Does marriage protect older people from distress? The role of equity and recency of bereavement

The association between marital status and distress was examined in a largely neglected group, namely older people (65 and older; N = 1,649). In this 2-wave study, married persons were less distressed than single persons, but perceived equity within the marriage and recency of bereavement qualified these findings. Married persons who felt inequitably treated were more distressed than persons who had always been single. Married persons reported less distress than recently (= 2 years ago) widowed persons, but only equitably treated married persons reported less distress than persons widowed for more than 2 years. Increased distress between the 2 waves occurred in recently widowed persons, and there was a decrease in distress in persons who were widowed shortly before the 1st wave. No gender effects were found.     

The effects of lead stimulus and reflex stimulus modality on modulation of the blink reflex at very short, short, and long lead intervals

The blink reflex is modulated if a weak lead stimulus precedes the blink-eliciting stimulus. In two experiments, we examined the effects of the sensory modality of the lead and blink-eliciting stimuli on blink modulation. Acoustic, visual, or tactile lead stimuli were followed by an acoustic (Experiment 1) or an electrotactile (Experiment 2) blink-eliciting stimulus at lead intervals of -30, 0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360, and 4,500 msec. The inhibition of blink magnitude at the short (60- to 360-msec) lead intervals and the facilitation of blink magnitude at the long (4,500-msec) lead interval observed for each lead stimulus modality was relatively unaffected by the blink-eliciting stimulus modality. The facilitation of blink magnitude at the very short (-30- to 30-msec) lead intervals was dependent on the combination of the lead and the blink-eliciting stimulus modalities. Modality specific and nonspecific processes operate at different levels of perceptual processing.     

Task interest and actual performance: the moderating effects of assigned and adopted purpose goals

This research examined whether and which purpose goals moderate the relationship between task interest and actual performance and whether assigned goals have different effects (Study 1) than adopted goals (Study 2). Two studies were conducted using a full 2 X 2 design of the performance-mastery and approach-avoidance distinctions, plus control conditions. In the control conditions, that is, in a neutral purpose goal context, the expected positive relationship between initial task interest and actual performance was found. In a purpose goal context, this link held only for a congruent mastery-approach goal (either assigned or adopted). The gain in task interest found in a neutral purpose context was observed in the purpose goal conditions only when participants attained their purpose goals. It was concluded that having an incongruent purpose goal may undermine the positive effect of prior task interest on actual performance as well as on subsequent task interest.     

A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME OF SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF REINFORCEMENT WITHIN GROUP OPERANT SYSTEMS1

Many different reinforcement contingencies are found in group operant systems, such as token economies and point systems. Some systems use group contingencies in which the reinforcement of any one participant may depend on the behavior of some other group member. Other programs are individual, in that participants earn reinforcers dependent only on their own behavior. The various possible arrangements of people and their response requirements are labelled “social conditions of reinforcement” in this paper. Previous attempts at classification have failed to categorize the variety of social conditions of reinforcement. In addition, some conditions that may produce behaviorally different effects have not been separated. The present paper classifies the social conditions of reinforcement found in applied programs in a three-dimensional scheme. The efficacy of the three major dimensions—reinforcing agent, recipient response requirement, and group response requirement—is supported by clinical and research data. The reinforcing agent dimension refers to the person(s) who dispenses reinforcers to group members. This major dimension is further subdivided: one or several agents may be either designated or nondesignated. Recipients are the group members who receive reinforcement. This dimension is also subdivided: one or several recipients in a social condition of reinforcement may obtain reinforcers either contingently or noncontingently. The group response requirement is a criterion that must be satisfied before any group participant is eligible for reinforcement. Some systems have no group requirement, and others have a group requirement that must be met by some designated or nondesignated participant(s). Supportive references and examples are given in the explanation of each dimension and subdimension. The behavioral impact of the various categories is emphasized. For all major dimensions, applied implications and research suggestions are discussed. Concluding remarks center on the utility of the present scheme, the classification of operant procedures other than positive reinforcement, and both theoretical and applied issues requiring further study (e.g., the long-term effects of participation in group contingencies).     

The analysis of group contingency data

The data analyses utilized in group contingency projects are reviewed. Previous studies are cited to emphasize advantages of nonconsolidated ("individual") over consolidated analyses. Several procedures are described that enable applied researchers to incorporate nonconsolidated data analyses in group contingency studies.     

Differential effects of visual-spatial attention on response latency and temporal-order judgment

Summary Theorists from both classical structuralism and modern attention research have claimed that attention to a sensory stimulus enhances processing speed. However, they have used different operations to measure this effect, viz., temporal-order judgment (TOJ) and reaction-time (RT) measurement. We report two experiments that compared the effect of a spatial cue on RT and TOJ. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a nonmasked, peripheral cue (the brief brightening of a box) affected both RT and TOJ. However, the former effect was significantly larger than the latter. A masked cue had a smaller, but reliable, effect on TOJ. In Experiment 2, the effects of a masked cue on RT and TOJ were compared under identical stimulus conditions. While the cue had a strong effect on RT, it left TOJ unaffected. These results suggest that a spatial cue may have dissociable effects on response processes and the processes that lead to a conscious percept. Implications for the concept of direct parameter specification and for theories of visual attention are discussed.     

The role of somatosensory stimulation in social phobia—An analysis of hand coordination in patients and therapeutic dyads during psychodynamic psychotherapy

In the psychotherapeutic treatment of social phobia, the hand movement behaviour exhibited during the interaction provides information about the success of the therapy. In particular, the degree of mutual somatosensory stimulation of the hands (hands moving on each other, as a unit, apart) appears to be relevant regarding the patient's mental state. To test this hypothesis, the present study investigates hand coordination in the course of psychotherapy in patients with and without symptom improvement and in the corresponding therapeutic dyads. Forty-two videos of patient–therapist dyads consisting of 21 patients (n = 11 non-improved; n = 10 improved; according to Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale self-assessment) from the Social Phobia Research Network project were investigated in early psychotherapy sessions and in pre-last sessions. Hand movements of four randomised video sequences per dyad were analysed with NEUROGES^®-ELAN. Patients with non-improved symptoms displayed shorter act apart coordination and more act on each other coordination than patients with improved symptoms. Patients displayed more act apart and act on each other and less act as a unit coordination than therapists. In therapeutic dyads, act on each other coordination in early sessions, as well as short act apart coordination, was significantly related to non-improvement. Patients with non-improved symptoms are characterised by more hand coordination associated with a high degree of somatosensory stimulation serving self-regulation (act on each other), as well as short complex gestural expressions (act apart). Thus, hand coordination constitutes a progression and outcome parameter informing on somatosensory stimulation.     

Assessing the Organizational Climate for Translational Research with a New Survey Tool

Science and Engineering Ethics - Promoting translational research as a means to overcoming chasms in the translation of knowledge through successive fields of research from basic science to public...     

The reliability and validity of the psychopathy checklist: youth version (PCL:YV) in nonincarcerated adolescent males

Current knowledge about the validity of the psychopathy syndrome in youth is limited largely to studies relying on parent-teacher rating scales or slight modifications of adult measures. Recently, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) was designed for use with adolescents. However, most studies that have used this measure examined incarcerated males and addressed only validity criteria related to antisocial behavior. We investigated the generality and construct validity of the psychopathy syndrome in an adolescent sample by assessing 115 adolescent males on probation with the PCL:YV. Reliability of measurement was high. PCL:YV ratings predicted not only antisocial behaviour but also other indices of childhood psychopathology, interpersonal behaviors associated with adult psychopathy, and a lack of attachment to parents. These findings suggest that the PCL:YV identifies a syndrome in adolescence consistent with theory and research on adult males.