bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Observer error in the use of momentary time sampling and partial interval recording
Authors: Murphy Maurice J. , Harrop Alex
Published: April 2011

The accuracy of 60 first‐year psychology degree students using either the method of momentary time sampling (MTS) or partial interval recording (PIR) was estimated by agreement measures in an independent groups study. The purpose of the study was to investigate possible method differences in a design that maximized their comparability. After training, observers were randomly allocated to MTS or PIR methods and, after further practice, recorded either one, two or three behaviours (namely, reading, writing, hand‐clasping) from a constructed 10‐minute videotape of human studying behaviour from which a criterion record had been derived. Results showed MTS introduced significantly less error into observers' records than PIR across all levels of complexity. However, there was no generally significant increase in error with increasing complexity and PIR showed relatively more accuracy in recording writing behaviour. Despite the apparent support offered to practitioners for the use of MTS in behavioural investigations, the experimenters qualify their findings and indicate the need for a more extensive series of experiments comparing these methods.
Spelling‐to‐sound effects in single‐word reading
Authors: Brown Gordon D. A. , Watson Frances L.
Published: April 2011

Computational modelling of word‐naming processes has suggested that the frequency of spelling‐to‐sound correspondence facilitates print‐to‐sound translation time and has given rise to predictions that are supported by empirical data (Brown, 1987 a). This contrasts with earlier claims that regularity is the only spelling‐to‐sound correspondence attribute that determines word‐naming time. Here we report further evidence for the effects of the frequency of spelling‐to‐sound correspondences on word‐naming latency. Experiment 1 excludes alternative, orthographic neighbourhood interpretations of the putative spelling‐to‐sound effects. Experiment 2 shows that a word's number of rhymes does not affect naming latency for that word, thus excluding explanations in terms of output phonology. Experiment 3 replicates earlier findings that a word's spelling‐to‐sound enemies, as well as friends, determine naming latency. Thus both the regularity and the frequency of spelling‐to‐sound correspondences influence word‐naming time. The implications for models of oral reading processes are explored.
Intelligence, inspection time and cognitive strategies
Authors: Egan Vincent
Published: April 2011

The use of apparent motion cues to guide discriminations on the inspection time (IT) task has been taken to imply the vulnerability of IT to strategic processes by higher IQ subjects, and the questionable generality of the IT/IQ correlation. The current study examined verbal and non‐verbal intelligence, personality and IT in 74 young adults, using light‐emitting diodes to present IT, obtaining perceptual self‐reports during IT itself. Forty‐three (58 per cent) subjects in the sample reported using motion cues to guide IT discriminations; these subjects had faster ITs than individuals who did not use motion cues (t = 2.97, p < .005; effect size = .73). Cue users did not have higher verbal or non‐verbal IQ than non‐users. Although cue users were lower in neuroticism than non‐cue users, this did not account for their faster ITs. Slower IT correlated with lower scores on a measure of non‐verbal intelligence (r = −0.41, p < .001); the size of this correlation remained similar when the sample was divided into groups reporting the use of motion cues or not. Thus, despite motion cues enhancing performance on an IT task, the perception of these cues neither causes, nor reduces, the correlation between IT and IQ.
Mnemonic wizardry with the telephone directory – But stories are another story
Authors: Wilding John , Valentine Elizabeth
Published: April 2011

Results are reported from a study of a man (TM) who possesses exceptional memory abilities, which he demonstrates in a public performance. The same tests were given to him as have been used on a number of previous subjects with superior memory. He performed exceptionally well on recall of a word list, telephone numbers, names to faces and the spatial positions of pictures and on recognition of pictures of snow crystals, but was very poor at recalling a story. Results are discussed in relation to previous case studies and the question of whether such performances depend on practised techniques or natural ability. Further tests showed that TM could perform somewhat above average on a simpler factual story, and had no difficulty in handling metaphor, inference and word play, so it seemed likely that poor performance on the more complex story was due to a poor match between the techniques he employed and the nature of the material.
‘Flow’ experience in the daily lives of sixth‐form college students
Authors: Clarke Sharon G. , Haworth John T.
Published: April 2011

The Experience Sampling Method was employed to collect data from a sample of 35 sixth‐form college students over a period of one week. This methodology involved the subjects answering questions printed in a diary on receipt of signals from a pre‐programmed watch. They also completed a package of questionnaires related to psychological well‐being. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the experience of situations where high challenge is matched by skill (termed ‘flow’) can be classed as ‘optimal experience’. The results showed that the positive poles of subjective experience tended to cluster in ‘control’ (skills exceeding moderate challenge) rather than flow. However, more optimal experience (considered as high enjoyment) occurred in flow than expected. In addition, optimal experience in flow was characterized by high cognitive involvement. Subjects who experienced flow as optimal experience were found to score significantly higher on measures of psychological well‐being than those who did not experience flow as highly enjoyable. The implications are discussed with respect to college students' quality of life and educational experiences.
Some Mickey Mouse experiments: An examination of the classification and naming of individual things
Authors: Johnston R. A.
Published: April 2011

Findings from the investigation of naming and categorization latencies for objects and familiar faces have informed our theories of recognition of those items. However, comparisons between research on faces and objects is complicated because experiments address different levels of representation; objects are examined at the concept level (e.g. chair) and faces at an individual level (e.g. Eric Morecambe). Three experiments examine the categorization and naming of specific objects in order to bridge the gap between familiar faces and generic objects. The asymmetry frequently observed in naming and categorizing faces and objects and their printed labels is observed to extend to the domain of individual items (cartoon characters). This pattern of results is discussed in terms of the validity of using models of face recognition to inform models of object recognition.
Self‐reported fears to common indigenous animals in an adult UK population: The role of disgust sensitivity
Authors: Davey Graham C. L.
Published: April 2011

Two studies are described which report on the prevalence and intensity of self‐reported fears to common indigenous animals in an adult UK population. The results of Study 1 suggest that (i) around a third of the variance in fear of indigenous animals can be accounted for by two factors which represent the theoretically coherent categories of invertebrates (e.g. slug, worm, cockroach) and fear‐relevant animals (e.g. rat, snake, bat); (ii) females tend to report significantly greater levels of fear than males to a large majority of prevalently feared animals; and (iii) there were no obviously consistent patterns of fear with age. Study 2 identifies individual disgust sensitivity levels as being an important and significant predictor of fear of animals in both the invertebrate and fear‐relevant categories, and finds that females report significantly higher disgust sensitivity levels than males. Since most of the prevalently feared indigenous animals appear to be disgust‐relevant, this latter finding helps to explain the generally higher fear ratings given by females.
Remembering versus knowing television theme tunes in middle‐aged and elderly adults
Authors: Maylor Elizabeth A.
Published: April 2011

Current evidence on ageing and states of awareness in memory tasks is mixed. In all cases, there is an age‐related decline in memory accompanied by recollective experience (remember responses); however, for memory in the absence of recollective experience (know responses), there is no effect of age in some experiments but an increase with age in others. This paper presents data from a tune recognition experiment (Maylor, 1991) in which subjects were not explicitly asked to make remember/know decisions. Here, these states of awareness are inferred from subjects' responses. Middle‐aged and elderly volunteers listened to theme tunes from television programmes; if they recognized the tune, they were asked to provide as much information about the programme as possible. Age significantly influenced remember responses (theme tune familiar plus some information about the programme reported) but not know responses (theme tune familiar but no information about the programme reported). Thus the analysis provides further converging evidence that knowing can remain invariant across manipulations that reduce the level of remembering.
The impact of stage fright on student actors
Authors: Steptoe Andrew , Malik Farida , Pay Charlotte , Pearson Philip , Price Clare , Win Zarni
Published: April 2011

Stage fright has not previously been systematically assessed in actors. A survey was therefore carried out of 178 senior full‐time drama students at six London colleges: 9.6 per cent reported stage fright to be a severe problem, while 36.7 per cent considered it to be a moderate problem. Levels of stage fright were higher in women than men, but were not associated with age or years of acting experience. Stage fright was positively correlated with neuroticism and negatively associated with extraversion. The features of performance adversely affected included physical components such as posture and breath control, and emotional aspects such as characterization. Factor analysis of cognitive coping responses identified two independent dimensions—thoughts centred on panic or loss of control and thoughts concerning physical collapse—that were associated with stage fright independently of confounding factors such as neuroticism. Relaxation and meditation were frequently used prior to public performance, but were not associated with stage fright levels. In contrast, self‐distracting behaviours and memory checking were more common in those with higher performance anxiety. A variety of health‐related symptoms were reported to increase prior to public performance, and difficulty eating properly, increased irritability and more frequent skin rashes were associated with stage fright independently of negative affectivity. The implications of these findings for aspiring actors are discussed.
Stroop phenomenon as a measure of cognitive functioning of bilingual (Gaelic/English) subjects
Authors: Gerhand S. J. , Derȩgowski J. B. , McAllister H.
Published: April 2011

An object‐word Stroop‐based task was performed by 40 bilingual Gaelic/English subjects. Intra‐lingual interference occurred with both languages, but inter‐lingual interference occurred only with English labelling and Gaelic responses. This was interpreted as a result of the reading of English words being more automatic than the reading of Gaelic, despite Gaelic being the subjects' preferred spoken language.
Cognitivist or behaviourist ‐ Who can tell the difference? The case of implicit and explicit knowledge
Authors: Overskeid Geir
Published: April 2011

Radical behaviourism has long defined mental or ‘private’ events as behaviour, and therefore legitimate objects of research. It is shown that to attack the complexities of human action, behaviour analysts have also had to postulate theories concerning the interaction of mental events and public behaviour, and so, in effect do cognitive psychology. It is argued that when researchers from the two schools of thought deal with similar problems, such as the relation between implicit and explicit knowledge, there are no fundamental differences between cognitive psychology and Skinnerian, or radical behaviourism.
Cognitive structural models: The perception of risk and prevention in coronary heart disease
Authors: Green D. W. , McManus I. C.
Published: April 2011

This paper examines the relationship between causal models and the assessment of actions in a naturalistic domain. Two studies used a novel network diagram technique to elicit individual causal models of the factors affecting the risk of coronary heart disease. The same individuals also rated the effectiveness of different preventive actions. In their diagrams, individuals depicted the causal interrelationships between various factors and estimated the strength of the connecting paths. Total path strength accounted for two‐thirds of the variance in ratings of preventive actions. A number of methodological issues were also explored, which supported the utility of the technique. Consensual models allowed a ready comparison between groups of subjects and showed the importance of distinguishing the presence of paths from the strengths of those paths. The studies support the value of the technique in analysing individual differences in the way people represent complex causal structures; various extensions and applications are also proposed.
Experiences of meaning in life: A combined qualitative and quantitative approach
Authors: Debats Dominique Louis , Drost Joost , Hansen Prartho
Published: April 2011

The present study investigates the relation of aspects of meaning in life with indices of psychological well‐being by means of a combined qualitative and quantitative design. Content analysis of subjects' answers to open questions about personal experiences with meaning in life showed findings that are in line with phenomena that are reported in the literature. Meaningfulness was found to be strongly associated with contact with self, others and the world, whereas meaninglessness was associated with a state of alienation from self, others and the world. The Life Regard Index (LRI), an instrument designed to measure the construct of positive life regard, was found to be strongly associated with the interpersonal dimension of well‐being. The exchange of both positive and negative feelings was associated with positive life regard. As predicted, effective coping with stressful life events in the past was associated with a current sense of meaningfulness as measured with the LRI. The findings support the clinical significance of the construct of meaning in life and add to the validity of the LRI. The strength and weakness of a combined qualitative and quantitative research approach are discussed.
Models of job‐related stress and personal achievement among consultant doctors
Authors: Deary Ian J. , Blenkin Harriet , Agius Raymond M. , Endler Norman S. , Zealley Helen , Wood Robert
Published: April 2011

The antecedents and outcomes of feelings of job‐related stress and personal achievement were studied in a large sample of consultant doctors working in Scotland. In a sample of 333 doctors it was found that a tendency to use emotion‐oriented coping strategies and negative appraisals of organizational changes in the practice of medicine mediated the effect of the personality dimension of Neuroticism on reported job stress. Job stress levels predicted the degree of ‘burnout’ experienced by doctors, i.e. their tendencies to be emotionally exhausted by their work and to dehumanize patients. Higher clinical workloads were related to higher levels of stress but also to higher feelings of personal achievement. A substantial proportion of the variance in many of the variables in the stress model was accounted for by a general tendency to experience negative emotions, closely related to Neuroticism; this general factor appeared to be similar to the recently formulated concepts of ‘negative affectivity’ and ‘somatopsychic distress’. The personality factors of Extraversion and Conscientiousness both contributed to positive feelings of personal achievement (N = 344); the effect of Extraversion was direct, whereas the effect of Conscientiousness was mediated by a tendency to use task‐oriented coping strategies. Models of the processes of stress and personal achievement were tested for acceptability using the EQS Structural Equations Program. The implications of the models for transactional theories of stress are discussed.
Fingerprinting time series: Dynamic patterns in self‐report and performance measures uncovered by a graphical non‐linear method
Authors: Totterdell Peter , Briner Rob B. , Parkinson Brian , Reynolds Shirley
Published: April 2011

Two simple non‐linear techniques are shown to be useful for understanding the dynamics of affect, symptoms, social interaction experience and cognitive performance. The techniques are justified by arguments derived from chaos theory, and demonstrated using data from an intensive time sampling study in which 30 subjects completed a set of self‐ratings and a memory task on a hand‐held computer every two hours during waking hours for 14 days. The data were pooled and two types of Poincaré plot were constructed for each variable. The first was a plot of each value against its predecessor, and the second was a plot of each change in value from one interval to the next against the previous change. These plots are particularly suitable for uncovering asymmetric state‐dependent changes in control between time points. The plots showed a number of distinctive ‘fingerprints’ for the different variables. Altogether, the results suggest that the plots are a novel and useful method for understanding psychological variables in terms of their dynamic control.
Time of day and processing strategies in narrative comprehension
Authors: Lorenzetti Roberta , Natale Vincenzo
Published: April 2011

We present two experiments investigating the different occurrence of comprehension strategies of written texts at different times of the day. Methods of inferential production (free recall, question answering, filling in) were adopted along with other methods reported in the literature (immediate recognition, immediate free recall, immediate cued recall). On the basis of the hypothesis that it is prevalently a maintenance strategy which is adopted in the morning vs. an elaborative strategy in the afternoon, it is suggested that recall of superficial linguistic information of the text is better in morning trials while inferential production is greater in afternoon trials. The results of both experiments on the whole agree with the predictions made.
The relationship between intelligence, personality and inspection time
Authors: Stough C. , Brebner J. , Nettelbeck T. , Cooper C. J. , Bates T. , Mangan G. L.
Published: April 2011

This study investigates the relationship between intelligence test performance, a test of visual inspection time (IT) and personality and temperament dimensions. Howe's (1990) hypothesis that IT and IQ are empirically related because of personality or temperament variables is evaluated and rejected. IT and performance IQ (PIQ) were significantly related independent of personality or temperament variables. IT and verbal IQ (VIQ) were unrelated. Robinson's (1989) hypothesis that ambiverts (moderate extraversion) perform significantly better on IQ tests was examined and supported. Ambiverts performed significantly better on verbal and performance measures of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS–R) and on the Raven's Advance Progressive Matrices (APM). Mobility from the Strelau Temperament Inventory (STI) was also related to performance IQ (PIQ) and Raven's test scores. These results suggest an important role for the concepts of arousal and/or arousability in a biological model of intelligence. Implications for intelligence assessment are discussed.
Are visual search procedures adapted to the nature of the script?
Authors: Green David W. , Liow Susan J. Rickard , Tng Siok K. , Zielinski S.
Published: April 2011

Letters are processed differently from other shapes in a visual search task where subjects have to decide whether or not a predesignated target symbol is present in a subsequently presented string of five such symbols. If the M‐shaped letter search function, which relates correct reaction time to target position, reflects an efficient strategy used in word recognition, it should be produced by skilled readers of English who also read a logographic script. A cross‐linguistic study of biscriptal Mandarin/English and monoscriptal English readers (Expt 1) provided evidence of the generality of a basic search strategy for alphabetic targets. Hand‐of‐response affected the search function in an asymmetric fashion for both groups of readers, and although case differences between target and string increased reaction times overall, the classic M‐shaped function remained. In Expt 2, we used a within‐subjects design and examined the extent to which biscriptal Mandarin/English readers produced different search functions for letters and logographs. Consistent with expectation, these readers showed an M‐shaped function for letters but a more U‐shaped function for logographs. Hand‐of‐response exerted a consistent effect for both types of material. Taken together, these experiments support the view that skilled readers develop script‐specific procedures.
Methodological issues in assessment of the perceptual component of body image disturbance
Authors: Gardner Rick M.
Published: April 2011

An individual's body image consists of both a perceptual and an attitudinal (subjective) component. Methodological issues relative to the measurement of the perceptual component of body image are discussed. Traditionally, research in body image has employed psychophysical techniques and analyses which confound these two components. Psychophysical techniques which allow for a separate measurement of these two components are discussed, including method of constant stimuli, signal detection theory and adaptive probit estimation. The results of research utilizing these techniques are described and the importance of separately measuring perceptual and attitudinal components is discussed.
The effects of repeated questioning on young children's eyewitness testimony
Authors: Memon Amina , Vartoukian Rita
Published: April 2011

The aim of the present study was to explore the conditions under which repeated questions would influence memory performance. Children of five and seven years of age witnessed a staged event and were then individually interviewed with a free‐recall test and closed and open form questions, some of which were repeated in the interview. Some children were warned that questions might be repeated. The older children were more accurate on both open and closed question forms than the younger children. In both groups recall improved upon second questioning with open questions, whereas accuracy of responses deteriorated somewhat upon repetition of closed questions. On the basis of these data it is concluded that if closed questions are repeated in a witness interview it may lead the witness to assume incorrectly that his or her first response was incorrect; however, the findings support the use of repeated questioning as a probe for more information to open‐ended questions.
Illusory self‐assessments—Can they be reduced?
Authors: McKenna Frank P. , Myers Lynn B.
Published: April 2011

Research indicates that people have a high estimate of their personal ability and assess their vulnerability to personal risk as less than their peers. Even though these judgments have been found to be resistant to change, previous research suggests that making individuals accountable for their judgments may prevent certain illusory self‐assessments developing. Two studies investigated whether accountability modifies estimates of personal ability and vulnerability. Results indicated that making participants more accountable for their judgments significantly reduces positive self‐assessments. There was also some suggestion that the extent of the accountability effect is proportional to the magnitude of the accountability manipulation.
The account taken of statistical power in research published in the British Journal of Psychology
Authors: Clark‐Carter David
Published: April 2011

Since approximately 1925, researchers in psychology have evaluated their hypotheses against the probability of making a Type I error. Attempts to persuade researchers to augment this information, with details such as effect size and confidence intervals, and in particular to take the probability of a Type II error into account, have largely been ignored. The present paper reviews the degree to which statistical power has been explicitly considered in papers published in the British Journal of Psychology in 1993 and 1994. It summarizes the power for small, medium and large effect sizes for 54 papers, based on the sample sizes which were employed. The analysis confirms that the power of statistical tests is not taken into account by researchers and that, accordingly, they continue to run a high risk of rejecting their research hypotheses.
The psychological impact of negative TV news bulletins: The catastrophizing of personal worries
Authors: Johnston Wendy M. , Davey Graham C. L.
Published: April 2011

This study investigated the effect of the emotional content of television news programmes on mood state and the catastrophizing of personal worries. Three groups were shown 14‐min TV news bulletins that were edited to display either positive‐, neutral‐ or negative‐valenced material. Participants who watched the negatively valenced bulletin showed increases in both anxious and sad mood, and also showed a significant increase in the tendency to catastrophize a personal worry. The results are consistent with those theories of worry that implicate negative mood as a causal factor in facilitating worrisome thought. They also suggest that negatively valenced TV news programmes can exacerbate a range of personal concerns that are not specifically relevant to the content of the programme.
Putting faces to names
Authors: Craigie Mark , Hanley J. Richard
Published: April 2011

An experiment is reported which investigated participants' ability to remember a person's face when they were presented with the person's name. During the learning phase, participants were shown 18 unfamiliar faces together with a name and occupation. At test, participants were presented with a name and were asked to indicate the face and occupation that had been presented with that name at learning. Results showed that participants' ability to remember the face was contingent upon their ability to remember the occupation that had been presented with the name. When participants were presented with a face and were asked to remember the name, performance was also contingent upon correctly remembering the associated occupation, consistent with the findings of McWeeny, Young, Hay & Ellis (1987). No such contingencies were apparent when participants were given an occupation and were asked to remember the associated name and face; participants frequently remembered the name but not the face, or the face without the name. These results are consistent with the serial access model of person identification proposed by Bruce & Young (1986), and with more recent developments proposed by Valentine, Brédart, Lawson & Ward (1991) and Craigie & Hanley (1993) in which there are no direct links between the representation of a person's name in memory and visual information about their facial appearance. The mnemonic strategies that were used by the participants during the learning phase of the experiment were also examined. These strategies help explain those few occasions on which participants appear to be able to link names to faces without identity‐specific semantic information.
Quantitative science and the definition of measurement in psychology
Authors: Michell Joel
Published: April 2011

It is argued that establishing quantitative science involves two research tasks: the scientific one of showing that the relevant attribute is quantitative; and the instrumental one of constructing procedures for numerically estimating magnitudes. In proposing quantitative theories and claiming to measure the attributes involved, psychologists are logically committed to both tasks. However, they have adopted their own, special, definition of measurement, one that deflects attention away from the scientific task. It is argued that this is not accidental. From Fechner onwards, the dominant tradition in quantitative psychology ignored this task. Stevens' definition rationalized this neglect. The widespread acceptance of this definition within psychology made this neglect systemic, with the consequence that the implications of contemporary research in measurement theory for undertaking the scientific task are not appreciated. It is argued further that when the ideological support structures of a science sustain serious blind spots like this, then that science is in the grip of some kind of thought disorder.

…unluckily our professors of psychology in general are not up to quantitative logic…

E. L. Thorndike to J. McK. Cattell, 1904
A critique of a measurement–theoretic critique: Commentary on Michell, Quantitative science and the definition of measurement in psychology
Authors: Laming Donald
Published: April 2011

Over the past 40 years there has been much theoretical progress in the understanding of what it means to make measurements. If numbers are assigned to objects or events, the kinds of arithmetical operations (such as averaging or calculating ratios) which it is thereafter meaningful to carry out on the numbers depend on the rule of assignment. Measurement theory, roughly speaking, is concerned to identify what conditions need to be satisfied to make this or that arithmetical operation meaningful. Measurement theorists, generally, feel that psychologists have disregarded their work, to the detriment of the development of psychology as a natural science. Michell's article is a polemic—a very scholarly and well‐argued polemic—addressing this issue. It would have helped his argument, however, to have explained why measurement theory should matter to psychologists, and I endeavour, first of all, to remedy that deficit.
Abstraction of covariations in incidental learning and covariation bias
Authors: Perruchet Pierre , Pacteau Chantal , Gallego Jorge
Published: April 2011

Experiment 1 was devised to distinguish, in a given set of features composing drawn robots, those whose variations were related a priori for participants from those whose variations were a priori independent. In Expt 2, correlations were experimentally induced between a priori‐related features for one group of participants (pre‐primed group), and between a priori‐independent features for another group {arbitrary group), in incidental learning conditions. A subsequent transfer phase revealed that participants' performances were sensitive to experimentally induced correlations in both groups. However, only the performances of the pre‐primed group accurately matched the predictions of a statistical model devised by K. Richardson (e.g. Richardson & Carthy, 1990), postulating the acquisition of genuine knowledge of the correlational structure. Participants' sensitivity to arbitrary correlations appeared to be a by‐product of the memory of specific study exemplars. These results demand the reinterpretation of some prior experimental evidence for covariation abstraction, and more generally, are consonant with a current view of implicit learning which emphasizes the role of specific prior episodes in complex learning situations.
A comparison of the encoding of content and order in olfactory memory and in memory for visually presented verbal materials
Authors: White Theresa L. , Treisman Michel
Published: April 2011

The claim that there is no olfactory short‐term memory store, as olfactory serial position (SP) effects are absent (Engen, 1987, 1989; Lawless & Engen, 1977), raises the issue whether memory for sensory qualities is differently organized from memories for more cognitive materials in vision and hearing. Early memory processing in olfaction is re‐examined by comparing the results of similarly designed experiments which examine short‐term memory for words and consonants, and for odours. Memory for content and memory for order were separately examined in each case.

Serial position functions were obtained both for visually presented verbal materials and for odours. The serial position effects for content and order memory in both modalities are sufficiently similar in pattern to support the conclusion that short‐term memory processing of olfactory and verbal stimuli is conducted by analogous memory mechanisms.
The reliability of marking on a psychology degree
Authors: Dracup Christopher
Published: April 2011

The reliability of marking for the final cohort of students to graduate from the psychology degree scheme in place at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle between 1985 and 1993 was investigated. Inter‐marker correlations for some course components were low, but the correlation between students' overall first marks and their overall second marks was .93, a value in keeping with those typically reported for national school examinations. The reliability of a student's overall agreed mark was estimated to be .96 and the standard error of measurement to be about 1 per cent. Further analyses went on to consider the influence of question and option choice on reliability, the representativeness of the cohort studied and the effects of agreeing marks rather than simply averaging first and second marks. Cronbach's alpha was proposed as a means of estimating reliability in the absence of second marking and was used to compare the reliability of first and second markers. The possibility of second marking the work only of those students who were classified as borderline on the basis of their first marks was discussed. The paper concludes with a reminder that reliability does not guarantee validity.
Consistency of performance on eyedness tasks
Authors: Osburn David M. , Klingsporn M. James
Published: April 2011

Two forms of eye lateralization, called here dominance and preference, were investigated by giving participants multiple trials at each task dispersed over different days. Questionnaire data were also collected. It was found that: (1) a large percentage of persons cannot tell which eye they would use at eyedness tasks; (2) that over one‐third of all participants give inconsistent results (some trials use right eye, other trials the left) on the dominance task and about one‐sixth are inconsistent on the preference task; (3) that a typical inconsistency profile for dominance is unlike that for preference; and (4) that dominance seems to drive preference. The appropriateness of a binomial model for individual eyedness data and reasons for low correlations between tasks are also discussed.
Theory‐of‐mind deficits and causal attributions
Authors: Kinderman Peter , Dunbar Robin , Bentall Richard P.
Published: April 2011

The ability to understand and conceptualize the mental processes of other people is considered to play a vital role in social interactions. Deficits in this area, sometimes known as theory‐of‐mind (ToM) deficits, have been identified as playing a possible causal role in autism, Asperger's syndrome and schizophrenic disorders, particularly paranoia. Paranoia has also been associated with an abnormal attributional style, an observation that suggests that ToM and attributional processes may be related phenomena. This paper describes a study examining the relationship between attributional processes and ToM deficits. Seventy‐seven undergraduate participants completed a ToM task and forty‐six also completed the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ). ToM deficits were associated with an increased tendency to identify other individuals as responsible for negative social situations. The implications of the observed relationship between attributions and ToM deficits are discussed.
DSM‐III‐R and ICD‐10 personality disorder features among women experiencing two types of self‐reported homesickness: An exploratory study
Authors: Eurelings‐Bontekoe Elisabeth H. M. , Brouwers Evelien , Verschuur Margot , Duijsens Inge
Published: April 2011

This study investigated the intensity of DSM‐III–R and ICD‐10 personality disorder features among females experiencing self‐reported homesickness. Three groups were compared: (a) a group of women experiencing chronic feelings of homesickness (CHS); (b) a group of women experiencing episodic attacks of homesickness, each time they go on holidays (EHS); and (c) a group of healthy control females, recruited from the general population (HC). This study aimed to investigate whether the homesick participants showed stronger features of personality pathology than the controls and whether those who report experiencing chronic feelings of homesickness showed stronger features of personality pathology than those who at the moment of testing were not in an actual state of homesickness. Glass effect sizes revealed that the DSM‐III–R avoidant and dependent and the ICD‐10 anxious and dependent traits were most strongly associated with either type of homesickness. Finally, CHS was particularly associated with passive–aggressive traits and EHS with sadistic traits. Based on the stories of 21 homesick women, a link between adverse attachment experiences in childhood and certain personality features on the one hand and homesickness on the other is tentatively suggested.
Gender differences in the dual‐task effects on autobiographical memory retrieval during social problem solving
Authors: Goddard Lorna , Dritschel Barbara , Burton Andrew
Published: April 2011

A dual‐task paradigm was used to explore the effects of cognitive load on social problem solving and autobiographical memory retrieval. The role that gender may play in mediating the relationship was also examined. Participants performed a secondary task concurrently with two primary tasks: (a) a cueing task, and {b) the Means–End Problem‐Solving (MEPS) Task, during which they were required to attend to the memories retrieved during solution generation. Two dual‐task conditions were employed in order that two levels of secondary task difficulty could be explored. Level of difficulty proved to be an important factor in the effects of resource reduction on the two primary tasks. Retrieval during the MEPS was effected by both the easy and difficult secondary task whereas retrieval on the cueing task was affected by the difficult task only. The results also showed that females (in contrast to males) favoured a more detailed SPS style using a specific memory database. Consequently, under central executive pressure, females' performance was significantly affected while males' performance remained largely unchanged.
Low work function CsI coatings for enhanced field emission properties
Authors: Fairchild S. B. , Back T. C. , Murray P. T. , Cahay M. M. , Shiffler D. A.
Published: April 2011

Thin films of cesium iodide (CsI) were deposited by pulsed laser deposition and by thermal evaporation onto Si substrates and were characterized by x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and Kelvin probe measurements. The thermally evaporated films were found to be stoichiometric whereas the pulsed laser deposited films showed the presence of a Cs/CsI mixture. The latter is supported by UPS measurements whose Fermi edge indicates the presence of a metallic component (elemental Cs). The presence of a Cs/CsI mixture is also supported by the Kelvin probe work function values found to be in the range of 2.6–2.8 eV, a value in excess of the 2.1 eV reported for elemental Cs. This paper addresses the physical mechanisms responsible for the presence of the elemental Cs in the films and its ramification to their field emission properties.
Enhancement of Amoxicillin Resistance after Unsuccessful Helicobacter pylori Eradication
Authors: Nishizawa Toshihiro , Suzuki Hidekazu , Tsugawa Hitoshi , Muraoka Hiroe , Matsuzaki Juntaro , Hirata Kenro , Ikeda Fumiaki , Takahashi Masahiko , Hibi Toshifumi
Published: April 2011

A high rate of resistance (49.5 to 72.7%) to amoxicillin (AMX) was observed in
Helicobacter pylori
after two or three unsuccessful eradication attempts. Unsuccessful eradication regimens significantly increase resistance to not only clarithromycin (CLR) and metronidazole (MNZ) but also AMX.
Comparative Efficacies of Candidate Antibiotics against Yersinia pestis in an In Vitro Pharmacodynamic Model
Authors: Louie Arnold , VanScoy Brian , Liu Weiguo , Kulawy Robert , Brown David , Heine Henry S. , Drusano George L.
Published: April 2011

Yersinia pestis
, the bacterium that causes plague, is a potential agent of bioterrorism. Streptomycin is the “gold standard” for the treatment of plague infections in humans, but the drug is not available in many countries, and resistance to this antibiotic occurs naturally and has been generated in the laboratory. Other antibiotics have been shown to be active against
Y. pestis in vitro
and
in vivo
. However, the relative efficacies of clinically prescribed regimens of these antibiotics with streptomycin and with each other for the killing of
Yersinia pestis
are unknown. The efficacies of simulated pharmacokinetic profiles for human 10-day clinical regimens of ampicillin, meropenem, moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin were compared with the gold standard, streptomycin, for killing of
Yersinia pestis
in an
in vitro
pharmacodynamic model. Resistance amplification with therapy was also assessed. Streptomycin killed the microbe in one trial but failed due to resistance amplification in the second trial. In two trials, the other antibiotics consistently reduced the bacterial densities within the pharmacodynamic systems from 10
8
CFU/ml to undetectable levels (<10
2
CFU/ml) between 1 and 3 days of treatment. None of the comparator agents selected for resistance. The comparator antibiotics were superior to streptomycin against
Y. pestis
and deserve further evaluation.
Local Mobile Gene Pools Rapidly Cross Species Boundaries To Create Endemicity within Global Vibrio cholerae Populations
Authors: Boucher Yan , Cordero Otto X. , Takemura Alison , Hunt Dana E. , Schliep Klaus , Bapteste Eric , Lopez Philippe , Tarr Cheryl L. , Polz Martin F.
Published: April 2011

Vibrio cholerae
represents both an environmental pathogen and a widely distributed microbial species comprised of closely related strains occurring in the tropical to temperate coastal ocean across the globe (Colwell RR, Science 274:2025–2031, 1996; Griffith DC, Kelly-Hope LA, Miller MA, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 75:973–977, 2006; Reidl J, Klose KE, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 26:125–139, 2002). However, although this implies dispersal and growth across diverse environmental conditions, how locally successful populations assemble from a possibly global gene pool, relatively unhindered by geographic boundaries, remains poorly understood. Here, we show that environmental
Vibrio cholerae
possesses two, largely distinct gene pools: one is vertically inherited and globally well mixed, and the other is local and rapidly transferred across species boundaries to generate an endemic population structure. While phylogeographic analysis of isolates collected from Bangladesh and the U.S. east coast suggested strong panmixis for protein-coding genes, there was geographic structure in integrons, which are the only genomic islands present in all strains of
V. cholerae
(Chun J, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 106:15442–15447, 2009) and are capable of acquiring and expressing mobile gene cassettes. Geographic differentiation in integrons arises from high gene turnover, with acquisition from a locally cooccurring sister species being up to twice as likely as exchange with conspecific but geographically distant
V. cholerae
populations.

IMPORTANCE
Functional predictions of integron genes show the predominance of secondary metabolism and cell surface modification, which is consistent with a role in competition and predation defense. We suggest that the integron gene pool’s distinctness and tempo of sharing are adaptive in allowing rapid conversion of genomes to reflect local ecological constraints. Because the integron is frequently the main element differentiating clinical strains (Chun J, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 106:15442–15447, 2009) and its recombinogenic activity is directly stimulated by environmental stresses (Guerin E, et al., Science 324:1034, 2009), these observations are relevant for local emergence and subsequent dispersal.
Quality of Reporting on Randomised Controlled Trials of Auriculotherapy for Pain
Authors: Asher Gary N , Motsinger-Reif Alison A , Jonas Daniel E , Viera Anthony J
Published: April 2011

Objective

The authors investigated the quality of reporting for randomised controlled trials of auriculotherapy for pain before and after the implementation of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) guidelines.

Methods

The authors identified randomised controlled trials of auriculotherapy that measured pain or pain medication use as a primary outcome and were published in English in peer-reviewed journals. Proportions of studies that reported STRICTA and CONSORT items were compared for the years before and after implementation of STRICTA (2001) using Fisher's exact tests. Global differences across all study factors were investigated using hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis (PCA).

Results

15 studies met our inclusion criteria. On average, 11 studies (74%) reported STRICTA items and eight studies (54%) reported CONSORT items. Differences in reporting between pre and post-STRICTA studies were found for two CONSORT items (randomised sequence and treatment provider) but no STRICTA items. However, the results of cluster analysis and PCA detected global differences over time for both STRICTA and CONSORT items.

Conclusion

Quality of reporting for studies of auriculotherapy for pain appears to have generally improved since the implementation of STRICTA and CONSORT guidelines.
Electroacupuncture Improves Voiding Function in Patients with Neurogenic Urinary Retention Secondary to Cauda Equina Injury: Results from a Prospective Observational Study
Authors: Liu Zhishun , Zhou Kehua , Wang Yang , Pan Yanxia
Published: April 2011

Objective

To report the therapeutic effectiveness and feasibility of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment in patients with urinary retention which is caused by cauda equina injury and refractory to conventional conservative treatments.

Methods

From 9 August 2007 to 10 May 2010 prospective evaluation was carried out in 15 patients with neurogenic urinary retention secondary to cauda equina injury who underwent EA treatment at bilateral points BL32, BL33 and BL35. All patients received five sessions of EA treatment each week for the first 4 weeks, three sessions a week for the following 2 weeks, and then were followed up for 6 months. Voiding abilities, postvoiding residual urine volume (RUV) and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) were documented as outcome measures.

Results

After 6 weeks’ EA treatment, 10/15 enrolled patients regained their self-voiding ability, and the mean postvoiding RUV for all patients decreased by 303.6±148.8 ml. In nine patients with documented data, Qmax increased by 11.0±6.3 ml/s. In nine patients, voiding difficulties changed from severe to mild. At the end of 6 months’ follow-up, 8/10 patients retained their regained self-voiding ability, whereas two patients had lost their voiding ability again.

Conclusion

The results indicate that the EA treatment may have longlasting therapeutic effectiveness in the management of neurogenic urinary retention secondary to cauda equina injury.