A psychotherapeutic computer application: Modification of technological competence

The increasing sophistication of computer technology, combined with increased specification of therapeutic interventions, has facilitated development of computer programs that have achieved marked success in the psychotherapeutic treatment of circumscribed populations. This paper briefly reviews the history of computerized psychotherapy and examines several successful therapeutic computer applications in depth. These applications have attempted to replace the therapist with a computer. Another possible, as yet unexplored, application is the use of the computer as a vehicle for modification of an individual’s perceived competence to effectively operate on his or her environment. Using a computer to successfully manipulate one’s environment can provide a personal mastery experience that has the potential to contribute significantly to an increase in perceived self-competence, an essential component of positive therapeutic change. A study that would provide empirical support for this type of computer application is proposed.     

Biochemical mechanisms for the effect of alcohol on the brain]

This paper reviews and discusses basic knowledge of biochemical mechanisms of action of ethanol upon the central nervous system, the emphasis being on effects upon cerebral membrane structures and processes as well as mechanisms of chemical synaptic transmission. Results of detailed studies into material and steric changes in membranes, ion-dependent adenosine triphosphatases, variations in ion balance, effects upon cyclic nucleotides, influences on special transmitter systems, and mechanisms of formation of morphine-analogous condensation products are presented. In addition, open questions are derived and formulated in problem complexes.     

Testing factor models of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and their association with instrumental aggression

Although there is a documented link between psychopathy and instrumental violence in adult offenders, the association between these constructs has not garnered significant attention in adolescent offenders. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between psychopathy and instrumental aggression in a sample of 122 male adolescents incarcerated in a state facility for serious and chronic offenders. We evaluated the primary (2-, 3-, and 4-factor) models of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003) and assessed their relationship to a separate 5-item measure of instrumental violence. CFA revealed good model fit for the 3- and 4-factor latent variable models of adolescent psychopathy and a single-factor model reflecting a 5-item measure of instrumental violence. Structural equation modeling results indicate that the 4-factor model accounted for 20% of the variance for instrumental violence. In contrast, the 3-factor model of the PCL:YV accounted for 8%, and the 2-factor model accounted for 5% of the variance associated with instrumental violence.     

Emotion words used in six European countries

To what extent are the more common emotion words in Western European languages equivalent? Some information on this question, which is relevant for cross cultural emotions research, is collected in the present study. Students from six Western European countries were asked to list all emotion words they could think of in 5 minutes. The most frequently mentioned categories were highly similar across samples. However, considerable differences in relative frequency of presumably equivalent words (close, common translations) in the different languages were also found.     

Text-speak processing impairs tactile location

Dual task experiments have highlighted that driving while having a conversation on a cell phone can have negative impacts on driving (Strayer & Drews, 2007). It has also been noted that this negative impact is greater when reading a text-message (Lee, 2007). Commonly used in text-messaging are shortening devices collectively known as text-speak (e.g.,Ys I wll ttyl 2nite, Yes I will talk to you later tonight). To the authors' knowledge, there has been no investigation into the potential negative impacts of reading text-speak on concurrent performance on other tasks. Forty participants read a correctly spelled story and a story presented in text-speak while concurrently monitoring for a vibration around their waist. Slower reaction times and fewer correct vibration detections occurred while reading text-speak than while reading a correctly spelled story. The results suggest that reading text-speak imposes greater cognitive load than reading correctly spelled text. These findings suggest that the negative impact of text messaging on driving may be compounded by the messages being in text-speak, instead of orthographically correct text.