Effects of teaching an introductory psychology laboratory using a computerized research tool

In the introductory psychology laboratory at Drexel University, we employ courseware modules that transform the computer into various pieces of psychological research equipment. Students enrolled in this course use the courseware modules in a series of experiments that investigate motor learning, perception, memory, and other psychological phenomena. In choosing this form of computerization, we have encountered challenges to our methods of instruction, both in the laboratory and in the lecture hall. Opportunities, in the form of financial and programming assistance, have also resulted from our computerization efforts.     

Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters

Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities), human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here, we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively minor methodological differences, but are compounded by interpretation errors. Comparative studies are of great importance in elucidating the evolution of human cognition; however, greater care must be taken with methodology and interpretation for these studies to accurately reflect species differences.     

Explicit and implicit cognition: a preliminary test of a dual-process theory of cognitive vulnerability to depression

Two studies were conducted to test a dual-process theory of cognitive vulnerability to depression. According to this theory, implicit and explicit cognitive processes have differential effects on depressive reactions to stressful life events. Implicit processes are hypothesized to be critical in determining an individual's immediate affective reaction to stress whereas explicit cognitions are thought to be more involved in long-term depressive reactions. Consistent with hypotheses, the results of study 1 (cross-sectional; N=237) showed that implicit, but not explicit, cognitions predicted immediate affective reactions to a lab stressor. Study 2 (longitudinal; N=251) also supported the dual-process model of cognitive vulnerability to depression. Results showed that both the implicit and explicit measures interacted with life stress to predict prospective changes in depressive symptoms, respectively. However, when both implicit and explicit predictors were entered into a regression equation simultaneously, only the explicit measure interacted with stress to remain a unique predictor of depressive symptoms over the five-week prospective interval.     

Stress and coping in mothers caring for a child with severe learning difficulties: A test of Lazarus' transactional model of coping

The literature on psychological stress among women consistently points to the adverse effects of child rearing on mothers, particularly those caring for children with physical or mental handicaps. Early studies of the effects on family functioning of caring for a child with severe learning difficulties adopted a pathological approach in which it was assumed that psychological distress was inevitable among family members, particularly mothers. Recent research has emphasised that many families cope with and adapt to the stress they experience, and seeks to discover how they do so. The paper reports on a study of 166 mothers caring for a child with severe learning difficulties. The aim of the study was to investigate both the factors associated with maternal stress and those which might mediate or buffer the effects of stress. The study used the Folkman and Lazarus' (1979) transactional model of stress. Stress is the condition that results when person/environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy between the demands of a situation and his/her resources or ability to cope with those demands. The nature and type of coping generated by a person will be determined by the coping resources in the person's environment. The model identifies five categories of coping resource: utilitarian resources, health/morale, social networks, general and specific beliefs, and problem solving skills. In our study, the five coping resources were represented by the mother's social class and appraisal of her financial worries, physical health, social support, acceptance of and adjustment to the child, and assessment of coping skills. Stress was measured by the Malaise Inventory (Rutter, 1970). Four of the five coping resources were found to be significant contributors in a hierarchical regression analysis of stress scores, contributing additional variance beyond that of behavioural and other child characteristics. Altogether, 55% of the variance in stress scores was explained.     

Early stopping of clinical trials: charting the ethical terrain

The decision to terminate a clinical trial earlier than planned is often described as ethically problematic, but it is rarely systematically analyzed as an ethical issue in its own right. This paper provides an overview of the main ethical considerations at stake in such decisions and of the main tensions between these considerations. Arguments about informed consent and the impact of early stopping on research and society are explored. We devote particular attention to a familiar conflict that arises with special urgency when early data suggest that the experimental treatment is superior. Should the trial be stopped so that participants in the control group will not be allocated a seemingly inferior treatment, or should it continue in pursuit of evidence conclusive enough to improve the care of future patients? We scrutinize three ways to address this problem. Rather than dissolving the tension, they represent different trade-offs between the respective welfare interests of subjects and future patients.     

Interface Problems: Structural Constraints on Interpretation?

Five experiments investigated the interpretation of quantified noun phrases in relation to discourse structure. They demonstrated, using questionnaire and on-line reading techniques, that readers in English prefer to give a quantified noun phrase in (VP-external) subject position a presuppositional interpretation, in which the noun phrase limits or restricts the interpretation of an already available set, rather than giving it a nonpresuppositional or existential interpretation, in which it introduces completely new entities into the discourse. Experiment 1 showed that readers prefer a presuppositional interpretation of three ships over the existential interpretation in Five ships appeared on the horizon. Three ships sank. Experiment 2 showed longer reading times in sentences that are disambiguated toward the existential interpretation than in sentences that permit the presuppositional interpretation. Experiment 3 suggested that the presuppositional preference is greater when the phrase three ships occurs outside the verb phrase than when it occurs inside the verb phrase. Experiment 4 showed that Korean subjects marked with a topic marker received more presuppositional interpretations than subjects marked with a nominative marker. Experiment 5 showed that German subjects in VP-external (but nontopic) position received more presuppositional interpretations than VP-internal subjects. The results suggest the syntactic position of a phrase is one determinant of its interpretation, as expected according to the mapping hypothesis of Diesing (1992).This research was supported in part by grants HD-18708 and HD-17246 to the University of Massachusetts. Rayner was also supported by a Research Scientist Award (MH01255).     

Psychologists' Experiences with the Better Access Initiative: A Pilot Study

The Australian Government's Better Access initiative was introduced in late 2006 to increase treatment rates for people with mental disorders. It provides for reimbursement of psychologists' services through Medicare. The current pilot study examines the experiences of psychologists with this initiative. A random sample of 204 of 4,235 psychologists in private practice was approached and 73 psychologists (36%) were interviewed. The current study suggests that psychologists have had positive experiences with Better Access. They have appreciated the greater security of income and greater variety of work afforded by the initiative, and they have observed flow‐on benefits in terms of increased access and reduced stigma for their clients. Additional research is required to corroborate these findings with a larger sample of psychologists, but the current findings provide indicative evidence that Better Access is assisting psychologists to meet a previously unmet community need for mental health care.     

Trust, Confidence, and Expertise in a Judge-Advisor System

The relationship between trust, confidence, and expertise in Judge-Advisor Systems is examined in two experiments with Judge-Advisor pairs, one with strangers and another with participants in ongoing relationships. There was expertise asymmetry so that Judges had less expertise than their Advisors. The dyads could receive money for accurate Judge decisions. Either the Judge or Advisor had the power to allocate this money between dyad members, before task interaction in study one and after task completion in study two. Because Judges were more dependent on Advisors than vice versa, it was predicted that trust would be more important to Judges. Results were supportive. Judges had higher and more variable ratings of trust in their partner than did Advisors, suggesting that Judges were more motivated to evaluate trust. High confidence by Advisors had a positive impact on Judges' ratings of trust and tendency to follow their advice. Judges' trust in their Advisors was significantly related their taking the advice and being confident in their final decisions. Although participants in study two had higher levels of trust in their partners, they allocated less money to them. The implications for establishing trust are discussed.     

Paranoid cognitions,failure, and focus of attention in college students

Three experiments examined aspects of the link between focus of attention, manipulated by use of video camera and monitor, and paranoid and depressive cognitions in a sample of college students. In Experiment 1 participants were exposed to either a failure or neutral task, under high (HSA) or low self-awareness (LSA) conditions. HSA triggered paranoid cognitions on neutral and failure tasks; failure alone triggered depressive cognitions. In Experiment 2 the camera switched focus thrice between participant and experimenter using only neutral tasks. Paranoia scores initially were higher in the HSA condition. Paranoia scores increased when participants moved from LSA to HSA. Paranoia scores never fell when moving from HSA to LSA conditions. Experiment 3 used only HSA and failure, and showed how a priming task that increased the accessibility of either positive or negative self-cognitions led to significantly different paranoia and depression scores.