Coordination in prehension. Information-based coupling of reaching and grasping

Research using the balanced placebo design seeks to differentiate the physiological and psychological effects of drinking alcohol. Questions regarding the validity of the design center about experimenter instructions, particularly in the antiplacebo cell at higher blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. This study tested the plausibility of two misattribution strategies designed to reduce the conflict between experimenter instructions and internal cues of drunkenness. Forty-two participants (BAC = .055) were told that they received no alcohol, with internal cues of drunkenness said to be produced by a (sham) second drug, a (placebo) tachistoscopic display, or no misattribution given. The placebo drug group reported less alcohol intoxication without reporting less physical impairment than the control or tachistoscopic groups. Doubt of instructions was expressed more frequently in the control group than in the placebo drug group. Mean time to first reported doubt of experimenter instructions was longer for the placebo drug group. A manipulation check designed to account for demand effects indicated that instituting the pharmacologic misattribution increased the success of the manipulation over the control group. Providing a credible attribution for internal symptoms of drunkenness makes experimenter's instructions more credible, improving the validity of the antiplacebo cell of the balanced placebo design.     

On mental multiplication and age.

In 2 experiments, younger and older adults were presented with simple multiplication problems (e.g., 4?×?7?=?28 and 5?×?3?=?10) for their timed, true or false judgments. All of the effects typically obtained in basic research on mental arithmetic were obtained, that is, reaction time (RT) (1) increased with the size of the problem, (2) was slowed for answers deviating only a small amount from the correct value, and (3) was slowed when related (e.g., 7?×?4?=?21) vs unrelated (e.g., 7?×?4?=?18) answers were presented. Older adults were slower in their judgments. Most important, age did not interact significantly with problem size or split size. The authors suggest that elderly adults' central processes, such as memory retrieval and decision making, did not demonstrate the typical age deficit because of the skilled nature of these processes in simple arithmetic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frequency judgments: The problem of defining a perceptual event.

In four experiments the conditions under which frequency judgments reflect the relative frequency of complex perceptual events were explored. Ss viewed a series of 4?×?4 grids each containing seven items, which were letters and numbers in one of four typefaces. Later judgments of the relative frequency with which particular letters appeared in particular typefaces were unaffected by a warning about an upcoming frequency judgment task, but were affected by both the time available for processing the stimuli and the nature of the cover task subjects engaged in while viewing the grids. Frequency judgments were poor when exposure durations were less than 2 and when the cover task directed subjects' attention merely to the locations of the items within the grids. Frequency judgments improved when the cover task directed subjects' attention to the identity of the stimuli, especially to the conjunction of letter and typeface. The results suggest that frequency estimation of complex stimuli may be possible only for stimuli that have been processed as phenomenal objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy and pharmacological effects of alcohol on human cognitive and motor performance: The compensation for alcohol effect.

42 male undergraduate social drinkers were led to expect either alcohol or tonic. After actually consuming no alcohol, a low dosage, or a moderate dosage, they performed various cognitive and motor tasks. A questionnaire assessed Ss' responses to the expectancy manipulation and either preceded or followed task administration. A 2?×?3?×?2 MANOVA resulted in a significant Expectancy?×?Dosage interaction for cognitive tasks (letter cancellation, digit span, Raven Progressive Matrices). Ss apparently compensated for alcohol-induced deterioration on these tasks when they were aware they had consumed alcohol. No consistent effects were found for motor tasks (finger tapping, stylus monitoring, standing steadiness, and walking steadiness). (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combining of stimulus dimensions in children's and adults' judgments of area: An information integration analysis.

Conducted 2 experiments to study developmental changes in the integration of stimulus dimensions in an area judgment task. In Exp I, 24 kindergartners and 10 adults judged 9 rectangles in a 3 (width)?×?3 (height) design. In Exp II, 10 each of 5-, 8-, 11-yr-olds, and adults judged 16 rectangles in a 4?×?4 design. Following functional measurement methodology, absolute judgments on a linear graphic rating scale were obtained. Data analyses showed that Ss at all ages based their area judgments on both width and height. The algebraic rule according to which these dimensions were combined, however, changed with age. Whereas the responses of the adults followed a multiplying integration model, the 5-yr-olds combined width and height additively. Between these age groups, there seems to be a gradual increase in the probability that a child will shift from an adding to a multiplying strategy. Implications for possible underlying processes are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and substance use disorders: II. Alcoholism versus drug use disorders.

The relationship between personality and substance use disorders was investigated in a community-based sample of 638 individuals who were alcoholic and/or had a drug use disorder, and 1,530 individuals who did not have a substance use disorder. Personality was assessed by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire; substance use diagnoses were based on standard criteria as assessed by interview. Data were analyzed using a 3-factor (Gender?×?Alcoholism?×? Drug Use Disorder) multivariate analysis of variance. The significant alcoholism main effect was associated primarily with negative emotionality, whereas the significant drug use disorder main effect was associated primarily with constraint. No significant interactions with gender were observed. These findings suggest that the elevated levels of behavioral disinhibition observed with alcoholic individuals may be attributable to a subset of alcoholic individuals who also abuse drugs other than alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of children of alcoholics: Putative risk factors, substance use and abuse, and psychopathology.

A sample of 253 children of alcoholics (COAs) and 237 children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs) were compared on alcohol and drug use, psychopathology, cognitive ability, and personality. COAs reported more alcohol and drug problems, stronger alcohol expectancies, higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and neuroticism, and more psychiatric distress in relation to non-COAs. They also evidenced lower academic achievement and less verbal ability than non-COAs. COAs were given Diagnostic Interview Schedule alcohol diagnoses more frequently than non-COAs. The relation between paternal alcoholism and offspring alcohol involvement was mediated by behavioral undercontrol and alcohol expectancies. Although gender differences were found, there were few Gender?×?Family History interactions; the effects of family history of alcoholism were similar for men and women. When gender effects were found, they showed greater family history effects for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Randomized Study of Combined Universal Family and School Preventive Interventions: Patterns of Long-Term Effects on Initiation, Regular Use, and Weekly Drunkenness.

This study reports findings on a combined family and school-based competency-training intervention from an in-school assessment 2.5 years past baseline, as a follow-up to an earlier study of substance initiation. Increased rates of observed alcohol use and an additional wave of data allowed evaluation of regular alcohol use and weekly drunkenness, with both point-in-time and growth curve analyses. Thirty-six rural schools were randomly assigned to (a) a combined family and school intervention condition, (b) a school-only condition, or (c) a control condition. The earlier significant outcome on a substance initiation index was replicated, and positive point-in-time results for weekly drunkenness were observed, but there were no statistically significant outcomes for regular alcohol use. Discussion focuses on factors relevant to the mix of significant longitudinal results within a consistent general pattern of positive intervention-control differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential utility of three indexes of risky drinking for predicting alcohol problems in college students.

This study evaluated the relationship between alcohol-related problems and 3 indexes of risky drinking in college student drinkers: number of drinks consumed per week, frequency of binge drinking, and estimated blood alcohol levels (BALs). Use of 2 independent samples (N??=?204, N??=?181) allowed a cross-validation of obtained associations. Results indicated that neither binge drinking frequency nor BAL were more highly related to alcohol-related problems than was weekly drinking. Furthermore, BAL did not provide unique explanatory power in accounting for alcohol-related problems; mixed results were obtained regarding the relationship of binge drinking estimates with problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remembrance of sounds past: Memory and psychophysical scaling.

What is the role of long-term memories of previous stimulus-response mappings, and of previous sensory and perceptual experiences generally, in psychophysical scaling judgments? In each of 4 experiments, subjects made judgments of the loudness of sounds on 3 successive days. Stimulus intensities were drawn randomly from the same set on Days 1 and 3 but from a different set on Day 2. Four different types of psychophysical scaling judgments were studied. The first two methods required completely relative judgment, the last two completely absolute judgment. Data from all methods reveal profound effects of stimulus-response mappings experienced on previous days and immediately previous stimuli and responses on responses to current stimuli. Responses were typically a compromise between absolute and relative judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural difference in attribution of performance: An integration-theoretical analysis.

F. Heider's (1958) suggestion that Performance?=?Motivation?×?Ability has been empirically confirmed by N. H. Anderson and C. A. Butzin (1974) and by A. Kum et al (1974), using American students as Ss. This multiplying process failed to appear in the present 3 experiments performed with 56 male Indian college students. Contrary to the predicted linear fan pattern, the plot of Motivation?×?Ability effect displayed clear parallelism. An equal-weight averaging rule was able to account for the results obtained in both group and single-S analyses. Perhaps the integration rules underlying achievement judgments are culture-specific, and Indian college students average motivation and ability information in attribution of future scholastic performance. Results illustrate the potential power that information integration theory provides for the cross-cultural study of social perception and cognition. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental and personal determinants of support perceptions: Three generalizability studies.

The extent to which perceived social support reflects characteristics of the environment, the personality of the perceiver, and their interaction is unknown. This article shows how the methods of generalizability theory can be used to address these questions. When participants rate the same targets on the targets' supportiveness, generalizability theory provides methods for determining the extent to which support judgments are determined by effects due to targets (supporters), perceivers, and their interaction. In 3 studies, each source of variance made significant contributions to support judgments, with the Perceivers?×?Supporters interaction, characteristics of supporters, and biases of perceivers making the largest contributions, respectively. The implications for theoretical models of perceived support are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol's effect on aggression identification: A two-channel theory.

Identification of ambiguous behaviors may be affected by alcohol first by the activation of associated mental representations and second by an increase in the imbiber's motivation of need for closure (NFC; A. Kruglanski, 1989), because cognitive effort is increased for epistemic activities. Combined, these effects should increase correspondence between mental representations of alcohol and the identification of others' behaviors. Three studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. The results were consistent with this hypothesis: Participants who associated alcohol with amiable concepts perceived less aggressive intent when blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were high versus low. Alternatively, those who associated alcohol with aggressive concepts perceived the same or more aggressive intent when BACs were high versus low. Priming alcohol concepts and trait-level NFC were also sufficient to replicate these effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Airborne Bacteria Control Under Chamber and Test-Home Conditions

The research reported in this paper investigates the ability of a portable UV-based control device (size = 21?in.×12?in.×12?in.) to reduce airborne indoor bacteria levels to at or below outdoor ambient levels. Under controlled conditions, laboratory scale chamber (size = 48?in.×36?in.×48?in.) experiments and field scale residence experiments were conducted using the UV control device. Pure cultures of Staphylococcus aureus were grown in culture media and atomized into bioaerosols in the laboratory chamber. The airborne levels of the bacteria were sampled using a six-stage Andersen sampler containing selective culture media plates, and the levels were counted as number of colony forming units per cubic meter of air. The UV control device reduced the atomizer-generated laboratory chamber Staphylococcus aureus levels from a range of 5,000–15,000 cfu/m3 to below 120 cfu/m3 within a 2 h period. Continuous operation of the UV control device in the bedroom and bathroom of a single-resident apartment reduced the Staphylococcus aureus counts from a range of 200–1,300 to less than 200 cfu/m3. The unit cost of the prototype UV control device is estimated at $120, and the operating cost is estimated at $0.74/day.     

Influence of antidepressant pharmacotherapy on behavioral treatment adherence and smoking cessation outcome in a combined treatment involving fluoxetine.

The authors examined whether serum fluoxetine levels influence behavioral treatment adherence and smoking cessation outcome. Nondepressed smokers (N?=?989) from 16 centers were randomized on a double-blind basis to receive either fluoxetine (30 or 60 mg) or placebo plus 9 sessions of behavioral smoking cessation treatment. Fluoxetine and norfluoxetine blood levels were assayed 1 week after the quit date. Logistic regression was used to predict treatment completion and cessation outcome, controlling for gender, age, treatment site, and degree of nicotine dependence. Higher steady-state fluoxetine blood levels (fluoxetine?+?norfluoxetine) predicted less likelihood of dropping out, χ2(1, N?=?820)?=?3.9, p?N?=?513)?=?18.1, p?     

Alcohol and fear-potentiated startle: The role of competing cognitive demands in the stress-reducing effects of intoxication.

Effects of alcohol and cognitive demands on reactions to threat were examined using startle response potentiation to index negative emotion. Men and women received nonalcoholic or alcoholic beverages prior to a series of trial blocks, signaled by light cues indicating that shocks might be delivered ("threat" blocks) or that none would occur ("safe" blocks). Within half of the blocks, participants intermittently viewed pleasant photographic slides. Alcohol attenuated overall startle reactivity, but robust fear potentiation (larger startle magnitudes and shorter latencies during threat versus safe blocks) did not differ by beverage condition. Decomposition of the Beverage?× &Threat?×?Slide interaction revealed significant fear potentiation in all conditions, except the one in which alcohol was combined with slides. Thus, dampening of stress response by alcohol may depend on diminished ability to process competing cognitive demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial work characteristics and perceived control in relation to cardiovascular rewind at night.

This study examined the effects of psychosocial work characteristics on cardiovascular rewind at night. Ambulatory 24-hr recordings of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) of 75 borderline hypertensive and 74 normotensive men were related to diary ratings of perceived control (PC) and to scores of psychological demand (P), control (C), and social support (S) at work determined by an occupational classification system. Multiplicative interaction terms for job strain (P?×?C, isostrain (P?×?C?×?S), and Job Strain?×?Perceived Control (P?×?C?×?PC) were calculated. The P?×?C?×?PC interaction predicted diastolic BP at night but not at work. A delayed latency to attain the lowest systolic BP during the night was found for jobs with high job strain and isostrain. Low perceived control and social support were associated with higher HR at work and at night. A logistic regression analysis indicated that the interaction between P?×?C?×?PC and the body mass index was independently associated with borderline hypertension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of an information integration account of contingency judgment with examination of subjective cell importance and method of information presentation.

Two experiments used a rich and systematic set of noncontingent problems to examine humans' ability to detect the absence of an inter-event relation. Each found that Ss who used nonnormative strategies were quite inaccurate in judging some types of noncontingent problems. Group data indicate that Ss used the 2?×?2 information in the order Cell A?>?Cell B?>?Cell C?>?Cell D; individual data indicate that Ss considered the information in Cell A to be most important, that in Cell D to be least important, and that in Cells B and C to be of intermediate importance. Trial-by-trial presentation led to less accurate contingency judgments and to more uneven use of 2?×?2 cell information than did summary-table presentation. Finally, the judgment processes of about 70% and 80%, respectively, of nonnormative strategy users under trial-by-trial and summary-table procedures could be accounted for by an averaging model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit priming of alcohol expectancy memory processes and subsequent drinking behavior.

Expectations about the effects of alcohol have been modeled as stored memories. This study tested the memory view for investigating the processes that influence drinking. Strategies taken from recent memory research were used to implicitly prime drinking. Consequent effects on consumption of a commercial nonalcoholic beer were measured. Participants were led to believe this beer contained alcohol. Eighty undergraduate women (n?=?20 per cell) participated in 2, apparently unrelated, studies. A 2?×?2 factorial design simultaneously varied videotaped primes (bar setting or neutral video) with semantic primes (expectancy or neutral words). Women exposed to unobtrusive alcohol primes of either type drank significantly greater amounts (p?