Electrophysiological evidence for the time-course of verifying text ideas

We examined how verb factivity influences the ability of readers to detect and resolve the mismatch of receiving false referents in relation to true referents in discourse contexts. Factive verbs (e.g., know), but not nonfactive verbs (believe), entail the truth of their complements. Recent research by Singer [Singer, M. (2006). Verification of text ideas during reading. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 574-591] suggests that there are pragmatic costs associated with knowing something that is clearly false and only believing something that is clearly true. However, because Singer measured reading times for full sentences, it could not be determined whether these costs were initiated upon the appearance of the critical target word (i.e., the word that validated or invalidated previous text ideas) or at a later point in the sentences. In the present research we recorded event-related brain potentials while people read the same passages for comprehension and analyzed potentials evoked to the critical target words. Our results demonstrate that the brain distinguishes between true and false target words by at least 200ms after their onset, and that the pragmatic costs identified by Singer lead to interactions between verb factivity and truth in both early (P2) and later occurring brain components (late phase of N400 and late frontal positivity). In general, the results suggest readers had greater difficulty integrating false nouns than true nouns following factive than nonfactive verbs, and that detection of this mismatch also occurred earlier following factive verbs. Our results provide insight into the time-course of the processes that underlie the verification of text ideas, and extend neurocognitive research on anaphoric resolution.     

Capturing Abnormal Personality With Normal Personality Inventories: An Item Response Theory Approach

ABSTRACT Correlational and factor‐analytic methods indicate that abnormal and normal personality constructs may be tapping the same underlying latent trait. However, they do not systematically demonstrate that measures of abnormal personality capture more extreme ranges of the latent trait than measures of normal range personality. Item Response Theory (IRT) methods, in contrast, do provide this information. In the present study, we use IRT methods to evaluate the range of the latent trait assessed with a normal personality measure and a measure of psychopathy as one example of an abnormal personality construct. Contrary to the expectation that the measure of psychopathy would be more extreme than the measure of normal personality traits, the measures overlapped substantially in terms of the regions of the latent trait for which they provide information. Moreover, both types of inventories were limited in terms of measurement bandwidth, such that they did not provide information across the entire latent trait continuum. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Bayes factors: Prior sensitivity and model generalizability

Model selection is a central issue in mathematical psychology. One useful criterion for model selection is generalizability; that is, the chosen model should yield the best predictions for future data. Some researchers in psychology have proposed that the Bayes factor can be used for assessing model generalizability. An alternative method, known as the generalization criterion, has also been proposed for the same purpose. We argue that these two methods address different levels of model generalizability (local and global), and will often produce divergent conclusions. We illustrate this divergence by applying the Bayes factor and the generalization criterion to a comparison of retention functions. The application of alternative model selection criteria will also be demonstrated within the framework of model generalizability.     

Stress Generation in Adolescent Depression: The Moderating Role of Child Abuse and Neglect

The present study examined the role of childhood abuse and neglect and depression recurrence in moderating the generation of stressful life events in adolescent depression. Maltreatment history and stressful life events were assessed using two rigorous contextual interviews and rating systems. In a sample of 59 community depressed adolescents we found significantly higher rates of interpersonal events in the 3-month period immediately following depression episode onset versus the 3-month period immediately preceding onset in adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment. By contrast, rates of events remained constant over a matched period in a control group of non-maltreated adolescents. Furthermore, the generation of interpersonal events only held among those on a first onset of depression. These results suggest that a history of childhood abuse and neglect exacerbates the psychosocial dysfunction associated with the onset of depression, particularly in the very first episode.     

The content and processes of autobiographical reasoning in narrative identity

Building on research that focuses on individual differences in the narration of important life events, this study examined the content of self-event connections and thematic coherence in relation to the processes of autobiographical reasoning. Autobiographical reasoning was defined as making connections between the past and the self, the effort reported in making those connections and the emotional evaluation of the connections. Personality differences at the levels of traits and ego development were examined in relation to autobiographical reasoning. One hundred and nineteen younger and older adults completed a self-defining memory interview. Self-event connections reported in the interviews were coded as being about dispositions, values, outlook, and personal growth. Connections were then coded for the degree of cognitive effort required to make the connection and the emotional evaluation of the connection. Finally, the entire interview was coded for the presence or absence of a theme. Results showed that cognitive effort and evaluation differed across type of connection, and ego development and traits moderated some of these results. Further, across connections, there were individual differences in cognitive effort and evaluation, as well as in the reports of a themes across memories. Results are discussed in terms of individual differences in the construction of narrative identity.     

Reflections on stimulus control

The topic of stimulus control is too broad and complex to be traceable here. It would probably take a two-semester course to cover just the highlights of that field's evolution. The more restricted topic of equivalence relations has itself become so broad that even an introductory summary requires more time than we have available. An examination of relations between equivalence and the more general topic of stimulus control, however, may reveal characteristics of both the larger and the more limited field that have not been generally discussed. Consideration of these features may in turn foster future developments within each area. I speak, of course, about aspects of stimulus control that my own experiences have made salient to me; others would surely emphasize different characteristics of the field. It is my hope that cooperative interactions among researchers and theorists who approach stimulus control from different directions will become more common than is currently typical.     

Videoconferencing and forensic mental health in Australia

Videoconferencing is in common use in Australian forensic mental health services. It provides opportunities to link remote prisons, courts, and psychiatric clinics with distant specialist services, and enables a range of activities including assessment, treatment and feedback, expert testimony, education, and inter-service planning. These functions are acceptable to patients and clinicians, and in Australia videoconferencing minimizes disruption to small services and their patients, who might otherwise face lengthy journeys. In particular, marginalized patient groups, including indigenous people and prisoners, may receive better services. The evidence base supports use of videoconferencing despite a number of practical, legal, and clinical issues that may reduce its effectiveness compared with face-to-face assessments. Videoconferencing technologies are critical to effective forensic mental health services in Australia.