Psychology and manpower policy.

Outlines 5 contributions made by psychology to manpower policy: (1) the public has been encouraged to adopt a more humane attitude toward people who are ineffective; (2) the public has acquired a positive stance toward the amelioration of social and human ills, particularly through reliance on education, but also through other approaches including supportive services; (3) psychology's study of the distribution of human attributes has contributed substantially to the decline in discrimination toward women, Negroes, and others who were formerly beyond the pale; (4) psychology has led to more constructive views and behavior with regard to the rearing of children and development of young people; and (5) psychology has thrown a searchlight on the critical importance of work for individual and social integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in vulnerability to inescapable shock in rats.

The present study determined whether individual differences in neophobia during an open-field pretest predict vulnerability to inescapable electric shock, as measured by 2 tests of learned helplessness in rats. Shuttle-escape latencies and saccharin finickiness increased across groups that had received increasing numbers of inescapable shocks 24 hr earlier. Dispersion in the test measure as well as the percentage of variance explained by pretest neophobia were greater when no or few shocks were delivered in the interpolated stress phase. Pretest neophobia was positively related to stress vulnerability in both tests under these conditions. Further increments in stressor severity overwhelmed even the most stress-resistant rats, thereby decreasing dispersion in the test measure and eliminating the predictive value of pretest neophobia. This pattern of outcomes was more robust for the shuttle-escape measure of helplessness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The doormat effect: When forgiving erodes self-respect and self-concept clarity.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 99(1) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2010-12776-008). The graphs in Figure 2, on p. 741, and the graphs in Figure 3, on p. 742, were switched. The corrected figures in their entirety appear in the erratum.] We build on principles from interdependence theory and evolutionary psychology to propose that forgiving bolsters one's self-respect and self-concept clarity if the perpetrator has acted in a manner that signals that the victim will be safe and valued in a continued relationship with the perpetrator but that forgiving diminishes one's self-respect and self-concept clarity if the perpetrator has not. Study 1 employed a longitudinal design to demonstrate that the association of marital forgiveness with trajectories of self-respect over the first 5 years of marriage depends on the spouse's dispositional tendency to indicate that the partner will be safe and valued (i.e., agreeableness). Studies 2 and 3 employed experimental procedures to demonstrate that the effects of forgiveness on self-respect and self-concept clarity depend on the perpetrator's event-specific indication that the victim will be safe and valued (i.e., amends). Study 4 employed a longitudinal design to demonstrate that the association of forgiveness with subsequent self-respect and self-concept clarity similarly depends on the extent to which the perpetrator has made amends. These studies reveal that, under some circumstances, forgiveness negatively impacts the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-maintenance interaction: Inefficient social coordination impairs self-regulation.

Tasks requiring interpersonal coordination permeate all spheres of life. Although social coordination is sometimes efficient and effortless (low maintenance), at other times it is inefficient and effortful (high maintenance). Across 5 studies, participants experienced either a high- or a low-maintenance interaction with a confederate before engaging in an individual-level task requiring self-regulation. Self-regulation was operationalized with measures of (a) preferences for a challenging task with high reward potential over an easy task with low reward potential (Study 1) and (b) task performance (anagram performance in Study 1, Graduate Record Exam performance in Studies 2 and 3, physical stamina in Study 4, and fine motor control in Study 5). Results uniformly supported the hypothesis that experiencing high-maintenance interaction impairs one's self-regulatory success on subsequent, unrelated tasks. These effects were not mediated through participants' conscious processes and emerged even with a nonconscious manipulation of high-maintenance interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception and action are based on the same visual information: distinction between position and velocity.

Ss were presented with spiders running from left to right at various velocities over a structured background. Motion of the background influenced the perceived velocity of the spider: Motion of the background in the opposite direction than the spider increased the perceived velocity. The perceived position of the spider was not influenced by background motion. Ss were asked to hit the spiders as quickly as possible. Fast spiders were hit with a higher velocity than slow spiders. The same effect was found if the spiders only differed in apparent velocity, induced by motion of the background. The trajectory of the hit was not influenced by motion of the background. The authors concluded that although velocity is nothing but the change of position in time, velocity and position are processed independently. Furthermore, these two separately processed sources of information are used in both perception and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Too Proud to Let Go: Narcissistic Entitlement as a Barrier to Forgiveness.

Narcissistic entitlement impedes forgiveness in ways not captured by other robust predictors (e.g., offense severity, apology, relationship closeness, religiosity, Big Five personality factors), as demonstrated in 6 studies. Narcissistic entitlement involves expectations of special treatment and preoccupation with defending one's rights. In Study 1, entitlement predicted less forgiveness and greater insistence on repayment for a past offense. Complementary results emerged from Study 2, which used hypothetical transgressions, and Study 3, which assessed broad forgiveness dispositions. Study 4 examined associations with the Big Five, and Study 5 extended the findings to a laboratory context. Study 6 demonstrated that entitlement predicted diminished increases in forgiveness over time. Taken together, these results suggest that narcissistic entitlement is a robust, distinct predictor of unforgiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the accuracy and reliability of motion tracking methods used for extracting temporal motor activity signals from video recordings of neonatal seizures

This paper presents an approach for improving the accuracy and reliability of motion tracking methods developed for video based on block motion models. This approach estimates the displacement of a block of pixels between two successive frames by minimizing an error function defined in terms of the pixel intensities at these frames. The minimization problem is made analytically tractable by approximating the error function using a second-order Taylor expansion. The improved reliability of the proposed method is illustrated by its application in the extraction of temporal motor activity signals from video recordings of neonatal seizures.     

Quantifying motion in video recordings of neonatal seizures by robust motion trackers based on block motion models

This paper introduces a methodology for the development of robust motion trackers for video based on block motion models. According to this methodology, the motion of a site between two successive frames is estimated by minimizing an error function defined in terms of the intensities at these frames. The proposed methodology is used to develop robust motion trackers that rely on fractional block motion models. The motion trackers developed in this paper are utilized to extract motor activity signals from video recordings of neonatal seizures. The experimental results reveal that the proposed motion trackers are more accurate and reliable than existing motion tracking methods relying on pure translation and affine block motion models.     

"I Buy American": The American Image as Reflected in Israeli Advertising

Analysis of advertisements in Israeli newspapers over the past decade has shown that American symbols have been widely used to market an array of consumer goods. Products made in America, Israel, or other countries are marketed with some sort of American angle by invoking America's values, symbols, landscapes, or lifestyle. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, we analyzed how central components of the nation-state/national sphere—language, flag, political leaders, borders, landscapes, and sights—are reflected in advertising. We attempt to show how social values metamorphose, shedding their "Israeliness" and taking on an American veneer. Using Israel as an example may provide a test case for the Americanization process in other societies at the turn of the millennium.     

Strain relief in epitaxial HgCdTe by growth on a reticulated substrate

In nearly all cases when an epitaxial layer of HgCdTe is grown on a CdZnTe substrate, there will be a finite lattice mismatch due to the lack of precise control over the ZnTe mole fraction. This leads to strains in the layer, which can be manifested in one or more ways: (1) as misfit dislocations near the interface, (2) as threading dislocations, (3) as surface topographical textures, and (4) as cross-hatch lines seen by x-ray topography. We have found that much of the strain can be relieved by growing on a reticulated substrate. Specifically, when the substrate has been etched to form mesas prior to growth of the layer, the resulting layer on the tops of the mesas shows evidence of significantly reduced strain. CdZnTe substrates oriented (111)A were prepared with two sets of mesas on 125 μm centers and 60 μm centers, and with other planar areas remaining for comparison. From a Hg melt, a layer of LWIR HgCdTe was grown about 16 μm thick on each substrate. Nomarski microscopy showed that the layers on the mesa tops were extremely flat, showing no sign of curvature or surface texture. X-ray topography showed no cross hatch on the mesa tops, while the usual cross hatch appeared in the planar regions. The LPE layer extended laterally beyond the edges of the original mesa because of faster growth in non-(111) directions. Samples were cleaved and examined in cross section. The linear density of etch pits seen in the cross section near the substrate, which represent misfit dislocations, was three times lower in the layer on the mesas than in the layer in the unpatterned region, although both regions have the same layer/substrate lattice mismatch. When an epilayer is grown on an unpatterned wafer (the conventional approach), the growth in any small region is confined laterally by the growing layer in the neighboring regions. However, when growth occurs on a reticulated surface, the lateral confinement is removed, providing strain relief and fewer defects.