Public Trust in Genomic Risk Assessment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Patient trust in personal medical information is critical to increasing adherence to physician recommendations and medications. One of the anticipated benefits of learning of one’s genomic risk for common diseases is the increased adoption of screening, preventive care and lifestyle changes. However, the equivocal results thus far reported of the positive impact of knowledge of genomic risk on behavior change may be due to lack of patients’ trust in the results. As part of a clinical study to compare two methods of communication of genomic risk results for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we assessed patients’ trust and preferred methods of delivery of genomic risk information. A total of 300 participants recruited from the general public in Durham, NC were randomized to receive their genomic risk for T2DM in-person from a genetic counselor or online through the testing company’s web-site. Participants completed a baseline survey and three follow-up surveys after receiving results. Overall, participants reported high levels of trust in the test results. Participants who received their results in-person from the genetic counselor were significantly more likely to trust their results than those who reviewed their results on-line (p?=?0.005). There was not a statistically significant difference in levels of trust among participants with increased genetic risk, as compared to other those with decreased or same as population risk (p?=?0.1154). In the event they undergo genomic risk testing again, 55 % of participants overall indicated they would prefer to receive their results online compared to 28 % that would prefer to receive future results in-person. Of those participants preferring to receive results online, 77 % indicated they would prefer to have the option to speak to someone if they had questions with the online results (compared to accessing results online without the option of professional consultation). This is the first study to assess satisfaction with genomic risk testing by the method of delivery of the test result. The higher rate of trust in results delivered in-person suggests that online access reports may not result in serious consideration of results and lack of adoption of recommended preventive recommendations.     

Investigating the Relation between Imagery and Perception: Evidence from Face Priming

The relation between imagery and perception was investigated in face priming. Two experiments are reported in which subjects either saw or imagined the faces of celebrities. They were later given a speeded perceptual test (familiarity judgement to pictures of celebrities) or a speeded imagery test (in which they were told the names of celebrities and asked to make a decision about their appearance). Seeing faces primed the perceptual test, and imaging faces primed the imagery test; however, there was no priming between seeing and imaging faces. These results show that perception and imagery can be dissociated in normal subjects. In two further experiments, we examined the effects of imaging faces on a subsequent face-naming task and on a task requiring familiarity judgements to partial faces. Both these tasks were facilitated by prior imaging of faces. These results are discussed in relation to those of McDermott & Roediger (1994), who found that imagery promoted object priming in a perceptual test involving naming partial line drawings. The implications for models of face recognition are also discussed.     

Sex Differences in Perception: Exploring the Integration of Sensory Information with Respect to Vision and Proprioception

Inter- and intra-modal matching by right hand preferred Norwegian adults were tested using a matching task. The task required them to locate target pins visually, proprioceptively or in combination, while matching was always carried out without vision. When combined scores for both hands were analysed, the females showed superior performance in the intra-modal matching condition. For both groups, when the scores for the two hands were treated separately, superior performance was obtained in using the right hand to match under the visual condition. The only significant sex difference relative to hand preference was that the females matched the target more accurately with the right hand in the intra-modal matching condition. These findings are discussed relative to inter-hemispheric processing     

Span of attention,backward masking,and reaction time

A test pattern consisting of 0 to 15 dots and a following random dot masking pattern were presented for 5 msec each with SOAs varying between 30 and 200 msec. The subject was asked to report the perceived number of dots in the test pattern as soon as possible and to assign a confidence rating to each report. The span of attention (upper limit for 50% correct numerosity judgments) increased from 2.4 to 9.5 as the SOA increased. Backward masking reduced the reported number of dots from the actual number in the test pattern, especially with small SOAs. Reaction time increased linearly at a low rate (approximately 40 msec/dot) up to 4 dots in the test pattern and then increased linearly at a high rate (approximately 370 msec/dot) as thereported, orperceived, number of dots increased. The two different branches of the reaction time curve were considered to represent two separate processes,subitizing andcounting, as suggested by Klahr (1973), who found similar dual increase rates as a function of the actual number of dots. These findings, as well as causal inference based on partial correlations and path analysis, indicated that the reported (perceived) number of dots and confidence rating were both determined by the number of stimulus dots and the SOA and that the reaction time was determined by the so-determined perceived number of dots and level of confidence. A multistage model is proposed.     

Learning and difficult experiences in graduate training in clinical psychology: A qualitative study of Japanese trainees’ retrospective accounts

This study examined the experiences of Japanese clinical psychology trainees in their graduate school with the aim of identifying factors that might enhance or hinder their learning and professional development. We analyzed the interview data obtained from 17 clinical psychologists using grounded theory approach. Two major category groups were generated: Developing as a Clinician and Difficulties. The primary positive learning experiences in Developing as a Clinician were labeled “Hot Learning,” in which trainees acquired professional knowledge and skills through close interpersonal engagement with clients, peers, faculty, and supervisors. In contrast, Difficulties involved trainees’ negative experiences resulting in feelings of self-doubt and incompetence. These experiences occurred in close but sometimes conflicted interpersonal contexts, where trainees felt evaluated in a manner incommensurate with the support they received. We found that the quality of interpersonal relationships, which provided the context for optimal learning for trainees, was paramount to the definition of positive versus difficult learning experiences. Implications for therapist training, professional development and future research are discussed.     

The effect of marker size on the perception of an empty interval

Research shows that the time that is spent perceiving a brief visual stimulus is experienced as increasing as the size of the stimulus increases. We examined whether the experienced duration of time that is spent attending the perception of an empty interval—demarcated by the offset of one marker and the onset of a second marker— depends on the size of the markers themselves. Previous theories predict that the perceived time that is spent viewing offset-to-onset intervals decreases as the size of the markers increases, and that the perceived time that is spent viewing the markers increases. We demonstrated that empty intervals between the presentations of large markers were perceived to be longer in duration than those occurring between the presentations of small markers, and that the second marker was critical to this effect of physical size on apparent duration. We report that the size effect disappeared when the interval was filled with the presentation of a circle, and we conclude that the intensity of the second marker altered perceptions in an empty-interval-specific manner.