Effects of dispositional self-focus,appraisal and attention instructions on responses to a threatening stimulus

Abstract

Two studies are reported which explored the relationship between self-focused attention and anxiety. The first study tested the hypotheses that self-focused attention is associated with anxiety in threatening situations and that the relationship is mediated by negative appraisal processes. Study 1 showed no significant interaction between self-focus and negative appraisal on state-anxiety. However, self-focus was associated with increments in state-anxiety, high levels of worry and somatic symptom reports in a threatening situation. The relationship between self-focus and state-anxiety was mediated by somatic symptoms. Study 2 used cognitive and somatic self-attention instructions and external focus instructions to verify the hypothesis that self-focus on somatic arousal is associated with anxiety. It is concluded that specific self-focusing tendencies are associated with the elicitation and exacerbation of anxiety.     

The Selfishness Questionnaire: Egocentric,Adaptive, and Pathological Forms of Selfishness

Despite its importance in society, there is virtually no standardized research on the personality trait of selfishness, in part due to the absence of an assessment instrument. The central aim of this study was to develop a brief (2–3 min) self-report personality measure of selfishness with three main subtypes: egocentric, adaptive, and pathological. Questionnaires were administered to an undergraduate sample, with replicability and generalizability tested on a community population. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of the three hypothesized forms of selfishness. Good internal reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, factorial validity, incremental validity, and criterion validity were documented. Selfishness was associated with reduced levels of mindfulness and more utilitarian decision making, whereas Tibetan Buddhist monks were less selfish than controls. Findings from the student sample were replicated in the community sample. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic examination of the personality construct of selfishness and the first instrument to assess selfishness and its variants.     

An experimental manipulation of metacognition: A test of the metacognitive model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms

The metacognitive model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms [Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: A practice manual and conceptual guide. Chichester, UK: Wiley] assigns a necessary causal role to metacognitive beliefs in the development of symptoms. The current study tested the model by evaluating the effects of experimentally manipulating such beliefs. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used. Thirty-two students with high and 32 students with low obsessional symptoms were subject to an experimental (metacognitive belief induction) or control (no metacognitive belief induction) condition. All participants underwent fake EEG recordings and were informed that the EEG could sense hypothalamus activity caused by having thoughts related to drinking. Participants in the experimental condition were told that if such thoughts were detected they may be exposed to an aversive noise. Controls were told that they may hear an aversive noise but this would be unrelated to the thoughts they had. Results showed a significant interaction effect between level of obsessional symptoms and belief induction. Analysis of this effect demonstrated that in the high obsession group, participants in the experimental condition had significantly more intrusions about drinking, time spent thinking about these intrusions and discomfort from them, than controls. There were also significant main effects on some measures, such as effort to control intrusions about drinking, with higher scores in the experimental condition irrespective of levels of obsessional symptoms. Results support the metacognitive model.     

Examining Conspiracist Beliefs About the Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

Previous studies have suggested that conspiracist ideation forms part of a monological belief system in which one conspiracist idea acts as evidence for new conspiracist ideas. Here, we examined this possibility in relation to an event lacking reliable or conclusive evidence, namely the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. A total of 914 members of the British general public completed scales measuring their beliefs about the disappearance of Earhart and Noonan, belief in conspiracy theories, the Big Five personality factors, support for democratic principles, political cynicism, self-esteem, and self-assessed intelligence. Results showed that belief in conspiracy theories was associated with the endorsement of less plausible explanations for the disappearance of Earhart and Noonan. In addition, belief in less plausible explanations was also significantly associated with lower self-assessed intelligence, greater political cynicism, lower self-esteem, and higher Agreeableness scores. These results are discussed in relation to monological belief systems.     

Gender,g, Gender Identity Concepts,and Self-Constructs as Predictors of the Self-Estimated IQ

In all 102 participants completed 2 intelligence tests, a self-estimated domain-masculine (DMIQ) intelligence rating (which is a composite of self-rated mathematical–logical and spatial intelligence), a measure of self-esteem, and of self-control. The aim was to confirm and extend previous findings about the role of general intelligence and gender identity in self-assessed intelligence. It aimed to examine further correlates of the Hubris-Humility Effect that shows men believe they are more intelligent than women. The DMIQ scores were correlated significantly with gender, psychometrically assessed IQ, and masculinity but not self-esteem or self-control. Stepwise regressions indicated that gender and gender role were the strongest predictors of DMIQ accounting for a third of the variance.     

The study of religion in West Africa 1959–1969

Messianic Judaism is an American-born movement of congregations that hold evangelical beliefs and follow Jewish practices. Scholars have viewed it chiefly as a new religious movement (NRM) or a controversial branch of Judaism. As a result, they have downplayed or ignored its largely evangelical Christian base. The first study of ‘gentile believers,’ this article argues that Messianic Judaism is best understood through the lens of religious seeking, a trend usually associated with alternative spiritualities and still under-theorized vis-à-vis conservative Christians, like evangelicals. First, it traces why Messianic Judaism appeals to growing numbers of North American Christians. Second, and more broadly, it argues that seeking is a spiritually satisfying religious practice that, for evangelicals, reiterates central themes of born-again life. Their experiences also clarify the limits that may constrain religious seeking; they seek to deepen and actualize a biblical worldview in religious sites viewed as proximate to their own.     

On counsellors' investment in theory

Abstract

Working as a counsellor presupposes some kind of relationship to theory. No such relationship could be acquired without considerable investment of personal resources. But sometimes the significance with which theories or theoretical outlooks are invested can interfere with actual communication, as, for instance, when the awkward issue of theoretical difference can seem to become the real agenda in discussions ostensibly about clinical material. Such occurrences are the product of strong mutual influence between individuals' investments and the current interpersonal situation.     

The visuospatial functions in children after cerebellar low‐grade astrocytoma surgery: A contribution to the pediatric neuropsychology of the cerebellum

The aim of this study was to specify whether cerebellar lesions cause visuospatial impairments in children. The study sample consisted of 40 children with low‐grade cerebellar astrocytoma, who underwent surgical treatment and 40 healthy controls matched with regard to age and sex. Visuospatial abilities were tested using the spatial WISC‐R subtests (Block Design and Object Assembly), Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure, Benton Judgment of Line Orientation Test, PEBL Mental Rotation Task, and Benton Visual Retention Test. To exclude general diffuse intellectual dysfunction, the WISC‐R Verbal Intelligence IQ, Performance IQ, and Full‐Scale IQ scores were analysed. Post‐surgical medical consequences were measured with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale. Compared to controls, the cerebellar group manifested problems with mental rotation of objects, visuospatial organization, planning, and spatial construction processes which could not be explained by medical complications or general intellectual retardation. The intensity of visuospatial syndrome highly depends on cerebellar lesion side. Patients with left‐sided cerebellar lesions display more severe spatial problems than those with right‐sided cerebellar lesions. In conclusion, focal cerebellar lesions in children affect their visuospatial ability. The impairments profile is characterized by deficits in complex spatial processes such as visuospatial organization and mental rotation, requiring reconstruction of visual stimuli using the imagination, while elementary sensory analysis and perception as well as spatial processes requiring direct manipulation of objects are relatively better preserved. This pattern is analogous to the one previously observed in adult population and appears to be typical for cerebellar pathology in general, regardless of age.     

Managing Anxiety: A Therapist Common Factor

In this paper, we propose that therapist anxiety in the therapy room, especially anxiety stirred up by difficult or triggering clients, represents a challenge to effective therapy, and that effective management of this anxiety be considered as a necessary therapist skill for conducting quality couple and family therapy (CFT). We propose that effective therapists need to be able to manage their emotions, especially their anxiety, in order to truly help their clients. The failure to do this can lead to break downs in the alliance and the flow of therapy, and these deleterious effects can be prevented when therapists actively navigate their internal states through self-awareness and ongoing introspection. Bridging psychotherapy literature, we discuss specific strategies to this end, and make clinical recommendations for CFTs and CFT training programs.