Performance of schizophrenia and bipolar patients on verbal and figural working memory tasks

Working memory (WM) was studied in 82 healthy volunteers, 43 schizophrenia patients, and 81 bipolar patients. Schizophrenia patients were impaired on verbal and figural WM tasks that possessed similar test discriminating power. Bipolar patients performed similarly to healthy volunteers. A mathematical model of WM performance revealed a primary role for reduced WM span in accounting for the impaired verbal WM of schizophrenia patients and a primary role for diminished attention in accounting for impaired figural WM. Although WM impairment in schizophrenia is due neither to the general effects of severe mental illness nor to the specific type of material studied, the microarchitecture of abnormal WM in schizophrenia may depend on the stimulus material presented.     

The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-short form: reliability, validity, and factor structure

We developed a 12-item, short form of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) across 6 studies. In Study 1, we examined the reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Studies 2 and 3, we cross-validated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short form measure; whereas in Study 4, we examined test-retest reliability over a 1-month period. In Studies 5 and 6, we further assessed the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short version of the ECR when administered as a stand-alone instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that 2 factors, labeled Anxiety and Avoidance, provided a good fit to the data after removing the influence of response sets. We found validity to be equivalent for the short and the original versions of the ECR across studies. Finally, the results were comparable when we embedded the short form within the original version of the ECR and when we administered it as a stand-alone measure.     

Avoidance of Counseling: Psychological Factors That Inhibit Seeking Help

How do counselors reach out to individuals who are reluctant to seek counseling services? To answer this question, the authors examined the research on the psychological help‐seeking barriers from counseling, clinical and social psychology, as well as social work and psychiatry. Specific avoidance factors that have been identified in the mental health literature; important variations in the setting, problem type, demographics, and cultural characteristics that can influence the degree to which avoidance factors affect professional help‐seeking decisions; and suggestions for overcoming these avoidance factors are discussed.     

A Bayesian approach to the evolution of perceptual and cognitive systems

We describe a formal framework for analyzing how statistical properties of natural environments and the process of natural selection interact to determine the design of perceptual and cognitive systems. The framework consists of two parts: a Bayesian ideal observer with a utility function appropriate for natural selection, and a Bayesian formulation of Darwin's theory of natural selection. Simulations of Bayesian natural selection were found to yield new insights, for example, into the co‐evolution of camouflage, color vision, and decision criteria. The Bayesian framework captures and generalizes, in a formal way, many of the important ideas of other approaches to perception and cognition.     

„Schicksalsklüfte“

The present paper deals with the derivation of the fate concept and its application in psychotherapeutic theory and practice. Conclusions for an extension of the practical therapeutic view on existential themes, such as meaning, freedom, loneliness and death are drawn and effects on the therapeutic relationship are presented.     

A Systematic Review and Psychometric Evaluation of Adaptive Behavior Scales and Recommendations for Practice

Adaptive behavior scales are vital in assessing children and adolescents who experience a range of disabling conditions in school settings. This article presents the results of an evaluation of the design characteristics, norming, scale characteristics, reliability and validity evidence, and bias identification studies supporting 14 norm-referenced, informant-based interviews and rating scales designed to measure adaptive behaviors. To derive these results, the manuals for each of these scales were reviewed using a standardized coding procedure, and information about each scale was double-coded by reviewers. Findings reveal that several evidence-based adaptive behavior scales are available to school psychologists. Concluding recommendations address selection and use of adaptive behavior scales as part of a comprehensive assessment, using the optimal methods of administration of adaptive behavior scales, and interpreting resultant scores that have demonstrated the highest levels of reliability and the largest body of validity evidence.     

Event-related potential studies of attention

Over the past 30 years, recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) from normal individuals have played an increasingly important role in our understanding of the mechanisms of attention. This article reviews some of the recent ERP studies of attention, focusing on studies that isolate the operation of attention in specific cognitive subsystems such as perception, working memory, and response selection. Several conclusions are drawn. First, under some conditions attention modulates the initial feedforward volley of neural activity in intermediate visual processing areas. Second, these early effects can be observed for both the voluntary allocation of attention and for the automatic capture of attention following a peripheral visual transient. Third, these effects are present not only when attention is directed to a location in 2-dimensional space, but also when attention is directed to one of two spatially overlapping surfaces. Fourth, attention does not modulate sensory activity unless sensory systems are overloaded; when sensory systems are not taxed, attention may instead operate to influence memory or response processes. That is, attention operates to mitigate information overload in whichever cognitive subsystems are overloaded by a particular combination of stimuli and task.     

Christian Churches and the Prevention of Preadolescent Aggression and Violence in Puerto Rico: Regional Leaders’ Perspective

Journal of Religion and Health - Preadolescents’ involvement in religious congregations may serve as a distal protective factor against aggression. Interviews were conducted to...     

Hearing From Both Sides: Differences Between Liberal and Conservative Attitudes Toward Scientific and Experiential Evidence

Two studies examined how political ideology relates to attitudes towards opposing scientific and nonscientific perspectives on apolitical topics. Participants read an article excerpt containing quotes from a researcher debunking a common misconception, such as the existence of lucky streaks in games of chance. They also read the perspective of someone who rejected the researcher in favor of personal experience, either in the form of a quote in the article from a relevant professional (e.g., a casino manager, Study 1) or a comment from a purported previous respondent with no clear expertise (Study 2). In both studies, conservatives, compared to liberals, evaluated the views of the scientist and the person rejecting the science as closer in legitimacy. Differences in evaluation of the science rejecter were mediated by conservatives' heightened intuitive thinking. By spotlighting how partisans evaluate nonscientific perspectives alongside science and by focusing on apolitical topics, these results bring new clarity to the debate on whether conservatives are more biased than liberals in attitudes towards science.     

Moving beyond the trait conceptualization of self-esteem: The prospective effect of impulsiveness, coping, and risky behavior engagement

Past research has largely focused on examining self-esteem as an independent as opposed to a dependent variable. At the same time, research suggests that during adolescence, self-esteem is subject to yearly, monthly, as well as daily change, and consequently, it is important to identify underlying vulnerability factors and behaviors, which shape self-esteem lability. In the current multi-wave, longitudinal study, 142 adolescents between the ages of 12-18 completed monthly assessments across 4 months. At the initial assessment, adolescents provided self-report data pertaining to impulsiveness, maladaptive coping, risky behavior engagement, and self-esteem. At each of the follow-up assessments, adolescents provided information about risky behavior engagement and self-esteem. Results of time-lagged, idiographic multilevel mediation analyzes indicated that risky behavior engagement mediated the relationship between impulsiveness/maladaptive coping and subsequent low self-esteem. Critically, when included in the same model, impulsiveness was significant above and beyond maladaptive coping. Additionally, the reverse model with self-esteem as the predictor and risky behavior included as the dependent variable was not significant suggesting that our effect was unidirectional. As a whole, these findings suggest that impulsive youth may engage in behaviors, which ultimately precipitate negative self-evaluations and transient declines in self-esteem.