Seminars

Upcoming Seminars / Seminars This Week



Thu 7/20/17 11 am	Schwartz Auditorium 112
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Psychology)
Sonja Krstic (Psychology Department, PhD Program)
Psychopathy and Sexual Aggression: Etiology, Variants and Management Implications
Psychopathy is a complex personality disorder, characterized by serious emotional dysfunction and chronic antisocial behavior. Individuals with a high degree of psychopathic traits are far more likely to be convicted of violent crimes, more likely to engage in egregious physical force during crime commission, more likely recidivate, and less likely to positively respond to treatment than those low on such traits. Additionally, there have been some indications that psychopathic offenders may be capable of manipulating their way out of prison by securing an early release. The PCL-R, arguably the most researched instrument that measures psychopathic traits, comprises Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial facets. Several latent profiles, distinguished by particular combinations of these facet scores, can be identified. These traits tend to emerge in childhood and show considerable lifetime stability. Although the etiology of these traits has remained controversial, recent empirical literature has linked the impulsive and antisocial psychopathic features with the history of abuse, and some studies have revealed significant associations between childhood maltreatment and the core interpersonal and affective traits. The present dissertation comprised three studies. Study 1 analyzed the associations between the components of psychopathy and psychological, physical, and sexual abuse in a sample of males who had sexually offended, and it also explored the relations between negative childhood experiences and psychopathic traits among male and female college students. Among male sex offenders, whereas a history of physical violence in the caregiver family was positively associated with impulsivity, anger, and failure to control one's temper, such a history was negatively related to the Interpersonal facet. In the same sample a history of sexual abuse negatively predicted lack of empathy, and marginally and negatively predicted the Affective facet. Among male and female undergraduates, psychological abuse was positively associated with manipulativeness and superficial charm, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and difficulties in controlling one's temper. Males were more likely to report lower empathy, higher manipulativeness/superficial charm, and higher social potency than females. Study 2 analyzed the latent structure of the PCL-R facets in two samples of male sex offenders, corroborating the superior fit of a four-factor model and revealing four distinct subtypes with specific combinations of facet scores that evidenced distinct sexual crime correlates. Study 3 addressed the link between psychopathy and recidivism in a male sex offender sample and explored the association of psychopathic traits with release suitability decisions made by parole boards. Although psychopathy was not found to be related to sexual or general recidivism, the Lifestyle/Antisocial factor of PCL-R was positively associated with the likelihood of early release. The results of these three studies demonstrated the complexity of psychopathy and highlighted the importance of adhering to more nuanced contemporary approaches to understanding the construct of psychopathy, its developmental antecedents, and the ramifications of the construct for mangement decisions.
Hosted by Raymond Knight
Thu 7/20/17 3 pm	Volen 201
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Neuroscience)
Nicole Amichetti (Wingfield Lab)
Downstream effects of listening effort: Speech comprehension and hearing acuity in adult aging, from clinically normal acuity to cochlear implants
Thu 7/20/17 4 pm	Abelson 229
MRSEC: Membrane-based Materials (IRG1)
ShiYu Wang and Zhaoqianqi Feng (Brandeis)
Friction Mediates Scission of Tubular Membranes Scaffolded by BAR Proteins
Free Pizza from 5-5:30
Hosted by Mahsa Siavashpouri
Fri 7/21/17 12:30 pm	Rosenstiel 118
Brandeis Postdoctoral Seminar Series
Mike O'Donnell (Sengupta Lab)
Chang Liu (Griffith Lab)
Pizza Served
Hosted by Philipp Rosenbaum (Brandeis Postdoc Association)
Tue 7/25/17 11 am	Goldsmith 317
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Mathematics)
Cristobal Lemus-Vidales (Brandeis)
Lattice Path Enumeration and Factorization
Hosted by Prof. Ira Gessel
Thu 7/27/17 10 am	Abelson 333
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Physics)
Cesar Agon
Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory and Holography
Thu 7/27/17 12 noon	Abelson 333
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Physics)
Elias Putzig
An exploration of the phases and structure formation in active nematic materials using an overdamped continuum theory
Thu 7/27/17 2 pm	Rosenstiel 118
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Biophysics)
Melissa Trieu (Oprian Lab)
Purification and Characterization of a Rhodopsin-Guanylyl Cyclase Fusion Protein
Thu 7/27/17 4 pm	Abelson 229
MRSEC: Biological Active Materials (IRG2)
Mikael Garabedian Mohamed Amine Gharbi (Brandeis)
Bacterial Ratchet Motors and Topological Defects in a Living Nematic Ensnare Swimming Bacteria
Free Pizza from 5:00-5:30
Hosted by Gregory Hoeprich
Fri 7/28/17 12:30 pm	Rosenstiel 118
Brandeis Postdoctoral Seminar Series
Tim Wiggin (Griffith Lab)
Gonzalo Budelli (Garrity Lab)
Pizza Served
Hosted by Philipp Rosenbaum (Brandeis Postdoc Association)
Fri 8/4/17 12:30 pm	Rosenstiel 118
Brandeis Postdoctoral Seminar Series
Vanessa Porkolab (Krauss Lab)
Matthias Schlichting (Rosbash Lab)
Pizza Served
Hosted by Philipp Rosenbaum (Brandeis Postdoc Association)
Mon 8/7/17 2 pm	Gerstenzang 124
Thesis Seminar (Graduate Program in Chemistry)
Ning Zhou
Development of stimuli-responsive molecules and soft materials
Wed 8/30/17 12 noon	Rosenstiel 118
Neurobiology Journal Club
Michael O'Donnell (Sengupta Lab)
TBA
Justin Shin (Jadhav Lab)
TBA