Indecision and avoidant procrastination: the role of morningness-eveningness and time perspective in chronic delay lifestyles

The authors examined how time orientation and morningness-eveningness relate to 2 forms of procrastination: indecision and avoidant forms. Participants were 509 adults (M age = 49.78 years, SD = 6.14) who completed measures of time orientation, morningness-eveningness, decisional procrastination (i.e., indecision), and avoidant procrastination. Results showed that morningness was negatively related to avoidant procrastination but not decisional procrastination. Overall, the results indicated different temporal profiles for indecision and avoidant procrastinations. Avoidant procrastination related to low future time orientation and low morningness, whereas indecision related to both (a) high negative and high positive past orientations and (b) low present-hedonistic and low future time orientations. The authors inferred that distinct forms of procrastination seem different on the basis of dimensions of time.     

The structure of Bryant's Empathy Index for children: a cross-validation study

The present study examined the structure of Bryant's Empathy Index (BEI) using different samples for conducting exploratory and confirmatory analyses. The BEI was administered to a sample of 2714 children (mean age 11.12, SD = 1.59). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a three-factor structure: Feelings of Sadness, Understanding Feelings and Tearful Reaction. The results revealed both the multidimensionality of the instrument and appropriate fit indices for the model proposed. Although these results were very similar to those reported in other studies with a Spanish population, the analyses were conducted in a more robust way: with a larger sample and using polychoric correlations and cross validation estimation.     

Psychophysiological, behavioral, and cognitive indices of the emotional response: a factor-analytic study

Previous research on the components of the emotional response employing factor analytic studies has yielded a two-factor structure (Lang, Greenwald, Bradley, & Hamm, 1993; Cuthbert, Schupp, Bradley, Birbaumer, & Lang, 2000). However, the startle blink reflex, a widely employed measure of the emotional response, has not been considered to date. We decided to include two parameters of the startle reflex (magnitude and latency) in order to explore further how this response fits into the two-factor model of emotion. We recorded the acoustic startle blink response, skin conductance response, heart rate, free viewing time, and picture valence and arousal ratings of 45 subjects while viewing 54 pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; 18 unpleasant, 18 neutral, and 18 pleasant). Factorizations of all measures gave a two-factor solution (valence and arousal) that accounted for 70% of the variance. Although some measurements, including heart rate change, did not behave as predicted, our results reinforce the two-dimension model of the emotion, and show that startle fits into the model.     

Role of social skills training in adolescents with social anxiety disorder

Background/Objective: Social skills training (SST) is frequently included in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in both children and adolescents, although there is no empirical evidence to support it. Consequently, our objective is to study the role and effects of SST in the treatment of a sample of adolescents with SAD. Method: A total of 108 adolescents diagnosed with generalized social phobia were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions (with and without SST) and a control group waiting list (WLCG). The evaluation included self-report measures, observational tests and blind evaluators. Results: Both interventions significantly reduced the number of social situations feared/avoided with respect to the WLCG, which worsened. Likewise, both interventions were effective but the group with SST obtained better results in the post-test and follow-ups, as well as a lower dropout rate (6:1). Conclusions: The use of SST reduces the dropout rate of treated adolescents and increases the effectiveness of the Intervention Program for Adolescents with Social Phobia.     

Perceptions of self-concept and self-presentation by procrastinators: further evidence

Two samples of university students completed self-report measures of chronic procrastination and either self-concept variables (Sample 1, n = 233) or self-presentational styles (Sample 2, n = 210). Results indicated that procrastination was significantly related to a self-concept of oneself as dominated by issues related to task performance, and to self-presentation strategies that reflected a person as continually justifying and excusing task delays and being "needy" of others' approval. It seems that men and women procrastinate in order to improve their social standing by making their accomplishments seem greater than they really are.     

Assessment of school violence and its personal effect on a sample of European students

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of various problems of living together and school violence in a sample of 1629 pupils of Spain, Austria, France, and Hungary. The personal effect of these problems was also analyzed. The results obtained indicate a high prevalence of various school harassment behaviors (such as insults, fights, lack of rules for living together, etc.) in Austria, France, and Spain, being significantly lower in Hungary. As far as the personal effect, along with abusive behaviors among students, the students consider lack of motivation and troubled relations with teaching staff to be very significant.     

Eine Welt ohne Individuelle EntitÄten?

A world without individual entities? An advice to not to extract immediate ontological consequences from quantum theory. Should we assume a world without individual entities? I pledge not to extract immediate ontological consequences from quantum theory. My intention is to focus on the complexity of ontological concepts commonly associated with quantum theory. Using as an example the compatibility of EPR correlations with the existence of individual entities, it is shown that an absolute rejection of an ontological category, based on some aspects of the formalism of quantum theory, does not seem reasonable. A consequence of this argument is that the common sense view – the world is composed of individual entities – can be maintained, despite of the particularities of quantum mechanics.     

Appropriateness of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale for non-White individuals

Analyses of data collected from 480 university students (approximately 56% White and 44% Black) challenge the utility of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) for use with individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds. This size sample allowed for an examination of the psychometric properties and cultural relevance of the MAST for non-Whites. Correlations between scores on the MAST, suicide, and depression measures were in the expected directions for Whites but not for Blacks or Latinos. The White sample data fit the four-factor model of the MAST, but the model required several modifications to fit the data from the Black sample. Verification of the cultural relevance of the MAST and a revision of the scale are recommended to improve its usefulness.     

Emotional perseveration: an update on prefrontal-amygdala interactions in fear extinction

Fear extinction refers to the ability to adapt as situations change by learning to suppress a previously learned fear. This process involves a gradual reduction in the capacity of a fear-conditioned stimulus to elicit fear by presenting the conditioned stimulus repeatedly on its own. Fear extinction is context-dependent and is generally considered to involve the establishment of inhibitory control of the prefrontal cortex over amygdala-based fear processes. In this paper, we review research progress on the neural basis of fear extinction with a focus on the role of the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. We evaluate two competing hypotheses for how the medial prefrontal cortex inhibits amygdala output. In addition, we present new findings showing that lesions of the basal amygdala do not affect fear extinction. Based on this result, we propose an updated model for integrating hippocampal-based contextual information with prefrontal-amygdala circuitry.