Non-specific encoding of threat in social phobia and panic disorder

This study employs a release of proactive interference technique to explore encoding-related processes in social phobia. Twenty-six individuals with social phobia and 24 individuals with panic disorder participated in the memory task. Significant release of proactive interference was found when neutral and threat dimensions were encoded, but not when social and physical threat dimensions, or when positive and threat dimensions were presented. Threat was therefore differently encoded depending on the active encoding context in which semantic processing occurred. Individuals with social phobia or panic disorder did not differ in the release of proactive interference. The present experiment consequently yields little support for the specificity hypothesis in memory of anxious individuals. Instead, the findings generally demonstrate that threat encoding is similar for people with social phobia and those with panic disorder.     

Rigidity in children's drawings and its relation with representational change

Four studies tested the application of to the drawing domain. In particular, we tested her claim that young children are inhibited in their attempts at changing their graphic representations (representational change) due to being constrained by the order in which the elements of the representation are drawn (procedural rigidity). The first study required 60 children (4- to 6-year-olds and an older comparison group of 8-year-olds) to make three drawings of a familiar and novel topic. From these drawings each child was measured for procedural rigidity. In a further drawing the child was asked to modify their usual representation of each topic. Regression analyses revealed procedural rigidity levels were not predictive of manipulation performance. A second study, testing 75 4- to 6-year-olds and a third study, testing 30 3- to 4-year-olds, revealed that when young children were specifically asked to manipulate rigid sub-procedures on a familiar topic they were indeed able to do so. Finally, a fourth study (testing 40 5-year-olds and 40 8-year-olds) removed the notational trace in drawing (a possible aid for procedural interruption) but this still produced no evidence of a relation between procedural rigidity and representational change. We suggest how the concept of procedural rigidity might be re-interpreted for the drawing domain so that the RR model can remain as a domain-general theory of cognitive development. We also suggest the development of information processing may be crucial for flexibility in drawing.     

A New Model for Premarital Counseling Within the Church

The divorce rate among Christians is higher than that of the average population. This statistic is cause for concern and change in church preparation for marriage. Although instruction for pastoral premarital counseling exists, most churches do not follow the minimum guidelines. Churches need a new proactive model for building good marriages rather than mending broken ones. This article presents one such model for marriage preparedness. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary     

Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: a randomized controlled trial

This study further evaluates the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP). A diagnostically heterogeneous clinical sample of 37 patients with a principal anxiety disorder diagnosis was enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving up to 18 sessions of treatment and a 6-month follow-up period. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either immediate treatment with the UP (n=26) or delayed treatment, following a 16-week wait-list control period (WLC; n=11). The UP resulted in significant improvement on measures of clinical severity, general symptoms of depression and anxiety, levels of negative and positive affect, and a measure of symptom interference in daily functioning across diagnoses. In comparison, participants in the WLC condition exhibited little to no change following the 16-week wait-list period. The effects of UP treatment were maintained over the 6-month follow-up period. Results from this RCT provide additional evidence for the efficacy of the UP in the treatment of anxiety and comorbid depressive disorders, and provide additional support for a transdiagnostic approach to the treatment of emotional disorders.     

The role of negative affectivity and negative reactivity to emotions in predicting outcomes in the unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders

The present study aimed to understand the contributions of both the trait tendency to experience negative emotions and how one relates to such experience in predicting symptom change during participation in the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders. Data were derived from a randomized controlled trial comparing the UP to a waitlist control/delayed-treatment condition. First, effect sizes of pre- to post-treatment change for frequency of negative emotions and several variables measuring reactivity to emotional experience (emotional awareness and acceptance, fear of emotions, and anxiety sensitivity) were examined. Second, the relative contributions of change in negative emotions and emotional reactivity in predicting symptom (clinician-rated anxiety, depression, and severity of principal diagnosis) reductions were investigated. Results suggested that decreases in the frequency of negative emotions and reactivity to emotions following participation in the UP were both large in magnitude. Further, two emotional reactivity variables (fear of emotions and anxiety sensitivity) remained significantly related to symptom outcomes when controlling for negative emotions, and accounted for significant incremental variance in their prediction. These findings lend support to the notion that psychological health depends less on the frequency of negative emotions and more on how one relates to these emotions when they occur.     

Emotional responses to rejection of gestures of intergroup reconciliation

Four experiments examine the emotional and attitudinal consequences of victim group rejection of a gesture of reconciliation from a transgressor group. Participants were reminded about an ingroup transgression and were told that their ingroup provided an apology (Studies 1 and 4) or an offer of repair (Studies 2 and 3). The authors varied whether the victim group rejected or accepted these gestures. As predicted, rejection resulted in greater anger and lower levels of satisfaction directed toward the victim group. Victim group response had little systematic effect on anxiety or shame, however. Appraisals of the response as illegitimate mediated the effects of victim group response (Studies 3 and 4). Furthermore, Study 4 showed that the emotional backlash toward victim groups who reject an offer of reconciliation leads to heightened racism and reduced intentions to financially compensate victim groups. Implications for how groups reconcile in the face of historical transgressions are discussed.     

Property and prejudice: How racial attitudes and social‐evaluative concerns shape property appraisals

Property evaluations rarely occur in the absence of social context. However, no research has investigated how intergroup processes related to prejudice extend to concepts of property. In the present research, we propose that factors such as group status, prejudice and pressure to mask prejudiced attitudes affect how people value the property of racial ingroup and outgroup members. In Study 1, White American and Asian American participants were asked to appraise a hand‐painted mug that was ostensibly created by either a White or an Asian person. Asian participants demonstrated an ingroup bias. White participants showed an outgroup bias, but this effect was qualified. Specifically, among White participants, higher racism towards Asian Americans predicted higher valuations of mugs created by Asian people. Study 2 revealed that White Americans' prejudice towards Asian Americans predicted higher valuations of the mug created by an Asian person only when participants were highly concerned about conveying a non‐prejudiced personal image. Our results suggest that, ironically, prejudiced majority group members evaluate the property of minority group members whom they dislike more favourably. The current findings provide a foundation for melding intergroup relations research with research on property and ownership.