Mnemic neglect: Selective amnesia of one’s faults

The mnemic neglect model predicts and accounts for selective memory for social feedback as a function of various feedback properties. At the heart of the model is the mnemic neglect effect (MNE), defined as inferior recall for self-threatening feedback compared to other kinds of feedback. The effect emerges both in mundane realism and minimal feedback settings. The effect is presumed to occur in the service of self-protection motivation. Mnemic neglect is pronounced when the feedback poses high levels of self-threat (i.e., can detect accurately one’s weakness), but is lost when self-threat is averted via a self-affirmation manipulation. Mnemic neglect is caused by self-threatening feedback being processed shallowly and in ways that separate it from stored (positive) self-knowledge. The emergence of mnemic neglect is qualified by situational moderators (extent to which one considers their self-conceptions modifiable, receives feedback from a close source, or is primed with improvement-related constructs) and individual differences moderators (anxiety, dysphoria, or defensive pessimism). Finally, the MNE is present in recall, but absent in recognition. Output interference cannot explain this disparity in results, but an inhibitory repression account (e.g., experiential avoidance) can: Repressors show enhanced mnemic neglect. The findings advance research on memory, motivation, and the self.     

Sustainable Technologies and Transdisciplinary Futures: From Collaborative Design to Digital Fabrication

This paper argues for hands-on, contextual and problem-solving collaborations, that is, for a transdisciplinary approach that establishes direct connections between social and technical disciplines. It is based on our experience as a team of researchers at the Vitruvius Fab Lab (Digital Fabrication Laboratory) of ISCTE-IUL (University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal). The paper presents a particular research and learning initiative–STTF2013 Summer School ‘Sustainable Technologies and Transdisciplinary Futures: From Collaborative Design to Digital Fabrication’, which served as a testbed for our transdisciplinary, critical and open approach. We address its rationale and main challenges, while also discussing recommendations for other transdisciplinary projects striving to integrate social and technical disciplines in research and innovation.     

Notes on the weighting biases in value trees

The variation in the structure of value trees can have undesirable effects on the attribute weights. Earlier experiments suggest that an attribute receives a higher weight if it is presented at an upper level in a value tree or if it is split into subattributes. Here we show that it is flawed to make conclusions about the biases at the individual level based on the averages of weights across large groups of subjects. Averages do not describe individual behavior. Furthermore, the averages of weights tend to approach even weights. By using the data from earlier experiments we illustrate how the averaging can produce different phenomena. We also show that the use of weights based on the rank order of attributes only can easily lead to biases when the structure of a value tree is changed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Yogicchakra symbols: Mirrors of the human mind/heart

This paper describes the classical understanding of the system ofchakras, or centers of spiritual energy, in tantric yoga. Eachchakra is presented in terms of its traditional understanding. Each is also discussed in the light of contemporary psychological stage theories of development, showing that thechakras can be seen as a model of spiritual development. The preoccupations, concerns, and attitudes associated with eachchakra are portrayed as a mirror of the human mind/heart when spiritual energy is concentrated at that location.She is also founder and chair of the board of Resources for Ecumenical Spirituality.     

Memory impairment in the weapon focus effect

Two experiments are reported in which postevent source of misinformation was manipulated within weaponpresent and weapon-absent scenarios. Participants viewed slides depicting either a weapon or a newspaper event and then received either incomplete questioning or a narrative. Both postevent sources contained misleading information about a central and peripheral detail concerning either the weapon or the newspaper scenario. With a modified test in Experiment 1, questioning was found to increase misinformation effects concerning the central item, as compared with a narrative, and more misinformation effects were found for the weapon-peripheral than for the newspaper-peripheral item. In Experiment 2, the participants were more likely to claim to have seen contradictory and additive misinformation about the central item in the slides following questioning, and more contradictory and additive misinformation effects occurred for the weapon-peripheral than for the newspaper-peripheral item. The findings are considered in terms of the effects of both postevent and encoding factors on memory.     

Outcome From a Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder: Comparing Dialectical Behavior Therapy Adapted for Binge Eating to an Active Comparison Group Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder (DBT-BED) aims to reduce binge eating by improving adaptive emotion-regulation skills. Preliminary findings have been promising but have only compared DBT-BED to a wait-list. To control for the hypothesized specific effects of DBT-BED, the present study compared DBT-BED to an active comparison group therapy (ACGT). Men and women (n = 101) meeting DSM-IV BED research criteria were randomly assigned to 20 group sessions of DBT-BED (n = 50) or ACGT (n = 51). DBT-BED had a significantly lower dropout rate (4%) than ACGT (33.3%). Linear Mixed Models revealed that posttreatment binge abstinence and reductions in binge frequency were achieved more quickly for DBT-BED than for ACGT (posttreatment abstinence rate = 64% for DBT-BED vs. 36% for ACGT) though differences did not persist over the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up assessments (e.g., 12-month follow-up abstinence rate = 64% for DBT-BED vs. 56% for ACGT). Secondary outcome measures revealed no sustained impact on emotion regulation. Although both DBT-BED and ACGT reduced binge eating, DBT-BED showed significantly fewer dropouts and greater initial efficacy (e.g., at posttreatment) than ACGT. The lack of differential findings over follow-up suggests that the hypothesized specific effects of DBT-BED do not show long-term impact beyond those attributable to nonspecific common therapeutic factors.     

Generalized relational matching by guinea baboons (Papio papio) in two-by-two-item analogy problems

Analogical reasoning is considered the hallmark of human reasoning, but some studies have demonstrated that language- and symbol-trained chimpanzees can also reason analogically. Despite the potential adaptive value of this ability, evidence from other studies strongly suggests that other nonhuman primates do not have this capacity for analogical reasoning. In our three experiments, 6 of 29 baboons acquired the ability to perform a relational matching-to-sample (RMTS) task in which pairs of shapes composed relational displays. Five of these 6 monkeys then transferred this ability to RMTS tasks using novel exemplars of identity (elements in a pair are the same) and nonidentity (elements in a pair are different) relations. This transfer occurred even on trials in which the incorrect pair shared an element with the sample pair with which it was being compared. The baboons retained this ability 12 months later. The findings from our study of symbol-naive monkeys indicate that although language and symbol training facilitate conceptual thinking in nonhuman primates, such training is not a prerequisite for analogical reasoning.