Corporate funding and conflicts of interest: A primer for psychologists.

A presidential task force on external funding was established by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2003 to review APA policies, procedures, and practices regarding the acceptance of funding and support from private corporations for educational and training programs; continuing education offerings; research projects; publications; advertising; scientific and professional meetings and conferences; and consulting, practice, and advocacy relationships. This article, based on the Executive Summary of the APA Task Force on External Funding Final Report, presents the findings and unanimous recommendations of the task force in the areas of association income, annual convention, research and journals, continuing education, education, practice, and conflicts of interest and ethics. The task force concluded that it is important for both APA and individual psychologists to become familiar with the challenges that corporate funding can pose to their integrity. The nature and extent of those challenges led the task force to recommend that APA develop explicit policies, educational materials, and continuing education programs to preserve the independence of psychological science, practice, and education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of intervention mode and conflict of interest on dispute resolution.

Hypothesized that disputants would move toward agreement more quickly when a third party was expected to intervene in a small rather than a large conflict of interest. Conversely, under conditions of actual rather than anticipated intervention, movement toward agreement was expected to be greater in large than in small conflict conditions. 240 undergraduates participated in a modified version of the bilateral-monopoly bargaining paradigm under conditions of large vs small conflict of interest, actual vs anticipated third-party intervention, and 3 levels of third-party "directiveness" (mediation/arbitration vs mediation vs bargaining). Support was obtained for the hypothesized interaction between conflict of interest and actual or anticipated intervention. Mediation/arbitration and mediation did not differ in their effects, although both were more effective than bargaining alone. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of text-based interest on attention and recall.

Attentional demands and recall for stories that differed in rated interest were examined. More interesting stories required fewer attentional resources for comprehension than did less interesting stories (Experiment 1). Overall recall did not differ across story interest, but story interest did interact with type of encoding in terms of recall levels (Experiment 2). Relational encoding improved recall for low-interest stories but not high-interest stories; the reverse pattern was obtained with a manipulation encouraging extensive processing of the individual propositions. We suggest that interesting stories free up resources for relatively optional organizational processing of the text elements, thereby rendering additional relational processing redundant (for recall). Less interesting stories require more resources to keep attention focused on encoding the individual propositions, thereby rendering additional proposition-specific processing redundant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal assessment of applicant reactions to employment testing and test outcome feedback.

Following a justice framework, the present study examined actual candidates taking selection tests to gain full-time employment. The reactions of 144 applicants for an entry-level accounting job were examined in a real employment testing context at 3 time periods: before testing, after testing but before feedback on whether they passed or failed the test, and after test performance feedback. With controls for pretest perceptions, several of the 5 procedural justice measures (information known about the test, chance to perform, treatment at the test site, consistency of the test administration, and job relatedness) predicted applicant evaluations regarding the organization, perceptions of employment testing, and applicant test-taking self-efficacy. Test outcome favorability (passing or failing the employment test) predicted outcomes beyond initial reactions more consistently than procedural justice perceptions. Procedural justice perceptions explained incremental variance in some analyses after the influence of outcome favorability was controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of testing accommodations on students' performances and reactions to testing.

This study examined the effects of testing accommodations on students' test performances and reactions to the use of testing accommodations. Participants (N = 170) were fourth- and eighth-grade students, with and without disabilities. All students were administered, with and without accommodations, equivalent forms of widely used math and reading tests. Students completed a questionnaire to summarize their reactions to the use of accommodations. The findings indicated testing accommodations overall had a positive impact on students' individual reading and math scores. Furthermore, testing accommodations had a differential positive effect on reading scores for students with disabilities compared to students without disabilities. The relationship between students' perceptions of testing accommodations and the effects of testing accommodations on their test performances was not significant, although most students had positive perceptions of testing accommodations. Students perceived the provision of accommodations as fair for students without disabilities and more fair for students with disabilities. These findings are interpreted within a validity framework and contribute to a greater understanding of testing accommodations by integrating information concerning effects on scores and consequential effects on test-takers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflicts of interest, conflicting interests, and interesting conflicts, part 2

This study investigates 2 patterns of maternal behavior typical of mammals, using a heteropteran insect as the study animal. Sehirus cinctus, a burrower bug (Heteroptera: Cydnidae), exhibits relatively well-developed maternal behavior that includes guarding eggs and provisioning offspring. Mothers remained maternally responsive to stimulus eggs for 24-48 hr following removal of their own eggs, but the response grew weaker with longer separation times. A proportion of nulliparous females also exhibited maternal responsiveness when presented with stimulus eggs. Males, however, never responded parentally to eggs. The results of this study highlight similarities in general female responsiveness to stimulus young and differences in male responsiveness to stimulus young among certain invertebrates and vertebrates.     

Assimilation and contrast effects in reactions to communication and attitude change.

"The relationship between the attitude of the recipient and the position advocated in a communication was studied under conditions where a communicator not known to subject presents a point of view on a controversial issue which differs from that of subject by varying amounts." The topic discussed was prohibition of alcohol. The Ss came from a dry state where this was a lively issue. It was suggested that "the relative distance between subject's own attitude and communication along with subject's latitudes of acceptance and rejection for various stands on the issue may provide a basis for predicting reactions to communication and susceptibility to change." 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some determinants of reactions to procedural models for conflict resolution: A cross-national study.

Previous research has suggested that cultural collectivism may be related to styles of dispute processing. This possibility was explored in a study with subjects from Hong Kong and the United States. Results showed that the collectivistic Chinese subjects preferred bargaining and mediation to a larger extent than did the individualistic American subjects. Results further suggested that the reason for the Chinese subjects' strong preference for mediation and bargaining was their perception that these two procedures were more capable of reducing the animosity between the disputants. Procedural preference was found to be influenced by the extent to which the procedures were perceived as (a) granting the disputants process control, (b) capable of animosity reduction, (c) fair, and (d) favorable. Implications of these findings for a pancultural model of procedural preference are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young adults' immediate and delayed reactions to simulated marital conflicts: Implications for intergenerational patterns of violence in intimate relationships.

This study investigated the thoughts and feelings that young adults from violent (VPA) and nonviolent (NPA) interparental-conflict backgrounds reported while listening to simulated marital conflicts and after a delay for reflection. While listening to conflicts, VPAs were more likely than NPAs to predict negative outcomes and to place blame. No between–groups differences regarding negative outcomes emerged after a delay. VPAs also reported perpetrating and experiencing more aggressive conflict in their dating relationships. Post hoc probes revealed that the negative-outcome-prediction and blaming variables played no significant mediating role in participants' intergenerational patterns of intimate-relationship aggression; however, methodological limitations likely compromised the statistical power for examining this mediational model. Results are discussed in light of research regarding intergenerational patterns of violence within families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power to detect homework effects in psychotherapy outcome research.

Studies of homework effects in psychotherapy outcome have produced inconsistent results. Although these findings may reflect the comparability of psychotherapy with and without homework assignments, many of these studies may not have been sensitive enough to detect the effects sizes (ESs) likely to be found when examining homework effects. The present study evaluated the power of homework research and showed that, on average, current power levels are relatively weak in controlled studies ranging from 0.58 for large ESs to 0.09 for small ESs. Thus, inconsistent findings between studies may very well be due to low statistical power. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The direct effects of compliance on health outcome.

Six studies that randomized patients to drugs vs placebo and also made compliant/noncompliant determinations are reviewed to document the main effects of compliance on health outcome. While the studies varied in terms of demonstrating a main effect of drugs, in 5 of 6 cases a main statistical effect of compliance was observed. Possible mechanisms for this effect are briefly noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Different strokes for different folks: How individual interest moderates the effects of situational factors on task interest.

Individual interest was examined as a moderator of effects of situational factors designed to catch and hold task interest. In Study 1, 96 college students learned a math technique with materials enhanced with collative features (catch) versus not. Catch promoted motivation among participants with low individual interest in math (IIM) but hampered motivation among those with high IIM. In Study 2 (n = 145), catch was crossed with a hold manipulation, emphasizing utility. Effects of each manipulation depended on IIM. The catch results were similar to those in Study 1. Hold promoted motivation among participants with high IIM and undermined it among participants with low IIM. Discussion centers on the intersection of individual and situational interest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective and cognitive meta-bases of attitudes: Unique effects on information interest and persuasion.

The authors investigated the predictive utility of people's subjective assessments of whether their evaluations are affect- or cognition driven (i.e., meta-cognitive bases) as separate from whether people's attitudes are actually affect- or cognition based (i.e., structural bases). Study 1 demonstrated that meta-bases uniquely predict interest in affective versus cognitive information above and beyond structural bases and other related variables (i.e., need for cognition and need for affect). In Study 2, meta-bases were shown to account for unique variance in attitude change as a function of appeal type. Finally, Study 3 showed that as people became more deliberative in their judgments, meta-bases increased in predictive utility, and structural bases decreased in predictive utility. These findings support the existence of meta-bases of attitudes and demonstrate that meta-bases are distinguishable from structural bases in their predictive utility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion processing effects on interference resolution in working memory.

The interaction between emotion and working memory maintenance, load, and performance has been investigated with mixed results. The effect of emotion on specific executive processes such as interference resolution, however, remains relatively unexplored. In this series of studies, we examine how emotion affects interference resolution processes within working memory by modifying the Recency-probes paradigm (Monsel, 1978) to include emotional and neutral stimuli. Reaction time differences were compared between interference and non-interference trials for neutral and emotional words (Studies 1 & 3) and pictures (Study 2). Our results indicate that trials using emotional stimuli show a relative decrease in interference compared with trials using neutral stimuli, suggesting facilitation of interference resolution in the former. Furthermore, both valence and arousal seem to interact to produce this facilitation effect. These findings suggest that emotion facilitates response selection amid interference in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group processes in the resolution of international conflicts: Experiences from the Israeli–Palestinian case.

For over 20 years, politically influential Israelis and Palestinians have met in private, unofficial, academically based, problem-solving workshops designed to enable the parties to explore each other's perspective, generate joint ideas for mutually satisfactory solutions to their conflict, and transfer insights and ideas derived from their interaction into the policy process. Most of the work takes place in small groups, but the focus is on promoting change in the larger system. This article discusses 5 ways in which the workshop group serves as a vehicle for change at the macrolevel. It does so by functioning as a microcosm of the larger system, as a laboratory for producing inputs into the larger system, as a setting for direct interaction, as a coalition across conflict lines, and as a nucleus for a new relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Complaints against psychologists adjudicated informally by APA's Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics and Conduct.

This is the 1st of a series of articles with disguised summaries of actual ethics cases adjudicated since publication of the 1977 revision of the Ethical Standards of Psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of a feedback intervention on group process and outcome.

The effects of a feedback intervention directed at both members and leaders was examined in psychotherapy groups held in a university counseling center. Feedback consisted of group climate information using scores from the Group Climate Questionnaire, completed by members after each group session. The direct effects of the feedback intervention were assessed using scores on the Curative Climate Instrument as well as Group Climate Questionnaire subscales. These instruments were administered after each group session. Distal effects of the feedback intervention were examined using member symptom improvement (Outcome Questionnaire) and group attendance. Members and leaders in the experimental condition were given weekly written and graphical feedback and contrasted against comparable groups receiving no feedback. Results indicate the feedback intervention had little impact on the therapeutic factors and outcome. However, for members who reported that the group was high in conflict, the feedback intervention had a significant negative effect on outcome. Implications and directions for future research are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)