Affective habituation: Subliminal exposure to extreme stimuli decreases their extremity.

Following a functional perspective on evaluation, the authors hypothesized that subliminal exposure to extreme stimuli (e.g., extremely negative or positive words) would lead these stimuli to be perceived as less extreme. This process--affective habituation--was tested in 4 experiments. In Experiment 1, participants were subliminally exposed to extremely positive and extremely negative words. In a subsequent explicit-judgment task, these words were rated as less extreme than extreme words that had not been presented. In Experiment 2, these results were replicated with an implicit evaluation measure. In Experiments 3 and 4, subliminal exposure to extreme positive and negative words made the words "behave" as words that are only moderately positive or negative. Several implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extreme response style in recurrent and chronically depressed patients: Change with antidepressant administration and stability during continuation treatment.

The authors examined extreme response style in recurrently and chronically depressed patients, assessing its role in therapeutic outcome. During the acute phase, outpatients with major depressive disorder (N = 384) were treated with fluoxetine for 8 weeks. Remitted patients (n = 132) entered a continuation phase during which their fluoxetine dose increased and they were randomly assigned to treatment with or without cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Results showed a predictive relationship between extreme response style and clinical outcome. Patients in the medication-only group showed a significant increase in the frequency of extreme responses, whereas patients receiving CBT showed no significant change. These results are consistent with recent findings suggesting that metacognitive factors may be as important as changes in thought content when treating depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an understanding of situational judgment item validity and group differences.

This paper evaluates 2 adjustments to common scoring approaches for situational judgment tests (SJTs). These adjustments can result in substantial improvements to item validity, reductions in mean racial differences, and resistance to coaching designed to improve scores. The first adjustment, applicable to SJTs that use Likert scales, controls for elevation and scatter (Cronbach & Gleser, 1953). This adjustment improves item validity. Also, because there is a White–Black mean difference in the preference for extreme responses on Likert scales (Bachman & O'Malley, 1984), these adjustments substantially reduce White–Black mean score differences. Furthermore, this adjustment often eliminates the score elevation associated with the coaching strategy of avoiding extreme responses (Cullen, Sackett, & Lievens, 2006). Item validity is shown to have a U-shaped relationship with item means. This holds both for SJTs with Likert score response formats and for SJTs where respondents identify the best and worst response option. Given the U-shaped relationship, the second adjustment is to drop items with midrange item means. This permits the SJT to be shortened, sometimes dramatically, without necessarily harming validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reassertion of the paradoxical power of tests of significance based on unreliable difference scores.

Points out that the negative relationship between power of tests of significance and the reliability of difference scores involves a continuous function in which zero reliability is the most extreme case. It is not necessary to assume zero true interaction in order to recognize a paradoxical increase in likelihood of significant treatment effects to be associated with low reliability of difference scores on which all calculations are based. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working 61 plus hours a week: Why do managers do it?

The authors investigated why some managers work extreme hours, defined as 61 or more hours per week. The authors, tested explanations drawn from theories including the work-leisure tradeoff, work as an emotional respite, social contagion, and work as its own reward. In a demographically homogeneous sample of male managers, the best explanations for why some worked 61 or more hours per week were the financial and psychological rewards they, received from doing so. The hypothesis derived from A. Hochschild's (1997) research that managers who work long hours seek relief at work from pressures at home was not supported. Findings in a small sample of managerial women were consistent with the work-leisure trade-off hypothesis, the social contagion hypothesis, and the work as its own reward hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediating role of extreme peer orientation in the relationships between adolescent–parent relationship and diabetes management.

The study examined whether the quality of the adolescent–parent relationship was associated with better diabetes management in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes by decreasing adolescents' extreme peer orientation. Adolescents (n = 252; 46% male and 54% female) aged 10 to 14 years with Type 1 diabetes completed assessments of extreme peer orientation (i.e., tendency to ignore parental advice and diabetes care to fit in with friends), adolescent–parental relationship, and adherence; HbA1c scores indexed metabolic control. Adolescents with higher quality relationships with parents reported less peer orientation and better diabetes care. The mediational model revealed that adolescents' high quality relationships with their parents (mother and father) were associated with better treatment adherence and metabolic control through less peer orientation. It is likely that high quality adolescent–parent relationships may be beneficial to adolescent diabetes management through a healthy balance between peer and parental influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power in randomized group comparisons: The value of adding a single intermediate time point to a traditional pretest-posttest design.

Adding a pretest as a covariate to a randomized posttest-only design increases statistical power, as does the addition of intermediate time points to a randomized pretest-posttest design. Although typically 5 waves of data are required in this instance to produce meaningful gains in power, a 3-wave intensive design allows the evaluation of the straight-line growth model and may reduce the effect of missing data. The authors identify the statistically most powerful method of data analysis in the 3-wave intensive design. If straight-line growth is assumed, the pretest-posttest slope must assume fairly extreme values for the intermediate time point to increase power beyond the standard analysis of covariance on the posttest with the pretest as covariate, ignoring the intermediate time point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multi-model Projection of July-August Climate Extreme Changes over China under CO2 Doubling.Part Ⅰ: Precipitation

Potential changes in precipitation extremes in July-August over China in response to CO2 doubling are analyzed based on the output of 24 coupled climate models from the Twentieth-Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) experiment and the 1% per year CO2 increase experiment (to doubling) (Ipctto2x) of phase 3 of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP3). Evaluation of the models' performance in simulating the mean state shows that the majority of models fairly reproduce the broad spatial pattern of observed precipitation. However, all the models underestimate extreme precipitation by ~50%. The spread among the models over the Tibetan Plateau is ~2-3 times larger than that over the other areas. Models with higher resolution generally perform better than those with lower resolutions in terms of spatial pattern and precipitation amount. Under the 1pctto2x scenario, the ratio between the absolute value of MME extreme precipitation change and model spread is larger than that of total precipitation, indicating a relatively robust change of extremes. The change of extreme precipitation is more homogeneous than the total precipitation. Analysis on the output of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled climate model version 2.1 (GFDL-CM2.1) indicates that the spatially consistent increase of surface temperature and water vapor content contribute to the large increase of extreme precipitation over contiguous China, which follows the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. Whereas, the meridionally tri-polar pattern of mean precipitation change over eastern China is dominated by the change of water vapor convergence, which is determined by the response of monsoon circulation to global warming.     

Increased cutaneous toxicity to ionizing radiation in HIV-positive patients. Military Medical Consortium for the Advancement of Retroviral Research (MMCARR)

Little is known about the etiology of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (EGA), a cancer with one of the fastest-rising incidences in the developed world. To explore the etiology of this cancer, we conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program of the United States National Cancer Institute to study EGA and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESC), in association with cancers of other sites. Standardized incidence ratios, adjusted for age, sex, and time period, were calculated as a measure of the relative risk (RR) of developing a second primary cancer (EGA or ESC) following a given first primary site. We found a moderately elevated risk of EGA following cancers of the lung (RR = 1.9 in men and RR = 2.0 in women) and of the head and neck (RR = 2.1 in men and RR = 6.3 in women) and a strongly elevated risk of ESC following cancers of the lung (RR = 2.8 in men and RR = 5.1 in women) and of the head and neck (RR = 9.6 in men and RR = 38.8 in women). A significantly elevated risk following breast cancer in women was observed for both EGA (RR = 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-3.7) and ESC (RR = 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.9). We also found a significantly elevated risk of EGA following bladder (RR = 2.0), colorectal (RR = 1.7), and prostate (RR = 1.4) cancer in men and of ESC following colorectal cancer (RR = 1.7) in women in this study. The strong association with tobacco-related malignancies in this study reinforces the role of tobacco in the etiology of esophageal cancers, which appears stronger for squamous cell carcinoma than for adenocarcinoma and stronger in women than in men. The study also suggests a possible shared etiology between esophageal adenocarcinoma and colorectal cancer in men and provides new evidence about the association of both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus with breast cancer in women. Findings of this study provide clues to the etiology of EGA and ESC.     

Extreme response tendency as a function of emotional adjustment.

3 pairs of groups each consisting of an "adjusted" and "maladjusted" group were compared on their tendency to use the extreme, neutral, and intermediate points on semantic differential rating scales applied to unstructured materials. As suggested by several theories of cognitive development, maladjusted groups tended to use extreme points more and intermediate points less often than their adjusted controls. Besides supporting certain theoretical positions these findings were described as holding implications for a new approach to personality assessment. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences between well and poorly adjusted groups in an isolated environment.

How can adjustment problems of men in the arctic be minimized? "The Ss of the study were 648 enlisted Air Force personnel assigned to eight Arctic bases." Supervisors rated the men by adjustment. Differences were found between them according to Biographical Inventory, Self-Appraisal Blank, Incomplete Sentences Test, Peer Nomination Form, Job Proficiency Tests, aptitude scores, and sick call rate. "In general these results suggest the hypothesis that individuals who adjust well to Arctic isolation are individuals who also adjust well to their military assignments elsewhere. Isolated environments probably present a more extreme stimulus situation which more frequently and more strongly evokes maladjustive behavior." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Projection of Future Precipitation Change over China with a High-Resolution Global Atmospheric Model

Projections of future precipitation change over China are studied based on the output of a global AGCM, ECHAM5, with a high resolution of T319 (equivalent to 40 km). Evaluation of the model's performance in simulating present-day precipitation shows encouraging results. The spatial distributions of both mean and extreme precipitation, especially the locations of main precipitation centers, are reproduced reasonably. The simulated annual cycle of precipitation is close to the observed. The performance of the model over eastern China is generally better than that over western China. A weakness of the model is the overestimation of precipitation over northern and western China. Analyses on the potential change in precipitation projected under the A1B scenario show that both annual mean precipitation intensity and extreme precipitation would increase significantly over southeastern China. The percentage increase in extreme precipitation is larger than that of mean precipitation. Meanwhile, decreases in mean and extreme precipitation are evident over the southern Tibetan Plateau. For precipitation days, extreme precipitation days are projected to increase over all of China. Both consecutive dry days over northern China and consecutive wet days over southern China would decrease.     

The effect of exposure to an extreme stimulus on judgments of some stimulus-related words.

"The study was designed to test the hypothesis that subjects' ratings of cold-toned words would shift away from the cold end of a warm-cold ordinal scale as a consequence of exposing the subjects to extremely cold temperatures. Three groups of subjects were exposed respectively to extremely cold, moderately cold, and warm ambient conditions. Before and after exposure, all subjects rated 13 words describing various degrees of warmth or coldness on a 16-point warm-cold ordinal scale. The results verified the hypothesis; ratings of the 'cold' words for the group exposed to the extreme cold shifted away from the cold end of the scale. The results are consistent with previous research on end-anchoring effects. Implications for the researcher using ordinal scales in situations where subjects are exposed to extreme stimuli with which they have had little experience are discussed." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2BB41F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A table to facilitate comparison of proportions by slide rule.

For extreme proportions the sampling distribution of differences is highly skewed precluding the use of the normal distribution to test significance. However, there is available a transformation which permits the investigator to use the normal distribution function even with extreme proportions. This paper presents a quick method for using one of the adaptations of this transformation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Designing, Testing, and Interpreting Interactions and Moderator Effects in Family Research.

This article is a primer on issues in designing, testing, and interpreting interaction or moderator effects in research on family psychology. The first section focuses on procedures for testing and interpreting simple effects and interactions, as well as common errors in testing moderators (e.g., testing differences among subgroup correlations, omitting components of products, and using median splits). The second section, devoted to difficulties in detecting interactions, covers such topics as statistical power, measurement error, distribution of variables, and mathematical constraints of ordinal interactions. The third section, devoted to design issues, focuses on recommendations such as including reliable measures, enhancing statistical power, and oversampling extreme scores. The topics covered should aid understanding of existing moderator research as well as improve future research on interaction effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fasting increases risk for onset of binge eating and bulimic pathology: A 5-year prospective study.

Although adolescent girls with elevated dietary restraint scores are at increased risk for future binge eating and bulimic pathology, they do not eat less than those with lower restraint scores. The fact that only a small proportion of individuals with elevated dietary restraint scores develop bulimic pathology suggests that some extreme but rare form of dietary restriction may increase risk for this disturbance. The authors tested the hypothesis that fasting (going without eating for 24 hr for weight control) would be a more potent predictor of binge eating and bulimic pathology onset than dietary restraint scores using data from 496 adolescent girls followed over 5 years. Results confirmed that only 23% of participants with elevated dietary restraint scores reported fasting. Furthermore, fasting generally showed stronger and more consistent predictive relations to future onset of recurrent binge eating and threshold/subthreshold bulimia nervosa over 1- to 5-year follow-up relative to dietary restraint, though the former effects were only significantly stronger than the latter for some comparisons. Results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that fasting is a stronger risk factor for bulimic pathology than is self-reported dieting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of moral judgment and moral identity on moral behavior: An empirical examination of the moral individual.

Recognizing limitations in classic cognitive moral development theory, several scholars have drawn from theories of identity to suggest that moral behavior results from both moral judgments and moral identity. The authors conducted 2 survey-based studies with more than 500 students and managers to test this argument. Results demonstrated that moral identity and moral judgments both independently influenced moral behavior. In addition, in situations in which social consensus regarding the moral behavior was not high, moral judgments and moral identity interacted to shape moral behavior. This interaction effect indicated that those who viewed themselves as moral individuals pursued the most extreme alternatives (e.g., never cheating, regularly cheating)--a finding that affirms the motivational power of a moral identity. The authors conclude by considering the implications of this research for both theory and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-Term Trends in Extreme Temperatures in Hong Kong and Southern China

The observed long-term trends in extreme temperatures in Hong Kong were studied based on the meteorological data recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters from 1885-2008. Results show that,over the past 124 years, the extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures, as well as the length of the warm spell in Hong Kong, exhibit statistically significant long-term rising trends, while the length of the cold spell shows a statistically significant decreasing trend. The time-dependent return period analysis also indicated that the return period for daily minimum temperature at 4℃ or lower lengthened considerably from 6 years in 1900 to over 150 years in 2000, while the return periods for daily maximum temperature reaching 35℃ or above shortened drastically from 32 years in 1900 to 4.5 years in 2000. Past trends in extreme temperatures from selected weather stations in southern China from 1951-2004 were also assessed.Over 70% of the stations studied yielded a statistically significant rising trend in extreme daily minimum temperature, while the trend for extreme maximum temperatures was found to vary, with no significant trend established for the majority of stations.     

Personality test correlates of psychiatric case history data.

Correlated scores on factor analytically derived traits of normal personality, as measured by the Comrey Personality Scales (CPS), with ratings of psychological disturbance and psychiatric diagnosis derived from case-history data for 210 female (mean age 31.8 yrs) and 184 male (mean age 30.2 yrs) psychiatric outpatients. Results confirm findings from past statistical studies, showing that extreme scores on normal personality trait scales were associated with psychological disturbance, especially low scores on Trust vs Defensiveness, Activity vs Lack of Energy, Emotional Stability vs Neuroticism, Extraversion vs Introversion, and high scores on Orderliness vs Lack of Compulsion. New statistical evidence was obtained in the present study for the importance of certain extreme trait scores where only clinical evidence was available before. Findings provide further support for the premise that objective tests of normal personality traits have an important role to play in psychiatric screening, diagnosis, and design of clinical interventions. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Venter et al. (2002).

Reports an error in the original article by A. Venter et al (Psychological Methods, 2002[Jun], Vol No. 7[2], 194-209. On page 202, there were 2 errors. Appendix B correctly shows that Equation 17 and 18 should read as indicated here. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2002-13431-003.) Adding a pretest as a covariate to a randomized posttest-only design increases statistical power, as does the addition of intermediate time points to a randomized pretest-posttest design. Although typically 5 waves of data are required in this instance to produce meaningful gains in power, a 3-wave intensive design allows the evaluation of the straight-line growth model and may reduce the effect of missing data. The authors identify the statistically most powerful method of data analysis in the 3-wave intensive design. If straight-line growth is assumed, the pretest-posttest slope must assume fairly extreme values for the intermediate time point to increase power beyond the standard analysis of covariance on the posttest with the pretest as covariate, ignoring the intermediate time point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)