内隐自尊的稳定性--成败操纵对内隐自尊的影响

本研究以瑞文智力测验为成败操纵基本任务,对成败操纵前后、接受成功反馈和失败反馈的个体在内隐联想测验中的反应及其内隐自尊情况进行了分析研究,结果表明：(1)不论是接受成功反馈还是失败反馈,成败操纵后,被试的反应速度都显著地快于操纵前;(2)不论是接受成功反馈还是失败反馈,成败操纵后,被试的内隐自尊水平都显著地低于操纵前。内隐自尊易受即时的关于自我的情绪体验的影响,具有不稳定性,当个体兴奋水平、情绪唤醒水平较高,动机较为强烈时,内隐自尊作用将受到抑制。     

免疫性疾病治疗新途径：诱导细胞程序性死亡

免疫性疾病是一大类难治性的免疫紊乱而造成的疾病,尤其是自身免疫性疾病的一直困扰着免疫学家。传统的免疫治疗是根据不同疾病的需要增强免疫,调节免疫和抑制的方式进行,以辩证的观点分析免疫的增殖与程序性死亡这一对矛盾,认为：免疫性疾病的本质是免疫细胞增殖与程序性恨的失衡,因而通过诱导免疫细胞程序性死亡将成为免疫治疗的新途径。     

Exploratory Eye Movements to Pictures in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

We investigated exploratory eye movements to thematic pictures in schizophrenic, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and normal children. For each picture, children were asked three questions varying in amount of structure. We tested if schizophrenic children would stare or scan extensively and if their scan patterns were differentially affected by the question. Time spent viewing relevant and irrelevant regions, fixation duration (an estimate of processing rate), and distance between fixations (an estimate of breadth of attention) were measured. ADHD children showed a trend toward shorter fixations than normals on the question requiring the most detailed analysis. Schizophrenic children looked at fewer relevant, but not more irrelevant, regions than normals. They showed a tendency to stare more when asked to decide what was happening but not when asked to attend to specific regions. Thus, lower levels of visual attention (e.g., basic control of eye movements) were intact in schizophrenic children. In contrast, they had difficulty with top-down control of selective attention in the service of self-guided behavior.     

Personalized System Of Instruction In Cyberspace

Four different undergraduate psychology courses with no allotted classroom time slots were taught in the same term by means of a computer-based version of Keller's personalized system of instruction (PSI), called computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI). Students' performance and ratings indicate that CAPSI is a viable on-line educational method.     

Vocal Expression and Perception of Emotion

Speech is an acoustically rich signal that provides considerable personal information about talkers. The expression of emotions in speech sounds and corresponding abilities to perceive such emotions are both fundamental aspects of human communication. Findings from studies seeking to characterize the acoustic properties of emotional speech indicate that speech acoustics provide an external cue to the level of nonspecific arousal associated with emotionalprocesses and to a lesser extent, the relative pleasantness of experienced emotions. Outcomes from perceptual tests show that listeners are able to accurately judge emotions from speech at rates far greater than expected by chance. More detailed characterizations of these production and perception aspects of vocal communication will necessarily involve knowledge aboutdifferences among talkers, such as those components of speech that provide comparatively stable cues to individual talkers identities.     

The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: Test-Retest and Inter-Rater Reliability

Two studies are reported addressing the reliability of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS). The first study investigated test-retest reliability over a two-week period to determine the stability of the measure over time. The second study investigated inter-rater reliability between two teachers or classroom aides who were familiar with a student to determine the consistency with which the measure can be used by different individuals. In each study, samples were drawn from populations of students identified with emotional or behavioral disorders as specified by federal statutes. Reliability coefficients in each study were above .80, the standard recommended for screening tests that are reported individually, and in most cases above .90. Implications for use of the BERS are discussed.     

Professional and Provider Perspectives on Family Involvement in Therapeutic Foster Care

Therapeutic foster care (TFC) offers a promising community-based treatment option for children with serious emotional and behavioral disorders in the child welfare system. Family involvement is believed to contribute to achieving the goal of family reunification in TFC, but there has been little attention to family involvement in TFC. I present findings of a qualitative study of child welfare professionals' and TFC providers' perspectives on family involvement. Respondents' views of parent-child contact, parent-professional communication and information sharing, and family involvement in decision making were examined. Values and attitudes toward family involvement, practices related to family involvement, barriers to involvement, and strategies to promote involvement emerged as themes. Professionals in this study believed in the value of family involvement, but there were challenges at the organizational level and related to some TFC providers' lack of training to work with families.     

Making Decisions About Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment in Patients With Dementia

The problem of decision-making capacity in patients with dementia, such as those with early stage Alzheimer's, can be vexing, especially when these patients refuse life-sustaining medical treatments. However, these patients should not be presumed to lack decision-making capacity. Instead, an analysis of the patient's decision-making capacity should be made. Patients who have some degree of decision-making capacity may be able to make a choice about life-sustaining medical treatment and may, in many cases, choose to forgo treatment.     

Assessing the cross-cultural content validity of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension scale (PRCA-24)

Despite its popularity in the USA, the most common communication apprehension (CA) measurement scale, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension scale (PRCA-24), has been used in just three studies in Japan. Further, validity analyses have not been reported for Japanese samples. This article attempts to analyze the content validity of the PRCA-24 on Japanese college students. Results indicate that the PRCA-24 may be of use in determining some, but not all, types of CA among Japanese students. Suggestions for future CA research in Japan are offered.