Reliability and validity of scores from the Singer-Loomis Type Deployment Inventory

This paper focuses on the Singer-Loomis Type Deployment Inventory (SL-TDI), which is an alternative to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The SL-TDI utilizes a continuous, non-forced choice format and therefore is a more accurate representation of Jung's personality theory of psychological types. The purpose of the study reported here is to evaluate the reliability and validity of scores from the SL-TDI. Specifically, the goals were to (a) provide estimates of the internal consistency of SL-TDI scores; (b) evaluate the divergent validity of SL-TDI scores by examination of their relationships with the scores on a social desirability responding measure; and (c) examine the test-retest stability of scores from the SL-TDI. Strong support was found for both the reliability and validity of SL-TDI scores.     

The Givenness of Other People: On Singularity and Empathy in Husserl

Human Studies - Other people figure in our experience of the world; they strike us as unique and genuinely other. This paper explores whether a Husserlian account of empathy as the way in which we...     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging: basic principles of and application to developmental science

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has quickly become the preferred technique for imaging normal brain activity, especially in the typically developing child. This technique takes advantage of specific magnetic properties and physiological processes to generate images of brain activity. These images can be interpreted as a function of group or individual based differences to explore developmental patterns and/or cognitive abilities. In this paper we present an overview of the basic principles of fMRI and a discussion of what is currently known about the physiological bases of the resulting signal. We also report findings from developmental fMRI studies that examine the development of cognitive and neural systems underlying attention and memory. Behavioral performance and age‐related neural changes are examined independently in an attempt to disentangle developmental differences from individual variability in performance.     

Is the sequencing of change processes by stage consistent across health problems? A meta-analysis.

Clinicians and researchers applying the transtheoretical model (J.O. Prochaska, C.C. DiClemente, & J.C. Norcross, 1992) to health promotion often assume that relationships of processes and stages observed in smoking cessation can be generalized to other problems. A reanalysis of 47 cross-sectional studies determined that use of change processes varies by stage, but the sequencing of processes is not consistent across health problems. In smoking cessation, cognitive processes were used in earlier stages than were behavioral processes. In exercise adoption and diet change, use of behavioral and cognitive processes increased together. Results for substance abuse and psychotherapy were less consistent. Substituting new behaviors, making a commitment, considering consequences, seeking information, controlling cues, and using rewards varied most by stage. Future longitudinal studies should assess these processes as potential mediators of lifestyle change.     

On the fate of psychoanalysis and political theory

The author explores the present structure of the relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory, finding that the two often attempt to integrate each other's findings as mere resources within the pursuit of fundamentally self-determined projects. This radically misconstrues the force and meaning of the insights upon which they draw. Especially when psychoanalytic interpretations of collective subjects (nations, regions, etc.) occur, the relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory may not be appropriately mediated, promoting suspiciousness about the interpretive and therapeutic efficacy of such nonclinical "interventions." The author proposes an alternative paradigm for a new working relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory.     

Willingness to use microbicides varies by race/ethnicity, experience with prevention products, and partner type.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate women's willingness to use vaginal microbicides to reduce/prevent HIV infection, using measures grounded in the individual, behavioral, and social contexts of sex. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study that enrolled a sample (N = 531) of 18-55 year old Latina, African-American, and White women in the U.S. between October, 2004, and July, 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Willingness to use microbicides and individual- and context-related variables (e.g., demographics, relationship status). RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a one-dimensional, 8-item scale, with high internal consistency (alpha = .91). Subgroup analyses within the Latina (n = 166), African- American (n = 193), and White sub-samples (n = 172) also supported a unidimensional scale with strong internal validity and high reliability. Race/ethnicity as a contextual factor, a woman's history of using prevention products, and the nature of the sexual partnership were predictive of willingness to use microbicides (R = .41). That is, women with greater frequencies of condom use, a history of spermicide use, and non-main sexual partners had higher predicted Willingness to Use Microbicides scale scores, while White women had lower predicted scores. CONCLUSION: The Willingness to Use Microbicides scale serves as the first psychometrically validated measure of factors related to microbicide acceptability. Developing and implementing psychometrically validated and contextualized microbicide acceptability measures, in an effort to understand microbicide users and circumstances of use, is crucial to both clinical trials and future intervention studies.     

Persistent versus Periodic Experiences of Social Victimization: Predictors of Adjustment

This study examined self-reports of social victimization and parent reports of adjustment for a sample followed from fourth through seventh grades. Different patterns of social victimization experiences were identified; of the 153 students (79 girls) with complete data, 24% reported chronic social victimization, 23% reported transient experiences of social victimization, and 53% reported being socially victimized at no more than one time point. We examined whether students who experienced persistent and periodic social victimization were at greater risk for internalizing problems than nonvictims. Persistently victimized children demonstrated continuously elevated levels of internalizing problems. Children who were not originally victimized by social aggression but became victimized with time did not demonstrate higher levels of internalizing problems than did nonvictims. Findings were mixed for those who escaped social victimization during this period. This research was supported by NIMH grants R01 MH63076 and K02 MH073616. We are deeply grateful for the participation of children and families in this study and for the cooperation of a local school system that wishes to go unnamed. We thank Mikal Galperin for her help with recruiting and retaining the sample.     

Inhibitory and facilitatory location priming in patients with left-sided visual hemi-neglect

In visual search for pop-out targets, reaction times are facilitated when the target on the current trial appears at a previous target location, and inhibited when it appears at a previous distractor location, relative to when it appears at a previously empty (neutral) location (Maljkovic and Nakayama, Perception and Psychophysics 58:977–991, 1996). However, while normal subjects are able to positively/negatively tag selected target/rejected distractor locations to guide search on the next trial, patients with visual hemi-neglect may have a (uni- or bilateral) deficit in these functions that may contribute to their disturbed visual scanning behavior. To examine this, using a pop-out search task, the present study assessed cross-trial facilitatory and inhibitory priming in 14 patients with left-sided visual hemi-neglect and in 14 age-, education-, and IQ-matched control subjects. The group of neglect patients did show significant facilitatory and inhibitory priming. However, while control subjects exhibited balanced effects of facilitation and inhibition, inhibition was relatively reduced in magnitude in neglect patients. In particular, inhibition was virtually absent in two patients with lesions affecting superior regions of the frontal cortex, putatively encroaching on the frontal eye field of the right hemisphere. These findings provide neuropsychological evidence that facilitatory and inhibitory priming effects are based on dissociable mechanisms, consistent with Geyer et al. (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 33:788–797, 2007).