Post‐It® Note Persuasion: A Sticky Influence

Four studies examine the influence of attaching a seemingly insignificant Post‐it^® note to a survey packet on the likelihood of completing the survey. Participants who received a packet with an affixed Post‐it note request had significantly higher return rates than participants who received the identical survey with (a) no sticky note, (b) the same message written on the cover sheet but without a Post‐it, or (c) a blank Post‐it with no message provided. Furthermore, they returned the materials more promptly with higher quality responses. A more personalized Post‐it appeal increased returns when the survey was long and time consuming but was no more effective than a nonpersonalized Post‐it when the survey was easy to complete. Results suggest that the Post‐it leads the request to be interpreted as a solicitation for a personal favor, facilitating a normative compliance response.     

Hope for the Worst: Occasional Reinforced Extinction and Expectancy Violation in the Treatment of OCD

An inhibitory learning conceptualization of treatment mechanisms in exposure-based therapy appears to better account for durability of symptom reduction and index overall learning. Presented here is an overview of two core elements of inhibitory learning, expectancy violation and occasional reinforced extinction, as they are thought to function in exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD. The overview is then followed by case examples illustrating these processes at work in a naturalistic clinical setting. Implications for treatment are broadly discussed.     

Effects of threat cues on attentional shifting, disengagement and response slowing in anxious individuals

According to cognitive models of anxiety, attentional biases for threat may cause or maintain anxiety states. Previous research using spatial cueing tasks has been interpreted in terms of difficulty in disengaging attention from threat in anxious individuals, as indicated by contrasts of response times (RTs) from threat cue versus neutral cue trials. However, on spatial cueing tasks, differences in RT between threat cue and neutral cue trials may stem from a slowing effect of threat on RT, as well as effects on allocation of visuospatial attention. The present study examined the effects of threat cues on both attentional cueing and response slowing. High and low anxious individuals completed a central cue task, which assessed threat-related response slowing, and a spatial cueing task, which assessed attentional biases for angry, happy and neutral faces. Results indicated that interpretation of the anxiety-related bias for threat depended on whether the effect of response slowing was taken into account. The study illustrates an important problem in using the modified spatial cueing task to assess components of threat-related attentional bias. As this experimental method may reflect both threat-related attentional cueing and response slowing effects, it cannot be assumed to provide pure measures of shift or disengagement components of attention bias.     

Gender differences in the variability of lower extremity kinematics during treadmill locomotion

The authors examined whether there were gender differences in the variability of basic gait parameters (stride length, stride time) and 3-dimensional (3D) rotations of the hip, knee, and ankle joints during treadmill locomotion of 18 men and 15 women at 4 different gait speeds (walking at 5 km/hr, running at 8, 10, and 12 km/hr). The authors used 2-way analyses of variance to assess the data. No gender differences in the mean values or variability of basic gait parameters were detected. However, the women exhibited lower variability than did the men for 6 individual joint rotations: (a) transverse plane rotations of the ankle joint at 8, 10, and 12 km/hr, (b) transverse plane rotations of the hip and knee joints at 12 km/hr, and (c) sagittal plane rotations of the ankle joint at 12 km/hr. When collapsed across all 3D lower extremity rotations, the data showed that the women had lower variability than did the men at 12 km/hr. Reduced variability may result in more localized mechanical stress on anatomical structures and could therefore be a risk factor for injury in women at high gait speeds. The results also suggested that gender differences in variability may not be consistent across different levels of the motor system.     

Child and family correlates of toddlers' emotional and behavioral responses to a mishap

This study evaluated the unique and joint contributions of internal state language, externalizing behavior, and maternal talk about emotions to the prediction of toddlers' empathy‐related responsiveness. The empathy‐based guilt reactions of 47 toddlers (27 boys) were observed in response to distress that they thought they had caused. In addition, mothers reported on the children's internal state language, externalizing behavior, and empathy‐based guilt. In a separate observation, the mothers discussed emotional expressions with their children, and the functional significance of their emotional discourse was considered. Results revealed that toddlers' internal state language ability was positively related to their attempts to comprehend another's affective state and to maternal reports of children's sympathy reactions. There was also an unexpected inverse relation between externalizing behavior and arousal level. In terms of the parent measures, maternal explanations of emotions were positively related to children's attempts to comprehend another's affective state, whereas mothers' directives for children to label emotions were positively related to children's expressed emotional concern for others. The implications of these findings for understanding empathy and guilt development in young children are discussed. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Personality,cognition, and university students' examination performance

A prospective study explored the relationship between personality traits (as defined by the five factor model), type of motivation (as defined by self‐determination theory), and goal‐specific cognitions (including those specified by the theory of planned behaviour) as antecedents of degree performance amongst undergraduate students. A sample of 125 students completed a questionnaire two to three months before their final examinations. Structural equation modelling was used to explore relationships. Intention and perceived behavioural control explained 32% of the variance in final degree marks, with intention being the strongest predictor. Controlling for theory of planned behaviour variables, anticipated regret, good‐student identity, controlled extrinsic motivation, Conscientiousness, and Openness had direct significant effects on intention. In total, 65% of the variance in intention was explained. The resultant model illustrates how personality traits may affect examination performance by means of mediators such as intention, anticipated regret, student identity, and autonomous intrinsic motivation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Laughter the Best Medicine? Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health

This article examines research evidence for the popular idea that humor and laughter have beneficial effects on physical health. Potential theoretical mechanisms for such effects are discussed first. Empirical evidence for beneficial effects of humor and laughter on immunity, pain tolerance, blood pressure, longevity, and illness symptoms is then summarized. Overall, the evidence for health benefits of humor and laughter is less conclusive than commonly believed. Future research in this area needs to be more theoretically driven and methodologically rigorous.     

Clients' suitability for counselling: The perception of counselors working in general practice

This study investigated the attitudes of 112 counsellors in general practice towards various factors concernig the selection of clients. Response indicate that counsellors are influenced, not only by diagnostic criteria, and other factors relating to the client, but also issues relating to the counsellor and the setting in which she or he works. The diagnostic critreria whcih seem to be considered most important are desire for change, motivation for therapty and evidence of psychopathology, althoug there is no clear consensus about the criteria overall. Importance varied according to the age and sex of the counsellor, but not by the experience, training, model of working, desire for further training, or number of sessins available.