Aging and negative affect: the rise and fall and rise of anxiety and depression symptoms

The relationship between aging and negative affect is dynamic and complex. Although prior studies have often cited lower prevalence rates of anxiety and mood disorders among older individuals, these studies may miss the dynamic relationship between symptoms and aging. To evaluate a nonlinear model of the relationship between aging and negative affect, the author examined measures of neuroticism, anxiety, and depression symptoms in a cross-sectional, community sample (N = 335), ages 18 to 93. Results indicated a curvilinear relationship, with mean symptom levels increasing during early adulthood (until the mid-30s) and then showing a small decline until older adulthood (the mid-70s), when symptoms again increase with age.     

Decision biases in intertemporal choice and choice under uncertainty: Testing a common account

Two experiments were performed to test a psychophysical account of parallels between biases in risky choice and intertemporal choice. Experiment 1 demonstrated the common difference effect in intertemporal choice and the common ratio effect in risky choice. As was predicted, these two biases were uncorrelated with each other, although each was correlated across monetary/health domains. This result is consistent with the supposition that these two biases result from psychophysical properties of two different dimensions (time and probability, respectively). Experiment 2 examined the magnitude effect in intertemporal choice and the peanuts effect in risky choice. These two biases were correlated with each other but were uncorrelated across monetary/health domains. This result is consistent with the supposition that these two biases result from psychophysical properties of the same dimension (utility of money or health).     

Recognizing distinctive faces: A hybrid-similarity exemplar model account

In recognition memory experiments, Nosofsky and Zaki (2003) found that adding discrete distinctive features to continuous-dimension color stimuli helped participants to identify old items as old (the old-item distinctiveness effect), as well as to identify new items as new. The present study tests the extent to which these results generalize to the domain of face recognition. Two experiments were conducted, one using artificial faces and one using natural faces. Artificial faces were used to test memory for faces with discrete distinctive features while controlling the similarity of the faces themselves on more continuous dimensions. The natural-face experiment used the faces of 40 bald men categorized into three groups (typical, isolated, and distinctive) based on experimental ratings of distinctiveness. In both experiments, there were strong effects of the distinctive features on recognition performance. The data were accounted for reasonably well by a hybrid-similarity version of an exemplar recognition model (Nosofsky and Zaki, 2003), which includes a feature-matching mechanism that can provide boosts to an item's self-similarity.     

Implicit and explicit appraisals of the importance of intrusive thoughts

To evaluate cognitive theories of obsessions, the current study experimentally manipulated appraisals of the importance of intrusive thoughts. Undergraduate students (N = 156) completed measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and beliefs and were primed with a list of commonly reported unwanted thoughts. Participants were then informed that unwanted thoughts are either (1) significant and indicative of their personal values, or (2) meaningless, or participants (3) received no instructions about unwanted thoughts. Participants then completed implicit and explicit measures of self-evaluation and interpretations of their unwanted thoughts. Results indicated that the manipulation shifted implicit appraisals of unwanted thoughts in the expected direction, but not self-evaluations of morality or dangerousness. Interestingly, explicit self-esteem and beliefs about the significance of unwanted thoughts were associated with measures of OCD beliefs, whereas implicit self-evaluations of dangerousness were better predicted by the interaction of pre-existing OCD beliefs with the manipulation. Results are discussed in terms of divergent predictors of implicit and explicit responses to unwanted thoughts.     

Do socially anxious individuals fear embarrassment by close others? Development of the Fear of Embarrassment by Others Scale

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of social or performance situations, and a fear of acting in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. However, the extent to which socially anxious individuals fear embarrassment due to the behavior of close others remains unknown. The Fear of Embarrassment by Others Scale (FEOS) was developed to assess the extent to which individuals with social anxiety fear being embarrassed by others. To assess the psychometric properties of this measure, 162 undergraduate students low or high in social anxiety completed the FEOS, along with additional questionnaires. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a single factor. The measure demonstrates high internal consistency, and is correlated with measures of social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and anxiety sensitivity. Fear of embarrassment by others was not found to be a significant predictor of social anxiety, as compared to anxiety sensitivity and fear of negative evaluation. The FEOS discriminated among participants high and low in social anxiety, as those high in social anxiety scored significantly higher on the measure than did participants low in social anxiety. The utility of this scale for research and clinical practice is discussed.     

Who am I to judge? Self-disgust predicts less punishment of severe transgressions

Although recent research has shown that experimentally induced disgust and the personality trait of disgust sensitivity is associated with more severe moral decisions, no study to date has examined how disgust, experienced specifically toward the self, influences morally relevant decisions. Participants (n = 109) in the present study completed a measure of self-disgust, disgust sensitivity, and depressive symptoms and then evaluated nonoffenses, moderate offenses, and severe offenses with regard to level of disgust and punishment deserved. The results showed that self-disgust significantly predicted more disgust and punishment ratings of nonoffenses when controlling for individual differences in both depressive symptoms and disgust sensitivity. In contrast, self-disgust significantly predicted less disgust and punishment ratings of severe offenses when controlling for individual differences in depressive symptoms and disgust sensitivity. The implications of these findings for further conceptualizing how the heterogeneous construct of disgust operates in the moral domain are discussed.     

Enhancing Treatment Integrity Maintenance Through Fading with Indiscriminable Contingencies

School psychologists are often asked to develop treatment to remediate students’ academic skills or social behavior problems. When teachers implement treatment recommendations with high levels of treatment integrity, students benefit. Treatment integrity has been enhanced by use of direct training, performance feedback, and negative reinforcement procedures. Still, maintenance of treatment integrity has received limited systematic inquiry. This study investigated maintenance of treatment integrity over time by utilizing a systemic fading procedure with indiscriminable contingencies. The results showed that the teachers continued to implement treatment protocols at a high level after performance feedback was faded. Students also fared better when treatment integrity was high.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

This paper raises a question about one of the principal assumptions of some neo-Thomist approaches to divine action: that it is always inappropriate to conceive of God as one agent among others. To do so, it is claimed, is to reduce God's position from that of Creator to that of a creature. However, this seems an odd position to take in light of the Incarnation. I suggest that after the divine humility displayed in the Incarnation, conceiving God as one agent among others is not as theologically problematic as it is initially represented by some neo-Thomists.