Dennis Reidy, Jennifer A. Simansky, John C. Norcross, & Thomas P. Smith

Thousands of self-help resources are offered annually to the populace; however, more than 90% of these resources are disseminated without benefit of empirical research on their effectiveness.The purpose of this study was to secure mental health professionals' evaluations of films and self-help books related to Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.Two national samples of clinical and counseling psychologist rated 10 self-help books and 10 films on these disorders.Psychologists consensually rated Linehan's Skills Training Manual, Miller's The Drama of the Gifted Child, Brown’s Children of the Self-Absorbed, and Golomb's Trapped in the Mirror the most positive among the books.The great Santini; Sunset Boulevard; and Girl, Interrupted were rated most highly as films.

Seminar for Psychology Juniors

John C. Norcross & Melissa Hedges

Examined student responses to and the educational outcomes of a 1-credit academic and career development seminar for psychology majors in their junior year (N = 53). The seminar covered both graduate school opportunities and baccalaureate-level career options.Students rated the topics of application preparation, resumes/CVs, letters of 

recommendation, selection criteria, and interviewing strategies most highly.Pre- and post-course ratings demonstrated consistent improvement in student knowledge and skills but, consistent with previous research, no discernable effect on commitment to psychology as a major or as a career.

Thomas P. Hogan & Jessica Agnello

Of the four pillars of psychometric quality (norms, reliability, validity, and test development procedures), there is universal agreement that validity holds a preeminent place.Several studies have summarized the frequency of reporting reliability information in published articles.However, no similar studies have investigated reports of validity for tests.This study summarized types of test validity evidence reported for a systematic sample of 696 research reports from the APA-published Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures.Only 45% of the reports included any type of validity evidence, whereas a previous study of the same sample determined that reliability information was reported for 94% of the tests.Of those articles including validity evidence, the vast majority reported correlations with other variables.Little use was made of the numerous other types of validation described in standard textbooks and in the AERA/APA/NCME Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests.Summaries separately by journal showed apparently little influence of editorial policies in requiring reports of test validity.The study also made recommendations regarding preparation of summaries of test information in the Directory.The study’s conclusions must be limited to the types of unpublished tests appearing in journal articles and may not be generalizable to regularly published tests.

Thomas P. Hogan1, Ian Conklin1, & Jennifer Daley2

Numerous studies have reported the most frequently used psychological tests.Typical methodology for such studies is self-report of usage by the psychologist.However, other methods of determining usage are sometimes employed and these alternatives yield useful information in contrast to self-reports. The current study investigated the types of psychological tests employed in research studies reported over a 5-year period (1997-2001) in 5 leading journals within the field of school psychology (Journal of School Psychology, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, and Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment).The frequency of particular tests as well as categories of tests used in the studies was summarized.Results were compared with surveys of school psychologists’ self-reported usage of tests. Special attention focused on discrepancies between self-reported usage and research usage of tests.For some tests there was good agreement between self-reported usage and usage in journal articles.The dominance of the Wechsler scales was evident in both sources. There were major discrepancies in other areas.Most notably, whereas projective techniques (e.g., draw-a-person, sentence completion, and Rorschach) regularly appear among the most frequently used tests in self-report studies, projective techniques virtually never appear in research articles.Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.The emergence of the Woodcock-Johnson and various behavior-rating scales in the research literature, in comparison with self-report studies, was also noteworthy.

Meredith Little & Mary-Katherine Waibel-Duncan

Given the high incidence, prevalence, and detrimental consequences of child neglect, efforts to prevent neglect are warranted.Because children with developmental disabilities are at increased risk for neglect, the present study explored special education student teachers’ awareness of the definition, extent, causes, consequences, and reporting of various forms of this childhood morbidity.Data were intended to inform the design of a professional consultation and training program as well as to stimulate discussion about the delivery of prevention programs within the elementary school setting.Forty-one undergraduate student teachers at a state university in Pennsylvania who were majoring in special education or special/elementary education completed a 60-item questionnaire about their understanding of child neglect and willingness to participate in professional development opportunities related to the topic.Responses indicated an overall understanding of the pervasiveness and severity of child neglect; however, data also indicated limited willingness to report suspected cases of certain types of neglect.Factors that may interfere with making a report included the inability to recognize symptoms, uncertainty about the reporting process, and fear of violating children’s trust.Furthermore, data suggest that prospective elementary school faculty would welcome the benefit from comprehensive training and prevention programs on the topic of child neglect.

Jordan Arena, Aimee Black, Kelley Dantonio, Debi Farrell, Hillary Fleming, Mary Fontanez, Amy Gelband, Jane Sosnowski, Joy McCauley, Susan Nyce & Catherine Chambliss

This study assessed the attitudes of both males and females regarding their perceptions on themselves, spouse and locus of control, and the role that children may play in that assessment. To determine if men and women view themselves differently subsequent to having children, the Rosenberg self concept scale, the Ferguson Locus of Control scale, and author-devised life satisfaction items were administered to 171 married parents between the ages of 30 and 70 Between groups t- tests revealed no significant differences between husbands and wives on the measures of self esteem, locus of control, and perceptions of weight problems and sleep deprivation. T-tests did reveal that husbands were more likely than wives to report feeling they got insufficient exercise, and wives were more likely to report feeling that their spouses spent an excessive amount of time viewing sports on television. Wives were significantly more likely than husbands to report feeling that they had sacrificed career for family. Correlational analyses were performed in order to assess the relationship between locus of control and self-esteem for both groups of participants. A significant relationship between these variables was obtained for both the male and female participants of this study.

Kathleen Baker, Carol Ann Beck, Kate Camp, Eileen Censullo, Cheryl Collins, Susan Deitrick, Chris Lu, Debi Farrell, & Catherine Chambliss

A survey was administered to parents aged 30 to 70 years from 90 households. The instrument included items assessing the subject’s perception of their child’s self esteem and activities, their spouse’s self esteem, and overall lifestyle satisfaction.The first 14 questions asked the subjects to describe their child’s personality using a 4-point Likert-format scale.The next 13 items asked the participants to rate their reasons for encouraging their children to participate in various structured activities.The final 13 items asked the participants to rate their spouse’s personality and esteem, as well as overall family functioning, using a 4-point Likert-format scale. Two-parent families were then divided into two groups: working mother households and stay-at-home mother households. Between groups t-tests revealed few significant differences between respondents from two-paycheck and one-paycheck households. However, children in stay-at-home households were perceived by their fathers as less disciplined than those in homes where mothers worked at least part time outside of the home. Fathers in homes where mothers do not work outside the home were also found to be more likely to perceive their wives to be more manipulated by the children than fathers from two-paycheck families.Husbands whose wives were mot employed also rated their children as being more anxious than fathers whose wives were employed.

Debi Farrell, Mia Lindquist, Aviva Strauss, Laura Gorton, Joyce McCauley,Susan Nyce, Lisa Johnson, Stephanie Covert, Leigh Maggi, Susan Fields, Preethy Eddy, Aimee Black, Lauren Denis & Catherine Chambliss

This study examined middle school students’ perceptions of maternal employment, as a function of their gender and type of school environment (suburban vs. urban).A four-part survey, which included information about the respondents’ mother’s work status, the Beliefs About Consequences of Maternal Employment for Children (BACMEC) scale, and Rosenberg’s Self-Concept scale, as well as demographic information, was distributed to 53 male and 55 female middle school students in suburban (n=56) and urban (n=52) area schools.Independent t-tests were performed examining both the relationship between school type and gender variables on five dependent measures.

Attitudes About Maternal Employment and Parents

Susan Fields, Lauren Denis, Debi Farrell, Susan Nyce, Lisa Johnson, Stephanie Covert, Aviva Strauss, Laura Gorton, Leigh Maggi, Preethy Eddy, Joyce McCauley, Mia Lindquist, Aimee Black, & Catherine Chambliss

This study compared suburban and urban middle school children from single parent (n=38) and two parent (n=110) households on measures assessing the perceived costs and benefits associated with maternal employment.It also compared the two groups’ attitudes toward fathers and mothers.A four-part survey including demographic information, Beliefs About Consequences of Maternal Employment for Children (BACMEC) scale, information about the mother’s work status, and Rosenberg’s Self-Concept Scale was administered.

Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare students from single parent and two parent households on the BACMEC subscales (perceived costs and perceived benefits).No significant group difference was found on the perceived benefits subscale but students from single parent households perceived greater cost associated with maternal employment than those from two parent households.

Independent sample t-tests compared the two groups’ evaluations of their relationships with their mother and father.The relationships with fathers in single parent households were viewed more negatively than those in two parent households.No significant group difference was found on ratings of the relationships with mothers.

An independent sample t-test revealed no significant difference between the single parent and two parent household students on the Rosenberg Self Concept scale. This is inconsistent with the assumption that being reared in a single parent household has deleterious effects on children’s perceptions of their worth and competence.

Laura Gorton, Joyce McCauley, Debi Farrell, Susan Nyce, Lisa Johnson, Stephanie Covert, Aviva Strauss, Leigh Maggi, Susan Fields, Preethy Eddy, Mia Lindquist, Aimee Black, Lauren Denis & Catherine Chambliss

This study investigated the influence of maternal employment on professional ambition among junior high school-age adolescents.Ninety-two suburban and urban junior high school students completed a questionnaire relating to their professional ambitions and preference for having children.Three 3x2 MANOVA were conducted to determine the relationship between maternal employment (full-time, part-time, non-employment) during different stages of the child’s life (infancy, preschool, and elementary school years) and gender and the child’s professional and family size ambitions.

A significant gender main effect was found for level of occupational ambition. Female students reported a higher level of ambition than their male counterparts (females: mean=1.35, s.d.=.60, n=46 versus males: mean=1.64, s.d.=.71, n=45; F=4.18, df=1/86, p<.05). Maternal employment during infancy and preschool years was not significantly associated with level of professional ambition. However, maternal employment during the elementary school years did relate significantly to students’ occupational aspirations. Respondents whose mothers were employed fulltime during their elementary school-age years showed a significantly higher level of professional ambition than those whose mothers were employed part-time. Students whose mothers were not employed during their elementary school years reported intermediate levels of ambition. No significant maternal employment by gender interaction effects were observed. No significant main nor interaction effects were observed on the item assessing the students’ plans to have children.

Joanne Brosh & Catherine Chambliss

The prevalence of smoker stigmatization within society is rising, ironically paralleling the increasing percentage of adolescents indulging in this behavior; 3,000 additional young people are becoming regular tobacco users each day (TTURC, 2001).Therefore, it is paramount that effective antismoking campaigns be designed, perhaps including information about the rising “social costs” associated with this habit.This study is an attempt to clarify perceptions of smoking behavior according to respondents’ sex and developmental period.A 200-item questionnaire assessing perceptions of smokers, nonsmokers, and former smokers, as well as personal smoking habits, was administered to 108 high school and 115 college students.Both high school and college students (smokers and nonsmokers alike) held a more negative view of smokers than nonsmokers.Paired sample t-tests comparing respondents’ assessment of hypothetical male and female current smokers, a former smoker, and a nonsmoker revealed that smokers were viewed as less intelligent, creative, independent, conscientious, ambitious, and considerate, as having poorer judgment, and as more hostile than their nonsmoking counterparts.Respondents who currently smoke rated hypothetical smokers rated hypothetical smokers less negatively than respondents who do not smoke.Respondents’ ratings of former smokers were less negative than current smokers but more negative than nonsmokers.In addition, paired sample t-tests revealed no significant differences between the overall ratings of the female and male target smokers.No developmental period differences emerged on the ratings of targets, however, high school students were more likely than college students to report believing that the majority of students at their school smoke and that teachers discriminate against students who smoke.

Megan Austin, Joanne Brosh, Julie Dous, Gina Iannella, Rebecca Outten, Peggy Rowles, & Catherine Chambliss

This study explored the personality correlates of substance use by administering a questionnaire consisting of the Mini Markers Scale and items assessing substance abuse to 108 high school students (43 males, 65 females) and 155 college students (85 males, 70 females).The Mini Markers Scale is a 40 item self-report inventory that measures basic dimensions of personality, including neuroticism, extraversion, intellectance, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Directionally adjusted items were totaled to create summary scores for extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and intellectance.Correlational analyses of the data from the entire sample revealed a relationship between extraversion and alcohol use(r= .14, p< .05), intellectance and alcohol use (r= - .18, p<.01), and conscientiousness and cigarette use (r=-.12, p<.05).No significant relationships between personality and marijuana use were noted.Use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were all significantly intercorrelated (r range: .36 to .59; p<.001).

In order to assess differences across developmental period, responses from the high school students and college students were analyzed separately.Although marijuana use was not differentially associated with personality factors for the sample considered in its entirety, significant correlates emerged when the high school and college samples were investigated separately.For the high school sample, agreeableness was significantly negatively correlated with alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use (alcohol, r= -.28, p<.01; marijuana, r= - .21, p<.05; cigarettes,r= - .32, p<.001).

Conscientiousness and alcohol use were also significantly correlated(r= - .20, p<.05).For the college sample, there was a significant relationship between intellectance and marijuana use (r= .24, p<.01).A strong association between alcohol and marijuana use (r=.38, p<.001) and an association between alcohol and extraversion (r=.22,p<.05) were found.There was no significant relationship between cigarette use and any of the personality factors within the college sample.

Megan K. Austin & Catherine Chambliss

This study explored the experiential factors underlying smoking by administering a questionnaire consisting of the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale and items assessing smoking habits and motivations to 115 college students and 108 high school students.Directionally adjusted items were totaled to create summary scores for the four hypothesized motivational factors underlying smoking.Paired sample t-tests indicated the presence of significant differences between all possible factor combinations (p<.05).The rank-order of these factors, in descending order were:relaxation effects, competence effects, stimulant effects, and image effects.A median split was used to divide participants into high and low self-esteem groups.Those with low self-esteem were more likely to report concerns about image as a reason for deciding to smoke (t = 2.09, df = 39, p<.05).Examination of nonsmoker motivations revealed significant differences between the primary reason cited, health concerns, and all other reasons (p<.001).Nonsmokers rated the following factors as similarly determinative of their decision to refrain:“don’t want to lose control or become hooked”, “don’t want to disappoint people I care about”, “don’t like the taste”, “against my values”, “interferes with my athletic activities”, “people in my family have had problems, (i.e., abuse, death)”, and “costs too much.”These findings may facilitate the construction of more effective anti-smoking interventions.

Jolie Bell

This investigation used three different surveys to determine the relationship between depression on self-forgiveness and on attitudes toward interpersonal forgiveness. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Self-Forgiveness Survey, (SFS), and the Forgiveness Survey (FS) were administered to 84 undergraduate psychology students. The BDI measured the

participants’ level of depression as either normal, mild, moderate, or severe. However, for the purposes of this investigation, the participants were simply labeled as depressed (mild, moderate, or severe rating by the BDI) or non-depressed (normal rating by the BDI). The SFS determined the participants’ ability for self-forgiveness by presenting them with 17 scenarios in which they had to rate their emotional response for nine Likert style descriptive categories. The FS contains 50 Likert style items that reflect five attitudes or approaches to interpersonal forgiveness:forgiveness as a moral rule, waiver, an emotional process, reconciliation, and a religious value.The results confirmed a significant relationship between high depression scores on the BDI and a high lack

of self-forgiveness on the SFS. The data also revealed a significant relationship between participants with a high depression scores on the BDI and participants who found the use of moral rule and religious values to be inappropriate reasons for interpersonal forgiveness.

Jessica Hatz

The present study examined the effects of regional and ethnic accent on perceived personality characteristics of the speaker.Participants listened to a pre-recorded passage spoken in an American, British, Southern, New York, Hispanic, or Generic Foreign accent; then completed two inventories to assess their perceptions of the speaker and one to assess their own attitudes towards authoritarianism.Participants rated the American and British accents as being the highest status, and judged the New York and Hispanic accents to be lower status.They also judged the American, British, and New York accents to be high in masculinity and the Hispanic accent to be low in masculinity.These results are consistent with previous research, which has shown that masculine traits are often viewed as being more favorable and are associated with higher status ratings.

Kelly Ann Heintzelman

The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the ability of squirrel monkeys to use a counting strategy in order to make number discriminations.The researcher presented a 22 year-old female squirrel monkey with a match to sample task in a Wisconsin General Test Apparatus.Each day 20 trials were presented and a criterion of 18 correct choices (90%) was used to determine the successful completion of a phase. The early phases consisted of a single number cue per day. Over time additional cues were introduced each day until the presentation of all 5 cues was randomized within a single day. The subject was able to discriminate numbers 1 through 5 by counting. The results agree with previous studies that non-human primates have numerical abilities and can count.Suggestions for further research and limitations of the study are provided.

Jessica B. Agnello1, Dennis Reidy1, John Norcross1, and Linda F. Campbell2

The use of self-help resources is a growing trend among Americans.More than 80% of psychologists recommend specific self-help books to their clients, contributing to the estimated 2,000 self-help books published each year.However, an electronic literature search revealed few studies on the success of self-help treatments for people suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this study was to obtain expert evaluations of self-help films and books on PTSD in order to guide both consumers and professionals in selecting meritorious resources.Two national samples of clinical and counseling psychologists rated 7 films and 28 self-help books on PTSD.The most highly valued films were The Accused and Fearless; thetop rated books were Reclaiming Your Life After Rape, Rebuilding Shattered Lives, Trauma and Recovery, and The PTSD Workbook.

Mindy Keefer & Julie Kontos

The present study attempted to systematically replicate the only published evidence (Pauli, Bourne, Diekmannm & Birbaumer, 1999) ofa cross-modal Stroop effect involving olfactory and visual stimuli. Both a pleasant (vanilla) and unpleasant (sulfur) odor was presented to participants as they attempted to read lists of pleasant or unpleasantodor-related words or a list of control words.As with a typical Stroop task, the words were printed in different colored inks and the participants were required to name the color of the words, not the word themselves.The results did not replicate Pauli et al, 1999, as there were no significant differences in the length of time required to read the different lists of words in the presence of the different odors.No significant cross-modal Stroop effects were found, although the unpleasant odor appeared to interfere with the naming of colors on all word lists. The implications of these findings are discussed.

James Albert, Amy Thomas, & John G. Jewell

With the availability of new technologies, researchers are now able to perform experimental studies using virtual environments. Through the use of stereoptic goggles and modern graphics technology three dimensional environments with incredible realism can be reproduced with true depth perception.Using a variety of graphical manipulations, environments of astounding complexity and believability can be createdfor use in real-time simulations on consumer level computer hardware.However, the reliability of virtual versus real environments is commonly brought into question.For the current project, four virtual environments with varying complexity were developed.The experiments conducted compared the ability of subjects to judge spatial orientation in one of the four virtual environments or a real environment.In some cases, increasing the complexity of virtual environments increased distortions of perceived orientation.The design and implementation of virtual environments as well as the strengths and weaknesses of using such environments for research purposes will be discussed.

This study was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Amy Thomas, James Albert, & John G. Jewell

A concern for the implementation of virtual technology in training and practice is the accuracy of perception and navigation within virtual environments compared to real environments.In several experiments, we assessed the ability of participants to orient themselves in real and virtual space.In one experiment, blindfolded participants made verbal estimates of perceived body orientation during whole-body tilt in space.Additionally, participants were also immersed in several different virtual rooms and required to make estimates of their body orientation by adjusting their position in the virtual rooms.The perception of body orientation in space is distorted, especially for tilt angles at intermediate positions between vertical and horizontal.Distortions 

attenuate when body tilt approaches vertical and horizontal.Estimates of virtual tilt when immersed in simple 3D environments do not differ significantly from actual body orientation in space, contrary to what one might expect.More complex virtual environments increased distortions in perceived body orientation but only during backward tilts. Findings from these experiments comment on the similarities and differences when navigating in real versus virtual environments as well as implementation issues.

This study was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

J.D. Maher, K.F. Alberico, L.E. Mastrangelo & S.M. Specht

In the gustatory system, response to a target stimulus will differ depending upon the stimuli which precede it. This phenomenon is known as successive taste contrast (e.g., Rankin and Marks, 1991; Schifferstein and Frijters, 1992; Specht & Twining, 1999). Given the fact that sensory abilities change with normal aging (see Schiffman, 1997) and that older adults have alterations in gustatory thresholds (see Mojet, Christ-Hazelhof & Heidema, 2001) and decreased abilities in chemosensory indentification (e.g., Stevens & Cain, 1987), it is potentially clinically relevant to investigate taste contrast in older adults. Younger participants (mean age = 20.4 yrs) and older participants (mean age = 76.1 yrs.; recruited from programs within the Oneida Co. Office for the Aging) were randomly assigned to groups of a 2 (Sequence) X 2 (Interval) X 2 (Age) factorial design. Each participant was randomly assigned to taste either, a 4% sucrose solution followed by another 4% sucrose solution or a 32% sucrose solution followed by a 4% sucrose solution. Participants rated "sweetness" of the solutions on a visual analog scale. Participants rated the second solution either immediately following, or one week after the first solution (i.e., a one week ISI). A 2 (Sequence) X 2 (Interval) X 2 (Age) ANOVA with subsequent post hoc analyses revealed that successive taste contrast was evident (participants rated 4% sucrose as less "sweet" when it was preceded by 32% sucrose) for both younger and older participants and that taste contrast occurred even after a one-week ISI.

Jacqueline Abrardo

Dual diagnosis, defined as having both a severe mental illness and a substance use problem, has been a growing issue in the psychology field since the 1960’s when deinstitutionalization occurred. There are a variety of factors that merge to form the dilemma of dual diagnosis. First, there is the relationship between the client’s substance abuse and their mental illness; why and when do they use substances? Examined in this paper are two aspects: the self-medication hypothesis and abuse of prescriptions. Second, there are issues with current methods of detecting substance abuse, and how they relate to the mentally ill. According to previous studies, the methods to detect substance abuse are not always reliable in the mentally ill population. The final aspect is how the professional community deals with the difficulty of treatment of these cases. There are three types of treatment suggested for this population: sequential, concurrent, and integrated. Integrated treatment, which is least frequently used and most recently developed, is possibly the most effective. Research is being conducted to further prove that integrated treatment will fulfill its potential and demonstrate that the benefits will outweigh the costs of implementing this form of treatment.

A study on professionals’ views about dually diagnosed clients, both mental health and substance abuse counselors, is being designed to be completed during the summer of 2003. The proposed study will be in the form of a survey that will be mailed to professionals to determine their beliefs about the treatment of dually diagnosed clients. Through these questionnaires, aspects such as which diagnosis is perceived to be primary, which treatment the professionals implement most often, and which treatment they believe is the best overall will be examined.

Sarah A. Napolitan& K. Richardson

This study involved students' attitudes and values regarding nature and the environment. 60 subjects were administered a survey that inquired about early experiences with nature, personal beliefs about the environment, and the kind of experiences that they find personally rewarding. Students who had positive early childhood experiences with nature were found to have strong beliefs about people’s connection with the environment. These students also believed that a connection exists with nature and by hurting the environment we are hurting ourselves. Students who had childhood interactions with nature also believed strongly that nature helps with everyday psychological wear and tear, and were more likely to appreciate gardening, watching sunrises/sunsets and desired to clean up rivers or other polluted areas. The Big Five Personality Scale (Saucier 1994) was also given to determine whether or not certain personality types correlated with attitudes toward nature, but was ineffective in doing so.

A.E. Baldwin1, A. Palomo2, L. Han1, N. Horvath1, & P.S. Grigson1

Rats suppress intake of a sweet conditioned stimulus (CS) that predicts the availability of either passively or self-administered cocaine (Ferrari et al., 1991; Grigson et al., 2001; Grigson & Twining, 2002). Lesions of the gustatory thalamus (VPMpc) disrupt the suppressive effects of standard doses of passively administered cocaine (Wheeler et al., 2000) or morphine (Grigson et al., 2000). We investigated the effects of ibotenic acid lesions of the VPMpc on cocaine-induced suppression of CS intake during active and passive cocaine administration. In Experiment 1, water-deprived male Sprague-Dawley rats with bilateral VPMpc lesions and i.v. catheters were given 5 min access to a 0.15% saccharin solution and then allowed to self-administer cocaine (0.33 mg/infusion) for 1 hr for 10 days. While the VPMpc rats took slightly less cocaine than controls, the lesion failed to prevent CS suppression. In Experiment 2, the same animals were given 5 min access to 0.03 M Polycose, followed 5 min later by a saline or a cocaine injection (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg s.c.) over several trials. The low dose of cocaine had little effect in either the sham or lesion subjects. The higher doses, however, reduced CS intake, and this effect was not prevented by VPMpc lesions. Together these data suggest that VPMpc lesions disrupt cocaine self-administration and the suppression of CS intake following passive administration of low doses of cocaine. This disruptive effect is overridden by use of a more potent dose of cocaine. Supported by DA 09815 and DA 12473.

Jennifer Keiffer & Joseph Fromknecht

This project sought to investigate the services available in Clinton County Pennsylvania for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. A major portion of the data was collected through the Special Education Statistical Summary 2000 – 2001 from the Bureau of Special Education.From this research, we have determined that this population is underserved.I pilot survey was created and distributed to several community leaders in order to structure a plan of action to finding a solution to this problem.To better clarify this problem, a needs assessment inventory will be created for this project.In order to rectify this problem, the researchers adopted an action research orientation and are currently in the process of bringing Easter Seals to Clinton County Pennsylvania.Through the support of the Easter Seals Corporation of Central Pennsylvania, Lock Haven University, and several interested community leaders, we are working to bring the services of Easter Seals to Clinton County within the next few months.The implementation of these services will be an excellent example of the “practical problem solving” inherent in action research (Baskervile, 1999).In addition, it will provide valuable experiences for Lock Haven University students in psychology, recreation, and special education who will be able to assist with these services and create a more connected community.

Cemantha Morris, Elizabeth Mannino, & Blake Boyer

This research study is based upon the reliability of eyewitness testimony.We would like to see how accurate eyewitness testimony is depending on the type of questioning.We are showing the participants a movie clip of a crime scene and then asked them to fill out a questionnaire related to it.The questionnaire consists of both 1. suggestive and 2. open ended questions.The data was analysised as a single factor ANOVA.As predicted, the open ended questions proved to be more reliable than suggestive questioning when dealing with eyewitness testimony.

 
Revisiting the Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony After 9/11
Cemantha Morris, Elizabeth Mannino, & Blake Boyer