Individual differences in depression,induced mood,and perception of emotionally toned words

The associative network theory of emotion and memory, outlined by Bower (1981), predicts that depressed mood leads to biases which favour the perception of mood-congruent information. In this study, a lexical decision task was used to assess the effects of degree of depression and induced elation and depression on lexical decision times for positive and negative words. Subsequently, subjects were given a recall test for the words presented during the lexical decision task. The results partially offered support for perceptual bias. The data showed that in non-depressed and elation-induced subjects, decision times were differentially affected by hedonic tone. Words of positive nature were responded to significantly faster than were negative words. In mildly depressed and depression-induced, decision times were similar for both types of words (positive and negative). These findings are discussed in relation to the associative network model and a growing amount of empirical research on human emotion and cognition.     

Humor As a Stress Moderator in the Prediction of Blood Pressure Obtained during Five Stressful Tasks

In five consecutive stressful tasks we examined the role of humor as a potential stress moderator using systolic and diastolic blood pressure as an indication of cardiovascular reactivity. In all five tasks, the Coping Humor Scale interacted with sex in the prediction of blood pressure. The same pattern was found in response to each of the five tasks: Females who were higher in coping humor exhibited lower systolic blood pressure than females scoring lower on coping humor, while the reverse characterized males; males who scored high on the coping humor scale exhibited higher systolic blood pressure than males scoring low on that scale. Similar though less robust results were found when the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire was used as the measure of humor. In the Cold Pressor Task, which involves pain and endurance, interactions were found between humor, sex, and trials indicating a stress-moderator effect. The absence of interactions indicating stress moderation in most of the analyses with the other four stress tasks suggests that humor may play more of a role in moderating the impact of uncontrollable and passively experienced stressors. Tasks requiring more active, problem-solving behavior may be less amenable to the beneficial effects of humor. The findings do not clearly resolve the questions about the role of humor in effecting responses to stress. However, they do suggest that the subjects' sex may be an important consideration when evaluating the impact of humor as a stress moderator.     

How Not to Individuate Destiny: a Critique of Segun Ogungbemi’s Conception of Destiny

Philosophia - The social nature of human beings and individualistic characterizing destiny of individuals is contradictory and call for philosophical interrogation. Segun Ogungbemi has...     

‘Comparisons of traumatic and positive memories in people with and without PTSD profile’

According to most post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) theories, memory mechanisms are involved in its development and maintenance. However, the specific memory characteristics responsible for this disorder are still not well known. In the present study, 210 participants having reported at least one traumatic experience were assigned to a PTSD or to a non‐PTSD symptom profile group. Both groups rated their memories for their most traumatic and intense positive life events. We observed that the traumatic memories of PTSD profile participants were more clear, detailed and judged as significant compared with those of the non‐PTSD profile group. However, participants in the first group acknowledged having more difficulties putting their traumatic memories into words and controlling these remembrances. These differences were absent in their positive memories. Additionally, clear relationships emerged between memory ratings and PTSD symptoms measures. Results are discussed according to fragmentation and superiority views of traumatic memories in PTSD. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential effects of muscarinic receptor blockade in prelimbic cortex on acquisition and memory formation of an odor-reward task

The present experiments determined the consequences of blocking muscarinic cholinergic receptors of the prelimbic (PL) cortex in the acquisition and retention of an odor-reward associative task. Rats underwent a training test (five trials) and a 24-h retention test (two retention trials and two relearning trials). In the first experiment, rats were bilaterally infused with scopolamine (20 or 5 microg/site) prior to training. Although scopolamine rats showed acquisition equivalent to PBS-injected controls, they exhibited weakened performance in the 24-h retention test measured by number of errors. In the second experiment, rats were injected with scopolamine (20 microg/site) immediately or 1 h after training and tested 24 h later. Scopolamine rats injected immediately showed severe amnesia detected in two performance measures (errors and latencies), demonstrating deficits in retention and relearning, whereas those injected 1 h later showed good 24-h test performance, similar to controls. These results suggest that muscarinic transmission in the PL cortex is essential for early memory formation, but not for acquisition, of a rapidly learned odor discrimination task. Findings corroborate the role of acetylcholine in consolidation processes and the participation of muscarinic receptors in olfactory associative tasks.     

Profiles of perceived resources among low-income,rural mothers: Prospective associations with maternal and child outcomes

Low-income, rural families face significant mental health risks. However, the understanding of resources associated with mental health risks is limited. The present study investigated the associations between perceived resources of low-income, rural mothers, and longitudinal maternal and child outcomes. This study utilized longitudinal data from the Family Life Project (N = 1203), from US rural areas with high poverty rates. Mothers reported their resources at 6-month postpartum, and their levels of depression, anxiety, and role overload were assessed at 2-year postpartum. Mothers reported their children's behavioral problems at 3 years old. Using a person-centered approach, we identified four maternal profiles: lower resources (7.1%); higher intra-family support (11.1%); higher inter-family support (20.8%); and higher resources (60.9%). In general, the higher resource profile was associated with lower mental health concerns of mothers and lower levels of behavior problems of children. Mothers in the higher intra-family support profile had disproportionately higher role overload. Children of mothers in the higher inter-family support profile showed disproportionately higher behavioral problems. Maternal partner status and education were significant predictors of resource profiles. Findings support the heterogeneity in perceived resources among low-income, rural families and different risk levels. Identifying these subgroups has significant implications for policy and interventions aimed toward this vulnerable population.     

An experimental analysis of task refusal: A comparison of negative reinforcement contingencies and transitions between academic tasks

The purpose of the study was to do an experimental analysis of academic task refusal for one girl with a developmental disability. Task refusal was analyzed in two experimental analyses. First, an analysis testing if the behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement, and the second, an analysis testing if the behavior was the result of transitioning between academic tasks differing in preference. Task refusal did not occur in the demand condition of the functional analysis, indicating that the behavior was not maintained by escape from demands. Conversely, task refusal occurred solely in the second experimental analysis when transitioning from a high-preferred to a low-preferred academic task. In this case, the context of terminating a preferred academic task and transitioning to a less preferred academic task was aversive but not the demand itself. In addition, when an embedded break condition was compared to a no break condition in a multielement design, task refusal was reduced to zero levels.