Assessing vividness of mental imagery: The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire

Mental imagery may occur in any sensory modality, although visual imagery has been most studied. A sensitive measure of the vividness of imagery across a range of modalities is needed: the shorter version of Bett's Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (Sheehan, 1967 , J. Clin. Psychology, 23, 386) uses outdated items and has an unreliable factor structure. We report the development and initial validation of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi‐Q) comprising items for each of the following modalities: Vision, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, Bodily Sensation, and Emotional Feeling. An exploratory factor analysis on a 35‐item form indicated that these modalities formed separate factors, rather than a single imagery factor, and this was replicated by confirmatory factor analysis. The Psi‐Q was validated against the Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (Reisberg et al., 2003 , Appl. Cogn. Psychology, 17, 147) and Marks' ( 1995 , J. Mental Imagery, 19, 153) Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire‐2 (VVIQ‐2). A short 21‐item form comprising the best three items from the seven factors correlated with the total score and subscales of the full form, and with the VVIQ‐2. Inspection of the data shows that while visual and sound imagery is most often rated as vivid, individuals who rate one modality as strong and the other as weak are not uncommon. Findings are interpreted within a working memory framework and point to the need for further research to identify the specific cognitive processes underlying the vividness of imagery across sensory modalities.     

Psychometric Aspects of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Implications for Clinical Assessment and Research

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) is a self-report measure that assesses self-criticism and dependency, 2 personality traits that confer vulnerability to depression (Blatt, 2004 Blatt, S. J. (2004). Experiences of depression: Theoretical, clinical, and research perspectives. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Over several decades, different, shortened versions of the DEQ have been constructed to offer an alternative to the complex scoring procedure of the original DEQ. This study explores the factor structure as well as the construct and convergent validity of the DEQ by comparing a clinical and nonclinical sample. We also compared the original DEQ with 5 shortened versions. There were 621 participants (358 university students and 263 outpatients). Fit indexes for models of the original DEQ did not meet minimum fit criteria. Moreover, the only versions with satisfactory fit were the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–21 (TDEQ–21) and the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–12 (TDEQ–12), which also showed acceptable construct and convergent validity. Finally, the diagnostic and clinical applicability of the DEQ is discussed.     

Structural Equation Models in a Redundancy Analysis Framework With Covariates

A recent method to specify and fit structural equation modeling in the Redundancy Analysis framework based on so-called Extended Redundancy Analysis (ERA) has been proposed in the literature. In this approach, the relationships between the observed exogenous variables and the observed endogenous variables are moderated by the presence of unobservable composites, estimated as linear combinations of exogenous variables. However, in the presence of direct effects linking exogenous and endogenous variables, or concomitant indicators, the composite scores are estimated by ignoring the presence of the specified direct effects.

To fit structural equation models, we propose a new specification and estimation method, called Generalized Redundancy Analysis (GRA), allowing us to specify and fit a variety of relationships among composites, endogenous variables, and external covariates. The proposed methodology extends the ERA method, using a more suitable specification and estimation algorithm, by allowing for covariates that affect endogenous indicators indirectly through the composites and/or directly. To illustrate the advantages of GRA over ERA we propose a simulation study of small samples. Moreover, we propose an application aimed at estimating the impact of formal human capital on the initial earnings of graduates of an Italian university, utilizing a structural model consistent with well-established economic theory.     

One, two, three, four, or is there something more? Numerical discrimination in day-old domestic chicks

Human adults master sophisticated, abstract numerical calculations that are mostly based on symbolic language and thus inimitably human. Humans may nonetheless share a subset of non-verbal numerical skills, available soon after birth and considered the evolutionary foundation of more complex numerical reasoning, with other animals. These skills are thought to be based on the two systems: the object file system which processes small values (<3) and the analogue magnitude system which processes large magnitudes (>4). Infants’ ability to discriminate 1 vs. 2, 1 vs. 3, 2 vs. 3, but not 1 vs. 4, seems to indicate that the two systems are independent, implying that the conception of a continuous number processing system is based on precursors that appear to be interrupted at or about the number four. The findings from the study being presented here indicating that chicks are able to make a series of discriminations regarding that borderline number (1 vs. 4, 1 vs. 5, 2 vs. 4) support the hypothesis that there is continuity in the number system which processes both small and large numerousness.     

Making it mental: in search for the golden mean of the extended cognition controversy

This paper engages the extended cognition controversy by advancing a theory which fits nicely into an attractive and surprisingly unoccupied conceptual niche situated comfortably between traditional individualism and the radical externalism espoused by the majority of supporters of the extended mind hypothesis. I call this theory moderate active externalism, or MAE. In alliance with other externalist theories of cognition, MAE is committed to the view that certain cognitive processes extend across brain, body, and world—a conclusion which follows from a theory I develop in “Synergic Coordination: an argument for cognitive process externalism.” Yet, in contradistinction with radical externalism, and in agreement with the internalist orthodoxy, MAE defends the view that mental states are situated invariably inside our heads. This is done, inter alia, by developing a novel hypothesis regarding the vehicles of content (in “Extended cognition without externalized mental states”, and by criticizing arguments in support of mental states externalism (in “Reflections and objections”). The result, I believe, is a coherent theoretical alternative worthy of serious consideration.     

Advanced Brief Strategic Therapy: An overview of interventions with eating disorders to exemplify how theory and practice work

This paper aims at introducing some of the central aspects of the evolution that brief strategic therapy has undergone at the Centro di Terapia Strategica of Arezzo, Italy, towards advanced therapeutic strategies which differ from the original Palo Alto model. (Fisch, Weakland, &; Segal, 1982; Watzlawick, 1978 Watzlawick, P. 1978. The language of change: Elements of therapeutic communication, New York: Basic Books.  [Google Scholar]; Watzlawick, Beavin, &; Jackson, 1967; Watzlawick, Weakland, &; Fisch, 1974). We will focus on how the concept of self-deception is central to the formation and the persistence of psychological disorders; and how the usage of non-ordinary logics and the understanding of the individual's perceptive-reactive system are of key importance in unravelling such disorders, allowing the therapist to guide the patient towards an efficacious and efficient solution. Rather than attempting to describe and enlist the theoretical corpus that underlies brief strategic therapy, we have chosen to exemplify some focal concepts that connect theory to practice, and vice versa, by presenting the outline of some therapeutic protocols devised for solving eating disorders which can be specifically tailored for each individual patient.     

An investigation of phonology and orthography in spoken-word recognition.

The possible influence of initial phonological and/or orthographic information on spoken-word processing was examined in six experiments modelled after and extending the work Jakimik, Cole, and Rudnicky (1985). Following Jakimik et al., Experiment 1 used polysyllabic primes with monosyllabic targets (e.g., BUCKLE-BUCK/[symbol: see text]; MYSTERY-MISS,/[symbol: see text]). Experiments 2, 3, and 4 used polysyllabic primes and polysyllabic targets whose initial syllables shared phonological information (e.g., NUISANCE-NOODLE,/[symbol: see text]), orthographic information (e.g., RATIO-RATIFY,/[symbol: see text]), both (e.g., FUNNEL-FUNNY,/[symbol: see text]), or were unrelated (e.g., SERMON-NOODLE,/[symbol: see text]). Participants engaged in a lexical decision (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) or a shadowing (Experiment 2) task with a single-trial (Experiments 2 and 3) or subsequent-trial (Experiments 1 and 4) priming procedure. Experiment 5 tested primes and targets that varied in the number of shared graphemes while holding shared phonemes constant at one. Experiment 6 used the procedures of Experiment 2 but a low proportion of related trials. Results revealed that response times were facilitated for prime-target pairs that shared initial phonological and orthographic information. These results were confirmed under conditions when strategic processing was greatly reduced suggesting that phonological and orthographic information is automatically activated during spoken-word processing.     

Psychological correlates of salivary cortisol secretion among unemployed men and women

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between psychological factors and salivary cortisol secretion (baseline level, reactivity to laboratory stressors) in a sample of 59 long-term unemployed men and women (mean age 42±10 years). Subjects were divided into four groups according to their basal levels of salivary cortisol as well as their reactivity to experimental stress (stress level minus baseline): (1) low base/low reactivity; (2) high base/low reactivity; (3) low base/high reactivity; and (4) high base/high reactivity. The low base/low reactivity group was characterized by significantly higher somatic anxiety, muscular tension, irritability, and depression (Beck’s Depression Inventory) and lower perceived control (mastery) than the other groups. The low base/high reactivity group was also characterized by depression and low perceived control. The high base/low reactivity group was higher in terms of monotony avoidance, Type-A behavior (JAS) and mastery, but lower in depression. The results indicate that (1) individuals with personality traits reflecting emotional distress are more vulnerable to exhaustion of the HPA-axis following long-term unemployment and (2) monotony avoidance and Type-A behavior, at least temporarily, seem to exert a beneficial influence on mental well-being among long-term unemployed individuals.     

The Individuation Process in Post-Modernity

C. G. Jung defined individuation as the process of differentiation from the general collective psychology—from the norms and the values of the society in which the individual is immersed. Accordingly, individuation occurs in relation to the culture of the time and the zeitgeist. During the second half of life, the process, according to Jung, takes the shape of a lifetime dynamic dialogue between the ego and the unconscious contents, aiming to reach psychic completeness. One of the participants in this dialogue is the ego, and since the ego necessarily develops inside a culture, this part of the individuation process also occurs in relation to the culture of the time. We are now fully immersed in post-modernity, and the zeitgeist is represented by the society of technology. In relation to this totally new scenario, do we still deal with the same individuation process described by Jung? How many of our patients confront themselves with the Self and its symbols, stepping toward some kind of psychic totality? This article hints at different forms of individuation reflective of our post-modern technologically dominated times, and it touches upon the concept of the end of meaning and the “death of God.” Considering this epochal passage, we might be compelled to outline a further form of individuation: that of a conscious revolt of the ego toward its basic ingredients (will to power, primary narcissism, and need of identity) and toward the old image of the Self, so similar to that God that should be dead.