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Superior Memory: An Example Of The Benefits Of Examining Individual Differences In Cognitive Psychology, Lawrence Patihis

Faculty Publications

Comments on an article by Robert Logie (see record 2018-64362-002). Author agrees with Logie that there is potentially much to be gained now from cognitive psychology research that investigates individual differences. Author would add the caveat, and Logie alludes to this too, that the traditional approach of comparing experimental conditions has been more productive than any other and has led to useful general theories (and descriptions of cognitive phenomena) in the areas of perception, attention, memory, and reasoning. Research with experimental-condition comparisons utilizing random assignment has revolutionized psychology and brought a well-rounded understanding of the mind that far surpassed …

Language Counts: Early Language Mediates The Relationship Between Parent Education And Children's Math Ability, Emily Slusser, Andrew Ribner, Anna Shusterman

Faculty Publications

Children's early math skills have been hailed as a powerful predictor of academic success. Disparities in socioeconomic context, however, also have dramatic consequences on children's learning. It is therefore critical to investigate both of these distinct contributors in order to better understand the early foundations of children's academic outcomes. This study tests an integrated model of children's developing math ability so as to (1) identify the specific skills and abilities most clearly linked to early math achievement and (2) measure the influence of children's socioeconomic context on each of these skills. We first evaluated the early vocabulary, number word knowledge …

Oprm1 Genotype Interacts With Serotonin System Dysfunction To Predict Alcohol-Heightened Aggression In Primates, Carlos A. Driscoll, Stephen G. Lindell, Melanie L. Schwandt, Stephen J. Suomi, J. Dee Higley, Markus Heilig, Christina S. Barr

Faculty Publications

Although the notion that alcohol promotes violence is widespread, not all individuals are aggressive while intoxicated. Genetic variation could be a contributing factor to individual differences in alcohol-heightened aggression. The present study examines the effects of OPRM1C77G genotype on responses to threat in rhesus macaques under normal conditions and following alcohol administration. Prior studies have shown that a low CSF level of 5-HIAA is a trait marker for individuals prone to escalated aggression. We wanted to examine whether the predictive value for this marker on aggression was moderated by OPRM1 genotype. Animals were administered alcohol (BAC 100-200 mg%), were provoked …

How Distress Tolerance Mediates The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And The Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide Constructs In A U.S. Military Sample, Rachel L. Martin, Brian W. Bauer, Kathleen L. Ramsey, Bradley A. Green, Daniel Capron, Michael D. Anestis

Faculty Publications

Objectives

Despite the general suicide rate within the military being comparable to the general population when comparing peers, there are certain branches of the military that have elevated risk. Specifically, the U.S. National Guard has suicide rates that are constantly higher than other military branches and civilian peers. The National Guard are a unique military population in which they frequently transition between military and civilian life. With these unique experiences and heightened risk, military suicide prevention efforts may benefit from further research within this population. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another concern amongst military personnel and has been linked to …

The Longitudinal Impact Of Screen Time On Adolescent Development: Moderation By Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, Wesley Sanders, Justin Parent, Jamie L. Abaied, Rex Forehand, Sarah M. Coyne, W. Justin Dyer

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To date, little is known about underlying psychophysiological contributions to the impact of media content and overall screen time on adolescent psychological functioning. In the present study we examine respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of the link between specific types of media content use, overall media exposure, and the development of internalizing and aggressive symptoms in youth.

Methods: A sample of 374 adolescents (mean age = 15) reported on their media use, internalizing behavior, and aggressive behavior at time 1 (2011) and 1-year follow-up (2012). RSA reactivity was gathered during a challenging laboratory task. Path analyses were …

Toxoplasma Gondii Seropositivity And Substance Use In Us Adults, Bruce L. Brown, Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Evan L. Thacker, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) infects humans resulting in acute toxoplasmosis, an infection that in immunocompetent people is typically mild but results in persistent latent toxoplasmosis. In that T. gondii appears to affect dopamine synthesis and because addicting drugs affect midbrain dopamine transmission, latent toxoplasmosis could influence substance use. Using both the third and continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we used logistic regression to test for associations between T. gondii seropositivity and subject self-report of having ever used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine. …

Sex Differences In Rhesus Monkeys’ Digit Ratio (2d:4d Ratio) And Its Association With Maternal Social Dominance Rank, Alexander Baxter, Elizabeth K. Wood, Parker Jarman, Ashley N. Cameron, John P. Capitanio, James Dee Higley

Faculty Publications

Prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) plays a pivotal role in masculinizing the developing body and brain, and extreme exposure may contribute to autism, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. One commonly used biomarker for PAE is the pointer-to-ring-finger digit length (2D:4D) ratio. Although this biomarker is widely used in human studies, relatively few studies have investigated 2D:4D ratio in nonhuman primates, particularly rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), one of the most commonly used animals in biomedical research. Thus far, data suggest that sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D ratio may be in the opposite direction in some monkey species, when compared to the pattern …

Advancing Social Connection As A Public Health Priority In The United States, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Theodore Robles, David A. Sbarra

Faculty Publications

A robust body of scientific evidence indicates that being embedded in high-quality close relationships and feeling socially connected to the people in your life is associated with decreased risk for all-cause mortality as well as a range of disease morbidities. Despite mounting evidence that the magnitude of these associations is comparable to many leading health determinants (that receive significant public health resources), government agencies, healthcare providers and associations, and public/private healthcare funders are slow to recognize human social relationships as either a health determinant or health risk marker in a manner that is comparable to other public health priorities. This …

Curvilinear Association Between Language Disfluency And Fmr1 Cgg Repeat Size Across The Normal, Intermediate, And Premutation Range, Jessica Klusek, Ann Porter, Leonard Abbeduto, Tatyana Adayev, Flora Tassone, Marsha R. Mailick, Anne Glicksman, Bridgette L. Tonnsen, Jane E. Roberts

Faculty Publications

Historically, investigations of FMR1 have focused almost exclusively on the clinical effects of CGG expansion within the categories of the premutation (55–200 CGG repeats) and fragile X syndrome (>200 CGG repeats). However, emerging evidence suggests that CGG-dependent phenotypes may occur across allele sizes traditionally considered within the “normal” range. This study adopted an individual-differences approach to determine the association between language production ability and CGG repeat length across the full range of normal, intermediate, and premutation alleles. Participants included 61 adult women with CGG repeats within the premutation (n = 37), intermediate (i.e., 41–54 repeats; n = 2), …

Why "Trauma-Related Dissociation" Is A Misnomer In Courts: A Critical Analysis Of Brand Et Al. (2017a, B), Harald Merckelbach, Lawrence Patihis

Faculty Publications

Forensic psychologists are sometimes faced with the task of educating triers of fact about the evidential weight of dissociative experiences reported by claimants in litigation procedures. In their two-part essay, Brand et al. (Psychological Injury and Law, 10, 283–297, 2017a; Psychological Injury and Law, 10, 298–312, 2017b) provide advice to experts who find themselves in such situation. We argue that the Brand et al. approach is problematic and might induce confirmation bias in experts. Their approach is not well connected to the extant literature on recovered memories, dissociative amnesia, memory distortions, and symptom validity testing. In some …

Satisfaction With Psychology Training In The Veterans Healthcare Administration, Heather G. Belanger, Glenn Curtiss, Jennifer J. Duchnick, Jeffrey Bates, Stacy Pommer, Stacey Pollack, T. Michael Kashner, Kenneth R. Jones

Faculty Publications

Given that VA is the largest trainer of psychologists in the United States, this study sought to understand satisfaction with VA psychology training and which elements of training best predict trainees' positive perceptions of training (e.g., willingness to choose training experience again, stated intentions to work in VA). Psychology trainees completed the Learners' Perceptions Survey (LPS) from 2005 to 2017 (N = 5,342). Satisfaction was uniformly high. Trainee satisfaction was significantly associated with level of training, facility complexity, and some patient-mix factors. Learning environment (autonomy, time with patients, etc.), clinical faculty/preceptors (teaching ability, accessibility, etc.), and personal experiences (work/life balance, …

A Test Of The Psychometric Characteristics Of The Bis-Brief Among Three Groups Of Youth, Charles W. Mathias, Matthew S. Stanford, Yuanyuan Lang, Martin Goros, Nora E. Charles, Arielle H. Sheftall, Jillian Mullen, Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak, Ashley Acheson, Rene L. Olvera, Donald M. Dougherty

Faculty Publications

The current study empirically investigates the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits and cyber-aggression among adolescents (14–18 year old). The sample consisted of 324 participants aged 14–18 (M = 16.05, SD = 1.31). Participants completed the Short Dark Triad (SD3) as a measure of the Dark Triad personality traits, the Facebook Intensity Scale and a scale to measure cyber-aggression. Structural equation modelling was applied to investigate the relationships. Results show that only Facebook intensity and psychopathy significantly predict cyber-aggression, when controlling for age and gender. Findings are discussed regarding the potential importance to further study Dark Triad traits, and …

Righteous Or Self-Righteous Anger? Justice Sensitivity Moderates Defensive Outrage At A Third-Party Harm-Doer, Zachary K. Rothschild, Lucas A. Keefer

Faculty Publications

While bystanders' outrage over moral transgressions may represent a genuine desire to restore justice, such expressions can also be self‐serving—alleviating guilt and bolstering one's moral status. Four studies examined whether individual differences in observer justice sensitivity (JS_O) moderate the degree to which outrage at third‐party harm‐doing reflects concerns about one's own moral identity rather than justice per se. Among participants low (vs. high) in JS_O, feelings of guilt predicted greater outrage and desire to punish a corporation's sweatshop labor practices (Studies 1 & 2). Furthermore, affirming one's personal moral identity reduced outrage and support for punishing …

Evaluating Suggestibility To Additive And Contradictory Misinformation Following Explicit Error Detection In Younger And Older Adults, Mark Huff, Sharda Umanath

Faculty Publications

In 2 experiments, we assessed age-related suggestibility to additive and contradictory misinformation (i.e., remembering of false details from an external source). After reading a fictional story, participants answered questions containing misleading details that were either additive (misleading details that supplemented an original event) or contradictory (errors that changed original details). On a final test, suggestibility was greater for additive than contradictory misinformation, and older adults endorsed fewer false contradictory details than younger adults. To mitigate suggestibility in Experiment 2, participants were warned about potential errors, instructed to detect errors, or instructed to detect errors after exposure to examples of additive …

Tuning Out Security Warnings: A Longitudinal Examination Of Habituation Through Fmri, Eye Tracking, And Field Experiments, Anthony Vance, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, Bonnie Brinton Anderson, Daniel K. Bjornn, C. Brock Kirwan

Faculty Publications

Research in the fields of information systems and human-computer interaction has shown that habituation— decreased response to repeated stimulation—is a serious threat to the effectiveness of security warnings. Although habituation is a neurobiological phenomenon that develops over time, past studies have only examined this problem cross-sectionally. Further, past studies have not examined how habituation influences actual security warning adherence in the field. For these reasons, the full extent of the problem of habituation is unknown. We address these gaps by conducting two complementary longitudinal experiments. First, we performed an experiment collecting fMRI and eye-tracking data simultaneously to directly measure habituation …

Association Between Toxoplasma Gondii Seropositivity And Memory Function In Non-Demented Older Adults, Cynthia Elizabeth Wyman, Shawn D. Gale, Ariana Hedges-Muncy, Lance D. Erickson, Eric Wilson, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) seropositivity may be associated with decreased memory in older adults. To further investigate the association between T. gondii seropositivity and memory in nondemented older adults, we obtained serum samples from 114 non-demented older adults evaluated by the Alzheimer’s Disease and Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri, USA. We determined T. gondii seropositivity and anti-T. gondii IgG antibody titer and examined associations with memory function while controlling for socioeconomic status, education level, age, and apolipoprotein E4 status. There were few associations between T. gondii seropositivity or anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies and memory, although there …

Effects Of Exposure To Alcohol-Related Cues On Racial Discrimination, Elena V. Stepanova, Bruce D. Bartholow, J. Scott Saults, Ronald S. Friedman

Faculty Publications

Prior research has shown that exposure to alcohol‐related images exacerbates expression of implicit racial biases, and that brief exposure to alcohol‐related words increases aggressive responses. However, the potential for alcohol cue exposure to elicit differential aggression against a Black (outgroup) relative to a White (ingroup) target—that is, racial discrimination—has never been investigated. Here, we found that White participants (N = 92) exposed to alcohol‐related words made harsher judgments of a Black experimenter who had frustrated them than participants who were exposed to nonalcohol words. These findings suggest that exposure to alcohol cues increases discriminatory behaviors toward Blacks.

Full Statistical Mediation Of The Relationship Between Trauma And Depressive Symptoms, Patricia J. Place, Shichun Ling, Lawrence Patihis

Faculty Publications

Owing to the potentially devastating effects of trauma‐induced depression, explaining the relationship between trauma and depressive symptoms is important. In this study, we measured lifelong exposure to potentially traumatic events and depressive symptoms in 370‐female undergraduates. We also measured anxiety, past negative time perspective and dissociation as potential mediators. Trauma exposure and depressive symptoms were related with a small but significant effect size (r = .16). Trauma was not associated with dissociation. We found that past negative time perspective and anxiety were full statistical mediators of this trauma‐depressive symptoms relationship. These two mediators combined accounted for all of the …

Trauma-Focused Interventions: A Clinical Practice Analysis, Jose Carbajal

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a systematic review of trauma-treatment interventions, which have different theoretical perspectives on trauma etiology and its application. The empirical findings of these trauma treatment therapies are presented. The extant literature identifies five therapies as the most-effective treatment modalities for PTSD: cognitive therapy (CT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. They are all validated with some nuances on treatment approach and effectiveness. However, to use these five interventions, practitioners need to consider and apply the research findings that indicate which intervention is best for which …

Effects Of Exposure To Alcohol-Related Cues On Racial Prejudice, Elena V. Stepanova, Bruce D. Bartholow, J. Scott Saults, Ronald S. Friedman, Jinhao Chi, Abigail M. Hollis

Faculty Publications

Prior research (Stepanova, Bartholow, Saults, & Friedman, 2012) indicates that exposure to alcohol-related cues increases expressions of racial biases. This study investigated whether such effects can be replicated with other tasks assessing racial bias and whether they stem from stereotyping or prejudice. In two experiments participants (N₁ = 118; N₂ = 152) were exposed to either alcohol-related or neutral advertisements, and then completed a race-priming lexical decision task (LDT, Wittenbrink, Judd, and Park, 1997). Experiment 1 provided weak evidence that exposure to alcohol cues decreases positive attitudes toward Blacks, which was not confirmed in a high-powered replication …

Heart Rate-Defined Sustained Attention In Infants At Risk For Autism, Bridgette L. Tonnsen, J. E. Richards, Jane E. Roberts

Faculty Publications

Background: Although aberrant visual attention has been identified in infants at high familial risk for autism, the developmental emergence of atypical attention remains unclear. Integrating biological measures of attention into prospective high-risk infant studies may inform more nuanced developmental trajectories, clarifying the onset and course of atypical attention and potentially advancing early screening or treatment protocols. Heart rate-defined sustained attention (HRDSA) is a well-validated biological measure of attentional engagement that, in non-clinical infant populations, provides incremental information about attentional engagement beyond looking behaviors alone. The present study aimed to examine the characteristics and clinical correlates of HRDSA in high-risk infants, …

Running Records And First Grade English Learners: An Analysis Of Language Related Errors, Allison Briceno, Adria Klein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Acute Physiologic Stress And Subsequent Anxiety Among Family Members Of Icu Patients, Sarah J. Beesley, Ramona O. Hopkins, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Emily L. Wilson, Jorie Butler, Kathryn G. Kuttler, James Orme, Samuel M. Brown, Eliotte L. Hirshberg

Faculty Publications

Objectives: The ICU is a complex and stressful environment and is associated with significant psychologic morbidity for patients and their families. We sought to determine whether salivary cortisol, a physiologic measure of acute stress, was associated with subsequent psychologic distress among family members of ICU patients.

Design: This is a prospective, observational study of family members of adult ICU patients.

Setting: Adult medical and surgical ICU in a tertiary care center.

Subjects: Family members of ICU patients. Interventions: Participants provided five salivary cortisol samples over 24 hours at the time of the patient ICU admission. The primary measure of cortisol …

Helicobacter Pylori Moderates The Association Between 5-Mthf Concentration And Cognitive Function In Older Adults, Bruce L. Brown, Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

Objective: To explore potential interactions between folate-cycle factors and Helicobacter pylori seropositivity in the prediction of cognitive function. Methods We used data obtained from the 1999–2000 continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey produced by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression, we tested for associations between multiple folate-cycle factors, Helicobacter pylori seropositivity, and cognitive function assessed by the digit symbol coding subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III. We then tested for interactions between each of the folate-cycle factors and Helicobacter pylori in the prediction of cognitive function.

Results: Although Helicobacter pylori …

Analysis Of Endocrine Response To Perceived Difference In Cross-Cultural Interactions, Carole Woolford-Hunt, Marlene Murray, Tevni Grajales Guerra, Kristina Beenken-Johnson

Faculty Publications

We live in a world where awareness of ethnic and cultural diversity is an ever increasing reality. Business and education turn to the social sciences to inform them about how to manage and optimize cross-cultural interactions. Although much research has been done on the impact of cross-cultural interactions on a wide range of variables, one less researched area is the endocrine response to cross-cultural interactions. In this study we set out to investigate the endocrine response to cross cultural interactions and the impact of these interactions on perceived differences. To do so we measured the pre and post levels of …

Gratitude Predicts Hope And Happiness: A Two-Study Assessment Of Traits And States, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Fallon J. Richie, Lindsey M. Root Luna, Daryl R. Van Tongeren

Faculty Publications

Gratitude is the appreciation of a gift received; happiness is the enjoyment of a present good; and hope is the desire for a valued future. Two studies investigated gratitude as a predictor of hope and happiness. In Study 1, hierarchical regressions (N = 181) revealed that trait gratitude exceeded other constructs (forgivingness, patience, self-control) in predicting trait hope and happiness. In Study 2, we experimentally tested the impact of a gratitude-related writing intervention on state hope and happiness. Participants (N = 153) first wrote about a current, meaningful, hoped-for outcome and completed state hope and happiness measures. Participants …

Ubiquitous Emotion Analytics And How We Feel Today, Susan Currie Sivek

Faculty Publications

Emotions are complicated. Humans feel deeply, and it can be hard to bring clarity to those depths, to communicate about feelings, or to understand others’ emotional states. Indeed, this emotional confusion is one of the biggest challenges of deciphering our humanity. However, a kind of hope might be on the horizon, in the form of emotion analytics: computerized tools for recognizing and responding to emotion. This analysis explores how emotion analytics may reflect the current status of humans’ regard for emotion. Emotion need no longer be a human sense of vague, indefinable feelings; instead, emotion is in the process of …

Do Gender Differences In Perceived Prototypical Computer Scientists And Engineers Contribute To Gender Gaps In Computer Science And Engineering?, Joyce Ehrlinger, E. Ashby Plant, Marissa K. Hartwig, Jordan J. Vossen, Corey J. Columb, Lauren E. Brewer

Faculty Publications

Women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering (CS&E). We examined whether women might view the intellectual characteristics of prototypical individuals in CS&E in more stereotype-consistent ways than men might and, consequently, show less interest in CS&E. We asked 269 U.S. college students (187, 69.5% women) to describe the prototypical computer scientist (Study 1) or engineer (Study 2) through open-ended descriptions as well as through a set of trait ratings. Participants also rated themselves on the same set of traits and rated their similarity to the prototype. Finally, participants in both studies were asked to describe …

Alcoholic And Nonalcoholic Parents’ Orientations Toward Conformity And Conversation As Predictors Of Attachment And Psychological Well-Being For Adult Children Of Alcoholics, Marie Haverfield, Jennifer Theiss

Faculty Publications

Alcoholism is a family illness that has implications for the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of the spouse and children of individuals with alcoholism (Johnson & Stone, 2009). One in four families in the United States is affected by alcoholism (Grant, 2000), with approximately 26.8 million children growing up with a parent with alcoholism (Alcohol and Drug Programs [ADP], 2007). Children of parents with alcoholism tend to experience more frequent depression and struggle to develop healthy intimate relationships when compared to children of parents without alcoholism (Drejer, Theikjaard, Teasedale, Schulsinger, & Goodwin, 1985). Adult children of alcoholics (ACoA) who had …

Fractality Of Body Movements Predicts Perception Of Affordances: Evidence From Stand-On-Ability Judgments About Slopes, Alen Hajnal, Joseph Clark, Jonathan K. Doyon, Damian G. Kelty-Stephen

Faculty Publications

We recorded head motion with one wireless marker attached to the back of the head during quiet stance as participants visually inspected a sloped ramp in order to perceive whether they might be able to stand on the surface. Participants responded with "yes" or "no" without attempting to stand on the ramp. As has been found in dynamic touch (Palatinus, Kelty-Stephen, Kinsella-Shaw, Carello, & Turvey, 2014), we hypothesized that multiscale fluctuation patterns in bodily movement during visual observation would predict perceptual judgments. Mixed-effects logistic regression predicted binary affordance judgments as a function of geographical slant angle, head-motion standar deviation, and …