Integrating cognitive bias modification into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to integrate recent developments in the retraining of attentional biases towards threat into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia.Method134 participants (M age – 32.4: 53% female) meeting DSM-IV criteria for social phobia received a 12-week cognitive behavioural treatment program. They were randomly allocated to receive on a daily basis using home practice, either an additional computerised probe procedure designed to train attentional resource allocation away from threat, or a placebo variant of this procedure. Measures included diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, life interference, and depression as well as state anxiety in response to a laboratory social threat.ResultsAt the end of treatment there were no significant differences between groups in attentional bias towards threat or in treatment response (all p's > 0.05). Both groups showed similar and highly significant reductions in diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and life interference at post-treatment that was maintained and in most cases increased at 6 month follow-up (uncontrolled effect sizes ranged from d = 0.34 to d = 1.90).ConclusionsThe current results do not indicate that integration of information processing-derived attentional bias modification procedures into standard treatment packages as conducted in this study augments attentional change or enhances treatment efficacy. Further refinement of bias modification techniques, and better methods of integrating them with conventional approaches, may be needed to produce better effects.     

Why does asking questions change health behaviours? The mediating role of attitude accessibility

Objective: The question-behaviour effect (QBE) refers to the finding that measuring behavioural intentions increases performance of the relevant behaviour. This effect has been used to change health behaviours. The present research asks why the QBE occurs and evaluates one possible mediator – attitude accessibility.

Design: University staff and students (N = 151) were randomly assigned to an intention measurement condition where they reported their intentions to eat healthy foods, or to one of two control conditions.

Main outcome measures: Participants completed a response latency measure of attitude accessibility, before healthy eating behaviour was assessed unobtrusively using an objective measure of snacking.

Results: Intention measurement participants exhibited more accessible attitudes towards healthy foods, and were more likely to choose a healthy snack, relative to control participants. Furthermore, attitude accessibility mediated the relationship between intention measurement and behaviour.

Conclusion: This research demonstrates that increased attitude accessibility may explain the QBE, extending the findings of previous research to the domain of health behaviour.     

Adherence to Hormone Replacement Therapy: A Longitudinal Study Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour

The aim of this longitudinal study was to assess the stability and determinants of the intention to adopt HRT over a one-year period using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. At baseline, a total of 644 middle-aged premenopausal women who had never used HRT, were recruited. At follow-up, 417 women completed an interview to assess any change in their reproductive status and in their behavioural intention. Among women who stayed premenopausal (n = 172) and among those who became perimenopausal (n = 209), the intention to adopt HRT was quite stable over the one-year period. However, being perimenopausal had a significant effect on the intention to adopt HRT at follow-up, as did subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and moral norm measured at baseline. Attitude towards HRT did not have a significant effect on the intention to adopt HRT one year later. Therefore, interventions to support women's decision-making about HRT should be tailored to their menopausal status and take into account their perception of social pressure to perform, control over this behaviour and moral obligation.     

The why and how of goal pursuits: Effects of global autonomous motivation and perceived control on emotional well-being

This study examined the effects of global autonomous motivation and global perceived control on young adults’ adaptive goal striving and emotional well-being. We reasoned that autonomously motivated participants who also perceive high levels of control would make accelerated progress with the pursuit of their most important goal and experience associated increases in emotional well-being. By contrast, we predicted that these benefits of autonomous motivation would be reduced among participants who perceive low levels of control. A 6-month longitudinal study of 125 college students was conducted, and self-reported global autonomous motivation, global perceived control, progress towards the most important goal, and emotional well-being were assessed. Regression analyses showed that the combination of high baseline levels of global autonomous motivation and global perceived control was associated with accelerated goal progress after 6 months, which mediated 6-month increases in emotional well-being. These benefits were not apparent among autonomously motivated participants who perceived low levels of control. The study’s findings suggest that global autonomous motivation and perceived control may need to work together to foster adaptive goal striving and emotional well-being.     

Designing volunteers’ tasks to maximize motivation,satisfaction and performance: The impact of job characteristics on volunteer engagement

We conducted a field study to test the applicability of the job characteristics model (JCM) in volunteer organizations and examine the impact of job characteristics on volunteer motivation, satisfaction and intent to quit, as well as test a measure of volunteer performance. One hundred and twenty-four volunteers completed measures of job characteristics, motivation, satisfaction, and intent to quit. Supervisors rated volunteer task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Results showed that job characteristics were related to volunteers’ autonomous motivation, satisfaction and performance. Autonomous motivation acted as a mediator in the relationship between job characteristics and satisfaction. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Students’ perception of teachers’ two-way feedback interactions that impact learning

Social Psychology of Education - Teacher-student interactions are fundamental to learning outcomes. However, the facilitation of student-defined, in-class two-way feedback interaction is...     

Identification and the commitment shift: accounting for gender differences in relationship illusions

Previous work revealed gender differences in relationship illusions. Women, and not men, perceived their dating partners more favorably than their partners' self-perceptions. In two studies, the authors replicated these findings and showed they are moderated by relationship commitment but not by relationship satisfaction. Dating men low in commitment devalued their partners' virtues, whereas those high in commitment exaggerated their partners' virtues compared to their partners' self-perceptions. In contrast, dating women showed relationship illusions irrespective of their commitment. In Study 2, similar results were obtained with relationship-specific identification. Moreover, men's commitment mediated the effect of identification with the relationship. This suggests that gender differences in relationship identities exist at a general level and that men need to identify with and then commit to a specific relationship before they exhibit pro-relationship thinking, which women exhibit as general dispositions.     

Thematic role focusing by participle inflections: evidence from conceptual combination

The authors examined how people integrate knowledge of agents and patients of events with the temporal and causal properties of present and past participles to constrain interpretation of isolated participle-noun phrases like arresting cop and arrested crook. Good-agent head nouns were more easily combined with present participles (e.g., arresting cop) than with past participles (e.g., arrested cop), and the reverse was true for good patients. Furthermore, present-participle good-patient phrases (e.g., serving customer) were often interpreted as verb phrases. This research provides further evidence of the interaction between morphosyntactic cues and world knowledge of events in language comprehension.     

A longitudinal analysis of motivation profiles at work

Motivation and Emotion - This paper examines the multidimensional nature of workplace motivation and the importance of a continuum structure in self-determination theory through application of...