Psychological aspects

Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash depicts a world in which the more freedom the characters believe they have, the more control is actually being exerted upon them. I argue that Snow Crash parallels the world in which we are beginning to find ourselves today. In the modern world, we have the convenience of the Internet, which gives us the belief that we have a great deal of control over our environment. However, my argument stems from the idea that the freedom the characters believe that they are afforded in such a universe is actually another level of control being exercised upon them. I argue that our world is mimicked by the world of Snow Crash in a way that shows how truly little freedom we are given in our posthuman society.

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between wellness and burnout among novice counselors. This research was carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the experience of the novice counselor as well as to gain insight into the effects of wellness and burnout on these experiences. The significance of this research lies in the need to understand the novice counselor's journey, the factors that can contribute to or prevent burnout, and the potential prevention and intervention strategies that can be employed in response to burnout. The data of a final sample of 144 participants' scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), The Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (5F-Wel), and a demographic questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences in order to explore the relationships between wellness and burnout. The researcher found significant relationships between demographic factors of the novice counselor, including age, years of experience, and number of hours delivering counseling services, and both the MBI and the 5F-Wel. The researcher also found a relationship between all factors of wellness and the three subscales of burnout. A particularly important finding was the significance of the Coping Self, Physical Self, and Creative Self subscales of wellness to the subscales of burnout. The implications of the findings include the development of specific intervention and prevention strategies for novice counselors. Limitations of this research include the relatively small sample size, potential bias among the participants who chose to complete the survey, and the limited generalizability.

Diminished affective behavior is a frequently observed concomitant of cognitive dysfunction in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), yet little is known about their relationship. A neuropsychological battery and electroencephalogram (EEG) recording was conducted on 29 HIV+ (Mage = 35.6 years, SD =5.36) and 30 HIV- (Mage =32.9 years, SD =6.39) women recruited from a family AIDS care program in South Florida. Using an emotion regulation paradigm, we compared event-related potentials (ERPs) following cues to view-neutral, view-negative and reappraise-negative images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). A group X instruction interaction was found for the P200 and early (400-1000 ms) late positive potential (LPP). Executive function, i.e., frequent task-switching predicted the attenuation of the early and late LPP following cues to up-regulate negative emotions. Greater response inhibition predicted attenuation of the LPP during the down-regulation of negative emotions. These findings suggest limited cognitive resources for the reappraisal of emotions in women with HIV.

Wigging Out, a memoir, chronicles my first chemotherapy treatment which began in 2008 for the autoimmune disease Lupus. The primary focus is on how identity is affected by disability. Each symptom of my disease and side effect from my medications prompted a reevaluation of my identity as I felt a change both in myself and in the way others perceived me. In order to maintain a sense of control, I tried several techniques to pass and cover my disabled status, including the use of prosthetic hair pieces. Ultimately, the use of prosthetics made accepting my situation more difficult as it encouraged holding onto a former identity rather than creating a new one. It was not until I stopped using prosthetics as a form of denial and instead adopted them as part of a new identity that I was finally able to achieve the confidence necessary to fight for my life.

The current study investigated the interpretation of an agent's actions under the influence of external forces. Participants viewed a series of videos of an agent making a varying series of decisions and forced behaviors and were asked to predict future behavior. Firstly, we found evidence that suggests that perceivers make inferences about an agent that once they have shown a preference toward an object, they will persist with those initial desires, despite, external forces leading them to a different object. Secondly, we found evidence that suggests that submitting to a coerced choice will be perceived as reflecting a conflicting combination of pragmatic behavioral choice (due to concession to external forces) and maintenance of original desires, or, simply put, perceivers infer multiple underlying intentions in others.

Peer aggression and bullying are significant problems for children in American schools. While a large body of research has been conducted in this area, none to date has examined the combined roles of temperament (behavioral activation system, or BAS, and behavioral inhibition system, or BIS), and empathy in predicting participation in bullying interactions. Previous research has found that low empathy facilitates aggressive behavior, while high empathy inhibits it, and has linked poor emotion regulation to conduct disorders. Thus, if these factors can predict behaviors towards peers, they may also predict (independently and in combination) involvement in bullying, specifically the roles assumed in those interactions - that is: bully, victim, bully-victim (a child who is both bully and victim), or defender/protector. The present study tested 226 middle school students on a measure of empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), and a measure of temperament (BIS/BAS Scales). The students also completed a Peer Nomination Inventory to identify children who were aggressive toward others, victimized by peers, and/or protected peers from bullies. Although not all predictions were supported, results showed that certain sub-components of empathy, such as empathic concern (affective empathy) and personal distress (a measure of emotion regulation) predicted the behavior of "pure bullies" (bullies who are not themselves victimized), but not of other aggressive children such as bully-victims. High BAS drive and low BIS were significant predictors of aggressive behavior, and BAS reward responsiveness predicted protective behavior. Victimized children had higher fantasy (ability to identify with fictional characters) and lower perspective-taking (cognitive empathy) skills, and tended not to have overlapping characteristics and behaviors with protective children.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a disability resulting in functional impairments and heightened dependence on others. Family members of persons with TBI can assume added responsibilities during the adjustment to the disability and rehabilitation process, placing strain on the family system. Community re-integration is a primary goal of the rehabilitation process for persons with TBI as this is a step in developing autonomy and promoting independence and productive activity throughout different areas of the person's life (e.g., work, social networks, and home life). This study was designed to examine predictors of community re-integration outcomes of TBI survivors and empirically test the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation while incorporating family needs by surveying caregiving family members. Specific aims of the study include validating relationships of the resiliency model with individual and family outcomes in adaptation and supporting future recommendations for healthcare providers working with families with members with TBI.

A progressive discourse on race is impeded by several factors: debates on the reality or unreality of the term race itself; discussions of ethnicity that tend to marginalize a discussion of race; the view by majority members of society that race is a topic for discussion principally by minorities; and the lack of models for non-confrontational public conversations on the subject. In the process, a discussion of racial change rarely enters the discourse beyond brief responses in opinion polls. This study proposed the Race and Change Dialogue Model to facilitate the exploration of how race operates in society on an interpersonal level in everyday lives of people across cultures and how changes in racial attitudes occur over time. Theories of race and ethnicity, language, effective communication strategies, and social change provided a starting point, but a "re-languaging" approach was used to advance the innovative nature of this work. In audiorecorded oral histories for public dissemination and interviews in a documentary series on public television, cross-cultural narrators were provided with a safe rhetorical space to tell their stories and to be heard, and a framework of "racenicity" allowed for the discussion of the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, class, and culture as fused aspects of the same issue. An environment was created that enhanced effective communication of a difficult subject. Despite the challenges that arose in the patterns of talk about racial change, the door has been opened to bring change into the dialogue in a more prominent way that moves the discourse on differences in more productive directions. An alternate model for public discussions on race as "racenicity" was created that has the potential to build coalition in the U.S. and has implications for other societies as well.

Data was provided by researchers of the Einstein Aging Study (EAS) of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University whom statistically analyzed data from the Bronx Aging Study cohort, concluding that participation in cognitive leisure activities and one physical activity, dancing, were associated with a reduced risk of dementia [1]. We explore data from a second (the EAS) cohort, utilizing Cox Proportional-Hazards and extended Cox regression [13]. Cognitive leisure activities in general, and particularly doing crossword puzzles, reading books, watching television, and emailing are associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Doing aerobics, learning computer programming, babysitting, dancing, jogging singing, and weight training are associated with an increased risk of dementia. Participation in cognitive leisure activities in general, and reading books in particular, remains highly significant even after adjustment for well-known risk factors [14] such as: age, cognitive status, depression, medical illnesses, gender, ethnicity, education and economic status.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that are associated with encourage the persistence of undergraduate women majoring in Engineering and Math (EM) at Florida Atlantic University, University of Central Florida, and University of South Florida. The persistence factors were examined through an analysis of university data and the use of a survey for enrolled senior standing students who declared their first major in engineering or math. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to collect and analyze data from the three sites. Factor analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the quantitative data. The quantitative data retrieved from the survey instrument revealed that participants who were self motivated, felt they had a safe learning environment, and were engaged by the university were more likely to persist in engineering and math. Additionally, the survey revealed that race and ethnicity does not predict persistence of undergraduate women maj oring in engineering and math. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey questions revealed that the most important factor that helps female students persist in engineering and math major was self-confidence and determination. They also indicated that discrimination and stereotyping were the most difficult factors for female students to overcome. To enable more women to be successful in the pursuit of a engineering or math degree, participants made an overwhelming reference to intervention as student engagement.