Building Ego and Racial Identity: Preliminary Perspectives on Counselors‐in‐Training

Loevinger's (J. Loevinger & R. Wessler, 1976) Washington Sentence Completion Test of ego development and Black and White versions of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (J. E. Helms & R. T. Carter, 1990; T. A. Parham & J. E. Helms, 1981) were administered to 38 graduate students at the beginning, middle, and end of their counseling program. All 3 counseling tracks were included in the research: community agency, school counseling, and student development. Preliminary perspectives are discussed as well as implications for counselor education programs and future research.     

Relations Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Attachment Style Dimensions

This study replicated and extended the work of C. F. Weems, S. L. Berman, W. K. Silverman, and E. T. Rodriquez (2002) by investigating relations between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and attachment dimensions in a sample of young adults. Two hundred and twenty-six undergraduate students completed self-report measures including the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and the measure of adult romantic attachment used by C. F. Weems et al. (2002). In order to investigate the association between AS and a different domain of attachment, a measure of adult attachment referring to close relationships was included. As defined by both measures, insecurely attached individuals, specifically those classified as preoccupied and fearful (i.e., those with negative Models of Self), reported significantly higher levels of AS than those with secure and dismissing attachment styles (i.e., those with positive Models of Self). Results indicated that across both measures the Model of Self attachment dimension accounted for unique variance in AS levels beyond that contributed by trait anxiety. The Model of Others attachment dimension had a more limited association with AS.     

Are the responses generated during a psychophysical task independent of previously presented stimuli or do they depend on earlier stimulus presentations?

Quinn and Watt (2006 Perception 35 267-280) showed that the optimal tempi for pieces of music (ie the appropriate speed for a melody) vary from melody to melody. The current study tested if such tempi responses depend on previous stimulus presentations. To do this, we ran a many-participants single-presentation version of the Quinn and Watt experiment. 616 visitors to the Glasgow Science Centre participated. We found that the results substantially matched those obtained earlier, and demonstrate that participants' responses are essentially independent of previously presented stimuli.     

Anxiety Sensitivity and Negative Interpretation Biases: Their Shared and Unique Associations with Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a psychological risk factor for anxiety disorders. Negative interpretation biases are a maladaptive form of information-processing also associated with anxiety disorders. The present study explored whether AS and negative interpretation biases make independent contributions to variance in panic and generalized anxiety symptoms and whether particular interpretation bias domains (e.g., of ambiguous arousal sensations) have specific associations with panic and/or generalized anxiety symptoms. Eighty-nine female undergraduates (44 low AS; 45 high AS) completed measures of AS, interpretation biases, and panic and generalized anxiety symptoms. Findings showed that AS and negative interpretation biases both significantly added to the prediction of anxiety symptoms. Negative interpretations of ambiguous arousal sensations were uniquely associated with panic symptoms, while negative interpretations of ambiguous general and social events were uniquely associated with generalized anxiety symptoms. Findings support the conceptual validity of AS and negative interpretation biases and their unique and shared contributions to anxiety symptoms.     

Flow state in self-paced and externally-paced performance contexts: An examination of the flow model

ObjectivesKimiecik and Stein's (1992) flow model proposed that personal and situational factors affect the experience of flow. Singer, 1988, Singer, 2000 argued that different mental processes underlie self-initiated and reactive performances. The first purpose of this study was to examine main and interaction effects between imagery use and confidence on flow state in different performance contexts. The second purpose was to assess main and interaction effects between flow state, imagery, and confidence on self-paced service and externally-paced groundstroke performance in tennis.DesignThis field study used a repeated-measures design.MethodA pilot study was conducted to inform the set up of the two performance contexts. Flow states were assessed on two separate occasions, (a) for the service performance, and (b) for the groundstroke performance. A total of 60 junior tennis athletes completed imagery and confidence measures before the field test.ResultsA significant interaction between imagery and confidence was found for flow state in the groundstroke but not in the service task. No significant interaction effects were found for performance outcome. Flow state significantly predicted groundstroke performance, and imagery and confidence predicted service performance.ConclusionsThe examination of flow in different performance contexts is challenging. Imagery and confidence are central to the experience of flow. Flow state appeared to be more important for the externally-paced than self-paced task. The relationship between flow and performance is complex, which requires the conceptual expansion of Kimiecik and Stein's (1992) flow model.     

Neural correlates of music recognition in Down syndrome

The brain mechanisms that subserve music recognition remain unclear despite increasing interest in this process. Here we report the results of a magnetoencephalography experiment to determine the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of brain regions activated during listening to a familiar and unfamiliar instrumental melody in control adults and adults with Down syndrome (DS). In the control group, listening to the familiar melody relative to the unfamiliar melody, revealed early and significant activations in the left primary auditory cortex, followed by activity in the limbic and sensory-motor regions and finally, activation in the motor related areas. In the DS group, listening to the familiar melody relative to the unfamiliar melody revealed increased significant activations in only three regions. Activity began in the left primary auditory cortex and the superior temporal gyrus and was followed by enhanced activity in the right precentral gyrus. These data suggest that familiar music is associated with auditory–motor coupling but does not activate brain areas involved in emotional processing in DS. These findings reveal new insights on the neural basis of music perception in DS as well as the temporal course of neural activity in control adults.