The “Brightening” Effect: Reactions to Positive Events in the Daily Lives of Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Depressed individuals are less reactive than healthy individuals to positive stimuli in the laboratory, but accumulating evidence suggests that they are more emotionally reactive to positive events in their daily lives. The present study probed the boundaries of this curious “mood brightening” effect and investigated its specificity to major depressive disorder (MDD) vis-à-vis generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), its closest boundary condition. We used ecological momentary assessment to measure reactions to positive events over one week in individuals with MDD (n = 38), GAD (n = 36), comorbid MDD-GAD (n = 38), and no psychopathology (n = 33). Depressed individuals responded to positive events with larger changes in affect, cognition, reported withdrawal (but not approach) behavior, and symptoms than healthy controls. More severe depression assessed before the sampling week predicted greater brightening. Altered reactivity to positive events was relatively specific to MDD when compared with GAD, similar to patterns found for other positive emotional processes. The robustness, scope, and relative specificity of the brightening effect highlights the need to resolve conflicting findings across laboratory and non-laboratory studies to advance understanding of altered reactivity in emotional disorders.     

Randomization procedures in single‐case intervention research contexts: (Some of) “the rest of the story”

Following up on articles recently published in this journal, the present contribution tells (some of) “the rest of the story” about the value of randomization in single‐case intervention research investigations. Invoking principles of internal, statistical‐conclusion, and external validity, we begin by emphasizing the critical distinction between design randomization and analysis randomization, along with the necessary correspondence between the two. Four different types of single‐case design‐and‐analysis randomization are then discussed. The persistent negative influence of serially dependent single‐case outcome observations is highlighted, accompanied by examples of inappropriate applications of parametric and nonparametric tests that have appeared in the literature. We conclude by presenting valid applications of single‐case randomization procedures in various single‐case intervention contexts, with specific reference to a freely available Excel‐based software package that can be accessed to incorporate the present randomization schemes into a wide variety of single‐case intervention designs and analyses.     

Internal health locus of control predicts willingness to track health behaviors online and with smartphone applications

Given rising technology use across all demographic groups, digital interventions offer a potential strategy for increasing access to health information and care. Research is lacking on identifying individual differences that impact willingness to use digital interventions, which may affect patient engagement. Health locus of control, the amount of control an individual believes they have over their own health, may predict willingness to use mobile health (mHealth) applications (‘apps’) and online trackers. A cross-sectional study (n = 276) was conducted to assess college students’ health locus of control beliefs and willingness to use health apps and online trackers. Internal and powerful other health locus of control beliefs predicted willingness to use health apps and online trackers while chance health locus of control beliefs did not. Individuals with internal and powerful other health locus of control beliefs are more willing than those with chance health locus of control beliefs to utilize a form of technology to monitor or change health behaviors. Health locus of control is an easy-to-assess patient characteristic providers can measure to identify which patients are more likely to utilize mHealth apps and online trackers.     

Long Term Child-Centered Play Therapy Effects on Academic Achievement with Normal Functioning Children

This follow up study with 23 normal functioning 1st graders examined the long-term effectiveness of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) on academic achievement. Through the use of a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance, researchers examined the use of CCPT from pre-intervention to mid-intervention (16 sessions) to post-intervention (26 sessions). Results indicated that children who participated in 26 sessions of CCPT demonstrated statistically significant improvement on the Early Achievement Composite as measured on the Young Children’s Achievement Test (YCAT), along with increases in the Reading, Mathematics, and Spoken Language subscales. Participants showed statistically consistent improvement in academic scores of the full duration of the study. Overall, the findings imply that CCPT as a long term method can support academic achievement in the school system with normal functioning 1st grade students. The outcome suggests long term CCPT is an intervention for elementary/primary school counselors to use with children who have emotional or academic needs. The findings open the door for school counselors or outside professionals to use play therapy with children in the school system as a way of providing academic support and thereby promoting the field of play therapy in the school system.     

A Monte Carlo evaluation of masked visual analysis in response‐guided versus fixed‐criteria multiple‐baseline designs

We developed masked visual analysis (MVA) as a structured complement to traditional visual analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the effects of computer‐simulated MVA of a four‐case multiple‐baseline (MB) design in which the phase lengths are determined by an ongoing visual analysis (i.e., response‐guided) versus those in which the phase lengths are established a priori (i.e., fixed criteria). We observed an acceptably low probability (less than .05) of false detection of treatment effects. The probability of correctly detecting a true effect frequently exceeded .80 and was higher when: (a) the masked visual analyst extended phases based on an ongoing visual analysis, (b) the effects were larger, (c) the effects were more immediate and abrupt, and (d) the effects of random and extraneous error factors were simpler. Our findings indicate that MVA is a valuable combined methodological and data‐analysis tool for single‐case intervention researchers.     

The Impact of Life Transition on Emerging Adult Attachment,Social Support,and Well‐Being: A Multiple‐Group Comparison

Life transitions can induce distress for emerging adults. This study compared a model of the attachment, social support, and well‐being of emerging adults in transition with a model of those not in transition (N = 378). The transition sample reported less life satisfaction and environmental mastery and higher attachment avoidance than the nontransition sample. The transition sample showed weaker mediating effects of social support, suggesting that attachment accounted for additional unique variance for this group. Counseling implications are provided.     

Effect of anxiety on behavioural pattern separation in humans

Behavioural pattern separation (BPS), the ability to distinguish among similar stimuli based on subtle physical differences, has been used to study the mechanism underlying stimulus generalisation. Fear overgeneralisation is often observed in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. However, the relationship between anxiety and BPS remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of anxiety (threat of shock) on BPS, which was assessed across separate encoding and retrieval sessions. Images were encoded/retrieved during blocks of threat or safety in a 2?×?2 factorial design. During retrieval, participants indicated whether images were new, old, or altered. Better accuracy was observed for altered images encoded during periods of threat compared to safety, but only if those images were also retrieved during periods of safety. These results suggest that overgeneralisation in anxiety may be due to altered pattern separation.     

On the emergence of American analytic philosophy

This paper is concerned with the reasons for the emergence and dominance of analytic philosophy in America. It closely examines the contents of, and changing editors at, The Philosophical Review, and provides a perspective on the contents of other leading philosophy journals. It suggests that analytic philosophy emerged prior to the 1950s in an environment characterized by a rich diversity of approaches to philosophy and that it came to dominate American philosophy at least in part due to its effective promotion by The Philosophical Review’s editors. Our picture of mid-twentieth-century American philosophy is different from existing ones, including those according to which the prominence of analytic philosophy in America was basically a matter of the natural affinity between American philosophy and analytic philosophy and those according to which the political climate at the time was hostile towards non-analytic approaches. Furthermore, our reconstruction suggests a new perspective on the nature of 1950s analytic philosophy.     

Quantitative EEG Assessment During Neuropsychological Task Performance in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This study evaluated the neuropsychological performance of adults with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Computerized Version 3 (WCST), and the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA). Quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) data were also collected during task performance to examine differences in cortical activity between groups and tasks. Results suggest that adults with ADHD demonstrated lower levels of performance on the PASAT and IVA, tasks that involve working memory and processing speed, and sustained attention, respectively. Adults with ADHD also had more upper alpha activity during the IVA. Lastly, for the ADHD group, an increased theta/beta ratio during the IVA was significantly related to poorer attentional performance. The current results support reinforcing specific types of cortical activity though EEG operant conditioning (neurofeedback) as a treatment option in adults with ADHD. This paper is based largely in part on a dissertation by J. Noland White in partial fulfillment of the requirements of his doctoral program at The University of Tennessee. Portions of this study have been presented in summary form at several professional conferences.     

Value Priorities and Organ Donation in Young Adults

This research identifies major personal values among American university students that predict organ-donation registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Participants responded to a factual test of their knowledge about organ donation, indicated whether or not they had registered as posthumous donors, and filled out a personality inventory measuring their personal values (Schwartz, 1992, 1994). The data indicated a high level of factual knowledge about organ donation; and the greater the level of knowledge, the more likely participants were registered to donate their organs. Also, participants higher in benevolence, universalism, achievement, and stimulation were more likely to have registered to donate their organs. The results are discussed in terms of the need to develop more effective health-communication campaigns by using specific health-education messages tailored to students majoring in different disciplines or to people in various occupations as a means of increasing their willingness to donate.