Interpretive biases for ambiguous information in body dysmorphic disorder

Anxiety-disordered patients and individuals with high trait anxiety tend to interpret ambiguous information as threatening. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether interpretive biases would also occur in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), which is characterized by a preoccupation with imagined defects in one's appearance. We tested whether BDD participants, compared with obsessive-compulsive disorder participants and healthy controls, would choose threatening interpretations for ambiguous body-related, ambiguous social, and general scenarios. As we hypothesized, BDD participants exhibited a negative interpretive bias for body-related scenarios and for social scenarios, whereas the other groups did not. Moreover, both clinical groups exhibited a negative interpretive bias for general scenarios.     

Narcolepsy: pathophysiology and neuropsychological changes

Narcolepsy is now recognized as a distinctive disorder with specific pathophysiology and neurochemical abnormalities. Findings on the role of the neuropeptide hypocretin are opening new avenues of research and new strategies for therapy. Recently, neuropsychological and electrophysiological studies have provided evidence for reduced memory performance on standard memory tests in addition to subjective complaints of forgetfulness which may be related to changes in attentional processing. Further studies are, however, necessary to clarify the neuropsychological profile in narcolepsy. This review focuses on the recent advances in understanding narcolepsy.     

Vom Verhältnis zwischen Psychosomatik und Verhaltensmedizin

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The ingroup as pars pro toto: projection from the ingroup onto the inclusive category as a precursor to social discrimination

In an approach to intergroup discrimination and tolerance, it is assumed that the outgroup's difference from the ingroup is evaluated with reference to the prototype of the higher-order category that includes both groups. Two correlational studies yielded evidence that (a) group members tend to perceive their ingroup as relatively prototypical for the inclusive category (projection), (b) members highly identified with both ingroup and inclusive category (dual identity) tend to project most, and (c) relative prototypicality is related to negative attitudes toward the outgroup. The latter relation was further specified in Study 3, manipulating the valence of the inclusive category. Projection was related to more negative attitudes toward the outgroup when the inclusive category was primed positively but to more positive attitudes when it was primed negatively. The meaning of dual identities for intergroup relations is discussed.