Surveying sexualities: Internet research with non-heterosexuals

In this article we describe and evaluate the process of conducting online survey research about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships (key findings from which we have reported elsewhere, see Harding and Peel, 2006). Our aim in so doing is to contribute to the growing generic literature on internet-based research methods (Nosek et al., 2002; Rhodes et al., 2003; Stern, 2003; Strickland et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2000) to the research methods literature within lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) psychologies (Fish, 2000; Morris and Rothblum, 1999; Meezan and Martin, 2003; Mustanski, 2001) and also to extend the germinal literature focusing on internet research with non-heterosexual groups (Elford et al., 2004; Ellis et al., 2003; Ross et al., 2000). We begin by discussing the process of developing the online survey tool, before outlining the experience of the survey ‘going live’ and providing details of who completed the survey. We conclude by exploring some of the positives and pitfalls of this type of research methodology.

Sebalds Neger

Vor zehn Jahren starb W.G. Sebald am H��hepunkt seines literarischen Erfolgs. Sein Stern steigt seitdem unaufhaltsam weiter, aber die Vereinnahmung als Klassiker erfordert ein Ausblenden seiner widerborstigen Seiten.

Premonitory urges for tics in adult patients with Tourette syndrome

Objective: Patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) often report characteristic sensory experiences, also called premonitory urges (PUs), which precede tic expression and have high diagnostic relevance. This study investigated the usefulness of a scale developed and validated in children and adolescents-the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS, Woods et al., 2005 [13])-for the assessment of PUs in adult patients with TS. Method: Standard statistical methods were applied to test the psychometric properties of the PUTS in 102 adult TS outpatients recruited from two specialist clinics in the United Kingdom. Results: The PUTS showed good acceptability and endorsement rates, with evenly distributed scores and low floor and ceiling effects. Item-total correlations were moderate to strong; PUTS total scores were significantly correlated with quantitative measures of TS severity. The PUTS showed excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.85) and Spearman's correlations demonstrated satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: Although originally devised to assess urges to tic in young patients with TS, the PUTS demonstrated good psychometric properties in a large sample of adults recruited at specialist TS clinics. This instrument is therefore recommended for use across the life span as a valid and reliable self-report measure of sensory experiences accompanying tic expression. © 2013 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology.

Immunoblotting and tear sampling techniques for the study of contact lens-induced variations in tear protein profiles

More information on the biochemical interactions taking place between the tear film and the contact lens is required to further our understanding of the causative mechanisms behind the symptoms of dryness and grittiness often experienced by contact lens wearers. These symptoms can often lead to an intolerance to contact lens wear.

The detection of kinin activity in contact lens wear

Many factors can be, and have been, attributed to the appearance of complications in lens wear, but the greatest is associated with deposition. Reduced acuity, irritation and inflammatory responses are often referred to as adverse reactions arising as a result of deposition. In this study, particular attention was paid to the potential role of adsorbed proteins in activating, mediating and/or stimulating a host immune response, i.e., the hypothesis that the adsorption of certain proteins from the tears and ocular surfaces may actively affect successful lens wear. In particular, the purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of a group of proteins previously undiscovered in the ocular environment. The intention was to target a family of proteins/glycoproteins that have become prominent recently in a variety of inflammatory responses and disorders at many other mucosal associated sites around the body, e.g. in nasal rhinitis and in joint inflammation. The protein cascade in question is the kinin family of inflammatory mediators. The aim was to investigate their presence in the ocular environment, specifically in relation to contact lens wear, and consequently assess the implications of their discovery. High molecular weight kininogen (HMWK), with its central role in kinin responses, was investigated initially as the marker of kinin activity, with subsequent members examined thereafter.

Age-related striatal BOLD changes without changes in behavioral loss aversion

Loss aversion (LA), the idea that negative valuations have a higher psychological impact than positive ones, is considered an important variable in consumer research. The literature on aging and behavior suggests older individuals may show more LA, although it is not clear if this is an effect of aging in general (as in the continuum from age 20 and 50 years), or of the state of older age (e.g., past age 65 years). We also have not yet identified the potential biological effects of aging on the neural processing of LA. In the current study we used a cohort of subjects with a 30 year range of ages, and performed whole brain functional MRI (fMRI) to examine the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VS/NAc) response during a passive viewing of affective faces with model-based fMRI analysis incorporating behavioral data from a validated approach/avoidance task with the same stimuli. Our a priori focus on the VS/NAc was based on (1) the VS/NAc being a central region for reward/aversion processing; (2) its activation to both positive and negative stimuli; (3) its reported involvement with tracking LA. LA from approach/avoidance to affective faces showed excellent fidelity to published measures of LA. Imaging results were then compared to the behavioral measure of LA using the same affective faces. Although there was no relationship between age and LA, we observed increasing neural differential sensitivity (NDS) of the VS/NAc to avoidance responses (negative valuations) relative to approach responses (positive valuations) with increasing age. These findings suggest that a central region for reward/aversion processing changes with age, and may require more activation to produce the same LA behavior as in younger individuals, consistent with the idea of neural efficiency observed with high IQ individuals showing less brain activation to complete the same task.

Redefining neuromarketing as an integrated science of influence

Multiple transformative forces target marketing, many of which derive from new technologies that allow us to sample thinking in real time (i.e., brain imaging), or to look at large aggregations of decisions (i.e., big data). There has been an inclination to refer to the intersection of these technologies with the general topic of marketing as “neuromarketing”. There has not been a serious effort to frame neuromarketing, which is the goal of this paper. Neuromarketing can be compared to neuroeconomics, wherein neuroeconomics is generally focused on how individuals make “choices”, and represent distributions of choices. Neuromarketing, in contrast, focuses on how a distribution of choices can be shifted or “influenced”, which can occur at multiple “scales” of behavior (e.g., individual, group, or market/society). Given influence can affect choice through many cognitive modalities, and not just that of valuation of choice options, a science of influence also implies a need to develop a model of cognitive function integrating attention, memory, and reward/aversion function. The paper concludes with a brief description of three domains of neuromarketing application for studying influence, and their caveats.