A Grounded Theory of Filipino Wellness (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Kaginhawaan</Emphasis>)

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory to explain Filipino wellness (kaginhawaan). Open-ended and semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted among 18 Filipinos. Nine resided in the city and the rest lived in the rural areas. The participants were also representative of the low, middle, and high levels of family income prescribed by the Philippine’s National Statistics Office. Glasser and Strauss’ (The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, 1967) grounded theory approach was used to guide the process of investigation. The findings suggest that Filipino wellness is a condition where an individual enjoys economic freedom and security and psycho-emotional wellness within the context of the family. In the absence of family, an individual may turn to occupation to provide a semblance of Filipino wellness. On the other hand, when the individual faces economic difficulties, one turns to spirituality as a source of wellness.     

Exploring linguistic correlates of social anxiety in romantic stories

The current study used computerized linguistic analysis of stories about either going on a date or taking a walk down a street to examine linguistic correlates of social anxiety in a sample of undergraduate students. In general, linguistic analysis revealed associations of social anxiety with several linguistic variables, including negative emotion, affect, and anxiety words. Participants higher in social anxiety wrote fewer affect words. The relationship between social anxiety and anxiety words depended on gender, whereas the relationship between social anxiety and negative emotion words depended on both gender and the nature of primes (supraliminal vs. subliminal) received. Overall, our findings highlight the potential utility and benefits of using linguistic analysis as another source of information about how individuals higher in social anxiety process romantic stimuli.     

Do not fear your opponent: suboptimal changes of a prevention strategy when facing stronger opponents

The time spent making a decision and its quality define a widely studied trade-off. Some models suggest that the time spent is set to optimize reward, as verified empirically in simple-decision making experiments. However, in a more complex perspective compromising components of regulation focus, ambitions, fear, risk and social variables, adjustment of the speed-accuracy trade-off may not be optimal. Specifically, regulatory focus theory shows that people can be set in a promotion mode, where focus is on seeking to approach a desired state (to win), or in a prevention mode, focusing to avoid undesired states (not to lose). In promotion, people are eager to take risks increasing speed and decreasing accuracy. In prevention, strategic vigilance increases, decreasing speed and improving accuracy. When time and accuracy have to be compromised, one can ask which of these 2 strategies optimizes reward, leading to optimal performance. This is investigated here in a unique experimental environment. Decision making is studied in rapid-chess (180 s per game), in which the goal of a player is to mate the opponent in a finite amount of time or, alternatively, time-out of the opponent with sufficient material to mate. In different games, players face strong and weak opponents. It was observed that (a) players adopt a more conservative strategy when facing strong opponents, with slower and more accurate moves, and (b) this strategy is suboptimal: Players increase their winning likelihood against strong opponents using the policy they adopt when confronting opponents with similar strength.     

Enhancing effects of acute psychosocial stress on priming of non-declarative memory in healthy young adults

Social stress affects cognitive processes in general, and memory performance in particular. However, the direction of these effects has not been clearly established, as it depends on several factors. Our aim was to determine the impact of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) reactivity to psychosocial stress on short-term non-declarative memory and declarative memory performance. Fifty-two young participants (18 men, 34 women) were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) and a control condition in a crossover design. Implicit memory was assessed by a priming test, and explicit memory was assessed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). The TSST provoked greater salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) responses than the control task. Men had a higher cortisol response to stress than women, but no sex differences were found for sAA release. Stress was associated with an enhancement of priming but did not affect declarative memory. Additionally, the enhancement on the priming test was higher in those whose sAA levels increased more in response to stress (r(48)?=?0.339, p?=?0.018). Our results confirm an effect of acute stress on priming, and that this effect is related to SNS activity. In addition, they suggest a different relationship between stress biomarkers and the different memory systems.     

Opposite developmental trends for false recognition of basic and superordinate names

This study investigated the development of false memories for basic and superordinate names using the DRM procedure. Two experiments were conducted with younger (3–5 years old) and older (10–12 years old) children. In the first experiment the DRM procedure was used with categorised lists and in the second experiment both types of lists—categorised and associative—were applied. False recognition for basic and superordinate names showed opposite developmental trends, regardless of list type. False recognition increased for critical-basic items and decreased for critical-superordinate items with age. These opposing results are mainly explained by age differences in conceptual knowledge and editing processes.     

Conceptual and non-conceptual repetition priming in category exemplar generation: Evidence from bilinguals

One measure of conceptual implicit memory is repetition priming in the generation of exemplars from a semantic category, but does such priming transfer across languages? That is, do the overlapping conceptual representations for translation equivalents provide a sufficient basis for such priming? In Experiment 1 (N=96) participants carried out a deep encoding task, and priming between languages was statistically reliable, but attenuated, relative to within-language priming. Experiment 2 (N=96) replicated the findings of Experiment 1 and assessed the contributions of conceptual and non-conceptual processes using a levels-of-processing manipulation. Words that underwent shallow encoding exhibited within-language, but not between-language, priming. Priming in shallow conditions cannot therefore be explained by incidental activation of the concept. Instead, part of the within-language priming effect, even under deep-encoding conditions, is due to increased availability of language-specific lemmas or phonological word forms.     

Retrieval dynamics in false recall: revelations from identifiability manipulations

The present study analyzed the retrieval dynamics of false recall, using an externalized free-recall task after participants studied Deese/Roediger–McDermott lists with high- and low-identifiable critical words. In Experiment 1, the memory test required participants to write down the words they remembered as having been presented in each list (recall output) plus any related words that came to mind (inclusion output). The results of the inclusion output showed that highly identifiable critical items were more frequently generated than less identifiable critical items, suggesting that highly identifiable critical words were more accessible in a first phase of retrieval. At the same time, the results of the recall output showed that highly identifiable critical items were less often falsely recalled than low-identifiable critical items, a replication of previous findings. In Experiment 2, self-reports corroborated that participants were using an editing strategy based on the identification and exclusion of critical words—that is, the identify-to-reject strategy. These results help us to more fully understand the identifiability effect and, beyond that, emphasize the importance of considering the intervening of dual processes of accessibility and error correction as a crucial feature in theoretical explanations of false memories.     

Hope and Burden among Latino Families of Adults with Schizophrenia

This study examined hope and family burden among Latino families of individuals with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 54 family members, one family member per outpatient adult recruited from public mental health programs in a diverse urban community. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that the family member's increased hope for the patient's future would be associated with decreased family burden beyond effects explained by the patient's length of illness and severity of symptoms. Results supported the study hypothesis. Family hope for the patient's future was associated with four of five types of family burden. Findings point to the prominent role of hope as a source of resilience for Latino families dealing with severe mental illness of a loved one.     

A Seat at the Table: Using Social Media as a Platform to Resolve Microaggressions Against Transgender Persons

Transgender, gender variant, and/or gender nonconforming persons are marginalized and pathologized in society and communities. The advent and widespread use of social media introduce an entirely new avenue of expression where cyber bullying and verbal assaults are common. Yet, social media also has the capacity to reach more people in more places, thus presenting a potentially powerful platform for advocacy. Grounded in digital critical participatory action research, the authors present a multimedia advocacy project that highlights advocacy strategies in which counselors can utilize social media to raise awareness, promote inclusion, and resolve microaggressions toward transgender persons.