Naturalistic action impairment in closed head injury.

The authors sought to determine whether errors of action committed by patients with closed head injury (CHI) would conform to predictions derived from frontal lobe theories. In Study 1, 30 CHI patients and 18 normal controls performed routine activities, such as wrapping a present, under conditions of graded complexity. CHI patients committed more errors even on the simplest condition; but, except for a higher proportion of omitted actions, their error profile was very similar to that of controls. Study 2 involved a subset of patients whose performance in Study 1 was within normal limits. When these high functioning patients were asked to perform the routine tasks under still more taxing conditions, they, too, committed errors in excess of the control group. Accounts based on frontal mechanisms have a difficult time explaining the overall pattern of findings. An alternative based on limited-capacity resources is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competition in a minimal-contact weight-loss program.

The present study evaluated in a controlled setting the effects of competition on a bibliotherapy weight loss program offered in a clinic setting. Fifty-nine subjects were randomly assigned to either bibliotherapy, competition, or bibliotherapy plus competition conditions. Results indicate that use of the combined competition and behavioral program produced weight losses greater than those produced by either element alone. The superiority of the bibliotherapy plus competition condition was maintained even after the contingencies of the competition were withdrawn. The results are discussed in terms of enhancing weight loss and maintenance in minimal contact programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological recoding in reading for meaning by adults and children.

Phonological recoding in reading has been studied by requiring adults or children to judge whether printed sentences are correct or not. When some sentences are orthographically unacceptable but phonologically acceptable (e.g., The girl through the ball), both children and adults make abnormally many false positives with such sentences. It is unclear whether the phonological recoding that produces this effect is attributable to assembled (nonlexical) or addressed (lexical) phonology. Two types of phonologically acceptable but orthographically unacceptable sentences were devised: Those in which the crucial item ("through" in the above example) was an irregular word (so that its phonology could only be obtained lexically), and those in which the crucial item was a homophonic nonword (so that its phonology could only be obtained by assembled phonology). Both types of sentence produced significantly high false-positive rates for adult readers and children, indicating the use of assembled and addressed phonology during sentence reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of microstructure on inverse fracture occurring during drop-weight tear testing of high-toughness X70 pipeline steels

The effects of microstructure on inverse fracture occurring in the hammer-impacted region were analyzed after conducting a drop-weight tear test (DWTT) on high-toughness pipeline steels. Three kinds of steels were fabricated by varying the alloying elements, and their microstructures were varied by the rolling conditions. The pressed-notch (PN) or chevron-notch (CN) DWTT and Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact tests were conducted on the rolled steel specimens, and the results were discussed in comparison with the data obtained from CVN tests of prestrained specimens. In the hammer-impacted region of the DWTT specimens, abnormal inverse fracture having a cleavage fracture mode appeared, and the inverse fracture area correlated well with the upper-shelf energy (USE) obtained from the CVN test and with the grain size. The steel specimens having a higher USE or having coarse polygonal ferrite tended to have a larger inverse fracture area than those having a lower USE or having fine acicular ferrite. This was because steels having a higher impact absorption energy required higher energy for fracture initiation and propagation during the DWTT. These results were confirmed by the CVN data of prestrained steel specimens.     

Maternal emotional signaling: Its effect on the visual cliff behavior of 1-year-olds.

Studied the effect of maternal facial expressions of emotion on 108 12-mo-old infants in 4 studies. The deep side of a visual cliff was adjusted to a height that produced no clear avoidance and much referencing of the mother. In Study 1, 19 Ss viewed a facial expression of joy, while 17 Ss viewed one of fear. In Study 2, 15 Ss viewed interest, while 18 Ss viewed anger. In Study 3, 19 Ss viewed sadness. In Study 4, 23 Ss were used to determine whether the expressions influenced Ss' evaluation of an ambiguous situation or whether they were effective in controlling behavior merely because of their discrepancy or unexpectedness. Results show that Ss used facial expressions to disambiguate situations. If a mother posed joy or interest while S referenced, most Ss crossed the deep side. If a mother posed fear or anger, few Ss crossed. In the absence of any depth whatsoever, few Ss referenced the mother and those who did, while the mother was posing fear, hesitated but crossed nonetheless. It is suggested that facial expressions regulate behavior most clearly in contexts of uncertainty. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's career choices: Focus on science, math, and technology careers.

This study was part of a longitudinal study of factors related to persistence in a science-related career. Participants (N?=?173; 97 women and 76 men) were a subsample of matched participants from the 1980 and 1990 phases of data collection in the midwestem United States who in 1980, while in high school, aspired to a science, math, or technology career. By 1990, 36% of women and 46% of men had persisted in a science-related career. Structural equation model testing indicated that for women persistence was related to the number of elective high school science courses taken and that women who had higher career commitment were more likely to have switched aspirations to another career field. For men, persistence was related to their 1980 and 1990 career aspiration level and needing and obtaining financial support for college. For men these relationships also incorporated the largely indirect effects of high school science grade point average. Implications for counseling include encouraging interested adolescent girls to take elective science courses and nurturing aspiration level in adolescent boys who have science ability and are interested in a science career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guilt appeals in advertising: What are their effects?

This study examined consumers' emotional responses, their attitudes toward advertisements and brands, attributions about the companies promoting the brands, and purchase intention for ads varying on level of guilt appeal. Sixty working mothers, a prime target of guilt appeals, participated in the study. Results indicated that moderate guilt appeals elicited more felt guilt in the working mothers than did low or high guilt appeals. Furthermore, emotional responses, particularly anger, mediated the relationship between level of guilt appeal and consumers' attitudes and corporate attributions, and an inverse relationship occurred between level of guilt appeal and attitudes and attributions. Purchase intention was affected by the level of the guilt appeal and by anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervised relaxation training: A model for greater accessibility of behavioral interventions.

Developed a method of relaxation training—supervised relaxation training—to address (1) problems of cost and availability, which limit the applicability of such training to relatively few individuals, and (2) the inherent limitations of self-help programs. Although this training method required less professional involvement than other methods, it was not intended as a self-help approach to relaxation. Using 55 volunteers (aged 19–67 yrs), 2 treatment groups and 1 control group were formed: One treatment group consisted of self-selected Ss from the community at large; the other represented Ss from a specific work site in the community. The procedure consisted of the use of a self-study manual in conjunction with professional training. Outcome was determined on the basis of changes in blood pressure, scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and emotional indicators on human figure drawings. MANOVA indicated a positive effect for both treatment groups. Potential applications of the program are discussed, with recommendations for the use of this procedure as a model for other skill-developing interventions. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electromyographic activity over facial muscle regions can differentiate the valence and intensity of affective reactions.

In a pilot study, 16 undergraduates were exposed briefly to slides and tones that were mildly to moderately evocative of positive and negative affect. Facial electromyograph (EMG) activity differentiated both the valence and intensity of the affective reaction. Moreover, 8 independent judges were unable to determine from viewing videotapes of the Ss' facial displays whether a positive or negative stimulus had been presented or whether a mildly or moderately intense stimulus had been presented. In the main experiment, 28 Ss briefly viewed slides of scenes that were mildly to moderately evocative of positive and negative affect. Again, EMGH activity over the brow, eye, and cheek muscle regions differentiated the pleasantness and intensity of Ss' affective reactions to the visual stimuli even though visual inspection of the videotapes again indicated that expressions of emotion were not apparent. Results suggest that gradients of EMGH activity over the muscles of facial expression can provide objective and continuous probes of affective processes that are too subtle or fleeting to evoke expressions observable under normal conditions of social interaction. (76 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Wieder on rape victims: Vulnerability does not imply responsibility.

The present authors respond to G. B. Wieder's (see record 1985-25692-001) criticisms of the results of their study (see record 1984-12510-001) on the coping ability of women who become rape victims. It is concluded that vulnerability to rape does not imply responsibility for being raped. Previous research had indicated that victimization in general is not a random process, and the present authors argue that conceptualization of rape victimization is congruent with such a frame of reference. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)