Which Aspects of a Semistructured Interview,Besides Cognitive Ability Tests,Contribute Incrementally to Predicting the Training Success of Air Traffic Controller Trainees?

This study examined whether a semistructured interview is valid in predicting training performance in theoretical and simulation examinations and overall training success; which aspects of the interview show incremental validity over cognitive ability tests; and whether additional variables enhance the prediction from the interview. The sample involved data from 337 trainees of the German Air Navigation Service Provider selected by the German Aerospace Center and 657 (interview) and 6,885 (cognitive ability) candidates being the corresponding reference samples. Findings indicate incremental validity of the interview over the cognitive ability tests. Additional variables contributed only to the prediction of theoretical examination performance. Attention, general motivation, and social competence predicted the criteria best, particularly the theoretical examination performance and overall training success.     

Seeing green: Mere exposure to money triggers a business decision frame and unethical outcomes

Can mere exposure to money corrupt? In four studies, we examined the likelihood of unethical outcomes when the construct of money was activated through the use of priming techniques. The results of Study 1 demonstrated that individuals primed with money were more likely to demonstrate unethical intentions than those in the control group. In Study 2, we showed that participants primed with money were more likely to adopt a business decision frame. In Studies 3 and 4, we found that money cues triggered a business decision frame, which led to a greater likelihood of unethical intentions and behavior. Together, the results of these studies demonstrate that mere exposure to money can trigger unethical intentions and behavior and that decision frame mediates this effect.     

Response to restrictive policies: Reconciling system justification and psychological reactance

Here we propose a dual process model to reconcile two contradictory predictions about how people respond to restrictive policies imposed upon them by organizations and systems within which they operate. When participants’ attention was not drawn to the restrictive nature of the policy, or when it was, but their cognitive resources were restricted, we found evidence supporting a prediction based on System Justification Theory: Participants reacted favorably to restrictive policies, endorsing them and downplaying the importance of the restricted freedom. Only when we cued participants to focus their undivided attention on the restrictive nature of the policy did we find evidence supporting a prediction based on psychological reactance: Only then did participants display reactance and respond negatively to the policies.     

Lack of awareness of neuropsychological deficit in cerebral small vessel disease: The relationship with executive and episodic memory functions

A common cause of neuropsychological impairment in older adults is cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), but little is known as to whether lack of awareness of neuropsychological impairment is a feature of this clinical condition. In this study, we investigated awareness deficits in a well‐phenotyped population of patients with SVD (n= 45; 21 with defined concomitant neuropsychological impairment) and made comparisons with 24 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and a further 80 control participants. Awareness of performance on a range of neuropsychological measures was examined based on the Brief Memory and Executive Test Battery (BMET) (Brookes, Hannesdottir, Lawrence, Morris, & Markus, 2012 ), exploring the relationship between awareness and memory and executive function. The results revealed significant awareness deficits in both the SVD and AD groups. When splitting the SVD group into those with or without concomitant neuropsychological impairment, only those with neuropsychological impairment showed reduced awareness. For the SVD group, executive function was significantly correlated with awareness but memory was not. By comparison, memory was significantly correlated with awareness in the AD group, with executive function showing a trend but remaining non‐significant. The results show that lack of awareness of deficit is a clinical feature of SVD and indicate that there are distinct neuropsychological associations with awareness deficit for SVD and AD.     

Mortality Salience and Perceptions of People with AIDS: Understanding the Role of Prejudice

Study 1 examined the perceived association of AIDS and death by showing that thinking about AIDS increased participants'; death-thought accessibility. Hypotheses about the consequences of this association for perceptions of people with AIDS were derived from terror management theory, which proposes that mortality salience increases derogation of those who threaten people's worldviews unless those worldviews oppose prejudice, in which case mortality salience can increase acceptance of people who are otherwise threatening. Consistent with these hypotheses, conservative participants had less favorable impressions (Study 2) and liberal participants had more favorable impressions (Study 3) of a target with AIDS following a death reminder. Study 4 suggested that the decrease in prejudice among liberals following mortality salience was a genuine decrease in prejudice (as indicated by responses to an unobtrusive attitude measure), not just an increase in the desire to appear nonprejudiced. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Relationship between Personality Disorder Features and Symptom Improvement at an Inpatient Treatment Program for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This study examined the association between personality disorder (PD) features and symptom improvement among adult survivors of childhood trauma in an inpatient program for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants completed questionnaires at admission, discharge, and six months following discharge. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the combined effects of personality features on symptom improvement. Results indicated that improvement in trauma-related symptoms was not related to PD features. By contrast, the PD features were associated with change in other Axis I symptoms often comorbid with PTSD. Overall, results suggested that PD features do not impede improvement in trauma-related symptoms; however, specific accommodations might be needed to address comorbid disorders among individuals with PTSD.     

A Method to Optimize the Response Range While Maintaining Rorschach Comprehensive System Validity

Brief and lengthy Rorschach records have been identified as common problems in protocol administration. Clinicians have debated how to prevent overly short and long records, but they have been reluctant to alter standardized administration for fear of introducing bias. The present study examines a nonintrusive method for constraining responses by prompting for an extra response when only one is offered per card and by removing the card after four responses are given. Among patients who typically produce brief records, consisting of a residential sample of civil and forensic patients with a range of disordered thinking, the alternative administration method demonstrated improved Comprehensive System validity in assessing thought disorder and eliminated the need to readminister the test due to fewer than 14 responses. The findings have clinical implications for protocol administration with thought-disordered populations that typically produce brief records.     

Visual,Tactile, and Auditory “Not Just Right” Experiences: Associations With Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Perfectionism

“Not just right” experiences (NJREs), or uncomfortable sensations associated with the immediate environment not feeling “right,” are thought to contribute to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptomatology. The literature suggests that NJREs are experienced across sensory modalities; however, existing in vivo measures have been restricted to visual inductions (e.g., viewing and/or rearranging a cluttered table). The present study used a large undergraduate sample (N = 284) to examine 4 in vivo tasks designed to elicit and assess NJREs across separate sensory modalities (i.e., visual, tactile, and auditory). Task ratings (discomfort evoked, and urge to counteract task-specific stimuli) were uniquely associated with self-report measures of NJREs, OC symptoms (ordering/arranging, checking, and washing), and certain maladaptive domains of perfectionism (doubts about actions, and organization). Findings have implications for experimental research and clinical work targeting NJREs specific to particular senses.     

The Impact of the United States Air Force Deployment Transition Center on Postdeployment Mental Health Outcomes

The United States Air Force Deployment Transition Center (DTC) operates a 2-day third-location decompression program that commenced operations during the summer of 2010 in Ramstein, Germany, with the aim to assist Air Force service members (AFSMs) who are returning from deployment as they prepare to reintegrate back into their home lives and work stations. The present study evaluated the impact of DTC attendance on later mental health outcomes. Because participants are not randomly assigned to attend the DTC, propensity score weighting was used to compare DTC participants (N = 1,573) to a weighted control group of AFSMs (N = 1,570) in the same job specialties who returned from deployment during the same time period. Rates of endorsement to items on the Postdeployment Health Reassessment were examined and compared, as were rates of mental health diagnoses from AFSMs’ official medical records. Key findings indicate that DTC participants reported lower levels of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms and lower levels of relationship conflict following return from deployment, as compared to weighted control participants. Mental health diagnostic rates were comparable for the 2 groups during the first 6 months following return from deployment. These findings suggest that participation in the DTC program had notable benefits for redeploying AFSMs and support the continued use of the program.