Negative social evaluation, but not mere social presence, elicits cortisol responses to a laboratory stressor task.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has supported the premise that performance conditions characterized by social-evaluative threat, in which an aspect of the self could be judged by others, are associated with cortisol responses. However, it remains unclear whether this effect is due to negative social evaluation per se or simply the presence of another during a performance situation. Method: In the present study, 89 undergraduates delivered a speech in 1 of 3 conditions: in front of an evaluative audience panel (social-evaluative threat [SET]), in the presence of an inattentive confederate (PRES), or alone in a room (non-SET). RESULTS: Consistent with hypotheses, participants in the SET condition demonstrated a significant cortisol response, while those in the non-SET and PRES conditions did not show increases in this hormone. Further, participants in the SET condition who reported greater posttask levels of self-conscious cognitions and emotions demonstrated the greatest increases in cortisol. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the mere social presence of others is not driving the changes in cortisol observed under social-evaluative threat; instead, explicit negative social evaluation may be responsible for increases in this health-relevant physiological parameter.     

Children's objective and subjective sleep disruptions: links with afternoon cortisol levels.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine possible relations between the quality and amount of children's sleep and cortisol in healthy children. DESIGN: Children's sleep was monitored with actigraphs for 7 nights. Children came to the laboratory to provide saliva samples, which were used to assess cortisol. Children reported on their sleepiness and sleep/wake problems. Sixty-four healthy children participated (M = 8.75 years; SD = .55). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported sleepiness and sleep/wake problems, actigraphy-measured total sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, minutes awake after sleep onset, and sleep activity, and afternoon cortisol levels. Results: After controlling for demographic variables and child characteristics, higher levels of cortisol were related to increased subjective sleep problems and objective measures of shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. CONCLUSION: These findings are of importance for understanding critical facets of children's health and well-being, and are noteworthy given the high prevalence of sleep disruptions in otherwise normally developing children in the United States.     

Executive control processes of working memory predict attentional blink magnitude over and above storage capacity

When two masked, to-be-attended targets are presented within approximately half a second of each other, performance on the second target (T2) suffers, relative to when the targets are presented further apart in time or when the first target (T1) can be ignored. This phenomenon is known as the attentional blink (AB). Colzato et al. (Psychon Bull Rev 14:1051–1057, 2007) used an individual differences approach to examine whether individual AB magnitude was predicted by individual differences in working memory (WM), using the operation span paradigm (OSPAN). They found that OSPAN score was inversely related to AB magnitude even when a fluid intelligence measure (Raven’s SPM) was partialled out. However, it is not clear from this study whether it was the executive control aspect of working memory, the capacity aspect of short-term memory, (or both), that related to AB magnitude. In the present study we used a variety of WM measures that required varying degrees of executive control. OSPAN was negatively related to AB magnitude with Raven’s SPM, reading comprehension, reading rate, and digit forward and backward partialled out. Backward and forward digit span did not predict AB magnitude. These results support the conclusion that a “working” executive component of WM predicts temporal limitations of selective attention beyond static STM capacity and general cognitive ability.     

Constructive anger verbal behavior predicts blood pressure in a population-based sample.

The creation of an observational Constructive Anger Behavior-Verbal Style Scale (CAB-V) and its relation to resting blood pressure (BP) in an age- and sex-stratified, population-based sample is examined. Participants (N = 1,862) provided hypertension risk factor information, had resting BP assessed multiple times, and completed a videotaped interview, which was later coded for CAB-V and Hostile Style. High CAB-V scores remained a significant predictor of lower resting BP when controlling for the effects of standard hypertension risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol use, smoking status, parental myocardial infarction history, education, and diabetic status) and psychosocial measures (anxiety, depression, hostility, social support, and Hostile Style). This relation also remained when excluding known hypertensive persons. Results suggest that constructive anger expression may have an independent beneficial association with resting BP.     

Identifying Perceived Neighborhood Stressors Across Diverse Communities in New York City

There is growing interest in the role of psychosocial stress in health disparities. Identifying which social stressors are most important to community residents is critical for accurately incorporating stressor exposures into health research. Using a community‐academic partnered approach, we designed a multi‐community study across the five boroughs of New York City to characterize resident perceptions of key neighborhood stressors. We conducted 14 community focus groups; two to three in each borough, with one adolescent group and one Spanish‐speaking group per borough. We then used systematic content analysis and participant ranking data to describe prominent neighborhood stressors and identify dominant themes. Three inter‐related themes regarding the social and structural sources of stressful experiences were most commonly identified across neighborhoods: (1) physical disorder and perceived neglect, (2) harassment by police and perceived safety and (3) gentrification and racial discrimination. Our findings suggest that multiple sources of distress, including social, political, physical and economic factors, should be considered when investigating health effects of community stressor exposures and psychological distress. Community expertise is essential for comprehensively characterizing the range of neighborhood stressors that may be implicated in psychosocial exposure pathways.     

Touching the Spirit: Re-enchanting the Person in the Body

In this essay, we argue that touch constitutes a sacred connection between the patient and practitioner. When touch is avoided or overlooked, the enigmatic inner workings of the body are ignored as those aspects of the body that can be quantified and ultimately controlled are emphasized. In utilizing touch as a fundamental way of opening up space for the sacred, the practitioner affirms the humanity for both the patient and herself. Only by returning to the senses can practitioners resist the dehumanizing effects of machinery and re-enchant the health-care profession in caring for persons they have sworn to serve.     

Post‐identification feedback effects: Investigators and evaluators

We investigated the effects of post‐identification feedback and viewing conditions on beliefs and interviewing tactics of participant‐investigators, crime reports of participant‐witnesses and participant‐evaluators' credibility judgments of the witnesses. Study 1 participants assumed the roles of witness and investigator (N = 167 pairs). Witnesses' view of a simulated crime video was manipulated by distance from viewing monitor: 2 or 9 ft. Participants made a line‐up identification and received either positive feedback or no feedback. Significant effects for witnesses and investigators were associated with viewing condition and post‐identification feedback. Interviews between investigator‐witness pairs were videotaped. Investigators asked more positive, leading questions when they were led to believe that the witness had identified the suspect. In Study 2 evaluators (N = 302) viewed the witness‐investigator interviews. Viewing condition had no effect on judgments of witness credibility but positive post‐identification feedback led evaluators to judge witnesses as more credible than witnesses who received no feedback. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tracking Marital Adjustment,Hostility, and Physical Functioning Across Time in a Therapy Population: A Biopsychosocial Model

In this study we sought to explore the biopsychosocial connections between relational adjustment, hostility, and physical functioning of individuals who attended psychotherapy. Assessments were given at therapy intake, 6 months post intake, and 12 months after therapy intake. Path analyses between relational adjustment, hostility, and physical functioning revealed a good fit to the data. Results indicated that therapy may interrupt the relationship between hostility at intake and later marital satisfaction. Individuals’ ability to function physically day to day at 6 months post therapy intake contributed to increased marital adjustment 12 months after intake. Clinical implications are discussed.