Overgeneral memory and suppression of trauma memories in post-traumatic stress disorder

The study investigated the relationship between the suppression of trauma memories and overgeneral memory in 42 assault survivors with and without PTSD. Overgeneral memory (OGM) was assessed with a standard autobiographical memory test (AMT). Participants completed two further AMTs under the instructions to either suppress or not suppress assault memories, in counterbalanced order. Participants with PTSD retrieved fewer and more general memories when following the suppression instruction than participants without PTSD, but not under the control instruction. OGM correlated with PTSD symptom severity, and measures of cognitive avoidance. The results are discussed with reference to current theories of overgeneral memory and its possible relationship with PTSD.     

Intrusive memories and rumination in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder: a phenomenological comparison

The aim of the study was to investigate the phenomenological differences between intrusive memories and rumination in PTSD. The study population consisted of 31 patients with PTSD referred for cognitive behavioural therapy to specialist services. A semi-structured interview was used to examine the characteristics of the most prominent intrusive memory and rumination. Intrusive memories were predominantly sensory experiences of short duration, whereas rumination was predominantly a thought process of longer duration. Shame was associated more with rumination than with intrusive memories. Anxiety, helplessness, numbness, and threat were greater at the time of the trauma than when experiencing the intrusive memory. In contrast, feelings like anger and sadness were greater when experiencing intrusive memories than at the time of the event. The distinction between intrusive memories and rumination is of clinical importance as intrusive memories usually decrease with imaginal reliving of the trauma, whereas rumination may require different therapeutic strategies, such as rumination-focused or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.     

Movement adaptations in 7- to 10-year-old typically developing children: evidence for a transition in feedback-based motor control

We used a modified double-step pointing task to study movement adaptations in 7- to 10-year-old typically developing children. We found that the majority (63%) were able to optimally adapt fast, goal-directed visually-guided movements to a late change in target location meeting the requirements of speed and accuracy. A minority (35%) failed to meet the requirement of accuracy resulting in a less optimal adaptation. The results showed that the ability to adapt movements optimally develops before the age of 7 years in typically developing children. Literature proposes a transition in development of motor control around the age of 8 years. The present results replicate and extend this by suggesting that this transition affects the later phases of fast, goal-directed visually-guided movements rather than the early phases, such as movement programming and acceleration. Finally, the results indicate that the optimally adapted movements were the result of a specific strategy in which a specific component of movement execution was slowed on all trials. This suggests that 7- to 10-year-old typically developing children have developed implicit knowledge about which movement components are the most efficient to adapt.     

Foundations,institutes, charities,and proselytes in the early modern Holy Roman Empire

This article examines the support given to Jewish converts both before and after their conversion to the Lutheran faith during Pietism. Two central measures of support are discussed: proselyte institutes and proselyte charities. The first were aimed mainly at people with a Jewish background, the second were accessible primarily to members of the non-ruling Christian denomination but also, to a lesser degree, to Jews and followers of other religions. Most Pietist supporters of proselyte institutes had networks that reached across and beyond the whole empire, and were also connected with proselyte charities. Those charities were part of the common conversion policy, which was not only closely connected with the welfare practices of secular and church authorities but was also an expression of denominational rivalry. These measures and institutions notwithstanding, Jewish proselytes, like converts from other religions and denominations endured discrimination; Converts lamented that there was no real integration into the Christian community, even after their baptism, and support was too often conditional on “good behavior”, even when, seemingly, there was good will on the part of institutes and their sustainers.     

Motivational interviewing and self-determination theory in a web-based computer tailored physical activity intervention: A randomized controlled trial

Objective: This study explores whether a web-based physical activity (PA) intervention grounded in self-determination theory (SDT) and motivational interviewing (MI) is more effective and better appreciated than a traditional web-based PA intervention.

Design: A randomized controlled trial was conducted, comparing (1) I Move; a web-based PA intervention based on SDT and MI, (2) Active Plus; a traditional web-based PA intervention and (3) a waiting list control condition.

Main outcome measures: Weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous PA and weekly days with ≥30 min PA were measured through self-report at baseline and at 3 and 6 months from baseline.

Results: I Move achieved a small, but significant increase in weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous PA, while Active Plus did not have a significant impact on this outcome. Both interventions were effective in increasing weekly days with ≥30 min PA, whereas Active Plus yielded a greater effect on this outcome.

Conclusion: Overall, the web-based PA intervention grounded in SDT and MI did not outperform the traditional web-based PA intervention. Further research should reveal whether this type of intervention is profitable for long-term maintenance of PA levels.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Children’s Trauma Memory Characteristics and Their Relationship with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - While trauma memory characteristics are considered a core predictor of adult PTSD, the literature on child PTSD is limited and inconsistent. We...     

Simultaneous utilization of multiple cues in judgments of learning

There is much evidence that metacognitive judgments, such as people’s predictions of their future memory performance (judgments of learning, JOLs), are inferences based on cues and heuristics. However, relatively little is known about whether and when people integrate multiple cues in one metacognitive judgment or focus on a single cue without integrating further information. The current set of experiments systematically addressed whether and to what degree people integrate multiple extrinsic and intrinsic cues in JOLs. Experiment 1 varied two cues: number of study presentations (1 vs. 2) and font size (18 point vs. 48 point). Results revealed that people integrated both cues in their JOLs. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the two word characteristics concreteness (abstract vs. concrete) and emotionality (neutral vs. emotional) were integrated in JOLs. Experiment 3 showed that people integrated all four cues in their JOLs when manipulated simultaneously. Finally, Experiment 4 confirmed integration of three cues that varied on a continuum rather than in two easily distinguishable levels. These results demonstrate that people have a remarkable capacity to integrate multiple cues in metacognitive judgments. In addition, our findings render an explanation of cue effects on JOLs in terms of demand characteristics implausible.     

Biases in attention and interpretation in adolescents with varying levels of anxiety and depression

ABSTRACT

This is the first study to investigate multiple cognitive biases in adolescence simultaneously, to examine whether anxiety and depression are associated with biases in attention and interpretation, and whether these biases are able to predict unique variance in self-reported levels of anxiety and depression. A total of 681 adolescents performed a Dot Probe Task (DPT), an Emotional Visual Search Task (EVST), and an Interpretation Recognition Task. Attention and interpretation biases were significantly correlated with anxiety. Mixed results were reported with regard to depression: evidence was found for an interpretation bias, and for an attention bias as measured with the EVST but not with the DPT. Furthermore, interpretation and attention biases predicted unique variance in anxiety and depression scores. These results indicate that attention and interpretation biases are unique processes in anxiety and depression. They also suggest that anxiety and depression are partly based on similar underlying cognitive mechanisms.     

A continuous false belief task reveals egocentric biases in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

This study reports on a new false belief measure in a sample of 124 children and adolescents with or without high functioning autism (HFASD). In the classic paradigm, a participant predicts in which of two discrete locations a deceived protagonist will look for an object. In the current Sandbox task, the object is buried and reburied in a sandbox, thus creating a continuum between locations. Compared to typically developing individuals (n=62), those with HFASD (n=62) showed a larger egocentric bias on the Sandbox task. They failed to take the protagonist's false belief into account, despite their adequate ability to infer advanced mental states. This indicates that sensitive measures can reveal subtle first order Theory of Mind impairments in HFASD individuals.