Evaluation of a Shortened South Oaks Gambling Screen in veterans with addictions.

Rates of pathological gambling have increased with the availability of legalized gambling. Substance-abuse units increasingly recognize the need to assess for gambling problems. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987) has filled this need. Previous research (M. Oehlert & K. Nelson, 2004) has considered the feasibility of reducing the length of the SOGS while maintaining its ability to identify people at risk for problematic gambling. In this study, the authors examined the utility of a shortened SOGS (SSOGS) in a 2nd sample of veterans with addictions. The authors used data analysis to explore SSOGS psychometric properties and to provide additional support for use of the shorter instrument.     

Can CBT Be Effective for Aboriginal Australians? Perspectives of Aboriginal Practitioners Trained in CBT

The objective of the study was to investigate whether high and low intensity versions of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) might be an effective therapeutic approach for enhancing the mental health of Aboriginal Australians. Five university‐educated Aboriginal counsellors received in‐depth training in CBT. Over the following year, they used CBT strategies with their clients, and met 10 times as a participatory action research group. The group addressed three key questions: (a) Does CBT appear to be useful for Aboriginal Australians? (b) If so, what elements of CBT are perceived to be effective? (c) What adaptations might be made to CBT to enhance its effectiveness with Aboriginal Australians? The resulting qualitative data were transcribed and analysed. Counsellors perceived CBT to be very useful for their Aboriginal clients and for themselves. They reported that it enhanced their clients' well‐being, their own clinical skills, and their own well‐being, and it reduced burnout. The qualities of CBT that were perceived to be effective were its adaptability, pragmatic here‐and‐now approach, capacity for low‐intensity interventions, safe containing structure, promotion of self‐agency, and valuable techniques. It was suggested that the prime requirement for adaptations to CBT were that they would need to fit different social and cultural contexts.     

Thinking of Others: Feminist Identification and the Perception of Others’ Beliefs

Previous research has shown that most women in the United States support feminist goals but do not label themselves as feminists. Concern over other people’s opinions of feminists may predict rejection of the feminist label. In the present study we predicted that feminists would be more likely than non-feminists to believe that other people view feminists favorably. One hundred seventy-one female participants completed the Berryman-Fink Semantic Differential Scale twice, once to indicate how they view feminists and again to indicate how they believe others view feminists. Contrary to our hypothesis, all women, regardless of feminist identification, believed that others view feminists negatively and as more likely to be homosexual than heterosexual. Relationships between participants’ own views of feminists and their perceptions of others’ views of feminists were explored. Transformative experiences that may lead a feminist to ignore their perception of society’s views are discussed.     

Moniker maladies: when names sabotage success

In five studies, we found that people like their names enough to unconsciously pursue consciously avoided outcomes that resemble their names. Baseball players avoid strikeouts, but players whose names begin with the strikeout-signifying letter K strike out more than others (Study 1). All students want As, but students whose names begin with letters associated with poorer performance (C and D) achieve lower grade point averages (GPAs) than do students whose names begin with A and B (Study 2), especially if they like their initials (Study 3). Because lower GPAs lead to lesser graduate schools, students whose names begin with the letters C and D attend lower-ranked law schools than students whose names begin with A and B (Study 4). Finally, in an experimental study, we manipulated congruence between participants' initials and the labels of prizes and found that participants solve fewer anagrams when a consolation prize shares their first initial than when it does not (Study 5). These findings provide striking evidence that unconsciously desiring negative name-resembling performance outcomes can insidiously undermine the more conscious pursuit of positive outcomes.     

Locus of control, self-control, and family income as predictors of young children's mathematics and science scores

Locus of control, self-control, and family income were investigated as possible predictors of 138 young children's mathematics and science scores. The children, 60 boys and 78 girls, ranging from 4 to 8 years of age (M = 5.4, SD = 1.3) were administered the Stephens-Delys Reinforcement Contingency Interview Scale, the Self-control Rating Scale, the Comprehensive Mathematics Inventory, and a science test based on the work of D. K. Dickinson. Analysis showed mathematics scores were positively related to income, locus of control, and science scores. Mathematics and science scores were negatively related to lack of self-control. Also, science scores were positively related to locus of control. Multiple regression analysis with mathematics as the dependent variable indicated income had the greatest predictive value followed by self-control and locus of control. The multiple regression model of science was also significant, with locus of control having the greatest influence followed by self-control.     

Mere exposure and the endowment effect on consumer decision making

Previous researchers (e.g., J. A. Bargh, 1992, 2002) demonstrated the importance of nonconscious processes on consumer choice behavior. Using an advertisement, the authors determined the effect of two nonconscious processes--the mere exposure effect, which increases object preference by increasing consumer exposure to an object, and the endowment effect, which increases object valuation by providing consumer possession of an object--on consumer behavior. Although the mere exposure effect and endowment effect did not produce an interaction, they produced independent effects. The endowment effect increased object valuation but not object preference. The mere exposure effect increased object preference but not object valuation. Thus, at the unconscious level, an increase in object preference does not lead to an increase in object valuation, nor does an increase in object valuation lead to an increase in object preference. The authors discuss the importance of developing measures of unconscious process in advertising effectiveness.     

How verbal memory loads consume attention

According to a traditional assumption about working memory, participants retain a series of verbal items for immediate recall using covert verbal rehearsal, without much need for attention. We reassessed this assumption by imposing a speeded, nonverbal choice reaction time (CRT) task following the presentation of each digit in a list to be recalled. When the memory load surpassed a few items, performance on the speeded CRT task became increasingly impaired. This CRT task impairment depended only on attention-related components of working memory; it was not alleviated by the presence of an auditory memory trace that automatically helped the recall of items at the ends of spoken lists. We suggest that attention-demanding refreshing of verbal stimuli occurs along with any covert rehearsal.     

Identifying Youth at Risk for Treatment Failure in Outpatient Community Mental Health Services

We developed predicted change trajectories and a warning system designed to identify psychotherapy cases at risk for treatment failure as observed in archival Youth Outcome Questionnaire data (parent/guardian-report) from 363 children and adolescents (ages 4–17) served in an outpatient community mental health system. We used multilevel modeling procedures to develop models of predicted change based on demographic information. Controlling for the effects of age on intercept, no other variables were significant in the model. The warning system we created from half of the sample (n = 181) correctly identified 71% of treatment failures in the other half of the sample (n = 182), defined as cases whose symptoms were significantly higher at the end of treatment compared to symptoms at intake. As over half of youth cases in this usual care setting did not demonstrate reliable improvement in symptoms, these results further emphasize the value of patient-focused research in monitoring patient progress and prompting changes in the treatment approach if suitable progress is not observed.