Sex differences in information processing

Sex differences in cognitive activity were investigated. Using a list containing words with masculine, feminine, and neutral connotations, Experiment 1 revealed that masculine words were better recalled by male college students (n=16) while feminine words were better recalled by female college students (n=16). This difference was reduced on a recognition test. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the phenomenon was not due to a difference in the way males (n=20) and females (n=20) interpreted the meaning of the words. Finally, in Experiment 3, the memorial selectivity was shown to exist in the same manner for White middle-class elementary school (n=32) and high school (n=32) students. Learning and repression interpretations of the effect were proposed. Some practical implications of the data were suggested.These investigations were supported by a seed grant to the first author. This grant was jointly funded by Southern Methodist University and the National Science Foundation's Institutional Grants for Science Program (GU-3752). The authors would like to express their appreciation to the pupils and teachers on Fain Elementary School and Rider High School, both in Wichita Falls, Texas.     

Obscene telephone calls to children: a retrospective field study

Studied a sample of 24 Danish children selected from a larger group of 56 children who had received obscene telephone calls from a single adult offender to ascertain the psychological consequences of this form of sexual abuse. The sample is unusual in that the source of the abuse was the same for all of the children, and none of them had records of prior or concurrent abuse from other sources. Almost all children suffered significant psychological consequences from these calls, those who obeyed the caller's demands experiencing more serious consequences than those who did not. A comparison was made with the consequences suffered by an additional group of 7 children who had experienced direct physical sexual abuse by the same offender.     

Substance P is involved in terminating the hypothalamo- pituitary-adrenal axis response to acute stress through centrally located neurokinin-1 receptors

The neurokinin substance P (SP) has been previously shown to inhibit basal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. This study was designed to investigate the effects of central injection of the specific neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist RP67580 on the HPA axis response to acute restraint stress. In non-restrained rats injected with RP67580, plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels were elevated at 30 and 60 min compared to rats injected with vehicle, but there were no differences between vehicle and RP67580 groups at 4h. In restrained rats injected with vehicle, plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels were significantly elevated at 30 min and 60 min following initiation of the stress but had returned to basal levels at 4h. In restrained rats injected icv with RP67580, plasma corticosterone and ACTH levels were significantly elevated at 30 min and 60 min, with no significant differences compared to the restraint stressed vehicle-injected group. However, in the RP67580-injected group, corticosterone and ACTH levels remained significantly elevated at 4h following onset of restraint compared to those in the restraint stressed vehicle-injected group. Corticotrophin-releasing factor mRNA levels in the parvocellular subdivision of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and POMC mRNA levels in the anterior pituitary were significantly increased in the stressed group 4h following injection with RP67580 compared to the stressed group injected with vehicle alone. These data show that endogenous SP does not inhibit the initial magnitude of the HPA axis response to restraint stress, but does act through neurokinin-1 receptors at a central level to reduce the duration of the response to stress. This suggests that SP may be an important central agent controlling the transition between acute and chronic stress.     

Implementation of DBT-Informed Therapy at a Rural University Training Clinic: A Case Study

University training clinics offer state-of-the-art treatment opportunities for clients, particularly for underserved and underinsured client populations. Little has been published regarding the implementation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in settings such as a university training clinic, which may face challenges in utilizing such a comprehensive treatment. This single-case study describes the application of a DBT-informed treatment with a female BPD client, highlighting how the modifications made can ease implementation in a rural university training clinic. Data collected from DBT diary cards document minimal time demands required for the use of between session-coaching, along with clinically meaningful changes in suicidality and misery ratings, and effective DBT skill use. A discussion of the unique components and contributions of this case to informing potential DBT modifications within university clinics are presented.     

The phonological loop unmasked? A comment on the evidence for a "perceptual-gestural" alternative

Jones et al. (Jones, Hughes, & Macken, 2006; Jones, Macken, & Nicholls, 2004) identify the interaction between phonological similarity, articulatory suppression, and stimulus presentation mode in verbal short-term memory as potentially providing important support for the phonological loop hypothesis. They find such an interaction but attribute it to "perceptual organization masquerading as phonological storage". We present data using shorter letter sequences and find clear evidence of the interaction predicted by the phonological loop hypothesis, which, unlike the evidence of Jones et al., is not limited to recency, and which provides continued support for the phonological loop hypothesis.     

Understanding the role of hope in counselling: Exploring the intentional uses of hope

In this paper we look at various conceptual models of hope and research evidence for the integral role that hope plays in counselling. We recognize hope as a dynamic process during which counsellor and client interact in ways that can be mutually influencing and we review research that explores this reciprocal process. A model for the intentional use of hope in counselling that recognizes both implicit and explicit approaches is offered. Metaphors for hope-work that position and re-position both counsellor and client in ways that may foster hope are explored. Finally, we provide suggestions for initiating conversations in which hope can be an explicit therapeutic focus.     

Children's understanding and experience of mixed emotions

Though some models of emotion contend that happiness and sadness are mutually exclusive in experience, recent findings suggest that adults can feel happy and sad at the same time in emotionally complex situations. Other research has shown that children develop a better conceptual understanding of mixed emotions as they grow older, but no research has examined children's actual experience of mixed emotions. To examine developmental differences in the experience of mixed emotions, we showed children ages 5 to 12 scenes from an animated film that culminated with a father and daughter's bittersweet farewell. In subsequent interviews, older children were more likely than younger children to report experiencing mixed emotions. These results suggest that in addition to having a better conceptual understanding of mixed emotions, older children are more likely than younger children to actually experience mixed emotions in emotionally complex situations.     

Exploring Diurnal Cortisol Rhythms of Kindergarten Teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine

Teachers’ stress is a dynamic combination of the individual teacher's characteristics and characteristics of the classroom and school environment. To date, there are limited studies on teachers’ stress in the context of lower‐middle‐income countries (LMICs), where working conditions as well as general political and economic circumstances might pose a considerable threat for teachers’ well‐being. This study explores whether certain combinations of individual and environmental experiences of teachers in LMICs may result in stress, assessed as patterns of diurnal cortisol rhythm. Participants were kindergarten teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine, two LMICs in Europe. Latent Profile Analysis identified three subgroups of teachers that significantly differed on teachers’ education and experience. Preliminary results of Latent Growth Modeling suggested differences between profiles in baseline waking cortisol and patterns of diurnal decline. Teachers in the profile that was characterized by the longest experience working in the field but the lowest level of education showed blunted cortisol in the morning and a flatter slope; a pattern that could indicate a maladaptive cortisol response. Future directions for studying stress processes among teachers in LMICs and implications for policy and practice on how to support teacher well‐being in low‐resource contexts are discussed.     

Is happiness having what you want, wanting what you have, or both?

Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (1954) proposed that "happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have" (p. 37). In two studies, we tested Schachtel's maxim by asking participants whether or not they had and the extent to which they wanted each of 52 material items. To quantify how much people wanted what they had, we identified what they had and the extent to which they wanted those things. To quantify how much people had what they wanted, we identified how much they wanted and whether or not they had each item. Both variables accounted for unique variance in happiness. Moreover, the extent to which people wanted what they had partially mediated effects of gratitude and maximization on happiness, and the extent to which they had what they wanted partially mediated the effect of maximization. Results indicate that happiness is both wanting what you have and having what you want.