Can Culture Influence Body‐Specific Associations Between Space and Valence?

People implicitly associate positive ideas with their dominant side of space and negative ideas with their non‐dominant side. Right‐handers tend to associate “good” with “right” and “bad” with “left,” but left‐handers associate “bad” with “right” and “good” with “left.” Whereas right‐handers' implicit associations align with idioms in language and culture that link “good” with “right,” left‐handers' implicit associations go against them. Can cultural conventions modulate the body‐specific association between valence and left‐right space? Here, we compared people from Spanish and Moroccan cultures, which differ in the strength of taboos against the use of the left hand, and therefore in their preference for the right. Results showed stronger explicit associations between space and valence in Moroccan participants than in Spaniards, but they did not show any increased tendency for right‐handed Moroccans to associate “good” with “right” implicitly. Despite differences in cultural conventions between Spaniards and Moroccans, we find no evidence for a cross‐cultural difference in the implicit association between space and valence, which appears to depend on patterns of bodily experience.     

Contrasting vertical and horizontal representations of affect in emotional visual search

Independent lines of evidence suggest that the representation of emotional evaluation recruits both vertical and horizontal spatial mappings. These two spatial mappings differ in their experiential origins and their productivity, and available data suggest that they differ in their saliency. Yet, no study has so far compared their relative strength in an attentional orienting reaction time task that affords the simultaneous manifestation of both types of mapping. Here, we investigated this question using a visual search task with emotional faces. We presented angry and happy face targets and neutral distracter faces in top, bottom, left, and right locations on the computer screen. Conceptual congruency effects were observed along the vertical dimension supporting the ‘up = good’ metaphor, but not along the horizontal dimension. This asymmetrical processing pattern was observed when faces were presented in a cropped (Experiment 1) and whole (Experiment 2) format. These findings suggest that the ‘up = good’ metaphor is more salient and readily activated than the ‘right = good’ metaphor, and that the former outcompetes the latter when the task context affords the simultaneous activation of both mappings.     

Longitudinal relations among exuberance,externalizing behaviors,and attentional bias to reward: the mediating role of effortful control

The present study examined the associations between temperamental exuberance during toddlerhood (20 months), attention bias towards reward at the end of kindergarten (76 months), and externalizing behaviors across the kindergarten year. Moreover, we examined the role of effortful control at 48 months on the relation between early exuberance and attention bias. Attention bias towards reward was positively predicted by exuberance, negatively predicted by effortful control, and positively related to externalizing problems. Finally, the longitudinal path between exuberance and attention bias to reward was mediated by effortful control – such that higher toddler exuberance led to increased attention bias towards reward by way of lower effortful control. These results extend the attention bias and socioemotional functioning literature and have implications for the identification of children at risk for behavioral problems.     

Similarity-based interference in a working memory numerical updating task: age-related differences between younger and older adults

Similarity among representations held simultaneously in working memory (WM) is a factor which increases interference and hinders performance. The aim of the current study was to investigate age-related differences between younger and older adults in a working memory numerical updating task, in which the similarity between information held in WM was manipulated. Results showed a higher susceptibility of older adults to similarity-based interference when accuracy, and not response times, was considered. It was concluded that older adults' WM difficulties appear to be due to the availability of stored information, which, in turn, might be related to the ability to generate distinctive representations and to the process of binding such representations to their context when similar information has to be processed in WM.     

The relation of personality types to physiological,behavioural, and cognitive processes

Three personality types, labeled resilient, over‐controlled, and under‐controlled, were identified through cluster analysis of classroom observations of 63 children, and used to understand biological, cognitive, and behavioural processes that influence academic achievement and aggression. Resilient children were found to be high in trait cortisol and high in academic achievement. Under‐controlled and over‐controlled children showed the greatest change in cortisol levels under stress, low levels of academic achievement, and attributed hostility to others in ambiguous situations. Under‐controlled children also exhibited high levels of externalizing behaviour in the classroom. The findings suggest that the single processes or traits assessed in this study do not mediate the associations of personality types to academic achievement and behaviour. The implications of the findings for the personality type construct and for personality processes are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can Cognitive‐Behavioral Therapy Be Optimized With Parent Psychoeducation? A Randomized Effectiveness Trial of Adolescents With Major Depression in Puerto Rico

This is a longitudinal randomized control trial on the impact of adding a parent psychoeducation intervention (TEPSI) as part of cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in a Puerto Rican sample. We tested the efficacy of adding 8 group sessions of TEPSI to 12 sessions of individual CBT on reducing depressive symptoms, MDD diagnosis, and improving family functioning. Participants (n = 121) were randomized to individual CBT with or without TEPSI. No main group effects were found for most patient domains including depression symptoms, as well as presence of adolescent's MDD diagnosis at posttreatment. Results did show a main effect of CBT over time for depression symptoms, suicide ideation, family criticism, and the presence of MDD diagnosis decreasing from pre‐ to postintervention. A year post treatment, almost 70% of adolescents in both conditions (CBT and CBT + TEPSI) remained in remission. A main effect was obtained for treatment in the adolescent's perception of familism and family emotional involvement. The primary hypothesis that family psychoeducation would optimize CBT for depression in adolescents was not supported. Both conditions yielded similar clinical end points. The culturally adapted CBT was found effective with Latino/a adolescents showing clinically significant improvements from pretreatment to posttreatment and remained stable at a 1‐year follow‐up. Regarding family outcomes, adolescents in CBT + TEPSI remained stable from pretreatment to posttreatment on family emotional involvement, while adolescents in CBT‐alone showed an increase. The implication of these findings is discussed.     

Achievement and social goals, persistence-effort, and intentions of sport practice in physical education students

The present study examined the relationship between achievement and social goals, and explored how both types of goals can affect secondary school students' persistence/effort in Physical Education classes, as well as their intention to participate in sport activities after finishing secondary school. A sample of 350 students (aged 15-17) from two high schools in Asturias participated in the study. Multiple regression analysis showed: a) persistence/effort in physical education classes was better explained by social responsibility goals, followed by mastery-approach goals and mastery-avoidance goals; b) achievement goals are the only predictors of young people's intention of practicing sport in the future. Differences were found in these results according to gender and course. These findings help us better understand the processes involved in Physical Education. Finally, implications to improve classes and to achieve young people's more active and higher level of implication in sports are discussed.     

Effects of the iodine deficiency on intellectual variables among children

An association between severe iodine deficiency and poor mental development has been found in many studies. We examined the relationship between moderate or mild iodine deficiency and intellectual capacity in order to determine whether problems common to severe iodine deficiency (including mental retardation) also emerge in a more subtle form. We also wished to know whether the classic methodology (comparing iodine-deficient zones with nondeficient zones) is the most adequate, and propose to combine this grouping by zones with urinary iodine presented by individuals in each zone. We measured IQ, manipulative and verbal capacity, attention, visual motor ability and disruptive behaviour, variables that have barely been studied in this kind of investigations. The sample comprised 760 schoolchildren from the province of Jaén (southern Spain). Our results show that children with low levels of iodine intake and with urinary iodine concentration lower than 100 microg/litre had a lower IQ and displayed more disruptive behaviour than children with high levels of the criteria. The other variables were not associated with iodine deficiency.     

Successive negative contrast after partial reinforcement in the consummatory behavior of rats

Rats given access to a 32% sucrose solution later reject a 4% solution significantly more than controls that have only received the 4% solution. In Experiment 1, this consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) effect was attenuated by previous exposure to 50% partial reinforcement. Furthermore, recovery from cSNC was also facilitated by partial reinforcement. In Experiment 2, the attenuating effects of partial reinforcement on cSNC were eliminated by administration of the benzodiazepine anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide (5 mg/kg) before nonreinforced trials. In Experiment 3, the attenuating effect of partial reinforcement was greater after a shift from 32 to 6% solution, than after a shift from 32 to 2% solution. The parallels between the effects of partial reinforcement on consummatory and instrumental behavior are discussed.     

Antidepressant discontinuation in the context of cognitive behavioral treatment for panic disorder.

Cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) has been shown to reduce risk for adverse reactions (e.g., rebound panic) following benzodiazepine taper for patients with panic disorder (PD). This study evaluated the effects of antidepressant discontinuation for patients with PD in the context of CBT. Patients with PD (n=21) on a stable dose of antidepressants completed a 12-week group CBT treatment and were randomly assigned to discontinue antidepressants during week 8 of the treatment. There were no statistically significant differences between groups at posttreatment or 6-month follow-up. Data indicate no apparent immediate or long-term adverse effects for antidepressant discontinuation for patients with PD receiving CBT.