Leighton E. Stamps

Maternal Preference in Child Custody Decisions

Abstract At this time, all states have gender neutral child custody laws, which have replaced laws and precedents which usually gave preference to mothers (maternal preference) in custody decisions. There have been suggestions in the legal literature that maternal preference among judges may still exist in spite of these laws. In the present study, state judges in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were surveyed by mail with regard to their beliefs dealing with issues related to maternal preference in child custody decisions. The items on the questionnaire dealt with the quality of parenting provided by mothers versus fathers, childrens adjustment following divorce while living with mothers versus fathers, and the preferred custodian following divorce. Usable data was provided by 149 judges. The results of the study showed that the judges exhibited continuing indications of maternal preference. These results were very consistent, with the means on every item of the questionnaire indicating a greater preference toward mothers than fathers.

Effects of caffeine withdrawal on motor performance and heart rate changes

Heavy caffeine Users and Non-users were tested twice using a signalled reaction time paradigm, while heart rate was recorded. During the 7-day interval between the two sessions, the User group maintained normal caffeine intake for the first 5 days and abstained from caffeine during the last 2 days, which constituted a withdrawal period. The Non-users abstained from caffeine (as they usually do) during the entire 7-day period. The analyses of the reaction time (RT) data indicated no differences during Session 1 and a significant group difference during Session 2, with the Non-users exhibiting faster RTs. The Users exhibited no change between Sessions 1 and 2, while the Non-users showed a decrease in RTs (increased speed) across Sessions, which may be indicative of a practice effect. The analysis of the heart rate data from the 5-s period prior to the imperative stimulus yielded no differences during Session 1, and a significant group difference in Session 2, with the Non-users exhibiting larger decelerations. Across the two Sessions, the Non-users showed an increase in the magnitude of the heart rate deceleration, while the Users exhibited a decline in the size of the deceleration. Since the magnitude of heart rate deceleration has been interpreted as an index of attention, it appears that the Users were exhibiting less efficient attention during withdrawal from caffeine (Session 2) than were the Non-users. This conclusion is supported by the RT data, showing slower response times for the Users during Session 2, as compared to Non-users.

Differential effects of state and trait anxiety on heart rate responses and reaction time

College students were tested on 10 trials of a reaction time task, using a variable interval warning signal, while heart rate was recorded. Subjects were divided into high and low anxiety groups using a median split based on their scores on a modification of the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The low anxiety group exhibited faster reaction times, shorter latency heart rate deceleration following warning signal onset, and a more consistent deceleration immediately prior to the respond signal than the high anxiety group. When the same subjects were divided into groups according to state anxiety, no group differences were found in either heart rate or reaction time. In Part II of the study, subjects listened to six 15 s presentations of a 70 dbA, 250 Hz tone. No group differences in heart rate responses to the tones were found for either state or trait anxiety groups.

Heart Rate Conditioning in Young Infants Using a Visual Conditional Stimulus.

Abstract Trace heart rate conditioning was evaluated in 16 infants having a mean age of 4.5 months. The Experimental Group received a 3-sec blinking light pattern as the CS, followed by a 3-sec interstimulus interval (ISI), and 3-sec tone as the UCS. The Control Group received an equal number of presentations of the CS and UCS at randomized intervals and in a randomized order. The acquisition of a conditioned deceleration during the period which included the visual CS and the ISI was demonstrated only in the Experimental males. Response differences were also found in the absence of the auditory UCS, with only Experimental females exhibiting a deceleration.

A Discriminant Function Analysis of Type A Behavior Using the 16PF Personality Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of personality factors as measured by the 16PF Personality Questionnaire to Type A behavior as measured by the Student Form of the Jenkins Activity Survey (SJAS). One hundred and fourteen under-graduates were administered the SJAS and the 16PF Personality Questionnaire. Correlational and discriminant analyses revealed several systematic relationships between specific personality factors and Type A Behavior. The correlational analyses revealed nine significant correlations, while the discriminant analysis revealed six factors that discriminated between Type A and Type B personalities. The most important of these were the factors Venturesome, Suspicious, and Conscientious. These results indicate that the 16PF is a useful personality inventory that can discriminate Type A from Type B personalities as measured by the SJAS.

Relationships between the type A behavior pattern and phasic heart rate responses during a reaction time task.

Type A and B college students performed a signalled reaction time task with a 17-s fixed preparatory internal (PI) while heart rate was recorded. The analysis of the first half of the PI indicated a triphasic heart rate response (deceleration-acceleration-deceleration) to the warning signal, followed by a return toward baseline. No group differences were found. During the latter half of the PI, the Type B subjects exhibited a time-locked heart rate deceleration which reached its maximum at the second immediately prior to the onset of the imperative stimulus. The Type A subjects exhibited maximum deceleration earlier in the PI. These findings are consistent with previous work indicating that Type As have difficulty maintaining their attention over relatively long PIs of reaction time tasks.

Heart Rate Changes and Anxiety: A Methodological Clarification

Abstract Under this heading appear summaries of studies which, in 500 words or less, provide useful data substantiating, not substantiating, or refining what we think we know; additional details concerning the results can be obtained by communicating directly with the investigator or, when indicated, by requesting supplementary material from Microfiche Publications.

A comparison of the effects of fixed versus variable foreperiods on anticipatory cardiac deceleration prior to an exercise task in grade school children

Childrens heart rate responses in anticipation of a signalled exercise task were examined. The use of fixed (15 s) vs variable (10, 15 or 20 s) preparatory intervals (PI) was compared. The analysis across all subjects indicated that the children exhibited a stable deceleration immediately prior to the exercise task. A difference was found between the fixed and variable PIs. During the period immediately before the exercise task, those subjects receiving the variable PI exhibited a decrease across trials in the size of the anticipatory heart rate deceleration. The children receiving the fixed PI showed an increase across trials in the size of the deceleration.

Mosher guilt scores and sexual preference

Administered the Mosher Guilt Scales and the Manifest Hostility Scale to groups of male (N = 20) and female (N = 20) homosexuals and heterosexuals in an effort to establish the existence of differences between the personality profiles of homosexuals and heterosexuals. As was hypothesized, homosexuals and males were found to be less guilty and more hostile than heterosexuals and females respectively. In addition, the absence of significant interactions in all but one of the analyses performed indicated that differences in guilt and hostility levels between homosexuals and heterosexuals were similar for males and females. It was concluded that high levels of hostility and low levels of guilt in homosexuals can be attributed in part to the demands of a society that views their behavior as pathological in nature.

Anticipatory cardiac deceleration prior to total body movement in grade school children

Abstract A total of 16 males (mean age = 10.9 years) were tested on six trials of a signaled, running time task while heart rate was recorded. The preparatory interval varied randomly among 10, 15, or 20 sec. The response consisted of running a distance of 4.62 m. A triphasic heart rate response (deceleration-acceleration-deceleration) occurred following the warning signal. A stable deceleration below pre-stimulus levels was observed during the 5-sec period prior to the respond signal. Heart rate responses were not related to running time.