Assessing post-event processing after social situations: a measure based on the cognitive model for social phobia

In their cognitive model of social phobia, Clark and Wells (1995) described a process called post-event processing that is characterized by prolonged ruminative and negative thinking about a past social event. Referring to this concept, Rachman and colleagues (2000) developed a questionnaire that has been used in several studies subsequently (Post-Event Processing Questionnaire (PEPQ)). Our aim was to examine a German version of the PEPQ and, where necessary, modify this measure. In Study 1 (N=130 students), we inspected the psychometric properties of the German version of the PEPQ. According to the item analyses, problematic items were identified and eliminated or reformulated. To map aspects of post-event processing that were missing in the original questionnaire, new items were developed. In Study 2, the psychometric properties of the revised instrument were analyzed in a sample of students (N=268).The revised instrument showed excellent internal consistency and a meaningful pattern of correlations with anxiety, depression, and dysfunctional self-consciousness. With regard to the factorial structure of the construct, our data suggest that a four-factorial model may be more appropriate than the one-dimensional structure proposed by Rachman and colleagues.     

Examining the relationship between free recall and immediate serial recall: The serial nature of recall and the effect of test expectancy

In two experiments, we examined the relationship between free recall and immediate serial recall (ISR), using a within-subjects (Experiment 1) and a between-subjects (Experiment 2) design. In both experiments, participants read aloud lists of eight words and were precued or postcued to respond using free recall or ISR. The serial position curves were U-shaped for free recall and showed extended primacy effects with little or no recency for ISR, and there was little or no difference between recall for the precued and the postcued conditions. Critically, analyses of the output order showed that although the participants started their recall from different list positions in the two tasks, the degree to which subsequent recall was serial in a forward order was strikingly similar. We argue that recalling in a serial forward order is a general characteristic of memory and that performance on ISR and free recall is underpinned by common memory mechanisms.     

Foundationalism, Probability, and Mutual Support

The phenomenon of mutual support presents a specific challenge to the foundationalist epistemologist: Is it possible to model mutual support accurately without using circles of evidential support? We argue that the appearance of loops of support arises from a failure to distinguish different synchronic lines of evidential force. The ban on loops should be clarified to exclude loops within any such line, and basing should be understood as taking place within lines of evidence. Uncertain propositions involved in mutual support relations are conduits to each other of independent evidence originating ultimately in the foundations. We examine several putative examples of benign loops of support and show that, given the distinctions noted, they can be accurately modeled in a foundationalist fashion. We define an evidential “tangle,” a relation among three propositions that appears to require a loop for modeling, and prove that all such tangles are trivial in a sense that precludes modeling them with an evidential circle.

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Attachment insecurity,depression, and the transition to parenthood

In a longitudinal study of adult attachment and depression during the transition to parenthood, 76 couples completed questionnaires on three occasions: during the second trimester of pregnancy, and six weeks and six months postbirth. On the first and second occasions, the couples were also interviewed about their experiences of pregnancy and parenthood, respectively. Measures were also completed at similar time intervals by a comparison group of 74 childless couples. Attachment security was assessed in terms of the dimensions of discomfort with closeness and relationship anxiety. Relationship anxiety was less stable for transition wives than for other participants. Relationship anxiety also predicted increases in new mothers’ depressive symptoms, after controlling for a broad range of other risk factors. However, the association between relationship anxiety and maternal depression was moderated by husbands’ caregiving style. Maternal depression was linked to increases in husbands’ and wives’ attachment insecurity and marital dissatisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of depression and negative working models of attachment on couple interaction.     

In the Midst of a Hurricane: A Case Study of a Couple Living With AIDS

This case study provides insight into 1 heterosexual couple's experience with AIDS. Through a series of interviews, the authors examined the experiences of a husband in the advanced stages of AIDS and of his wife, the primary caregiver. A thematic analysis revealed 4 themes: the emotional impact of the diagnosis, changes in the couple's daily lives, needs for social support, and spiritual journeys. Recommendations are given for counselors working with persons with AIDS and their heterosexual partners.     

Early sex differences in weighting geometric cues

When geometric and non-geometric information are both available for specifying location, men have been shown to rely more heavily on geometry compared to women. To shed insight on the nature and developmental origins of this sex difference, we examined how 18- to 24-month-olds represented the geometry of a surrounding (rectangular) space when direct non-geometric information (i.e. a beacon) was also available for localizing a hidden object. Children were tested on a disorientation task with multiple phases. Across experiments, boys relied more heavily than girls on geometry to guide localization, as indicated by their errors during the initial phase of the task, and by their search choices following transformations that left only geometry available, or that, under limited conditions, created a conflict between beacon and geometry. Analyses of search times suggested that girls, like boys, had encoded geometry, and testing in a square space ruled out explanations concerned with motivational and methodological variables. Taken together, the findings provide evidence for an early sex difference in the weighting of geometry. This sex difference, we suggest, reflects subtle variation in how boys and girls approach the problem of combining multiple sources of location information.     

How Do Mothers Feel About Their Very Low Birth Weight Infants? Development of a New Measure

The early relationship between a mother and her very low birth weight (VLBW; <1.5 kg) infant may be difficult to evaluate. Therefore, we aimed to develop a useful and practical method to describe a mother's early relationship with her VLBW infant. Mothers (mean age=27 years, 46% married) of 119 singleton VLBW infants (mean BW=1,056 g, mean GA=28 weeks) admitted to the neonatal ICU at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital completed a novel questionnaire regarding their feelings about their infant at 3 weeks' postnatal age, and at 35 weeks', 40 weeks' (term), and 4 months' postmenstrual ages. Factor analysis of initial interview data was used to construct subscales to measure unique domains hypothesized to underpin the beginning maternal–infant relationship. Three subscales were identified: (a) The Worry subscale focuses on the mother's concerns about her infant's current medical condition and future development, (b) the Enjoyment subscale examines the mother's positive feelings about and responsiveness to her infant, and (c) the Separation Anxiety subscale examines the mother's mental anxiety about being physically separated from her infant. Statistical and clinical validation of the subscales produced positive supporting evidence that the subscales are a meaningful measure of the mother–infant relationship. We have developed a unique and practical measure for describing the early mother–VLBW infant relationship.