Turning configural processing upside down: part and whole body postures

Like faces, body postures are susceptible to an inversion effect in untrained viewers. The inversion effect may be indicative of configural processing, but what kind of configural processing is used for the recognition of body postures must be specified. The information available in the body stimulus was manipulated. The presence and magnitude of inversion effects were compared for body parts, scrambled bodies, and body halves relative to whole bodies and to corresponding conditions for faces and houses. Results suggest that configural body posture recognition relies on the structural hierarchy of body parts, not the parts themselves or a complete template match. Configural recognition of body postures based on information about the structural hierarchy of parts defines an important point on the configural processing continuum, between recognition based on first-order spatial relations and recognition based on holistic undifferentiated template matching.     

Maternal Depressed Mood and Perceptions of Child Temperament

Research has suggested that women who experience postpartum depression are subsequently more likely to perceive their preschool-aged children as temperamentally difficult and maladjusted. However, previous studies have not controlled for the effects of concurrent depression levels on maternal ratings of child temperament or evaluated the accuracy of maternal reports. In the present study we assessed maternal and paternal ratings of child temperament 2 years after subjects had participated in a study of postpartum depression. The findings indicate that correlations between postpartum depression and subsequent child temperament ratings were accounted for statistically by concurrent levels of depression. Although fathers' ratings corroborated some aspects of maternal perceptions, levels of parental agreement were only moderately high. Moreover, discrepancies between the parents' reports were significantly associated with maternal depression, indicating that parental disagreement is more likely when the wife is dysphoric.     

A Comparison of Two Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Instruments

This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) instruments developed by K. A. Wallston, B. S. Wallston, and DeVellis (1978) and Lau (Lau, 1982; Lau & Ware, 1981), Both measures were administered to a sample of Veterans Administration (VA) medical outpatients (N = 181). Only minimal evidence of convergence was found between corresponding scales of the two MHLC instruments. Low convergent validity appears attributable to the poor internal consistency reliability of the Lau-Ware subscales. Moreover, results of factor analysis largely supported the a priori factor structure of the K. A. Wallston et at. (1978) MHLC instrument but failed to support the factor structure of the Lau-Ware instrument, Health locus of control (HLC) dimensions that emerged from simultaneous factor analysis of both instruments were most consistent with a three-dimensional typology (i.e., Personal Control, Professional Control and Chance) rather than the four-dimensional typology proposed by Lau (Lau, 1982; Lau & Ware, 1981). Implications for HLC conceptualization and measurement are discussed.     

Repetitive Intimate Partner Victimization: An Exploratory Application of Social Learning Theory

The research literature on intimate partner violence (IPV) has documented a number of poignant facts that serve as the foundation for this study. First, IPV is prevalent, frequent, and often repetitive. Moreover, repetitive violence within an intimate relationship tends to escalate over time, both in its frequency of occurrence and in its severity. We also know that decisions to leave the relationship do not guarantee that the violence will end. In addition, the phenomenon of “mutual combatancy,” prevalent in many intimate partner relationships, suggests that both parties in this dyadic process co-share the roles of offender and victim. Finally, we know that targets of IPV, like their abusers, tend to disproportionately come from families-of-origin in which violence and aggression were directly and/or vicariously experienced. These facts suggest that one possible starting point for the exploration of repetitive intimate partner victimization (R-IPV) may derive from an inter-generational transmission, or cycle of violence theory, suggested more formally in social learning approaches to criminal and deviant behaviors. The present study examines the extent to which measures of Akers' social learning constructs are able to predict repetitive intimate partner victimization. Self-report data on intimate partner violence among a sample of college students reveal the social learning theory variables, differential association and differential reinforcement in particular, are able to predict both the prevalence and frequency of predict repetitive intimate partner victimization.     

Experimental activation of anti-cuckoldry mechanisms responsive to female sexual infidelity

Recent research indicates that men may have evolved mechanisms dedicated to detecting and responding to the risk of partner infidelity. Because activation of these “anti-cuckoldry” mechanisms depends on partner infidelity, or the perception of partner infidelity, existing evidence for such mechanisms relies on correlational data. The current study tests several predictions regarding men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms in an experimental design. As predicted, the results demonstrated: (1a) experimental activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms by presenting them with a vignette depicting a female partner’s sexual infidelity; (1b) no activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms by presenting them with a vignette depicting a sexual encounter without female infidelity; (2) experimental activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms was influenced by their perceived risk of partner infidelity; and (3) women were not influenced by the partner infidelity manipulation.     

Posttraumatic Stress in Women with Breast Cancer and Their Daughters

Using the PTSD Reaction Index, posttraumatic stress was assessed in 133 women with breast cancer and 64 of their daughters. Twenty-one percent of patients and 13% of daughters reported symptoms consistent with PTSD. PTSD in these patients without bone marrow transplants may be higher than reported in other samples, and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the daughters appear comparable to women with breast cancer. For patients, cancer stage at diagnosis was positively associated with posttraumatic stress severity. Mothers experiencing PTSD symptoms were significantly more likely to have daughters experiencing PTSD symptoms. Intergenerational patterns in reaction to breast cancer are discussed.     

Transsubjectivity: The Space Where Psychoanalysis and Architecture Meet

The use of space as an image for engagement is the framework of the dialogue between architect, Richard Meier, and psychoanalyst, Valerie Tate Angel. The interrelated nature of architecture and psychoanalysis heightens the awareness of experience in the self's relation to intimate spaces.The homogeneity between architecture and psychoanalysis is the bringing together of a sense of openness and a freedom of possibilities in the place where one lives.     

Race and Girls’ Self-Evaluations: How Mothering Matters

Research conducted in the United States shows that Black adolescent girls have higher self-esteem and, to a lesser extent, a higher sense of control than White girls. However, few studies conducted with representative samples of Black and White girls systematically examine why Black girls may have higher self-esteem and sense of control. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we posit that Black mothers’ socialization of their daughters may explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control. Using survey data collected in 1994 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. Black (N?=?1,330) and White (N?=?3,797) girls and their mothers, we examine racial differences across two key components of the self-concept: self-esteem and sense of control. We ask: 1) Do Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls? 2) Do Black girls have more positive relationships with their mothers and receive more encouragement of academic achievement and independence from their mothers than White girls? and 3) Do more positive mother-daughter relationships and mothers’ encouragement help to explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control in comparison to White girls? Findings indicate that Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls, and Black mothers’ relationship with their daughters and stronger encouragement of daughters’ independence in part explain race differences in self-evaluations.     

Two-and-a-Half-Year-Olds’ Memory for Sources of Actions: Contextual Support Facilitates Recall

This research examines the early emergence of source-monitoring abilities. Previous research has consistently demonstrated that children as young as 3 to 4 years of age do well on simple versions of action-based source-monitoring tasks. Research on even younger children, however, remains lacking. In this study we examined whether 2½-year-olds could accurately recall source on a simplified task. For the procedure, we used an action-based task in which children collaborate with an experimenter to build a model farm. During construction, the child and the experimenter took turns placing items on the farm. After construction, children were administered a source memory test in which they were asked to recall who had placed each item. To more closely examine factors that influence source accuracy in this young population, we included two conditions that varied in terms of contextual support. In the no-context-cues condition, in line with typical source-monitoring tasks, children were asked the source test question while items were presented individually and the farm was not in view. In the context-cues condition, the original spatial array of farm items was left intact to provide additional cues for children's source decisions. The main finding was that children in both conditions showed high levels of source accuracy at test indicating a surprisingly early age of emergence for this ability. Also, as predicted, children in the context-cues condition were the most accurate in attributing source.