Trauma-Related Negative Cognitions Mediate the Relationship Between Avoidant Personality Beliefs and Impeded Response to Psychotherapy for PTSD

There is strong research evidence for the association of personality pathology and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as trauma-related negative cognitions (TRNC) and PTSD symptoms. However, the relationship between personality pathology and TRNC in the context of PTSD is mostly unknown. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether avoidant and borderline personality beliefs (PB, indicator of personality pathology) could predict therapy outcome in PTSD, and whether the relationship between PB and therapy outcome could be mediated by TRNC. Sixty patients with PTSD were assessed for PB, TRNC and PTSD symptoms at baseline, and for PTSD symptoms at the termination of Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Baseline avoidant PB predicted significant variance in PTSD symptoms at termination over and above baseline PTSD symptoms (16% reduction in treatment effect per SD on avoidant PB). Moreover, TRNC at baseline fully mediated the relationships between baseline avoidant PB and PTSD symptoms at termination. This is the first study to show that avoidant PB predicts treatment response in PTSD, and that patients with avoidant beliefs are more vulnerable to have TRNC, which are associated with impeded therapy response. Our results highlight the importance of targeting both dysfunctional PB and TRNC in PTSD interventions.     

Insulin receptor substrate 2 is a negative regulator of memory formation

Insulin has been shown to impact on learning and memory in both humans and animals, but the downstream signaling mechanisms involved are poorly characterized. Insulin receptor substrate-2 (Irs2) is an adaptor protein that couples activation of insulin- and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptors to downstream signaling pathways. Here, we have deleted Irs2, either in the whole brain or selectively in the forebrain, using the nestin Cre- or D6 Cre-deleter mouse lines, respectively. We show that brain- and forebrain-specific Irs2 knockout mice have enhanced hippocampal spatial reference memory. Furthermore, NesCreIrs2KO mice have enhanced spatial working memory and contextual- and cued-fear memory. Deletion of Irs2 in the brain also increases PSD-95 expression and the density of dendritic spines in hippocampal area CA1, possibly reflecting an increase in the number of excitatory synapses per neuron in the hippocampus that can become activated during memory formation. This increase in activated excitatory synapses might underlie the improved hippocampal memory formation observed in NesCreIrs2KO mice. Overall, these results suggest that Irs2 acts as a negative regulator on memory formation by restricting dendritic spine generation.     

At the first sign of trouble or through thick and thin? When nonconformity is and is not disengagement from a group

The current research tests the prediction that nonconformity can reflect engagement with rather than disengagement from social groups. We present two studies that contained indices of both nonconformity and disengagement to examine their relationship under different circumstances and to dissociate two forms of nonconformity: individually oriented vs. collectively oriented. Study 1 demonstrates that thinking about how a group norm may cause individual harm triggers a type of nonconformity that is associated with disengagement from the group, whereas thinking about how a norm may cause collective harm triggers a type of nonconformity that is not associated with disengagement. Study 2 investigates the relationship between nonconformity and disengagement among group members that vary in their level of collective identification. We demonstrate that whereas nonconformity among weakly identified group members is associated with disengagement, this is not the case among strong identifiers.     

Why men (and women) do and don't rebel: effects of system justification on willingness to protest

Three studies examined the hypothesis that system justification is negatively associated with collective protest against ingroup disadvantage. Effects of uncertainty salience, ingroup identification, and disruptive versus nondisruptive protest were also investigated. In Study 1, college students who were exposed to an uncertainty salience manipulation and who scored higher on system justification were less likely to protest against the governmental bailout of Wall Street. In Study 2, May Day protesters in Greece who were primed with a system-justifying stereotype exhibited less group-based anger and willingness to protest. In Study 3, members of a British teachers union who were primed with a "system-rejecting" mind-set exhibited decreased system justification and increased willingness to protest. The effect of system justification on nondisruptive protest was mediated by group-based anger. Across very different contexts, measures, and methods, the results reveal that, even among political activists, system justification plays a significant role in undermining willingness to protest.     

Clinical wisdom in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy: a philosophical and qualitative analysis

To precisely define wisdom has been an ongoing task of philosophers for millennia. Investigations into the psychological dimensions of wisdom have revealed several features that make exemplary persons "wise." Contemporary bioethicists took up this concept as they retrieved and adapted Aristotle's intellectual virtue of phronesis for applications in medical contexts. In this article, we build on scholarship in both psychology and medical ethics by providing an account of clinical wisdom qua phronesis in the context of the practice of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. With the support of qualitative data, we argue that the concept of clinical wisdom in mental healthcare shares several of the key ethical dimensions offered by standard models of phronesis in medical ethics and serves as a useful, albeit overlooked, reference point for a broader development of virtue-based medical ethics. We propose that the features of clinical wisdom are pragmatic skills that include, but are not limited to, an awareness of balance, the acceptance of paradox, and a particular clinical manner that maintains a deep regard for the other. We offer several suggestions for refining training programs and redoubling efforts to provide long-term mentorship opportunities for trainees in clinical mental healthcare in order to cultivate clinical wisdom.     

The Mediating Role of Executive Functioning in the Relation Between Difficult Temperament and Physical Aggression

The present investigation tested the hypothesis that executive functioning (EF) would mediate the relation between difficult temperament (DT) and aggressive behavior. This model was tested in 310 adult men and women. DT was measured using the Dimensions of Temperament Scale—Revised, EF was measured using 7 well-established neuropsychological tests, and aggression was assessed using the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire. EF successfully mediated the DT–aggression relation for men, however, the model did not hold for women. Results are discussed with regard to how they influence current models of aggressive behavior as well as their implications for future violence prevention efforts.     

Post-September 11th Perspectives on Religion, Spirituality, and Philosophy in the Personal and Professional Lives of Selected REBT Cognoscenti

The purpose of this article was for selected Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) cognoscenti to examine the impact of the events of September 11th, 2001, on their beliefs about religion, spirituality, and their personal philosophy—including the role of evil in the universe and the implications of these issues on their use of REBT. The degree of consistency of the author’s views with classical REBT theory and philosophy was examined. The authors are current or former members of the Albert Ellis Institute’s International Training Standards and Policy Review Committee, of which Albert Ellis, REBT’s founder, is also a member. Reprinted from Journal of Counseling & Development, Fall 2004, Volume 82. ACA. Reprinted with permission. No further reproduction authorized without written permission from the American Counseling Association. We regret to inform readers that Stephen G. Weinrach died in April 2004. Stephen G. Weinrach expressed gratitude to Jacqueline Mirabile, Laura Hutelmyer, and Phylis Wright of Villanova University’s Falvey Memorial Library for valuable research assistance. Jesse Clancy and Bethany Coover provided deeply appreciated and important editorial support.     

Verbal uncertainty expressions: A critical review of two decades of research

The frequency with which verbal uncertainty expressions are employed suggests that they play an important role in the communication of states of uncertainty and may have an important role in emerging technologies such as Expert Systems. This article critically reviews empirical studies of verbal uncertainty expressions spanning two decades of research between 1967 and 1987 with the principal conclusions that: (1) People are highly internally consistent in their use of verbal uncertainty expressions; (2) No conclusions about between-subject variability are justified principally because (a) there is currently no consensus as to what is to count as consistent or inconsistent use and (b) there are several factors that confound purported analyses of between-subject consistency such as the composition of the stimulus set and the scaling tasks themselves; (3) One study suggests that assessments of the meaning of verbal uncertainty expressions may be conditioned by the prior perceived probabilities of the events they describe. However, other interpretations of this study are open. The review also discusses the more general epistemological question of whether the concept of uncertainty as manifest by verbal uncertainty expressions is really amenable to the unidimensional framework within which empirical studies have been conceived. I am indebted to Dylan Jones (UWIST) for his encouragement and support and to John Fox, (ICRF), Tom Wallsten and David Budescu for comments on earlier drafts. This work was supported, in part, by the Science and Engineering Research Council while the author was a postgraduate student at the Department of Applied Psychology, UWIST (now UWCC School of Psychology).     

The effects of feedback in psychophysical tasks

Previous results of the reinforcement effects of feedback in psychophysical tasks have been interpreted as changes in the S’s response bias in the uncertain sensory state. The present study varied the percentage of feedback in a two-altemative loud-soft recognition task. The values of the probability of correct feedback were 1, .8, .6, .4, .2, and 0. The results indicated that Ss learned to respond to agree with the experimental feedback rather than with the actual cue presented on a trial. The probability of a response on Trial n +1 was highly dependent upon the response and feedback of Trial n only when the two trials were the same. It was concluded that feedback must influence the response probability vector associated with a given detection state.