Convergence and predictive validity in measures of optimism and pessimism: Sequential studies

Optimism and pessimism are personality variables that have repeatedly been shown to affect health, job performance, and social relationships. Various instruments purport to measure these dispositions that differ substantially in their theoretical and measurement models. While research has examined relations between subsets of these measures, their unique predictive ability has been neglected. Three sequential studies evaluated the interrelation and predictive ability of the three most utilized instruments, the Life Orientation Test (LOT), the O/P Instrument (OPI) and variants of the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Consistent with expectations, measures sharing a future-expectancy component (LOT and OPI) were moderately related and most predictive of health, depression, and coping. ASQ measures were modestly related to the LOT and OPI and offered less consistent predictions.     

Disseminating a smokeless tobacco cessation intervention model to dental hygienists: a randomized comparison of personalized instruction and self-study methods.

This study evaluated 2 methods of disseminating an empirically validated smokeless tobacco intervention delivered during routine dental care. Twenty cities within 12 states were stratified and then randomized to 1 of 3 groups: personalized instruction (PI), self-study (SS), or delayed training (DT) control. Dental hygienists in the SS condition were sent a manual and video. Those in the PI condition were recruited to attend a workshop. Thirty-seven percent of eligible hygienists agreed to participate. At 12 months postenrollment, hygienists in the SS and PI conditions significantly increased their "Assist" behaviors (discuss cessation techniques, help patient set a quit date, and provide cessation materials) and reported fewer perceived barriers to delivering the intervention as compared with hygienists in DT. An economic analysis suggests that SS is more cost-effective than PI.     

Addressing multiple relationships between clients and therapists in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities

Therapists working in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities are likely to experience the potential to engage in multiple relationships with their clients. Currently, the American Psychological Association's (2002) ethics code and the related literature base offer minimal direct guidance to therapists practicing in LGBT communities. In this article, the authors review current literature regarding multiple relationships in psychotherapy, considering how this literature addresses issues specific to practitioners working within LGBT communities, present a case study highlighting the negotiation of a multiple relationship between a client and therapist who both identify as lesbian, and offer recommendations for practitioners working within LGBT communities.     

Divergent trajectories in the aging mind: changes in working memory for affective versus visual information with age

Working memory mediates the short-term maintenance of information. Virtually all empirical research on working memory involves investigations of working memory for verbal and visual information. Whereas aging is typically associated with a deficit in working memory for these types of information, recent findings suggestive of relatively well-preserved long-term memory for emotional information in older adults raise questions about working memory for emotional material. This study examined age differences in working memory for emotional versus visual information. Findings demonstrate that, despite an age-related deficit for the latter, working memory for emotion was unimpaired. Further, older adults exhibited superior performance on positive relative to negative emotion trials, whereas their younger counterparts exhibited the opposite pattern.     

Assessment of the Use and Feasibility of Video to Supplement the Genetic Counseling Process: A Cancer Genetic Counseling Perspective

Cancer genetic counselors use a variety of teaching modalities for patient education. This survey of cancer genetic counselors assessed their use of educational videos and their recommendations for content of future videos. Thirty percent of respondents use videos for patient education. Cited benefits included reinforcement of information for clients and increased counselor efficiency. Of the 70% who do not use videos, predominant barriers included the perceived lack of an appropriate video, lack of space and/or equipment, and concern that videos are impersonal. Most respondents desired a video that is representative of the genetic counseling session, but emphasized the importance of using broad information. Content considered critical included the pros and cons of genetic testing, associated psychosocial implications, and genetic discrimination. The results of this exploratory study provide data relevant for the development of a cancer genetics video for patient education, and suggestions are made based on aspects of information processing and communication theories.     

Effects of 3-D complexity on the perception of 2-D depictions of objects

In a recent study, Pelli (1999 Science 285 844-846) performed a set of perceptual experiments using portrait paintings by Chuck Close. Close's work is similar to the 'Lincoln' portraits of Harmon and Julesz (1973 Science 180 1194-1197) in that they are composite images consisting of coarsely sampled, individually painted, mostly homogeneous cells. Pelli showed that perceived shape was dependent on size, refuting findings that perception of this type is scale-invariant. In an attempt to broaden this finding we designed a series of experiments to investigate the interaction of 2-D scale and 3-D structure on our perception of 3-D shape. We present a series of experiments where field of view, 3-D object complexity, 2-D image resolution, viewing orientation, and subject matter of the stimulus are manipulated. On each trial, observers indicated if the depicted objects appeared to be 2-D or 3-D. Results for face stimuli are similar to Pelli's, while more geometrically complex stimuli show a further interaction of the 3-D information with distance and image information. Complex objects need more image information to be seen as 3-D when close; however, as they are moved further away from the observer, there is a bias for seeing them as 3-D objects rather than 2-D images. Finally, image orientation, relative to the observer, shows little effect, suggesting the participation of higher-level processes in the determination of the 'solidness' of the depicted object. Thus, we show that the critical image resolution depends systematically on the geometric complexity of the object depicted.     

Psychometric evaluation of the behavioral inhibition/behavioral activation scales in a large sample of outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders

The latent structure, reliability, and validity of the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scales (BIS/BAS; C. L. Carver and T. L. White, 1994) were examined in a large sample of outpatients (N = 1,825) with anxiety and mood disorders. Four subsamples were used for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. In addition to generally upholding a latent structure found previously in nonclinical samples, results indicated measurement invariance of the BIS/BAS between genders and a higher order structure of the BAS scales. Convergent and discriminant validity of the BIS/BAS were supported by findings that the subscales correlated most strongly with measures of neighboring personality constructs (e.g., BIS with neuroticism, BAS with positive affect) than with measures of current anxiety and depression symptoms. Overall, the results support the psychometric properties of the BIS/BAS in this clinical sample.     

On the delay-dependent involvement of the hippocampus in object recognition memory

The role of the hippocampus in object recognition memory processes is unclear in the current literature. Conflicting results have been found in lesion studies of both primates and rodents. Procedural differences between studies, such as retention interval, may explain these discrepancies. In the present study, acute lidocaine administration was used to temporarily inactivate the hippocampus prior to training in the spontaneous object recognition task. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered bilateral lidocaine (4%, 0.5 microl/side) or aCSF (0.5 microl/side) directly into the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus 5 min prior to sample object training, and object recognition memory was tested after a short ( 5 min) or long (24 h) retention interval. There was no effect of intra-hippocampal lidocaine on the time needed for mice to accumulate sample object exploration, suggesting that inactivation of the hippocampus did not affect sample session activity or the motivation to explore objects. Lidocaine-treated mice exhibited impaired object recognition memory, measured as reduced novel object preference, after a 24 h but not a 5 min retention interval. These data support a delay-dependent role for the hippocampus in object recognition memory, an effect consistent with the results of hippocampal lesion studies conducted in rats. However, these data are also consistent with the view that the hippocampus is involved in object recognition memory regardless of retention interval, and that object recognition processes of parahippocampal structures (e.g., perirhinal cortex) are sufficient to support object recognition memory over short retention intervals.