The game is afoot: A response to three insightful commentaries

This is an author response to commentaries on our original article (Wu, Sheppard & Mitchell, 2016). We abstract two main themes from the commentaries, and they are as follows: (1) What kind of clues in target behaviour allow perceivers to infer target EQ? And related with this, by what process do perceivers infer the target's EQ? (2) Do features of the target group naturally lead to a U‐shaped function, whereby it is easy for perceivers to identify those at the extremes but not those in the middle of the continuum?     

Cortisol Awakening Response as an Index of Mental Health and Well-Being in Adolescents

Physiological measures provide a useful complement to self-report indices of mental health and well-being. The cortisol awakening response (CAR) has been associated with mental distress, but less consistently so with positive functioning. In this study, the utility of two CAR indices as a measure of the full spectrum of mental health and well-being in a sample of healthy adolescents was explored. Forty-seven adolescents (14M, 33F; mean age 13.89, SD = .73) completed questionnaires on mental distress and positive functioning, and provided three saliva samples for cortisol analysis as well as demographic and life event information. Correlational analyses revealed that both absolute CAR (CARi) and area under the curve during awakening (CAR_AUC) indices correlated positively with measures of mental distress, and inversely with measures of positive functioning. When the significant life events score was controlled, moderate to strong effects were maintained with negative and positive affect, mental well-being, satisfaction with life and perceived social support from significant others. These findings provide the first data confirming that CAR is a reliable index of positive functioning in healthy adolescents.     

Spirituality in African-American Breast Cancer Patients: Implications for Clinical and Psychosocial Care

Journal of Religion and Health - Spirituality has been shown to be important to many individuals dealing with a cancer diagnosis. While African-American breast cancer survivors have been reported...     

Racial Differences in Attributions,Perceived Criticism,and Upset: A Study With Black and White Community Participants

The primary aims of the current investigation were (a) to examine the relationships among attributions, perceived constructive and destructive criticism, and upset due to criticism and (b) to explore racial differences in mean levels of attributions, perceived criticism, upset due to criticism, and warmth in a community sample of Blacks and Whites (N = 272). The Attributions of Criticism Scale (ACS) was used to measure participants’ attributions regarding criticism from their relatives. No racial differences were found in mean levels of attributions or type of perceived criticism. However, Blacks were significantly less upset by perceived criticism from their relatives than Whites. When the relationships between attributions, perceived criticism, and upset were explored, results showed that positive attributions were associated with greater perceived constructive criticism and less upset due to criticism, whereas negative attributions were associated with greater perceived destructive criticism and more upset. Perceptions of relatives’ warmth were also associated with greater perceived constructive criticism and less perceived destructive criticism, but warmth was only related to less upset for Blacks and not Whites. Findings suggest that attributions and warmth play an important role in the perception of criticism and the extent to which individuals become upset in response to criticism from loved ones. Results also point to potential racial differences in mean levels of these variables and the associations among them.     

Ethical and Professional Challenges Posed by Patients with Genetic Concerns: A Report of Focus Group Discussions with Genetic Counselors, Physicians, and Nurses

Ninety-seven physicians, nurses, and genetic counselors from four regions within the United States participated in focus groups to identify the types of ethical and professional challenges that arise when their patients have genetic concerns. Responses were taped and transcribed and then analyzed using the Hill et al. (1997, Counsel Psychol 25:517–522) Consensual Qualitative Research method of analysis. Sixteen major ethical and professional domains and 63 subcategories were identified. Major domains are informed consent; withholding information; facing uncertainty; resource allocation; value conflicts; directiveness/nondirectiveness; determining the primary patient; professional identity issues; emotional responses; diversity issues; confidentiality; attaining/maintaining proficiency; professional misconduct; discrimination; colleague error; and documentation. Implications for practitioners who deal with genetic issues and recommendations for additional research are given.     

The effects of stimulus density on children’s analysis of hierarchical patterns

In three experiments, 4‐, 5‐, 6‐ and 8‐year‐olds and adults were asked to draw hierarchical letter and geometric forms from memory. Across the experiments, the number of elements comprising the hierarchical models was systematically varied. For each drawing of a hierarchical form, the quality of the participant’s reproduction of global and local level information was evaluated separately. Results showed that young children demonstrated significant analytic competence. However, the data also suggested that changes in stimulus density were more disruptive, in specific ways, to 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children’s processing than to that of the older children and adults.     

Intrasensory attention: kinaesthetic versus cutaneous inputs

Blindfolded participants felt pairs of raised-line drawings simultaneously, one with each index finger. The stimuli presented at each fingertip were 180 degrees rotations of each other (eg 6 and 9). One finger moved (either actively or passively), and this in turn caused movement of a matched raised line underneath the stationary finger on the other hand, in a yoked manner. Thus, a 6 at the moving finger would be felt as a 9 on the stationary finger. On all trials there was a raised line moving underneath the stationary fully passive finger. For the moving finger, a raised line was present on only half of the trials. When a raised line could be felt at the moving fingertip, the shape followed by this finger was more often reported than was the shape present at the other (stationary) fingertip. However, when no line was present under the moving finger (ie when movement became the major cue for shape), subjects reported experiencing the shape moved under the stationary fingertip. Results are interpreted as an indication that cutaneous information can be more 'attention-getting' than kinaesthetic information, and are considered to support the modality-appropriateness theory.     

Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion

Previous work has shown that acts of self-regulation appear to deplete a psychological resource, resulting in poorer self-regulation subsequently. Four experiments using assorted manipulations and measures found that positive mood or emotion can counteract ego depletion. After an initial act of self-regulation, participants who watched a comedy video or received a surprise gift self-regulated on various tasks as well as non-depleted participants and significantly better than participants who experienced a sad mood induction, a neutral mood stimulus, or a brief rest period.     

A National Survey of Genetic Counselors’ Personal Values

Personal values are motivational sources for an individual’s actions [Hitlin and Piliavin (Annual Review of Sociology 30:359–393, 2004)]. Genetic counselors’ values may influence their behaviors in clinical practice, but a profile of their personal values has not been identified empirically. In this study, 292 genetic counselors completed the Schwartz Universal Values Questionnaire (SUVQ; Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 1–65). Boston, MA: Academic.), a widely used measure of value types, and provided information about their demographic characteristics. Results indicate that respondents highly valued benevolence, self-direction, achievement, and universalism indicating a strong pattern of concern for the welfare of others. They placed considerably less value on stimulation, tradition, and power, which reflect personal interests. Respondents who reported practicing a religion scored significantly lower on stimulation and hedonism and higher on tradition and spirituality than those not practicing; married respondents and parents scored significantly lower on stimulation and achievement; and males scored higher on power than females. The value types are described, and training and research recommendations are provided.     

Inter-male aggression in mice: Influence of gonadectomy and prior fighting experience

Groups of adult male mice of the Rockland-Swiss strain were paired 0, 2, 7, or 15 times with adult male stimulus animals rendered non-aggressive by extirpation of olfactory bulbs. All animals were castrated and tested until fighting ceased, following which each was given testosterone replacement and tested until fighting was reinstated. More than 50% of mice with no pre-castration fighting experience fought following gonadectomy. Castrated animals permitted 15 pre-castration pairings fought significantly longer than did animals of any of the other treatment groups. Finally, there was no difference among the groups with regard to the latency to resume fighting following the commencement of testosterone replacement. It is concluded that fighting experience enhances the persistence of the behavior following castration.