Recall-to-reject: The effect of category cues on false recognition

Four experiments examined the effect of category cueing on recall-to-reject, one of the central memory-editing mechanisms thought to prevent the occurrence of false memories. When category names were used as retrieval cues, the typically observed false recognition effect was eliminated for semantically associated distractors (Experiment 1a) and, moreover, a reduction in the absolute level of the false alarm rate was found for phonologically associated distractors (Experiment 2a). In addition to the old/new-recognition data, analyses using multinomial models support the interpretation that category cueing was successful in increasing the probability of recall-to-reject (Experiments 1b and 2b). The results are in line with dual-process theories of recognition memory and provide further evidence for recall-to-reject in single item recognition. They demonstrate its potential to reduce false recognition even when explicit instructions are not given. In addition, the results demonstrate that the paradigm can give rise to side effects that oppose recall-to-reject. A simultaneous familiarity increase can explain why many studies failed to find evidence for recall-to-reject in terms of false alarm rates.     

The Family Cycle: An Activity to Enhance Parents’ Mentalization in Children’s Mental Health Treatment

This article introduces the Family Cycle, a therapeutic activity informed by attachment theory, family systems theory, and current literature on reflective functioning. The Family Cycle helps clinicians and families create a narrative about a child’s psychopathology that considers complex trauma and/or adverse childhood experiences. It reframes observable dysfunctional phenomena as behavioral sequelae of more deeply rooted emotional loss. After the theoretical underpinnings of the Family Cycle are laid out, we describe the implementation of the Family Cycle within the context of an intensive home-based, family-focused intervention created at the Yale Child Study Center, the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service (IICAPS). The Family Cycle provides a teachable clinical framework to facilitate the treatment of families with complex, multigenerational trauma.     

Musical preference, deviance, and attitudes towards music celebrities

Two studies investigated the relationship among British students between liking for ‘problem’ music, indices of deviance, and scores on a slightly modified version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS). Study 1 indicated a positive relationship between liking for ‘problem’ music styles and psychoticism scores. Study 2 indicated that fans of ‘problem’ music scored higher than non-fans on measures of psychoticism, reactive rebelliousness, and two specific problem behaviours; that liking for ‘problem’ music was related only to psychoticism when all the indices of deviance were considered together in a multiple regression; and that fans of ‘problem’ music did not score higher on CAS measures of identification with the participants’ favourite musicians. The present data indicate a relationship outside North America between ‘problem’ music and deviance, that this might be attributable primarily to elevated psychoticism scores among listeners to this music, but that liking for ‘problem’ music was not associated with a greater tendency for participants to identify closely with licentious behaviours carried out by pop musicians.     

Women coping with AIDS in Africa: contributions of a contextually grounded research methodology

The primary objective of this report is to describe a contextually grounded approach to the investigation of coping and psychological functioning in AIDS-sick mothers. Five AIDS-sick women on antiretroviral therapy who had at least one child under 6 years of age living in their households were interviewed. Among the issues that emerged was the complexity of the women's psychological functioning, the fact that they made strategic decisions about disclosure aimed at protecting important social support networks, and that their well-being was dynamically influenced by factors in the home and community. The study provides evidence for the value of a contextual approach when investigating the psychological functioning of HIV positive mothers living in poor high-HIV prevalence communities in developing countries.     

Remembering or knowing others? Person recognition and recollective experience

Using Tulving's (1985) remember/know procedure, the present research investigated the experiential concomitants of person recognition. Noting basic differences in the manner in which the mind processes expectancy-related material, it was anticipated that facial typicality would be a critical determinant of people's recollective experiences (i.e., remembering vs knowing). In particular, it was expected that whereas remember responses would be more prevalent for distinctive than typical faces, know responses would reflect the opposite pattern. The results of two experiments provided general support for these predictions. In addition, the recollective advantage for distinctive faces was traced to the availability of attentional resources at encoding. These results are considered in the context of contemporary issues in person recognition and social cognition.     

Five studies testing two new egoistic alternatives to the empathy-altruism hypothesis

The empathy-altruism hypothesis claims that prosocial motivation associated with feeling empathy for a person in need is directed toward the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, not toward some subtle form of self-benefit. We explored two new egoistic alternatives to this hypothesis. The empathy-specific reward hypothesis proposes that the prosocial motivation associated with empathy is directed toward the goal of obtaining social or self-rewards (i.e., praise, honor, and pride). The empathy-specific punishment hypothesis proposes that this motivation is directed toward the goal of avoiding social or self-punishments (i.e., censure, guilt, and shame). Study 1 provided an initial test of the empathy-specific reward hypothesis. Studies 2 through 4 used three procedures to test the empathy-specific punishment hypothesis. In Study 5, a Stroop procedure was used to assess the role of reward-relevant, punishment-relevant, and victim-relevant cognitions in mediating the empathy-helping relationship. Results of these five studies did not support either the empathy-specific reward or the empathy-specific punishment hypothesis. Instead, results of each supported the empathy-altruism hypothesis. Evidence that empathic emotion evokes altruistic motivation continues to mount.     

Amnesia and criminal law: A clinical overview

The use of amnesia as a legal defense raises complex issues for both psychology and jurisprudence. Our review of the legal literature suggests that recent advances in the understanding of clinical disorders of memory have not yet found their way into the courtroom. In this paper, we address the assumptions that amnesia means simply having a very bad memory and that amnesia is a unitary syndrome. We then review recent neuropsychological research on amnesia and its implications for the judicial process. Emphasis is placed on describing the amnesic disorders that most often arise in criminal proceedings. It is concluded that both psychologists and legal professionals should ensure that research findings from the clinic and the laboratory are applied appropriately in cases of defendants claiming amnesia.     

Emotional intelligence: impact on post-secondary academic achievement

This research examined the simultaneous influences of emotional intelligence, adjustment to university, authoritative versus other parenting style, and high school average on first year university students’ grade point average (GPA) via structural equation modeling. The participants were 299 first year students from the social science faculty at Laurentian University, Canada. The sample was comprised of 86 males (28.7 %) and 213 females (71 %); most students (96.7 %) were between the ages of 17 and 23. The results showed that high school average had a direct influence on first year university GPA. Emotional Intelligence was not directly associated with first year university GPA, but it was significantly associated with adjustment to university which in turn was significantly associated with the first year GPA. This tends to suggest that the influence of emotional intelligence on academic achievement may be mediated by adjustment to university. Furthermore, parenting style (authoritative versus other) had a significant influence on adjustment to university but not on emotional intelligence and university GPA. Students who came from families with authoritative parenting styles tended to be better adjusted than students who came from families with other parenting styles (authoritarian and permissive). Problem behaviors such as alcohol use, academic dishonesty and academic procrastination were found to have a negative influence on university GPA and adjustment to university. In conclusion, emotional intelligence and an authoritative parenting style are influential in enhancing adjustment to university which in turns affects academic achievement in university.