Social psychophysics: Using psychophysics to answer “social” questions with PsychoPro

Complex social stimuli (like faces) can be studied using a methodology typically reserved for studying lights, tones, and colors: psychophysics. Given that psychophysics examines how humans detect and respond to stimuli in their environment, we can extend that to the study of how humans detect social stimuli in the environment. Using psychophysical methodology to answer “social” questions provides another dimension of experimental manipulation and control to the diverse array of methodologies already used by social psychologists. In this article, we review psychophysical methodology, provide a rationale for social psychophysics, describe an easy-touse software program called PsychoPro, for collecting psychophysical data, and present data collected using this program to examine racial thresholds that provide evidence for a cognitive gating mechanism for racial information that impacts face processing (MacLin & MacLin, 2007, in press; MacLin, MacLin, & Peterson, 2008).     

Internet Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment Considerations

Internet addiction is a new and often unrecognized clinical disorder that can cause relational, occupational, and social problems. Pathological gambling is compared to problematic internet use because of overlapping diagnostic criteria. As computers are used with great frequency, detection and diagnosis of internet addiction is often difficult. Symptoms of a possible problem may be masked by legitimate use of the internet. Clinicians may overlook asking questions about computer use. To help clinicians identify internet addiction in practice, this paper provides an overview of the problem and the various subtypes that have been identified. The paper reviews conceptualizations of internet addiction, various forms that the disorder takes, and treatment considerations for working with this emergent client population.     

Group status, perceptions of threat, and support for social inequality

Members of high-status groups have been shown to favor social inequality, but little research has investigated the boundary conditions of this phenomenon. In the present article we suggest that perceived intergroup threat moderates the relationship between group status and support for social inequality (i.e., social dominance orientation), especially among highly identified group members. In Study 1, Democrats and Republicans rated their party’s relative status and were later exposed to a leading US. Presidential candidate from the opposing party (high threat) or their own party (low threat). In Study 2, university students were made to believe that their school had high or low status and were then presented with threatening or non-threatening information about a rival institution. The results of both studies supported the prediction that status only increases preferences for group-based inequality under conditions of high threat and high ingroup identification.     

Subjective and Objective Risks of Carrying a BRCA1/2 Mutation in Individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish Descent

This repeated measures study examines (1) the change in subjective risk of mutations pre- to postcounseling, (2) the accuracy of BRCAPRO estimates of mutations, and (3) the discrepancy between subjective risk and BRCAPRO estimates of mutations before and after genetic counseling. Ninety-nine Ashkenazi Jewish individuals pursued testing for BRCA1/2 mutations. Most had a personal cancer history (N = 51; family only: N = 48); and received uninformative negative results (N = 66; positives: N = 23; informative negative: N = 10). The coping strategy of defensive pessimism predicts that individuals will believe the worst case scenario to better cope with a potential negative outcome. Consistent with this, most felt they would have a mutation, if not mutations in both genes. The BRCAPRO model appeared to overestimate risk of having a mutation in this sample (p < .001). BRCAPRO overestimates notwithstanding, genetic counseling increased accuracy of subjective risk (p < .01). Individuals with a family-only cancer history had the least accurate estimates of risk (p < .05) and may need further intervention to either manage anxiety or improve knowledge.     

Do You See What I See? Effects of Group Consciousness on African American Women's Attributions to Prejudice

This study examined the effects of three types of group consciousness among African American women ( ethnic , feminist , and womanist ) on prejudice attributions and appraised personal significance ( centrality ) of a negative intergroup event. African American female college students  ( N = 123)  imagined themselves in an audiotaped scenario in which they overheard two European American male classmates make negative evaluations of them. The scenario provided no cause for the negative evaluations and no references to race or gender. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher ethnic and womanist consciousness were related to increased prejudice attributions and greater centrality appraisals  ( p  <.05)  , while feminism had no effect. Results suggest that womanist consciousness may be more relevant than traditional feminist consciousness in predicting African American women's perceptions of prejudice.     

School psychology: a public health perspective : I. Prevention, populations, and systems change

Concerns regarding American schools and mental health services for children abound, including inadequate educational achievement, school violence, over-referral to special education and disproportionate placement of minorities into special education, under-utilization of mental health services for children, and a poorly coordinated system of child mental health services. All of the above concerns share two common attributes: (a) they are statements regarding populations, rather than specific individuals; and (b) they are best addressed by changing system-wide elements of psychological service delivery. We argue that, although conceptualizing school psychology as primarily an indirect service specialty (e.g., J. Sch. Psychol. 28 (1990) 203) has advanced our thinking about effective service delivery, conceptualizing school psychological services from a public health perspective will provide an even broader framework that can increase both the efficacy and efficiency of school psychologists' work.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in a clinical sample.

Evidence for the validity of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) based on internal structure was examined in a sample of children with mixed clinical diagnoses via maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis. Four alternative factor models of children's executive function, based on current theories that posit a unidimensional versus fractionated model (Rabbitt, 1997; Shallice & Burgess, 1991), using the revised 9-scale BRIEF configuration that separates two components of the Monitor scale, were examined for model fit. A 3-factor structure best modeled the data when compared directly with 1-, 2-, and 4-factor models. The 3-factor model was defined by a Behavior Regulation factor consisting of the BRIEF Inhibit and Self-Monitor scales, an Emotional Regulation factor consisting of the Emotional Control and Shift scales, and a Metacognition factor composed of the Working Memory, Initiate, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials, and Task-Monitor scales. The findings support a fractionated, multi-component view of executive function as measured by the BRIEF.     

Maternal Identity Among Motherless Mothers and Psychological Symptoms in Their Firstborn Children

A variety of detrimental effects are associated with early parental loss. We examined the relationship between childhood maternal loss and maternal identity among 30 motherless mothers and their 26 matched controls, as well as the psychological health of their firstborns. Motherless mothers reported significantly lower maternal identity. However, firstborns of motherless mothers were no more likely to display psychological symptoms than firstborns of comparison mothers. The findings suggest that early maternal loss may not present risk for cross-generational effects.     

Practical advice for conducting ethical online experiments and questionnaires for United States psychologists

It is increasingly easy and, therefore, increasingly common to conduct experiments and questionnaire studies in online environments. However, the online environment is not a data collection medium that is familiar to many researchers or to many research methods instructors. Because of this, researchers have received little information about how to address ethical issues when conducting online research. Researchers need practical suggestions on how to translate federal and professional ethics codes into this new data collection medium. This article assists United States psychologists in designing online studies that meet accepted standards for informed consent, deception, debriefing, the right to withdraw, security of test materials, copyright of participants’ materials, confidentiality and anonymity, and avoiding harm.