psiTurk: An open-source framework for conducting replicable behavioral experiments online

Online data collection has begun to revolutionize the behavioral sciences. However, conducting carefully controlled behavioral experiments online introduces a number of new of technical and scientific challenges. The project described in this paper, psiTurk, is an open-source platform which helps researchers develop experiment designs which can be conducted over the Internet. The tool primarily interfaces with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, a popular crowd-sourcing labor market. This paper describes the basic architecture of the system and introduces new users to the overall goals. psiTurk aims to reduce the technical hurdles for researchers developing online experiments while improving the transparency and collaborative nature of the behavioral sciences.     

Sexual differences in responses of meadow voles to environmental cues in the presence of mink odor

Animal Cognition - In rodents, defensive behaviors increase the chances of survival during a predator encounter. Observable rodent defensive behaviors have been shown to be influenced by the...     

Higher Order Factor Structure of the WISC-IV in a Clinical Neuropsychological Sample

A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted examining the higher order factor structure of the WISC-IV scores for 344 children who participated in neuropsychological evaluations at a large children's hospital. The WISC-IV factor structure mirrored that of the standardization sample. The second order general intelligence factor (g) accounted for the largest proportion of variance in the first-order latent factors and in the individual subtests, especially for the working memory index. The first-order processing speed factor exhibited the most unique variance beyond the influence of g. The results suggest that clinicians should not ignore the contribution of g when interpreting the first-order factors.     

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Perceived Relationship Safety as Predictors of Dyadic Adjustment: A Test of Mediation and Moderation

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive value of PTSD symptoms and perceived relationship safety on dyadic adjustment. Participants included 390 individuals who were in a committed romantic relationship. Data were gathered from two populations; clients of a university-based family therapy clinic (n = 132), and community respondents to an announcement on a large university's electronic bulletin board (n = 258). Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of mediation, as well as multiple group analysis to test for moderation by setting (clinical vs. community) and gender. Results indicated that perceived relationship safety fully mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and dyadic adjustment. Gender moderated the relationships in the model, but no differences were found between the clinical and community samples. Findings suggest the importance of addressing experiences of safety and security in relationships, as these may be of particular importance for those who have experienced trauma.     

Integrating Spiritual Modeling Into Education: A College Course for Stress Management and Spiritual Growth

The article explores the relationship between mysticism and creativity from a psychoanalytic perspective. First, it first surveys prominent psychoanalytic perspectives on mysticism and creativity, situating British psychoanalyst Marion Milner among them. Milner suggests that the same psychological processes are involved in both creative expression and mystical experiences. A state of paradox, affirming both I and not-I, self and no-self, is at the core of mysticism. Similarly, for Milner the paradox of creativity is to break down the barrier of space between self and other while maintaining it. Second, the idea that mystics and artists share a common basic experience is investigated. In both mystical and creative states one finds elements of joy, union, ecstasy, absorption, loss of self-consciousness, and loss of sense of time. Milner's discussion in turn revolves around the I-not-I distinction. She posits that mysticism is one dimension of the creative process-in contrast to the pure oceanic feeling of the mystic, the creative process is constituted by the oceanic state in cyclic oscillation with the surface mind, actively used with the intent to produce something. Third, the relevance of mysticism and creativity for mental health is explored. For Milner, both creativity and mystical experiences are psychologically beneficial in that they undo the overfixed separation self and other caused by the tyranny of the conscious mind. Yet neither mysticism nor creative expression alone, in her view, can heal an underlying lack of sense of self.     

Memory for Emotional Content from Entertainment Film: The Role of Subtitles,Sex, and Empathy

A major component of consuming filmed entertainment is vicariously experiencing emotions of the filmed characters, yet little is known about how this occurs. Four experiments assessed memory for emotions felt by characters in extended film clips from either a contemporary farce (Overboard) or a historical drama (Sense and Sensibility) under various conditions of native or foreign language in the dialogue or subtitles. English-speaking participants watched a clip and then assessed on 6-point scales specific positive and negative affect felt by characters at various points during the film. Both positive and negative affect felt by characters in both films were perceived and remembered better in conditions with English sound or subtitles than in conditions with no English channel, although, unexpectedly, spoken dialogue or subtitles alone were equally effective at conveying emotion. Overall, emotion memory from the contemporary farce was better than from the historical drama and was surprisingly good even in conditions with no English, especially for the farce. Conditions with only sound, subtitles, or pictures were very comparable to each other. Participants higher in trait fantasy empathy remembered emotions better. The components of an eventual model of emotional comprehension were sketched.     

Corporal punishment and child adjustment

The association between corporal punishment and children's emotional and behavioral functioning was studied in a sample of 98 non-referred children with a mean age of 12.35 (SD=1.72) recruited from two school systems in the southeastern United States. Children were divided into those who had experienced no corporal punishment over approximately a two-week period, those who had experienced mild levels of corporal punishment (i.e., 1 or 2 instances), and those who had experienced high levels of corporal punishment (i.e., 3 or more instances). Results indicated that use of corporal punishment was associated with problems in both emotional and behavioral adjustment. However, these associations were strongest for children who experienced high levels of corporal punishment, for children who were impulsive, and for children who did not experience a warm and supportive family climate.     

Body Satisfaction in Gym-active Males: An Exploration of Sexuality, Gender, and Narcissism

This study compared 80 gay and straight Australian males on self report measures of body satisfaction, masculinity, femininity, narcissism, and reasons for exercising at gyms to explore factors related to excessive exercise. Gay males are less satisfied with their bodies compared to straight males. Improving appearance was more important for gay men, while fun was considered more important for straight men. Only sexual orientation and masculinity contributed independently to body satisfaction. Straight males who scored high on masculinity were most satisfied with their bodies, while gay males who scored low on masculinity were least satisfied with their bodies, irrespective of femininity and narcissism. Hours exercising per week and fun as a reason for exercising, significantly contributed to body satisfaction.     

Developmental shifts in fMRI activations during visuospatial relational reasoning

To investigate maturational plasticity of fluid cognition systems, functional brain imaging was undertaken in healthy 8-19 year old participants while completing visuospatial relational reasoning problems similar to Raven's matrices and current elementary grade math textbooks. Analyses revealed that visuospatial relational reasoning across this developmental age range recruited activations in the superior parietal cortices most prominently, the dorsolateral prefrontal, occipital-temporal, and premotor/supplementary cortices, the basal ganglia, and insula. There were comparable activity volumes in left and right hemispheres for nearly all of these regions. Regression analyses indicated increasing activity predominantly in the superior parietal lobes with developmental age. In contrast, multiple anterior neural systems showed significantly less activity with age, including dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal, paracentral, and insula cortices bilaterally, basal ganglia, and particularly large clusters in the midline anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortex, left middle cingulate/supplementary motor cortex, left insula-putamen, and left caudate. Findings suggest that neuromaturational changes associated with visuospatial relational reasoning shift from a more widespread fronto-cingulate-striatal pattern in childhood to predominant parieto-frontal activation pattern in late adolescence.