Life within death: Towards a metapsychology of catastrophic psychic trauma

In this paper the author offers a phenomenology and a metapsychology for the effects on the mind of catastrophic psychic trauma, defined as the reaction of the psyche to an utterly external event, which the person is helpless to resist, and against which there is no possible defense. The author affirms that the experience of 'infinite affliction' produces a radical break in being which disarticulates the psyche and causes a headlong descent to the most primitive levels of psychic functioning. When there is a complete surrender to the process of disarticulation, it continues until it extinguishes even the most basic level of mental activity, contact with sensation, producing psychic and then psychogenic death. The author then offers a phenomenological and metapsychological analysis of how the process of disarticulation is stopped so that the state of survival is assured, affirming that, faced with this situation of utter emergency, the survival urge instantly mobilizes the organism in furious activity to preserve life and regenerates psychic activity by sensing the ongoing existence of the psychesoma. Then anguish precipitates on to the body and is sensed as psychophysical pain, which diverts conscious attention from the infinite destruction of utter affliction which is thus encapsulated so that, as an experience, it is no longer present to the mind. This assures survival, but it leaves the psyche in a state of non-integration and begins the unending battle for mastery over the deadly inner object which ceaselessly threatens to become present. This constitutes the precariousness of the state of survival.     

Conflict adaptation is reflected by response interference

The conflict monitoring theory suggests that the occurrence of conflict in previous trials leads to a reduction in interference in current trials through conflict adaption. The present study included two experiments that used a colour-based flanker task and a Stroop task in combination with a 2:1 stimulus-to-response mapping manipulation and a crossing of transition types (Previous trial type×Current trial type) with stimuli to investigate conflict adaption in relation to stimulus and response interference. The results demonstrate that response interference, but not stimulus interference, was reduced following both stimuli and response conflicts in previous trials. In contrast to some recent evidence, we conclude that conflict adaptation is limited to response interference.     

Time capsules are not a panacea: A reply to Vernon

Vernon (1986) and I do not disagree on much. The main point of my critique—that there is much more to intelligence than mental speed—holds.     

Modification of the catastrophic cognitions questionnaire (CCQ-M) for normals and patients: Exploratory and LISREL analyses

The Recently developed Catastrophic Cognition Questionnaire (CCQ) was further investigated using both student and anxiety patient samples. LISREL confirmatory factor analyses was used. The results showed that the CCQ could be explained by a three-factor oblique solution. These are Emotional Catastrophes, Physical Catastrophes, and Mental Catastrophes. The modified version of CCQ (CCQ-M) revealed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. It has also good discriminant validity. The CCQ-M can therefore be used with both normal and anxiety-disordered patients.We would like to thank the staff of the Anxiety Disorder clinic, in particular Dr. Larry Evans and Ms. Elly Staunton-McKenzie, for their assistance in data collection, and the subjects for their participation in this study. Dr. Khawaja was supported by a scholarship from the Government of Pakistan. She was on leave from the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their excellent suggestions.     

The picture-word interference effect is not a Stroop effect

A psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm was used to isolate the locus of the picture-word interference effect along the chain of processes subtended in name production. Two stimuli were presented sequentially on each trial, separated by a varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). The first stimulus, SI, was a tone that required a manual response. The second stimulus, S2, was a picture-word stimulus associated with picture naming. The distractor word was conceptually related to the picture on half of the trials, and unrelated in the other trials. A picture-word interference effect was found at long SOA, but not at short SOA. Such underadditive interaction between SOA and semantic relatedness suggests strongly that the locus of the picture-word interference effect is functionally earlier than the PRP effect locus. The results are discussed in relation to models of word production suggesting the involvement of central mechanisms in the selection of lexical output.     

Stroop interference is a composite phenomenon: Evidence from distinct developmental trajectories of its components

Only one previous developmental study of Stroop task performance (Schiller, 1966) has controlled for differences in processing speed that exist both within and between age groups. Therefore, the question of whether the early developmental change in the magnitude of Stroop interference actually persists after controlling for processing speed needs further investigation; work that is further motivated by the possibility that any remaining differences would be caused by process(es) other than processing speed. Analysis of data from two experiments revealed that, even after controlling for processing speed using z‐transformed reaction times, early developmental change persists such that the magnitude of overall Stroop interference is larger in 3rd‐ and 5th graders as compared to 1st graders. This pattern indicates that the magnitude of overall Stroop interference peaks after 2 or 3 years of reading practice (Schadler & Thissen, 1981). Furthermore, this peak is shown to be due to distinct components of Stroop interference (resulting from specific conflicts) progressively falling into place. Experiment 2 revealed that the change in the magnitude of Stroop interference specifically results from joint contributions of task, semantic and response conflicts in 3rd‐ and 5th graders as compared to a sole contribution of task conflict in 1st graders. The specific developmental trajectories of different conflicts presented in the present work provide unique evidence for multiple loci of Stroop interference in the processing stream (respectively task, semantic and response conflict) as opposed to a single (i.e. response) locus predicted by historically – favored response competition accounts.     

Lexical selection is not by competition: a reinterpretation of semantic interference and facilitation effects in the picture-word interference paradigm

The dominant view in the field of lexical access in speech production maintains that selection of a word becomes more difficult as the levels of activation of nontarget words increase--selection by competition. The authors tested this prediction in two sets of experiments. First, the authors show that participants are faster to name pictures of objects (e.g., "bed") in the context of semantically related verb distractors (e.g., sleep) compared with unrelated verb distractors (e.g., shoot). In the second set of experiments, the authors show that target naming latencies (e.g., "horse") are, if anything, faster for within--category semantically close distractor words (e.g., zebra) than for within--category semantically far distractor words (e.g., whale). In the context of previous research, these data ground a new empirical generalization: As distractor words become semantically closer to the target concepts--all else being equal--target naming is facilitated. This fact means that lexical selection does not involve competition, and consequently, that the semantic interference effect does not reflect a lexical level process. This conclusion has important implications for models of lexical access and interpretations of Stroop-like interference effects.     

Semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not vary with reading ability

Previous dual-task studies examining the locus of semantic interference of distractor words in picture naming have obtained diverging results. In these studies, participants manually responded to tones and named pictures while ignoring distractor words (picture–word interference, PWI) with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tone and PWI stimulus. Whereas some studies observed no semantic interference at short SOAs, other studies observed effects of similar magnitude at short and long SOAs. The absence of semantic interference in some studies may perhaps be due to better reading skill of participants in these than in the other studies. According to such a reading-ability account, participants’ reading skill should be predictive of the magnitude of their interference effect at short SOAs. To test this account, we conducted a dual-task study with tone discrimination and PWI tasks and measured participants’ reading ability. The semantic interference effect was of similar magnitude at both short and long SOAs. Participants’ reading ability was predictive of their naming speed but not of their semantic interference effect, contrary to the reading ability account. We conclude that the magnitude of semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not depend on reading skill.     

Proactive interference in working memory is related to adult age and cognitive factors: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from the Betula study

ABSTRACT

In working memory (WM), successful maintenance of information is affected by interference. Older adults may be especially susceptible to the effects of interference, which may cause age-related cognitive impairments. A relative score of IC was derived from cross-sectional (n = 869) and longitudinal (n = 443) data to investigate (1) if IC is reduced in normal aging, (2) if individual differences in IC related to individual performance in other cognitive domains, and (3) if 5-year change in IC is related to change in general cognition. Older age was associated with reduced IC, but no decline in IC occurred over 5 years. Also, the ability to control interference in WM was related to performance in episodic memory, verbal fluency, and block design. We also found that IC mediates the relationship between age and cognition, suggesting that age-related cognitive decline is linked to IC. Finally, we demonstrate that change in IC was related to decline in episodic memory.     

Motor interference does not impair the memory consolidation of imagined movements

The present study aimed to investigate whether an interference task might impact the sleep-dependent consolidation process of a mentally learned sequence of movements. Thirty-two participants were subjected to a first training session through motor imagery (MI) or physical practice (PP) of a finger sequence learning task. After 2 h, half of the participants were requested to perform a second interfering PP task (reversed finger sequence). All participants were finally re-tested following a night of sleep on the first finger sequence. The main findings revealed delayed performance gains following a night of sleep in the MI group, i.e. the interfering task did not alter the consolidation process, by contrast to the PP group. These results confirm that MI practice might result in less retroactive interference than PP, and further highlight the relevance of the first night of sleep for the consolidation process following MI practice. These data might thus contribute to determine in greater details the practical implications of mental training in motor learning and rehabilitation.     

Time and interference: Effects on working memory

This study tested predictions from the time‐based resource‐sharing (TBRS) model with a classical verbal working memory (WM) task, where target and non‐target information interfere strongly with each other. Different predictions can be formulated according to the dominant perspectives (TBRS and interference hypothesis) on the role of inhibitory control in WM task performance. Here, we aimed to trace the activation of irrelevant information, examining priming effects in a lexical decision task immediately following WM recall. Results indicate the roles of both time and interference constraints in determining task performance. In particular, the role of time available seemed crucial at the highest WM loads (i.e., 3 and 4 memoranda). These were also associated with a higher activation of no‐longer‐relevant information but, in this case, independently from time available for processing.     

从"杀盗非杀人"看逻辑与价值的混淆

"杀盗非杀人"是墨辩的一个自相矛盾的诡辩命题,墨者之所以提出这个命题,论者之所以倾心辩护,是由于逻辑与价值的混淆.本文对这个命题进行了逻辑分析和价值分析,通过追究墨者提出这个命题的用意和后果,发现了墨辩停留在逻辑萌芽状态而未能发展为逻辑学的症结所在,就是:逻辑屈从价值,价值牺牲逻辑.     

Spatial compatibility interference effects: a double dissociation between two measures

ABSTRACT

In spatial compatibility tasks, when the spatial location of a stimulus is irrelevant it nevertheless interferes when a response is required in a different spatial location. For example, response with a left key-press is slowed when the stimulus is presented to the right as compared to the left side of a computer screen. However, in some conditions this interference effect is not detected in reaction time (RT) measures. It is typically assumed that the lack of effect means the irrelevant spatial code was not analysed or that the information rapidly decayed before response. However, we show that even in conditions where there appears to be no spatial interference when measuring RTs, effects can nevertheless be detected after response when recording facial electromyography responses. This dissociation between two measures highlights the importance of diverging methods to investigate visuomotor processes as conclusions based on only one measure can be misleading.     

Conflict: Run! Reduced Stroop interference with avoidance responses

Conflict has been hypothesized to be aversive, triggering avoidance behaviour (Botvinick, 2007). To test this hypothesis, a standard Stroop task was modified such that avoiding was part of the response set. More precisely, participants were asked to move a manikin towards or away from Stroop stimuli, depending on the colour of the words. Results showed that the type of response (approach versus avoidance) modulated the Stroop congruency effect. Specifically, the reaction time analysis revealed that the stimulus congruency effect disappeared with avoidance responses, contrary to approach responses where a stimulus congruency effect was present. Moreover, the error data showed a reduction of the general congruency effect when avoiding. These results suggest that in the face of conflict, avoidance is the predominant response.     

The conjunction fallacy and interference effects

In the present article we consider the conjunction fallacy, a well known cognitive fallacy experimentally tested in cognitive science, which occurs for intuitive judgments. We show that the quantum formalism can be used to describe, in a very simple way, this fallacy, in terms of interference effect. We provide evidence that the quantum formalism leads quite naturally to violations of the joint probability rule of classic probability when considering the estimated probability of the conjunction of two events. By defining the concept of maximal conjunction error, we find a good agreement with experimental results. Thus we suggest that in cognitive science the formalism of quantum mechanics can be used to describe a quantum regime, where the cognitive fallacies and heuristics are valid.     

Semantic interference on a phonological task in illiterate subjects

Previous research suggests that learning an alphabetic written language influences aspects of the auditory-verbal language system. In this study, we examined whether literacy influences the notion of words as phonological units independent of lexical semantics in literate and illiterate subjects. Subjects had to decide which item in a word- or pseudoword pair was phonologically longest. By manipulating the relationship between referent size and phonological length in three word conditions (congruent, neutral, and incongruent) we could examine to what extent subjects focused on form rather than meaning of the stimulus material. Moreover, the pseudoword condition allowed us to examine global phonological awareness independent of lexical semantics. The results showed that literate performed significantly better than illiterate subjects in the neutral and incongruent word conditions as well as in the pseudoword condition. The illiterate group performed least well in the incongruent condition and significantly better in the pseudoword condition compared to the neutral and incongruent word conditions and suggest that performance on phonological word length comparisons is dependent on literacy. In addition, the results show that the illiterate participants are able to perceive and process phonological length, albeit less well than the literate subjects, when no semantic interference is present. In conclusion, the present results confirm and extend the finding that illiterate subjects are biased towards semantic-conceptual-pragmatic types of cognitive processing.     

Distractor interference in focused attention tasks is not mediated by attention capture

Distractor stimuli possessing information that is relevant for a task (henceforth, task-relevant distractors) often interfere with task performance. The interference by task-relevant distractors is observed even when distractors are positioned outside the main attentional focus. We investigated whether such interference is due to an attention capture by the distractors. Participants responded to a target colour while ignoring word distractors positioned within (Experiment 1) or outside (Experiments 2 and 3) the attentional focus. The words carried task-relevant information in their colour and personally significant information in their content. Because personally significant information affects performance only when positioned in an attended region, it was used as a marker for the locus of the attentional focus. As expected, when distractors were attended, both task-relevant and personally significant information affected performance. However, when distractors were unattended, only task-relevant information caused interference, suggesting that attention did not shift to the distractors’ location. We discuss possible accounts for interference effects in focused-attention tasks.