Transition Metal Synthetic Ferrimagnets: Tunable Media for All-Optical Switching Driven by Nanoscale Spin Current.

All-optical switching of magnetization has great potential for use in future ultrafast and energy efficient nanoscale magnetic storage devices. So far, research has been almost exclusively focused on rare-earth based materials, which limits device tunability and scalability. Here, we show that a perpendicularly magnetized synthetic ferrimagnet composed of two distinct transition metal ferromagnetic layers, Ni3Pt and Co, can exhibit helicity independent magnetization switching. Switching occurs between two equivalent remanent states with antiparallel alignment of the Ni3Pt and Co magnetic moments and is observable over a broad temperature range. Time-resolved measurements indicate that the switching is driven by a spin-polarized current passing through the subnanometer Ir interlayer. The magnetic properties of this model system may be tuned continuously via subnanoscale changes in the constituent layer thicknesses as well as growth conditions, allowing the underlying mechanisms to be elucidated and paving the way to a new class of data storage devices.

"Food addiction is real". The effects of exposure to this message on self-diagnosed food addiction and eating behaviour.

Food addiction is widely discussed in popular media in many Westernised societies. However, a potential concern is that endorsement of the food addiction model may cause people to perceive a lack of personal control over eating which could promote unhealthy dietary behaviours. To address this possibility, the current study investigated whether exposure to food addiction messages would, firstly, increase the number of participants who self-diagnosed as food addicts and, secondly, increase intake of indulgent foods. In a between-subjects design, participants (N = 60) read an article which either claimed that food addiction is real ("Real" condition) or that food addiction is a myth ("Myth" condition). Intake of indulgent and non-indulgent foods was then assessed in a disguised taste test and participants also completed a measure of self-diagnosed food addiction. A significantly higher proportion of participants in the Real condition self-diagnosed as food addicts relative to participants in the Myth condition (57% and 27% of participants, respectively; p = .018). Variability in intake, but not mean intake, of indulgent food was higher in the Real condition than in the Myth condition. These findings suggest that endorsement of the concept of food addiction may encourage people to self-diagnose as food addicts and thus explain their eating behaviour in terms of addiction (an external attribution). The extent to which self-diagnosis of food addiction influences actual food intake and how this might vary with individual differences and eating context remains to be determined.

To eat or not to eat. The effects of expectancy on reactivity to food cues.

Cue reactivity may be determined by the ability of cues to evoke expectations that a reward will be imminently received. To test this possibility, the current study examined the effects of manipulating expectations about the receipt of food (pizza) on self-reported and physiological responses to pizza cues, and attentional bias to pizza pictures. It was predicted that expecting to eat pizza would increase salivation, self-reported measures of motivation and attentional bias to pizza cues relative to conditions where there was no eating expectancy. In a within-subjects counterbalanced design, 42 hungry participants completed two pizza-cue exposures in a single experimental session during which their expectation of consuming the pizza was manipulated (i.e., expectancy of eating imminently vs. no eating expectancy). They also completed a computerised attentional bias task during which the probability of receiving pizza (0%, 50% or 100%) was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis. Participants showed reliable increases in hunger and salivation in response to the pizza cues, as well as a bias in attentional maintenance on pizza pictures. However, these responses were not influenced by eating expectancy. Contrastingly, expectancy did influence early attentional processing (initial orientation of attention) in that participants directed their first gaze towards pizza pictures more often on 100% and 50% probability trials relative to 0% trials. Overall, our findings indicate that exposure to food cues triggers appetitive responses regardless of explicit expectancy information. Methodological features of the study that may account for these findings are discussed.

Social imitation of alcohol consumption and ingratiation motives in young adults.

Across 2 studies we tested the hypothesis that social ingratiation motives may be an important factor explaining social imitation of alcohol consumption. In Study 1, participants drank alcohol with a heavy versus light drinking confederate under conditions that were designed to heighten or reduce (participants believed they would not be judged) motivation for ingratiation. In Study 2 we manipulated the degree to which participants believed they had already successfully ingratiated themselves with a heavy or no (alcohol) drinking confederate. In Study 1, participants' alcohol consumption was most strongly influenced by the confederate's drinking behavior when they believed that they would later be judged by the confederate. In Study 2, participants' alcohol consumption was influenced by the confederate's drinking behavior and this effect was particularly pronounced if participants were unsure if the confederate had accepted them. The desire for social ingratiation may in part explain why people imitate the drinking behavior of those around them. (PsycINFO Database Record