Assessing negative cognitive style: Development and validation of a Short-Form version of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) is a frequently employed measure of negative cognitive style, associated with vulnerability to anxiety and depression. However, the CSQ's length can limit its utility in research. We describe the development of a Short-Form version of the CSQ. After evaluation and modification of two pilot versions, the 8-item CSQ Short Form (CSQ-SF) was administered to a convenience sample of adults (N = 278). The CSQ-SF was found to have satisfactory internal reliability and test-retest reliability. It also exhibited construct validity by demonstrating predicted correlations with measures of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that the CSQ-SF is suitable for administration via the Internet.     

Stress risk factors and stress-related pathology: neuroplasticity, epigenetics and endophenotypes

This paper highlights a symposium on stress risk factors and stress susceptibility, presented at the Neurobiology of Stress workshop in Boulder, CO, in June 2010. This symposium addressed factors linking stress plasticity and reactivity to stress pathology in animal models and in humans. Dr. J. Radley discussed studies demonstrating prefrontal cortical neuroplasticity and prefrontal control of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis function in rats, highlighting the emerging evidence of the critical role that this region plays in normal and pathological stress integration. Dr. M. Kabbaj summarized his studies of possible epigenetic mechanisms underlying behavioral differences in rat populations bred for differential stress reactivity. Dr. L. Jacobson described studies using a mouse model to explore the diverse actions of antidepressants in brain, suggesting mechanisms whereby antidepressants may be differentially effective in treating specific depression endophenotypes. Dr. R. Yehuda discussed the role of glucocorticoids in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), indicating that low cortisol level may be a trait that predisposes the individual to development of the disorder. Furthermore, she presented evidence indicating that traumatic events can have transgenerational impact on cortisol reactivity and development of PTSD symptoms. Together, the symposium highlighted emerging themes regarding the role of brain reorganization, individual differences, and epigenetics in determining stress plasticity and pathology.     

The relation of neediness and Axis II pathology

Neediness, as a maladaptive form of interpersonal dependency, has been implicated in a range of psychopathology, most commonly mood and personality disorders. In light of the literature's sparse and inconsistent findings, Bornstein, Hilsenroth, Padawer, and Fowler (2000) have called for a systematic evaluation of dependency's role across the spectrum of Axis II disorders. The current study of individuals without current or past Axis I diagnoses found that Neediness was significantly related to dimensions of dependent, borderline, and histrionic personality disorders. Implications for the assessment of interpersonal dependency and issues in need of further clarification are highlighted.     

Developing a biodata measure and situational judgment inventory as predictors of college student performance

This article describes the development and validation of a biographical data (biodata) measure and situational judgment inventory (SJI) as useful predictors of broadly defined college student performance outcomes. These measures provided incremental validity when considered in combination with standardized college-entrance tests (i.e., SAT/ACT) and a measure of Big Five personality constructs. Racial subgroup mean differences were much smaller on the biodata and SJI measures than on the standardized tests and college grade point average. Female students tended to outperform male students on most predictors and outcomes with the exception of the SAT/ACT. The biodata and SJI measures show promise for student development contexts and for selecting students on a wide range of outcomes with reduced adverse impact.     

Variations in the relationship between radius of curvature and velocity as a function of joint motion

A power law describes the relationship between the geometric properties of a trajectory (radius of curvature) and movement kinematics (tangential velocity) in curved drawing movements. Although the power law is a general law of motion, there are conditions under which it degrades. In particular, the power law may be less explanatory of movements around certain joints. The present study considered how varying motion around different joints influenced the fit of the power law. Motions associated with finger and wrist, or elicited by an isometric force production task, were compared. The power law was most explanatory of finger motion and isometric production and least explanatory of wrist motion. The fit of the power law for finger and wrist motion suggested separate laws for each joint system. Since the fit of the power law was better for finger than for wrist motion, there is some suggestion that the power law better explains motion around fewer or simpler joint systems.     

More human than you: attributing humanness to self and others

People typically evaluate their in-groups more favorably than out-groups and themselves more favorably than others. Research on infrahumanization also suggests a preferential attribution of the "human essence" to in-groups, independent of in-group favoritism. The authors propose a corresponding phenomenon in interpersonal comparisons: People attribute greater humanness to themselves than to others, independent of self-enhancement. Study 1 and a pilot study demonstrated 2 distinct understandings of humanness--traits representing human nature and those that are uniquely human--and showed that only the former traits are understood as inhering essences. In Study 2, participants rated themselves higher than their peers on human nature traits but not on uniquely human traits, independent of self-enhancement. Study 3 replicated this "self-humanization" effect and indicated that it is partially mediated by attribution of greater depth to self versus others. Study 4 replicated the effect experimentally. Thus, people perceive themselves to be more essentially human than others.     

Specific-token effects in screening tasks: possible implications for aviation security

Screeners at airport security checkpoints perform an important categorization task in which they search for threat items in complex x-ray images. But little is known about how the processes of categorization stand up to visual complexity. The authors filled this research gap with screening tasks in which participants searched for members of target categories in visual displays. The authors found that when targets were sampled with replacement and repetition, participant screeners relied on recognizing familiar targets and had great difficulty using category-general knowledge. The authors observed a "heartbeat" in detection performance--it improved while test images repeated but dropped sharply when unfamiliar targets from the same categories appeared. This reliance on familiarity illuminates the processes of categorization under conditions of visual complexity and suggests limits on those processes. This reliance also has implications for the training and evaluation of screeners in the field.     

Regularization in short-term memory for serial order

Previous research has shown that short-term memory for serial order can be influenced by background knowledge concerning regularities of sequential structure. Specifically, it has been shown that recall is superior for sequences that fit well with familiar sequencing constraints. The authors report a corresponding effect pertaining to serial recall errors. Undergraduate participants performed immediate serial recall on sequences of pseudowords generated on the basis of an artificial grammar. After extensive experience with this material, recall errors displayed a bias toward regularizing responses, response sequences more probable, with respect to the artificial grammar, than the originally presented stimulus sequence. This regularization effect squares well with recent trace redintegration and Bayesian models of serial recall, and appears to represent an analog of the schema-based error patterns observed in other domains of memory.     

Prefrontal cortex and the mediation of proactive interference in working memory

Mediating proactive interference (PI), the deleterious effect of antecedent information on current memory representations, is believed to be a key function of prefrontal cortex (PFC). Item-specific PI results when an invalid probe matches a memorandum from the preceding trial; item-nonspecific PI is produced by the accumulation of no-longer-relevant items from previous trials. We tested the hypothesis that these two types of PI are mediated by common PFC-based processes with an fMRI study of a delayed-recognition task designed to produce both types of PI. Our results indicated that the fMRI correlates of both effects were restricted both to Brodmann’s area 45 in the left hemisphere and to the memory probe epoch of the trial. These results suggest that a unification of the literatures and approaches that have independently studied these phenomena might offer a fruitful new perspective from which to study the relations between working memory, executive control, and the PFC.     

More on the fragility of performance: choking under pressure in mathematical problem solving

In 3 experiments, the authors examined mathematical problem solving performance under pressure. In Experiment 1, pressure harmed performance on only unpracticed problems with heavy working memory demands. In Experiment 2, such high-demand problems were practiced until their answers were directly retrieved from memory. This eliminated choking under pressure. Experiment 3 dissociated practice on particular problems from practice on the solution algorithm by imposing a high-pressure test on problems practiced 1, 2, or 50 times each. Infrequently practiced high-demand problems were still performed poorly under pressure, whereas problems practiced 50 times each were not. These findings support distraction theories of choking in math, which contrasts with considerable evidence for explicit monitoring theories of choking in sensorimotor skills. This contrast suggests a skill taxonomy based on real-time control structures.