Congruence or coherence? Emotional and physiological responses to colours in synaesthesia

Lexical–chromatic synaesthesia is a condition in which letters and/or words elicit percepts of synaesthetic colours, termed photisms. Anecdotal data suggest that synaesthetes are particularly sensitive to inconsistencies between their synaesthetic percepts and the real world, e.g., it can be annoying and unpleasant for them to see a letter printed in a colour different than the respective photism colour. For R, a synaesthete subject who participated in the present study, the photisms possess specific emotional values (a red photism is pleasing and attractive, green is repulsive and unpleasant, etc.). In contrast to the anecdotal data, R does not always find the colour–photism incongruence to be disturbing. More importantly, he states that it is the emotional coherence between the stimulus and the corresponding photism that matters. In a series of experiments, we studied this new concept of emotional coherence on three levels—subjective (self-report), behavioural, and physiological, corroborating R's introspective statements. Besides the implications of the concept of coherence itself, the results presented here suggest that even highly subjective cognitive constructs can be approached and measured experimentally, uncovering the workings of the underlying psychophysiological mechanisms.     

Probabilistic Inferences Under Emotional Stress: How Arousal Affects Decision Processes

Many models of decision making neglect emotional states that could affect individuals' cognitive processes. The present work explores the effect of emotional stress on people's cognitive processes when making probabilistic inferences. Two contrasting hypotheses are tested against one another: the uncertainty‐reduction and attention‐narrowing hypotheses of how emotional stress affects decision making. In the experimental study, emotional stress was induced through the use of highly aversive pictures immediately before each decision. Emotional state was assessed by both subjective (state anxiety, arousal, and pleasantness ratings) and objective (skin conductance) measures. The results show that emotional stress impacts decision making; in particular, emotionally aroused participants seem to have focused on the most important information and selected simpler decision strategies relative to participants in a control condition. The results are in line with the attention‐narrowing hypothesis and suggest that emotional stress can impact decision making through limited predecisional information search and the selection of simpler decision strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Goal programming with dynamic goals

The aim of this paper is to present a dynamic goal programming scheme. Throughout the revised literature, most of the dynamic goal programming approaches use target values on the final value of the objective functionals. In this paper, dynamic target values are assumed, so that they control not only the final values of the corresponding functionals, but their evolution along the planning period. As a result, the scalar problems are also dynamic ones, where the evolution of the deviation variables is minimized. A lexicographic dynamic goal programming algorithm is developed on these basis, and some considerations are made on the efficiency of the final solutions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information structuring improves recall of emergency discharge information: a randomized clinical trial

This article examines the extent to which structuring Emergency Department discharge information improves the ability to recall that information, and whether such benefits interact with relevant prior knowledge. Using three samples of students with different levels of prior medical knowledge, we investigated the amount of information recalled after structured vs. non-structured presentation of information. Across all student samples, the structured discharge information led to a relative increase in recalled items of 17% compared to non-structured discharge information (M = 9.70, SD = 4.96 vs. M = 8.31, SD = 4.93). In the sample with least medical knowledge, however, the structured discharge information resulted in a relative increase in recall by 42% (M = 8.12 vs. M = 5.71). These results suggest that structuring discharge information can be a useful tool to improve recall of information and is likely to be most beneficial for patient populations with lower levels of medical knowledge.     

A Comparison of Sexual Relationships Among Hispanic Men by Sexual Orientation: Implications for HIV/STI Prevention

Hispanic men experience high rates of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when compared to non-Hispanic whites. Many factors contribute to HIV/STI risk among Hispanic men. Some researchers have suggested that primary relationships may be a source of HIV/STIs because some men engage in sexual relationships outside of the primary relationship. However, little is known about this among Hispanic men, and less is known about how sexual relationships differ by sexual orientation. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine if Hispanic men engage in sexual relationships outside of primary relationships; and (2) to compare sex outside of primary relationships by sexual orientation. Data for this study were obtained from a larger study that investigated health risks of Hispanic men residing in the U.S.–Mexico border community. Participants were recruited from agencies that provided services to Hispanic men. Participants completed a structured interview that included questions about primary relationships and sex outside of primary relationships. The sample consisted of 103 Hispanic men (50 heterosexual, 43 gay, and 10 bisexual Hispanic men), but two participants refused to answer relationship questions, resulting in a sample of 101 Hispanic men. About one-third of the participants (n = 29) reported sex outside of the primary relationship, but no differences were found between the gay/bisexual and heterosexual men, X ² (2, N = 101) = 9.91, p = .128. More gay/bisexual men reported sex with the primary partner and another person at the same time than heterosexual men, X ² (2, N = 101) = 13.32, p = .010. More gay/bisexual men reported open relationships when compared to heterosexual men, X ² (2, N = 101) = 17.23, p = .008, and more gay/bisexual men reported sex outside the primary relationship without the primary partner’s knowledge, X ² (2, N = 101) = 15.09. p = .020. However, more heterosexual men reported that condoms were not used for sex outside the primary relationship when compared to gay/bisexual men, X ² (2, N = 101) = 14.01, p = .029. Sex outside of primary relationships presents some implications for HIV/STI prevention among Hispanic men. Because gay/bisexual men experience higher rates of HIV/STI, more attention needs to be focused on all forms of relationships to prevent acquisition of HIV/STIs. Among heterosexual Hispanic men more attention needs to be given to reinforcement of safer sex practices both outside the primary relationship, and within the primary relationship if high risk sex is occurring outside the primary relationship. More research is needed on the reasons for sex outside the primary relationship among Hispanic men, as well as research to promote safer sex practices when sex occurs outside of the primary relationship.     

Discussing the therapeutic setting in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a debate on the particular characteristics of the therapeutic setting in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy and its differences from the setting in adult therapy. In our opinion, there is a fundamental difference between these two, as in child and adolescent psychotherapy two distinct aspects co-exist and in some areas, overlap. In this paper, we attempt to delineate these two aspects, following Green’s division of the analytical setting into the active matrix and the casing. We propose that in child and adolescent psychotherapy the therapeutic contract, the active matrix, concerning the necessary conditions for making a therapy psychoanalytic – namely, the therapist’s free-floating attention and the patient’s free associations – is agreed between the therapist and the child/adolescent. We argue that in contrast, the contract regarding the casing – the timings of sessions, the fees and so on – is agreed primarily with the parents or carers of the child/adolescent. Ruptures and possible modifications in both the matrix and the casing of the setting are discussed through the presentation of clinical material.