The Influence of Attentional Focus on Balance Control over Seven Days of Training

This study examined the training effect of attentional focus (external focus, internal focus, or no focus instructions) on a dynamic balance task. Participants completed baseline balance testing, seven consecutive days of dynamic balance board training, and retention testing 24 hours after the last session. The novel finding of this study was the presence of a training effect on balance control when adopting an external focus relative to an internal focus or no focus instructions. Further, we report the unique observation that more patterned behavior was adopted regardless of the focus instructions. These findings provide insight into how instructions can be altered to enhance human balance control and complement the constrained-action hypothesis.     

Psychometric Status and Clinical Utility of the MAYSI-2 with Girls and Boys in Juvenile Detention

This study replicates and extends studies of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Version 2 (MAYSI-2) in a sample of 479 urban, rural, and suburban 12–16 year old youths (68% boys; 41% African American, 23% Latino) consecutively admitted to juvenile detention centers. Six principal components replicated the MAYSI-2 factor-analytically-derived subscales except for Depression/Anxiety, and suggested modifications of specific items in each sub-scale. Findings supported the internal consistency and validity of the modified MAYSI-2 sub-scales. Few gender differences emerged, except that girls reported higher levels of hopelessness and trauma than boys. Five sub-groups were identified based on component profiles: (1) non-clinical, (2) addiction, somatic problems, and suicidality, (3) anger problems, (4) thought disturbance, and (5) addiction and traumatic stress. The findings support the validity of the MAYSI-2 for juvenile justice mental health screening while highlighting possible refinements in scoring in order to identify delinquent youths with distinctive psychosocial risks and needs.     

Predicting the acceptability and likelihood of lying: The interaction of personality with type of lie

The present study investigated the role of individual differences in the perceived acceptability and likelihood of different types of lies. Two-hundred and eighty seven college students completed scales assessing six personality variables (honesty, kindness, assertiveness, approval motivation, self-monitoring, and Machiavellianism) and rated 16 scenarios involving lies told for four different motives (altruistic, conflict avoidance, social acceptance, and self-gain lies). Our central hypothesis that the perceived acceptability and likelihood of lying would be predicted by interactions between personality characteristics of the rater and the type of lie being considered was supported. For each type of lie, a unique set of personality variables significantly predicted lying acceptability and likelihood.     

Personality predictors of the time course for lung cancer onset

Numerous findings suggest that personality is linked to the incidence and experience of negative health outcomes. More specifically, trait negative affect is negatively related to a number of health outcomes. The current study expands our understanding of the link between personality and disease by examining the time course for lung cancer onset. In a sample of patients who had recently undergone surgical resection for lung cancer, a variety of negative affect related personality variables were assessed to determine their relationship with age at surgery. After controlling for smoking behavior, it was found that trait negative affect was associated with time course for lung cancer onset, such that those with higher (vs. lower) levels of trait negative affect manifested lung cancer earlier in their lives. Thus, trait negative affect represents an independent risk factor among those prone to lung cancer (i.e., smokers).     

Comparison of inhibition in two timed reaction tasks: the color and emotion Stroop tasks

The authors examined the cross-task consistency of the ability to inhibit the processing of irrelevant information. They compared interference scores on 2 widely used inhibition tasks and found that color word Stroop interference scores correlated with emotion word Stroop interference scores. An examination of physiological reactivity showed that, in general, the color Stroop was more arousing than was the emotion Stroop, most likely due to increased response conflict.     

Heroic DVD portrayals: What US and Taiwanese adolescents admire and understand

Viewing media aggression can be a risk factor for the long-term well being of viewers, and heroes have been targeted as a major risk factor in this relationship because they commit justified acts of aggression. However, little is known about the specific aspects of heroic conduct that viewers find worthy of emulation. We examined US and Taiwanese adolescents' and college students' identification with, and perceptions of, heroic characters portrayed in a DVD narrative as well as their comprehension of the narrative. Those who thought that certain characters were heroes were more likely to identify with them. However, the qualities that viewers found attractive in heroes were compassion and thinking before using force, not aggression or vengeance. Those who did not understand the program well were more likely to identify with the villain, and they were also more likely to misattribute prosocial qualities to the villain. The results suggest that at least for older viewers, heroic behavior is admired and emulated for prosocial rather than antisocial conduct, and that poor plot-comprehension is one factor that contributes to younger viewers' identification with, and imitation of, antisocial role models.     

The Effects of Television on Large-Scale Attitude Change: Viewing “The Day After”1

To examine the effects of viewing the television film, “The Day After”, a questionnaire designed to measure attitudes, cognitions, and feelings about the threat of nuclear war was administered to 537 subjects before and after the airing of the film. A factor analysis of pre-viewing test responses yielded a seven-factor solution. Pre–post factor scores indicated increased worry and concern about nuclear war, decreased belief that nuclear war could be survived, increased concern about the occurrence of nuclear war, and increased agreement with views espoused by the nuclear-freeze movement only among subjects who had viewed the film. Subjects who chose not to view the film differed from those who did watch it in terms of greater denial and less involvement in nuclear related activities. The efficacy of the film as an agent of attitude change and the utility of the present questionnaire were discussed.