Body dysmorphic symptoms: phenomenology and ethnicity

Differences in the presentation of clinical features of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) across ethnic groups have received little investigation. The current study assessed BDD symptoms in an ethnically diverse sample of adults (n=401) using an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures assessing BDD symptoms, body parts of concern and BDD behaviors. Compared to Caucasian participants, no significant differences were found in body parts or behaviors reported by Latino or African American participants. Significant group differences did emerge between Asian and Caucasian participants. Specifically, Asians reported more concern with straight hair and dark skin and fewer body shape concerns than Caucasians. Asians also endorsed lower rates of grooming, touching body parts, and camouflaging and higher rates of exercise compared to Caucasians. Although most clinical features of BDD appear similar across ethnic groups, results showed some differences in body parts and behaviors between Caucasians and Asian Americans with BDD symptoms.     

Why do people need self-esteem? Converging evidence that self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function.

Three studies were conducted to assess the proposition that self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function. In Study 1, it was hypothesized that raising self-esteem would reduce anxiety in response to vivid images of death. In support of this hypothesis, Ss who received positive personality feedback reported less anxiety in response to a video about death than did neutral feedback Ss. In Studies 2 and 3, it was hypothesized that increasing self-esteem would reduce anxiety among individuals anticipating painful shock. Consistent with this hypothesis, both success and positive personality feedback reduced Ss' physiological arousal in response to subsequent threat of shock. Thus, converging evidence of an anxiety-buffering function of self-esteem was obtained.     

SUBLIMINAL EXPOSURE TO DEATH-RELATED STIMULI INCREASES DEFENSE OF THE CULTURAL WORLDVIEW

Abstract— Three experiments reported here provide empirical support for the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that unconscious concerns about death motivate allegiance to cultural beliefs, Study 1, contrasted exposure to a subliminal death-related stimulus, a standard mortality-salience treatment, and a neutral subliminal stimulus, and found that both the subliminal and the standard reminder of mortality led to more favorable evaluations of people who praised subjects' cultural worldview and more unfavorable evaluations of those who challenged it Study 2, replicated this finding by comparing the effects of exposure to subliminal death stimuli and subliminal pain stimuli. Study 3, contrasted subliminal death stimuli, supraliminal death stimuli, and subliminal pain stimuli and found that only subliminal death stimuli produced these effects.     

Tempo,Rhythm, and Aging in Golf

Older (n = 12) and younger (n = 12) golfers attempted to hit a golf ball into a target net a short distance away. An accelerometer attached to the back of the clubhead measured the applied force. In contrast to the more typical finding of slower perceptual-motor performance by older adults, older golfers reached their peak downswing force earlier in the shot and also exhibited a trend toward a faster overall speed or tempo of the shot. Additionally, older golfers exhibited greater changes in applied force and greater variability. A pattern of divergence among the force-time histories from multiple shots suggested that the overall person-plus-golf-club dynamics were unstable during a part of the shot. Older adults may be slower in controlling this instability. Half of the participants heard a tone whose pitch was proportional to their force. These participants had a slower follow through; however, they did not make significantly more or fewer shots than participants who had not been presented with the tone. Analyses of the temporal covariation among the backswing, downswing, and follow-through favored a chain-like temporal structure over a hierarchical, proportional structure. The pattern of covariation suggests that the tempo and rhythm of the shot are not independent and that changing one's tempo may disrupt rhythm.     

What Influences Work-Family Conflict? The Function of Work Support and Working from Home

The current study examined how work support resources and working from home influenced forms of work-family conflict (WFC) in employees at a large corporation. Scales measuring employee’s general WFC, time-based WFC, and strain-based WFC were used to evaluate the extent to which employees experienced work-induced conflict at home. Two forms of working at home were assessed, days worked at home and extra hours worked at home, and five variables measured the extent of one’s support resources: work social support, organizational support, individual consideration from one’s manager, idealized influence from one’s manager and contingent reward from one’s manager. We predicted that days worked at home would be negatively related to the three forms of WFC, while the extra hours worked at home would be positively related. Moreover, we hypothesized that the five support variables would moderate the relationship between extra hours worked at home and the types of WFC. The data supported some of the predictions, and the implications of these findings are discussed.     

Forward--The Visual Culture of the Queer in the Clinic

This short essay provides an overview of the Visual Studies section of the special issue “Queer in the Clinic.” Addressing the impact of visual culture on queer experiences in the clinic, the author offers thoughts on the graphic artwork of Edie Fake and Brain Cremins’s essay included in this issue. Arguing that contemporary and historical visual assessments of the LGBTQ clinical subject are vital contributors to queer bioethical debates, she explains relevant concepts such as “radical somatic transformation,” “the nature of bodily possibility,” and Walter Benjamin’s “world of secret affinities.”     

A Muscle Awareness Model for Changes in Rorschach Human Movement Responses

The present series of studies sought to provide evidence that M would increase under any conditions which make an S more aware of his muscles. The studies demonstrated that at least in women, M increased over a variety of conditions involving heightened muscle awareness. Specifically M increased in conditions utilizing muscle activation, deactivation, hypnosis, and focusing thoughts on the body musculature. The muscle awareness model unlike the sensory-tonic model accounts for increases in M following hyperactivity as well as inhibition.     

Early neuropsychological correlates of later clock drawing and clock copying abilities among school aged children.

Although widely used in empirical study and bedside neuropsychological evaluation of geriatric populations, there is little literature on clock copying and drawing among children. However, existing research suggests that clock drawing tests (CDTs) may be effective and efficient tools for assessing neurocognitive development in children. This paper reports data on clock drawing on demand (CDT-D) and clock drawing to copy (CDT-C) among a non-clinical sample of elementary school aged children and identifies predictive relationships between earlier measures of executive function, visuo-construction, and visual-motor coordination and CDT performance 3 years later. Similar to findings with adult samples, analyses revealed better performance on copying than on drawing. Longitudinal analyses indicate that general intelligence significantly predicted performance on both tasks. Visual-motor coordination only predicted performance on the drawing on demand subtest of the CDT.     

The path or the goal? Decision vs. information focus in biased information seeking after preliminary decisions

Research on the phenomenon of selective exposure to information demonstrates that after preliminary or final decisions, people show a preference for supporting rather than conflicting information (confirmation bias). In this article, we examine conditions that increase or decrease distortions in the search for information. We report on four experiments indicating that the confirmation bias is influenced by whether people focus on their decision or on the presented pieces of information during the information search. Focusing on the decision, for example, because a reward for a correct decision is promised or simply because participants repeatedly think of it, increases the confirmation bias. On the other hand, if participants focus on the available pieces of information because they have to invest money in order to search for information or because they have to evaluate the individual pieces of information, the confirmation bias decreases. Implications for theoretical understanding and interventions for decision-making situations are discussed.