Do learned irrelevance and perseveration play a role during discrimination learning?

In both healthy participants and various patient populations, performance on attentional set-shifting tasks has been found to be affected by learned irrelevance and/or perseveration. The present study examined whether or not these processes also play a role during the initial discrimination learning phase of those tasks. To this end, participants first solved a multidimensional discrimination learning task. Thereafter, they underwent three types of shift of relevant and/or irrelevant stimulus attributes, which enabled the assessment of the separate contribution of perseveration and learned irrelevance to post-shift task performance. Subsequent correlational analyses revealed that the number of errors during initial discrimination learning was significantly correlated with the number of errors in the learned irrelevance-shift but not the perseveration-shift. This suggests that processes underlying learned irrelevance in post-shift task performance also play a significant role during initial discrimination learning. The implications of these results for interpreting deficits in shifting are discussed.     

Does binge eating play a role in the self-regulation of moods?

Self-reported emotional experiences and eating behaviors were studied in college students in an attempt to determine what types of emotional experiences precede and follow binge eating and how specific types of compensatory behaviors modify these experiences. First-year male and female students (N=390) were surveyed for depression, anxiety, health status, life satisfaction, and eating attitudes (EAT-26). Those reporting recurrent binge eating episodes were asked to describe their emotional feelings before and after bingeing and before and after compensatory activities. EAT-26 scores corresponding to scores previously reported for eating disordered patients were found in 9.7% of students. Binge eating was nearly twice as frequent among females (16.4%) as males (8.6%) Among females, positive relationships were found between specific EAT-26 factors scores and both anxiety and depression scores. The emotional antecedents and consequences of binge eating and of compensatory activities were compared in three sub-groups of individuals who reported recurrent bingeing with loss of self-control during binges. The three sub-groups consisted of individuals who reported, 1) bingeing without engaging in compensatory activities, 2) bingeing and compensating by means other than vomiting (fasting, exercising, or use of laxatives or diuretics), and 3) bingeing and compensating by vomiting. Regardless of the type of activity, those individuals who engaged in compensatory activities reported greater negative affect preceding binge episodes than those who did not compensate. In addition, contrary to expectations, negative affect did not decrease, but instead increased significantly, following binge episodes and decreased immediately before and after compensatory activities.     

Does binge eating play a role in the self-regulation of moods?

Self-reported emotional experiences and eating behaviors were studied in college students in an attempt to determine what types of emotional experiences precede and follow binge eating and how specific types of compensatory behaviors modify these experiences. First-year male and female students (N=390) were surveyed for depression, anxiety, health status, life satisfaction, and eating attitudes (EAT-26). Those reporting recurrent binge eating episodes were asked to describe their emotional feelings before and after bingeing and before and after compensatory activities. EAT-26 scores corresponding to scores previously reported for eating disordered patients were found in 9.7% of students. Binge eating was nearly twice as frequent among females (16.4%) as males (8.6%). Among females, positive relationships were found between specific EAT-26 factors scores and both anxiety and depression scores. The emotional antecedents and consequences of binge eating and of compensatory activities were compared in three sub-groups of individuals who reported recurrent bingeing with loss of self-control during binges. The three sub-groups consisted of individuals who reported, 1) bingeing without engaging in compensatory activities, 2) bingeing and compensating by means other than vomiting (fasting, exercising, or use of laxatives or diuretics), and 3) bingeing and compensating by vomiting. Regardless of the type of activity, those individuals who engaged in compensatory activities reported greater negative affect preceding binge episodes than those who did not compensate. In addition, contrary to expectations, negative affect did not decrease, but instead increased significantly, following binge episodes and decreased immediately before and after compensatory activities.     

Can delusions play a protective role?

After briefly reviewing some of the empirical and philosophical literature suggesting that there may be an adaptive role for delusion formation, we discuss the results of a recent study consisting of in-depth interviews with people experiencing delusions. We analyse three such cases in terms of (1) the circumstances preceding the development of the delusion; (2) the effects of the development of the delusion on the person’s situation; and (3) the potential protective nature of the delusional belief as seen from the first-person perspective. We argue that the development of the delusional belief can play a short-term protective function and we reflect on the implications that this might have for our understanding of psychotic symptoms, for the stigma associated with mental health issues, and for treatment options.     

Substance-related disorders among juvenile offenders: what role do psychopathic traits play?

Substance use disorders are associated with psychopathy, a personality disorder that is heterogeneous in both adults and youth; secondary variants of psychopathy with comorbid psychopathology and primary variants without comorbidity show distinct correlates and outcomes. In adult criminal populations, secondary variants report greater substance abuse compared with primary variants. The primary aim of this study is to replicate and extend these findings to a juvenile offender population. Compared with primary variants of juvenile psychopathy, secondary variants (a) reported significantly more frequent substance use--particularly alcohol--within the 6 months prior to incarceration (d = .43), (b) were almost twice as likely to abuse substances while incarcerated, and (c) were more likely to be diagnosed with a current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) substance use disorder. Practical implications for working with justice-involved youth are discussed.     

Developmental changes in perceptions of attractiveness: a role of experience?

In three experiments, we traced the development of the adult pattern of judgments of attractiveness for faces that have been altered to have internal features in low, average, or high positions. Twelve-year-olds and adults demonstrated identical patterns of results: they rated faces with features in an average location as significantly more attractive than faces with either low or high features. Although both 4-year-olds and 9-year-olds rated faces with high features as least attractive, unlike adults and 12-year-olds, they rated faces with low and average features as equally attractive. Three-year-olds with high levels of peer interaction, but not those with low levels of peer interaction, chose faces with low features as significantly more attractive than those with high-placed features, possibly as a result of their increased experience with the proportions of the faces of peers. Overall, the pattern of results is consistent with the hypothesis that experience influences perceptions of attractiveness, with the proportions of the faces participants see in their everyday lives influencing their perceptions of attractiveness.     

Eating patterns and disorders in a college population: Are college women's eating problems a new phenomenon?

This paper examines the relationship between gender differences in eating patterns among college students and the disorders as clinically defined. A considerable number of college women but few men in our sample show behavioral patterns associated with an eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia). Our findings for women are in the moderate to high range for these symptoms, compared with other university populations. Results indicate that the eating difficulties of college women may be an eating problem, which only partially resembles clinical eating disorders. Although our female college sample displays the behavioral symptoms associated with anorexia and bulimia, they exhibit few of the constellation of psychological traits associated with these disorders. Some evidence suggests that the etiology of eating problems may be partly related to women wanting to be thinner than is medically desirable and may represent a response of normal women to the new, more demanding cultural and supercultural standards for thinness. Diagnosis and treatment issues as well as sociocultural implications of these results are discussed.The author wishes to thank Alan Clayton-Matthews, Larry Zaborski, John Downey, Larry Ludlow, the Editor, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments. This research was supported, in part, from a grant from the Office of Research Administration, Boston College.     

Indexical and symbolic referencing: what role do they play in children's success on theory of mind tasks?

Numerous measures have been employed in the last 17 years to assess theory of mind (ToM). The literature reports marked variability in the age at which children succeed on these measures. To account for this variability, researchers have provided explanations ranging from cognitive shifts and voids to the inability to understand the language of the tasks or to social/pragmatic considerations, all of which tell us little if anything about the internal mechanism underlying ToM. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive theoretical account of children's success and the discrepancies found across different ToM tasks. We test the hypothesis that children's understanding of ToM is sensitive to the basic elements of language, that is, to whether the language is indexical or symbolic. Support for this account was found in the analysis of selected test protocols in four published studies of ToM, and new data collected from 53 children (4--6 years) which showed that a higher percentage of children succeeded on tasks with a high ratio of indexical to symbolic references than on tasks with a high ratio of symbolic to indexical references. There was also a main effect of age with older children succeeding at higher rates on both tasks than younger children. Our findings suggest that indexical representation can afford ToM understanding in 4-year-olds, but is not sufficient for a more mature ToM. The latter requires symbolic representation that was demonstrated by the majority of 5--6-year-olds.     

Embarrassing age spots or just plain ugly? Physical attractiveness stereotyping as an instrument of sexism on american television commercials

Frequencies of attractiveness-based messages were examined on 4,294 network television commercials. As expected, attractiveness statements appeared to be associated more with food and drink and personal care ads, and with female performers and with male voice-overs. Implications of an association of women and attractiveness on television are explored.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, March 1983.     

Do emotions play an essential role in moral judgments?

The past few decades of moral psychology research have yielded empirical anomalies for rationalist theories of moral judgments. An increasing number of psychologists and philosophers argue that these anomalies are explained well by sentimentalism, the thesis that the presence of an emotion is necessary for the formation of a sincere moral judgment. The present review reveals that while emotions and moral judgments indeed often co-occur, there is scant evidence that emotions directly cause or constitute moral judgments. Research on disgust, anger, sympathy, and guilt indicates that people only reliably experience emotions when judging conduct that is relevant to the welfare of the self and valued others. Moreover, many recent studies have either failed to replicate or exposed crucial confounds in the most cited evidence in support of sentimentalism. Moral psychologists should jettison sentimentalism, and focus instead on how considerations of harm and welfare—the core concepts of rationalist theories— interact with empirical beliefs to shape moral judgments.     

The irrelevant sound effect: does speech play a special role?

Memory for order is markedly impaired by the presence of irrelevant sound, even though participants are instructed to ignore the sound. Although a great deal of research has disclosed some features of the task and of the sound that augment or reduce the degree of interference, one important issue of the irrelevant sound effect not yet resolved is whether speech has a special status. This study revealed, within a design of adequate power, that the same physical stimulus (sine wave speech), whether perceived as speech or as nonspeech sound, produces similar degrees of disruption and is less disruptive of serial recall than natural speech. This outcome suggests that the acoustic constituents of sound rather than its source are most influential in determining the impact of irrelevant material.     

Do social comparison and coping styles play a role in the development of burnout? Cross‐sectional and longitudinal findings

The present longitudinal research among 558 teachers focused on the role of upward comparisons (with others performing better), downward comparisons (with others performing worse), and coping styles in relation to burnout. Assessed were identification (recognizing oneself in the other) and contrast (seeing the other as a competitor) in upward and downward comparison. Cross‐sectionally, downward identification and upward contrast were positively related to burnout and negatively related to a direct coping style, whereas upward identification was negatively related to burnout and positively related to a direct coping style. Downward identification was positively related to a palliative coping style. Direct and palliative coping styles were independent predictors of burnout: those who reported using a direct coping style had lower levels of burnout and those who reported using a palliative coping style had higher levels of burnout. Longitudinally, the use of a direct coping style was associated with a decrease and downward identification with an increase of burnout over time.     

Understanding the association between socioeconomic status and physical health: do negative emotions play a role?

In this article, the authors evaluate the possible roles of negative emotions and cognitions in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and physical health, focusing on the outcomes of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. After reviewing the limited direct evidence, the authors examine indirect evidence showing that (a) SES relates to the targeted health outcomes, (b) SES relates to negative emotions and cognitions, and (c) negative emotions and cognitions relate to the targeted health outcomes. The authors present a general framework for understanding the roles of cognitive-emotional factors, suggesting that low-SES environments are stressful and reduce individuals' reserve capacity to manage stress, thereby increasing vulnerability to negative emotions and cognitions. The article concludes with suggestions for future research to better evaluate the proposed model.     

Sex differences in visuospatial ability: Do performance factors play such an important role?

This study was designed to analyze some performance factors as a possible source of sex-related bias in psychometric tests of visuospatial aptitude. Goldstein, Haldane, and Mitchell (1990) explored the effect of two response styles—slowness of performance and reluctance to guess—by using a 3-D mental rotation test (the task showing the largest cognitive sex difference) and found that time limits and raw scores contributed substantially to the male advantage. We applied two tests in thespeed-power continuum to a representative sample of 621 males and 821 females in their last year of high school in a 2 × 2 (gender × time) full factorial design. Reluctance to guess was similar for males and females. Males obtained more correct responses on both tests, and for both time conditions, than did females. These results are not only statistically significant but also are of substantial practical consequence.     

Predictors of children's entertainment television viewing: Why are they tuning in?

Three hundred and twenty six 3- and 5-year-olds (N = 160 3-year-olds) participated in a longitudinal study of the sociological and ecological predictors of children's general audience and child entertainment viewing. Viewing was assessed through five weekly diaries for each child, completed by families over a two-year period. Concurrent analyses of program availability, family demographics/attributes, and child characteristics indicated that children who were frequent viewers of entertainment programs had parents who had limited education, access to cable, and incorporated television into their activities. Although parental regulation and encouragement played a role in children's viewing experiences, particularly at 5 and 7 years of age, the strongest long-term predictors on children's entertainment viewing were parents' education, family size, and the age and sex of the child. Parents need to become more aware of their role in shaping their children's viewing habits. Responsibility for improving children's television viewing experiences, however, should not rely solely with parents but must be shared by educators, broadcasters, and legislators.     

Early trauma and serious mental illness: what role does spirituality play?

For many who experience serious mental illness, spirituality and religion can be common vehicles that provide a sense of coherence and meaning to life. However, in the presence of early trauma, spiritual and religious beliefs may be enhanced or destroyed, or never develop. This paper explores the relationship between spirituality/religion, early trauma, and serious mental illness. Three case examples from a qualitative phenomenological study are presented to illustrate spiritual and religious struggles that can arise and how a person can work through these over time to use spirituality and religion as positive resources for recovery. Tentative implications for practice are offered.     

Female aggression as a response to sexual jealousy: A sex role reversal?

Sexual jealousy can be interpreted as a strategy which serves to retain the partner and defend exclusive sexual relationships. Because of the asymmetry in paternity confidence, it should be a more important strategy for males than for females. Indeed, male sexual jealousy is apparently a cross-cultural phenomenon and is often the proximate cause of violence against the female partner. The objective of this study was to investigate through self-report whether male “victims” of partner infidelity are expected to react more aggressively than female “victims,” how subjects themselves say they would react to a partner's infidelity, and whether these expectations vary across the sexes. Contrary to our predictions, subjects expected females more than males to react aggressively and revengefully when confronted with infidelity. These expectations were mainly sustained by the female subjects. Females were also more likely than males to declare that they themselves would verbally and physically abuse the partner. In addition, female subjects anticipated that they would cry, feign indifference, and try to look attractive and cool. Males were more likely than females to report that they would get drunk. Our results on aggressive reactions represent a departure from traditional sex roles. It is argued that emancipatorial development, as well as the levelling influence of contraceptives on the sexes' parental certainty, have triggered this change in sex roles. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.