Media exposure, internalization of the thin ideal, and body dissatisfaction: comparing Asian American and European American college females

Internalization of the thin ideal mediates the media exposure-body dissatisfaction relation in young adult European American females. There is little related research on Asian Americans. We used structural equations modeling to test: (1) whether media exposure was associated with body dissatisfaction in Asian American young adult females, (2) internalization of the thin ideal mediated any such association, and (3) whether the mediational model provided equivalent fit for European American and Asian American samples. Participants were 287 college females (154 Asian Americans, 133 European Americans). Internalization of the thin ideal explained the media exposure-body dissatisfaction association equally well for both groups. Results suggest that Asian Americans may be employing unhealthy weight control behaviors, and may be prone to developing eating disorders, at rates similar to European American young adult females. Clinicians need to screen carefully for body dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and eating disorders in Asian American females.     

No evidence for a cue mismatch in negative priming

An experiment is reported in which the cue mismatch hypothesis of negative priming, an important novel variant of the mismatching hypothesis, was tested. A cue mismatch and a no mismatch condition were contrasted in a visual discrimination task. In the prime display of cue mismatch ignored-repetition trials, the colour of the prime distractor was different from the colour of the cue indicating the selection feature (coloured square). In probe displays, cue and repeated stimulus had the same colour. In the no mismatch condition, the visual cue was neutral in terms of colour (always black), so that there was always no cue mismatch between prime and probe displays. Contrary to the prediction of the cue mismatch hypothesis, the negative priming effect was not larger in the cue mismatch than in the no mismatch condition. The cue mismatch hypothesis must therefore be rejected. In contrast, the episodic retrieval account is consistent with the results.     

Enclosure shape influences cue competition effects and goal location learning

In virtual-environment spatial-learning procedures, Experiment 1 investigated blocking of learning about distal landmarks beyond the walls of an enclosure following preliminary training to find a goal using local landmarks within the enclosure. Separate sets of blocking and control groups searched within enclosures that, in plan view, formed either a square or a circle. Blocking was apparent when training and testing occurred in the circular but not the square enclosure. In Experiment 2, preliminary training to find a goal using local landmarks blocked spatial learning based on a circular enclosure divided into four differently coloured sections. The results are discussed in relation to theories of incidental versus error-correcting learning linked to different types of spatial cue.     

Strategic flexibility in response preparation: Effects of cue validity on reaction time and pupil dilation

This study examined the ability of participants to strategically adapt their level of response preparation to the predictive value of preparatory cues. Participants performed the finger-precuing task under three levels of cue validity: 100, 75 and 50% valid. Response preparation was indexed by means of reaction time (RT) and pupil dilation, the latter providing a psychophysiological index of invested effort. Results showed a systematic increase in RT benefits (generated by valid cues) and RT costs (generated by invalid cues) with increments in the predictive value of cues. Converging with these behavioural effects, pupil dilation also increased systematically with greater cue validity during the cue-stimulus interval, suggesting more effortful response preparation with increases in cue validity. Together, these findings confirm the hypothesis that response preparation is flexible and that it can be strategically allocated in proportion to the relative frequency of valid/invalid preparatory cues.     

Exposure to Violence and Attitudes Towards Transitional Justice

Transitional justice has emerged to address victims' needs as a means of restoring relations broken by violence. Yet we know little about victims' attitudes towards different transitional justice mechanisms. Why do some victims prioritize retributive justice while others favor other forms of dealing with the violent past? What determines victims' attitudes towards transitional justice policies? To address these questions, we offer a new theoretical framework that draws upon recent insights from the field of evolutionary psychology and links both war exposure and postwar environments to transitional justice preferences. We argue that both past experiences of wartime violence and present‐day social interdependence with perpetrators impact transitional justice preferences, but in divergent ways (resulting in greater support for retributive vs. restorative justice measures, respectively). To test our framework, we rely upon a 2013 representative survey of 1,007 respondents focusing on general population attitudes towards transitional justice in Bosnia two decades after the implementation of the Dayton Accords. Specifically, we examine the impact of displacement, return to prewar homes, loss of property, loss of a loved one, physical injury, imprisonment, and torture on attitudes towards transitional justice. On the whole, our findings confirm our two main hypotheses: Exposure to direct violence and losses is associated with more support for retributive justice measures, while greater present‐day interdependence with perpetrators is associated with more support for restorative justice measures. While acknowledging the legacy of wartime violence, we highlight the importance of the postwar context and institutional mechanisms that support victims in reconstructing their lives.     

Automatic shifts of attention in the Dimensional Change Card Sort task: Subtle changes in task materials lead to flexible switching

Two experiments tested a hypothesis that reducing demands on executive control in a Dimensional Change Card Sort task will lead to improved performance in 3-year-olds. In Experiment 1, the shape dimension was represented by two dissimilar values (stars and flowers), and the color dimension was represented by two similar values (red and pink). This configuration of stimuli rendered shape more salient than color. In Experiment 2, attentional weights of each dimension value were manipulated by using two versus four values to represent the dimensions of shape and color. The results indicated that increasing saliency of the postswitch dimension (Experiment 1) and reducing attentional weights of individual dimension values (Experiment 2) lead to a marked improvement in the postswitch sorting accuracy in 3-year-olds.     

Changing systems by changing individuals: the incubation approach to systems change

This article describes and evaluates the implementation of an innovative approach to systems change, the incubation approach, which was developed on a systems change project designed to increase the capacity of multiple systems (e.g., law enforcement, child protection, domestic violence, mental health, early education) to respond to children’s exposure to violence. The incubation approach encourages change agents to collaborate with project staff to gently nurture, or “incubate,” feasible and warranted change in target systems. Project staff gain concrete commitment from motivated and accessible change agents and collaborate with those agents to implement change actions. This approach works well with committed, executive-level change agents in target systems, with stable systems that have low turnover and well-integrated subsystems, and when seed funds are provided to key organizations.     

Impact of Exposure to Community Violence on Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study of Family Social Support as a Protective Factor for Urban Children

In a longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between exposure to community violence and anxiety, and the extent to which family social support moderated this relationship within a predominantly African American sample of 385 children in an urban public school system. Children reported notably lower anxiety levels compared to normative data for African American children. A high percentage reported witnessing a variety of violent acts. Cross-sectional results indicated that among girls exposure to violence was significantly correlated with total, physiological, and concentration anxiety. Among boys violence exposure was not associated with anxiety. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for gender, exposure to violence at Time 1 did not significantly predict changes in anxiety. A significant interaction was found for gender and exposure to violence on concentration anxiety; girls who reported higher initial violence exposure reported greater increases in subsequent concentration anxiety than boys. Whereas findings from our study did not support a moderating relationship of family social support on children's exposure to violence and anxiety, a strong negative relationship was found between anxiety and family support. Among children with initially low worry anxiety, those with low family social support showed greater increases in subsequent worry anxiety.     

Emotional Processing Therapy for post traumatic stress disorder

While prolonged exposure is considered one of the “gold standard” and recommended treatments for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it has been poorly utilised in clinical practice. Individuals with PTSD often find it too distressing to confront memories, and therapists may be uncomfortable using the therapy. A new Emotional Processing Therapy is described in which an emotional approach to prolonged exposure provides individuals with a new insight into how trauma is processed. A conceptual analysis of exposure suggests that it is exposure to distressing emotional experiences which is a key element. Viewing it as an emotion-based therapy, allows the creative addition of new emotional elements. Through exploring the individual’s emotional processing style, previously learned and unhelpful patterns can be addressed, and the addition of an “emotional preparation” phase helps them understand why it is important to face emotionally distressing memories before exposure sessions begin. Emotional Processing Therapy is intuitive and makes sense to those affected by PTSD. It is framed in an emotional context and is presented as part of a lifestyle change that may reduce the likelihood of psychological problems developing in the future.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist

Several studies have employed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the latent structure of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993), a measure that assesses PTSD symptomatology. Findings have failed to support the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision [DSM–IV–TR]; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) PTSD model, consisting of reexperiencing, avoidance/numbing, and arousal factors, and no consensus has emerged regarding the best fitting alternative model. Additionally, most studies have utilized homogeneous trauma samples. This study used CFA to examine the PCL factor structure in a sample with exposure to various traumatic events. Superior fit was demonstrated by a model specifying reexperiencing, avoidance, dysphoria, and arousal factors.