A bird in hand: discouraging gambling on a slot machine simulation

Using a slot machine simulation, our laboratory has found that participants, given the opportunity not to gamble and to keep the money they have been staked, almost always choose to play the simulation. In this study, the authors investigated whether increasing the salience of the money for which participants played or increasing the response effort required to gamble the money would decrease gambling. In Experiment 1, participants in different groups were told about, were shown, or held the dollars 10 they were to be staked to play the simulation. Results showed that participants who held the money prior to gambling played fewer trials and bet less money than participants in other groups. In Experiment 2, participants in different groups were staked with dollars 5 in nickels, quarters, or their choice of nickels or quarters. Results showed that the participants staked with nickels ultimately gambled a similar amount of money as did participants staked with quarters. They did so by playing the simulation more times than the other participants. Participants staked with nickels did, however, end the session with the most money. Findings suggest ways that gambling and gambling losses can be lessened.     

A hyper-emotion theory of psychological illnesses

A hyper-emotion theory of psychological illnesses is presented. It postulates that these illnesses have an onset in which a cognitive evaluation initiates a sequence of unconscious transitions yielding a basic emotion. This emotion is appropriate for the situation but inappropriate in its intensity. Whenever it recurs, it leads individuals to a focus on the precipitating situation and to characteristic patterns of inference that can bolster the illness. Individuals with a propensity to psychological illness accordingly reason better than more robust individuals, but only on topics relevant to their illness. The theory is assessed in the light of previous research, a small epidemiological study of patients, and 3 empirical studies.     

CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY AND AMBIVALENT SEXISM

To assess the relationship between different facets of conservative ideology and ambivalent sexism, 246 residents of two towns in southern Michigan completed a social dominance orientation scale (SDO), a right-wing authoritarianism scale (RWA), a Protestant work ethic scale (PWE), and the Glick and Fiske (1996) Ambivalent Sexism Inventory via a mail survey. Zero-order correlations revealed that SDO, RWA, and PWE were each related to both components of ambivalent sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism). Hierarchical regressions revealed that SDO and PWE most strongly predicted hostile sexism, whereas RWA most strongly predicted benevolent sexism. Results are discussed with respect to different facets of conservative ideology and why SDO, RWA, and PWE each tend to be associated with prejudice toward different groups.     

Profils multidimensionnels de jeunes enfants trisomiques bulgares

This study examines links between cognitive, communicative, socioemotional and psychomotor abilities in 20 Bulgarian institutionalised children with Down syndrome. These children were evaluated by means of the Early Cognitive Development Assessment Scales (ECDAS, Nader-Grosbois, 1993), the Early Social Communication Scales (ECSP, Guidetti and Tourrette, 1993), and two grids of socioemotional and psychomotor indicators, inspired by the Trandisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TPBA, Linder, 1990). Several analyses of developmental patterns were performed in order to identify specificities in the structural organisation of abilities in Bulgarian Down syndrome children in situation of abandonment or negligence: comparison of means of scores in distinct domains, correlations, clusters of variables, analysis of individual profiles by clusters of cases. The results indicate: weakness in vocal imitation and in joint attention; limited relationships between communicative abilities; local homologies between some cognitive and communicative abilities implicating a lack of integration; particular links between specific dimensions of socioemotional and psychomotor adaptation and certain cognitive and communicative abilities in these Down syndrome children.     

Theory-Driven Interventions in Psychoneuroimmunology and HIV-1 Infection

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a rapidly evolving multidisciplinary field founded on the premise that psychosocial factors, the central nervous system, and the immune system are intimately linked. Following publication of scientific evidence supporting this link, a number of animal and human studies have been published, both inside and outside the area of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. These studies support the existence of bidirectional feedback mechanisms operating between the brain and the immune system. To date, however, there is no all-encompassing model that predicts individual differences in the relationship among psychosocial factors, immunologic measures, and clinical disease progression in HIV type 1 (HIV-1) infection. This variability in human response has been explained by a number of cofactors (host as well as environmental) that appear to accelerate the course of the disease. Since psychosocial factors are highly amenable to behavioral interventions, several models for intervention research have been proposed to evaluate whether such interventions can enhance immune functioning, thereby curtailing disease progression. Examination of these interventions in the context of PNI and HIV-1 infection, however, is rather limited. Therefore, researchers and clinicians must not only consider conceptualizations and paradigms in this area of research, but also focus on empirically testable, theory-driven models that allow for the unique characteristics of individual patients.