Influence of clinical status in the relationship between alexithymia and emotional recognition: a dimensional study

The results of this study are part of an investigation to determine whether the cognitive-emotional process of emotional recognition is deficient as a function of the clinical condition and alexithymia in subjects with somatization. This investigation applied the self-assessment of emotion and used a procedure that minimizes the use of verbal skills and verbal comprehension. The specific goal of this study was to verify whether there were differences in the covariation between alexithymia and self-evaluation of the emotional reaction in clinical and nonclinical subjects. The results of this study highlight the significant differences between clinical and control subjects. There were inverse significant correlations with the affective valence in clinical subjects, whereas in the ratings of the TAS-20 in control subjects, there were direct correlations with activation. In the conclusions, we discuss whether the variability of the results of previous research of the relationship between alexithymia and emotional recognition is a characteristic feature of this relationship or an effect of the different sampling and procedures utilized.     

Ambulatory group treatment for cocaine dependent patients combining cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing

Psychological interventions in cocaine dependent patients have demonstrated efficacy. Remarkable approaches are Contingency Management (CM) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Lack of treatment adherence is the most important limitation. Motivational Interview (MI) has been shown to be an adherence enhancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate retention and abstinence in a combined CM and CBT group treatment in patients who have reached maintenance stage according to Prochaska and DiClemente's transtheoretical model (1982). Therefore, a longitudinal study was carried out with cocaine dependent patients with or without concomitant mental health disease. A 12-session open group was conducted weekly. Nineteen patients were included (78.9% men, mean age 36.6 years), 95% consumed intranasally and 47% had another psychiatric comorbidity. Treatment retention was 84%. During treatment and the first month of follow-up, all patients remained abstinent whereas at three months, 3 patients relapsed. These data confirm that using combined CM and CBT group therapy in cocaine dependents undergoing maintenance treatment enhances adherence and is effective to achieve abstinence.     

All units are equal in humpback whale songs,but some are more equal than others

Animal Cognition - Flexible production and perception of vocalizations is linked to an impressive array of cognitive capacities including language acquisition by humans, song learning by birds,...     

Enacting the aesthetic: A model for raw cognitive dynamics

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - One challenge faced by aesthetics is the development of an account able to trace out the continuities and discontinuities between general experience and...     

Cultural determinants of status: Implications for workplace evaluations and behaviors

Status is a valued workplace resource that facilitates career success, yet little is known regarding whether and how cultural orientation affects status attainment. We integrate status characteristics theory with the literature on individualism and collectivism and propose a cultural patterning in the determinants of status. Four studies (N = 379) demonstrate that cultural orientation influences the tendency to view high status individuals as competent versus warm (Study 1), uncover cultural differences in both individuals’ tendency to engage in competence and warmth behaviors to attain workplace status (Study 2) and evaluators’ tendency to ascribe status to individuals who demonstrate competence versus warmth (Study 3), and verify that cultural differences in the effects of competence and warmth on status perceptions, and in turn performance evaluations, generalize to real world interdependent groups (Study 4). Our findings advance theory on the cultural contingencies of status attainment and have implications for managing diversity at work.     

Older Workers with Disabilities: Job Satisfaction Differences in the Public and Private Sectors in Europe

This study analyzes the differences in job satisfaction of older European people (aged 50-64), with or without disabilities, who are employed in either the public or the private sector. Using the data taken from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for the years 2004, 2007 and 2011, job satisfaction equations are estimated for workers from both the public and private sectors, with panel data techniques that include variables related to the worker's degree of disability (nondisabled, non-limited disabled, and limited disabled), among others. The results show that the disabled workers who are limited in their everyday activities are less satisfied in both the public and private sectors than those who are non-disabled and non-limited. In addition, the levels of job satisfaction for non-limited disabled people are higher than their non-disabled counterparts but only in the public sector. From a point of view of public policies, it is necessary to design and undertake measures and actions that would contribute to improving the levels of job satisfaction of older workers with disabilities, especially among those who are limited in their everyday activities.     

An abridged Spanish version of Sexual Double Standard Scale: Factorial structure,reliability and validity evidence

Background/Objective

Sexual double standard (SDS) has long been associated to several dimensions of sexual health. Therefore the assessment of SDS is relevant and requires self-reported measures with adequate psychometric properties. This study aims to adapt the Sexual Double Standard Scale (SDSS) into heterosexual Spanish population and examine its psychometric properties. Method: Using quota incidental sampling, we recruited a sample of 1,206 individuals (50% women), distributed across three groups based on their age (18-34, 35-49 and 50 years old and older). Results: We performed both, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. An abridged version was yielded, consisting of 16 items distributed into two factors (Acceptance for sexual freedom and Acceptance for sexual shyness). A second-order factor structure was also adequate, which facilitates the use of a global index for SDS. Reliability, based on internal consistency and temporal stability was good for the factors. Evidence of validity is also shown and reported. Conclusions: This adapted version of the SDSS is reliable and valid. The importance for its use to estimate the prevalence of both traditional and modern forms of this phenomenon is discussed.     

Symmetry and its role in the crossmodal correspondence between shape and taste

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - Despite the rapid growth of research on the crossmodal correspondence between visually presented shapes and basic tastes (e.g., sweet, sour, bitter, and...