Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use.

The present study proposed and tested a motivational model of alcohol use in which people are hypothesized to use alcohol to regulate both positive and negative emotions. Two central premises underpin this model: (a) that enhancement and coping motives for alcohol use are proximal determinants of alcohol use and abuse through which the influence of expectancies, emotions, and other individual differences are mediated and (b) that enhancement and coping motives represent phenomenologically distinct behaviors having both unique antecedents and consequences. This model was tested in 2 random samples (1 of adults, 1 of adolescents) using a combination of moderated regression and path analysis corrected for measurement error. Results revealed strong support for the hypothesized model in both samples and indicate the importance of distinguishing psychological motives for alcohol use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Existential—phenomenological perspectives in psychology.

Reviews the book, Existential — phenomenological perspectives in psychology edited by Ronald S. Valle and Steen Hailing (1989). This collection shows careful selection and editing by the two editors. Each of the articles is well-written, admirably clear, and articulate. The authors have succeeded in making the tenants of phenomenology accessible to those who do not have prior knowledge, however, the content is also of interest to people who are already familiar with the basics, but who wish to see phenomenological research in action. As such, the book could well serve as a text for an undergraduate or graduate level course entitled "existential-phenomenological perspectives in psychology", or as an adjunct text for a course which looks more broadly at various theoretical and methodological positions within the discipline. The editors have thoughtfully compiled the index with a view to the use of the book as a reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity loss and adaptation within the short-wavelength cone pathway

Two-color increment threshold data are used to develop a model of sensitivity control in short-wavelength detection. The model includes two sites of compressive nonlinearity. The first site has the characteristics of the S cones. Their output combines antagonistically with signals from the L and M cones at a second (blue/yellow opponent) stage. The response nonlinearities were examined by measuring thresholds for a 420-nm probe presented at the onset of flashed fields of 420-nm, 520-nm, and 580-nm light. Adaptive mechanisms of multiplication and subtraction were identified by presenting probe and flash on steady backgrounds of varying intensity. Adaptation partially restores the sensitivity lost to response compression.     

Characterization of highly hydrophobic coatings deposited onto pre-oxidized silicon from water dispersible organosilanes

The formation and quality of highly hydrophobic coatings deposited from water dispersible organosilanes onto pre-oxidized single crystal silicon were studied using atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, dynamic contact angle measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Highly hydrophobic films of a commercially available water dispersible silane and two different cationic alkoxysilanes were prepared by dip coating. It was found using atomic force microscopy that, in general, the structure of these highly hydrophobic films is a continuous film with some particulates attributed to bulk polymerization of the precursor molecule in water. Film defects were quantified using EIS by the value of charge transfer resistance at the hydrofluoric acid/silicon interface. Potential applications of this type of coatings include reduction/elimination of stiction in micro-electromechanical systems, contact printing in materials microfabrication, inhibition of corrosion and oxidation, prevention of water wetting, lubrication and protein adsorption.     

Lactation duration: influences of human milk replacements and formula samples on women planning postpartum employment

The authors evaluated the adsorption loss of tricyclic antidepressants in analytical procedures with solvent extraction and evaporation. In standard procedures with the use of triple solvent extraction between alkalinized and acidified samples before chromatographic analysis, the adsorption loss was more significant with the demethylated metabolites. As much as 50% adsorption loss can occur; this irreversible loss can be accounted for entirely during the solvent evaporation step. Because of differential adsorption loss among parent drugs, metabolites, and internal standards, the analytical methods usually had wide within-day and day-to-day variations. The authors found that the addition of as little as 0.05% diethylamine to the extract before evaporation completely eliminated the adsorption loss of amitriptyline-nortriptyline, imipramine-desipramine, and doxepin-desmethyldoxepin. with subsequent improvement in procedure performance. This simple modification can be adopted readily by all laboratories that use solvent extraction and subsequent chromatographic analysis of tricyclic antidepressants.     

Windows on comprehension: Reading comprehension processes as revealed by two think-aloud procedures.

To address methodological questions regarding use of the think-aloud (TA) procedure and theoretical questions regarding the roles of prior knowledge and strategy use in reading comprehension, 24 college students each read 3 passages in 3 different presentation modes (marked TA, unmarked TA, and control) and answered essay comprehension questions. There was no effect of presentation mode on essay scores. TA comments were coded into 4 categories, 2 of which were significantly correlated with comprehension scores for marked but not unmarked passages. The authors conclude that the marked procedure elicited more veridical protocols. A second coding and analysis of the marked protocols showed that students who scored high on the comprehension test were more likely to have made many TA comments reflecting a "knowledge-transforming" approach to the text. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of relatedness and number of distractors on attribute judgments in Alzheimer's disease.

Participants made judgments about the relative salience of category exemplars (e.g., fruit: apple or grape) or parts (e.g., plane: wings or seats). Mildly affected Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients were as accurate but slower than normal controls, and their response times increased more for related (e.g., apple, grape, or fig) than unrelated (e.g., apple, gym, bandit) choices as the number of alternatives was increased from 2 to 3. Performance (accuracy and response times) of moderate-severely affected patients was poorer still, but number of distractors and relatedness did not interact. In combination with previous findings (e.g., M. K. Johnson, A. M. Hermann, & J. L. Bonilla, 1995), these results suggest that the reflective processes necessary for deciding among competing alternatives show disruption early in the disease process. Such processing deficits would compound any difficulties arising from a degrading semantic structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spectral tuning of opponent channels is spatially dependent

Psychophysical detection and appearance data suggest that the spectral tuning of opponent pathways varies with test size. The present study examines the effect on spectral sensitivity of the relative size of test and surround fields. Increment thresholds and flashed-field sensitivities were obtained for 580 nm and 641 nm targets. Three spatial configurations were used. The pattern of sensitivity loss is shown to depend on the spatial relation between test and field; the effect of the spatial relation in turn depends on test wavelength. The findings are explained by the activity of a changing network of spatially and spectrally opponent cells.     

Whatever happened to scholarly discourse? A reply to B. F. Skinner.

Comments that B. F. Skinner (see record 1988-00027-001) has presented an egregiously inaccurate characterization of humanistic psychology. The authors note that Skinnerian radical behaviorism emphasizes behavior, science, and technology, while humanistic psychologies emphasize human beings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a test for bulimia.

Describes the development of a bulimia test (BULIT), a 32-item, self-report, multiple-choice scale that assesses symptoms of bulimia for clinical work and research. The BULIT was constructed by comparing responses of clinically identified female bulimic Ss with normal female college students on 75 preliminary test items, which were based on DSM-III criteria for bulimia. Cross-validation was performed on independent samples of bulimic and control Ss. The BULIT was a good predictor of group membership for both initial and replication samples. The scale was then administered to female college students, and a stratified sample of these Ss was retested and interviewed several weeks later. Results of retesting and judgments of diagnostic interviews show that the BULIT is a reliable and valid predictor of bulimia in a nonclinical population. The BULIT correlated highly with another measure of bulimia, indicating a high degree of construct validity. A lower correlation with a measure of anorexia nervosa suggests that bulimia and anorexia nervosa represent overlapping, but not identical, syndromes. The BULIT is appended. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)