False Memory Susceptibility in OEF/OIF Veterans With and Without PTSD

False memory susceptibility was measured in 80 Iraq/Afghanistan veterans with (n = 32) and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 48) using a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) word list task that included trauma-related critical (nonpresented) lures. PTSD was classified using medical record diagnoses. Participants completed a variety of self-report assessments, including the Beck Depression Inventory, the Anxiety and Stress subscales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Tellegen Absorption Scale. Veterans with PTSD displayed global memory impairments on all types of items, except for trauma-related critical lures; on these critical lures, they exhibited false memory levels equal to those seen in veterans without PTSD. The magnitude of most effects were reduced, but not entirely eliminated, when controlling for depression, suggesting that neither PTSD nor co-occurring depression entirely explain these findings. The potential effects of other mental health conditions, such as alcohol dependence, could not be ruled out. Our results support explanations of PTSD that emphasize differential processing of trauma-related information.     

The personality traits of workplace bullies are often shared by their victims: Is there a dark side to victims?

In this exploratory study, we examined the extent to which both workplace bullies and victims possess bully-typifying traits, using a 22-item scale that simultaneously measures perpetrators and targets of negative workplace acts. Participants were 224 Canadian university students aged 18–47 with prior work experience. Bivariate correlational analyses determined that bullying others was positively associated with measures of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychoticism, aggression, and disinhibition. Being a victim was positively associated with the same Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychoticism, and aggression measures. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that an “alternative dark triad” of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychoticism related significantly to bullying scores; while psychoticism and Machiavellianism related significantly to victim scores. Aggression and sensation seeking measures failed to account for significant variance in bully or victim scores beyond the triad variables. The vast majority of bullies (89.7%) and many victims (41.7%) were bully/victims, operationally defined as being both perpetrators and targets at least once per week in the last 6 months. Researchers and employers would do well to recognize the presence of bully/victims in their efforts to understand and reduce workplace bullying.     

The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth as a predictor of recidivism in a United Kingdom cohort of adolescent offenders with conduct disorder

This prospective study examined the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) in 99 male adolescents who were assessed in custody and followed up 12 months post release. Outcome data on recidivism were based on official Home Office records. The base rates for violent and general recidivism, respectively, were 38.4% and 70.7%. The predictive validity of the SAVRY Risk Total and the SAVRY Risk Rating was moderate for both violent and general recidivism, but both showed incremental validity in predicting outcomes compared with the PCL: YV. Data are discussed in relation to the limited published international literature.     

Not leaving the conversation behind: approaching a decade of teaching reflective journal writing at a liberal arts college

Approaching a milestone in his teaching career, the author set out to document his observations on mentoring reflective journal writing with the aims of capturing his own learning journey and providing insights into future practice. Such recollections of teachers’ learning from experience in the higher education context have been subject to relatively little investigation. Some key points emerge: reflective journal writing is considered fundamental to advancing the core principles of the liberal arts tradition, specifically by allowing students to articulate their understanding of the more abstract concepts fundamental to undergraduate learning. Over time, mentoring of journal writing can provide rich individual and collective portraits of learner development. At the heart of this discussion is the belief that the ‘art’ of mentoring good journal writing lies in taking cues from the students, and acknowledging and incorporating their insights and first-hand experience of the process into classroom instruction. It is hoped that these reflections may be beneficial for teachers beginning or continuing their reflective journal mentoring.     

Behavioral specifications of reward-associated long-term memory enhancement in humans

Recent functional imaging studies link reward-related activation of the midbrain substantia nigra-ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), the site of origin of ascending dopaminergic projections, with improved long-term episodic memory. Here, we investigated in two behavioral experiments how (1) the contingency between item properties and reward, (2) the magnitude of reward, (3) the uncertainty of outcomes, and (4) the contextual availability of reward affect long-term memory. We show that episodic memory is enhanced only when rewards are specifically predicted by the semantic identity of the stimuli and changes nonlinearly with increasing reward magnitude. These effects are specific to reward and do not occur in relation to outcome uncertainty alone. These behavioral specifications are relevant for the functional interpretation of how reward-related activation of the SN/VTA, and more generally dopaminergic neuromodulation, contribute to long-term memory.     

Not all sources of familiarity are created equal: the case of word frequency and repetition in episodic recognition

Low-frequency (LF) words produce higher hit rates and lower false alarm rates than high-frequency (HF) words. This word frequency mirror pattern has been interpreted within dual-process models of recognition, which assume the contributions of a slower recollective process and a relatively fast-acting familiarity process. In the present experiments, recollection and familiarity were placed in opposition using Jacoby, L. L., Journal of Memory and Language, 30, 513–541 (1991), two-list exclusion paradigm with HF and LF words. Exclusion errors to LF words exceeded those to HF words at fast deadlines, whereas the reverse occurred at slow deadlines. In Experiments 2 and 3, false alarms to HF nonpresented lures were higher than to LF nonpresented lures, indicating the use of baseline familiarity for totally new items. Combined, these results indicate that in addition to baseline familiarity and recollection, a third process involving the assessment of a relative change in familiarity is involved in recognition performance. Both relative changes in familiarity and recollection processes have distinct time courses and are engaged when there is diagnostic list information available, whereas baseline familiarity is used when there is no diagnostic information available (e.g., for nonpresented lure items).