Subjective probability intervals: how to reduce overconfidence by interval evaluation

Format dependence implies that assessment of the same subjective probability distribution produces different conclusions about over- or underconfidence depending on the assessment format. In 2 experiments, the authors demonstrate that the overconfidence bias that occurs when participants produce intervals for an uncertain quantity is almost abolished when they evaluate the probability that the same intervals include the quantity. The authors successfully apply a method for adaptive adjustment of probability intervals as a debiasing tool and discuss a tentative explanation in terms of a naive sampling model. According to this view, people report their experiences accurately, but they are naive in that they treat both sample proportion and sample dispersion as unbiased estimators, yielding small bias in probability evaluation but strong bias in interval production.     

Can attentional theory explain the inverse base rate effect? Comment on Kruschke (2001)

In J. K. Kruschke's (2001; see record 2001-18940-005) study, it is argued that attentional theory is the sole satisfactory explanation of the inverse base rate effect and that eliminative inference (P. Juslin, P. Wennerholm, & A. Winman, 2001; see record 2001-07828-016) plays no role in the phenomenon. In this comment, the authors demonstrate that, in contrast to the central tenets of attentional theory, (a) rapid attention shifts as implemented in ADIT decelerate learning in the inverse base-rate task and (b) the claim that the inverse base-rate effect is directly caused by an attentional asymmetry is refuted by data. It is proposed that a complete account of the inverse base-rate effect needs to integrate attention effects with inference rules that are flexibly used for both induction and elimination.     

Body image attitudes and concerns among indigenous Fijian and European Australian adolescent girls

Research on body image has primarily been conducted among Western women who highly value the thin ideal body size. There has been limited research that has examined body image attitudes among Fijian adolescent girls who are exposed to both traditional sociocultural pressures that promote a larger body size and Western pressures that promote slimness. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, we examined the factors associated with body image attitudes and concerns among a sample of 16 indigenous Fijian and 16 European Australian adolescent girls aged between 13–18 years. An inductive analysis of girls’ responses indicated that both groups of girls experienced body image concerns including body dissatisfaction, a preference for thinness and concerns associated with weight gain. These findings have implications for our understanding of the role of culture in shaping body image among girls and may prove useful in the development of future survey research that can be implemented among both Fijian and Western adolescents.     

Interviewing children with the cognitive interview: assessing the reliability of statements based on observed and imagined events

This paper investigated whether criteria stemming from the Reality Monitoring (RM) framework could be trusted to assess the reliability of statements obtained by the use of a cognitive interview (CI). Fifty-eight children, aged 10-11, participated. One-third watched a film about a fakir and were then interviewed according to a CI (n= 19). The remaining two-thirds made up a story about a fakir and were then interviewed according to either a CI (n= 21), or a structured interview (SI) (n= 18). The CI statements based on observed events contained more visual, affective, spatial and temporal information compared to CI statements based on imagined events. The CI statements based on imagined events did not differ from the SI statements based on imagined events. Considerable developmental work is recommended to turn the RM technique to a reliable test that could be used by practitioners.     

Basic information processing of neurotics and stables: an experimental ERP approach to personality and distractibility

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of level of neuroticism on electrophysiological event-related potentials (ERPs) to different kinds of stimuli. The neuroticism items from the NEO-PI-R were administered to 168 female, right-handed undergraduates between 19 and 29 years of age. 20 highly neurotic and 22 highly stable persons underwent an ERP task that was designed to be a combination of an auditory P3a and a visual P3b oddball task. No significant differences in the P3a and P3b were detected. It is concluded that highly neurotic and highly stable persons do not differ in fast neurocognitive processing of neutral stimuli, and that cognitive differences between the groups may be located at another level in the sequence of information processing stages.     

Alexithymia,memory of emotion,emotional awareness,and perfectionism

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) is a self-assessment instrument designed to measure deficits in meta-emotional functioning (e.g., difficulties in identifying and describing emotions). Four studies were carried out to examine the association between the TAS-20 and (a) performance measures of meta-emotional functioning (memory of emotion and emotional awareness; Studies 1-2) and (b) measures of perfectionistic standards that may possibly be involved in the self-assessment of abilities-difficulties (Studies 3-4). The TAS-20 failed to correlate in the predicted direction with the performance measures but showed sizable correlations with measures of perfectionism. Moreover, perfectionism was found to predict TAS-20 scores independent of depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints. The results are discussed in terms of the TAS-20 measuring primarily certain aspects of meta-emotional self-efficacy.     

Tracking fear in snake and spider fearful participants during visual search: A multi-response domain study

In visual search tasks snake or spider fearful participants showed shorter reaction times (RTs) to respond to their feared animal (e.g., snake) than to the nonfeared animal (i.e., spider) (Öhman, Flykt, & Esteves, 2001). Here, we used this paradigm with heart rate (HR), RTs, and event-related potential (ERP) measures, to investigate the nature of the responses to the feared animal, a nonfeared (but fear-relevant) animal, and fear-irrelevant target stimuli with snake fearful, spider fearful, and nonfearful participants. Fearful participants showed shorter RTs and evoked larger amplitudes on a late positive potential (LPP; 500–700 ms) for their feared compared to the nonfeared and the fear-irrelevant targets. No relevant significant differences were found on early ERP components and HR measures. These findings do not support an involvement of early information processing in the detection of the feared animal in fearful participants, they favour instead a more elaborated analysis of these complex stimuli to achieve the detection.     

Countertransference and changes in the conception of the psychoanalytic relationship

Abstract

The concept of countertransference has a long history in psychoanalysis. This paper sketches the phenomenon referred to by countertransference and the development of the concept, from being signs of disturbance in the analyst to an important road to knowledge about the patient's inner life. The complexity of the questions discussed today – how to understand the concepts of neutrality, abstinence, and empathy; the relative subjective mutuality and symmetry of the analytic situation; the analyst's enactments and self-disclosure of feelings – reflects the complexity of the contemporary view of the patient–analyst relationship. In conclusion, the author presents a model illustrating the disturbing and informative aspects of countertransference together with the conceptual relationship between countertransference on the one hand and empathy and projective identification on the other. Finally, by differentiating between intuitive and irrational levels of functioning, an integrated model for countertransference is presented, synthesising the essence of the concept as it is used today.     

Harnessing graphics processing units for improved neuroimaging statistics

Simple models and algorithms based on restrictive assumptions are often used in the field of neuroimaging for studies involving functional magnetic resonance imaging, voxel based morphometry, and diffusion tensor imaging. Nonparametric statistical methods or flexible Bayesian models can be applied rather easily to yield more trustworthy results. The spatial normalization step required for multisubject studies can also be improved by taking advantage of more robust algorithms for image registration. A common drawback of algorithms based on weaker assumptions, however, is the increase in computational complexity. In this short overview, we will therefore present some examples of how inexpensive PC graphics hardware, normally used for demanding computer games, can be used to enable practical use of more realistic models and accurate algorithms, such that the outcome of neuroimaging studies really can be trusted.