Fibromyalgia impact and depressive symptoms: Can perceiving a silver lining make a difference?

Individuals with fibromyalgia are at greater risk for depressive symptoms than the general population, and this may be partially attributable to physical symptoms that impair day-to-day functioning. However, individual-level protective characteristics may buffer risk for psychopathology. For instance, the ability to perceive a “silver lining” in one’s illness may be related to better mental and physical health. We examined perceived silver lining as a potential moderator of the relation between fibromyalgia impact and depressive symptoms. Our sample of persons with fibromyalgia (N = 401) completed self-report measures including the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and the Silver Lining Questionnaire. Moderation analyses covaried age, sex, and ethnicity. Supporting hypotheses, increasing impact of disease was related to greater depressive symptoms, and perceptions of a silver lining attenuated that association. Despite the linkage between impairment and depressive symptoms, identifying positive aspects or outcomes of illness may reduce risk for psychopathology. Therapeutically promoting perception of a silver lining, perhaps via signature strengths exercises or a blessings journal, and encouraging cognitive reframing of the illness experience, perhaps via Motivational Interviewing or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, may reduce depressive symptoms in persons with fibromyalgia.     

‘Three is better than two’: Increasing donations with the attraction effect

Five experiments (N_total = 2,503) tested the attraction effect and its boundary conditions in the context of helping behaviour. Participants could choose one donation appeal in a set of either two or three alternatives. The three alternatives set included a decoy – an alternative that resembled but was clearly inferior to a target (i.e., the most beneficial) alternative. A clear and consistent pattern emerged: Participants chose the target alternative more frequently and perceived it as more beneficial (and somewhat less costly) when the decoy was present compared to when it was absent. This finding was robust when the attribute ratings of the alternatives were unclear, when the target alternative offered a bundle of unrelated products, and when participants could refrain from donating altogether, or contribute any amount they wished. Our findings offer concrete and simple strategies that charities can implement at zero cost to increase giving and the perceived benefits that people’s good deed bring about to those in need.     

Action-based and vision-based selection of input: Two sources of control

In the first part of this paper we review evidence suggesting that there exists a mechanism that selects input on the basis of its similarity to the required action. This response-based input selection differs from the more established space- and object-based input selection in that it is not constrained by the structure of the input. Our evidence suggests that the two-choice Stroop effect is caused by this response-based selection mechanism. By contrast, it is known that the flanker effect is determined by the space- and object- based selection mechanisms. We explore whether the conflict resolution of the Stroop and flanker tasks is different as well by embedding these two tasks in a PRP (Psychological Refractory Period) paradigm. We show that the Stroop and the PRP effects are additive whereas the flanker and the PRP effects are underadditive, suggesting that the processes in charge of the conflict resolution in the Stroop and the flanker tasks are indeed different. We discuss possible reasons for this difference, and discuss possible ways in which the response-based mechanism can be implemented in information processing models.