Social cognitions as organizers of autonomic and affective responses to social challenge.

Autonomic and affective responses to children were assessed as a function of adult perceptions of interpersonal control. Women (N?=?160) interacted with and provided feedback to computer-simulated children who behaved responsively or unresponsively on a computer game. Women were categorized as low in perceived control (PC) if they attributed high control to children but low control to self over negative events on the Parent Attribution Test. As predicted, low-PC women were maximally reactive to child characteristics, manifesting peak levels of defensive arousal (increased level of heart rate and electrodermal activity) and negative affect with unresponsive children and minimal levels of arousal and negative affect with responsive children. Intermediate response levels were shown by high-PC Ss. We interpreted results as suggesting mediating factors that may operate in dysfunctional interaction patterns previously found for low-PC caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring parental attributions: Conceptual and methodological issues.

A selective review is offered of current issues and new developments in the measurement of parental attributions for social behavior. Attributions have alternatively been conceptualized as involving (a) memory-dependent knowledge structures (i.e., interpretive styles that are dependent on the parent's history) or (b) stimulus-dependent appraisal processes (i.e., interpretations that are dependent on information available in the immediate context). Consideration is given to the theoretical underpinnings of different types of attributional measures and the implicit models within attribution research (e.g., attributions as mediators, attributions as moderators). Finally, psychometric issues within different attributional approaches are discussed, including consideration of the factors that optimize or constrain the utility of different measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do the clothes make the man? An exploration of the effect of lineup attire on eyewitness identification accuracy.

In 3 experiments, 392 undergraduates witnessed staged crimes and attempted to identify criminals from photographic lineups containing a picture of the guilty party or a similar looking but innocent suspect. Lineup attire was manipulated: (1) Only the suspects wore clothing similar to that worn during the crime (biased lineups); (2) everyone wore different attire (usual lineups); and (3) everyone was dressed alike. Data reveal that the rate of identifications of the guilty party was not influenced by lineup attire. However, the innocent suspect was most likely to be identified from a clothing-biased lineup. Data also show that Ss who selected the suspect clothing from photographs of clothing were significantly more accurate in their identification of the person than Ss who failed to select the suspect clothing. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auxetic behaviour from stretching connected squares

Systems with negative Poisson’s ratio (auxetic) exhibit the unusual characteristic of getting fatter when stretched and thinner when compressed. Such behaviour is a scale-independent property and is the result of a cooperation between the internal geometry of the system and the way this deforms when uniaxially stretched. Here, we analyse the anisotropic mechanical properties for a system constructed from connected squares which can deform through changes in length of the sides of the squares (idealised ‘stretching squares’ model). In particular, we show that this system may exhibit a negative Poisson’s ratio which depends on the angle between the squares and the direction of loading but is independent of the size of the squares which suggests that this model may be implemented at any scale of structure including the micro- and nano-level. We also show how this model compares and complements the existing ‘rotating squares’ model which also works on a system with the same geometric characteristics and which has been shown to lead to auxeticity in various classes of materials.

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Students' perceptions of males entering the dietetic profession

Purpose: Perceptions about males within the dietetic profession were examined among students enrolled in dietetic programs. Methods: A survey was administered in classes or online to first- and fourth-year nutrition students in seven dietetic programs. Data were subjected to content analysis to determine why students thought more males were not choosing dietetics as a career, and what impact an increase in males choosing dietetics might have on the profession. Results: Barriers to career choice were primarily gendered. Respondents believed an increase in male dietitians would be positive, increasing professional diversity. Specifically, more male role models would reach more male clients and increase male interest in dietetics as a career. Students also foresaw improved professional status, leading to greater professional respect and credibility. Current stereotyping would be challenged. Perspectives revealed heteronormative assumptions that would influence recruitment strategies. Conclusions: The findings suggest that broadening the current sex composition of the profession could be beneficial. Attitudes and practices from inside and outside the dietetic profession can influence career choice. Further research would allow a more nuanced approach to the complex and interrelated issues associated with sex and gendered behavior as they relate to the professional complement.     

Rheology and microrheology of natural and reduced-calorie Israeli honeys as a model for high-viscosity Newtonian liquids

Honey is a food biomaterial that has been used as a natural therapeutic agent against infections and to stimulate wound healing; its flow behavior is interesting as it affects processing and consumption. The temperature- and composition-dependence of honey viscosity was measured in selected Israeli varieties. Classical rheology was compared to thermal-fluctuation particle-tracking microrheology. In particle-tracking, the viscosity is measured on a sub-micron scale, providing contributions of different regions in the sample. Honey viscosity was Newtonian, even in reduced-calorie varieties, and adhered to the Arrhenius equation, viscosity exponentially decreasing with temperature. The Arrhenius activation energy and viscosity were moisture-dependent. Our data are comparable to previously reported honey rheology from different regions in the world. In conclusion, we show that rheology agrees with microrheology, as expected for a Newtonian liquid. Moreover, we have shown that high-viscosity samples can be accurately characterized using particle-tracking microrheology, providing additional information to rheology.