A note on behavior tolerance to meprobamate

Behavioral tolerance to meprobamate was demonstrated in a cat, on an FI schedule, without behavior taking place during the chronic treatment. Behavioral factors, such as the development of corrective patterns of behavior, do not explain behavioral tolerance in this case.     

The heavy weight of death: how anti‐fat bias is affected by weight‐based group membership and existential threat

Anti‐fat bias is marked by a devaluation of overweight people compared with non‐overweight persons. Even though belonging to the same group, research on social identity theory (SIT) indicates that overweight people also devaluate overweight others. Merging insights from research on anti‐fat bias, SIT, and terror management theory, our study (n = 101) provides new insights on motivational aspects of anti‐fat bias by investigating the effects of existential threat on the evaluation of non‐overweight and overweight people. Results revealed that participants in the existential threat condition displayed in‐group bias: Participants perceiving themselves as non‐overweight showed more pronounced anti‐fat bias compared with participants in the non‐death threat condition. In contrast, participants perceiving themselves as overweight demonstrated less anti‐fat bias than controls.     

A Longitudinal Process Analysis of Mother–Child Emotional Relationships in a Rural Appalachian European American Community

This prospective longitudinal study examines emotional relationships in 58 Appalachian mother-child dyads observed at home at 5 and 20 months. Between infancy and toddlerhood, 3 of 4 dimensions of dyadic emotional relationships were stable, and three remained continuous in their mean level. Increasing maternal age was associated with greater maternal sensitivity and structuring and with more responsive and involving children. Marital status and father presence in the home as well as maternal openness, parenting knowledge, investment, and satisfaction accounted for effects of maternal age on dyadic emotional relationships. This longitudinal process analysis provides unique insights into temporal dynamics of mother-child emotional relationships and their determinants in an underserved and underresearched US community. Implications for community-specific interventions are discussed.     

Naming two-digit arabic numerals: evidence from masked priming studies

The authors investigated how 2-digit Arabic numerals are named by looking at the effects of masked primes on the naming latencies. Target numerals were named faster when prime and target shared a digit at the same position (e.g., the target 28 primed by 18 and 21). In contrast, naming latencies were slower when prime and target shared 1 or 2 digits at non-corresponding places (e.g., the target 28 primed by 82, 86, or 72). Subsequent experiments showed that these priming effects were situated at the level of the verbal production of the Arabic numerals. The data point to a non-semantically mediated route from visual input to verbal output in the naming of 2-digit Arabic numerals.     

The interplay between feelings and beliefs about condoms as predictors of their use

Objective: Negative feelings about condoms are a key barrier to their use. Using the behavioural affective associations model, we examined the joint effects of affective associations and cognitive beliefs about condoms on condom use.

Design: In Study 1 (N = 97), students completed measures of their affective associations and cognitive beliefs about sex and condoms, sexual activity and condom use. In Study 2 (N = 171), a measure of behavioural intentions and condom selection task were added.

Main outcome measures: Condom use measured in Study 1 as (1) current condom use, and (2) willingness to use condoms; in Study 2 as: (1) behavioural intentions, (2) number of condoms selected.

Results: Affective associations with sex and condoms were behaviour-specific, were directly associated with the respective behaviour, and mediated the relations of cognitive beliefs to behaviour, ps < .05. In Study 2, affective associations were associated with behavioural intentions and the number of condoms selected, ps < .05; cognitive beliefs were indirectly associated with these outcomes through affective associations, indirect effects: ps < .05.

Conclusions: Affective associations are a behaviour-specific and proximal predictor of condom use, mediating the effect of cognitive beliefs, suggesting they may be a particularly viable intervention target.