Consuming experience: Why affective forecasters overestimate comparative value

The hedonic value of an outcome can be influenced by the alternatives to which it is compared, which is why people expect to be happier with outcomes that maximize comparative value (e.g., the best of several mediocre alternatives) than with outcomes that maximize absolute value (e.g., the worst of several excellent alternatives). The results of five experiments suggest that affective forecasters overestimate the importance of comparative value because forecasters do not realize that comparison requires cognitive resources, and that experiences consume more cognitive resources than do forecasts. In other words, because forecasters overestimate the extent to which they will be able to think about what they did not get while experiencing what they got.     

Optimizing subjective measures of consciousness

Dienes and Seth (2010) conclude that confidence ratings and post-decision wagering are two comparable and recommendable measures of conscious experience. In a recently submitted paper, we have however found that both methods are problematic and seem less suited to measure consciousness than a direct introspective measure.Here, we discuss the methodology and conclusions put forward by Dienes and Seth, and why we think the two experiments end up with so different recommendations.     

Now you see it,now you don't: The context dependent nature of category-effects in visual object recognition

In two experiments, we test predictions regarding processing advantages/disadvantages for natural objects and artefacts in visual object recognition. Varying three important parameters—degree of perceptual differentiation, stimulus format, and stimulus exposure duration—we show how different category-effects can be provoked in normal subjects on the same task. We interpret the results in light of the Pre-semantic Account of Category Effects (PACE; Gerlach, 2009), and conclude that category-effects do not reflect absolute processing differences between categories. Rather, category-effects are products of common operations which are differentially affected by the structural similarity among objects (with natural objects being more structurally similar than artefacts). The potentially most important aspect of the present study is the demonstration that category-effects are very context dependent; an aspect which has been neglected in earlier literature on category-specificity. PACE provides a useful framework in this respect, as it specifies how category-effects are influenced by changes in task and stimulus characteristics.     

The reliability and validity of discrete and continuous measures of psychopathology: a quantitative review

In 2 meta-analyses involving 58 studies and 59,575 participants, we quantitatively summarized the relative reliability and validity of continuous (i.e., dimensional) and discrete (i.e., categorical) measures of psychopathology. Overall, results suggest an expected 15% increase in reliability and 37% increase in validity through adoption of a continuous over discrete measure of psychopathology alone. This increase occurs across all types of samples and forms of psychopathology, with little evidence for exceptions. For typical observed effect sizes, the increase in validity is sufficient to almost halve sample sizes necessary to achieve standard power levels. With important caveats, the current results, considered with previous research, provide sufficient empirical and theoretical basis to assume a priori that continuous measurement of psychopathology is more reliable and valid. Use of continuous measures in psychopathology assessment has widespread theoretical and practical benefits in research and clinical settings.     

Deriving an empirical structure of personality pathology for DSM-5

The DSM-IV model of personality disorders is composed of trait sets arranged into 10 theoretically distinct, polythetically assessed categories, with little regard for how the traits comprising these disorders are interrelated and structured. Research since the publication of DSM-III has shown that this model is untenable. The question is not whether this model needs revision; rather, the question is how to move from the existing DSM-IV framework to a model better connected with data. Empirically-based models of personality trait variation provide a starting point for DSM-5, and ongoing research will be used to delineate further the empirical structure of personality traits in the pathological range. The ultimate goal is to frame future DSMs in a way that is maximally useful for clinicians as well as researchers. It is also critical to understand that the DSM-5 is intended to be a living document that will facilitate novel inquiry and clinical applications, as opposed to a document designed to promote and perpetuate a fixed set of constructs. Thus, we view a proposed trait system as a first step on a path to a well-validated, clinically-useful structure.     

Validating the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3): A Comparison Between 561 Female Eating Disorders Patients and 878 Females from the General Population

The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) is used worldwide in research and clinical work. The 3^rd version (EDI-3) has been used in recent research, yet without any independent testing of its psychometric properties. The aim of the present study was twofold: 1) to establish national norms and to compare them with the US and international norms, and 2) to examine the factor structure, the internal consistency, the sensitivity and the specificity of subscale scores. Participants were Danish adult female patients (N = 561) from a specialist treatment centre and a control group (N = 878) was women selected from the Danish Civil Registration system. Small but significant differences were found between Danish and international, as well as US norms. Overall, the factor structure was confirmed, the internal consistency of the subscales was satisfactory, the discriminative validity was good, and sensitivity and specificity were excellent. The implications from these results are discussed.     

Identifying psychopathy subtypes on the basis of personality structure

The authors used model-based cluster analysis to identify subtypes of criminal psychopaths on the basis of differences in personality structure. Participants included 96 male prisoners diagnosed as psychopathic, using the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). Personality was assessed using the brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BF; C. J. Patrick, J. J. Curtin, and A. Tellegen, 2002). The best-fitting model yielded two clusters. Emotionally stable psychopaths were characterized by low Stress Reaction and high Agency. Aggressive psychopaths were characterized by high Negative Emotionality, low Constraint, and low Communion. These results suggest that psychopaths as defined by the PCL-R includes distinct subtypes, distinguishable in terms of personality structure, that may reflect different etiologies.     

Genetic and environmental causes of the interrelationships between self-reported fears. A study of a non-clinical sample of Norwegian identical twins and their families

The present study reports results from a study of the self-reported fears of identical twins and their spouses and offspring. Factor analysis with oblique rotation of questionnaire responses yielded four correlated fear dimensions: situational fears, illness-injury fears, social fears, and fear of small animals. Models allowing for genetic and cultural transmission, together with specially correlated environments for twins, were fitted, both for separate fears and across fears. Simple models with only genetic and uncorrelated environments were sufficient to account for each the fear dimensions considered separately. The cross-dimensional analyses revealed a genetic and an environmental factor common to the four fear dimensions, together with fear-specific genetic and environmental factors. The impact of the common genetic and common environmental factor varied across dimensions. No evidence of cultural transmission or specially correlated twin environments of the cross-dimensional environments was detected. It is concluded that both common and fear-specific genes and (individual-specific) common and fear-specific environments are necessary to account for the data. The results are discussed in terms of the prepared learning hypothesis and the expectancy bias hypothesis.