Potentiation of the pressor response to stress by tolbutamide in dogs

Tolbutamide has previously been shown to amplify the pressor effects of “exogenous” catecholamines in conscious dogs, possibly due to sensitization of the α₁-adrenoreceptor-mediated vasoconstriction. The objective of this study was to examine if tolbutamide also amplifies the pressor effects of “endogenous” catecholamines released during psychological stress (classical Pavlovian aversive conditioning). Experiments were conducted in β-adrenoreceptor-blocked (propranolol, 1 mg/kg, i.v.) conscious dogs (n=4) trained in classical aversive conditioning. Conditioning was accomplished by following a tone (CS+) with a 1/2 second shock; another tone (CS-) was not followed by any shock and served as control. With saline pretreatment, aversive conditioning (i.e., CS+) increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) only by approximately 4.7% when compared to CS-, whereas with tolbutamide (45 mg/kg, i.v.) pretreatment, the increase in MAP induced by CS+ beyond what was induced by the CS- (approximately 6.2%) was significantly (p<0.05) larger than that with saline pretreatment. In isolated canine femoral arterial segments (n=4), the vasoconstrictor effect of phenylephrine (an α₁-agonist) at 5×10^?6M (which was the EC₅₀ value) was amplified by 2×10^?2M of tolbutamide from 54.0±2.0% to 66.9±2.1%. In conclusion, tolbutamide amplifies the pressor effects of “endogenous” catecholamines in conscious dogs, possibly by sensitization of the α₁-adrenoreceptor-mediated vasoconstriction. This mechanism of action is novel and has not been reported with other agents.     

Perceived Invasiveness and Fairness of Drug-Testing Procedures for Current Employees

A study was conducted with 225 college students to examine the effects of three organizational and policy variables on the perceived fairness and invasiveness of drug-testing practices. Specifically, the effects of warning type (no warning vs. advance warning), consequence of a positive drug test (termination vs. rehabilitation), and safety sensitivity of the job (safety sensitive vs. safety nonsensitive) were examined. Results suggested that specific features of the policy, as well as type of job under consideration, affected perceived invasiveness and fairness of drug testing. In general, testing was seen as more appropriate for safety-sensitive jobs, that is, those in which drug-impaired performance presented a high degree of danger for individuals. Although rehabilitation was perceived as more fair than termination, when safety was an issue, termination was viewed as a justifiable response by the company. Implications for organizational drug-testing policies are discussed.     

Gender roles,computer attitudes,and dyadic computer interaction performance in college students

Females tend to score lower than males on measures of computer aptitude and attitudes. This study examined the potential effects of several mediating factors, sex of experimenter, sex of experimental partner, sex typing (Bem Sex Role Inventory score), and level of past experience, on a computer interaction task involving a dyad. College students, drawn from a primarily white college population, after completing paper-and-pencil measures assessing computer experience, computer attitudes, and gender roles, participated in a computer task involving drawing up to ten prescribed geometric patterns on a computer screen. Research assistants recorded the number of correctly completed patterns and videotaped participant interaction through a one-way mirror. Males reported experiencing more computer involvement than females. For males, past computer experience and masculinity were correlated with more positive computer attitude scores. For females, only past computer experience related to more positive computer attitude scores. Analyses of the computer interaction variable indicated that participants asked male research assistants significantly more questions than female research assistants. Several interaction effects were also found.A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, New Orleans, April 1991.     

Depressive self-presentation: beyond self-handicapping

An experiment was conducted to examine the notion that depressives' responses would reflect a protective self-presentation style (Hill, Weary, & Williams, 1986), the underlying goal of which would be the avoidance of future performance demands and potential losses in self-esteem. In this study, depressed and nondepressed Ss were asked to perform a relatively simple visual-motor task. Half of the depressed and half of the nondepressed Ss were told that if they were successful at the task, they would be asked to perform a 2nd, similar task. The remaining Ss were given no such expectation of future performance. We predicted and found that depressed compared with nondepressed Ss strategically failed at the task when presented with the possibility of future performance and further losses in esteem. Moreover, this strategic failure was associated with some costs; depressed-future performance expectancy Ss experienced more discomfort or negative affect as a result of their performance. The relationship between this depressive self-presentation and self-handicapping strategies is discussed.     

Gender patterns in social touch: the impact of setting and age

This study examined the impact of age of participants and the setting in which touch occurred on gender patterns in 799 instances of observed intentional touch. Gender asymmetry, a pattern in which men are more likely to touch women than vice versa, was observed when touch between adults was examined but not when touch involving children was examined. Adult touch interactions occurring in public, nonintimate settings showed gender asymmetry, but adult touch interactions occurring in greeting or leave-taking settings did not. Cross-sex touch was more prevalent among adults, whereas same-sex touch was more prevalent when a child was involved. Implications for theoretical perspectives on gender and touch are discussed.     

Some hypotheses concerning the evolution of polysemous words

The evolution of polysemous words is examined in three studies. Study 1 indicates that older words are more polysemous than recent words, and that frequently used words are more polysemous than infrequently used words. These effects were replicated, controlling for word concreteness (Study 2) and evaluation (Study 3), using two other samples of words. If words evolve additional meanings through metaphor (MacCormac, 1985), then variables (such as concreteness and evaluation) that play a role in metaphor may mediate the evolution of polysemy. The correlation between concreteness and polysemy was negligible (Study 2). As hypothesized, evaluation is a significant predictor of polysemy: Negative words are more polysemous than positive words, and relatively neutral words are more polysemous than evaluatively extreme words. These findings are consistent with the notion that polysemous words evolve, in part, through metaphor.     

Stress,coping, and adjustment in mothers and young adolescents in single- and two-parent families

Compared stress, coping, and psychological adjustment in single (divorced or separated) and married mothers and their young adolescent children. Single mothers reported more daily hassles related to economic, family, and personal health problems, and more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychoticism. Single mothers also reported using more coping strategies related to accepting responsibility and positive reappraisal. After controlling for level of family income, differences in family hassles and coping strategies remained significant. The two groups did not differ on subtypes of symptoms after controlling for income, but single mothers still reported more total psychological symptoms. No differences were found between children in these two family constellations on maternal reports of emotional/behavioral problems or on children's self-reported emotional/behavioral problems, stressful events, or coping. Implications of these findings for adjustment to life in single-parent families are discussed.     

Late Adolescents' Experiences With and Attitudes Toward Videogames1

A total of 229 late adolescents (a large majority 15 to 19 years of age) completed a questionnaire that assesses a broad range of videogame-relevant experiences, preferences, and attitudes. Videogame playing was found to be a more popular, and a more highly regarded, activity among males than females. Gender differences were also found in participants' ratings of their motivations for playing videogames, their evaluations of particular characteristics of videogames, and their selection of their “most favorite” videogame. The differences between frequent and infrequent videogame players appeared to be limited to differences in the extent to which videogame playing is pursued and evaluated as a positive leisure activity, rather than reflecting broad differences in interest or personality. Some relations were found between participants' self-reported personality characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, empathy, conscientiousness, and introversion) and their attitudes toward videogames.     

Positive Psychological States in the Daily Life of a Sample of Working Women

This study of a sample of working women investigated where positive experiences were derived from in everyday life, focusing on the domains of work and nonwork (leisure). It examined how aspects of the situation, in terms of principal environmental influences in work and leisure, and the person, in terms of locus of control, were associated with positive subjective states and psychological well-being. The study employed questionnaires and also the experience sampling method. The results showed that both work and leisure were important for positive psychological states and that internal locus of control was associated with greater enjoyment, interest, feelings of immediate control, intrinsic motivation, life satisfaction, and affective well-being and a number of principal environmental influences.