Sex, Lies, and Video Games: The Portrayal of Male and Female Characters on Video Game Covers

Two hundred twenty-five console video game covers obtained from online retail sites were examined for portrayals of men and women. We hypothesized that males would be portrayed more often, but that females would be portrayed in a more hyper-sexualized manner. Male characters were almost four times more frequently portrayed than female characters and were given significantly more game relevant action. However, in spite of their less frequent appearance, female characters were more likely to be portrayed with exaggerated, and often objectified, sexiness. Further, violence and sexiness was paired more frequently for female characters than violence and muscular physiques for the male characters. The potential influence these negative portrayals could have on gamers is discussed.     

Gaming magazines and the drive for muscularity in preadolescent boys: a longitudinal examination

The development of a drive for muscularity among boys has been linked to various cultural influences, one of which is exposure to mass media depicting the muscular male body ideal. We sought to determine whether self-reported exposure to four ideal-body magazine genres (health/fitness, fashion, sports, and gaming) predicted an increased drive for muscularity 1 year later. A sample of 104 Black and 77 White preadolescent boys (mean age 8.77) participated in a 2-wave longitudinal panel study. Controlling Wave 1 grade, perceived thinness/adiposity, and drive for muscularity, exposure to video gaming magazines predicted a significant increase in Wave 2 drive for muscularity, but only for White boys. Discussion calls for the inclusion of video gaming magazine exposure measures in future research on print media and male body ideals, along with empirical exploration of racial themes in gaming magazines.     

Social stories, written text cues, and video feedback: effects on social communication of children with autism.

This study investigated the effects of written text and pictorial cuing with supplemental video feedback on the social communication of 5 students with autism and social deficits. Two peers without disabilities participated as social partners with each child with autism to form five triads. Treatment was implemented twice per week and consisted of 10 min of systematic instruction using visual stimuli, 10 min of social interaction, and 10 min of self‐evaluation using video feedback. Results showed increases in targeted social communication skills when the treatment was implemented. Some generalized treatment effects were observed across untrained social behaviors, and 1 participant generalized improvements within the classroom. In addition, naive judges reported perceived improvements in the quality of reciprocal interactions. These findings support recommendations for using visually cued instruction to guide the social language development of young children with autism as they interact with peers without disabilities.     

选择盲：你不一定知道自己在选择什么

选择盲是指个体不能觉察他们的偏好与决策结果之间的不匹配, 即人们不能发现真实偏好被操纵, 这一现象在行为经济学中普遍存在。记忆表征理论主要从记忆表征编码的角度分析人们为什么不能发现选择的改变, 选择偏好理论则着重分析人们偏好反转的原因。选择盲的影响因素主要包括选项相似性和虚假反馈等。未来的研究需要从选择盲的心理机制与产生根源、影响因素和应用研究等方面进一步探讨。     

亲社会性视频游戏对内隐攻击性认知抑制效应的实验

利用亲社会性视频游戏和IAT测验,从内隐社会认知的角度研究亲社会性视频游戏对高中生内隐攻击性认知的影响,并分析影响是否具有性别差异和攻击特质差异。结果表明:(1)亲社会性视频游戏对高中生内隐攻击性认知的抑制效应显著;(2)游戏类型和性别对内隐攻击性认知的交互作用显著,亲社会性视频游戏更容易对女生的内隐攻击性认知产生抑制效应;(3)攻击特质对高中生的内隐攻击性认知的主效应显著,并且游戏类型和攻击特质对高中生内隐攻击性认知的交互作用显著,亲社会性视频游戏更容易对低攻击特质学生产生抑制效应。由此可见,亲社会性视频游戏能够有效抑制高中生的内隐攻击性认知水平。     

Instructive feedback embedded within group instruction for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

The present study evaluated the effects of instructive feedback embedded within a group discrete trial teaching to teach tact relations to nine children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using a nonconcurrent multiple‐baseline design. Dependent variables included correct responses for: primary targets (directly taught), secondary targets (taught via instructive feedback), primary observational targets (directly taught to other members of the group), and secondary observational targets (taught via instructive feedback provided to other members of the group). Results showed that all nine participants reached the mastery criterion for the primary targets, as well as acquired the secondary and observational targets without direct teaching. Clinical implications and areas for future research are provided.     

Advances in functional brain imaging technology and developmental neuro‐psychology: their applications in the Jungian analytic domain

Analytical psychology shares with many other psychotherapies the important task of repairing the consequences of developmental trauma. The majority of analytic patients come from compromised early developmental backgrounds: they may have experienced neglect, abuse, or failures of empathic resonance from their carers. Functional brain imagery techniques including Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG), and functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI), allow us to track mental processes in ways beyond verbal reportage and introspection. This independent perspective is useful for developing new psychodynamic hypotheses, testing current ones, providing diagnostic markers, and monitoring treatment progress. Jung, with the Word Association Test, grasped these principles 100 years ago. Brain imaging techniques have contributed to powerful recent advances in our understanding of neurodevelopmental processes in the first three years of life. If adequate nurturance is compromised, a range of difficulties may emerge. This has important implications for how we understand and treat our psychotherapy clients. The paper provides an overview of functional brain imaging and advances in developmental neuropsychology, and looks at applications of some of these findings (including neurofeedback) in the Jungian psychotherapy domain.     

Vibration-Induced Kinesthetic Illusions and Corticospinal Excitability Changes

The authors' aim was to investigate the changes of corticospinal excitability during kinesthetic illusions induced by tendon vibration. Motor-evoked potentials in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation were recorded from the vibrated flexor carpi radialis and its antagonist, extensor carpi radialis. The illusions were evoked under vision conditions without feedback for the position of the wrist (open or closed eyes). In these two conditions motor-evoked potential changes during vibration in the antagonist were not identical. This discrepancy may be a result of 2 simultaneously acting, different and opposite influences and the balance between them depends on visual conditions. Thus, the illusion was accompanied by the facilitation of corticospinal excitability in both vibrated muscle and its antagonist.     

Short- and long-term consequences in decision-making under risk: immediate feedback about long-term prospects benefits people tending to impulsive processing

Many decisions in everyday life involve weighing up immediate and expected future outcomes that may be conflictive. Yet, it is still unclear which cognitive functions may affect decision-making in such situations. We examined 150 healthy subjects using a new decision-making task that measures people’s ability at handling short- and long-term consequences under objective risk. Two task versions were developed to investigate the effects of feedback about long-term consequences on decision-making. One version includes feedback about changes in long-term prospects while the other does not. Both groups revealed that advantageous decision-making correlated with reasoning and working-memory abilities, however, no correlations with executive functions were found. The effect of feedback on decision-making performance was moderated by impulsivity and need for cognition. Our findings contribute to recent dual-system approaches for risky decision-making by showing that individuals with predispositions towards impulsive rather than reflective information processing could profit from feedback about long-term prospects.