Psychometric appraisal of Eysenck's revised Psychoticism scale: a cross-cultural study

Psychometric characteristics of Eysenck's revised P scale were studied in a cross-cultural research. The Spanish version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) was administered to a Spanish sample of 527 males and 583 females. Maximum-likelihood factor analyses of the item intercorrelations and Direct Oblimin rotations of the extracted factors were carried out separately for males and females. The results revealed four factors identified as psychoticism (P), extraversion (E), neuroticism (N) and dissimulation/conformity (L). Internal consistency and test–retest reliability coefficients were satisfactory and very similar to the ones found in the original study. Skewness and kurtosis of the P scale distribution were closer to normal than on the original British revised P scale.     

Cognitive Bias to Internal Sources of Information in Anxiety

Discrepancies between (a) self-reported psychosomatic symptoms and (b) actual fitness under non-stress (Study 1), as a function of trait anxiety, were examined, as well as discrepancies between (a) self-reported cognitive and somatic state anxiety and (b) objective measures of behavioural reactivity, physiological arousal, and performance under social-evaluative stress (Study 2). Results indicated that persons high in trait anxiety exaggerated distress in both conditions: They showed disproportionately greater self-reported concerns than actual problems. In contrast, those low in anxiety minimized distress (lower self-reported than actual problems). These discrepancy phenomena are explained in terms of biases in the processing of internal sources of information.     

Predictive inferences take time to develop

In order to determine the time course of inferences about predictable events, predicting or control contexts were presented, followed by a target word (Exps. 1A, B, and C) or a continuation sentence (Exp. 2) that confirmed or disconfirmed the predicted event. Relative to the control condition, under the predicting condition there was facilitation in naming the confirming target words 1500 ms after the onset of the last word in the context (Exp. 1C), but not after 500 ms (Exp. 1A), and only a tendency after 1000 ms (Exp. 1B). In addition, there was facilitation in reading the post-target and final regions of the continuation sentence that confirmed the predicted event, as well as inhibition when the predicted event was disconfirmed, but no effect was observed on the target word itself (Exp. 2). It is concluded that, when the predicted event is highly constrained by the context, predictive inferences are likely to be drawn on-line, but they take time to construct. Received: 14 January 1998 / Accepted: 21 April 1998     

Behavioral profile of amisulpride in agonistic encounters between male mice

Amisulpride is a substituted benzamide derivative that acts as a selective dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist. Although the anti‐aggressive properties of neuroleptic drugs are well known, the effects of amisulpride on agonistic interactions have not been explored, and there are no studies comparing acute and subchronic effects of this compound on aggression in rodents. In this study, we examined the action of amisulpride (5–25 mg/kg, i.p), administered acutely or subchronically for 10 days, on agonistic behavior elicited by isolation in male mice. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic "standard opponents" 30 min after drug administration, and the encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethologically based analysis. After acute treatment, amisulpride (5–20 mg/kg) exhibited an ethopharmacological profile characterized by a marked decrease of offensive behaviors (threat and attack) without an impairment of motor activity. By contrast, the anti‐aggressive action of the highest dose used (25 mg/kg) was accompanied by a weak increase of immobility. Body care was also significantly enhanced after treatment with the drug (20 and 25 mg/kg), emphasizing the involvement of dopaminergic receptors in this behavior. After subchronic treatment, no tolerance to amisulpride anti‐aggressive activity was observed. Overall, this behavioral profile is similar to that observed by other atypical neuroleptics. Aggr. Behav. 25:225–232, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Power and Action in Critical Theory Across Disciplines: Implications for Critical Community Psychology

Although critical scholarship and community psychology share similar aspirations, the links between them remain unexplored and under-theorized. In this article we explore the implications of critical scholarship in various specialties for the field of community psychology. To understand the contributions of critical scholarship to a theory of power and action for social change, we conducted a systematic analysis of a ten-year period of publications in seven journals associated with the critical scholarship tradition. We created precise criteria for the concepts of power and action and applied them to the publications. Results indicate an interesting paradox at play. Whereas community psychology is more action oriented than critical scholarship, its actions fall short of challenging institutionalized power structures and the status quo; and whereas critical scholarship is more challenging of the status quo than community psychology in theory, it has failed to produce viable actions that challenge the status quo. We discuss the implications of this state of affairs for the development of a more critical community psychology.     

Transposed-letter and laterality effects in lexical decision

Two divided visual field lexical decision experiments were conducted to examine the role of the cerebral hemispheres in transposed-letter similarity effects. In Experiment 1, we created two types of nonwords: nonadjacent transposed-letter nonwords (TRADEGIA; the base word was TRAGEDIA, the Spanish for TRAGEDY) and two-letter different nonwords (orthographic controls: TRATEPIA). In Experiment 2, the controls were one-letter different nonwords (TRAGEPIA) instead of two-letter different nonwords (TRATEPIA). The effect of transposed-letter similarity was substantially greater in the right visual field (left hemisphere) than in the left visual field. Furthermore, nonwords created by transposing two letters were more competitive than the nonwords created by substituting one or two letters of a target word. We examine the implications of these findings for the models of visual word recognition.     

Do Internet‐Based Support Interventions Change Perceptions of Social Support?: An Experimental Trial of Approaches for Supporting Diabetes Self‐Management

Internet-based support groups are a rapidly growing segment of mutual aid programs for individuals with chronic illnesses and other challenges. Previous studies have informed us about the content of online exchanges between support group members, but we know little about the ability of these interventions to change participants' perceptions of support. A randomized trial of 160 adult Type 2 diabetes patients provided novice Internet users with computers and Internet access to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) diabetes information only, (b) a personal self-management coach, (c) a social support intervention, or (d) a personal self-management coach and the support intervention. After 3 months, individuals in the 2 support conditions reported significant increases in support on a diabetes-specific support measure and a general support scale. Participants' age was significantly related to change in social support, but intervention effects were still significant after accounting for this relationship. This report is a critical first step in evaluating the long-term effects of Internet-based support for diabetes self-management. The discussion identifies directions for future research.