The effects of questionnaire length and lottery ticket inducement on the response rate in mail surveys

Abstract

As part of a study on functional gastrointestinal disorders in the Australian community, we surveyed 500 subjects to test the effects of questionnaire length and lottery inducement on the response rate in mail surveys. By random allocation, n = 124 subjects received a short form questionnaire (28 pages) with a lottery ticket, n = 126 received a short form with no lottery ticket, n= 124 received a long form (32 pages) with a lottery ticket and n= 126 received a long form with no lottery ticket. The overall response rate for the study was 74%. The response rates for the short (76.8%) versus long (71.2%) form and lottery ticket (74.2%) versus no lottery ticket (73.8%) were not significantly different. Significantly more short forms compared with longer forms were received after each stage of the follow-up protocol. A long questionnaire can however be successfully used in survey research.     

Dual n-back training increases the capacity of the focus of attention

Working memory (WM) training has been reported to benefit abilities as diverse as fluid intelligence (Jaeggi et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105:6829–6833, 2008) and reading comprehension (Chein & Morrison, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17:193–199, 2010), but transfer is not always observed (for reviews, see Morrison & Chein, Psychonomics Bulletin & Review, 18:46–60, 2011; Shipstead et al., Psychological Bulletin, 138:628–654, 2012). In contrast, recent WM training studies have consistently reported improvement on the trained tasks. The basis for these training benefits has received little attention, however, and it is not known which WM components and/or processes are being improved. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to investigate five possible mechanisms underlying the effects of adaptive dual n-back training on working memory (i.e., improvements in executive attention, updating, and focus switching, as well as increases in the capacity of the focus of attention and short-term memory). In addition to a no-contact control group, the present study also included an active control group whose members received nonadaptive training on the same task. All three groups showed significant improvements on the n-back task from pretest to posttest, but adaptive training produced larger improvements than did nonadaptive training, which in turn produced larger improvements than simply retesting. Adaptive, but not nonadaptive, training also resulted in improvements on an untrained running span task that measured the capacity of the focus of attention. No other differential improvements were observed, suggesting that increases in the capacity of the focus of attention underlie the benefits of adaptive dual n-back training.     

Motivational pursuits in the context of human sexual relationships

The current article examines how close relationships combine with individual differences in sex motives (Cooper, Shapiro, & Powers, 1998) to shape sexual experience. We first provide an overview of the motivational approach as it relates to sexual behavior and then describe 2 broad mechanisms (1 transactional, the other interactional) by which motives and relational context combine to shape behavior. Drawing on our past research, we review evidence showing that people select relationship contexts based partly on their motives and that these contexts in turn shape future motives and behavior; that partner motives shape sexual experience above and beyond one's own motives; and that both the broader relationship context and partner motives moderate the effects of one's own motives on sexual experience. We conclude that the nature of motivational pursuits cannot be adequately understood in the abstract, but rather we must take into account the relational context in which one's needs are pursued.     

Social roles, basic need satisfaction, and psychological health: the central role of competence

The authors propose that competence need fulfillment within valued role domains (i.e., spouse, parent, worker) will account, in part, for associations between autonomy and relatedness need fulfillment and psychological health. Testing these assertions in cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys of women in two independent community samples, the findings are the first to formally examine whether the satisfaction of competence needs within social roles accounts for associations between other types of need satisfaction and affective outcomes as well as depressive symptomology. Evidence supporting the hypothesis was stronger when examining individuals' affective health as compared to their depressive symptoms. Implications of the findings are discussed with regard to need fulfillment within social roles.     

The influence of breast cancer survivors' Perceived partner social support and need satisfaction on depressive symptoms: A longitudinal analysis

The present study examines the ways in which breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of emotional and instrumental social support from an intimate partner and need satisfaction in their partner role influence depression during and after breast cancer treatment. Our sample was comprised of 163 women who were an average of 57 years old, mostly White/Caucasian, and diagnosed primarily with early-stage breast cancer. Longitudinal data were analysed using both multilevel and structural equation modelling. Results reveal that (a) greater perceived partner emotional support is associated with lowered levels of depression at each wave, (b) partner-role need satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived partner emotional support and depression at each wave, (c) perceived partner emotional support predicts subsequent changes in depression by way of need satisfaction and (d) depression prospectively predicts lowered perceptions of partner emotional and instrumental support. The findings confirm that basic need satisfaction, within intimate relationships, is an important predictor of lowered depression among breast cancer survivors.     

Epinephrine fails to enhance performance of food-deprived rats on a delayed spontaneous alternation task

Increases in blood glucose levels after epinephrine injection appear to contribute to the hormone's effects on learning and memory. The present experiment evaluated whether epinephrine-induced enhancement of spontaneous alternation performance would be attenuated in fasted rats that had blunted increases in circulating glucose levels after injections of epinephrine. Rats deprived of food for 24 h prior to injection of epinephrine exhibited significant attenuation of the increase in blood glucose levels seen in fed rats. When the rats were tested on a delayed spontaneous alternation task, epinephrine enhanced performance in fed rats but not in rats deprived of food for 24 h. These findings are consistent with the view that hyperglycemia subsequent to epinephrine injections contributes to the memory-enhancing effects of epinephrine.     

Pathways Between Concealable Stigmatized Identities and Substance Misuse

Individuals with concealable stigmatized identities often possess no obviously devalued attributes, yet are at greater risk for problematic substance use compared to their privileged counterparts. We present a conceptual model, which proposes that identity‐relevant content and characteristics have important implications for cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences of stigma‐related stress. In doing so, we synthesize stigma‐related models from the extant literature and attempt to integrate these concepts with previous work detailing potential contributors to substance use behaviors specifically. Finally, we ask readers to consider the various ways in which the content and characteristics of an individual's stigmatized identity might combine with situational and additional individual difference factors to influence the likelihood of substance misuse.     

Psychiatric disorders among employment requiring firearms

Individuals who carry guns as a requirement of employment frequently experience hazards that can be stress inducing, violent, traumatizing, or cause personal injury. This study used data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Surveys (CPES; n = 20,013), to examine mental health diagnoses of individuals that ever worked at a job requiring a firearm. Consistent with existing literature, the findings indicated that those who worked in professions requiring a firearm showed similar risk of mental health diagnoses as law enforcement officers which includes symptoms of trauma, mood disorders, and alcohol use. Further, race/ethnic differences emerged in patterns of mental health diagnoses, suggesting sociocultural differences influence diagnoses. These findings indicate the necessity for further investigation of the understudied area of mental health of those within employment positions that require firearms.     

Juveniles and adults differ in their beliefs about cues to deception and strategies during a hypothetical police interview

Police officers are often trained to use the Behavior Analysis Interview (BAI) to detect deceit, but it is based on faulty indicators of lying that may be especially problematic for juveniles due to developmental immaturities. Juveniles, young adults, and adults were assigned to guilt or innocence conditions, read a criminal scenario, and self-reported their likelihood of providing truthful and deceitful responses during a hypothetical BAI. All participants indicated they would give more truthful than deceptive responses. Guilty participants reported more use of strategies to appear innocent, while innocent participants said they would behave naturally. Juveniles were more likely to choose deceitful responses and say they would use strategies to appear innocent during a police interview but endorsed fewer stereotypical cues of deception compared to adults. Juveniles may not recognize how certain behaviors could be seen as cues to deception, which could put them at risk of being misidentified as guilty.