The Creativity of Lying: Divergent Thinking and Ideational Correlates of the Resolution of Social Dilemmas

The goal of this study was to develop a measure of creativity that builds on the strengths of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The assessment of creativity focused on the visual-spatial abilities of these youth using 3D modeling software. One of the objectives of the research was to develop a measure of creativity in an authentic learning environment that built on the interests and creative talents of youth with ASD. Traditional creativity tests may underestimate the creativity of youth with ASD because of the tests’ constrained nature, such as having a time limit, being limited to paper and pencil, testing in an over- or understimulating environment, and overlooking visual-spatial ability. A random selection of 27 student 3D design projects (out of approximately 100 projects) was assessed using dimensions of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. The validity of this assessment was examined by comparing the creativity scores of the 27 projects to the creativity scores given by a team of Google experts (3D designers and software engineers). Results indicated that the scores were significantly correlated for three of the four dimensions of the creativity assessment. There was high inter-rater reliability among coders (M = .82) using intra-class correlation (ICC). Results suggest that this assessment process could be used as a visual-spatial creativity measure for youth with ASD, as well as a creativity measure used by employers to determine real-world creative potential in their employees, particularly those with neurodiversity.     

The Role of Perspective Taking and Empathy in Children's Machiavellianism,Prosocial Behavior,and Motive for Helping

Fourth- and fifth-grade children (N = 117) were categorized into high- and low-empathy and affective-perspective-taking (APT) groups based on their scores on the Bryant (1982) empathy scale and a modified version of the Rothenberg (1970) and Silvern, Waterman, Sobesky, and Ryan (1979) APT measures. Children in the low-empathy/high-APT group had significantly higher Machiavellianism scores on Braginsky's (1970) measure than did children in the other empathy/APT groups. Highly empathic children were rated by their teachers as more helpful under certain circumstances and cited other-oriented reasons for their own helping behavior more frequently than did less empathic children.     

After-Contraction Phenomenon: Influences on Performance and Learning

Three experiments investigated the influence of an after-contraction phenomenon on the performance and learning of a dynamic force-production task. The after-contraction effect refers to an involuntary potentiation (induced by a sustained pre-contraction) that is thought to summate with voluntary motor commands to bias subsequent responding. The precontraction involved a brief (20 s) static contraction. The subsequent influence of the precontraction on a dynamic force-production task was assessed. Experiments 1 and 2 were aimed at demonstrating the direct impact of the precontraction intensity on the magnitude and decay of the after-contraction effect. The results indicated that as the intensity of the precontraction increased, the magnitude of the induced bias increased. In Experiment 3, the indirect influence on subsequent retention of varying the precontraction intensity during acquisition was investigated. The results indicated that the performance of subjects experiencing varying precontraction intensities during acquisition was inferior to that of subjects experiencing a constant precontraction intensity, but the performance of the varied precontraction intensities group was superior on the test of retention. It is noted that the paradoxical reversal from acquisition to retention is similar to that found in contextual interference experiments and may arise from similar mechanisms.     

The Relationships Among Sensory Processing Styles,Personality Traits,and Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this study is to explore the possible relationships among sensory processing styles, possible sensory processing disorders, personality traits, and body mass index. There is research on the relationship between obesity as defined by body mass index and temperament, and sensory processing and temperament; however, no information could be found on the relationship between body mass index and sensory processing styles, or the role that temperament and personality styles may play in these relationships. The 50 female participants were recruited from the University of New England community. The sample included women between the ages of 19 and 59 years, and of various weights. None of the participants had a history of thyroid problems, diabetes, or any physical disabilities that would limit daily physical activity. None had been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. All participants filled out two self-reports and a demographic questionnaire. The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (Brown &; Dunn, 2002 Brown , C. E. , &; Dunn , W. ( 2002 ). Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile . San Antonio , TX : The Psychological Corporation . [Google Scholar]) determines a person's sensory processing style and possible sensory processing disorder, and the Basic Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1996 Jackson , D. N. ( 1996 ). Basic Personality Inventory Manual , (2nd ed.) . Port Huron , MI : Sigma Assessment  [Google Scholar]) focuses on everyday behaviors to describe temperament and “adult behavioral syndromes” (p. 5). Through this study the authors show only tentative relationships between body mass index and sensory processing styles and personality traits. The data could be interpreted to support both discriminant and convergent validity between the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile and the Basic Personality Inventory. There were, however, significant correlations between aspects of sensory processing and aspects of personality that appeared to strengthen the idea that differences in sensory processing result in predictable types of behavior, indicating that sensory processing disorders are a separate diagnostic category.     

Investigating Physiological and Self-Reported Mediators of Stereotype Lift Effects on a Motor Task

Achievement gaps between social groups may result from stereotype threat effects but also from stereotype lift effects—the performance boost caused by the awareness that an outgroup is negatively stereotyped. We examined stereotype lift and threat effects in the motor domain and investigated their mediation by task involvement and self-confidence, measured by heart rate reactivity and self-reported indices. Males and females performed a balance task about which negative stereotypes about either males or females were given. No gender information was given in a control condition. Results showed no stereotype threat but a stereotype lift effect, participants performing significantly better after negative outgroup stereotypes were explicitly linked to performance on the balance task compared to the control condition. Concerning males, this effect was mediated by higher self-confidence and task involvement. The implications of these results for understanding the gender inequalities in the motor domain are discussed.     

Stressors Experienced During Deployment Among Canadian Armed Forces Personnel: Factor Structure of Two Combat Exposure Scales

Combat exposure is linked to increased mental health problems among military personnel. Reliable, precise, and efficient measurement of combat experiences can facilitate understanding of the effects of combat on mental health. This study examined the psychometric properties of 2 scales used to assess deployment experiences in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel in 2 different settings: during a Third Location Decompression (TLD) program after deployment, and during routine postdeployment screening. Principal components analyses yielded similar results for the 2 measures. The components containing items relevant to Exposure to the Dead and Injured, Dangerous Environment, and Active Combat were common across both surveys. The TLD results revealed a fourth component, Personal Suffering, while the postdeployment screening data revealed a fourth component, Perceived Responsibility. This study found categories of deployment stressors that can be used for further analysis, and underscores the importance of assessing a broad range of exposures in the combat environment.     

Concurrent and 2-Year Longitudinal Relations Between Executive Function and the Behavior of 1st and 2nd Grade Children

Concurrent and 2-year longitudinal relations were investigated between two indicators of children’s (n =60; mean age = years 11 months) executive function, inhibitory control and sequencing ability, and behavior problem symptomatology. Dependent measures were parent and teacher reported internalizing and externalizing behavior. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated few significant concurrent associations between either inhibitory control or sequencing ability, and behavior problem symptoms. In contrast, baseline inhibitory control predicted decreased teacher reported externalizing, and parent reported externalizing and internalizing behavior problems over a 2-year period. Baseline sequencing ability also predicted decreased teacher reported externalizing and parent reported internalizing behavior over this same time period. Results suggest that some aspects of executive function in early elementary grade-school children may be more strongly associated with change in behavior over time than concurrent behavior. Implications of these findings for the prevention of behavior problems are discussed.     

Trait Anger and Axis I Disorders: Implications for REBT

Anger has a prominent role in basic theories of emotion. And while many psychiatric disorders can be conceived of as emotional disorders (e.g., depressive disorders, anxiety disorders), there are no disorders for which anger is the cardinal feature. We analyzed diagnostic data on 1,687 (as later) psychiatric outpatients and looked at the co-occurrence of high trait anger (as assessed by criterion 8 of Borderline Personality Disorder) and Axis I disorders, and Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorders. The purpose was to examine whether dysfunctional anger met criteria necessary to be considered a valid diagnostic category. Results showed that high trait anger was not fully accounted for by any particular Axis I diagnosis, or any set of Axis I diagnoses, or by the combination of Axis I diagnoses and Borderline and Antisocial PDs. Trait anger also accounted for significant amounts of unique variance in several indicators of psychiatric impairment and psychosocial functioning. We describe the anger disorder diagnoses of Eckhardt and Deffenbacher (Anger disorders: Definition, diagnosis and treatment. Taylor & Francis, Bristol, PA, 1995), and discuss the implications of those diagnoses for the practice of REBT and CBT.

A comparison of prebunking and debunking interventions for implied versus explicit misinformation

Psychological research has offered valuable insights into how to combat misinformation. The studies conducted to date, however, have three limitations. First, pre-emptive (“prebunking”) and retroactive (“debunking”) interventions have mostly been examined in parallel, and thus it is unclear which of these two predominant approaches is more effective. Second, there has been a focus on misinformation that is explicitly false, but implied misinformation that uses literally true information to mislead is common in the real world. Finally, studies have relied mainly on questionnaire measures of reasoning, neglecting behavioural impacts of misinformation and interventions. To offer incremental progress towards addressing these three issues, we conducted an experiment (N = 735) involving misinformation on fair trade. We contrasted the effectiveness of prebunking versus debunking and the impacts of implied versus explicit misinformation, and incorporated novel measures assessing consumer behaviours (i.e., willingness-to-pay; information seeking; online misinformation promotion) in addition to standard questionnaire measures. In general, both prebunking and debunking reduced misinformation reliance. We also found that individuals tended to rely more on explicit than implied misinformation both with and without interventions.