Premarital precursors of marital infidelity

Premarital precursors of infidelity were evaluated in a sample of 72 couples (N = 144) who were taking part in a longitudinal study of marriage. Premarital self-report and observational data were compared for couples who experienced infidelity and those who did not experience infidelity in the first years of marriage. Couples in which the male engaged in marital infidelity were characterized, premaritally, by significantly lower male sexual satisfaction, lower male positive communication, and higher female invalidation, whereas couples in which the female went on to engage in infidelity were characterized, premaritally, by significantly lower levels of female positive communication, higher levels of male and female negative communication, and higher levels of male and female invalidation. Implications of the findings for future research on the prediction and prevention of infidelity are discussed.     

Lack of a close confidant: prevalence and correlates in a medically underserved primary care sample

The present study examined prevalence of lack of a close confidant in a medically underserved primary care sample, and evaluated demographic, medical, and psychological correlates of patients' deficits in close, personal contact. Adult patients (n = 413) reported on confidant status and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sociodemographic and medical information were obtained through chart review. One-quarter of patients endorsed lack of a close confidant. Past month anxiety and depression symptoms, but not medical status, were associated with unmet socioemotional needs. Implications for primary healthcare interventions are discussed.     

Adult modelling facilitates young children's generation of novel pretend acts

The present work investigated the effect of modelling on children's pretend play behaviour. Thirty‐seven children aged between 27 and 41 months were given 4 min of free play with a dollhouse and associated toy props (pre‐modelling phase). Using dolls, an experimenter then acted out a series of vignettes involving object substitutions, imaginary play and attribution of properties. Children were subsequently provided with an additional 4 min free play (post‐modelling phase). Consistent with past research, more pretence was exhibited after modelling than before. Furthermore, in the post‐modelling phase, children were as likely to generate their own novel pretence as they were to copy the actions demonstrated by the experimenter. They also increased the number of novel symbolic acts involving imaginary play from the pre‐ to the post‐modelling phase. This study highlights how young children will not only imitate a model's demonstration of pretend acts but also use this demonstration to catalyze the creation of their own pretence. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Evolving Landscape of Global Surgery: A Qualitative Study of North American Surgeons’ Perspectives on Faith-Based and Academic Initiatives

Journal of Religion and Health - Faith-based missions have played a large role in surgical care delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). As global surgery is now an academic discipline,...     

Early Childhood Anxious Solitude and Subsequent Peer Relationships: Maternal and Cognitive Moderators

It was hypothesized that the relation between early anxious solitude and subsequent peer relations would be moderated by early relational (maternal sensitivity) and individual factors (child school readiness). Participants were 1364 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Anxious solitude was assessed by child care providers from 2 to 4.5 years, maternal sensitivity was observed during mother–child interactions from 2 to 4.5 years, school readiness was tested at 3 years, children's interactions with a friend were observed at 4.5 years, and friendship quantity and peer rejection were assessed by first grade teachers. Results indicate that anxious solitary children who had experienced high versus low early maternal sensitivity contributed significantly more actively to positive interaction and less actively to negative interaction with a friend at 4.5 years (these results were contingent on school readiness), and had more friends and were less rejected by peers in first grade. Although high school readiness predicted interactive competency and positive peer relationships in children low in anxious solitude, these benefits were suppressed in anxious solitary children.     

Mere exposure and the endowment effect on consumer decision making

Previous researchers (e.g., J. A. Bargh, 1992, 2002) demonstrated the importance of nonconscious processes on consumer choice behavior. Using an advertisement, the authors determined the effect of two nonconscious processes--the mere exposure effect, which increases object preference by increasing consumer exposure to an object, and the endowment effect, which increases object valuation by providing consumer possession of an object--on consumer behavior. Although the mere exposure effect and endowment effect did not produce an interaction, they produced independent effects. The endowment effect increased object valuation but not object preference. The mere exposure effect increased object preference but not object valuation. Thus, at the unconscious level, an increase in object preference does not lead to an increase in object valuation, nor does an increase in object valuation lead to an increase in object preference. The authors discuss the importance of developing measures of unconscious process in advertising effectiveness.     

Fear Extinction to an Out-Group Face: The Role of Target Gender

ABSTRACT— Conditioning studies on humans and other primates show that fear responses acquired toward danger-relevant stimuli, such as snakes, resist extinction, whereas responses toward danger-irrelevant stimuli, such as birds, are more readily extinguished. Similar evolved biases may extend to human groups, as recent research demonstrates that a conditioned fear response to faces of persons of a social out-group resists extinction, whereas fear toward a social in-group is more readily extinguished. Here, we provide an important extension to previous work by demonstrating that this fear-extinction bias occurs solely when the exemplars are male. These results underscore the importance of considering how gender of the target stimulus affects psychological and physiological responses to out-group threat.     

Children’s higher order cognitive abilities and the development of secondary memory

The relations between higher cognitive abilities and immediate and delayed recall were studied in 57 children (6–16 years of age). The participants were tested repeatedly on free recall of a supraspan list (Children’s Memory Scale), and their fluid ability was also assessed (Woodcock—Johnson III Spatial Relations). Consistent with Unsworth and Engle’s (2007) account of the relation between memory and higher order cognition, the children’s fluid ability was significantly correlated with retrieval from secondary memory, regardless of whether it was measured using immediate or delayed recall. Multiple regression analyses provided further support for this view, revealing that measures of immediate and delayed retrieval from secondary memory accounted for the same variance in the children’s fluid ability.