Is a rose always a rose? The role of social category exemplar change in attitude stability and attitude-behavior consistency.

Three experiments tested whether changes in social category exemplars affect attitude stability, attitude–behavior consistency, or attitude change. In Experiment 1, participants displayed greater attitude stability across 1 month, in several social categories, when they named the same rather than different exemplars. In Experiment 2, participants displayed greater attitude–behavior consistency toward each of 2 social categories when they named the same rather than different exemplars at behavior assessment and at attitude assessment. Participants who named a more likable exemplar behaved more positively, and those who named a less likable exemplar behaved more negatively, than their initial attitudes predicted. In Experiment 3, participants changed their attitudes in the predicted direction after estimating the height of an exemplar who was either more or less likable than the one they had earlier named. The results are interpreted as consistent with recent theory and research on attitude introspection, the matching hypothesis, and models of social judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Appreciation" as a measure of competency: Some thoughts about the MacArthur Group's approach.

This article focuses on the Perceptions of Disorder (POD) test, an instrument developed by the MacArthur Treatment Competence Study (e.g., P. S. Appelbaum and T. Grisso, Grisso et al, and Grisso and Appelbaum; see records 82:39258, 82:35494, and 82:37814, respectively) to measure appreciation of one's mental condition and need for treatment. The 2 subtests of the POD are based on a conceptualization of competency that is significantly flawed. The appropriate legal test for treatment competency, at least when the treatment is powerful psychoactive medication, is the "basic rationality" test. In the context of treatment refusal, this test requires an investigation of the extent to which the reasons for refusing treatment are based in reality. In contrast, the 1st subtest of the POD does not assess a person's reasons for refusal at all, and the 2nd subtest focuses on the rigidity with which those beliefs are held, rather than whether they have any basis in fact. Ways of revising the POD to conform to the normatively appropriate competency standard are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term memory and strategy use in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

The present study was designed to examine recall and rehearsal in short-term memory among children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Children with onset of IDDM before age 5 years, children with onset after 5 years, and children without IDDM were administered a measure of short-term memory that provides information about rehearsal as well as level of recall. Children with later onset of diabetes and children without IDDM were expected to recall more words and use more effective rehearsal strategies than children with early onset of diabetes. Results indicate that children diagnosed with IDDM early in life used similar rehearsal strategies but recalled fewer words than children with later onset of diabetes and children without IDDM. In addition, results provide evidence that children who are in poor control of their diabetes did not use strategies designed to increase recall as often, or as well as, children in better control of their diabetes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-discrepancy and natural killer cell activity: Immunological consequences of negative self-evaluation.

Tested whether self-discrepancy theory could account for changes in natural killer (NK) cell activity after exposure to self-referential stimuli. Anxious, dysphoric, and control Ss were pretested and 1 mo later covertly exposed to their own self-guides as well as those of another S. Blood samples were drawn for analysis of NK cytotoxicity and cortisol. The dysphoric Ss manifested the greatest actual:ideal discrepancy, whereas the anxious Ss manifested the greatest actual:ought discrepancy. Content analysis of written responses showed that activating discrepancies induced specific negative states; priming discrepancies also increased cortisol for the anxious Ss. NK activity was lower after self-referential priming for both distressed groups, particularly the anxious Ss. The control Ss showed a trend toward increased NK activity after self-referential priming. The study represents the 1st experimental demonstration that negative self-evaluation can alter immune responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Photoaccumulation in Photosystem I Does Not Produce a Phylloquinone Radical

A characteristic EPR spectrum is observed from Photosystem I (PS I) particles that are illuminated under reducing conditions. This signal is thought to arise from the secondary electron acceptor of PS I, A₁. This EPR spectrum, along with data from other spectroscopic methods, has been taken as evidence that A₁ is phylloquinone. In the work reported here, we have used a methionine auxotroph of Anabaena to deuterate specifically the 2-methyl group on the phylloquinone ring. Mass spectrometry of the isolated quinone shows 65% yield in the labeling procedure. The photoaccumulated A₁ EPR spectra in protonated and deuterium-labeled cells are indistinguishable, from which we conclude that the photoaccumulated radical is not phylloquinone.     

Work and Nonwork Satisfaction: A Causal-Correlational Analysis.

Possible directions of causality between work satisfaction and nonwork satisfaction were inferred from a causal-correlational analysis of questionnaire measures of the two variables. The measures were collected from 73 first-line managers on two occasions, which were separated by an interval of 12 months. The results strongly suggest that the direction of causality from work to nonwork satisfaction is stronger than that in the opposite direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and individual differences in the development of skilled memory search performance.

We examined individual differences in measures of multiple intellectual abilities and performance on a pure memory search task over 5 experimental sessions. Old (n?=?104) and young (n?=?97) participants showed expected patterns of substantial improvement in memory search intercepts and slopes in consistently mapped (CM) conditions, relative to varied mapping (VM) conditions. Initial (unskilled) CM and VM memory search was highly correlated with a Semantic Memory Access Speed factor and moderately correlated with General Intelligence. Structural equation models showed that measures of Semantic Memory Access remained a strong predictor of skilled CM search performance in both age groups despite individual differences in CM memory search performance changes. These results indicate qualitative differences in the nature of automaticity between memory search and visual search and suggest age invariance in the mechanisms determining automaticity in memory search. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent Advances with Glycidylamine Resins

A new procedure for the glycidylation of aromatic amines has been developed recently, which leads to resins of lower viscosity, longer shelf-life and higher purity than methods used previously. Resins made by the new process show considerable processing and applications advantages over those made by earlier methods. The new process has also made accessible high purity glycidyl derivatives of amines which have hitherto proved difficult to glycidylate effectively.     

Implications of N and C-terminal proximity for protein folding

We have investigated the proximity of the N and C termini in protein structures, and developed a model to test the theoretical possibility that proteins fold with their termini closely associated. On average, the distance between the termini is not significantly different from what would be expected based on chance. However, the theoretical model indicated that it is possible to greatly decrease the N-to-C terminal distance by allowing small (approximately six amino acid residues) solvent-accessible terminal fragments to move. Subsequent to this distance minimization method, more than 90% of the proteins studied had smaller-than-expected N-to-C distances, but only minor structural modification.