed a robust horizontal vertical illusion in haptic perception of convex curves, with overestimation of the heights of the curves compared with their widths. The practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

Age-related differences in acquisition of perceptual-motor skills: working memory as a mediator

Aging is associated with reduced performance on information processing speed, memory, and executive functions tasks. Although older adults are also less apt in acquiring new perceptual-motor skills, it is unclear whether and how skill acquisition difficulties are associated with age-related general cognitive differences. We addressed this question by examining structural relations among measures of cognitive resources (working memory) and indices of perceptual-motor skill acquisition (pursuit rotor and mirror tracing) in 96 healthy adults aged 19-80 years of age. Three competing structural models were tested: a single (common) factor model, a dual correlated factors model, and a hierarchical dual-factor model. The third model provided the best fit to the data, indicating age differences in simple perceptual-motor skill are partially mediated by more complex abilities.     

Is Spirituality Detrimental to Generativity?

This article examines the relations between religiousness, spirituality, and generativity (concern for the welfare of future generations) in late adulthood using longitudinal life-course data. Religiousness and spirituality were operationalized as distinct but overlapping dimensions of individual difference measuring involvement in traditional and nontraditional religious practices, respectively. In late adulthood, both religiousness and spirituality correlated positively with overall scores on self-report and observer-based measures of generativity. However, whereas religiousness was significantly related to the communal facets of generativity, spirituality was significantly related to its self-expanding aspects. These differences were more pronounced after gender, cohort, social class, and the overlap between religiousness and spirituality were controlled. The respective relations among religiousness, spirituality, and generativity in late adulthood were also observed using religiousness scored in early, and spirituality scored in late-middle, adulthood.     

Afterword: On the Study of Religion in Public Institutions

Each of the essays presented enters the conversation about religion in public institutions through a different analytic doorway. The essays presented here enlarge and challenge various aspects of our initial analytic framework and enable us to see our blind spots and propose next steps. Reflecting on the contributions, we outline three additional issues to consider: the centrality of religion to the organizational identity or to organizational goal achievement, the effect of a specific aspect of the institution's organizational structure on religion, and the relevance of larger cross‐national differences for explaining differences in the same institution across national borders. Finally, we call for additional cross‐national case studies that will enable continued development of the comparative framework we propose.     

Productive procrastination: academic procrastination style predicts academic and alcohol outcomes

Productive procrastination replaces one adaptive behavior with another adaptive—albeit less important—behavior (e.g., organizing notes instead of studying for an exam). We identified adaptive and maladaptive procrastination styles associated with academic and alcohol outcomes in 1,106 college undergraduates. Cluster analysis identified five academic procrastination styles—non‐procrastinators, academic productive procrastinators, non‐academic productive procrastinators, non‐academic procrastinators, and classic procrastinators. Procrastination style differentially predicted alcohol‐related problems, cravings, risk of alcohol use disorders, and grade point average (all ps < .01). Non‐procrastination and academic productive procrastination were most adaptive overall; non‐academic productive procrastination, non‐academic procrastination, and classic procrastination were least adaptive. Productive procrastination differed from other procrastination strategies, and maladaptive procrastination styles may be a useful risk indicator for preventative and intervention efforts.     

Clinicians' Experiences of Shared Trauma After the Shootings at Virginia Tech

This phenomenological study was designed to describe the shared trauma perspectives of 8 counselors who experienced the shootings at Virginia Tech and responded to community mental health needs. Shared trauma, vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue, vicarious resilience, and posttraumatic growth were examined. Themes derived from interviews included changed perceptions of those who experienced shared trauma and the influence of the experiences on clinicians' work. Implications for practitioners and for counselor training are presented.