Adolescent threat-related interpretive bias and its modification: the moderating role of regulatory control

Dual process models describe psychopathology as the consequence of an imbalance between a fast, impulsive system and a regulatory control system and have recently been applied to anxiety disorders. The aim of the current study was to specifically examine the role of a regulatory control system in regulating 1) threat-related interpretive bias and 2) the effectiveness of interpretive bias training in adolescents. In total, 67 adolescents participated and followed either a positive Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretation (CBM-I) training or a placebo-control condition. Results revealed that interpretive bias and the effectiveness of its modification depended on individual differences in regulatory control. That is, low levels of regulatory control in combination with high levels of state anxiety were associated with the strongest threat-related interpretive bias and those individuals benefited the most of the positive interpretation training. The current study provided empirical support for the role of dual processes in adolescent threat-related interpretive bias.     

乐观偏差的认知神经机制

乐观偏差是指人们趋向于认为好事发生在自己身上, 坏事发生在他人身上的一种心理期望(Weinstein, 1980)。乐观偏差的研究范式主要有社会比较范式、过去未来想象范式以及信息转变任务范式。运用fMRI对乐观偏差研究发现, 乐观偏差的神经机制主要涉及前喙扣带皮质和杏仁核、前额叶、多巴胺等。未来要结合社会比较和信息转变范式对乐观偏差进行测量; 研究乐观偏差认知机制的神经机制, 特别是采用ERP技术研究乐观偏差的认知机制; 同时要进一步揭示不同亚型乐观偏差的神经机制; 最后还要开展乐观偏差影响心理健康的神经机制研究。     

Juror Preference for Curative Alternative Verdicts for Veterans With PTSD

Two studies examined mock juror verdicts for veterans with PTSD in the criminal justice system. Mock jurors demonstrated a leniency toward treatment bias for veterans with PTSD who committed a violent crime, compared to a nonviolent crime. This leniency toward treatment bias occurred only when alternative verdict options, beyond guilty or not guilty, were available. In fact, a guilt bias was demonstrated by mock jurors when the only verdict options were guilty or not guilty, and a bias toward treatment was demonstrated when curative alternative verdicts were available. Implications for efforts to address the growing national problem of veterans with PTSD in the criminal justice system are discussed.     

Anxiety and Attention: Is There an Attentional Bias for Positive Emotional Stimuli?

Empirical research has shown that anxiety is associated with a systematic bias in the cognitive system. Anxious individuals (clinically anxious patients and normal individuals with high-trait anxiety) are characterized by a pattern of selective processing that favors the encoding of threatening information. Is this attentional bias specific to threat-related information, or does it operate for positive emotional stimuli? The research directly connected with the existence of an attentional bias for threat in anxiety was examined.     

Affective primes suppress attention bias to threat in socially anxious individuals

Anxious individuals show an attention bias towards threatening information. However, under conditions of sustained environmental threat this otherwise-present attention bias disappears. It remains unclear whether this suppression of attention bias can be caused by a transient activation of the fear system. In the present experiment, high socially anxious and low socially anxious individuals (HSA group, n=12; LSA group, n=12) performed a modified dot-probe task in which they were shown either a neutral or socially threatening prime word prior to each trial. EEG was collected and ERP components to the prime and faces displays were computed. HSA individuals showed an attention bias to threat after a neutral prime, but no attention bias after a threatening prime, demonstrating that suppression of attention bias can occur after a transient activation of the fear system. LSA individuals showed an opposite pattern: no evidence of a bias to threat with neutral primes but induction of an attention bias to threat following threatening primes. ERP results suggested differential processing of the prime and faces displays by HSA and LSA individuals. However, no group by prime interaction was found for any of ERP components.     

Responding to negativity: How a risky tactic can serve a vigilant strategy

Regulatory focus theory distinguishes between two motivational systems—a promotion system concerned with nurturance and advancement and a prevention system concerned with security and safety [Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52, 1280-1300]. In signal detection terms, a preference for eager strategies within the promotion system has been equated with a “risky” bias, whereas a preference for vigilant strategies within the prevention system has been equated with a “conservative” bias. However, we propose that when prevention-focused individuals face negative input, they should be willing to incur false alarms to ensure that negative stimuli are correctly identified. Across six studies, we found for negative stimuli a reversal of the traditional finding that prevention participants show a conservative bias in information processing. In these studies, prevention participants consistently exhibited a risky bias when the input was negative. We suggest that this new tactic—a risky bias in response to negativity—best serves the prevention strategy of vigilance.     

A neural network model of implicit memory for object recognition

People name well-known objects shown in pictures more quickly if they have studied them previously. The most common interpretation of this priming effect is that processing is facilitated by an implicit memory trace in a perceptual representation system. We show that object priming can be explained instead as a bias in information processing, without recourse to an implicit memory system. Assumptions about psychological decision-making processes and bias were added to a neural network model for object identification, and the model accounted for performance both qualitatively and quantitatively in four object identification experiments.     

抑郁症人群的心境一致性认知偏向

心境一致性认知偏向指的是抑郁病人的认知加工偏向负性情绪效价, 简称认知偏向。大量行为学、电生理学以及脑成像学的研究显示该认知偏向主要包括知觉偏向、注意偏向、记忆偏向以及解释偏向。该认知偏向以加工偏向负性、积极偏向缺失以及认知控制受损为特点, 且是杏仁核等边缘系统对负性信息过度激活、纹状体对正性信息激活不足以及额区激活模式异常三个相应脑机制协同作用的产物。目前此领域存在各认知偏向之间联系不清楚、认知偏向和抑郁症的因果关系难以确定以及各研究结果不一致等有待回答的问题, 这些重要问题值得引起该领域未来研究者的注意。     

How writing system and age influence spatial representations of actions: a developmental, cross-linguistic study

Recently, researchers reported a bias for placing agents predominantly on the left side of pictures. Both hemispheric specialization and cultural preferences have been hypothesized to be the origin of this bias. To evaluate these hypotheses, we conducted a study with participants exposed to different reading and writing systems: Germans, who use a left-to-right system, and Israelis, who use a right-to-left system. In addition, we manipulated the degree of exposure to the writing systems by testing preschoolers and adults. Participants heard agent-first or recipient-first sentences and were asked to draw the content of the sentences or to arrange transparencies of protagonists and objects such that their arrangement depicted the sentences. Although preschool-age children in both countries showed no directional bias, adults manifested a bias that was consistent with the writing system of their language. These results support the cultural hypothesis regarding the origin of spatial-representational biases.     

Calibrating reach distance to visual targets

The authors investigated the calibration of reach distance by gradually distorting the haptic feedback obtained when participants grasped visible target objects. The authors found that the modified relationship between visually specified distance and reach distance could be captured by a straight-line mapping function. Thus, the relation could be described using 2 parameters: bias and slope. The authors investigated whether calibration generalized across reach space with respect to changes in bias and slope. In Experiment 1, the authors showed that both bias and slope recalibrate. In Experiment 2, they tested the symmetries of reach space with respect to changes in bias. They discovered that reach space is asymmetric, with the bias shifting inward more readily than outward. The authors measured how rapidly the system calibrated and the stability of calibration once feedback was removed. In Experiment 3, they showed that bias and slope can be calibrated independently of one another. In Experiment 4, the authors showed that these calibration effects are not cognitively penetrable.     

Further evidence of a robust point-of-view bias in videotaped confessions

Four experiments were conducted to test possible limits on the previously demonstrated point-of-view bias in videotaped confessions. Study 1 showed that deliberation did not eliminate the bias. Study 2 showed that forewarning did not eliminate the bias. Study 3 showed that directing greater attention to the content of the confession did not eliminate the bias. Study 4 showed that using a lengthier, case-based confession also did not eliminate the bias. Taken together, this research clearly indicates that the legal system needs to be concerned with the potential for bias that exists in videotaped confessions. This research was supported by funds from the Ohio Board of Regents and the National Science Foundation (BNS-8911067 and SBR-9514966). We thank Kevin Apple, Kim Dudley, Kelly Kinnison, Melanie LaForce, Matthew Leafgren, Richelle Newvahner, Laurie Olsen, John Ray, Alicia Santuzzi, Jason Secondi, and Katie Strieker for their contributions to various aspects of the research. With the exception of Lassiter, order of authorship is alphabetical.     

Test of a response bias model of bisection

An algebraic model of bisection —a special case of Pfanzagl’s general measurement system-was tested for brightness. Nonparametric scalability, a condition derived from reflexivity, commutativity, and bisymmetry, was disconfirmed, leading to a rejection of the commutativity axiom, and necessitating the incorporation of a response bias parameter. The systematic bias in the data was substantially reduced by the introduction of the response bias parameter-interpreted as “position” bias, not hysteresis. The data are generally supportive of Pfanzagl’s bisection system, although the failure of commutativity requires the incorporation of a response bias parameter.     

Further evidence of a robust point-of-view bias in videotaped confessions

Four experiments were conducted to test possible limits on the previously demonstrated point-of-view bias in videotaped confessions. Study 1 showed that deliberation did not eliminate the bias. Study 2 showed that forewarning did not eliminate the bias. Study 3 showed that directing greater attention to the content of the confession did not eliminate the bias. Study 4 showed that using a lengthier, case-based confession also did not eliminate the bias. Taken together, this research clearly indicates that the legal system needs to be concerned with the potential for bias that exists in videotaped confessions. This research was supported by funds from the Ohio Board of Regents and the National Science Foundation (BNS-8911067 and SBR-9514966). We thank Kevin Apple, Kim Dudley, Kelly Kinnison, Melanie LaForce, Matthew Leafgren, Richelle Newvahner, Laurie Olsen, John Ray, Alicia Santuzzi, Jason Secondi, and Katie Strieker for their contributions to various aspects of the research. With the exception of Lassiter, order of authorship is alphabetical.     

Bias in sentencing: A preliminary analysis of community service sentences

Debate regarding judicial bias in sentencing remains intense despite numerous studies on the subject. Recent research has emphasized the roles of judicial discretion and the cumulative effect of bias in the criminal justice system. This article employs preliminary data from community service sentencing to explore ethnic and gender biases for a sample of defendants. It is argued that these data have unique advantages for disentangling the effect of bias from other items, including prior record, seriousness of offense, and initial plea. The data reveal both ethnic and gender biases in sentencing under circumstances where judges have discretion, but no biases where discretion is limited.     

不安全依恋者注意偏向的形成机制及神经基础

不安全依恋者的注意偏向是指依恋焦虑和回避个体对依恋信息产生或趋近或回避的注意偏好, 这一注意偏好使得个体形成了处理与依恋对象关系的特殊认知机制：依恋回避个体偏好采用防御性机制, 倾向于回避对依恋信息的注意; 依恋焦虑个体偏好采用夸大性机制, 倾向于夸大威胁性信息, 因而会积极寻求与依恋对象的亲近。不安全依恋者注意偏向的差异主要体现在情绪信息、痛觉感受和工作记忆三个方面; 加工阶段特征主要涉及P1、N1波等代表的注意自动加工和LPP波代表的注意控制加工; 脑网络上主要包括两个子网络, 即负责情绪评估的边缘系统和负责情绪调节的以前额叶为代表的神经网络。未来研究中更应该关注刺激物的生态效度, 检验依恋系统是否激活, 不安全依恋者注意偏向的自动加工和控制加工阶段的关系, 不安全依恋者注意偏向产生的分子遗传机制以及注意偏向的跨文化研究。     

Prior knowledge on the illumination position

Visual perception is fundamentally ambiguous because an infinite number of three-dimensional scenes are consistent with our retinal images. To circumvent these ambiguities, the visual system uses prior knowledge such as the assumption that light is coming from above our head. The use of such assumptions is rational when these assumptions are related to statistical regularities of our environment. In confirmation of previous visual search experiments, we demonstrate here that the assumption on the illumination position is in fact biased to the above-left rather than directly above. This bias to the left reaches 26 degrees on average in a more direct shape discrimination task. Both right-handed and left-handed observers have a similar leftward bias. We discuss the possible origins of this singular bias on the illumination position.     

Fertility and intergroup bias in racial and minimal-group contexts: evidence for shared architecture

Recent research has shown that White women's bias against Black men increases with elevated fertility across the menstrual cycle. We demonstrate that the association between fertility and intergroup bias is not limited to groups defined by race, but extends to group categories that are minimally defined, and may depend on the extent to which women associate out-group men with physical formidability. In Study 1, Black and White women with strong associations between the racial out-group and physical formidability displayed greater bias against out-group men as conception risk increased. Study 2 replicated these results in a minimal-group paradigm. These findings are consistent with the notion that women may be endowed with a psychological system that generates intergroup bias via mechanisms that rely on categorization heuristics and perceptions of the physical formidability of out-group men, particularly when the costs of sexual coercion are high.     

Self-awareness, probability of improvement, and the self-serving bias.

Evidence for the self-serving bias (attributing success internally and failure externally) is inconsistent. Although internal success attributions are consistently found, researchers find both internal and external attributions for failure. The authors explain these disparate effects by considering the intersection of 2 systems, a system comparing self against standards and a causal attribution system. It was predicted that success and failure attributions are moderated by self-awareness and by the ability to improve. When self-focus is high (a) success is attributed internally. (b) failure is attributed internally when people can improve, (c) failure is attributed externally when people cannot improve, and (d) these attributions affect state self-esteem. Implications for the self-serving bias are discussed.     

Incorporating the size principle into an ensemble of back-propagating neurons

As researchers try to move from cybernetics to neural reality, it is time to look at the match between the back propagation strategy and the functional parameters of neurons. Traditionally, the “bias value” in the back propagation activation function has served a mathematical rather than a biological function. By incorporating a production system into the activation logic at the hidden layer, we are able to arrive at a conditional bias value that approximates the function of thresholds in biological neurons.     

Attentional bias during emotional processing: evidence from an emotional flanker task using IAPS

Attention is biased towards threat-related stimuli. In three experiments, we investigated the mechanisms, processes, and time course of this processing bias. An emotional flanker task simultaneously presented affective or neutral pictures from the international affective picture system database either as central response-relevant stimuli or surrounding response-uninformative flankers. Participants’ response times to central stimuli was measured. The attentional bias was observed when stimuli were presented either for 1500?ms (Experiment 1) or 500?ms (Experiment 2). The threat-related attentional bias held regardless of the stimuli competing for attention even when presentation time was further reduced to 200?ms (Experiment 3). The results indicate that automatic and controlled mechanisms may interact to modulate the orientation of attention to threat. The data presented here shed new light on the mechanisms, processes, and time course of this long investigated by still largely unknown processing bias.