Recovering from negative events by boosting implicit positive affect

Upregulation of implicit positive affect (PA) can act as a mechanism to deal with negative affect. Two studies tracked temporal changes in positive and negative affect (NA) assessed by self-report and the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT; Quirin, Kazen, & Kuhl, 2009). Study 1 observed the predicted increases in implicit PA after exposure to a threat-related film clip, which correlated positively with the speed of recognising a happy face among an angry crowd. Study 2 replicated increases in implicit PA after exposition to the same film clip, and showed that such increases were enhanced by priming self-referential stimuli. The findings are discussed against the background of personality systems interaction (PSI) theory (Kuhl, 2000, 2001), which emphasises the role of the implicit self in affect regulation.     

Neurobiological and memory models of risky decision making in adolescents versus young adults

Predictions of fuzzy-trace theory and neurobiological approaches are examined regarding risk taking in a classic decision-making task--the framing task--as well as in the context of real-life risk taking. We report the 1st study of framing effects in adolescents versus adults, varying risk and reward, and relate choices to individual differences, sexual behavior, and behavioral intentions. As predicted by fuzzy-trace theory, adolescents modulated risk taking according to risk and reward. Adults showed standard framing, reflecting greater emphasis on gist-based (qualitative) reasoning, but adolescents displayed reverse framing when potential gains for risk taking were high, reflecting greater emphasis on verbatim-based (quantitative) reasoning. Reverse framing signals a different way of thinking compared with standard framing (reverse framing also differs from simply choosing the risky option). Measures of verbatim- and gist-based reasoning about risk, sensation seeking, behavioral activation, and inhibition were used to extract dimensions of risk proneness: Sensation seeking increased and then decreased, whereas inhibition increased from early adolescence to young adulthood, predicted by neurobiological theories. Two additional dimensions, verbatim- and gist-based reasoning about risk, loaded separately and predicted unique variance in risk taking. Importantly, framing responses predicted real-life risk taking. Reasoning was the most consistent predictor of real-life risk taking: (a) Intentions to have sex, sexual behavior, and number of partners decreased when gist-based reasoning was triggered by retrieval cues in questions about perceived risk, whereas (b) intentions to have sex and number of partners increased when verbatim-based reasoning was triggered by different retrieval cues in questions about perceived risk.     

Relationships Among Personality,Expectations About Counseling,and Help‐Seeking Attitudes

This study investigated the relationships among personality variables, counseling expectations, and help‐seeking attitudes. Participants (N = 411) completed the Revised NEO (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to New Experiences) Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992), the Expectations About Counseling Questionnaire‐Brief Form (Tinsley, 1982), and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale (Fischer & Turner, 1970). Results indicate that personality factors are related to help‐seeking attitudes and these relationships are moderated by expectations about counseling.     

A Positive Relationship Between Religious Faith and Forgiveness: Faith in the Absence of Data?

Religious faith and beliefs appear to play an important role in the lives of many individuals and are the topic of much research. The present study investigated the relationship between religious faith and forgiveness in a sample (n = 196) of college students. Students were asked to complete the Heartland Forgiveness Scale and the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Analyses of scores on both measures revealed a positive, significant correlation between these constructs, suggesting that there is a meaningful relationship between religious faith and the tendency to forgive. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.     

Complainant Sexual History Evidence: Its Impact On Mock Jurors' Decisions

The current study examined the impact of complainant sexual history evidence on mock jurors' judgements in a sexual assault trial. One hundred and sixty–nine undergraduates listened to an audiotape of a sexual assault trial in which the sexual history between the complainant and defendant was systematically varied to include either sexual intercourse, kissing and petting, or no history information. The effectiveness of judicial limiting instructions that accompany the introduction of sexual history evidence at trial was also examined. Compared to the control condition, those who heard evidence involving prior sexual intercourse between the complainant and defendant were less likely to find the complainant credible, more likely to find her blameworthy, and more likely to believe she consented. The information failed, however, to influence participants' judgements about the defendant's belief in consent. As well, the presence of limiting instructions did little to curb the prejudicial influence of this information.     

Oral administration of guanosine impairs inhibitory avoidance performance in rats and mice

Extracellular guanine-based purines, mainly the nucleoside guanosine, have recently been shown to exert neuroprotective effects, which seem to be related to antagonism of the glutamatergic system. In this study, we investigated the effects of acute oral administration of guanosine on inhibitory avoidance task in rats and mice. We also studied its effects on locomotor activity, anxiety-related behaviors and mechanisms of action involving the purinergic system. Guanosine (2.0 and 7.5mg/kg, per os), administered 75min pretraining, dose-dependently impaired retention of the inhibitory avoidance task in rats and mice, an effect not prevented by the adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine. Guanosine presented no effects on locomotor activity and anxiety-related behaviors. This amnesic effect of guanosine may be compatible with inhibition of glutamatergic system and seems to be not mediated by adenosine.     

Sensitivity to stimulus similarity is associated with greater sustained attention ability

Sustained attention is critical for tasks where perceptual information must be continuously processed, like reading or driving; however, the cognitive processes underlying sustained attention remain incompletely characterized. In the experiments that follow, we explore the relationship between sustaining attention and the contents and maintenance of task-relevant features in an attentional template. Specifically, we administered the gradual onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), a sensitive measure of sustained attention, to a large web-based sample (N>20,000) and a smaller laboratory sample for validation and extension. The gradCPT requires participants to respond to most stimuli (city scenes – 90 %) and withhold to rare target images (mountain scenes – 10 %). By using stimulus similarity to probe the representational content of task-relevant features—assuming either exemplar- or category-based feature matching—we predicted that RTs for city stimuli that were more “mountain-like” would be slower and “city-like” mountain stimuli would elicit more erroneous presses. We found that exemplar-based target-nontarget (T-N) similarity predicted both RTs and erroneous button presses, suggesting a stimulus-specific feature matching process was adopted. Importantly, individual differences in the degree of sensitivity to these similarity measures correlated with conventional measures of attentional ability on the gradCPT as well as another CPT that is perceptually less demanding. In other words, individuals with greater sustained attention ability (assessed by two tasks) were more likely to be influenced by stimulus similarity on the gradCPT. These results suggest that sustained attention facilitates the construction and maintenance of an attentional template that is optimal for a given task.     

Validation of the German Version of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women and its Application in a Sample of Sexually and Physically Abused Women

Results regarding the association between global self-esteem and sexual behavior suggest the importance of a domain-specific construct—so-called sexual self-esteem (SSE). Prior studies suggested that SSE is malleable and found a negative impact of sexual abuse on SSE. In the present study, the German translation of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory-Short Form (SSEI-SF) by Zeanah and Schwarz (1996) was validated via an online survey with 557 women and then investigated in a clinical sample of women suffering from PTSD following sexual and physical abuse compared with healthy controls (n = 130). We examined differences in SSE depending on the type of abuse. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate model fit, with acceptable-to-excellent reliability (α = .78–.94) and sound convergent and discriminant validity. As expected, SSEI-SF scores were significantly lower in the clinical sample than those in the healthy control group. Within the clinical sample, there were no significant differences in SSE between clients who had experienced sexual abuse and those who had experienced physical abuse, but a history of sexual abuse was significantly linked to lower SSE and SSE was related to both sexual behavior and sexual satisfaction. In conclusion, our study supports the validity and applicability of the German version of the SSEI-SF. Results regarding the differences in SSE between survivors of abuse and healthy controls contribute to the further understanding of female sexuality and have implications for treatment.