Self-defeating personality disorder reconsidered

The objective of this study was to assess the distinctiveness, incremental validity, and gender bias of self-defeating personality disorder (SDPD) symptoms. A total of 441 nonclinical subjects completed personality disorder questionnaires. Structural equation modeling and regression analyses indicated that SDPD symptoms were distinctive, predicted impairment/distress beyond other personality disorder symptoms, and showed no gender bias. SDPD warrants reconsideration as a valid nosological category.     

Cholinergic dependence of taste memory formation: evidence of two distinct processes

Learning the aversive or positive consequences associated with novel taste solutions has a strong significance for an animal's survival. A lack of recognition of a taste's consequences could prevent ingestion of potential edibles or encounter death. We used conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and attenuation of neophobia (AN) to study aversive and safe taste memory formation. To determine if muscarinic receptors in the insular cortex participate differentially in both tasks, we infused the muscarinic antagonists scopolamine at distinct times before or after the presentation of a strong concentration of saccharin, followed by either an i.p. injection of a malaise-inducing agent or no injection. Our results showed that blockade of muscarinic receptors before taste presentation disrupts both learning tasks. However, the same treatment after the taste prevents AN but not CTA. These results clearly demonstrate that cortical cholinergic activity participates in the acquisition of both safe and aversive memory formation, and that cortical muscarinic receptors seem to be necessary for safe but not for aversive taste memory consolidation. These results suggest that the taste memory trace is processed in the insular cortex simultaneously by at least two independent mechanisms, and that their interaction would determine the degree of aversion or preference learned to a novel taste.     

Lack of association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) could be considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, from several lines of evidence. One of the most widely studied genes in these disorders is the apolipoprotein E gene, particularly allele 4. We analyzed for association among patients with OCD versus normal controls and cognitively impaired patients. There were no significant differences between OCD probands compared with population controls. However, the cognitively impaired group showed a higher frequency of allele apolipoprotein E gene compared with normal controls and patients with OCD.     

Psychological inertia in adolescence: Sexist attitudes and cognitive and social strategies that hinder gender equality

Current Psychology - This work analyses sexist attitudes, cognitive strategies and social attitudes in young people between 12 and 16 years of age, attending secondary education. The...     

Is there a Sunk Cost Effect in Committed Relationships?

The sunk cost effect occurs when a prior investment in one option leads to a continuous investment in that option, despite not being the best decision. The aim of the present paper was to study the role of the sunk cost effect in committed relationships. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 902) were presented with an unhappy relationship scenario in which they needed to make a choice: to stay or end the relationship. Results showed that the likelihood of participants staying in the relationship was higher when money and effort, but not time, had been previously invested in that relationship. In Experiment 2, the time investment was manipulated and the sunk cost was evaluated using a different methodology. Specifically, instead of having a dichotomous decision, participants (N = 275) choose how much time they would be willing to invest in the relationship. Results revealed a sunk time effect, that is, participants were willing to invest more time in a relationship in which more time had already been invested.     

How do children deal with socio-moral conflicts? Self-conscious emotions and conflict resolution in the narratives of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized children

Introduction

Self-conscious emotions play an important role in children's psychosocial functioning.

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Academic Cheating Research–Cross-Cultural Comparison

The study is an intercultural comparison of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior (original and modified versions) to predict students’ intentions for academic cheating. The sample included university students from 7 countries: Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Turkey, Switzerland, United States, and New Zealand. Across countries, results show that attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and moral obligation predict students’ intentions to engage in academic dishonesty in the form of cheating. The extended modified version of the theory of planned behavior emerged as the best explanatory model predicting intentions to cheat. Significant cross-cultural differences were found and discussed.     

Comparing the Social Images of Youth In and Out of Residential Care

The literature indicates that youths in residential care have been associated with negative social images. However, there have been few studies focused on these social images, specifically, comparing them with the images of youths in normative contexts. To address this issue, we conducted two studies comparing the social images people have about youths in residential care to those they hold about youths living out of care. Both studies were conducted in Portugal: Study 1 explores these images through an open‐ended questionnaire; Study 2 examines these images with a quantitative instrument. Overall, the results indicate that the perception about youths in residential care was more negative than the perception about youths out of care. Additionally, the first study probed the effect of socioeconomic status of the youths on the social images held about them and the second examined the role of the respondents' professional contact with youth in care population on these social images. The implications of the social images people have about youth in residential care for the research and intervention towards the wellbeing of this population are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.