Projections of aging: Impact of generational differences and the aging process on perceptions of adults.

In the domain of personality, a variety of stereotypes about old age are found. Unfortunately, the methodologies of previous studies have not dealt with a potential confound as to whether attitudes are a function of the aging process or of perceptions of generations. The present study was designed as a first step toward distinguishing between these possibilities. Young adults rated one target generation (i.e., today's 22-, 41-, or 69-year-olds) at one age period (i.e., as 22-, 41-, or 69-year-olds) on a series of personality attributes. Results demonstrated that attitudes (i.e., perceptions of personality) varied more often as a function of target generation, reflecting a general tendency for young adults to view other generations in a different fashion from the way they view their own. Overall, attitudes toward the older generation or age period were more positive than negative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Localisation de l'interférence forme/couleur au niveau perceptuel dans une tache de type Stroop avec des stimuli-dessins.

Four studies with 24 19–35 yr old French-speaking adults examined the localization of perceptual form–color interference in a Stroop task with drawings. Results indicate that the time required to name the color of an incongruently colored object, such as a blue banana, was significantly longer than that for a neutral object (a red book). The same effect was found for identifying the color of the ink in which the names of these observed objects were printed. However, there did not appear to be a common semantic component in the interference observed in the 2 tasks. Extended practice on the task with the names of incongruently colored objects did not transfer to the task with the drawings of the same objects. The time to discriminate the colors of 2 drawings of incongruently colored objects was significantly longer than that for 2 drawings of neutral objects, suggesting that a perceptual inhibition occurred for incongruently colored objects (objects for which color was normally an integral part of the stimulus) that created a delay in perceiving the object's color. This contextual interference may be the complementary phenomenon to the object superiority effect. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ratioquadrics: an alternative model for superquadrics

This paper presents a new family of 2D curves and its extension to 3D surfaces, respectively, calledrationconics andratioquadrics that have been designed as alternatives to the well-known superconics and superquadrics. This new model is intended as an improvement to the original one on three main points: first, it involves lower computation cost and provides better numerical robustness; second, it offers higher order continuities (C ¹/G ² orC ²/G ² instead ofC ⁰/G ⁰); and third, it provides a greater variety of shapes for the resulting curves and surfaces. All these improvements are obtained by replacing the signed power function involved in the formulation of superconics and superquadrics by linear or quadratic rational polynomials.     

Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes.

We studied how specific motivational processes are related to the salience of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings. One hundred seventy-six students attending a junior high/high school for academically advanced students were randomly selected from one of their classes and responded to a questionnaire on their perceptions of the classroom goal orientation, use of effective learning strategies, task choices, attitudes, and causal attributions. Students who perceived an emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom reported using more effective strategies, preferred challenging tasks, had a more positive attitude toward the class, and had a stronger belief that success follows from one's effort. Students who perceived performance goals as salient tended to focus on their ability, evaluating their ability negatively and attributing failure to lack of ability. The pattern and strength of the findings suggest that the classroom goal orientation may facilitate the maintenance of adaptive motivation patterns when mastery goals are salient and are adopted by students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal self-discrepancies, interrole conflict, and negative affect among married professional women with children.

This study applied self-discrepancy theory (E. T. Higgins, R. N. Bond, R. Klein, & T. Strauman, 1986) to the study of the maternal self-concept and interrole conflict for married professional women with children. The participants, 103 married professional women with young children, completed questionnaires. Each of the 4 self-discrepancy variables was a positive predictor of positive interrole conflict and, with one exception (actual–own:ought–own self-discrepancy), a negative predictor of coping effectiveness. Both structural role redefinition and superwoman coping strategies were positively related to coping effectiveness. Use of the structural role redefinition strategy was positively associated with work support, spousal support, and social support. Work support was negatively related to anxiety and depression, but no significant relations were found between spousal support and other variables. In regression models, self-discrepancy was related to both anxiety and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two-handed spatial interface tools for neurosurgical planning

A computer-based neurosurgical planning system lets neurosurgeons easily manipulate 3D data using their everyday skills from handling tools with two hands. It has been tested in actual surgical procedures     

Negative and positive components of psychological masculinity and femininity and their relationships to self-reports of neurotic and acting out behaviors.

Negatively valued masculinity (M–) and femininity (F–) personality scales were developed to supplement the positively valued Masculinity (M+) and Femininity (F+) scales of J. T. Spence and R. L. Helmreich"s (1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire. (M–) consisted of traits that had been judged to be (a) more typical of males than females, (b) undesirable in both sexes, and (c) agentic or instrumental in content. Two (F–) scales were developed, both containing stereotypically feminine, undesirable traits, one set of traits referring to communionlike characteristics and the other to verbal passive–aggressive qualities. In 220 male and 363 female undergraduates significant sex differences in the predicted direction were found on all scales. In both sexes, low and nonsignificant correlations were found between parallel positive and negative scales, but highly significant negative correlations were found between positive and negative cross-sex scales. Findings provide additional evidence for the multidimensionality of masculinity and femininity. Scores on a self-esteem measure were positively correlated with M+ and F+, uncorrelated with M–, and negatively correlated with the F– scales. Different patterns were associated with 2 types of problem behaviors. Neuroticism was most highly correlated (negatively) with M+, and acting out behavior was most strongly correlated (positively) with M–. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metabolism of linolenic acid in developing brain: I. Incorporation of radioactivity from 1-14C linolenic acid into brain fatty acids

Twelve-thirteen day old rats were given 1-¹⁴C linolenic acid by intraperitoneal injection. Fatty acids were isolated from the brains of animals sacrificed at the end of 8 and 48 hr and 15 and 45 days. Eight hr after the tracer, radioactivity was found neither in 18∶3 nor its endproduct, 22∶6, and palmitate was the most highly radioactive component. At longer intervals, 22∶6 seemed to retain much of the radioactivity, whereas palmitate showed a precipitous decline in radioactivity. Initial oxidation of linolenate and sparing of the linolenate complexed with polar lipids are discussed.     

Adjustment in aging: The roles of life stress, hassles, and self-efficacy.

Examined the relationship of life stress, daily hassles, and perceived self-efficacy to adjustment in a community sample of 32 men and 32 women (aged 65–75 yrs). In a structured interview, negative life change events, daily hassles, self-efficacy, depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and negative well-being were assessed. Both negative life events and daily hassles were related to psychological distress and physical symptoms for men, and hassles were associated with psychological distress and physical symptoms for women. An inverse relationship between self-efficacy and maladjustment was also found. Hassles showed the most powerful relationship to distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)