Worry and anxiety account for unique variance in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and depression

The evidence supporting the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a cognitive construct well established in the anxiety literature, and depression is mixed. Some research has demonstrated a direct association between IU and depression, whereas other studies suggest that IU is either unrelated or indirectly related to depression through other pathways, including anxiety. The present study aimed to further elucidate the relationship between IU and depression in an undergraduate sample (N = 221). We posited a model in which worry and anxiety account for unique variance in the association between IU and depression. Results supported this hypothesis. Worry and trait anxiety significantly accounted for unique variance in the relationship between IU and depression. Furthermore, the model that best fit the data included two additional direct paths, from IU to anxiety and from worry to depression, and excluded the direct path from IU to depression. Our findings support the notion that IU and depression are indirectly related through worry and anxiety. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Frequency correlates in grapheme-color synaesthesia

Individuals with synaesthesia experience certain stimuli in more than one sensory modality. Most common is the linkage of letters and digits (graphemes) to colors. Whereas synaesthesia might be partly genetically determined, the linkages to specific colors are assumed to be learned. We present a systematic statistical analysis of synaesthetic color perception based on subjects' reproduction of individual colors for each grapheme, instead of simple verbal categorizations. The statistical analysis revealed that the color perceptions, measured with the HSL (hue, saturation, and luminance) scale, varied systematically among the different digits and letters. The frequencies of the digits and letters (in the German language) partly explained these systematic variations. However, digit frequency was more strongly related to color perception in the synaesthetes than was letter frequency. The results for digit and letter frequency indicate that experience with graphemes may shape synaesthetic color perception.     

High impact running improves learning

Regular physical exercise improves cognitive functions and lowers the risk for age-related cognitive decline. Since little is known about the nature and the timing of the underlying mechanisms, we probed whether exercise also has immediate beneficial effects on cognition. Learning performance was assessed directly after high impact anaerobic sprints, low impact aerobic running, or a period of rest in 27 healthy subjects in a randomized cross-over design. Dependent variables comprised learning speed as well as immediate (1 week) and long-term (>8 months) overall success in acquiring a novel vocabulary. Peripheral levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and catecholamines (dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine) were assessed prior to and after the interventions as well as after learning. We found that vocabulary learning was 20 percent faster after intense physical exercise as compared to the other two conditions. This condition also elicited the strongest increases in BDNF and catecholamine levels. More sustained BDNF levels during learning after intense exercise were related to better short-term learning success, whereas absolute dopamine and epinephrine levels were related to better intermediate (dopamine) and long-term (epinephrine) retentions of the novel vocabulary. Thus, BDNF and two of the catecholamines seem to be mediators by which physical exercise improves learning.     

Temporal distance and ease of retrieval

Construal Level Theory (CLT; Trope & Liberman, 2003) proposes that pro-arguments (pros) constitute high-level construals and counter-arguments (cons) low-level construals. Therefore, pros are more salient for distant-future actions than are cons and the reverse holds for near-future actions (Eyal, Liberman, Trope, & Walther, 2004). We further predicted and results from one experiment show that participants found it easier to generate pros if an action pertained to the distant rather than the near future. For cons the effect was reversed: participants found it more difficult to generate cons if the action pertained to the distant rather than the near future. Consequently, people were more in favor of the action if it pertained to the distant rather than the near future. Ease of retrieval mediated the effect of temporal distance on attitudes. The mutual relevance of the CLT framework and research on ease of retrieval is discussed.     

Interference and facilitation among personal goals: differential associations with subjective well-being and persistent goal pursuit

Three studies demonstrate that mutual facilitation and interference among personal goals are distinct characteristics rather than mutually exclusive opposites and have different functions for psychological well-being and goal pursuit. The three studies vary in design (cross-sectional, short-termlongitudinal) and follow a multimethod approach using questionnaires, diaries, and objective behavioral information. Results show that interference among goals (resulting from resource constraints and incompatible goal attainment strategies) is negatively associated with trait and state well-being, whereas mutual facilitation among goals (resulting from instrumental goal relations and overlapping goal attainment strategies) is positively associated with involvement in goal pursuit.     

Relations between risk perceptions and socio-political ideology are domain- and ideology- dependent

Public policy intended to address risks is largely determined by government officials who are typically elected by ‘the people’. Lay people presumably support political figures most likely to tackle the risks perceived as relevant. The present research investigated whether risk perceptions vary by risk domain and socio-political ideology. American community adults (N = 387) recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk completed measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), political conservatism, and perceived domain risks. Risk perceptions of conservatives versus liberals systematically differed by domain: Increases in political conservatism (vs. liberalism) and RWA were associated with perceiving “personal danger” hazards as more risky, whereas increases in SDO were associated with perceiving “competitive” hazards as less risky. A liberal-orientation was associated with heightened risk concerning collective (shared) hazards.     

Reaching for the (Product) Stars: Measuring Recognition and Approach Speed to Get Insights Into Consumer Choice

In three studies, an easy-to-apply response time task that differentiates between recognition and approach speed was applied. The results indicate that individuals recognized and approached positive stimuli faster than negative stimuli (Pilot Study). But, when the choice options differed less in valence, approach movement time was a better predictor of consumer choice and willingness to pay than recognition time (Study 1) and a better predictor of consumer choice than self-reports when the choice was made with an affective compared to a cognitive focus (Study 2). Moreover, approach movement time, but not recognition time correlated with other implicit measures.     

Sexuality and Teen Television: Emerging Adults Respond to Representations of Queer Identity on Glee

Academic scholarship on teen television programs indicates that images of queer sexualities can strongly impact the identities of emerging adults. Yet what is missing from this body of scholarship is an in-depth examination of how these representations are incorporated into the identity projects of the emerging adults who watch these shows. This study fills this gap by examining qualitative interviews with emerging adults who watch Glee. The participants consistently and overwhelmingly identified Glee as representing “progressive” emerging adult sexuality. Within that, three key themes emerged. First, identifying with Glee is a gendered practice. Second, Glee fandom aligns with an affinity for musical theater, which is traditionally considered a mirror for gay culture. Finally, while viewers recognized queer narrative content, it did not produce a broader acceptance of non-heterosexual identities. Viewers normalized their own (real, straight) identities in relation to the (fake, queer) identities shown in the narrative.     

Extending the Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory's (PAI) Level of Care Index (LOCI) in Multiple Psychiatric Settings

The purpose of this study was to extend the validity and clinical application of the Level of Care Index (LOCI) from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in 2 independent psychiatric samples. In Study 1 (N = 201), the LOCI effectively differentiated level of care (inpatients from outpatients), and was also meaningfully associated with risk factors for psychiatric admission (e.g., suicidal ideation, self-harming behavior, previous psychiatric admission, etc.), even after controlling for other demographic variables (range of Cohen's ds = 0.57–1.00). Likewise, the LOCI also incremented other risk indicators (suicide and violence history) and relevant PAI indexes (i.e., Mean Clinical Elevation, and Suicide and Violence Potential) in predicting level of care, and explained an additional 6% to 12% of variance in the target variable. Diagnostic efficiency analyses indicated LOCI scores in the range of 15 to 18 optimize positive and negative predictive power, and classification rate. In Study 2 (N = 96), the LOCI was found to be significantly higher in those with a recent psychiatric admission within the past 6 months (d = 0.64), as compared to those without an admission. Similarly, those who were admitted for suicide risk had significantly higher mean LOCI scores as compared to those who did not (d = 0.70). The clinical implications of these findings and potential application of the LOCI are discussed.