Moral motivation of college students through multiple developmental structures: Evidence of intrapersonal variability in a complex dynamic system

This study is based on a broad conception of moral motivation by applying self-determination theory and dynamic systems perspectives. Accordingly, not only moral action, but also moral judgment is motivated. We carried out a detailed exploration of intrapersonal variability as a central aspect of moral motivation. Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development are reconceptualized as dynamic process structures of motivation that operate together within person simultaneously in different degrees. A total of 546 college students responded to a new instrument to assess moral motivation using a recognition task. Findings provided support for the notion that individuals use multiple motivational structures in different degrees as they make moral judgments. The majority of correlations between within-person operation degrees of motivational structures were significant. Variations in these correlations are explained to a large extent by developmental proximity of stage pairs. Results revealed both variability and developmental order in moral motivation. Implications of a dynamic developmental perspective are discussed in terms of understanding the complexity of moral motivation in ways that are sensitive to both intrapersonal and contextual variability.     

Counselor Education Doctoral Program Faculty Members’ Refereed Article Publications

This study investigated articles published in refereed journals by counselor educators (N = 378) employed by 55 doctoral programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The counselor educators published in 321 different journals, and the variables that predicted publications rates included (a) year earned doctoral degree, (b) academic rank, (c) Carnegie category classification of current university, and (d) gender. Implications for counselor education and scholarly productivity are discussed.     

One-year test-retest reliability of the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury (ISAS)

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a growing public health problem among adolescents and young adults. The Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury (ISAS) is a self-report measure designed to assess NSSI behaviors and functions. The current study examines the one-year test-retest reliability of the ISAS in a sample of young adult self-injurers. Results indicate that the ISAS behavioral and functional scales demonstrate good stability over one year. For the behavioral scales, test-retest correlations ranged from .52 (biting) to .83 (burning), with a median of .68. For the functional scales, test-retest correlations were .60 for the superordinate intrapersonal functions scale and .82 for the superordinate interpersonal functions scale. Regarding individual functions, test-retest correlations ranged from .35 (affect regulation) to .89 (peer bonding), with a median of .59. Findings suggest the ISAS has good test-retest reliability and contributes to the growing literature on the psychometric properties of the ISAS.     

Epigenetic alterations in the lateral amygdala are required for reconsolidation of a Pavlovian fear memory

Epigenetic mechanisms have been widely implicated in synaptic plasticity and in memory consolidation, yet little is known about the role of epigenetic mechanisms in memory reconsolidation processes. In the present study, we systematically examine the role of histone acetylation and DNA methylation in the reconsolidation of an amygdala-dependent Pavlovian fear memory. We first show that the acetylation of histone 3 (H3), but not histone 4 (H4), is regulated following auditory fear memory retrieval in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA). We next show that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition in the LA enhances both retrieval-induced histone acetylation and reconsolidation of an auditory fear memory. Conversely, inhibition of DNA methytransferase (DNMT) activity in the LA significantly impairs both retrieval-related H3 acetylation and fear memory reconsolidation. The effects of HDAC and DNMT inhibitors on fear memory reconsolidation were observed to be time-limited and were not evident in the absence of memory reactivation. Further, memories lost following DNMT inhibition were not observed to be vulnerable to spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, or to a shift in testing context, suggesting that memory impairment was not the result of facilitated extinction. Finally, pretreatment with the HDAC inhibitor was observed to rescue the reconsolidation deficit induced by the DNMT inhibitor. These findings collectively suggest that histone acetylation and DNA methylation are critical for reconsolidation of fear memories in the LA.     

Predicting preferences for sex acts: Which traits matter most, and why?

Several dispositional traits have been examined in mating contexts by evolutionary psychologists. Such traits include life history strategy, sociosexuality, and the Big Five. Recently, scholars have examined the validity and predictive utility of mating intelligence, a new construct designed to capture the cognitive processes that underlie mating psychology. The current research employed a battery of dispositional traits that include all these constructs in an effort to predict preferences for different kinds of sex acts. Sexual acts vary wildly, and the ability to predict this variability may well hold an important key to underlying sexual strategies. A sample of 607 young adults (144 males and 463 females) completed measures of each of these traits as well as a measure of preference for specific sex acts (along with providing information on their sexual orientation). The traits predicted variability in preference for sex acts - with mating intelligence being the most predictive (for instance, mating intelligence was positively related to preference for vaginal intercourse across the sexes). Sex differences emerged (e.g., males show a stronger preference for anal sex than do females). Discussion focuses on (a) sex differences in preference for sex acts along with (b) why the trait variables predicted preferences in sex acts.     

Misery loves company: mood-congruent emotional responding to music

We examined emotional responding to music after mood induction. On each trial, listeners heard a 30-s music excerpt and rated how much they liked it, whether it sounded happy or sad, and how familiar it was. When the excerpts sounded unambiguously happy or sad (Experiment 1), the typical preference for happy-sounding music was eliminated after inducing a sad mood. When the excerpts sounded ambiguous with respect to happiness and sadness (Experiment 2), listeners perceived more sadness after inducing a sad mood. Sad moods had no influence on familiarity ratings (Experiments 1 and 2). These findings imply that "misery loves company." Listeners in a sad mood fail to show the typical preference for happy-sounding music, and they perceive more sadness in music that is ambiguous with respect to mood.