Similarities between retrospective and actual anxiety states

The purpose of the study was to examine the fit and calibration of the items in Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene's (1970) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory during measurement of actual and retrospective anxiety. Subjects in the actual anxiety situation (n = 113) and in the retrospective anxiety situation (n = 55) were administered the inventory, and 20 scale items were analyzed individually by the probabilistic Rasch Model (Wright & Masters, 1982). Comparisons between the items' values in both situations revealed that 17 of the 20 items were rated similarly. In the retrospective anxiety state, 9 items (misfits) failed to discriminate between high- and low-anxious subjects, but only 6 failed to do so in the actual anxiety state. Despite the similarities, we recommend that the scales be modified to yield a more reliable measure of anxiety and to discriminate more accurately among subjects with varying levels of anxiety.     

Multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety: factor structure of the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales

The Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) are derived from an interactional model of personality that proposes that anxiety is a function of the interaction of person and situation variables. The EMAS distinguish between state and trait anxiety and assume that both are multidimensional constructs. The EMAS were administered to 2,009 students in a neutral situation. Three factor analyses were performed to clarify the empirical relation between state and trait anxiety and the variables within the 2 domains. Results support the distinction between state and trait anxiety. Factor analysis of the state items provided support for the separate dimensions of cognitive and autonomic state anxiety. Factor analysis of the trait items provided support for trait anxiety multidimensionality. Four congruent factors were associated with increases in state anxiety in 4 general situations: Social Evaluation, Physical Danger, Ambiguous, and Daily Routines.     

Evidence of denial and item-intensity specificity in the state-trait anxiety inventory

The Dutch form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered to 188 surgical patients the day before their operations and 3 days later. Scores for the state anxiety-present (S-Anx+) items were consistently lower than for the state anxiety-absent (S-Anx-) items; scores on the S-Anx+ items before and after surgery were close to minimum for males. Tentative explanations for these findings and consequences for scoring the STAI State Anxiety scale are indicated. The effects of item-intensity specificity, social desirability, and denial as a mechanism for warding off the distressing emotion of anxiety are discussed.     

情绪状态对不同年龄儿童定势转换的影响

采用情绪影片引发情绪的方法,考察64名8~12岁儿童在正负情绪状态下定势转换能力的表现。研究为4(年龄)×2(情绪)×3(重复转换条件:重复、短时转换、长时转换)3因素重复测量混合设计。结果表明,情绪状态对任务转换产生了影响,可能是积极情绪比消极情绪对任务定势的长时转换削弱更大。不同年龄的儿童在这两种任务转换条件中没有出现显著的年龄差异,说明8~12岁儿童均已具备在两个任务之间进行即时转换的能力。     

Underlying correlation structures of parental stress, general health and anxiety

A partial least square regression (PLSR) was performed on the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ) sum score and subscales on incompetence, role restriction, social isolation, spouse relationship and health problems, using 42 items from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and 20 items from the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-X1). The dataset contained 227 fathers and 301 mothers of children aged 1.0-6.6 years from a population-based study on parental psychological distress in the general Norwegian population, and all items correlated positively with SPSQ. Subscales on spouse relationship, incompetence, social isolation and role restriction related to items on state anxiety and depression. The SPSQ subscale on health problems related to GHQ items on somatic symptoms and social dysfunction. The STAI-X1 item "not feeling rested" had a particularly important effect on parental stress. Underlying correlation structures between parental stress and items from STAI-X1 and GHQ were explored, but only the SPSQ sum score could be acceptably predicted. PLSR as a statistical methodology was found useful for health and psychometric data.     

Scene recognition without identification

Recognition without identification (RWI) is old-new discrimination among recognition test items that go unidentified. Recently, the effect has been shown in situations that require pre-experimental connections between unidentified studied items and their test cues, such as when the test cues are general knowledge questions and the unidentified studied items are their answers, or when the test cues are pictures of celebrities and the unidentified studied items are their names. In these cases, RWI demonstrates a peculiar relationship with tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences: Participants give higher recognition ratings when in a TOT state than when not, even though studying an item does not increase the probability of a TOT state for that item. The present study extends these findings to the recognition of scene information. We demonstrate a scene RWI effect with scenes when scene names cannot be retrieved, and replicate the previously reported relationship between TOT states and RWI. In addition, we show that the relationship between RWI and reported TOT states also occurs between RWI and reported déjà vu states with the test scenes.     

Responses of Japanese and American university students to the STAI items that assess the presence or absence of anxiety

Symptom endorsements and item response patterns on the anxiety-present and anxiety-absent items of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (Spielberger, 1983) for 149 Japanese (99 living in Japan and 50 studying in the United States) and 76 American university students were compared. Although mean scores for the state and trait anxiety-absent items were comparable for Japanese students living in Japan and Japanese international students studying in the United States, the scores of both Japanese groups were significantly higher than those of American students. These differences were attributable to much higher scores of Japanese students on anxiety-absent items that corresponded to a lack of positive feelings. Japanese students had a tendency to inhibit positive (anxiety-absent) feelings, resulting in higher anxiety scores. Responses to anxiety-present and anxiety-absent items should be considered independently in scoring anxiety scales.     

Reliability of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y in Japanese samples.

The internal consistency of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y was examined using data collected from Japanese participants by five diverse surveys, in which one included American university students. Cronbach coefficient alpha was calculated separately for state and trait items as well as for anxiety-present and absent items. The internal consistency was higher for the anxiety-absent items than those of the state and trait anxiety items, but this tendency was not clear for the anxiety-present items. The trait anxiety items showed the lowest internal consistency for all Japanese groups, whereas the anxiety-present items showed the lowest alpha for American university students. It can be considered that this difference might induce the difference in two--factor structure between Japanese and people in Western countries.     

Selective processing of masked and unmasked verbal threat material in anxiety: Influence of an immediate acute stressor

Attentional biases for threat were investigated using a computerised version of the emotional Stroop task. The study examined the influence of state and trait anxiety by employing a student sample assigned to high trait anxious (HTA; n=32) or low trait anxious (LTA; n=32) groups on the basis of questionnaire scores, and state anxiety was manipulated within participants through the threat of electric shock. Threatening words that were either unrelated (e.g., cancer, danger) or related to the threat of shock (e.g., electrocute, shock) were presented to participants both within and outside of awareness. In the latter condition a backward masking procedure was used to prevent awareness and exposure thresholds between the target and mask were individually set for each participant. For unmasked trials the HTA group showed significant interference in colour naming for all threat words relative to control words when performing under the threat of shock, but not in the shock safe condition. For the masked trials, despite chance performance in being able to identify the lexical status of the items, HTA participants showed facilitated colour naming for all threat words relative to control items when performing under threat of shock, but this effect was not evident in the shock safe condition. Neither valence of the items nor the threat of shock influenced colour naming latencies in either exposure mode for the LTA group.     

How you ask matters: An experimental investigation of the influence of mood on memory self-perceptions and their relationship with objective memory

Stronger relationships often emerge between mood and memory self-efficacy (MSE) than between MSE and memory abilities. We examined how social desirability, mood congruency and framing influence the mood–MSE relationship. Social desirability correlated with all self-report measures, and covarying social desirability diminished the mood-MSE relationship while enhancing the relationship between MSE and objective memory. Participants rated their memory more harshly on positively than neutrally or negatively worded MSE items. Current mood state did not affect MSE overall or when items were worded positively or neutrally. However, on negatively worded items, participants in a negative mood exhibited lower MSE than participants in a positive mood. Thus, both MSE and the mood–MSE relationship depended upon question wording. These results indicate that controlling social desirability and item framing on MSE questionnaires may reduce their confounding influence on memory self-perceptions and the influence of mood on self-reported abilities, allowing subjective memory to more accurately reflect objective memory in healthy and clinical populations.     

The sandwich effect reassessed: Effects of streaming, distraction, and modality

The degree of disruption from interleaving auditory irrelevant items within a sequence of to-be-remembered items--the sandwich effect--was examined in two experiments. Previous demonstrations of the effect have shown that the penalty for interleaving items is small and that changing irrelevant tokens is no more damaging than repeating ones (contrary to the classic changing state effect of irrelevant sound). The results of Experiment 1 suggest that these earlier results were due to the lack of tokens in the irrelevant sequence (in part, the result of using a span method). The results of Experiment 2 also show that the sandwich effect was marked and, further, that it comprised two elements, one due to the partitioning of relevant from irrelevant streams (which may be promoted by similarity of identity within sequence or pitch disparity between sequences), and the other a classic irrelevant sound effect (with effects of changing state). The results are discussed in terms of the role of perceptual organization within and between modalities in short-term memory.     

A search for predictive factors in institute supervised cases: a retrospective study of 183 cases from 1959-1966 at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.

The purpose of this project was to determine if it is possible to predict from the information contained in the write-ups of the preliminary evaluations of patients accepted for Institute supervised analyses those patients who would successfully complete their analyses and those who would not. Three raters independently studied the write-ups of 183 cases treated at the Boston Institute during the period 1959-1966. Each rater filled out a questionnaire of 105 items which were thought to be of possible predictive value. Outcomes were sought from the analysts who treated the patients. 130 outcomes were obtained and revealed that the patients fell into 4 distinctly different outcome groups: (Group 1) those who completed analysis by mutual agreement between the analyst and patient; (Group 2) those who prematurely terminated their analyses against the advice of their analysts; (Group 3) those whose analyses were prematurely interrupted by their analysts; (Group 4) those whose analyses became interminable. Statistical analyses were done to see which of the 105 predictor items distinguished these four distinct outcome groups. Many of the predictor items were not useful because they either showed no variation among patients, or were too often left blank, or were rated with very low interrater agreement. Of the remaining items, we found ten items which did show a highly significant difference between Group 1 patients and those patients in at least one of the other three outcome groups. We found five other predictor items which showed large, although not quite statistically significant, differences between Group 1 and at least one of the other three groups. Of these 15 items, 7 dealt with family history. The others concerned the patient's past history (2), object relationships (2), patient's sex (1), symptomatic state (1), field of endeavour (1), and history of previous psychotherapy (1). We found it made no difference in terms of these 4 outcome groups what the patient's diagnosis was or whether he was a 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th supervised case. Among the other negative findings were patient's age and the ability to experience and tolerate felt anxiety. These did not distinguish any of the outcome groups. These findings show that additional predictively useful information is present in the preliminary evaluations of patients already screened and accepted for Institute analysis by trained evaluators. These results suggest that one particularly important area on which to focus future attention is family history.     

Remembering the Grocery Shopping List: a Study on Metacognitive Biases

Three experiments examined the influence on memory monitoring and memory control of typicality and frequency of purchase of grocery items. On the basis of normative data, food items were divided into three categories: T+F+ (items typically bought in an Italian food store, and of frequent purchase for university students), T+F− (items typical but not frequently purchased) and T−F− (items low in both characteristics). Experiment 1 revealed that despite an equal recall of the three categories of items, ease of learning judgments were significantly lower for T−F− items. In Experiments 2 and 3, T−F− items were also treated differently than the two other types, when subjects had to decide which items to select for an additional check, and when they had to apportion their study time. Overall, data show that biases independent of the memory state of an item can influence memory monitoring. In addition, the same biases appear to influence the cognitive behaviour, suggesting that monitoring can have an impact on subsequent cognitive behaviour independent of the memorization processes. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biographical Items and Factors That Differentiate Rehabilitation Counselor Performance

This article presents the results of an investigation of the relationship of biographical information to the performance of counselors in state rehabilitation (DVR) agencies. The specific purposes of this study were to examine (1) what biographical data items differentiate more successful DVR counselors from less successful DVR counselors, and (2) if factors across biographical items could be found that relate to more successful performance. A series of statistical steps were involved in the analyses including chi-square, reciprocal average weighting technique, factor analysis, and a multiple regression model. No significant relationship to the criterion of supervisor ratings on overall effectiveness was found using either of two weighting procedures, nor were the responses to items composing the factors associated with the criterion variable. Some implications and limitations of the study were discussed.     

On the Irrelevance of Phonological Similarity to the Irrelevant Speech Effect

Irrelevant background speech disrupts immediate recall of visually presented items. Salame and Baddeley (1982) found that increasing the phonological similarity between the irrelevant speech and the visual items greatly increased this disruption. In contrast, Jones and Macken (1995) found little evidence for such an increase. The present experiments directly manipulated the phonological similarity of the irrelevant speech background and the to-be-remembered visual items. Experiments 1-4 compared background speech that shared virtually no phonemes with the visual stimuli with background speech that shared all of the phonemes of the visual stimuli. No effectof phonological similarity was found.Experiment5 replicatedthe method of Salame and Baddeley's critical experimentbut nottheir results. With regard to the two primary explanations ofthe irrelevant speech effect, these data present a strong challenge to the phonological store hypothesis while offering some support to the changing state hypothesis.     

Are You Ready to Have Fun? The Spanish State Form of the State–Trait–Cheerfulness Inventory

Although cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood as traits have been widely studied as the basis of sense of humor, data are scarce regarding the same dimensions as states. In this study, we adapted the state form of the State–Trait–Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI–S) into Spanish. At the same time, we empirically tested new predictions. We assessed 5 independent samples accounting for 1,029 participants (647 women) with ages ranging from 18 to 78 years. We confirmed the 3-dimensional structure as well as a strong measurement invariance between men and women. The internal consistency of the scale was satisfactory, the expected intercorrelations emerged, and the convergence between states and traits was corroborated. We also confirmed that the STCI–S's items were sensitive to affective changes in the environment. A longitudinal stability study of the state–trait dimensions using latent state–trait (LST) models revealed that all three trait measures capture mostly stable interindividual differences, with occasion-specific effects mainly in the state dimensions. Finally, we found that the STCI–S dimensions were related to state well-being. The results suggest that the STCI–S is a valid option for measuring the state basis of sense of humor in the Spanish population.     

When will the milk spoil? Everyday induction in human intelligence

We sought to understand (a) the mental processes underlying everyday predictive and postdictive judgements involving objects undergoing either change or no change of state over time and (b) the relation of these processes to intelligence. Forty adult (nonstudent) participants were asked to solve 40 induction problems, each presented in four forms, for a total of 160 test items. Half of the items involved predictions and half involved postdictions; within each of these two categories, half of the items involved a state change from present to future (prediction) or past (postdiction), and half did not. In addition, each participant completed convergent-discriminant psychometric ability tests measuring inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, and vocabulary.Prediction was performed more rapidly than postdiction, but was also more susceptible to errors of judgement. Judgements involving change of state were more rapid and less error-prone than were judgements involving no change. A single information-processing model was useful for describing performance on both prediction and postdiction problems. A quantification of stimulus variables affecting performance via this model (with six predictor variables) provided a good account of participants' response latencies. Response latencies showed convergent and discriminant validity, exhibiting rather high correlations with inductive reasoning, but not with deductive reasoning. The paradigm we used thus seems to provide one useful approach to understanding the relationship of everyday induction to human intelligence, and to provide a complement to the more abstract kinds of problems—such as analogies, classifications, series completion, and matrix problems—typically used to test inductive-reasoning abilities, as an aspect of intelligence.     

Clinical correlates of anhedonia and perceptual aberration in first-episode patients with schizophrenia and affective disorder.

We examined the association between scales measuring physical anhedonia, social anhedonia, and perceptual aberration and premorbid functioning, clinical state, and current level of adjustment in 91 psychotic subjects. The patients were examined at the onset of their first psychotic episode and again 18 months later. For patients with schizophrenia, anhedonia was significantly related to premorbid functioning. No association was found between the scales and clinical state or level of adjustment at intake or follow-up. In affective disorder patients, no correlation was found between premorbid functioning (a stable characteristic) and scale scores, but moderately large correlations emerged between the scales and clinical state and level of adjustment at both assessment times. These results suggest that schizophrenic and affective disorder patients endorse items on these scales for different reasons. We hypothesize that for patients with schizophrenia, the scales assess enduring personality characteristics, whereas for the affective disorder patients, they assess clinical condition at the time of testing.     

Emotion and information search in tactical decision-making: Moderator effects of feedback

Information search during decision-making may be influenced both by selective attention and by the criterion used for ceasing to search. When the items searched are themselves emotive, the affective state of the decision-maker may bias these search processes. If an automatic selective attention bias operates, it may produce mood-congruent effects irrespective of context; e.g., negative affect may focus attention on negative items of information. An alternative possibility, suggested by the mood-as-input model, is that the influence of affect on search may depend on how decision-makers understand their emotions within a given context. The present study tested predictions derived from relevant theories of affective bias, using feedback as a means to generate a context of success or failure. Hundred and sixty participants were required to access positive and negative items of information in choosing between different routes for a search-and-rescue mission. Outcomes of choices were manipulated experimentally, so that in one condition participants received mostly positive feedback, and in a second condition participants received mostly negative feedback. Results showed that the feedback manipulation influenced affect, but there was considerable variation in affective state within each condition. Associations between affect and information search were moderated by feedback condition. For example, positive affect was associated with more frequent sampling of positive information in the negative feedback condition, but the association reversed when feedback was positive. Findings were consistent with the mood-as-input hypothesis, but not with an automatic selective attention bias. Context may influence how the decision-maker interprets their affective state.     

Suggestibility and state anxiety: how the two concepts relate in a source identification paradigm

Source identification tests provide a stringent method for testing the suggestibility of memory because they reduce response bias and experimental demand characteristics. Using the techniques and materials of Maria Zaragoza and her colleagues, we investigated how state anxiety affects the ability of undergraduates to identify correctly the source of misleading post-event information. The results showed that individuals high in state anxiety were less likely to make source misattributions of misleading information, indicating lower levels of suggestibility. This effect was strengthened when forgotten or non-recognised misleading items (for which a source identification task is not possible) were excluded from the analysis. Confidence in the correct attribution of misleading post-event information to its source was significantly less than confidence in source misattributions. Participants who were high in state anxiety tended to be less confident than those lower in state anxiety when they correctly identified the source of both misleading post-event information and non-misled items. The implications of these findings are discussed, drawing on the literature on anxiety and cognition as well as suggestibility.