Competitive Memory Training (COMET) for Panic and Applied Relaxation (AR) Are Equally Effective in the Treatment of Panic in Panic-Disordered Patients

While various psychological interventions, among them Applied Relaxation (AR), are effective in treating patients with panic disorder, there is still room for improvement. Competitive Memory Training (COMET) is a transdiagnostic intervention, slightly different variants of which have proven to be successful in several psychopathological conditions in different patient populations. The objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of COMET for panic disorder with AR in a group of panic-disordered patients (with or without agoraphobia) in a routine clinical setting. A total of 143 panic-disordered patients were randomized over two (group) treatment conditions: seven sessions of AR, or seven sessions of COMET. Measurements were made at pre- and post intervention. Both treatments resulted in significant amelioration of panic and phobic symptoms; this beneficial effect was relatively large for the primary outcome measure. However, there were no significant differences between the two treatments for any of the outcome measures. COMET and AR appear to be equally effective in treating panic in panic-disordered patients.     

Reversible decisions: The grass isn't merely greener on the other side; it's also very brown over here

People generally say they prefer to have the opportunity to revise decisions at a later point in time. Research has shown, however, that reversible decision-making leads to lower as opposed to higher levels of post-choice satisfaction (Gilbert & Ebert, 2002). In three studies we aimed to gain insight into the underlying processes driving this counterintuitive finding. Our results show that irreversible decision-making increases the accessibility of the positive aspects of the chosen and the negative aspects of the rejected alternatives. Hence, in line with what would be expected on the basis of cognitive dissonance theory, irreversible decision-making results in a focus on aspects of the decision that optimize choice satisfaction. After reversible decision-making, however, the negative aspects of the chosen and the positive aspects of the rejected alternatives tend to become relatively more accessible. Apparently, reversible decisions automatically direct people's attention to those aspects of the decision that potentially decrease satisfaction with the chosen alternative.     

Deus or Darwin: Randomness and belief in theories about the origin of life

A simple reminder of the fact that we do not always control life's outcomes reduced people's belief in Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This control-threat resulted in a relative preference for theories of life that thwart randomness, either by stressing the role of a controlling God (Intelligent Design) or by presenting the Theory of Evolution in terms of predictable and orderly processes. Moreover, increased preference for Intelligent Design over evolutionary theory disappeared when the latter was framed in terms of an orderly process with inevitable outcomes. Thus, psychological threat enhances belief in God, but only in the absence of other options that help to create order in the world.     

The Clergy Occupational Distress Index (CODI): Background and Findings from Two Samples of Clergy

This study demonstrates the reliability and validity of the Clergy Occupational Distress Index (CODI). The five-item index allows researchers to measure the frequency that clergy, who traditionally have not been the subject of occupational health studies, experience occupational distress. We assess the reliability and validity of the index using two samples of clergy: a nationally representative sample of clergy and a sample of clergy from nine Protestant denominations. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s scores are generated. Construct validity is measured by examining the association between CODI scores and depressive symptoms while controlling for demographic, ministerial, and health variables. In both samples, the five items of the CODI load onto a single factor and the Cronbach’s alpha scores are robust. The regression model indicates that a high score on the CODI (i.e., more frequent occupational distress) is positively associated with having depressive symptoms within the last 4 weeks. The CODI can be used to identify clergy who frequently experience occupational distress and to understand how occupational distress affects clergy’s health, ministerial career, and the functioning of their congregation.     

Rumination and worrying as possible mediators in the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety in clinically depressed individuals

Rumination and worrying are considered possible mediating variables that may explain the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The current study sought to examine the mediational effects of rumination and worry in the relationships between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a sample of clinically depressed individuals (N = 198). All patients completed a battery of questionnaires including measures of neuroticism, rumination, worrying, depression, and anxiety. Results showed that in subsequent analyses, rumination and worrying both mediated the relation between neuroticism and depression and anxiety. When rumination and worrying were simultaneously entered in the mediation analysis, only rumination was found to mediate the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Two components of rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) were also analyzed in the mediational analysis. Both reflection and brooding were significant mediators with respect to depressive symptoms, whereas brooding was the only significant mediator in relation to anxiety symptoms. The results are discussed in the light of current theories, previous research, and recent treatment developments. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Impact of Elaboration on Responding to Situational Judgment Test Items

Although faking has been identified as a potential problem in situational judgment tests (SJTs), no studies have investigated proactive approaches for controlling faking in SJTs. Therefore, this study examined the impact of elaboration on responding to SJT items. Elaboration was operationalized as reason‐giving. Two hundred and forty‐seven master students were assigned to either an honest or a fake condition, and to a non‐elaboration or an elaboration condition. Results showed that elaboration decreased the effect of faking for items with high familiarity. Elaboration on familiar items also decreased the percentage of fakers in the top of the distribution. Next, participants in the elaboration condition rated the SJT significantly higher in terms of allowing them to present themselves more realistically and to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Finally, there were no significant differences in participants' satisfaction with the SJT across the elaboration and non‐elaboration condition.     

Ambivalence, discomfort, and motivated information processing

In two studies we examined the nature and consequence of ambivalent attitudes. In the first study, we assessed whether holding ambivalent attitudes was aversive, and tested whether this aversion was resolved through biased information processing. To do this we manipulated participants’ attributions of the discomfort associated with an ambivalent message through a pill manipulation (tense vs. relaxed). Participants who attributed their discomfort to their ambivalence reported more negative emotions and generated more one-sided thoughts than participants who attributed their discomfort to the pill. In the second study, we examined the conditions necessary for ambivalence reduction. Results suggest that people spontaneously engage in biased information processing in order to resolve their ambivalence.     

From good and bad to can and must: subjective necessity of acts associated with positively and negatively valued stimuli

In Study 1, 24 participants generated sentences expressing ways of dealing with positively and negatively valued noun stimuli (objects and humans). They were instructed to begin each sentence with One + auxiliary verb. The auxiliary was to be selected from a set including auxiliaries expressing high (must) and low (can) necessity. As predicted on the basis of a minimal nonsocial model of behavioral adaptation, higher necessity was associated with negative stimuli than with positive stimuli. In Study 2, this effect was replicated using trait adjectives as stimuli. Consistent with the model, the effect was produced by stimulus valences belonging to an approach‐avoidance related evaluative dimension ‘other‐profitability’. However, additional effects, involving an alternative evaluative dimension ‘self‐profitability’, were not fully accounted for by the model. They suggested that genuine social factors were involved that, however, were only required to explain some marginal effects. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.