The Specific Role of cGMP in Hippocampal LTP

Previous results have suggested that cGMP is involved in hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), perhaps as the presynaptic effector of a retrograde messenger. However, other studies have failed to replicate some of those results, making the role of cGMP uncertain. We therefore reexamined this question and identified several variables that can affect the contribution of cGMP. First, brief perfusion with 8-Br–cGMP before weak tetanic stimulation produced long-lasting potentiation in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices, but more prolonged perfusion with 8-Br–cGMP before the tetanus did not produce long-lasting potentiation. Second, the activity-dependent long-lasting potentiation by cGMP analogs was reduced when NMDA receptors were completely blocked, indicating that NMDA receptor activation contributes to, but is not required for, the potentiation. The amount of reduction of the potentiation differed with different protocols, and in some cases could be complete. Third, LTP produced by strong tetanic stimulation in the stratum radiatum of CA1 (which expresses eNOS) was blocked by inhibitors of soluble guanylyl cyclase or cGMP-dependent protein kinase, but LTP in the stratum oriens (which does not express eNOS) was not. The results of these experiments should help to explain some of the discrepant findings from previous studies, and, in addition, may provide insights into the mechanisms and functional role of the cGMP-dependent component of LTP.     

Honesty as the sixth factor of personality: correlations with machiavellianism,primary psychopathy,and social adroitness

Psycholexical studies of personality structure in several languages have recovered, in addition to variants of the Big Five factors, a sixth factor that has been given names suggesting honesty, such as ‘Integrity’, ‘Trustworthiness’, ‘Truthfulness’, and ‘Values’. Using a sample of Korean respondents (N = 610), we correlated lexical markers of the Big Five and the Honesty factor with several questionnaire variables that are relevant to the exploitation of others, including Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Social Adroitness. Results indicated that those measures were much more strongly related to the Honesty factor than to any of the Big Five. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social exchange relationships and exchange ideologies of employees and supervisors: A three-way interaction toward employee creativity

This study aims to better understand the effects of social exchange relationships between employees and their organizations (perceived organizational support [POS]), and their leaders (leader–member exchange [LMX]) on their creativity. To this end, we investigated how exchange ideologies of employees and supervisors affect the relationship between POS/LMX and employee creativity using a three-way interaction test. Building on the social exchange theory, the results from our sample of 254 leader–employee dyads indicated that the relationship between POS/LMX and employee creativity is significantly more positive for an employee with strong exchange ideology than for an employee with weak exchange ideology. Moreover, POS and LMX had the strongest positive relationships with creativity when both employees and supervisors had higher levels of exchange ideology. The implications of our results and future research directions are discussed.     

Meritocracy and opposition to affirmative action: making concessions in the face of discrimination

Typically, people who strongly endorse the merit principle and believe that outcomes should be given to those most deserving oppose affirmative action (AA) programs that violate this principle. However, how do they respond to AA when faced with a great deal of workplace discrimination? The authors hypothesized that people who care strongly about merit should be motivated to combat discrimination because it biases the assessment of merit. Consequently, these individuals should make concessions for AA. The authors found support for their hypothesis when investigating (a) participants' preexisting perceptions of workplace discrimination and (b) experimentally induced perceptions of discrimination. They discuss the implications of these results for the psychology of meritocracy and for resistance to AA.     

Transfer of metacognitive skills and hint seeking in monkeys

Metacognition is knowledge that can be expressed as confidence judgments about what one knows (monitoring) and by strategies for learning what one does not know (control). Although there is a substantial literature on cognitive processes in animals, little is known about their metacognitive abilities. Here we show that rhesus macaques, trained previously to make retrospective confidence judgments about their performance on perceptual tasks, transferred that ability immediately to a new perceptual task and to a working memory task. We also show that monkeys can learn to request "hints" when they are given problems that they would otherwise have to solve by trial and error. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that nonhuman primates share with humans the ability to monitor and transfer their metacognitive ability both within and between different cognitive tasks, and to seek new knowledge on a need-to-know basis.     

Authoritarian dynamics and unethical decision making: high social dominance orientation leaders and high right-wing authoritarianism followers

When dilemmas require trade-offs between profits and ethics, do leaders high in social dominance orientation (SDO) and followers high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) make decisions that are more unethical than those made by others? This issue was explored in 4 studies with female participants performing managerial role-playing tasks. First, dyads comprising a person who was either low or high in SDO and a person who was either low or high in RWA negotiated for a leadership position. People high in SDO were more likely to obtain leader positions than to obtain follower positions. No other effects were significant. Second, leaders high in SDO partnered with an agreeable (confederate) follower made decisions that were more unethical than those of leaders low in SDO. Third, followers high in RWA were more acquiescent to and supportive of an unethical (confederate) leader than were followers low in RWA. Fourth, high SDO leader-high RWA follower dyads made decisions that were more unethical than those made in role-reversed dyads because leaders had more influence. Implications of these results for conceptualizing SDO, RWA, and authoritarian dynamics are discussed.     

Jeong as the Paradigmatic Embodiment of Compassion (Hesed): A Critical Examination of Disparate and Dispostional Jeong

In this article I argue that while jeong is a particular Korean cultural expression, it is also a paradigmatic embodiment of compassion that can enhance the Christian practice of compassion for both Koreans and non-Koreans. Utilizing self psychology, I examine the psychological dynamics behind jeong and demonstrate that jeong is the outward manifestation of the self-selfobject relationships that can facilitate the development of the self and can be seen as developing from an immature to a mature state. This in-depth approach to the psychological examination of jeong also brings forth a more comprehensive understanding of jeong as the distinctions between disparate experiences and the dispositional aspects of jeong and between the life-forming and life-threatening aspects of jeong. I also demonstrate jeong in the relationship between Ruth and Naomi.     

Acceptance of Illness Among Patients Pursuing Transplantation or Left Ventricular Assist Device

Acceptance of illness is related to better mental health among patients with chronic illness; however, this construct has not been evaluated as part of routine transplantation evaluations. The purpose of this study was to create a brief measure of acceptance of illness for patients pursuing organ transplantation and examine how acceptance is related to distress. Retrospective medical record reviews were conducted for 290 patients who completed a routine psychosocial evaluation prior to transplant listing which included the Illness Acceptance Scale (IAS). Internal consistency for the IAS was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha?=?.92). Illness acceptance was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing and was not related to health literacy or health numeracy. The IAS is a reliable and valid measure for patients who are pursuing thoracic transplant or left ventricular assist device. Clinicians may want to screen transplant candidates for illness acceptance and refer those with lower levels to psychological interventions.

     

Teacher qualifications, classroom practices, family characteristics, and preschool experience: Complex effects on first graders' vocabulary and early reading outcomes

Using an ecological model, this study explored the effects of distal and proximal sources of influence on students' learning. We first examined three markers of teacher qualification — elementary education credential, years of education, and years of experience — on observed classroom practices across three dimensions — warmth/responsivity, control/discipline, and time spent on academic activities — as they related to children's vocabulary and early reading skills. We then examined the impact of this core system embedded in a larger system that included children's vocabulary and word recognition skills prior to school entry, their home and preschool learning environments, and family SES. Results, using structural equation modeling, revealed that students whose teachers were more warm and responsive and who spent more time in academic activities demonstrated stronger vocabulary and decoding skills at the end of first grade. Teachers with more years of education interacted with students more responsively but, surprisingly, their students had weaker early reading skills. Overall, students' language and letter-word recognition scores when they were 54 months of age, their home learning environment and family SES accounted for most of the variability in vocabulary and early reading scores at the end of first grade. Implications of the multiple and concurrent sources of influence on students' language and literacy development are discussed.