Within-compound associations in retrospective revaluation and in direct learning: A challenge for comparator theory

In three human causal learning experiments we investigated the role of within-compound associations in learning about absent cues versus learning about present cues. Different theoretical approaches agree that within-compound associations are essential for learning about absent cues-that is, for retrospective revaluation. They differ, however, with regard to the role of within-compound associations for learning about present cues-that is, for direct learning. A memory test was used to assess within-compound associations. Experiment 1 used a blocking/release from overshadowing design, Experiment 2 used a conditioned inhibition design, and Experiment 3 used a higher-order cue selection design. In all experiments, first-order retrospective revaluation was significantly correlated with within-compound associations, but no significant correlations were found for the direct learning conditions. In addition to this, second-order retrospective revaluation in Experiment 3 was positively correlated to joint knowledge of first-order and second-order within-compound associations. Furthermore, cue selection effects were stronger for direct learning conditions than for retrospective learning conditions. These results are at variance with the comparator hypothesis but are in agreement with a modified associative theory and with the suggestion that retrospective revaluation might be due to rehearsal processes.     

Occupational factors and 5-year weight change among men in a danish national cohort.

This study explored whether factors related to the work environment could predict changes in body mass index (BMI) and whether the effect of psychosocial factors was dependent on baseline BMI. The sample consisted of 1,980 male employees from the Danish National Work Environment Cohort Study. Changes in BMI between 1995 and 2000 were analyzed, by multiple regression, as a function of background variables and a series of occupational variables obtained in 1995. Age, baseline BMI, job insecurity, and psychological demands predicted changes in BMI. Job insecurity and high or low psychological demands increased the likelihood of weight gain among obese employees, whereas they increased the likelihood of weight loss among employees with a low BMI.     

Sleep normalization and decrease in dissociative experiences: evaluation in an inpatient sample

We conducted a longitudinal study to investigate the relation between sleep experiences and dissociative symptoms in a mixed inpatient sample at a private clinic evaluated on arrival and at discharge 6 to 8 weeks later. Using hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling, we found a link between sleep experiences and dissociative symptoms and determined that specifically decreases in narcoleptic experiences rather than insomnia accompany a reduction in dissociative symptoms. Although sleep improvements were associated with a general reduction in psychopathology, this reduction could not fully account for the substantial and specific effect that we found for dissociation. Our findings are consistent with Watson's (2001) hypothesis that disruptions in the sleep-wake cycle lead to intrusions of sleep phenomena into waking consciousness, resulting in dissociative experiences. Accordingly, sleep hygiene may contribute to the treatment or prevention of dissociative symptoms.     

Brain potentials for derivational morphology: an ERP study of deadjectival nominalizations in Spanish

This study investigates brain potentials to derived word forms in Spanish. Two experiments were performed on derived nominals that differ in terms of their productivity and semantic properties but are otherwise similar, an acceptability judgment task and a reading experiment using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in which correctly and incorrectly formed derived words were presented in sentence contexts. The first experiment indicated productivity differences between the different nominalization processes in Spanish. The second experiment yielded a pattern of ERP responses that differed from both the familiar lexical-semantic and grammatical ERP effects. Violations of derivational morphology elicited an increased N400 component plus a late positivity (P600), unlike gender-agreement violations, which produced the biphasic LAN/P600 ERP pattern known from previous studies of morpho-syntactic violations. We conclude that the recognition of derived word forms engages both word-level (lexical-semantic) and decompositional (morpheme-based) processes.     

Survival processing in times of stress

Recent studies have found that processing information according to an evolutionary relevant (i.e., survival) scenario improves its subsequent memorability, potentially as a result of fitness advantages gained in the ancestral past. So far, research has not revealed much about any proximate mechanisms that might underlie this so-called survival processing advantage in memory. Intriguingly, research has shown that the memorability of stressful situations is enhanced via the release of stress hormones acting on brain regions involved in memory. Since survival situations habitually involve some degree of stress, in the present study, we investigated whether stress serves as a proximate mechanism to promote survival processing. Participants rated words for their relevance to either a survival or a neutral (moving) scenario after they had been exposed to a psychosocial stressor or a no-stress control condition. Surprise retention tests immediately following the rating task revealed that survival processing and acute stress independently boosted memory performance. These results therefore suggest that stress does not serve as a proximate mechanism of the survival processing advantage in memory.     

How Emotional Stability and Openness to Experience Support Invention: A Study with German Independent Inventors

How does invention depend on personality? Do inventors differ from noninventors? This study investigated the personal factors influencing a sample of independent inventors in Germany (N = 69). Standardized psychological questionnaires were employed to assess the Big Five personality dimensions, willingness to take risks, self-concept, and self-efficacy. For a comparison with noninventors, scores from reference samples were taken. Hypotheses were formulated based on research into creativity and entrepreneurship and the normative DABEI Stage Model of invention. As expected, the independent inventors showed higher levels of extraversion and openness to experience. In addition, independent inventors stood out in terms of emotional stability (low neuroticism scores). Surprisingly, in this sample success as an inventor correlated negatively with openness to experience. The interpretation is along the lines that inventors may work in a focused manner and technical implementation of an innovative idea may be optimized with great persistence. Discussion centers around the generalizability of the results.     

The utility of screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (scared) as a tool for identifying children at high risk for prevalent anxiety disorders

Abstract

The current study examined the utility of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) as a screening tool for the identification of children at high risk for prevalent childhood anxiety disorders. The child version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (KSCID) was used as the diagnostic standard. It was investigated whether SCARED scores are indicative for the presence of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia. Five-hundred-and-thirty-seven children aged 7–14 years completed the SCARED. From this sample, 82 children were selected on the basis of their SCARED scores. A subgroup of these children scored relatively high on the generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia scale(s) of the SCARED. A comparison group of children scored relatively low on these SCARED scales. Both groups of children then received the semi-structured interview to assess to what extent they fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for the relevant anxiety disorders. Results provided some support for the predictive validity of the SCARED generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder subscales. The implications of these findings for the detection of anxiety disorders in normal children are briefly discussed.     

Proactive climate in a post-reorganization setting: When staff compensate managers' weakness

This study explored the effects of proactive climate on performance in a post-reorganization setting. We hypothesized that proactive climate should have both a direct effect on unit performance and should—in the sense of the “substitutes for leadership” approach—enhance the effect of managers' entrepreneurial attributes (e.g., personal initiative) on unit performance. Hypotheses were tested using data from organizational units, called “centres” (n?=?35), of four recently reorganized public transport organizations. Managers provided ratings of centre performance, and centre members assessed their centre's climate. Proactive climate was positively related with performance. Moderated regression analyses revealed significant interaction effects between proactive climate and some centre manager variables; however, the interaction pattern indicated that proactive climate compensated for a low degree of entrepreneurial attributes.