Validation of distinct amnesic and executive type memory deficit in a psychiatric sample based on retrieval performance

Studies of localized brain dysfunctions have revealed connections between patterns of cognitive dysfunction and specific profiles of memory impairment. The amnesic type of memory impairment is defined by deficits in both free recall and recognition memory, whereas the dysexecutive memory impairment is characterized by retrieval deficits, i.e. a disproportional impairment in free recall relative to recognition memory. The present study tests whether classifications of psychiatric patients into recall impaired only (= RO group) and Recall and Recognition impaired (= RR group) correspond to the executive type and amnesic type of memory impairment. The alternative hypothesis is that the two groups merely differ in degree of neuropsychological and psychiatric disturbance. Forty-four subjects impaired on California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) were selected from a larger database of 103 impaired and non-impaired subjects with schizophrenia or recurrent major depression. Subjects were classified into RO and RR groups and compared on measures of memory strategy (recency effect and interference on CVLT), overall neuropsychological function (Stroop Test and WAIS-R similarity) and psychiatric symptom load (positive and negative symptoms). Repeated measures ANOVA showed no effects of group, i.e. the RR group did not perform consistently below the RO group with regard to memory strategy, neuropsychological function or psychiatric symptom load. Two out of three analyses showed group x test interaction, supporting the dissociation of distinct executive and amnesic profiles among psychiatric patients. The RO group was more susceptible to interference but had better recency score than the RR group. The RO had higher negative symptoms while the RR group had higher positive symptoms.     

Impaired activation of the phonological lexicon: effects upon oral reading

The role of the phonological lexicon in oral reading is examined in a patient with a small focal left hemisphere lesion. Impaired access to the patient's phonological lexicon is suggested by a number of findings, including the production of phonemic errors across a variety of tasks; increasing difficulty in word production with increasing word length; and difficulty on tests of homophone and rhyme judgments. Two competing models of reading are tested: the nonlexical ("rules") and the lexical ("no-rules") models. The rules model predicts that a disturbance in the phonological lexicon will result in surface alexia; the no-rules model predicts phonological alexia. Results indicate that the patient's reading is most similar to phonological alexia, providing support for the no-rules model. The applicability of the no-rules model to other forms of acquired alexia is explored.     

Sensation seeking, augmenting-reducing, and the perceived and preferred effects of drugs

The following measures were administered to 78 undergraduates: the General and Disinhibition subscales of Zuckerman's (1971) Sensation-Seeking Scale; the Reducer-Augmenter Scale (RAS; Vando, 1970, 1974); self-reported use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis; the degree of attribution of stimulant, depressant, and neutral effects to these drugs; and desirability ratings of stimulant and depressant effects ascribed to various drugs. Major findings were as follows: (a) On the RAS, reducing correlated positively with both sensation-seeking measures. (b) Seven of the nine personality-versus-drug-use correlations were positive and significant. (c) Generally, the effects attributed to drugs did not differ by sex, personality, or use. (d) However, frequent drinkers attributed stimulant effects to alcohol more strongly than depressant effects, whereas infrequent drinkers did the opposite. (e) The mean desirability ratings of stimulant and depressant drug effects correlated positively. (f) High disinhibitors rated drug effects of both kinds more favorably than did lows. (g) A similar, more favorable evaluation by high than by low general sensation seekers was significant for male subjects only. (h) Score on the Reducer-Augmenter Scale was not significantly predictive of subjects' desirability ratings.     

Prediction of symptoms of emotional distress by mood regulation expectancies and affective traits

Three studies examined negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) and affective traits as independent predictors of self‐reported symptoms of emotional distress. NMRE represent individuals' beliefs that they can alleviate unpleasant emotional states. Stronger NMRE are associated with more adaptive coping, more positive cognition during negative moods, more effective responses under stress and less emotional distress. Affective traits represent long‐term tendencies toward particular affective experiences; they confer risk for specific symptoms of emotional distress. In Study 1, NMRE, trait negative affect (TNA) and trait positive affect (TPA) were all independently associated with depression among students and staff of a German university. In Study 2, in prospective analyses among U.S. college students traits exhibited hypothesised relationships with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and NMRE uniquely predicted anhedonic depression. Study 3 revealed independent prediction of change in symptoms over time by NMRE among U.S. college students, whereas traits were not associated with change in distress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest independent roles for NMRE and traits in the development of depression and anxiety symptoms and highlight the importance of NMRE as a potential target of therapeutic intervention in the process of symptom change.     

Preselection Methods Prior to the Internal Assessment Center for Personnel Selection in German Companies

Companies frequently use preselection methods in order to identify eligible candidates before conducting assessment centers (ACs). The present study was the first to investigate current practices of preselection in German companies that use ACs for internal selection. Results of a survey among 109 German companies show that companies typically apply general qualification criteria (e.g., work experience), appraisals, or unstructured interviews for preselection, but rely less on trait‐oriented methods (e.g., intelligence tests) and structured interviews. In their subjective evaluations, however, companies rate structured interviews and trait‐oriented methods as particularly valid methods. The results also show that the number of preselection methods used is positively correlated with company size, diagnostic skills of the responsible persons in the preselection, and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normierung [German Institute for Standardization]) 33430 certification status. The implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed.     

When love is not blind: Rumination impairs implicit affect regulation in response to romantic relationship threat

The present research examined how rumination influences implicit affect regulation in response to romantic relationship threat. In three studies, the disposition to ruminate impaired the ability to maintain positive feelings about the romantic partner in the face of explicit or implicit reminders of relationship threatening events. In Study 1, a high disposition to ruminate was correlated with impaired down-regulation of negative feelings toward the partner in response to a hurtful relationship incident. Two follow-up studies manipulated relationship threat explicitly through an experiential recall procedure (Study 2) or implicitly through a subliminal evaluative-conditioning procedure (Study 3). In both studies only individuals with low disposition to ruminate were able to ward off negative feelings and maintain positive feelings toward the partner. These findings illuminate the role of implicit affect regulation in the context of relationship threat—and how it is inextricably connected with the processes underlying rumination.     

The differential contribution of facial expressions,prosody, and speech content to empathy

Background: Facial expressions, prosody, and speech content constitute channels by which information is exchanged. Little is known about the simultaneous and differential contribution of these channels to empathy when they provide emotionality or neutrality. Especially neutralised speech content has gained little attention with regards to influencing the perception of other emotional cues. Methods: Participants were presented with video clips of actors telling short-stories. One condition conveyed emotionality in all channels while the other conditions either provided neutral speech content, facial expression, or prosody, respectively. Participants judged the emotion and intensity presented, as well as their own emotional state and intensity. Skin conductance served as a physiological measure of emotional reactivity. Results: Neutralising channels significantly reduced empathic responses. Electrodermal recordings confirmed these findings. The differential effect of the communication channels on empathy prerequisites was that target emotion recognition of the other decreased mostly when the face was neutral, whereas decreased emotional responses attributed to the target emotion were especially present in neutral speech. Conclusion: Multichannel integration supports conscious and autonomous measures of empathy and emotional reactivity. Emotional facial expressions influence emotion recognition, whereas speech content is important for responding with an adequate own emotional state, possibly reflecting contextual emotion-appraisal.