Implicit effects of emotional contexts: An ERP study

Previous recognition memory experiments have demonstrated that the ERPs elicited by correctly recognized test items differ according to whether the items were encoded in an emotionally arousing or an emotionally neutral context. It is not clear, however, whether these ERP differences depend on the explicit recognition of the items. We addressed this question in the present study by contrasting the ERPs elicited by test items encoded in emotionally negative or emotionally neutral study contexts, according to whether the items were correctly recognized or misclassified as new. Recognized items associated with emotional rather than neutral contexts elicited an early positive-going and a later negative-going effect that resembled the effects reported in prior studies. Relative to unrecognized items encoded in neutral contexts, unrecognized items encoded in emotional contexts elicited a sustained, frontal-maximum, positive-going effect that onset at about 200?ms poststimulus. This effect may reflect an influence of emotional arousal on the neural correlates of implicit memory.     

中文词汇加工的若干效应:基于眼动研究的证据

通过眼动仪记录读者阅读过程中的眼动特征,发现了一些重要的效应,这些效应有助于深化人们对阅读过程的认识.本文将从阅读材料的空间信息、词汇特性、语言因素和词结构四个方面总结在词汇加工中所发现的重要效应.最后,对各效应之间的相互关系及其在词汇加工的理论模型中的作用进行了探讨,并指出眼动技术与ERP技术相结合的多样化研究趋势.     

Construction Of Reality Or Dependent Origination? From Scientific Psychotherapy To Responsible Attention

The term ‘postmodernism’ has carved itself a niche in everyday, and specialised, vocabulary. We understand it as being the new mentality that emerges from the critique of modernity. This transformation, which has been underway since the second half of the twentieth century, undermines the foremost myth of the modern world, that we can discover an objective and stable truth, that is to say independent and lasting. This change is affecting all areas of human knowledge, from philosophy to physics, as well as human practices and experiences. Its origins are to be found in the theories that label themselves critical, starting with Marxism and existentialism, and in further developments such as hermeneutics, symbolic interactionism, post-structuralism, ethnomethodology, deconstructionism, and others. In this article we wish to recover one of the principal ideas of this change of mentality, the idea of ‘construction of reality’ and contrast it with ‘dependent origination’ (Paticcasamuppada) characteristic of the Dharma, a system of liberation from suffering synthesised by Buddha. We are interested in this relationship in the specific field of Psychotherapy, or in the broader field of Integral Psychology. To this end, firstly we inquire how constructivism has made a space for itself in the scientific world; we then address the constructivist features of the Dharma.     

Repurposing process measures to train psychotherapists: Training outcomes using a new approach

Aims: First, this paper presents the rationale for a novel approach to training counsellors in which measures for psychotherapy process research are taught to students before moving on to teaching basic empathic reflections and interventions. The rationale for this is that client process measures can be re‐purposed to help orient and sensitise trainees to key in‐session moments. Second, we present a training outcome study that assesses the effectiveness of this approach. Method: Using an experiential‐integrative therapy approach, a 13‐week training program was used to teach psychotherapy skills and process research measures to22 clinical graduate students taken from two cohorts. As part of the course, trainees conducted several single sessions with volunteer clients on four separate occasions. Training outcomes were measured using both trainee and client reports. Results: Compared to baseline, therapists reported significant and steady gains (all p's<.05) in session management, reducing their anxious self‐awareness, and in improved sense of self‐efficacy, with the latter having the largest effect (partial Eta Sq.=.381). Discussion: While the findings provide some support for a new training strategy, a dismantling design is needed next to more closely examine the process‐measure approach to training.     

This century,this country: One survivor's story of posttraumatic stress syndrome

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress syndrome, also called posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affects people who have experienced extremely traumatic events. Individuals who live with posttraumatic stress syndrome must continually overcome many obstacles to live their daily lives. The following is one woman's story of abuse, its after effects, and survival. By telling her story, I hope to make her suffering that much more meaningful. In addition, I wish to call attention to what goes on behind closed doors and explain what we can do about it.     

Cognitive Consistency Theory in Social Psychology: A Paradigm Reconsidered

Abstract

From the 1950s onward, psychologists have generally assumed that people possess a general need for cognitive consistency, whose frustration by an inconsistency elicits negative affect. We offer a novel perspective on this issue by introducing the distinction between epistemic and motivational impact of consistent and inconsistent cognitions. The epistemic aspect is represented by the updated expectancy of the outcome addressed in such cognitions. The motivational aspect stems from value (desirability) of that outcome. We show that neither the outcome’s value nor its updated expectancy is systematically related to cognitive consistency or inconsistency. Consequently, we question consistency’s role in the driving of affective responses and the related presumption of a universal human need for cognitive consistency.     

Clinical outcomes of a coping with stress training program among patients suffering from schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: a pilot study

This study evaluated the clinical effects of an intervention aimed at enhancing specific self-efficacy for coping with stress (CSSE) among patients with psychosis. Fourteen patients, 21–60 years old, diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder voluntarily participated and were randomly assigned to a training and a control group. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-24 was used to assess psychotic symptoms (primary outcomes) at baseline, post-intervention, and three- and six-month follow-ups. The participants also completed self-reports on well-being and satisfaction with intervention outcomes (secondary outcomes) at post-intervention and at the two follow-up assessments. Trained patients showed a significant decrease in all measures of psychotic symptoms (for disorientation, not significant (NS); effect sizes up to d = 4.80). This decline in symptoms remained significant at the follow-ups, with clinical enhancements on some of the subscales. By contrast, control participants showed no significant change in their symptoms. Short- and long-term overall well-being and satisfaction with outcomes were higher among the participants who received the training program. Our findings point out the relevance of enhancing CSSE among patients with psychosis, along with enhancing their coping skills for managing their illness. We conclude that CSSE training should be considered in future therapeutic interventions for psychotic disorders.     

Prevalence and Significant Determinants of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in a Large Sample of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Chronic and life-threatening neurodegenerative diseases may be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, the current study was an investigation of the prevalence of PTSD in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and identification of significant determinants of PTSD. Two hundred thirty-two MS patients were consecutively recruited and screened for the presence of PTSD with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, corroborated by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Furthermore, participants were administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Fatigue Severity Scale. Twelve patients (12/232, i.e. 5.17 %) were diagnosed as suffering from PTSD. Levels of education, anxiety and depression were significant determinants of the presence of PTSD. The role played by the levels of education, anxiety and depression in determining the presence of PTSD has been discussed. Further research on the psychological features of neurodegenerative diseases is urgently needed in order to plan appropriate treatments and improve patients’ quality of life.