Visuospatial tasks suppress craving for cigarettes

The Elaborated Intrusion (EI) theory of desire posits that visual imagery plays a key role in craving. We report a series of experiments testing this hypothesis in a drug addiction context. Experiment 1 showed that a mental visual imagery task with neutral content reduced cigarette craving in abstaining smokers, but that an equivalent auditory task did not. The effect of visual imagery was replicated in Experiment 2, which also showed comparable effects of non-imagery visual working memory interference. Experiment 3 showed that the benefit of visual over auditory interference was not dependent upon imagery being used to induce craving. Experiment 4 compared a visuomotor task, making shapes from modeling clay, with a verbal task (counting back from 100), and again showed a benefit of the visual over the non-visual task.We conclude that visual imagery supports craving for cigarettes. Competing imagery or visual working memory tasks may help tackle craving in smokers trying to quit.     

Just the thought of it!: Effects of anticipating computer-mediated communication on gender stereotyping

A study investigated how anticipated communication mode affects the use of stereotypes in forming impressions and making task assignments. Participants rated male or female targets with whom they envisioned working on a business project using computer-mediated or face-to-face modes of communication. Results indicated that both men and women were characterized more stereotypically when participants anticipated working with them electronically than when they anticipated working with them face-to-face. Furthermore, task assignments were more often gender stereotype consistent when the communication mode was computer-mediated than when it was face-to-face. These findings suggest that the mere anticipation of computer-mediated communication, without the actual the experience of it, is enough to promote stereotypes and biased decision-making.     

Sex bias in evaluating nontraditional job applicants: reactions to women and men's interrupted college attendance

Two studies indicated that being a nontraditional job applicant due to voluntary interruption of college attendance had detrimental consequences for employment evaluation. These negative reactions were more severe for women than for men. Women with interrupted attendance received the most negative responses (Studies 1 and 2). Choosing to interrupt college attendance increased perceived instability and also positively affected perceived flexibility, and these characterizations were related to evaluative outcomes (Study 2). Moreover, both instability and flexibility characterizations contributed to the gender‐discrepant consequences of interrupted college attendance. Female applicants were rated more negatively on flexibility characterizations than were male applicants. Furthermore, although there were no gender differences in ratings of instability, instability ratings were found to negatively impact evaluations of female applicants, but not male applicants.     

Facilitating Accuracy in Showup Identification Procedures: The Effects of the Presence of Stolen Property

Law enforcement personnel regularly present suspects to eyewitnesses using showups. In this study, we examined the impact of the presence of stolen property on live showup identification performance. Two hundred seventy university students were exposed to a simulated theft. During the subsequent showup, we manipulated the presence of the target and stolen property. Binary logistic regression analyses indicated that both factors independently predicted the accuracy of identification decisions. Participants were more accurate when the target was in the showup and when the stolen property was present during the identification. Consistent with the item, context, and ensemble theory of recognition, the presence of stolen property led to an increase in sensitivity, suggesting ensemble formation. Future research on showups should continue to examine contextual variables that may lead to changes in sensitivity or criterion shift. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment for psychotherapy

This paper explores some issues that might arise when one considers having a table hockey game in the therapy room, and describes how an autistic boy, aged four-and-a-half when starting treatment, used that game. The unfolding process from withdrawal to separateness, intersubjectivity and playfulness is illustrated by the progress of two years of twice-weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Special attention is paid to how the play progressed through the intermediate area that the therapist provided.     

Patterns of Memory Performance in Children with Controlled Epilepsy on the CVLT-C

Decreased memory skills have been reported in children with epilepsy. However, standardized instruments to evaluate learning and memory in children have been unavailable until recently. The present study was designed to assess memory patterns in children with epilepsy based on the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C). The test was administered to 44 children with complex partial seizures and 21 children with generalized seizures between 8 and 13 years of age. Children in the study had been treated for epilepsy for at least 6 months, had well-controlled seizures on monotherapy, and had no evidence of anticonvulsant toxicity. Children with head injuries, learning disabilities, or hyperactivity were excluded. Test results did not reflect differences in memory performance based on seizure type. Scores for the entire sample indicated intact new learning, decreased intrusions and perseverative responses, and better short-term than long-term delayed recall. Recognition skills were stronger than long-term delayed recall skills and suggested that memory performance may be improved for these children when a multiple-choice format is available in academic settings.     

The Protestant Work Ethic,Expectancy Violations,and Criminal Sentencing1

To test the hypothesis that endorsement of the Protestant work ethic would be related positively to sensitivity to criminal behavior that violated expectations, American college students (N = 159) read scenarios describing a crime committed by a typical or an atypical offender. After answering questions about the crime, they completed Mirels and Garrett's (1971) Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) scale. Extent of punishment was positively related to PWE for atypical criminal behavior. Yet, high PWEs also were more likely to perceive an affluent criminal as experiencing greater remorse for a blue‐collar crime than a white‐collar crime. We relate our results to perceptions of criminal behavior, information‐processing tendencies among individuals endorsing the PWE, and jury selection considerations.     

海德格尔与道家：思想与事实——“道”：道路与道说

1 现在我们就海德格尔的另一个关键术语--即"道说"(Sage)①--来追问道家思想对于海德格尔的影响的问题.