Genetic associations of alcohol dehydrogenase with alcohol use disorders and endophenotypes in white college students

Associations of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene polymorphisms (ADH1B*2 and ADH1C*1) with a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) were examined in White college students. Alcohol-related endophenotypes likely to be influenced by elevations in acetaldehyde were also assessed. Individuals with an ADH1B*2 allele had lower rates of AUDs, consumed a lower maximum number of drinks in a 24-hr period, reported a greater level of response to alcohol, were more likely to have experienced alcohol-induced headaches following 1 or 2 drinks, and reported more severe hangovers than those lacking this allele. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced sensitivity to alcohol and lower levels of alcohol use reflect the mechanism by which ADH1B*2 protects against developing an AUD.     

The end point effect in autobiographical memory: more than a calendar is needed

The end point effect, an increased frequency of memories from the start and end of a period, may be due to internalised calendar representations or narrative structures. Differential predictions derived from these theories were tested in 3 studies. In Study 1, 104 students recalled 5 memories from a relationship. In Study 2, 106 students recalled 5 memories from their first term and in Study 3, 89 students recalled 3 positive and 3 negative memories from their first term. In all three studies memories were rated on phenomenology, encoding variables and rehearsal. All three studies replicated the endpoint effect, with Study 3 showing a stronger effect for positive memories. The studies showed higher rating for end point memories on phenomenology (Study 1), encoding variables (Studies 1 and 2) and rehearsal (Study 1). Generally, the results support the narrative theory and this is discussed in relation to broader theories of autobiographical memory.     

The Moderating Effect of Prior Experience in Consumers' Use of User-Image Based Versus Utilitarian Cues in Brand Attitude

In this paper, we address the question of whether prior experience with a product moderates the extent to which the use of user-image based cues and utilitarian cues are predictive of brand attitude. Specifically, high experience consumers were expected to focus more on utilitarian cues and low experience consumers to focus on user-image based cues. Results of two studies generally support these predictions.     

What, why, and for whom: couples interventions: a deconstruction approach

This paper provides a commentary on the special series on universal processes and common factors in couple therapy (Halford & Snyder, this issue). The authors in this section share their insights, from varying perspectives, about what it is in couples therapy and relationship education programs that work, why they work, and for whom they work best. In so doing, these articles address specific elements of couples interventions--in effect, taking a couples approach apart in order to understand it better. However, as a collection, this section takes this approach to understanding one step further. It puts the elements back together again, making the process of couples therapy/relationship education more accessible and easier to customize based upon the couple, the presenting complaints, the therapist, and the context. The term "deconstruction" is used to describe how the specific elements of couples interventions are understood and reassembled in new, theoretical, and empirically validated ways. It is argued here that once it is understood that a couples intervention works, why it works, and for whom it works, we are able to individualize our approach to specific couples in an effort to make couples therapy better at improving relationships and keeping them improved.     

Me and my 400 friends: the anatomy of college students' Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being

Is there a trade-off between having large networks of social connections on social networking sites such as Facebook and the development of intimacy and social support among today's generation of emerging adults? To understand the socialization context of Facebook during the transition to adulthood, an online survey was distributed to college students at a large urban university; participants answered questions about their relationships by systematically sampling their Facebook contacts while viewing their Facebook profiles online. Results confirmed that Facebook facilitates expansive social networks that grow disproportionately through distant kinds of relationship (acquaintances and activity connections), while also expanding the number of close relationships and stranger relationships, albeit at slower rates. Those with larger networks estimated that larger numbers of contacts in their networks were observing their status updates, a form of public communication to one's entire contact list. The major function of status updates was emotional disclosure, the key feature of intimacy. This finding indicates the transformation of the nature of intimacy in the environment of a social network site. In addition, larger networks and larger estimated audiences predicted higher levels of life satisfaction and perceived social support on Facebook. These findings emphasize the psychological importance of audience in the Facebook environment. Findings also suggest that social networking sites help youth to satisfy enduring human psychosocial needs for permanent relations in a geographically mobile world--college students with higher proportions of maintained contacts from the past (primarily high school friends) perceived Facebook as a more useful tool for procuring social support.     

Candidate characteristics driving initial impressions during rapport building: Implications for employment interview validity

We examine the antecedents impacting interviewers’ initial impressions of candidates formed during the rapport‐building stage of the interview and subsequent evaluations of answers to highly structured interview questions. Ratings for 130 mock interview candidates reveal a strong relationship between interviewers’ initial impression of the candidate and their evaluations of candidate responses to structured questions. These initial impressions correspond with candidate extraversion and verbal skill, controlling for job qualifications. Interviewers’ initial impressions mediate the effect of candidate characteristics, relevant for some jobs more so than others, on later evaluations. Thus, initial impressions formed during rapport building appear to influence subsequent evaluations whether they are clearly job‐relevant or not. These findings have important implications for the validity of structured interviews.     

The Partners for Life Program: A Couples Approach to Cardiac Risk Reduction

Morbidity and mortality are reliably lower for the married compared with the unmarried across a variety of illnesses. What is less well understood is how a couple uses their relationship for recommended lifestyle changes associated with decreased risk for illness. Partners for Life compared a patient and partner approach to behavior change with a patient only approach on such factors as exercise, nutrition, and medication adherence. Ninety‐three patients and their spouses/partners consented to participate (26% of those eligible) and were randomized into either the individual or couples condition. However, only 80 couples, distributed across conditions, contributed data to the analyses, due to missing data and missing data points. For exercise, there was a significant effect of couples treatment on the increase in activity and a significant effect of couples treatment on the acceleration of treatment over time. In addition, there was an interaction between marital satisfaction and treatment condition such that patients who reported higher levels of marital distress in the individuals condition did not maintain their physical activity gains by the end of treatment, while both distressed and nondistressed patients in the couples treatment exhibited accelerating gains throughout treatment. In terms of medication adherence, patients in the couples treatment exhibited virtually no change in medication adherence over time, while patients in the individuals treatment showed a 9% relative decrease across time. There were no condition or time effects for nutritional outcomes. Finally, there was an interaction between baseline marital satisfaction and treatment condition such that patients in the individuals condition who reported lower levels of initial marital satisfaction showed deterioration in marital satisfaction, while non satisfied patients in the couples treatment showed improvement over time.     

Egocentric and allocentric search: effects of platform distance and environmental cues

Three water maze experiments with rats examined egocentric vs. allocentric search as a function of platform distance and the predictiveness of the start trajectory and environmental cues. In Experiment 1, rats trained to a Near platform predicted both by landmarks and a fixed start trajectory showed approximately equal egocentric and allocentric search when tested from a novel start location. Rats trained to a Far platform and tested the same way predominantly showed allocentric search. In Experiment 2, rats trained to a Near platform predicted only by landmarks or background cues showed predominant egocentric search. In Experiment 3, rats trained to a Near or a Far platform with a fixed trajectory and no landmarks, showed predominant egocentric. Non-predictive landmarks reduced egocentric search in rats trained with a Far, but not with a Near platform. Overall, with increased goal distance, rats decrease dependence on an egocentric trajectory and increase attention to surrounding landmarks. These results add to the developing notion that animals use both egocentric and allocentric search balanced by environmental conditions, such as distance to the goal and the number of landmarks.     

Asian and female in the white God's world: a qualitative exploration of discrimination in Christian academia

This study is a phenomenological exploration of discrimination experiences among 11 Asian/Asian-American female faculty at various Christian universities, with a specific focus on the characteristics of the Christian academic environment which contribute to those experiences. Participants completed a 90-minute semi-structured interview. Ten of the 11 women described experiences where they perceived being treated differently due to race and/or gender. Qualitative analyses of interview data resulted in the emergence of three themes related to the discrimination context (lack of diversity, naiveté and denial and “missionary mentality”). Resulting themes are discussed in light of existing research. Future research implications include the continued need for research on factors that contribute to discrimination in religious contexts.