Psychophysiological and cognitive responses to stressful stimuli in subjects practicing progressive relaxation and clinically standardized meditation

Thirty-six volunteer subjects were assigned to one of three conditions: progressive relaxation, clinically standardized meditation, or a waiting list control group asked to relax daily (without specific instruction). Subjects were given paper and pencil tests two times, separated by 5 weeks during which time the two treatment groups received 4 weekly sessions of group training. All subjects were tested in the psychophysiology laboratory at the end of the 5-week period, during which time they were exposed to 5 very loud tones. While relaxing as deeply as possible using the techniques they had learned and anticipating the loud tones, the meditation group exhibited higher heart rates and higher integrated frontalis EMG activity, but they also showed greater cardiac decelerations following each tone, more frontal alpha, and fewer symptoms of cognitive anxiety than the other two groups. The relaxation group reported more sensations of muscular relaxation than the other groups, but also some symptoms of hyperventilation. The results are generally consistent with Davidson and Schwartz's (1976) categorization of meditation as a ‘cognitive’ technique, and suggest that frontal EEG alpha may be a physiological marker for the absence of cognitive anxiety. Physiological findings also support Goleman and Schwartz's (1976) suggestion that meditation prepares people to cope with stress.     

Attitude accessibility and biased information processing: The moderating role of self-monitoring

High and low self-monitors read and evaluated two studies relevant to the deterrent effects of the death penalty, one that supported its deterrent effects and one that did not. Low self-monitors’ evaluations of the studies were significantly related to the accessibility of their attitudes toward capital punishment. The more accessible their attitudes were, the more favorable, relatively, were their evaluations of the study that supported their personal attitudes toward capital punishment. In contrast, attitude accessibility was unrelated to high self-monitors’ relative evaluations. This research was supported by a Faculty Research Grant from Union College to the first author and by an Internal Educational Fund grant from Union College to the second author. We thank Alison King, Leslie Silver, and Alison Snyder for their help in data collection.     

Profiles of Racial Socialization Among African American Parents: Correlates,Context, and Outcome

Self report and observational data on racial socialization practices in a sample of 218 African American parents of young children were used to determine whether or not parents could be characterized in terms of their pattern of racial socialization practices. Parents fell into four groups: silence about race, emphasis on cultural socialization, emphasis on cultural socialization and coping strategies, or a balanced approach. Silence about race was more common among parents of boys, whereas an emphasis on cultural socialization was more common among parents of girls. Silence about race was less common in neighborhoods with high levels of negative social climate, and a combination of cultural socialization with coping strategies for discrimination was more common in neighborhoods with high neighborhood potential for community involvement with children. The coping emphasis/cultural socialization approach was associated with significantly lower child problem behavior, although some gender differences were evident. A cultural socialization emphasis was associated with higher cognitive scores among girls, and a combination of cultural socialization, coping with discrimination, and promotion of mistrust was associated with higher cognitive scores among boys. Implications of this profile approach for the study of racial socialization practices in ethnic minority families are discussed.     

Preference for numerical information and academic achievement of African-American students

Viswanathan's Preference for Numerical Information scale was used to investigate the attitudes of 236 African-American college students toward using numerical information in their thinking and problem solving. The results showed that the participants expressed a positive preference for numerical information, statistically similar in size to the preferences reported in prior research for other groups of students. Also, participants' scores correlated positively (r=.27) with their academic achievement (fraction answered correctly) on examination questions requiring the use of numerical information but were nonsignificantly related to their academic achievement on questions not requiring the use of numerical information. This pattern of correlations persisted, at reduced levels, when the effects of variations in SAT scores were partialled out. Moreover, for the men correlations between Preference for Numerical Information scores and achievement on examination questions involving numerical information significantly exceeded the correlations between the test scores and academic achievement on questions not involving numerical information. This contrasted with results obtained for women. For them, the correlations did not vary significantly by question type. Thus, for reasons yet to be uncovered, Preference for Numerical Information scores of the African-American men appear to reflect an aspect of cognitive style related to proficiency in using and manipulating numerical information.     

The relationship between habitual physical activity status and executive function in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal,cross-lagged panel analysis

To determine whether habitual physical activity status specifically influences executive function change in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) over 1 year. In this longitudinal cohort study, 45 participants with AD were recruited and provided follow-up data approximately 1 year later. Executive function measures (map search task, digit symbol substitution task, controlled oral word association task, verbal fluency task) and habitual physical activity measures (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and handgrip strength) were taken at baseline and follow-up. Individual composites were subsequently created. Additional demographic, lifestyle, and neuropsychiatric measures were also taken. In a structural equation model (χ²(26) = 9.84, p = .998, comparative fit index = 1.00, root mean square error of approximation = .00), a significant association was found between habitual physical activity and executive function change (β = .27, p = .04). In a cross-lagged panel analysis, a significant path was found between the PASE score and executive change (β = .22, p = .01). As higher habitual physical activity levels were associated with reduced executive function change, the promotion of low-intensity habitual physical activities in individuals with a diagnosis of AD may be warranted. Further research is needed, however, to explore the impact of habitual physical activity on the trajectory of change across cognitive domains, and how this relates to the progression of the underlying pathology associated with this disease.     

Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone associated with escitalopram therapy

Escitalopram is the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) most recently approved for use in the United States. It is structurally related to citalopram, but is felt to have a more tolerable side-effect profile than its parent compound. Side effects are not generally serious and include headache, diarrhea, and nausea. While hyponatremia and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) have been associated with treatment with other SSRIs, there has only been one case of escitalopram-induced SIADH reported in the literature to date. We now report another case of a patient who developed SIADH after being treated with escitalopram for 4 weeks. The patient's hyponatremia improved following the discontinuation of escitalopram. Clinicians should be aware of this uncommon but significant side effect of SSRIs and monitor high-risk patients for the development of SIADH.     

How students invest their time outside of school: Effects on school-related outcomes

The purpose of this study is to examine the degree towhich various kinds of out-of-school activitiesadolescents participate in influence their schoolengagement, achievement, and perceptions of their lifechances. The conceptual framework outlined by theauthors suggests personal investments students makeoutside of school in meaningful, structured activitiesand with the help and guidance of adults serving asrole models have significant effects on variouseducational outcomes. To that end, the authors foundsome evidence suggesting that student participation instructured activities and religious activities andtime spent interacting with adults during tenth gradeappear to have positive and significant effects onvarious educational outcomes by Grade 12. Conversely,time spent hanging out with peers was consistentlynegatively associated with educational outcomes in thestudy, with few exceptions. The effects of time spentworking for pay and time spent alone were somewhatinconsistent throughout the analysis but this may bedue to methodological problems within the measures. The result of the analysis has implications forafter-school and summer school policies and programs. The authors discuss these implications and suggestfurther study of the effects of school context, familyinfluence, and the availability of community resourceson students' personal investments.     

“Shopping While Black”: Examining Racial Discrimination in a Retail Setting1

To investigate racial discrimination in the marketplace, we conducted a field experiment to examine both overt and subtle forms of retail discrimination. “Customers” browsing in high‐end retail stores asked a salesperson if they would remove a security sensor from a pair of sunglasses prior to trying them on in front of a mirror. Although the request to remove the sensor was granted in all conditions, the salespersons showed greater levels of suspicion (i.e., staring, following) in the Black conditions, especially in the male‐group condition. These findings are consistent with current field research examining subtle biases toward other stigmatized groups.