Further exploration memory bias in compulsive washers

The aim of the present study was to replicate Radomsky and Rachman's findings on memory bias in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), using the same procedure but an increased sample size, more specific control groups, and a full analysis of contamination attribution data. Sixteen OCD-washers, 16 OCD-checkers, 16 social phobic patients and 16 non-anxious controls were presented with 50 'clean' or 'dirty' objects. After this incidental encoding phase, participants were asked to freely recall the objects, to rate their anxiety when almost touching each object, and, finally, to attribute each object to one of the two contamination conditions ('clean' or 'dirty'). Verbal episodic memory was also assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test. The results indicate that, contrary to Radomsky and Rachman's findings, OCD-washers did not differ from the other participants in their memory for 'clean' and 'dirty' objects. However, the OCD-washers recalled more accurately the 'dirty' source of contamination than the 'clean' source. This result was specific to the OCD-washers, and suggests a memory bias for contextually threatening information. The differences between our findings and those published by Radomsky and Rachman's are discussed.     

Flashbulb memories and the underlying mechanisms of their formation: Toward an emotional-integrative model

Flashbulb memories (FBMs) are detailed recollections of the context in which people first heard about important events. The present study investigates three models of the formation and maintenance of FBM. Two models have previously been proposed in the literature (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994). A third model of FBM that integrates theories of FBM and recent developments in the field of emotions is proposed. The present study compares these three competing models by investigating the FBMs that Belgian citizens developed upon learning of the unexpected death of their king Baudouin. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as compared to the two previously proposed models, the third model, which takes into account emotional processes, better explains FBM.     

Experimental dissociations between memory measures: Influence of retrieval strategies

The objective of this study was to explore the participants’ processing strategies on the mere exposure effect, object decision priming and explicit recognition. In Experiments 1, we observed that recognition and the mere exposure effect for unfamiliar three-dimensional objects were not dissociated by plane rotations in the same way as recognition and object decision priming. However, we showed that, under identical conditions, prompting analytic (part-based) processing at testing produced a large plane rotation effect on recognition and the mere exposure effect similar to that observed for object decision priming (Experiment 2). Furthermore, inducing a non-analytic (whole-based) processing strategy at testing produced a reduced plane rotation effect on recognition and object decision (Experiments 3 and 4), similar to that observed for the mere exposure effect. These findings suggest that participants’ processing strategies influence performance on the three tasks.     

Controlled processes account for age-related decrease in episodic memory

A decrease in controlled processes has been proposed to be responsible for age-related episodic memory decline. We used the Process Dissociation Procedure, a method that attempts to estimate the contribution of controlled and automatic processes to cognitive performance, and entered both estimates in regression analyses. Results indicate that only controlled processes explained a great part of the age-related variance in a word recall task, especially when little environmental support was offered.     

Phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories for positive,negative, and neutral events

We investigated memory qualities for positive, negative, and neutral autobiographical events. Participants recalled two personal experiences of each type and then rated their memories on several characteristics (e.g. sensorial and contextual details). They also reported whether they ‘see’ the events in their memories from their own perspective (‘field’ memories) or whether they ‘see’ the self engaged in the event as an observer would (‘observer’ memories). Positive memories contained more sensorial (visual, smell, taste) and contextual (location, time) details than both negative and neutral events, whereas negative and neutral memories did not differ on most dimensions. Positive and negative events were more often recollected with a field perspective than neutral events. Finally, participants were classified in four groups according to the repressive coping style framework. Emotional memories of repressors were not less detailed than those of the other groups. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Applying the Theory of Affective Intelligence to Support for Authoritarian Policies and Parties

Emotion, after a long period of inattention, began to attract greater scrutiny as a key driver of human behavior in the mid‐1980s. One approach that has achieved significant influence in political science is affective intelligence theory (AIT). We deploy AIT here to begin to understand the recent rise in support for right‐wing populist leaders around the globe. In particular, we focus on specific emotional appraisals on elections held at periods of heightened threat, including the two 2015 terror attacks in France, as influences on support for the far‐right Front National among conservatives. Contrary to much conventional wisdom, we speculate that threats can generate both anger and fear, and with very different political consequences. We expect fear to inhibit reliance on extant political dispositions such as ideological identification and authoritarianism, while anger will strengthen the influence of these same dispositions. Our core findings, across repeated tests, show that fear and anger indeed differentially condition the way habits of thought and action influence support for the far right in the current historical moment. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is anger that mobilizes the far right and authoritarians. Fear, on the other hand, diminishes the impact of these same dispositions.     

Influence of authoritarianism,vagal tone and mental fatigue on obedience to authority

Recent research suggests that obedience in the Milgram paradigm is underpinned by stress vulnerability and inhibitory control over pain sharing. Because self-regulatory fatigue (SRF) induction is a suited method to investigate the influence of inhibitory control on behaviour, participants (n?=?99) were randomly assigned to a High vs. Low self-regulatory condition. Heart rate variability (HRV, a biomarker of stress vulnerability) was collected during 5-min baseline and continuously during the experimental procedure. Prior to the experiment, participants completed an online survey assessing right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), a well-known predictor of obedience. Using the Immersive Video Milgram Obedience Experiment, we found (i) that lower resting HRV predicted higher destructive obedience, (ii) that low self-regulatory inhibition (induced by fatigue) reduced destructive obedience, (iii) that the well-established influence of RWA on destructive obedience was suppressed in the presence of SRF. Implications for future directions in obedience research are discussed.     

Lexical learning in bilingual adults: the relative importance of short-term memory for serial order and phonological knowledge

Studies of monolingual speakers have shown a strong association between lexical learning and short-term memory (STM) capacity, especially STM for serial order information. At the same time, studies of bilingual speakers suggest that phonological knowledge is the main factor that drives lexical learning. This study tested these two hypotheses simultaneously in participants with variable levels of English-French bilingual proficiency. A word-nonword paired-associate learning task was administered, with nonwords obeying French phonotactic patterns. French phonological knowledge was estimated by a composite French proficiency score summarizing productive and receptive French vocabulary knowledge as well as quantitative and qualitative measures of French exposure. STM measures maximized retention of order information (serial order reconstruction) or retention of phonological item information (single nonword delayed repetition). The French proficiency score and the serial order STM measure independently predicted performance on the paired-associate learning task. These results highlight the conjoined role of phonological knowledge and serial order STM in lexical learning. Importantly, serial order STM remains a strong predictor of lexical learning, even for bilingual individuals who have broad phonological knowledge.     

Impulsivity in non-clinical persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms

This study explored the relations between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and four facets of impulsivity (Urgency, Lack of Premeditation, Lack of Perseverance, Sensation seeking) in 220 non-clinical individuals. The results revealed a strong link between Urgency and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In addition, Lack of Premeditation negatively predicted the Checking and Ordering subscales, while Lack of Perseverance was positively linked with Obsessions and negatively with Ordering. Finally, no relation was found between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and Sensation seeking. These results suggest that it is necessary to differentiate between different facets of impulsivity and different obsessive-compulsive symptoms to study the relationship between these two constructs.