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Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a hereditary disorder characterized by disrupted phenylalanine metabolism and cognitive impairment. However, the precise nature and developmental trajectory of this cognitive impairment remains unclear. The present study used a verbal fluency task to dissociate executive and verbal processes in children with PKU (n = 23; 7-18 years) and controls (n = 44; 7-19 years). Data were collected at three longitudinal timepoints over a three-year period, and the contributions of age, group, and their interaction to fluency performance were evaluated. Results indicated impairments in executive processes in children with PKU, which were exacerbated by declining metabolic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent are personality traits and sexual strategies linked? The literature does not provide a clear answer, as it is based on the Sociosexuality model, a onedimensional model that fails to measure long-term mating (LTM). An improved twodimensional model separately assesses long-term and short-term mating (STM; Jackson and Kirkpatrick, 2007). In this paper, we link this two-dimensional model to an array of personality traits (Big 5, Dark Triad, and Schizoid Personality). We collected data from different sources (targets and peers; Study 1), and from different nations (United States, Study 1; India, Study 2). We demonstrate for the first time that, above and beyond STM, LTM captures variation in personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research has not sufficiently addressed factors that define and moderate racial categorization judgments. This study independently manipulated skin color and facial physiognomy to determine their relative weighting in racial categorization. Participants (N =250) judged faces varying on 10 levels of facial physiognomy (from Afrocentric to Eurocentric) and 10 levels of skin color (from dark to light) under either no time constraints, a modest time constraint, and under a stringent time constraint. Skin color was a powerful predictor of racial typicality ratings at all levels of facial physiognomy, but participants relied upon facial physiognomy more when rating faces of light than dark skin color. Skin color was a more important cue than facial physiognomy under no time constraints, but as time constraints became more severe, skin color''s importance decreased, yet it remained a more important cue at extreme physiognomy levels. The relationship between skin color and racial typicality ratings was stronger for those with more negative implicit racial attitudes. These findings suggest the primary role of skin color in racial categorization and underscore the importance of implicit attitudes in explicit categorization judgments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated the hypothesis that mood moderates the illusion of control among Type As and Bs. A facial positioning procedure was used to induce either positive, negative, or neutral moods in Type As and Bs during a control judgment task where no objective control was possible. Type Bs induced to experience a positive mood perceived greater control than did Type Bs experiencing a negative mood. There was no effect of induced mood on judged control for Type As. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined observers' impressions of hypothetical actors who succeeded or failed in the presence or absence of self-handicaps. We also investigated the moderating influence of observer individual differences related to strategic self-presentation (i.e., self-esteem and self-handicapping) on observer reactions to the self-handicapping attempts. Results indicated that low self-esteem observers, and observers who were not themselves prone to the use of self-handicaps, were most likely to be influenced by the self-handicapping attempts of others. These results indicate that an impression-management interpretation of self-handicapping must take into account observer characteristics. Results also indicated that self-handicappers were evaluated less favorably overall than were non-self-handicappers, implying that any attributional gains may be offset by generally negative impressions of those who create impediments to success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research and theory suggest that a battered woman `s economic dependence on her assailant, and her commitment to "saving" the relationship, are important factors in the decision to leave her partner. However, clear empirical evidence for these relationships is lacking. The present study examined these two factors, using both objective and subjective measures. Results indicated that both economic dependence and commitment were significantly, and independently, related to decisions to leave an abusive relationship. Furthermore, these results held for both objective and subjective measures, though more strongly for the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined patient knowledge as a moderator of psychological reactions to illness among patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. We reasoned that knowledgeable patients would have the most severe reactions to their illness because the causal implications of good or poor metabolic control would be most apparent. Accordingly, we expected that more knowledgeable patients would react more negatively than less knowledgeable patients to poor metabolic control but would react more positively to good metabolic control. Results from a sample of 46 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus supported this hypothesis. These findings suggest that increased patient knowledge may not produce uniformly positive results. Patient education programs must consider the psychological implications of patient knowledge in addition to the physiological consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on his term as editor for the "Basic and Applied Social Psychology" periodical. He would like to make clear some of the goals and ambitions that he has for the journal. Foremost, of course, he hopes to carry on the fine tradition established by past editors who have shaped the journal into a respected publication for basic and applied research in the social sciences. Since its inception, the journal's mission has been to provide a forum for the best work on the boundary between basic and applied social psychology. That mission grows increasingly more timely. We live in an era of enormous social and technological change. Rather than neatly solving society's ills, technological advances have made more apparent the vital role that social scientists will play in tackling the major problems that face us.

Contends that the most fundamental questions about self-evaluation concern the number and nature of the motives that guide the processing self-relevant information. Self-enhancement, self-verification and self-assessment as basis of motives.

Objective: To assess weight changes, exercise and diet behaviors among college students from the beginning of freshman year until the end of senior year. Design" Longitudinal observational study. Setting: Private university in St. Louis, Missouri. Participants: College students (138 females, 66 males). Main Outcome Measures: Weight and height were measured, body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and exercise and dietary behaviors were assessed by questionnaire. Analysis: Changes in weight, BMI, exercise, and dietary patterns from the beginning of freshman year to the end of senior year. Results: Females gained 1.7 ± 4.5 kg (3.75 ± 9.92 lb) [mean ± SD] from freshman to senior year, and males gained 4.2 ± 6.4 kg (9.26 ± 14.11 lb) (both P < .001). Weight changes were highly variable between students, however, ranging from -13.2 kg to +20.9 kg (-29.10 to +46.08 lb). Conclusions and Implications: Weight gain was common but variable among college students. Importantly, exercise and dietary patterns did not meet the recommended guidelines for many college students, which may have long-term health implication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study addresses three questions regarding age differences in working memory: (1) whether performance on complex span tasks decreases as a function of age at a faster rate than performance on simple span tasks; (2) whether spatial working memory decreases at a faster rate than verbal working memory; and (3) whether the structure of working memory abilities is different for different age groups. Adults, ages 20-89 (n = 388), performed three simple and three complex verbal span tasks and three simple and three complex spatial memory tasks. Performance on the spatial tasks decreased at faster rates as a function of age than performance on the verbal tasks, but within each domain, performance on complex and simple span tasks decreased at the same rates. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that domain-differentiated models yielded better fits than models involving domain-general constructs, providing further evidence of the need to distinguish verbal and spatial working memory abilities. Regardless of which domain-differentiated model was examined, and despite the faster rates of decrease in the spatial domain, age group comparisons revealed that the factor structure of working memory abilities was highly similar in younger and older adults and showed no evidence of age-related dedifferentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]