Displacement as a function of conflict.

"Miller's theory of displacement was extended by integration with his conflict theory into a three-dimensional model… . To test deductions from this model rats were first trained to get food at one end of an alley and then shocked while eating until they no longer approached the food cup. They then left this alley and entered other alleys differing slightly from the original alley. Here they went closer to the food end than in the original alley. Tracings of their movements followed a pattern predicted from the model… . After making goal responses in the generalized alleys, the rats returned to eat in the original alley, showing a 'therapeutic' effect." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of warning and information labels on consumption of full-fat, reduced-fat, and no-fat products.

Participants in a taste test study were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: warning label (e.g., "In this product, 90% of the calories come from fat. Warning: The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that eating high fat food increases your risk of heart disease." ), information label (e.g., "In this product, 90% of the calories come from fat." ), and no label. Participants rated how much they wanted to taste full-, reduced-, and no-fat cream cheeses, and they chose I type to eat. People in the warning- and no-label groups wanted to taste the full-fat product more than those in the information-label group. People in the warning- and information-label groups were less likely to eat the full-fat product than those in the no-label group. People reacted to the warning label but avoided the full-fat product. For products with credible and familiar risks, information labels may be more effective than warning labels because they don't arouse reactance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognition, motivation, and time perception.

The present research tested 2 hypotheses generated from a previous but unpublished work by another researcher viz., "1. The force acting on a person in a barrier situation to reach a goal G is an increasing function of the person's need for G 'times' the relevance of his ideation with respect to G. 2. The greater the magnitude of the force to reach a goal acting on a person in a barrier situation… , the greater will be the estimation of the time spent in the barrier situation." A food testing experiment "in which deprivation of food, thinking about food, and the desire to eat corresponded to… need, relevance of ideation, and force," is presented. Both hypotheses were supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Federal civil rights policy and mental health treatment access for persons with limited english proficiency.

As noted in the supplement to the U.S. Surgeon General's report on mental health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), overcoming language access barriers associated with limited English proficiency (LEP) should help to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care access and quality. Federal policy requires remedial action to overcome language barriers: Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Medicaid and other federally funded programs must provide assistance to LEP persons. Some state-level public and mental health authorities have responded by instituting "threshold language" policies. The history and terms of federal civil rights policy, and of threshold-language-policy-inspired initiatives, should be understood by everyone concerned with overcoming ethnic disparities in mental health services use. Concerned parties should promote implementation of required measures for language assistance and help to evaluate their implementation and effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of federal support on higher education.

A major university today, public or private, engaged in graduate teaching and research cannot maintain its stature without the present partnership with the Federal Government. The "problem between higher education and federal agencies is how to manage the future of a partnership that has been on balance eminently good over the past decade." Major sections are: The Educational Scene, Research Support (Alleged Evils of Federal Support, Benefits of Federal Support), A "Case History." Major "Institutions of higher education and those representing the scientific enterprise of the federal government are today completely dependent upon each other… . this relationship can be wisely managed, in such a way that both national and local interests can be met and strengthened." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctors, patients, and perceived job image: an empirical study of stress and nurses in Singapore

The acceptance and sensory characteristics of standard and reduced-fat cookies were evaluated either with or without fat-content information by pre-adolescent children. Results indicate that acceptance ratings were not affected by the fat content or information about fat content when evaluated on nine-point scales. However, when asked to choose which cookie they liked better and to predict how many cookies they would eat (in forced-choice questions), fat content and information about fat content had a significant effect on cookie preference and prospective intake. When no information was available, subjects preferred the cookie with the higher fat content; when information was presented, subjects' preference shifted to the reduced-fat cookie. When asked which cookie they would choose to eat for dessert with hypothetical lunches, a similar shift in choice was observed following a low-fat lunch. The low-fat label was also associated with an increase in perceived healthiness relative to the high-fat label, as indicated on "good for me" scales. The effects of fat content information on cookie preference and prospective consumption were seen in pre-adolescents who indicated a "high concern" for the health consequences of dietary fat. Cookie preference and prospective intake of subjects who indicated a "low concern" were not affected by fat content labeling. Results suggest that fat content and information about fat content may affect food preference and intake in pre-adolescent children.     

The school as a psychological laboratory.

"Current training opportunities leading the graduate student of psychology to real understanding of children are… extremely limited… . Perhaps as good an explanation for the profession's neglect of such an important aspect of its field [child psychology] is to be found in the swings of academic fashion." To date, the public schools as settings for practicum experiences and internships have not been much exploited. Large city school systems present exciting possibilities. Courses of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago have used the Chicago public schools since the 1930s. Typical research studies in which the Chicago schools have made facilities and subjects available are enumerated. "On the employment side, the positions for school psychologists in the Chicago schools jumped from 66 in 1957 to 90 in 1958." Psychological work in the schools requires thoughtful preparation. "Psychology must sell its wares to skeptical, if not openly hostile, teachers and administrators." Psychologists "must drop their supercilious attitude toward some of the basic tasks of school psychology… . The tremendous potential of the schools as a laboratory for research and training in almost all phases of psychological study must be more fully realized." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dietary and lifestyle correlates of passive smoking in Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.A

From epidemiologic studies in several countries, passive smoking has been associated with increased risk for lung cancer, respiratory diseases, and coronary heart disease. Since the relative risks derived from those studies are weak, i.e. relative risk less than two, we investigated whether poorer diets and less healthy lifestyles might act as confounders and be correlated with having a smoking husband on a cross-cultural basis. Characteristics of never-smoked wives with or without smoking husbands were compared between 530 women from Hong Kong, 13,047 from Japan, 87 from Sweden, and 144 from the U.S. In all four sites, wives with smoking husbands generally ate less healthy diets. They had a tendency to eat more fried food but less fruit than wives with nonsmoking husbands. Other healthy traits, e.g. avoiding obesity, dietary cholesterol and alcohol, or taking vitamins and participating in preventive screening were also less prevalent among wives with smoking husbands. These patterns suggest that never-smoked wives with smoking husbands tend to share the same less healthy dietary traits characteristic of smokers, and to have dietary habits associated with increased risk for lung cancer and heart disease in their societies. These results emphasize the need to take into account the potential confounding effects of diet and lifestyle in studies evaluating the health effects of passive smoking, especially since it is known that the current prevalence rates of smoking among men is indirectly associated with social class and education in affluent urban societies.     

A house divided? The psychology of red and blue America.

Recently it has become commonplace in America for commentators and the public to use the terms "red" and "blue" to refer to perceived cultural differences in America and American politics. Although a political divide may exist in America today, these particular terms are inaccurate and reductive. This article presents research from social psychology demonstrating that the increased use of these terms is likely to increase the conflict between political groups in America by making political conflict salient in nonpolitical contexts, reducing the ability of Americans to form multifaceted complex identities, pushing Americans to misperceive political in-groups and out-groups, and contributing to a "spiral of silence." An alternative model for discussing cultural differences is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naughty but nice: A laboratory study of health information and food preferences in a community sample.

The influence of information about the fat content of food and cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention on taste ratings and food intake in a test meal was examined. 40 adults (aged 20–55 yrs) were allocated at random to CVD information or control conditions. Ss rated 2 brands of yogurt and 2 cheese sandwiches, with one flavor of each food labeled "full-fat" and the other "low-fat." In fact, fat levels were identical, and the label-flavor pairings were counterbalanced. Overall, Ss gave lower liking ratings to the low-fat labeled foods. However, Ss in the information condition tended to eat a smaller proportion of the full-fat sandwiches. Results support the utility of a laboratory setting for evaluating the influence of health-relevant information on responses to food. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some recent studies of conflict behavior and drugs.

Sodium amytal "could produce in experiments on rats, effects which appear to parallel the fear-reducing effects of this drug in human conflict situations." The "beneficial effects of the sodium amytal on relearning in a conflict situation did not generalize from the drugged to the normal state. Chlorpromazine yielded more promising results." It is "possible to increase the resistance to the stress of pain and fear by appropriate training." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2DK12M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Baltimore City Health Department: 200 years of progress and partnership

The Baltimore City Health Department began its long history of protecting the health of Baltimore citizens in 1793. An outbreak of yellow fever in Fells Point on the northwest branch of the Patapsco River was the impetus for the governor's appointment of the first two health officers. Since that time, the health department has worked closely with the medical community to promote education and preventive measures (e.g., sewer systems, water chlorination, food inspection) in order to stop the spread of communicable diseases. For 200 years, the Baltimore City Health Department has provided "the advocacy and leadership necessary to ensure the protection and promotion of the health of Baltimore's citizens."     

Individual versus group goal conflict.

"An experiment was performed in which a conflict was produced between individual and group goal attainment. An overt situation was compared to a covert situation, and a high individualistic… with a low individualistic motivation condition… . [The] finding that individuals… feel freer to change secret… than public decisions is discussed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathogen Reduction and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems for meat and poultry. USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) adopted Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Systems and established finished product standards for Salmonella in slaughter plants to improve food safety for meat and poultry. In order to make significant improvements in food safety, measures must be taken at all points in the farm-to-table chain including production, transportation, slaughter, processing, storage, retail, and food preparation. Since pathogens can be introduced or multiplied anywhere along the continuum, success depends on consideration and comparison of intervention measures throughout the continuum. Food animal and public health veterinarians can create the necessary preventative environment that mitigates risks for food borne pathogen contamination.     

The validity of Dietary Restraint Scales: Comment on Stice et al. (2004).

In 4 empirical studies, E. Stice, M. Fisher, and M. R. Lowe (see record 2004-11653-006) calculated the correlations between some widely used dietary restraint scales and food intake. Failing to find substantial negative correlations, they concluded that these scales were invalid. The current article challenges this conclusion. For one thing, there is some evidence that restrained eaters do eat less than do unrestrained eaters under controlled experimental conditions favoring self-control. Dietary restraint is also associated with tendencies toward disinhibition under conditions favoring loss of self-control; such disinhibition often masks (but does not invalidate) the construct of dietary restraint. For these and other reasons, the assessment of food intake at a single eating episode may not capture overall dietary restriction. Finally, how much one eats does not necessarily indicate whether one has eaten less than one desired to eat. The authors suggest that the existing restraint scales do in fact validly assess restriction of food intake, albeit in a more complex fashion than is evident from simple correlations in single episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dioxins, dibenzofurans, dioxin-like PCBs, and DDE in U.S. fast food, 1995

Food, especially dairy products, meat, and fish, is the primary source of environmental exposure to dioxins in the general population. Little data exists on dioxin levels in the popular and widely consumed "fast foods". Data presented in a previously published pilot study was limited to measuring only the levels of dioxins and dibenzofurans in three types of U.S. fast food. This study adds to the previous paper by presenting data, in addition to dioxins and dibenzofurans, on the closely related dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the persistent metabolite of DDT, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE), in four types of popular U.S. fast food. These include McDonald's Big Mac Hamburger, Pizza Hut's Personal Pan Pizza Supreme, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) three piece original recipe mixed dark and white meat luncheon package, and H?agen-Daz chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream. Dioxin plus dibenzofuran dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ) ranged from 0.03 to 0.28 TEQ pg/g wet or whole weight for the Big Mac, from 0.03 to 0.29 for the Pizza, from 0.01 to 0.31 for the KFC, and from 0.03 to 0.49 TEQ pg/g for the ice cream. Daily TEQ consumption per kilogram body weight (kg/BW), assuming an average 65 kg adult and a 20 kg child, from one serving of each of these fast food ranged between 0.046 and 1.556 pg/kg in adults whereas in children the values were between 0.15 and 5.05 pg/kg. Total measured PCDD/Fs in the Big Mac, Personal Pan Pizza, KFC, and the H?agen-Daz ice cream varied from 0.58 to 9.31 pg/g. Measured DDE levels in the fast foods ranged from 180 to 3170 pg/g. Total mono-ortho PCB levels ranged up to 500 pg/g or 1.28 TEQ pg/g for the KFC and for di-ortho PCBs up to 740 pg/g or 0.014 TEQ pg/g for the pizza sample. Total PCB values in the four samples ranged up to 1170 pg/g or 1.29 TEQ pg/g for the chicken sample.     

Food poisoning. Causes, remedies, and prevention

Food producers and consumers must continue to take precautions against foodborne diseases, and early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of these illnesses are essential. Food products and water can become contaminated with microorganisms and toxins that make people ill, and the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals are especially susceptible. Education of healthcare providers, food handlers, and the public is critical in reducing the incidence and spread of foodborne illness. Changes in eating habits and lifestyle and increased availability of both domestic and imported foods have made food hazards a more complex public health issue. Although most foodborne illnesses can be avoided by safe food handling procedures (see box on page 134), risk reduction is very important at every step from source to table. A concerted effort is needed to ensure continuing safety of the food supply in the United States while also assuring access to a wide variety of healthful foods. Time will tell whether consumers will accept irradiation of meats. If accepted, irradiation could rank in importance with pasteurization of milk and chlorination of water as a public health measure.     

Professional drivers: protection needed for a high-risk occupation

"On the job" motor vehicle deaths number more than 4,000 annually in the U.S. and comprise nearly one-third of all work-related deaths. Yet the Department of Labor has set no standards relating to on-the-road safety of the millions of workers whose jobs entail large amounts of driving, and Department of Transportation standards affecting occupational safety cover only drivers in interstate commerce. Drivers of some commercial vehicles, such as heavy trucks, are at special risk of injury because trucks have usually been exempted for many years from federal motor vehicle safety standards--such as standards for brakes and seatbelts--designed to prevent crashes or protect occupants in crashes. Observations based on a series of 150 fatal crashes involving tractor trailers illustrate the need for better protection of this large population of high-risk workers. Clarification of responsibility within the various federal agencies and application of available knowledge and technology are essential.     

Public service, STEM, and psychology: A strong triad.

Psychologists in public service have supported important federal policies and programs, such as Head Start. Their contribution is still critical. Given such technological national challenges as making solar energy economical, engineering better medicines, preventing nuclear terror, and advancing personal learning, psychologists should be involved in helping translate science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) innovations for the lay consumer. Psychologists can also provide useful advice and support for policies to strengthen the public service corps—policies that ensure a proper balance between work and life, including parental leave and telework. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)