Monitor on Psychology - April 2012 - (Page 19)

Brief IN n Abnormal brain structures predispose people to chronic drug abuse, find University of Cambridge researchers. Their study compared the cognitive function and brain structure of 47 people with an addiction with 49 of their non-addicted siblings and 50 healthy unrelated, drug-free volunteers. The researchers tested participants’ ability to control impulses and found that both the addicted participants and their siblings showed significantly reduced performance on the task compared with controls. Brain scans also showed that siblings had similar abnormal connections in an area of the brain involved with self-control, suggesting that poor impulse control may predispose people to abuse drugs. (Science, Feb. 3) n Babies appear to read lips while learning to speak, finds research by a group of Florida Atlantic University psychologists. In the study, researchers followed the gazes of 180 babies at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months by showing videos of a woman speaking. They found that as babies got older, they shifted their attention: The 4-month-olds gazed mostly into the speaker’s eyes while the 6-month-olds spent equal amounts of time looking at her eyes and mouth. The 8- and 10-month-olds studied mostly the mouth, and by 12 months, attention started shifting back toward the speaker’s eyes. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online Jan. 17) n Having an easy-to-say name may help you get promoted, finds a study by a team of American and Australian researchers. Through a series of five Family conflict is lessened when parents step up their rule enforcement and communication, a study suggests. experiments, the authors found that, even after controlling for the ethnicity of the name, people with more pronounceable last names such as Sherman and Jenkins are judged more positively than those with difficult-topronounce names, such as Farquharson and Leszczynska. They also found that people with simpler names were more likely to win political office, and that American lawyers with easier sounding names were promoted faster within their law firms. (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, online Dec. 9) n Teens have fewer behavioral problems when parents enforce rules at home, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Oregon. The authors followed 593 seventhand eighth-graders and their families in a randomized controlled trial at three public schools in the Pacific Northwest. Some families were assigned to participate in Family Check-Up — a program for parents that encourages them to enforce a curfew and talk with teens about drinking, substance use and sex. The other families were assigned to a control group of “school as usual.” The researchers found that the intervention improved parental monitoring and reduced family conflict and decreased antisocial behavior and alcohol use among the teens. (Journal of Adolescent Health, online Jan. 16) —A. NOVOTNEY For direct links to these articles, click on the journal names. APRIL 2012 • MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY 19 Stockbyte http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6068/601.abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103111002927 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X11006100 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103111002927 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X11006100 http://www.pnas.org/content/109/5/1431.abstract?sid=b9a01248-4e90-4761-aaea-ad98a21375cd http://www.pnas.org/content/109/5/1431.abstract?sid=b9a01248-4e90-4761-aaea-ad98a21375cd

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - April 2012

Monitor on Psychology - April 2010
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Internship Shortage Continues
Mental Health Services Remain Scarce at Community Colleges
Apa Weighs in on the Constitutionality of Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders
Apa Praises Court’s Support for Equality
New Mobile App Answers Psychologists’ Clinical Questions
Nih Offers Free Web Resources for Psychologist Researchers
New and Improved Psyclink
In Brief
Government Relations Update
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Random Sample
Judicial Notebook
Early Career Psychology
Psychologist Profile
Coal Miners’ Dilemma
The Science of Political Advertising
Science Watch
Science Directions
More Support Needed for Trauma Interventions
The Case Against Spanking
Innovative Psychology at the High School Level
Speaking of Education
Apa Divisions Reach Out to New Psychologists
New Journal Editors
A Home Base for Multiple Fields
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Awards and Funding Opportunities
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - April 2012