Crime,social status,and alienation

Explored the ecological consequences of crime and violence. Selected to reflect alienation between individuals and their settings, the criterion measures were fear of crime, avoidance behavior, anomia, and external locus of control. Exposure to crime was assessed at both individual and community levels. Using data from a large statewide sample of adult Kentuckians, hierarchical regression analyses were performed in which the criterion variables were regressed on measures of social status (e.g., education, sex), crime, and interactions between the two. The pattern of results highlighted the pervasive consequences of experiencing personal violence; effects of property crime and community-level exposure were more limited in scope. Social status also exerted strong effects on the criterion measures and modified many of the observed effects of crime. Implications of the study for interventions are discussed.     

Social support and victims of crime: Matching event,support, and outcome

Investigated the buffering properties of six types of social support (three perceived, three received) with regard to four psychological consequences (depression, anxiety, fear of crime, hostility) of criminal victimization (violent crime, property crime). These relationships were examined using longitudinal data collected from a sample composed of representative subsamples of victims and nonvictims. Effects of the perceived support measures (perceived appraisal support, perceived tangible support, self-esteem) were more pervasive than those of the received support measures (received informational support, received tangible support, received emotional support). Perceived support consistently exhibited buffering effects, protecting both violent and property crime victims against various symptoms they would have otherwise experienced. The stress-buffering capabilities of received support were limited to informational and tangible help protecting victims of violence from experiencing excessive fear. These findings are discussed in the context of recent theoretical developments concerning the stress-support matching hypothesis.     

Functional versus structural social support, desirable events, and positive affect in older adults.

The independent contributions of structural social support versus functional support to positive affect in older adults were compared in this prospective design. Four social support models were translated from the stress-symptoms literature into promotional models for positive mental health and for relationships to desirable challenge events. A total of 1,031 older adults were interviewed 5 times at 6-month intervals, and events were measured across the middle 18-month period. The 2 support variables made quite different contributions. Functional support was directly related to positive affect 2 years later, independent of events; structural support had more transitory direct effects. Structural support, but not functional support, was related to the subsequent occurrence of challenge events and in turn was strengthened by challenge events, suggesting a dynamic interplay between the social network and desirable events.     

The mispriming effect: Evidence of an orthographic check in the lexical decision task

This paper describes a lexical decision experiment that demonstrates that there are increased rates of errors for words “misprimed” with words strongly associated with visually similar words (e.g., BREAD-BATTER) relative to rates for the same words preceded by completely unrelated words (e.g., SLEEP-BATTER). The pattern of results is shown to be inconsistent with Forster’s (1976) search model but consistent with a criterion-bias model supplemented by an orthographic checking process.

     

A computer-based programmable tachistoscope for nonprogrammers

A set of programs for on-line control of reaction time experiments is described. These programs allow a wide range of experiments to be coded in a simple form that eliminates the need for any knowledge of programming.     

Organization tenure as a moderator of the job satisfaction-job performance relationship

Organization tenure as a moderator of the job satisfaction-job performance relationship was examined with data from a sample of 116 technical employees in a medium-sized industrial firm. Results provide support for a moderating influence of organization tenure on the relationship between job performance and overall satisfaction, satisfaction with work, and satisfaction with supervision.     

Discriminative echolocation in a porpoise

Operant conditioning techniques were used to establish a discriminative echolocation performance in a porpoise. Pairs of spheres of disparate diameters were presented in an under-water display, and the positions of the spheres were switched according to a scrambled sequence while the blindfolded porpoise responded on a pair of submerged response levers. Responses which identified the momentary state of the display were food-reinforced, while those which did not (errors) produced time out. Errors were then studied in relation to decreased disparity between the spheres. As disparity was decreased, errors which terminated runs of correct responses occurred more frequently and were followed by longer strings of consecutive errors. Increased errors and disruption of a stable pattern of collateral behavior were associated. Since some sources of error other than decreased disparity were present, the porpoise's final performance did not fully reflect the acuity of its echolocation channel.     

MK-801 improves retention in aged rats: implications for altered neural plasticity in age-related memory deficits

Alterations in N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-dependent synaptic plasticity, characteristic of aged rodents, may contribute to impaired memory with advanced age. The purpose of the current research was to examine whether NMDARs contribute to rapid forgetting on a spatial memory task. Aged (22-24 months) and adult (3-6 months) male Fischer 344 rats received 18 training trials, over a period of 3 to 4 h, on the spatial version of the Morris water maze. Immediately after training, a standard free-swim probe trial was administered to assess the acquisition of spatial bias, which was determined by the percent of time spent in the goal quadrant and the number of platform crossings. Rats then received injections of the noncompetitive NMDAR antagonist, (+)-10, 11-dihydro-5methyl-5H-dibenzo(a,b)cycloheptene-5,10 imine (MK-801, 0. 05 mg/kg, i.p.), or a vehicle injection of equal volume. Approximately 24 h later, rats were administered a second free-swim probe trial to assess retention of spatial bias. All age/drug groups exhibited a spatial bias on the acquisition probe, with adults generally outperforming the aged rats. On the retention probe, this spatial bias continued to be shown by adult rats, regardless of treatment. For the aged group, in contrast, only MK-801-injected rats maintained a spatial bias on the retention probe, suggesting that NMDAR activity may be involved in rapid forgetting during aging. Because blockade of NMDARs also may impair new learning, which may, in turn, protect previously stored information from retroactive interference, rats in a second experiment received post-training injections of scopolamine (0.05 mg/kg), a compound known to inhibit learning. However, scopolamine did not enhance retention in the aged group, consistent with the hypothesis that MK-801 influenced memory in aged rats through its actions on NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity.