Spousal similarity in coping and depressive symptoms over 10 years.

Following a baseline sample of 184 married couples over 10 years, the present study develops a broadened conceptualization of linkages in spouses' functioning by examining similarity in coping as well as in depressive symptoms. Consistent with hypotheses, results demonstrated (a) similarity in depressive symptoms within couples across 10 years, (b) similarity in coping within couples over 10 years, and (c) the role of coping similarity in strengthening depressive similarity between spouses. Spousal similarity in coping was evident for a composite measure of percent approach coping as well as for component measures of approach and avoidance coping. The role of coping similarity in strengthening depressive symptom similarity was observed for percent approach coping and for avoidance coping. These findings support social contextual models of psychological adjustment that emphasize the importance of dynamic interdependencies between individuals in close relationships.     

Figural properties are prioritized for search under conditions of uncertainty: Setting boundary conditions on claims that figures automatically attract attention

Nelson and Palmer (2007) concluded that figures/figural properties automatically attract attention, after they found that participants were faster to detect/discriminate targets appearing where a portion of a familiar object was suggested in an otherwise ambiguous display. We investigated whether these effects are truly automatic and whether they generalize to another figural property—convexity. We found that Nelson and Palmer’s results do generalize to convexity, but only when participants are uncertain regarding when and where the target will appear. Dependence on uncertainty regarding target location/timing was also observed for familiarity. Thus, although we could replicate and extend Nelson and Palmer’s results, our experiments showed that figures do not automatically draw attention. In addition, our research went beyond Nelson and Palmer’s, in that we were able to separate figural properties from perceived figures. Because figural properties are regularities that predict where objects lie in the visual field, our results join other evidence that regularities in the environment can attract attention. More generally, our results are consistent with Bayesian theories in which priors are given more weight under conditions of uncertainty.     

Empathy in informal dementia caregivers and its relationship with depression,anxiety, and burden

Background/Objective: Recent interventions aim to heighten informal caregivers’ empathy levels assuming that this will lead to better well-being. However, previous studies have explored linear associations between empathy and aspects of well-being and yielded mixed results. We hypothesized that quadratic models may be more fitting to describe these relationships. Method: A cross-sectional study, with two groups (201 informal caregivers, and 187 non-caregivers) was conducted. Participants completed questionnaires on cognitive and affective empathy, and depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden. AN(C)OVA's and multiple hierarchical regression analyses including linear and quadratic terms were used to analyze the data. Results: For caregivers, there was a negative quadratic relationship between depression and cognitive empathy, and a positive linear relationship between anxiety and affective empathy, irrespective of sociodemographic characteristics. For non-caregivers, there were positive quadratic relationships between depression and cognitive and affective empathy, and between anxiety and affective empathy. The empathy levels did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: While caregivers and non-caregivers had the same amount of empathy, the relationships between empathy and depression and anxiety differed between the groups. Interventions for informal caregivers could aim to heighten cognitive empathy and to lower affective empathy to diminish depression and anxiety symptoms.     

Long-Term Neuropsychological Outcomes of Childhood Onset Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM): a Meta-Analysis

The long-term neurocognitive prognosis of childhood onset acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is unclear. This review and quantitative synthesis of the available literature examined whether there are long-term impacts of childhood ADEM on neurocognitive functioning. A search of online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) from their inception to October 2015 and reference lists identified 13 papers eligible for inclusion in the systematic review; seven of these were eligible for inclusion in meta-analyses. The systematic review indicated that, at a group level there is a positive long-term neuropsychological outcome from childhood onset ADEM. However, despite the apparent absence of long-term negative impacts of ADEM at a group level, at an individual level impairments in the areas of IQ, attention, executive functioning, processing speed, learning and memory, visuospatial skills and internalising symptoms were found in up to 43% of patients when aggregated across the studies. No significant negative effect of ADEM for any of the neuropsychological domains examined was found in meta-analyses. However, the effects for Processing Speed (r _mean = ?0.296 (CI 95% = ?0.605-0.013)) and Internalising symptoms (r _mean = 0.242 (CI 95% = ?0.014-0.564)) approached significance (p = 0.06), suggesting a trend towards ADEM leading to long-term reduced processing speed and elevated internalising symptoms. Together, our findings suggest that despite a generally positive neurocognitive outcome post childhood ADEM there are a subset of individuals who can suffer from ongoing specific cognitive impairments. Clinical implications and research priorities are discussed.     

Social identity contingencies: how diversity cues signal threat or safety for African Americans in mainstream institutions

This research demonstrates that people at risk of devaluation based on group membership are attuned to cues that signal social identity contingencies--judgments, stereotypes, opportunities, restrictions, and treatments that are tied to one's social identity in a given setting. In 3 experiments, African American professionals were attuned to minority representation and diversity philosophy cues when they were presented as a part of workplace settings. Low minority representation cues coupled with colorblindness (as opposed to valuing diversity) led African American professionals to perceive threatening identity contingencies and to distrust the setting (Experiment 1). The authors then verified that the mechanism mediating the effect of setting cues on trust was identity contingent evaluations (Experiments 2 & 3). The power of social identity contingencies as they relate to underrepresented groups in mainstream institutions is discussed.     

False memory for associated word lists in individuals and collaborating groups

Using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm, we investigated recall of presented and nonpresented associated words by collaborating groups, nominal groups, and individuals. In Experiment 1, participants recalled individually and then recalled in collaborating groups. Nominal groups made up of individual recall produced more presented and nonpresented associated words than did collaborating groups. Collaborating groups recalled more presented words than did individuals, but not more nonpresented words. In Experiment 2, collaborating groups versus individuals was a between-subjects variable, and everyone made two recall attempts. For recall, the pattern was the same as that in Experiment 1, in that collaborating groups recalled more presented words than did individuals but about the same number of nonpresented words. In a DRM paradigm, collaborating groups were able to produce more presented words than were individuals, without increasing their false recall.     

A Difference of Some Consequence Between Conventions and Rules

Lewis’s view of the way conventions are passed on may have some especially interesting consequences for the study of language. I’ll start by briefly discussing agreements and disagreements that I have with Lewis’s general views on conventions and then turn to how linguistic conventions spread. I’ll compare views of main stream generative linguistics, in particular, Chomsky’s views on how syntactic forms are passed on, with the sort of view of language acquisition and language change advocated by usage-based or construction grammars, which seem to fit better with Lewis’s ideas. Then I will illustrate the interest of Lewis’s perspective on the dissemination of conventions with a variety of linguistic examples.     

Workplace diversity and public policy: challenges and opportunities for psychology

This article outlines both challenges and opportunities for psychology of issues related to diversity in education and work. For the purposes of this discussion, "diverse" populations include four groups currently marginalized and disadvantaged in the U.S. workplace: women, people of color, sexual minorities, and people with disabilities. An overview of employment participation patterns for these groups is presented, workplace barriers arising from marginalized status are highlighted, and the article concludes with a discussion of work-related legislative and public policy fronts that can be informed and influenced by the contributions of psychologists.     

Figure-ground segmentation can occur without attention

ABSTRACT— The question of whether or not figure-ground segmentation can occur without attention is unresolved. Early theorists assumed it can, but the evidence is scant and open to alternative interpretations. Recent research indicating that attention can influence figure-ground segmentation raises the question anew. We examined this issue by asking participants to perform a demanding change-detection task on a small matrix presented on a task-irrelevant scene of alternating regions organized into figures and grounds by convexity. Independently of any change in the matrix, the figure-ground organization of the scene changed or remained the same. Changes in scene organization produced congruency effects on target-change judgments, even though, when probed with surprise questions, participants could report neither the figure-ground status of the region on which the matrix appeared nor any change in that status. When attending to the scene, participants reported figure-ground status and changes to it highly accurately. These results clearly demonstrate that figure-ground segmentation can occur without focal attention.     

Social support group attendance is related to blood pressure, health behaviours, and quality of life in the Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project

Changes in coronary risk factors, health behaviours, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were examined by tertiles of social support group attendance in 440 patients (21% females) with coronary artery disease. All patients participated in the Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project (MLDP; eight hospital sites in the USA), an insurance-covered multi-component cardiac prevention program including dietary changes, stress management, exercise and group support for 1 year. Significant improvements in coronary risk factors, health behaviours, and HRQOL were noted at 1 year. Several of these improvements (i.e. systolic blood pressure, health behaviours, HRQOL) were related to social support group attendance, favoring those who attended more sessions. The associations between support group attendance to systolic blood pressure and to four HRQOL subscales (bodily pain, social functioning, mental health, and the mental health summary score) remained significant when controlling for changes in health behaviours, but dropped to a non-significant level for the HRQOL subscales 'physical functioning', 'general health' and 'role-emotional'. These results suggest an independent relationship of social support group attendance to systolic blood pressure while improvements in quality of life may be in part due to improved health behaviours facilitated by increased social support group attendance.