What should we expect after the next attack?

A test of any science is its ability to predict events under specified conditions. A test for the psychology represented in this special issue of the American Psychologist is its ability to predict individual and social behavior in the aftermath of a next terror attack. This article draws on that science to make such predictions. These predictions are conditioned on both the nature of the attack and our institutional preparations for it. Some attacks will test our resilience more than others. Whatever the attack, we will reduce its impacts if our institutions take advantage of psychological science. That science can reduce the scope of attacks by limiting terrorists' ability to organize their operations and by enhancing our ability to restrain them. It can reduce the impacts of any attacks that do occur by strengthening the institutions and civil society that must respond to them. Realizing these possibilities will require our social institutions to rely on science, rather than intuition, in dealing with these threats. It will require our profession to provide psychologists with rewards for public service, applied research, and interdisciplinary collaboration, as demanded by complex problems. Responding to these challenges could strengthen society and psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience.

Exposure to adverse life events typically predicts subsequent negative effects on mental health and well-being, such that more adversity predicts worse outcomes. However, adverse experiences may also foster subsequent resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well-being. In a multiyear longitudinal study of a national sample, people with a history of some lifetime adversity reported better mental health and well-being outcomes than not only people with a high history of adversity but also than people with no history of adversity. Specifically, U-shaped quadratic relationships indicated that a history of some but nonzero lifetime adversity predicted relatively lower global distress, lower self-rated functional impairment, fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms, and higher life satisfaction over time. Furthermore, people with some prior lifetime adversity were the least affected by recent adverse events. These results suggest that, in moderation, whatever does not kill us may indeed make us stronger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of oil deterioration on the fatigue life of en 31 steel using the rolling four-ball machine

The rolling four-ball machine has been used to measure the fatigue characteristics of En 31 steel balls, lubricated with different oils. These were a paraffinic SAE 10 mineral oil, a naphthenic SAE 20 mineral oil, tricresyl phosphate and di-isooctyl sebacate. Two series of tests were carried out. In the first series, a fresh sample of oil was used for each run; in the second, each of the four oils was used unchanged throughout the tests, and circulated through the assembly from a central reservoir. After each individual test, the acid number and viscosity of the used oil was measured, and the track and pit formed on the upper ball examined. The B₅₀ life found using the circulated oil was always greater than that found when using the same non-circulated fluid, the difference being particularly noted with the SAE 20 oil and the tricresyl phosphate. Far less fluid deterioration was found with the circulated oil. Examination of the used upper balls by scanning electron microscopy showed that the type of pit and track was characteristic of the lubricant.     

Emotional intelligence and legal education.

The traditional knowledge-based law school curriculum is slowly giving way to one that increasingly exposes students to various lawyering skills. Nonetheless, legal educators are generally averse—or at best ill equipped—to support that training with the empathic and psychological skills good lawyering demands. The author discusses how emotional intelligence is essential to good lawyering and argues that it can and should be cultivated in law school. The article draws upon three examples of popular culture to explore both the absence and possibilities of interpersonal intelligence in the practice of law. The author also describes her own law school's current project of re-imagining legal education and explains how the development of emotional skills might be incorporated into that vision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)