Effect of cognitive bias modification-memory on depressive symptoms and autobiographical memory bias: two independent studies in high-ruminating and dysphoric samples

Memory bias is a risk factor for depression. In two independent studies, the efficacy of one CBM-Memory session on negative memory bias and depressive symptoms was tested in vulnerable samples. We compared positive to neutral (control) CBM-Memory trainings in highly-ruminating individuals (N?=?101) and individuals with elevated depressive symptoms (N?=?100). In both studies, participants studied positive, neutral, and negative Swahili words paired with their translations. In five study–test blocks, they were then prompted to retrieve either only the positive or neutral translations. Immediately following the training and one week later, we tested cued recall of all translations and autobiographical memory bias; and also measured mood, depressive symptoms, and rumination. Retrieval practice resulted in training-congruent recall both immediately after and one week after the training. Overall, there was no differential decrease in symptoms or difference in autobiographical memory bias between the training conditions. In the dysphoric but not in the high-ruminating sample, the positive training resulted in positive autobiographical bias only in dysphoric individuals with positive pre-existing bias.

We conclude that one session of positive retrieval-based CBM-Memory may not be enough to yield symptom change and affect autobiographical memory bias in vulnerable individuals.     

The American South: Explorations on southern attachments and personal values

ABSTRACT

Group membership is central to understanding political behavior and political psychology. However, regional group membership is rarely examined, despite its relevance to political psychology and personal values. To address this, we investigated the relationships among southern identity, southern nationalism, southern pride, and southern constructive patriotism for the U.S. South, as well as the connections between personal values and southern attachments. Results from the structural equation modeling (N = 268) revealed that stronger southern identity predicted more southern nationalism, southern pride, and southern constructive patriotism. Additionally, greater endorsement of conservation values predicted stronger southern identity and southern pride; those favoring self-transcendence values exhibited less southern nationalism and more southern constructive patriotism; and those with higher self-enhancement values expressed more southern nationalism. This study confirms the predictive role of southern identity on other southern attachments and provides support for how different southern attachments are related to but distinctive from each other.     

“Internally Wicked”: Investigating How and Why Essentialism Influences Punitiveness and Moral Condemnation

Kant argued that individuals should be punished “proportional to their internal wickedness,” and recent work has demonstrated that essentialism—the notion that observable characteristics reflect internal, biological, unchanging “essences”—influences moral judgment. However, these efforts have yielded conflicting results: essentialism sometimes increases and sometimes decreases moral condemnation. To resolve these discrepancies, we investigated the mechanisms by which essentialism influences moral judgment, focusing on perceptions of actors’ control over their behavior, the target of essentialism (particular behaviors vs. actors’ character), and the component of essentialism (biology vs. immutability). Participants punished people described as having a criminal essence more than those with a non-criminal essence or no essence. Probing potential mechanisms underlying this effect, we found a mediating role for perceptions of control and weak influences of essentialism focus (behavior vs. character) and component of essentialism (biology vs. immutability). These results extend prior work on essentialism and moral cognition, demonstrating a causal link between perceptions of “internal wickedness” and moral judgment. Our findings also resolve discrepancies in past work on the influence of essentialism on moral judgment, highlighting the role that perceptions of actors’ control over their behavior play in moral condemnation.     

Identification with the American South and Anti-Muslim Attitudes

ABSTRACT

The number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the U.S. nearly tripled between 2015 and 2016. In addition, the number of hate crimes committed against members of the religion jumped 67% in 2015 alone. Addressing the rise in anti-Muslim prejudice is critical. We examined (N = 406) the role of regional identification in predicting anti-Muslim attitudes. That is, identification with the American South, a more conservative and religious part of the country with a history of slavery and violent secession movements, predicted anti-Muslim attitudes. This relationship was mediated by conservation values. For Southerners who strongly identified with “the South”, the endorsement of values related to a general resistance to change led to greater anti-Muslim attitudes. Anti-Muslim bias may lie in perceptions of threat: for strongly identified Southerners, the Muslim faith is viewed as a societal threat.     

An Epistemic Case for Empathy

Much recent work on empathy assumes that one cannot give non‐question‐begging reasons for empathizing with others. In this article I argue that there are epistemic reasons for cultivating empathy. After sketching a brief general account of empathy, I proceed to argue that empathic information is user‐friendly, fostering the achievement of widely held cognitive goals. It can also contribute to social knowledge and the satisfaction of democratic ideals. The upshot of my analysis is that there are strong, but defeasible, epistemic reasons for empathizing with others.