Control orientation and the illusion of control

Tested the hypothesis that individuals with an external locus of control are sensitive to the occurrence of noncontingency and will not display the illusion of control. Internals, who view outcomes as response dependent, should succumb to the illusion. One hundred thirty-eight students were asked to judge the amount of control they had over the onset of a noncontingent green light in one of two conditions: 25% green light onset and 75% green light onset. Both internals and externals demonstrated the illusion of control: they rated themselves as having more control when they received a green light on 75% of the trials, despite the fact that green light onset was response independent. These findings suggest that externals are doubly impaired. Their bias toward perceived response-outcome independence is given up when it would be most helpful, that is, when environmental cues suggest control in an objectively uncontrollable situation.     

Visual acuity improvement following fading and feedback training—II. Relationship to changes in refractive error

The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral training on visual acuity and refractive error in myopic adults. Twenty volunteers were matched on the basis of refractive error and one member of each matched pair was randomly assigned to either Fading and Feedback training or a no-treatment control condition. Visual acuity was measured with both recognition and resolution measures. Refractive error was measured subjectively using the LaserSpec optometer, and objectively by two retinoscopic examinations performed by an ophthalmologist with and without cycloplegia. The results indicated significant increases in recognition visual acuity, but not resolution visual acuity for trained subjects compared to the no-treatment controls. Trained subjects did not show improvement in refractive error on any measure, and refractive error changes were not correlated with changes in either measure of visual acuity. These data suggest that the visual acuity improvements typically found with behavioral training are not associated with changes in refractive error.     

Evaluation of male and female applicants for sex-congruent and sex-incongruent jobs

The present study was designed to assess whether applicants for a sex-incongruent position would be evaluated less favorably by personnel administrators than applicants for a sex-congruent position. It was predicted that negative evaluations of sex-incongruent applicants would increase as a function of participants' reliance on sex-role stereotypes. Forty-four personnel administrators were asked to review the qualifications and evaluate one of four job applicants. Sex of the applicant and sex-orientation of the position were systematically varied. Participants were presented with credentials of a male or female applicant for a traditionally male- or female-oriented position. While results did not support Cohen and Bunker's contention that sex-incongruent job applicants would be viewed less favorably, the data did suggest that evaluations of the sex-incongruent applicants (especially the female applicant) varied as a function of sex-role stereotyping.The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance provided by Thom Hurlburt, Joan Van Tassel, and Amy Post.     

Perceived force in fatiguing isometric contractions

An integrative approach emphasizing both psychological and physiological components in force perception has started to emerge in motor psychophysics. In this experiment, the relation between isometric force (produced by the elbow flexors~ and perceived force was examined over a range of forces maintained until maximal endurance. A contralateral-limb matching procedure in which subjects estimated the force of a sustained, constant force contraction by contracting their unfatigued arm at regular intervals was employed. A linear increase in perceived force was observed during the fatiguing contractions, the rate of which depended on the level of force exerted. The sensation of force at maximal endurance was also found to vary with the force exerted. Based on the similarity between these results and those derived from electromyographic studies, we propose that observers use the efferent input to the muscle in preference to its afferent responses in judging the force of muscular contractions.     

Lexical retrieval constrained by sound structure: the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus

Positron emission tomography was used to investigate two competing hypotheses about the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in word generation. One proposes a domain-specific organization, with neural activation dependent on the type of information being processed, i.e., surface sound structure or semantic. The other proposes a process-specific organization, with activation dependent on processing demands, such as the amount of selection needed to decide between competing lexical alternatives. In a novel word retrieval task, word reconstruction (WR), subjects generated real words from heard non-words by the substitution of either a vowel or consonant. Both types of lexical retrieval, informed by sound structure alone, produced activation within anterior and posterior left IFG regions. Within these regions there was greater activity for consonant WR, which is more difficult and imposes greater processing demands. These results support a process-specific organization of the anterior left IFG.     

Sport Psychology Consulting Effectiveness: The Sport Psychology Consultant's Perspective

The aim of this study was to examine sport psychology consultants’ (SPCs) perceptions of the influence of SPC characteristics on consultant effectiveness, while determining the conditions necessary for establishing an effective consulting relationship. Thirteen accredited SPCs participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis identified three characteristics of SPC effectiveness: (a) build a connection with the athlete to create positive change, (b) build a professional consulting relationship with athlete, and (c) consulting relationship meets athletes’ needs. Two aspects emerged as essential for an effective consulting relationship: (a) athlete is an active participant, and (b) SPC awareness of client boundaries of confidentiality.     

Accelerating the coping process

On the basis of previous work, freshmen should evidence improved health after writing about their thoughts and feelings associated with entering college. One hundred thirty subjects were assigned to write either about coming to college or about superficial topics for 20 min on 3 days. One fourth of the subjects in each group wrote during the 1st, 5th, 9th, or 14th week of classes. Physician visits for illness in the months after writing were lower for the experimental than for the control subjects. Self-reports of homesickness and anxiety were higher in the experimental group 2-3 months after writing. By year's end, experimental subjects were either superior or similar to control subjects in grade average and in positive moods. No effects emerged as a function of when people wrote, suggesting that the coping process can be accelerated. Implications for comparing insight treatments with catharsis and for distinguishing between objective and self-report indicators of distress are discussed.     

Hypermentalizing in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Model and Data

Interpersonal difficulties are a widely accepted characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the results of empirical findings of deficits in social-cognitive abilities that may underlie interpersonal difficulties in this population have been mixed. In this paper, we review the literature on social-cognitive impairment in BPD by organizing studies based on patterns of positive and negative of findings. We provide a new model of mentalizing impairment in BPD by integrating findings into one framework that suggests hypermentalizing as the core feature of social-cognitive impairment in BPD. We review data in support of a hypermentalizing model of BPD and situate this data in the broader context of current work on hypermentalizing.