The role of the gap effect in the orienting of attention: Evidence for express attentional shifts

The “gap effect” refers to the finding that saccadic latencies are typically reduced when the fixation point is removed just prior to the presentation of a target. One explanation for this effect is that the removal of the fixation point causes the disengagement of covert attention and allows for extremely rapid movements of attention (express attentional shifts). However, previous research regarding express attentional shifts has yielded equivocal results. The present study used a variation of a peripheral cueing paradigm with a discrimination task (Experiment 1) and a detection task (Experiment 2) to further examine this issue. The results from eye movement and keypress latencies indicated that there were express attentional shifts with the discrimination task but not in the detection task. This pattern of results may have been due to differences in how attention was allocated between the two tasks. Thus, evidence for express attentional shifts was found, but only under certain conditions.     

“In the Image of God”: Reconstructing and Developing a Grassroots African Queer Theology from Urban Zambia

This article is a contribution towards the development of queer theologies in contemporary African contexts. Based on fieldwork in the gay community in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, the article explores the significance of the theological notion of the Imago Dei, the image of God, in the self-understanding of Zambian gay men as being gay and Christian. Bringing this incipient grassroots theology into conversation with broader theological discourses, in particular African theology (including African women's theology) and queer theology, we interrogate current understandings of the Imago Dei that either ignore sexuality or exclude same-sex loving people (in African theology) or that conceptualize queerness from white Western privileged perspectives (in queer theology). Hence we develop the notion of the Imago Dei as a stepping stone towards an African queer theology.     

Thought Control: Is It Ability, Strategies, or Both That Predicts Posttraumatic Symptomatology in Victims of Interpersonal Trauma?

Cognitive models of PTSD have implicated thought control in the development, maintenance, and recovery from PTSD. The present study extends previous research on thought control (ability and strategies) and it’s relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in a sample of interpersonal trauma (IPT) survivors. Results revealed that weak thought control ability mediated the relationship between accumulated discrete IPT experiences and PTSS severity. Weak thought control ability was associated with greater use of thought control strategies, and thought control strategies of punishment and suppression added significant variance over and above the effects of accumulated IPT experiences and thought control ability in predicting PTSS severity. Furthermore, weak thought control ability was related to greater PTSS severity through the use of punishment and suppression thought control strategies. The present findings extend previous research and provide further support for theoretical assumptions of current treatment approaches for PTSD.     

The Instrumental and Symbolic Functions of Attitudes toward Persons with AIDS1

Five studies explored the psychological bases of attitudes toward persons afflicted with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). These studies examined both instrumental and symbolic bases of these attitudes. In Studies 1, 2, and 3, both instrumental factors (e.g., beliefs about the probability of one's own child contracting AIDS) and symbolic factors (general attitudes toward homosexuality) independently contributed to the prediction of attitudes toward having one's child attend classes with a nonhomosexual person having AIDS. In Study 4, only attitudes toward homosexuality (symbolic factors) and not beliefs about contagiousness related to students' expressing a desire to transfer from a class with an AIDS-infected professor. In Study 5, subjects role played the situation experienced by subjects in Study 4. A wider array of instrumental concerns was assessed. While both instrumental and symbolic factors were related to attitudes of role-playing subjects, the specific instrumental concerns of importance were related to beliefs about subjects' feeling comfortable with the professor and not the contagiousness of AIDS. Thus, these results paralleled those of Study 4. These findings are discussed with regard to their relevance for understanding the varying functions of attitudes and for understanding the stigmatization of disease victims.     

The relationship between Holland's SDS differentiation scale and psychological adjustment

The study examined the relationship between Holland's SDS differentiation scales and indices of psychological adjustment on the MMPI. The independent variables were: degree of differentiation as calculated with an Iachan Index, and level of differentiation derived from averaging the six SDS summary profile scores. Two indices of the dependent variable, psychological adjustment, were used: the ego-strength score and the average elevation of eight clinical scales on the MMPI. Fifty-one subjects were recruited. Two multiple regression. analyses revealed a nonsignificant R² of 0.01. The results indicated that the SDS career interest differentiation scales were not related to the MMPI indices, and do not appear useful in predicting degree of psychological adjustment. This finding challenges Holland's theoretical contention that individuals who are undifferentiated may be in need of personal counseling. A second finding was the successful use of the SDS with residential psychiatric patients.     

Dynamic form perception in the bending

As a white hourglass moves across a black background, the middle appears to lag behind its true position, resulting in the apparent bending of the axis of the hourglass. No such distortion occurs with a black hourglass moving across a white background. The results of two experiments support a visual persistence hypothesis, as opposed to a latency hypothesis.     

The use of the beck depression inventory with adolescents

Despite numerous theoretical and anecdotal reports of depression in adolescence, and the potential destructiveness of this disorder in this age group, little empirical work has been done. This study presents data on administration of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to an adolescent sample (N= 568). Factor analysis and interitem and itemscale correlations of the BDI suggested that this questionnaire can be used with this population. The mean BDI score for the sample was slightly higher than that obtained in general population studies of younger children or adults. However, only 5% reported depression sufficiently high to be classified as severe, a figure similar to that of younger children but somewhat lower than that for adults. No significant differences across age were obtained, although significantly more females than males reported high depression scores.This article is based upon a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology at the University of Vermont. The author gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the members of her committee and those of her advisor, Harold Leitenberg, Ph.D.     

Addictions and the family: An introduction

The editors of this special issue would like to express their appreciation to William C. Nichols, editor ofContemporary Family Therapy, for his support and encouragement in putting together this issue. We would also like to acknowledge and thank H. Allan Dye, Joan Jurich, Kevin R. Kelly, Richard M. Loughead, Nancy Shook, and Paul H. Wright for their patience, assistance, and editorial reviews.     

Culture-specific models of men's sexual aggression: intra- and interpersonal determinants

The role of intra- and interpersonal variables was examined in samples of Asian American (N = 91) and European American (N = 377) men. A path model for Asian American men suggested 2 interpersonal paths and 1 intrapersonal path to sexual aggression. For Asian Americans, concern about social standing is a risk factor among those who hold misogynous beliefs and who use alcohol before sex. Concern about the negative reputational impact of sexual aggression is a protective factor among Asian Americans who do not hold these negative attitudes. A European American model suggested only an intrapersonal path to sexual aggression consisting of misogynous beliefs, with interpersonal variables not being predictive of sexual aggression. These results suggest both individualist and collectivist determinants of Asian American sexual aggression, whereas only individualist determinants were found for European American sexual aggression.     

Genograms: Use in Therapy with Asian Families with Diverse Cultural Heritages

This article focuses on the ways in which genograms can be an effective psychosocial tool for use with Asian families of diverse cultural heritages. Using the case examples of Asians from three countries, viz., Malaysia, Japan, and Cambodia, the authors delineate salient therapeutic themes and map changes from a transgenerational perspective with attention to socio-cultural and political processes. An anthropological stance (Becvar, Contemp Fam Ther 30:1–2, 2008) allows a therapist to be curious about Asian family and kinship systems and join with the family in creating a new narrative that broadens spaces for living. Drawing upon surveys from three training contexts, the voices of Asian mental health practitioners, suggesting culture specific issues for the effective use of genograms with Asian families, are included.