The effect of ingested alcohol on fusion latency at various viewing distances.

Although diplopia is a frequently reported symptom of severe alcohol intoxication, there have been few past attempts to describe in any systematic fashion the specific impact of alcohol on fusion. In the present experiment, fusion latency was assessed for 8 male emmetropes. At the beginning of the alcohol condition, they consumed a drink containing 1.4 ml/kg of 95% ethanol, plus diluent. For the placebo condition, the drink consisted only of diluent. In each condition, fusion latency (the time required to fuse a binocularly visible target) was recorded for targets requiring a magnitude of vergence that varied from +10 through -2 meter angles, in 1-meter-angle steps. It was found that the far point of fusion approached the observer as a direct function of intoxication level. Furthermore, fusion latency increased for optically far and near targets as a systematic function of intoxication, with no effect of alcohol on intermediate targets. The results were consistent with previous findings of alcohol-induced narrowing of vergence range, suggesting that alcohol causes the farthest and nearest distances at which fusion latency is affected to approach an intermediate value. Measurable effects on fusion latency were observed with blood alcohol levels as low as 0.05%-0.06%, considerably below the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in most states.     

Compunction,Second-Personal Morality,and Moral Reasons

In The Second-Person Standpoint and subsequent essays, Stephen Darwall develops an account of morality that is “second-personal” in virtue of holding that what we are morally obligated to do is what others can legitimately demand that we do, i.e., what they can hold us accountable for doing through moral reactive attitudes like blame. Similarly, what it would be wrong for us to do is what others can legitimately demand that we abstain from doing. As part of this account, Darwall argues for the proposition that we have a distinctive “second-personal reason” to fulfill all of our obligations and to avoid all wrong-actions, an “authority-regarding” reason that derives from the legitimate demands the “moral community” makes of us. I show that Darwall offers an insufficient case for this proposition. My criticism of this aspect of Darwall’s account turns in part on the fact that we have compunction-based or “compunctive” reasons to fulfill all of our obligations and to avoid all wrong actions, a type of reason that Darwall seemingly overlooks.     

A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Study of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval

Memory for the experiences of one's life, autobiographical memory (AM), is one of the most human types of memory, yet comparatively little is known of its neurobiology. A positron emission tomography (PET) study of AM retrieval revealed that the left frontal cortex was significantly active during retrieval (compared to memory control tasks), together with activation in the inferior temporal and occipital lobes in the left hemisphere. We propose that this left frontal lobe activation reflects the operation of control processes that modulate the construction of AMs in posterior neocortical networks.     

Testing a bilinear domain-specific model of acculturation and enculturation across generational status

This study attempted to replicate Miller's (2007) finding that a bilinear domain-specific model of Asian American acculturation demonstrated superior model fit when compared to unilinear and bilinear domain-generic models. Current confirmatory factor analytic tests of competing acculturation models in a cross-validation sample of 306 participants were consistent with Miller's findings. In addition, this study provided novel findings regarding the nature of the acculturation process by testing the bilinear domain-specific model across 1st and 2nd generation samples. Specifically, the generational status moderator hypothesis-that a unilinear model of acculturation would be most appropriate for 1st generation individuals and a bilinear model of acculturation would be most appropriate for 2nd generation individuals-was tested with 494 1st and 2nd generation Asian Americans. Contrary to the assumptions of the generational status moderator hypothesis, present findings demonstrated the appropriateness of the bilinear domain-specific model for both 1st and 2nd generation Asian Americans. Present findings also revealed a pattern of shared and unique relationships between cultural orientations and acculturation domains across generations. Implications for research and counseling are explored.     

Is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory still relevant? A test of independent grandiosity and entitlement scales in the assessment of narcissism

Some scholars have called for the replacement of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) with more narrow scales measuring grandiosity and entitlement instead. In the current study, the authors examined the relations among the NPI and measures of grandiosity and entitlement, as well as in relation to a measure of the Five-Factor Model (FFM). The NPI manifested significant correlations with the alternative scales of entitlement and grandiosity and relatively similar patterns of correlations with the FFM traits. Of note, the NPI manifested significant incremental validity in the prediction of several FFM traits that are central to the conceptualization of narcissism. These findings suggest that some caution must be used before assuming that these lower-order scales can be used to replace the NPI in the assessment of narcissism.     

Disengagement and Engagement Coping with HIV/AIDS Stigma and Psychological Well-Being of People with HIV/AIDS

The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS poses a psychological challenge to people living with HIV/AIDS. We hypothesized that that the consequences of stigma-related stressors on psychological well-being would depend on how people cope with the stress of HIV/AIDS stigma. Two hundred participants with HIV/AIDS completed a self-report measure of enacted stigma and felt stigma, a measure of how they coped with HIV/AIDS stigma, and measures of depression and anxiety, and self-esteem. In general, increases in felt stigma (concerns with public attitudes, negative self-image, and disclosure concerns) coupled with how participants reported coping with stigma (by disengaging from or engaging with the stigma stressor) predicted self-reported depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Increases in felt stigma were associated with increases in anxiety and depression among participants who reported relatively high levels of disengagement coping compared to participants who reported relatively low levels of disengagement coping. Increases in felt stigma were associated with decreased self-esteem, but this association was attenuated among participants who reported relatively high levels of engagement control coping. The data also suggested a trend that increases in enacted stigma predicted increases in anxiety, but not depression, among participants who reported using more disengagement coping. Mental health professionals working with people who are HIV positive should consider how their clients cope with HIV/AIDS stigma and consider tailoring current therapies to address the relationship between stigma, coping, and psychological well-being.