A new study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health suggests that Facebook may be a potential tool in finding individuals who are suffering from depression. However, study authors say that it should not be used as a substitute for clinical screening.

Researchers analyzed the Facebook profiles of 200 college sophomores and juniors. Twenty-five percent of the students exhibited one or more symptoms of depression through their online activities, whether those were references to decreased interest or pleasure in activities, a change in appetite, sleep problems, loss of energy, or feelings of guilt or worthlessness. Only 2.5 percent of the profiles displayed enough information to warrant screening for depression.

One of the most interesting findings? Students who complained of depression symptoms often had others in their social networks reach out to help them.

It’s an old stereotype, to be sure, but one that occasionally applies to us—though we may be embarrassed to admit it. The scene: Jane is sitting at the breakfast table, engrossed in a newspaper article, when her husband clears his throat loudly and says in an annoyed tone, “Well, yes or no? Have you been listening to me?” Jane hasn’t heard a thing.

Our mothers called it “selective hearing,” but new research suggests that there’s nothing selective about it. In a recent study, Nilli Lavie, a professor of psychology and brain sciences at University College London, identified a phenomenon she calls “inattentional deafness.” Dr. Lavie and her colleagues have shown that when our attention and focus are placed on a visual task, we tend to “turn down the volume,” tuning out the sounds around us.

In the study, 100 volunteers with normal hearing and vision performed computer tasks involving a series of shapes while wearing headphones. Some tasks were easy, such as noticing the colors of two crossed lines shown on the computer screen. Other tasks were more challenging and involved identifying subtle line-length differences. At certain points, a tone was played unexpectedly through the headphones. After the experiment was stopped, participants were asked if they had heard the sound.

When completing the easy task, only two in ten volunteers missed the tone. But when focusing on the more difficult task, eight in ten failed to hear it.

In the journal Attention, Perception And Psychophysics (May 25, 2011 online edition), Dr. Lavie says, “Hearing is often thought to have evolved as an early warning system that does not depend on attention, yet our work shows that if our attention is taken elsewhere, we can be effectively deaf to the world around us.” The part of the brain responsible for interpreting sound may be registering a weaker signal because it’s busy with other tasks.

“Your perception of sounds depends not just on your sense of hearing but also on your ability to pay attention,” Dr. Lavie explains. “It’s the first time that we’ve shown that people are not able to detect an ordinary tone if they’re engaged in a task that demands full attention.”

Real-world examples show that inattentional deafness can have very serious consequences. It is well documented that a large number of car accidents are caused by driver inattention. When a driver is concentrating on a GPS map or even an advertisement on the side of passing bus, he or she may fail to hear important sounds such as a truck beeping as it backs up or a bicycle bell. For safety’s sake, it would seem, we may sometimes have to choose between looking and listening.

What do you think? Beyond simply “getting lost in a good book,” could Dr. Lavie’s research have implications for your clients? What about for individuals with attention problems such as ADHD? Leave a comment—PAR wants to hear from you! 

Recently, an article on Smithsonian.com[1] discussed the cinematic catalysts scientists have used to study emotion in people. Specifically, it mentioned “The Champ,” a 1979 remake about a boxer and his young son. In the climactic scene, the son (Ricky Schroder) sobs over his father’s (Jon Voight) dead body after a particularly ravaging match. A 1995 study[2] by Robert Levenson and James Gross claims that this clip is the best at eliciting the single emotion of sadness in study participants.

Levenson and Gross narrowed a batch of 250 titles down to 16 that elicit responses of amusement, anger, contentment, disgust, fear, neutral, sadness, and surprise (two films for each emotion). A key criterion was that the films had to discretely evoke their respective emotions—a requirement that made pinpointing the scenes difficult. For instance, a scene in “Kramer Versus Kramer” in which the protagonist’s young son falls and must be rushed to the hospital caused nearly equal intensities of fear and sadness. The pivotal scene in “The Champ,” on the other hand, evoked sadness almost exclusively.

Other “winners?” For amusement, the fake orgasm scene in “When Harry Met Sally” beat out “Robin Williams Live;” for fear, a scene from “The Shining” evoked more discrete fear than the basement scene in “The Silence of the Lambs.” The runner-up for sadness was the mother’s death in “Bambi,” a scene that many might contend is even more distressing than the climax of “The Champ.”

How about you? What experiences have you had using films as a catalyst in conducting research? And, from your own experience, what other films do you think would perform well at stirring up particular emotions in research participants?

Are you attending APA 2011? Many PAR authors will be presenting during the convention. The following are just a sample of the engaging workshops, sessions, and symposia presented by PAR authors:

Lisa A. Firestone, PhD, will be presenting two CE workshops during APA 2011, “Assessing and Treating Violent Individuals” on Friday, August 5 at 8 a.m. and “Overcoming the Fear of Intimacy” on Saturday, August 6 at 8 a.m. Dr. Firestone is coauthor of the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™ (FAVT™),  the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts^™-Adolescent (FAVT-A^™), and the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts^™ and Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent^™ (FAST^™-FASI^™).

Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, will be giving an invited address during the Contemporary and Future Directions in School Psychology session on Friday, August 5 at 4 p.m. He will also be participating in a symposium on Saturday, August 6, at 2 p.m., titled “Using Psychology to Improve the Climate for Teaching in K-12 Schools.” Dr. Reynolds is the coauthor of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™ (RIAS™), the Reynolds Intellectual Screening Test™ (RIST™), the School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI), the Test of Irregular Word Reading Efficiency™ (TIWRE™), and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scales: 2nd Ed. (RCMAS-2).

John Briere, PhD, will be participating in two symposia: “Traumatic Dissociation--- Neurobiological, Assessment, and Clinical Implications—I” on Thursday, August 4, at 3 p.m. and “Traumatic Dissociation--- Neurobiological, Assessment, and Treatment Implications—II” on Friday, August 5, at 5 p.m. Dr. Briere is author of the Trauma Symptom Inventory™-2 (TSI™-2) , the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children™ (TSCYC™) , the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children™ (TSCC™) , the Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities™ (IASC™) , the Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress™ (DAPS™) , and the Cognitive Distortion Scales™ (CDS™) .

Richard R. Abidin, PhD, will be participating in a symposium titled “Updates of Evidence-Based Assessment--Family Measures,” which will be held Friday, August 5, at 10 a.m. Dr. Abidin is the author of the Early Childhood Parenting Skills (ECPS), the Index of Teaching Stress™ (ITS™), the Parenting Alliance Measure™ (PAM™), the Parenting Stress Index, 3rd Edition (PSI), and the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents™ (SIPA™).

Charles D. Spielberger, PhD, author of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2™ (STAXI-2™), will be chairing a symposium on Friday, August 5, titled “The APF Spielberger EMPathy Symposium.”

Richard Rogers, PhD, ABPP, will be presenting an invited address, “Know Your Miranda Rights? Myths, Mistakes, and Meta-Ignorance,” during the 2011 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy session, on Friday, August 5, at 1 p.m. Dr. Rogers is the author of Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms, 2nd Edition (SIRS-2), the Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (R-CRAS), and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial™ -Revised (ECST™-R).

See these PAR authors and many more during APA 2011. Make sure to stop by the PAR booth to see our new products, meet PAR staff, and place your orders. Don’t forget – you’ll receive 15% off all orders placed during the conference plus free shipping and handling! See you in Washington, DC!

Recently, we asked PAR authors to send us their favorite recipes for a series of blogs. The first three are presented here.

“I’ve been eating this potato salad ever since I can remember. My dad, Dr. Ira Cohen, always made it for summer barbecues, picnics, and even my birthday parties in August. I became a professional chef about 8 years ago, but I’ve still never tasted a better homestyle potato salad recipe. Recently, I turned this recipe into an appetizer for a party that my company Gastronaut catered by hollowing-out steamed baby new potatoes and stuffing them with this salad. Making it finger food was probably the only way I could improve on my dad’s classic recipe. As with most family recipes, it should be seasoned to taste (and checked by my dad!), so feel free to play with the quantities, especially the vinegar and mayo. It should be well-coated and pretty soft. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!”

—Mirit Cohen

CEO, Gastronaut

 

Ira Cohen’s Potato Salad

5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes

3 large eggs, hard-boiled (To hard boil, bring eggs immersed in cold water to a boil, cover, turn off heat, and let sit for 6 minutes. Drain and plunge into an ice bath to cool.)

1 large or 2 medium-small yellow onions

2 large carrots

2 stalks celery

1½-2 cups mayonnaise

½ cup white vinegar

1 tbsp. dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix mayonnaise, white vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano in large mixing bowl.


2. Bring whole potatoes in their skins to a low boil and cook until tender. Drain, run under cold water, and peel—the skins should come right off.


3. Dice potatoes into 1-2” chunks and add to large mixing bowl.


4. Using the shredder attachment of your stand mixer, shred carrots and yellow onion, retaining the juice from the onion. Add to bowl of potatoes.


5. Finely dice celery into ¼” cubes and add to bowl.


6. Grate the hard-boiled eggs on a box grater or slice both ways in an egg slicer and add to bowl.


7. Mix all ingredients together with the oregano. Adjust to your taste with more salt, pepper, vinegar, and/or mayo.


8. Enjoy! It’s always a hit when my dad makes it.

Dr. Cohen is the author/coauthor of the PDD Behavior Inventory™ (PDDBI™) and the PDD Behavior Inventory™ Screening Version (PDDBI™-SV).

“I have too many favorite recipes to list, but here are three simple ones—one for each meal. All are very tasty and time-tested.”

—Bruce Bracken, PhD

Breakfast: Bruce’s Favorite Omelet

Dice equal proportions of flavorful ham, sweet onion (e.g., Vidalia), fresh broccoli spears, and mushrooms and sauté in butter until onions are translucent. Season mix with freshly ground pepper, salt, and, most importantly, yellow curry. Set mix aside. Pour three well-beaten eggs into buttered omelet pan and cover. Heat should be set to medium-low so the egg does not burn or dry out. When egg is firm, spoon curried vegetable and ham mix over half of the omelet, top with grated mozzarella cheese, and fold the remaining half over. Turn off the burner, recover pan, and let omelet set until cheese melts. Serve hot.

Lunch: Stuffed Avocado

Cut a ripe avocado in half, remove seed, and fill cavity with one of the following fillings:

• Soy sauce blended with wasabi


• Bruschetta


• Roasted tomato chipotle roja


• Soy sauce blended with anchovy paste

Dinner: Scallops and Spinach

Six pieces of applewood smoked bacon

2 lbs. scallops

2 large bags of fresh baby spinach

Parmesan cheese

1. Fry six pieces of bacon until crisp; set aside and pour off excess grease. When cool, crumble the bacon.


2. Dredge scallops in sugar and fry until lightly brown on both sides.


3. Simultaneously, steam the spinach. Place spinach (well-drained) on plate and top with scallops.


4. Sprinkle dish with parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.

Dr. Bracken is the author/coauthor of the Clinical Assessment of Behavior™ (CAB™), the Clinical Assessment of Depression™ (CAD™), the Clinical Assessment of Attention Deficit–Adult™ (CAT-A™), the Clinical Assessment of Attention Deficit–Child™ (CAT-C™), and the Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relations™ (CAIR™).

“The following recipe is best served with basmati rice, whole cranberry sauce, and chilled Chardonnay.”

—Jeff McCrae, PhD

Creamed Chicken Dijon

2 cups chicken stock

1 split bone-in chicken breast

1 rib celery, chopped

4 sprigs thyme (or ¼ tsp. dry)

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

1 bunch Swiss chard (or spinach), ribs removed, coarsely chopped

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Salt and white pepper to taste

1. Bring stock, chicken, celery, thyme, bay leaf, and cloves to a boil, then simmer just until the chicken is cooked—about 25 minutes. (Turn the breast after 15 minutes if the stock does not cover it.)


2. Remove chicken, strain stock, and return to the heat; reduce to 1 cup liquid.


3. Steam the chard for 5-8 minutes. Salt lightly.


4. In another pan, melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux; add the reduced stock and whisk until thickened. Simmer for five minutes. Add the mustard, then add salt and pepper to taste.


5. Bone the chicken and dice the meat; add to the sauce for a few minutes to reheat.


6. Serve over the steamed chard. Serves two.

Dr. McCrae is the coauthor of the NEO™ family of products.

PAR is pleased to announce the release of the Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales™ (SEARS) by Kenneth W. Merrell, PhD, and the Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales™ Scoring Program (SEARS-SP) by Kenneth W. Merrell, PhD and PAR Staff.

The SEARS is a cross-informant system for assess¬ing the social-emotional competencies of children and adolescents from multiple perspectives. Closely tied to the ideas associated with the positive psychology movement, the SEARS focuses on a child’s assets and strengths.

The SEARS system offers separate long and short forms for children, adolescents, teachers, and parents. The forms may be used for any combination of student, parent, and teacher assessment. All forms measure common constructs (e.g., self-regulation, responsibility, social competence, empathy), and also include items designed to capture the unique perspective of the rater.

Click here for more information on the SEARS and SEARS-SP.

PAR author Ira L. Cohen, PhD, will be presenting at the 15th European Conference on Developmental Psychology in Bergen, Norway. The conference is being held from August 23-27, 2011.

Dr. Cohen’s will be presenting a poster titled, “Arousal-Modulated Fixation on Flashing Light Patterns in At-Risk Four-Month-Old Infants is Associated with Autism Severity Scores in Childhood.”

Dr. Cohen is the author of the PDD Behavior Inventory™ (PDDBI™) and the PDD Behavior Inventory™−Screening Version (PDDBI™-SV).

For more information about the 15th European Conference on Developmental Psychology, click here.

Last October—during National School Lunch Week—the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was giving $2 million to scientists to research ways to use psychology to improve how children and adolescents eat at school. As part of the package, a new center—the Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs at Cornell University—was established, and 14 other research projects in 11 states were also given funding.

Based on “behavioral economics,” the theory behind the initiative states that there are subtle ways to trick kids into making healthier choices in the lunch line.

For years, researchers have noted that small changes in a cafeteria line make big differences. A 2005 study published in Food Quality and Preference[1] discovered that changing generic names of foods to more descriptive ones (e.g., “Seafood Filet” to “Succulent Italian Seafood Filet”) increased positive feedback about the food. (Never mind that the phrase “seafood filet” is vague enough to make you wonder what you’re really eating.) The study was conducted in restaurants, but the concept can easily be adapted to a younger crowd: “Broccoli” becomes “Bangin’ Broccoli;” “Carrots” becomes “Caliente Carrots.” Similar research[2] was performed on U.S. Army soldiers, with results suggesting that, when it comes to taste, our brains can be easily fooled by labels.

Additional research has proven or suggested that:

• Manipulating food prices (e.g., taxing sales of junk food) is generally not effective at improving Americans’ diets.[3]


• The likelihood that children will choose healthier foods decreases as the number of tempting but less healthy options increases.3


• Giving individuals the option to preselect healthy foods may improve well-being.³


• Lighting, odor, and temperature can affect consumption.^2,[4]


• Displaying healthier options more prominently in the school lunch line can increase the salience of those foods; conversely, placing unhealthy foods in dimly lit, hidden, or hard-to-reach areas may decrease their salience.³

The researchers at Cornell, headed by David Just and Brian Wansink, have established a Web site (http://smarterlunchrooms.org) that updates visitors about how the initiative is going. Visit the site and let us know: Do you think these using psychology-based ideas will have the intended result? Does our subconscious really play that large a role in our decision making? What do your kids like to eat at lunchtime?

This article refers to products that are no longer available or supported.

Editor’s Note: This week, PAR is pleased to welcome guest blogger Alex Trujillo. A senior at Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, Alex is an intern this summer in the production department at PAR. He recently had the opportunity to try out our new Concussion Recognition & Response™ app.

As a high school athlete, I experience the culture of sports in an acute way from the inside. Every day on the field, I am in an environment that perpetuates toughness, playing through pain, doing whatever it takes to win, and doing this all for the good of the team. While in principle this is not so horrible (even though it goes against the dogma that fun should be the underlying principle of amateur athletics), it is often taken too far in the wrong ways.

PAR’s Concussion Recognition & Response™ app is part of the growing trend that discourages “toughing out” injuries to the head, as these specific injuries can have extremely negative effects on an athlete if not handled properly. This trend challenges old–fashioned coaches who speak of the “glory days” when one played through absolutely any injury, coaches who believe that the new wave of players should embrace this antiquated ideology. The athletes of today are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before. Yet some coaches put their athletes in danger by pushing them in ways that are perilous to their health. It is good for a coach to motivate and push a player to their physical limits and beyond. This is what good coaches do: They get the most out of every player on their team. However, some coaches try to push their players through injuries, such as concussions, without knowledge of the severity of the injury. Playing through strained muscles, soreness, bumps and bruises, aches and pains is all part of sports. However, a head injury is not something that can be “toughed out.” Research has shown that some cases of degenerative brain diseases, for example Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and various other ailments, can be attributed to continuous abuse of the head over the course of an athletic career. The culture of toughing out all injuries, including those to the head, needs to stop now. The first step towards a change in culture is education about the topic, which is what PAR’s new Concussion Recognition & Response app can help to do.

I have tried the app out myself, and it is very easy to use. It takes the user through a series of yes or no questions, listing symptoms of a concussion and whether or not the athlete displays any of those symptoms. Included are ways to record how the injury occurred, immediate and delayed symptoms, and GPS coordinates to show of the location of the incident.

It would make me feel safer and more supported as an athlete if this app was available on the sideline. If I were to sustain some kind of head trauma—get my “bell rung”—it would be comforting to know that an educated decision about whether to continue playing could be made, even when I was not in the presence of an athletic trainer.

The recent electronic release of Adam Mansbach’s “Go the F--- to Sleep” has taken the Web by storm. The book, which features as narrator a tired parent attempting to put his child to sleep for the night, combines mock-sweet prose with bursts of exasperation and annoyance. If you’re a parent, and you remember the sleepless nights—and you have a sense of humor—this amalgamation of genuine parental love with the eye-rolling that goes along with nighttime routines will probably strike a chord with you.

The book and its release bring up several interesting issues, including the frustration experienced by all parents of young children. Ranging from mild annoyance to real anger, the feeling can be surprisingly overwhelming. Parenthood is generally advertised as a joyous walk through a meadow, and, for some, discovering that the meadow is filled with divots, bumblebees, and sharp branches is a shock. Though it could be said that the book uses strong language for shock value, for most readers, the use of expletives serves to highlight just how intense the aggravation can be.

The book’s message goes a little deeper, though, as it effectuates a collective sigh of relief in its readers who are parents. Many parents inherently feel guilty about having negative feelings about parenthood. It may be psychologically reassuring for a young parent to know not only that many—okay, most— children have trouble going to sleep at night, but also that he or she is not the only one who finds the bedtime routine—and, for that matter, any routine that requires the parent to coerce the child—a vexing experience.

So, what do you think of the book? Do you think it’s vulgar and/or inappropriate? Do you think it serves a purpose in letting parents know they’re not alone? Are you willing to admit that it could have been written from your very own thoughts? Most important, do you have any tips for those of us who are trying to put little ones to sleep every night?