Social interactions and cardiovascular reactivity during problem disclosure among friends

The authors examined the relations of social interactions with cardiovascular response in the context of two friends disclosing a problem. They also examined the relations of the sex composition of the dyad and partner gender-related traits (communion/agency) with social interactions. Same-sex and opposite-sex dyads (N = 79) came to the lab. One friend disclosed a real-life problem while the partner provided support; cardiovascular response was monitored. Women provided more emotional support than men, and this sex difference was due to women's higher levels of communion. Agency was linked with greater advice, whereas unmitigated communion was linked with greater negative interactions. Negative interactions predicted slower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) recovery, whereas advice predicted slower heart rate (HR) recovery. Sex composition of dyad moderated some of these effects.     

The relationship between executive function and verbal memory in Parkinson's disease

A growing body of evidence suggests that the various cognitive symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD) are secondary to executive dysfunction. Studies addressing this possibility for memory impairment specifically have not included measures of working memory nor have they ruled-out potential mediating variables such as overall level of cognitive impairment or depression. The purpose of this study was to include measures of these variables in determining the relationship between multiple aspects of executive function and delayed verbal recall in 32 idiopathic PD patients. Results were consistent with the original hypothesis and further suggest that working memory is a key factor in recall memory and may mediate the relationship between other executive measures and recall in PD.     

Does time fly when you're counting down? The effect of counting direction on subjective time judgment

We show that counting downward while performing a task shortens the perceived duration of the task compared to counting upward. People perceive that less time has elapsed when they were counting downward versus upward while using a product (Studies 1 and 3) or watching geometrical shapes (Study 2). The counting direction effect is obtained using both prospective and retrospective time judgments (Study 3), but only when the count range begins with the number “1” (Study 2). Furthermore, the counting direction affects peoples' attitude toward the product, their likelihood of using it again, and their purchase intentions. We test several plausible accounts for the counting direction effect, including task difficulty, numerical anchoring, and arousal. We find preliminary evidence that downward counting feels shorter because it is more arousing than upward counting.     

An application of caricature: How to improve the recognition of facial composites

Facial caricatures exaggerate the distinctive features of a face and may elevate the recognition of a familiar face. We investigate whether the recognition of facial composites, or pictures of criminal faces, could be similarly enhanced. In this study, participants first estimated the degree of caricature necessary to make composites most identifiable. Contrary to expectation, an anticaricature was found to be best, presumably as this tended to reduce the appearance of errors. In support of this explanation, more positive caricature estimates were assigned to morphed composites: representations that tend to contain less overall error. In addition, anticaricaturing reduced identification for morphed composites but enhanced identification for individual composites. Although such improvements were too small to be of value to law enforcement, a sizeable naming benefit was observed when presenting a range of caricature states, which appeared to capitalize on individual differences in the internal representation of familiar faces.     

Understanding provoked overt recognition in prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosic patients are unable to recognize overtly the faces of familiar people. However, under specific experimental conditions, overt recognition of faces has been induced in some prosopagnosics. This phenomenon of provoked overt recognition has proved challenging for current theories of face recognition. We first describe clinical demonstrations of provoked overt recognition, before highlighting some critical features that any satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon must accommodate. An account of provoked overt recognition is then put forward, couched within the framework of Burton, Bruce, and Johnston's (1990) IAC model of face recognition. This theory is tested by running computer simulations with the model. Finally, the present explanation of provoked overt recognition is scrutinized to discover whether it has implications for rehabilitation work with prosopagnosic patients.     

Guidelines with Strategies for Enhancement of Resilience and Psycho-Social Well-Being in Professional Nurses

There are currently no guidelines available for enhancement of resilience in professional nurses. This study aims to provide broad guidelines with specific strategies that may enhance resilience and psycho-social well-being in professional nurses. These guidelines are based findings from previous qualitative research on resilience in professional nurses in the public and private sector in South Africa. We used Kumpfer's (1999) theoretical model of resilience to frame the guidelines. Resilience among professional nurses appears to vary in manifestation across settings of practice.     

Traumatic Experiences and PTSD Among Adolescent Congolese Refugees in Uganda: A Preliminary Study

The study examined experienced traumatic events and the related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amongst a sample of 89 adolescent Congolese refugees (56 females and 33 males) at a refugee camp in Uganda. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed for trauma moderation by demographics and mediation by PTSD symptom scores. Findings indicate a prevalence of PTSD of 49.4% overall, with 75% of the female refugees meeting the PTSD criteria. The refugees with PTSD had high intrusive, avoidance and arousal scores, in addition to moderate to severe PTSD symptom severity scores. Trauma load was a significant predictor of PTSD among adolescent refugees. Our findings point to the high prevalence of PTSD resulting from an increased trauma load and being a female.     

Attentional Skills in the Acute Phase Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Only a limited number of studies have investigated attention following pediatric head-injury. The present study examined sustained attention and processing speed in a group of children who had sustained a mild (n = 27), moderate (n = 33) or severe (n = 16) traumatic brain injury (TBI). No significant differences were evident between the TBI groups on reaction time measures. Results did show that the severe TBI group exhibited greater deficits in the area of sustained attention, in comparison to children with mild and moderate injuries, in the acute stage following traumatic brain injury. This difficulty may impact on the future development of skills dependent on intact attentional capacity.     

Experiences of Australian Siblings of an Individual With an Autism Spectrum Disorder

The experiences of 75 non-Autism Spectrum Disorder (NASD) children and adolescents who had a sibling with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were investigated. Differences were found according to age and gender for issues such as amount of time spent with their sibling and access to parents. Having a younger sibling with an ASD was associated with a lower level of confidence in being to live their lives as they wished. Female NASD participants commented that their lives were more influenced than male NASD participants. About half of all NASD participants reported inconsistencies in family rule adherences and parental expectation.     

A UK pilot study: The specificity of the Word Memory Test effort sub‐tests in acute minimal to mild head injury

The specificity of the Word Memory Test (WMT) effort indices was examined in 48 individuals with minimal to mild head injury (MHI) in the acute stages post‐injury. None of the individuals was involved in litigation or disability claims. At the established cut‐offs, the WMT had an unacceptable false‐positive rate (18%). T test analysis was also carried out for WMT passers and failures on a battery of neuropsychometric measures and across a range of demographic variables. The WMT was performed at a significantly lower level on the Wechsler Memory Scale – III word list sub‐tests and verbal fluency tests (p < .05). This suggests that WMT failure may be indicative of a specific deficit in verbal processing in the acute phase of MHI.