Vocational choice and career planning. Spanish adaptation of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS-R)

The Self-Directed Search is a career-planning guide that works similarly to a vocational and professional interests inventory. A preliminary study allows detection of 68 ítems that need to be rectified, since they do not meet psychometric and semantic criteria. The current study demonstrates reliability and validity of the new adaptation. It is applied to a sample of 1460 subjects from different educational levels. As for reliability, the discrimination index of the items and internal consistency of the scales have improved. Additionally, procedures performed to verify validity (content, construct and concurrent) demonstrate that the instrument has acceptable validity. On balance, we can conclude that the instrument has sufficient scientific and technical credibility for application to the Spanish population.     

Anxiolytic-like activity of SB-205384 in the elevated plus-maze test in mice

Recent studies point to a major role for alpha2-containing GABA-A receptors in modulating anxiety. However, the possible implication of GABA-A receptors containing the alpha3 subunit on anxiety is less known. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of SB-205384 (0.5-4 mg/kg, i.p.), an alpha3 subunit positive modulator of GABA-A receptor, on anxiety tested in the elevated plus-maze in male mice, using classical and ethological parameters. Mice treated with SB-205384 showed an increase in the frequency of entries and the time spent in open arms, as well as a reduction in the time spent in closed arms, as compared with the control group. A notable increase of "head-dipping" unprotected and a reduction of "stretched-attend posture" protected was also evident. These findings indicate that SB-205384 exhibits an anxiolytic-like profile in the elevated plus-maze test, suggesting that GABA-A receptors which contain the alpha3 subunit might be involved in regulation of anxiety.     

Selective attention affects implicit and explicit memory for familiar pictures at different delay conditions

Three experiments investigated the effects of two variables -selective attention during encoding and delay between study and test- on implicit (picture fragment completion and object naming) and explicit (free recall and recognition) memory tests. Experiments 1 and 2 consistently indicated that (a) at all delays (immediate to 1 month), picture-fragment identification threshold was lower for the attended than the unattended pictures; (b) the attended pictures were recalled and recognized better than the unattended; and (c) attention and delay interacted in both memory tests. For implicit memory, performance decreased as delay increased for both attended and unattended pictures, but priming was more pronounced and lasted longer for the attended pictures; it was still present after a 1-month delay. For explicit memory, performance decreased as delay increased for attended pictures, but for unattended pictures performance was consistent throughout delay. By using a perceptual object naming task, Experiment 3 showed reliable implicit and explicit memory for attended but not for unattended pictures. This study indicates that picture repetition priming requires attention at the time of study and that neither delay nor attention dissociate performance in explicit and implicit memory tests; both types of memory require attention, but explicit memory does so to a larger degree.     

Pretend play: an application of an intervention program in autism

Methodologically and theoretically based on metarrepresentational deficit hypothesis, we design an intervention to teach the mental state of pretense to an autistic boy. The production and comprehension of symbolic play by means of the use of two specific strategies founded on pictorial analogy of the mental representation and process, was the focus of the learning. The efficiency and efectiveness of the program is reflected in the results that indicated the subject's competence to generate and comprehend the pretense as well as to generalize the acquired knowledge into other areas of mentalistic functioning. We discuss the possibility to develop a metarrepresentational knowledge based on the internalizing of the strategies of conceptual support.     

Instrumental and vocal music effects on EEG and EKG in neonates of depressed and non-depressed mothers

Neonates (M age = 16 days) born to depressed and non-depressed mothers were randomly assigned to hear an audiotaped lullaby of instrumental music with vocals or without vocals. Neonatal EEG and EKG were recorded for 2 min (baseline) of silence and for 2 min of one or the other music presentation. Neonates of non-depressed mothers showed greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry to both types of music, suggesting a withdrawal response. Neonates of depressed mothers on the other hand showed greater relative left frontal EEG asymmetry to the instrumental without vocal segment, suggesting an approach response, and greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry to the instrumental with vocal segment, suggesting a withdrawal response. Heart rate decelerations occurred following the music onset for both groups of infants, however, compared to infants of non-depressed mothers, infants of depressed mothers showed a delayed heart rate deceleration, suggesting slower processing and/or delayed attention. These findings suggest that neonates of depressed and non-depressed mothers show different EKG and EEG responses to instrumental music with versus without vocals.     

Moderate versus light pressure massage therapy leads to greater weight gain in preterm infants

Sixty-eight preterm infants (M GA = 30 weeks) were randomly assigned to a moderate or to a light pressure massage therapy group to receive 15 massages three times per day for 5 days. Behavior state, stress behaviors and heart rate were recorded for 15 min before and during the first 15-min therapy session. Weight gain was recorded over the 5-day therapy period. The moderate versus light pressure massage group gained significantly more weight per day. During the behavior observations the moderate versus light pressure massage group showed significantly lower increases from the pre-session to the session recording on: (1) active sleep; (2) fussing; (3) crying; (4) movement; and (5) stress behavior (hiccupping). They also showed a smaller decrease in deep sleep, a greater decrease in heart rate and a greater increase in vagal tone. Thus, the moderate pressure massage therapy group appeared to be more relaxed and less aroused than the light pressure massage group which may have contributed to the greater weight gain of the moderate pressure massage therapy group.     

Attentional cues in real scenes, saccadic targeting, and Bayesian priors

Performance finding a target improves when artificial cues direct covert attention to the target's probable location or locations, but how do predictive cues help observers search for objects in real scenes? Controlling for target detectability and retinal eccentricity, we recorded observers' first saccades during search for objects that appeared in expected and unexpected locations within real scenes. As has been found with synthetic images and cues, accuracy of first saccades was significantly higher when the target appeared at an expected location rather than an unexpected location. Observers' saccades with target-absent images make it possible to distinguish two mechanisms that might mediate this effect: limited attentional resources versus differential weighting of information (Bayesian priors). Endpoints of first saccades in target-absent images were significantly closer to the expected than the unexpected locations, a result consistent with the differential-weighting model and inconsistent with limited resources being the sole mechanism underlying the effect.     

The frontal hypothesis of cognitive aging: factor structure and age effects on four frontal tests among healthy individuals

With 101 healthy aging adult participants, the authors investigated whether executive functions are a unitary concept. The authors established the factor structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST; E. A. Berg, 1948), the Stroop color and word test (C. J. Golden, 1978), verbal fluency using the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT; Benton, 1967), and the Digits Backwards subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; D. Wechsler, 1981). The authors also evaluated the extent to which age and other demographic variables predicted common underlying properties of these frontal tests. Results revealed an age-related decline in executive abilities differentially reflected by the selected tasks. These data suggest caution using the COWAT to evaluate executive abilities in older people. The authors interpret findings to support the unitary view of executive abilities and the executive decline proposed by the frontal hypothesis.     

Work-related stress and well-being: the roles of direct action coping and palliative coping

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the roles of direct action coping and palliative coping in the relationship between work stressors and psychological well-being, as well as their possible interactions, in a sample of 464 bank employees. Hierarchical regression analyses showed main effects of direct action coping on well-being. Palliative coping predicts higher levels of psychological distress. Contrary to what was expected, the interactions between work stressors and direct action coping were not significant. Palliative coping interacted with work stressors when predicting psychosomatic complaints. The interaction between the two types of coping was significant on psychosomatic complaints and psychological distress, but not on job satisfaction. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of these results, in order to design intervention strategies to prevent and manage job stress.