Reduced automatic motivational orientation towards food in restricting anorexia nervosa

A striking and characteristic feature of the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa (AN) is that they are extremely successful in regulating their food intake in a destructive manner. A possible explanation for the persistent character of their restricted food intake could be a loss of the motivational saliency of food in restricting AN patients. The present study aimed to investigate motivational orientation for food in the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa with an indirect performance-based measure and a self-report measure of craving. An indirect approach avoidance task was administered to measure automatic approach tendencies for high-fat and low-fat food in restricting adolescent AN-like patients (n=89) and a group of healthy adolescents (n=76). As predicted, restricting AN-like patients showed less automatic motivational orientation toward food than healthy controls. In a similar vein, AN-like patients reported less craving for food than the group of healthy controls. The loss of an automatic motivational orientation toward food together with the deliberate strategy to avoid food might help explain the ability of restricting AN-like patients to regulate their food intake.     

Personality,Intelligence and Assessment Centre Expert Ratings

Just under 3000 middle managers were rated on seven dimensions/competencies by consultants after a 1‐day assessment centre and structured interview. They also completed two cognitive ability tests and two well‐established personality tests (NEO PI‐R; MBTI). Correlational analysis showed that the rated dimensions of ‘drive to achieve’, ‘internal locus of control’ and ‘resilience’ all modestly negatively correlated with Neuroticism. All seven ratings were significantly correlated with Extraversion and three each with Openness and Agreeableness. There were few significant correlations with the MBTI but the Thinking–Feeling dimension correlated significantly with combined ratings. Correlations with the intelligence test scores were mostly non‐significant. The seven ratings factored into three identifiable factors: labelled personal assertiveness, toughness and determination and curiosity. Regressions using both a total, overall computed rating of general aptitude, as well as the three scores as criterion variables and ability, personality, participant‐gender and management level as predictor variables demonstrated that they accounted for between a quarter and a third of the variance. Predictors varied considerably as a function of the different criteria measures but ability and gender accounted for little of the variance.     

Awareness Versus Un-Clinging: Which Matters in Mindfulness?

Awareness and un-clinging have been emphasised in Buddhist discourse as important facets of mindfulness practice for over 2500 years. However, there is a lack of rigorous research examining the relationship between these two elements and their importance to well-being. To evaluate these abstract constructs, the current study adopted multiple assessment modalities; namely, a self-report scale, experience sampling (assessing ‘momentary mindfulness’), and semi-structured interviews (assessing ‘rater-rated mindfulness’). A total of 415 participants completed the questionnaire survey. Among them, 71 participants further took part in the experience sampling procedure and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that self-reported awareness was mildly correlated with momentary mindfulness (r = .35) but was not significantly correlated with rater-rated mindfulness. Self-reported un-clinging was moderately correlated with rater-rated mindfulness (r = .53) but was not significantly correlated with momentary mindfulness. Un-clinging, but not awareness, can distinguish meditators from non-meditators. Lastly, based on the Buddha’s mindfulness discourse, a path analysis model illustrates that the effects of un-clinging and awareness on stress reduction are mediated by emotional intelligence and non-attachment. Practical implications and future research designs are discussed.     

Changing abilities in recognition of unfamiliar face photographs through childhood and adolescence: Performance on a test of non‐verbal immediate memory (Warrington RMF) from 6 to 16 years

A commonly used test of non‐verbal memory, which measures recognition for unfamiliar face pictures, was developed by Warrington (1984) , the Recognition Memory for Faces (RMF) test. The task has been widely used in adults in relation to neurological impairment of face recognition. We examined the relationship of RMF scores to age in 500 young people aged between 6 and 16 years. A linear relationship obtained between 6 and 10 years, followed by a ‘plateau’ between the ages of 10 and 13, followed by further improvement. Abilities on the test correlated with both verbal and non‐verbal intelligence, but the nonlinear function relating age and RMF survived partialling for intelligence in the younger age groups. The improvement of the adolescents compared with older children also survived partialling for IQ. We found no significant influence of gender or reported pubertal status (which was not obtained for all participants) on RMF once age was taken into account. Performance on other face‐processing tasks (emotion classification and accuracy in line of sight detection) correlated significantly, if moderately, with RMF scores. Despite its age and imperfections, RMF test may nevertheless be a useful indicator of ‘face expertise’ in a developmental context.     

Absence of effect of the change of food context in the activity-based anorexia phenomenon in rats

The goal of this study was to analyse how the context in which animals remain during the period of access to food modulates the development of activity-based anorexia in rats. For this purpose, the effect of changing the context of the activity period and the eating period was measured in terms of body weight loss, reduction in food intake and increase in physical activity. A 2 yen 2 factorial design was implemented, by having or not having access to a running wheel, and by being exposed or not exposed to a context change. Results showed that exposure to different contexts for the wheel and for the food did not affect weight loss, food intake or activity levels. These results are in line with the theoretical position of Epling and Pierce (1992) that activity is induced by the food restriction regime.     

What is it to lose hope?

This paper addresses the phenomenology of hopelessness. I distinguish two broad kinds of predicament that are easily confused: ‘loss of hopes’ and ‘loss of hope’. I argue that not all hope can be characterised as an intentional state of the form ‘I hope that p’. It is possible to lose all hopes of that kind and yet retain another kind of hope. The hope that remains is not an intentional state or a non-intentional bodily feeling. Rather, it is a ‘pre-intentional’ orientation or ‘existential feeling’, by which I mean something in the context of which certain kinds of intentional state, including intentional hope, are intelligible. I go on to discuss severe depression, lack of aspiration, demoralisation and loss of trust in the world, in order to distinguish some qualitatively different forms that loss of hope can take.     

Target setting,self-reinforcement pattern and locus of control orientation as predictors of outcome in a behavioural weight-loss programme

High levels of unexplained variance have been reported in the outcome of weight-loss attempts by the obese using dietary and behavioural procedures to lose weight. The present study examined the effects of varying the short-term ‘target’ expectations of weight-loss and the degree of delay of self-reinforcement procedures. Contrary to expectation a significantly greater weight-loss was achieved under ‘unrealistic’ high target levels than under ‘realistic’ lower levels. Delay of self-reinforcement showed no differential effect. Hypothesized interactions between the experimental conditions and an external locus of control orientation were not found but there was a tentative indication that internally controlled individuals do significantly better under the ‘High’ than the ‘Low’ target expectations. The data suggest that more systematic attention should be paid to these cognitive-behavioural variables in planning weight-loss, programmes.     

Beyond personal responsibility: Effects of causal attributions for overweight and obesity on weight-related beliefs,stigma, and policy support

Objective: The objective of this research was to compare the effects of different causal attributions for overweight and obesity, among individuals with overweight and obesity, on weight-related beliefs, stigmatising attitudes and policy support.

Design: In Study 1, an online sample of 95 US adults rated the extent to which they believed various factors caused their own weight status. In Study 2, 125 US adults read one of three randomly assigned online passages attributing obesity to personal responsibility, biology, or the ‘food environment.’ All participants in both studies were overweight or obese.

Main outcome measures: All participants reported beliefs about weight loss, weight-stigmatising attitudes, and support for obesity-related policies.

Results: In Study 1, biological attributions were associated with low weight-malleability beliefs and blame, high policy support, but high internalised weight bias. ‘Food environment’ attributions were not associated with any outcomes, while ‘personal responsibility’ attributions were associated with high prejudice and blame. In Study 2, participants who received information about the food environment reported greater support for food-related policies and greater self-efficacy to lose weight.

Conclusion: Emphasising the role of the food environment in causing obesity may promote food policy support and health behaviours without imposing the negative consequences associated with other attributions.     

Dissociation of oxytocin effects on body weight in two variants of female Sprague-Dawley rats

As a counterpoint to studies that make a case for the use of oxytocin in short-term inhibition of food intake, the aim of the present study was to determine whether the peptide facilitates weight gain in female rats in a more long-term perspective. Two different variants of female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. The two variants differed in daily weight gain (0.38 g/day vs. 1.41 g/day during 28 days), and were designated slowly and rapidly growing rats (SGR and RGR) respectively. Oxytocin 1 mg/kg given s.c. to SGR for a five-day period increased weight gain significantly in comparison to a previous five-day period with NaCl-treatment (18.0 g/5 days versus 5.0 g/5 days; p<0.01). In a separate study, oxytocin 1 mg/kg given for four days increased weight gain significantly in SGR versus saline-treated controls (7.5 g/4 days versus 1.6 g/4 days; p<0.05). The weight-difference persisted six days later (p<0.001). The weight increase of oxytocin occurred only during estrus (p<0.05) and was not accompanied by any measurable increase in food intake. In RGR, oxytocin-treatment decreased food intake significantly (p<0.001) and tended to decrease weight gain, although not significantly. The SGR and RGR also had different endocrine profiles with, for example, twice as high oxytocin (p<0.01) and insulin levels (p<0.01) in RGR compared to the SGR. These data suggest that oxytocin influences weight gain and food intake differently in the two variants of Sprague-Dawley rats, perhaps depending on factors such as endocrine profile and oxytocin sensitivity.     

Effects of a short-term exercise program on caloric consumption

The present study investigated the effects of a short-term exercise program on caloric intake. Thirty-three women were randomly assigned to either a high-intensity exercise group (80% maximum heart rate), low-intensity exercise group (55% maximum heart rate), or waiting list control group. Exercisers were required to ride ergometer bicycles three times per week for 7 weeks, expending 200 kilocalories of energy per exercise session. All participants recorded food intake during specified weeks before, during, and following the exercise program. Results showed no significant caloric intake differences among the three groups, but a trend toward reduction in food intake with increased exercise intensity was found. Interestingly, comparisons between caloric intake on exercise and nonexercise days revealed that both exercise groups consumed significantly less on exercise days. Additionally, the control group evidenced a larger caloric intake level than did the two exercise groups on exercise days. These results suggest that exercisers do not compensate for energy expenditure by increasing caloric intake and that choosing between low- and high-intensity exercise does not differentially alter caloric intake. Nevertheless, maximization of negative energy balance or weight loss may be best achieved by exercise programs of high frequency and intensity.     

(Mis)Understanding Strategy as a ‘Spectacular Intervention’: A Phenomenological Reflection on the Strategy Orientations Underpinning School Improvement in England

The introduction of the ‘National Strategies’ for primary education in 1998, positioned ‘strategy’ as a powerful instrument for mobilising the school ‘workforce’ in England in the cause of continuous improvement. Government approaches to strategy formulation and enactment appear to reflect an instrumentalist orientation found in many mainstream strategic management publications. This paper reflects on how the strategic pursuit of quick, ‘spectacular’ gains may lead to the loss of ethics of care. Phenomenological insights into modes of being-in-the-world are drawn upon to suggest that a preoccupation with strategy and its accompanying ‘toolkit’ of targets, standards and inspections diminishes a deeper engagement with the meaning and purpose of education. Based on Heidegger’s premise that understanding is at the core of being human, it is posited that the concern with ‘spectacular’ outputs is both superficial and potentially de-humanising. At the root of strategic thinking and the resulting forgetfulness of being is the Cartesian dogma and its dualistic (mis)understandings.     

Debating educability: diverging social representations of abilities in Finnish educational discourse

By surveying a representative sample of Finnish parents, this study set out to compare two social representations of intelligence current in our educational discourse: the established one, ‘the idea of natural giftedness’, and an emerging one, ‘the idea of the multifariousness of abilities and support for social equality.’ It was found that the parents’ social positions and their views on the malleability of intelligence contributed to their endorsement of the two representations. The idea of natural giftedness was endorsed particularly by academically educated fathers and those viewing intelligence as a genetically determined capability, while the idea of the multifariousness of abilities and support for social equality was endorsed by mothers and those with the view that intelligence can be developed through practice. It was suggested that these two polemical representations appear to embody opposite views in regard to the deeprooted controversy between nature and nurture and reproduce the basic cultural separation between the abilities of ‘head’ and ‘hand’.     

The saliva priming effect,eating speed and the measurement of hunger

Volunteers were tested under two conditions, either just before or just after a meal. The aim of the investigation was to identify subjective, behavioural and physiological correlates of hunger. Subjective measures of hunger and expected enjoyment as well as speed of eating clearly differentiated the two conditions. Although the basal level of salivation did not change significantly, there was a clear differential priming effect after consuming a small amount of chocolate. The saliva priming effect was greater when subjects were hungry. Correlations between change scores suggest that two partially independent systems are activated by food deprivation which could be labelled ‘hunger-salivation’ and ‘enjoyment-speed of eating’.     

In search of the true group animal: the effects of affiliation orientation and social comparison orientation upon group satisfaction

A study among 653 undergraduate students examined the effects upon group satisfaction of social comparison orientation (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999) and affiliation orientation, i.e. the preference for doing things together and in groups versus a preference for doing things alone. Affiliation orientation correlated positively with extraversion and agreeableness, and social comparison orientation correlated negatively with emotional stability and openness to experience. A multi‐level analysis showed that individual level variance in group satisfaction was explained by an interaction effect of affiliation orientation and social comparison orientation: a high level of affiliation orientation was associated with high group satisfaction of individual group members, but only among those low in social comparison orientation. Among those high in social comparison orientation, a high level of affiliation orientation was even associated, though not very strongly, with low group satisfaction. These effects were upheld when simultaneously controlling for all ‘Big Five’ personality dimensions. It was concluded that the typical ‘group animal’ is someone who has a strong preference for affiliation, combined with a low tendency to compare him‐ or herself with others. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Executive Cognitive Function as a Correlate and Predictor of Child Food Intake and Physical Activity

Investigated were relations among executive cognitive function (ECF), food intake, and physical activity in 184, fourth grade children. It was hypothesized that self-reported ECF proficiency would predict greater self-reported fruit/vegetable intake and physical activity, but less “snack food” intake. Structural models demonstrated that ECF was significantly correlated with less concurrent snack food intake and greater concurrent fruit/vegetable intake, but not physical activity. Baseline ECF also significantly predicted greater fruit/vegetable intake and physical activity four months later, but not snack food intake. One implication is to promote ECF as a correlate and predictor of food intake and physical activity in children by providing opportunities for youth to practice newly developing ECF capacities.     

Interactions among chronic cold, corticosterone and puberty on energy intake and deposition

We have shown that chronic cold stress strongly interacts with corticosterone (B) to determine subsequent regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to novel stress. These studies, using the same 2 sets of rats, show that chronic cold also interacts with B and testosterone on signals of energy balance. The two groups of rats differed in weight by 20% and in age by 2 weeks (44-59 days of age). Adrenalectomized rats, replaced with varying doses of B, were exposed to cold or served as controls. Food intake and body weight during the experiments and hormones, metabolites and fat depots were measured on day 5. B, but not cold, affected food intake in the younger rats; by contrast, cold, but not B, affected food intake in the older rats. Testosterone was higher in older control rats and was markedly depressed by cold; younger rats had lower testosterone that was minimally affected by cold. Weight gain decreased in all rats at room temperature with increasing B, whereas they all lost weight in cold independently of B. Cold stimulated and B inhibited interscapular brown adipose tissue DNA content (reflecting sympathetic stimulation of thermogenesis). B stimulated insulin, whereas cold inhibited leptin and insulin; B also increased white adipose tissue weight gain in controls and inhibited its loss in cold. Leptin was unrelated to white adipose tissue depots in older control rats but was strongly related to these stores in younger rats and in all rats in cold. We conclude that: 1. By decreasing signals that act centrally to inhibit food intake (insulin, leptin and testosterone) cold allows B to stimulate food intake; 2. B inhibits weight gain although it causes accrual of fat; 3. Cold, probably through sympathetic stimulation of white adipose tissue, causes fat loss which is modulated by the inhibitory effect of B on sympathetic outflow; and, 4. The slope of the relationship between fat depot size and leptin becomes flatter in cold, possibly because of increased sympathetic outflow to these depots.     

Changes in Behaviour and Body Weight Following a Single or Double Social Defeat in Rats

In a series of experiments, the consequences of a single and double social conflict on various behaviours and body weight in rats were studied. Animals were subjected to social defeat by placing them into the territory of an aggressive male conspecific for one hour, either once, or twice at the same time on two consecutive days. To assess the consequences of social defeat, three experiments were performed with independent groups of rats. In the first experiment, an open field test was performed two days after the last conflict. Locomotor activity was strongly reduced after social defeat. There were no differences between the single and double defeat group. To assess the effects of social defeat on subsequent social behaviour, a second experiment was performed in which experimental animals were confronted with an unfamiliar non-aggressive rat two days after a single or double conflict. Social defeat resulted in a reduction of social contact with the unfamiliar conspecific. There was no difference between the single and double conflict group. In the third experiment, the effects of social conflict on food intake, body weight and saccharine preference were measured. Food intake was not affected after a single conflict, but in the double conflict group food intake was decreased for several days. Body weight gain was decreased after both single and double social defeat. The decrease was stronger in the double conflict group. Water intake and saccharine preference were not significantly affected. This study revealed that social defeat in rats causes pronounced changes in various behaviours and body weight. Different aspects of behaviour are differentially affected by defeat with respect to the magnitude and time course of the changes induced. Moreover, different behavioural parameters are differentially sensitive to repetition of the stressor.     

Homonegativism and sexual orientation matching in counseling supervision

The present study examined the effects of sexual orientation matching and supervisory role on supervisory style and satisfaction with homonegativism as a covariate. Supervisory style significantly correlated with satisfaction for supervisors when trainees were heterosexual but not when trainees were lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Regardless of supervisor or trainee sexual orientation, the supervisors’ homonegativism significantly negatively correlated with trainees’ satisfaction and ratings of supervisors’ style. No significant differences in supervisory style were found among supervision dyads cross-matched for sexual orientation while controlling for homonegativism.     

Children’s use of multiple and variable addition strategies in a game context

Developmental and contextual effects on children’s addition strategies were assessed in preschool, kindergarten and first‐grade children’s strategy use while playing a board game (‘Chutes and Ladders’), using one or two dice to compute moves. Children of all ages displayed multiple‐ and variable‐strategy use, and there was a progression toward more sophisticated strategy use with age. Different patterns of strategy use in the two‐dice condition were observed as a function of whether children began the game with one versus two dice and for children who could recognize (as opposed to having to count) die roles of ‘5’ and ‘6’ in the one‐die condition. An examination of latencies indicated that more noncounting (start‐up) time was required to execute the MIN than the SUM strategy. Children showed significantly greater speed and accuracy when adding numbers during the game than in the math problems that followed. The findings reflect young children’s flexible use of strategies and extend Siegler’s adaptive strategy choice model to the development of simple addition strategies in an everyday context.     

High ambient temperature reduces rate of body-weight loss produced by wheel running

This study examined the effect of ambient temperature (AT) on the relationship between activity and weight loss. Compared with a neutral AT of 21°C, high ATs of 27–29°C produced a slower rate of weight loss in rats given 1.5-hr food access and 22.5-hr running-wheel access in a standard activity-based anorexia (ABA) procedure (Experiments 1 and 2). The high AT did not affect food intake or wheel running in Experiment 1, but did reduce running in Experiment 2. Switching from neutral to high AT had only a transient effect on weight loss when wheel access was maintained (Experiment 2) but resulted in less weight loss when wheel access was prevented (Experiment 3). Giving rats only 3 hr of wheel access each day at a neutral AT also produced substantial weight loss, but less if for the rest of each day they were maintained at a high AT (Experiment 4).