Consumer misbehaviour: an exploratory study of shopliftin

Although customer theft is traditionally researched from a criminological or psychological perspective, this paper investigates shoplifting as consumer behaviour, demonstrating that well‐defined models of normal consumer behaviour can be applied to aberrant behaviour such as shop theft. Empirical research is used to show how adults and teenagers form belief systems that amount to rational intentions in the decision to shoplift. The theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) was used as the basis for two self‐report surveys which investigated the interaction between consumers' attitudes and beliefs about shoplifting and their perceptions of retail security. The first survey utilised a sample of shoppers from the South East Midlands; the second a sample of school students from the same area (861 respondents in total, 109 respondents admitting to shoplifting in the previous year). Both studies indicate that the decision to shoplift is influenced by pro‐shoplifting attitudes, social factors, opportunities for shoplifting and perceptions of low risks of apprehension. This implies that the deterrent messages we use must be reassessed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Altered Cortico-Limbic Functional Connectivity During an Empathy Task in Subjects with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Empathy is a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive (inferring mental states) and emotional (empathic concern) components. Emotional empathy is severely impaired in individuals affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Here, we investigated the neural correlates of such an emotional empathy dysfunction to shed light on the neural circuitry responsible for the social and emotional dysfunction in PTSD. We asked a group of PTSD and a group of healthy controls to solve a Multifaceted Empathy Test, measuring both cognitive and emotional empathy, and investigated the functional connectivity of the cortical areas involved in solving the test. The results revealed that, in healthy individuals, increased neural activity in the frontal cortex modulates activity in the insula while subjects perform the emotional empathy task; whereas, in individuals affected by PTSD, increased activity in limbic regions such the insula and the amygdala modulates activity in the frontal cortex while performing the emotional empathy task. These findings suggest that the lack of cortical top-down control of the frontal cortex on the limbic system in PTSD during empathic processing may explain the emotional and social difficulties experienced by individuals suffering from PTSD.     

The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions

Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (n = 170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n = 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process. Findings are contextualized by Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (B. L. Fredrickson, 1998).     

Comprehensive community-based education and neurorehabilitation for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury

Children and adolescents who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically have sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and functional skill challenges that must be addressed in acute and post-acute rehabilitation settings. This article describes a community-based school that combines educational, medical, nursing, family, residential-living, and psychological services in a comprehensive program of pediatric neurorehabilitation. The operational, administrative, and clinical features of these service components are presented. A critical aspect of the program is an emphasis on applied behavior analysis procedures for purposes of assessment, treatment formulation, and evaluation. Data are reviewed to demonstrate demographics, patterns of service delivery, and outcome. The school program represents an educational alternative for students with TBI who are discharged from acute-care settings and require comprehensive support services to facilitate their transition and re-entry to public school and community living. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aging and mental health in the decade ahead: what psychologists need to know

Until relatively recently, most psychologists have had limited professional involvement with older adults. With the baby boomers starting to turn 65 years old in 2011, sheer numbers of older adults will continue to increase. About 1 in 5 older adults has a mental disorder, such as dementia. Their needs for mental and behavioral health services are not now adequately met, and the decade ahead will require an approximate doubling of the current level of psychologists' time with older adults. Public policy in the coming decade will face tensions between cost containment and facilitation of integrated models of care. Most older adults who access mental health services do so in primary care settings, where interdisciplinary, collaborative models of care have been found to be quite effective. To meet the needs of the aging population, psychologists need to increase awareness of competencies for geropsychology practice and knowledge regarding dementia diagnosis, screening, and services. Opportunities for psychological practice are anticipated to grow in primary care, dementia and family caregiving services, decision-making-capacity evaluation, and end-of-life care. Aging is an aspect of diversity that can be integrated into psychology education across levels of training. Policy advocacy for geropsychology clinical services, education, and research remains critical. Psychologists have much to offer an aging society.     

Towards Establishing Criteria for the Ethical Analysis of Artificial Intelligence

Science and Engineering Ethics - Ethical reflection on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a priority. In this article, we propose a methodological model for a comprehensive ethical analysis of...     

Abusive supervision,leader-member exchange,and moral disengagement: A moderated-mediation model of organizational deviance

This paper draws from social exchange theory and social cognitive theory to explore moral disengagement as a potential mediator of the relationship between abusive supervision and organizational deviance. We also explore the moderating effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) on this mediated relationship. Results indicate that employees with abusive supervisors engaged in moral disengagement strategies and subsequently in organizational deviance behaviors. Additionally, this relationship was stronger for those higher in LMX. Important implications for management research and practice are discussed.     

Response latency as a measure of behavior in the assessment of elopement

Elopement is a common form of problem behavior but is relatively underrepresented in the functional analysis literature. One barrier to assessing elopement experimentally is the need to retrieve the subject following an instance of elopement. This retrieval confounds programmed session contingencies when the goal is to obtain repeated measurement of free‐operant behavior. The current study evaluated latency to elopement as an alternative to free‐operant measurement. We first compared response latency to allocation in 5‐min sessions and then measured latency alone in a trial‐based format. The identified reinforcers matched across both data analysis modalities in the session‐based assessments, and the trial‐based functional analysis showed a significant time savings in identifying the function of behavior over a session‐based assessment. Results indicated that elopement serves idiosyncratic social functions in young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and that a latency‐based assessment saves time while yielding equally clear results.