Alcohol and Complex Functioning1

Twenty-five managers participated in two parallel 6-hour quasi-experimental simulations. On placebo treatment days, the subjects received hourly placebo drinks. On alcohol treatment days (order counterbalanced), enough alcohol was provided prior to the fourth hour of simulation participation to attain a breath alcohol level (BAL) of near 0.10. All other drinks contained a placebo beverage. Complex task performance was assessed on five variables derived from complexity theory, comparing performance for three measurement periods: (a) prior to the fourth hour of simulation participation (placebo treatment), (b) during the fourth hour (rising BALs on alcohol treatment days), and (c) during the fifth/sixth hours (falling BALs). Alcohol diminished the participants’ breadth of approach (differentiation). Performance on indicators of strategic functioning (integration) decreased after BALs had begun to fall but not while BALs were rising. The implications for performance of complex tasks under the influence of alcohol and for the applicability of the acute tolerance phenomenon to complex task environments are considered.     

Children's and adults' sex-stereotyped perceptions of infants

Sex-stereotyped perceptions of infants were examined in children (aged 5, 9, and 15 years), college students, and the children's mothers. The children and college students as a group rated labeled female infants as littler and as more beautiful, nice, and soft than labeled male infants, with no age changes in sex-stereotyped perceptions. The mothers as a group were not influenced by the labeled sex manipulation. The 5-year-olds rated the infants the least favorably and the mothers rated the infants the most favorably. Girls rated the infants as more beautiful than the boys did. Finally, the mothers with higher masculinity scores and their sons showed less sex-stereotyped perceptions of the infants than mothers with lower masculinity scores and their sons.     

Parents' gender-stereotyped perceptions of Newborns: The Eye of the Beholder revisited

Sex Roles - This study sought to update and extend J. Z. Rubin, F. J. Provenzano, and Z. Luria's [(1974) “The Eye of the Beholder: Parents' Views on Sex of Newborns,” American...     

Taking “the boss” into the real world: Field interrater reliability of the Short‐Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version

There is emerging evidence that the performance of risk assessment instruments is weaker when used for clinical decision‐making than for research purposes. For instance, research has found lower agreement between evaluators when the risk assessments are conducted during routine practice. We examined the field interrater reliability of the Short‐Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV). Clinicians in a Dutch secure youth care facility completed START:AV assessments as part of the treatment routine. Consistent with previous literature, interrater reliability of the items and total scores was lower than previously reported in non‐field studies. Nevertheless, moderate to good interrater reliability was found for final risk judgments on most adverse outcomes. Field studies provide insights into the actual performance of structured risk assessment in real‐world settings, exposing factors that affect reliability. This information is relevant for those who wish to implement structured risk assessment with a level of reliability that is defensible considering the high stakes.     

“Transformation Tuesday”: Temporal context and post valence influence the provision of social support on social media

Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook have become integral in the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. Users of SNSs seek social support and validation, often using posts that illustrate how they have changed over time. The purpose of the present research is to examine how the valence and temporal context of an SNS post affect the likelihood of other users providing social support. Participants viewed hypothetical SNS posts and reported their intentions to provide social support to the users. Results revealed that participants were more likely to provide social support for posts that were positive and included temporal context (i.e., depicted improvement over time; Study 1). Furthermore, this research suggests that visual representations of change over time are needed to elicit social support (Study 2). Results are discussed in terms of their practical implications for SNS users and theoretical implications for the literature on social support and social media.