The effects of trait and state anxiety on attention to emotional images: An eye-tracking study

Attentional biases for threatening stimuli have been implicated in the development of anxiety disorders. However, little is known about the relative influences of trait and state anxiety on attentional biases. This study examined the effects of trait and state anxiety on attention to emotional images. Low, mid, and high trait anxious participants completed two trial blocks of an eye-tracking task. Participants viewed image pairs consisting of one emotional (threatening or positive) and one neutral image while their eye movements were recorded. Between trial blocks, participants underwent an anxiety induction. Primary analyses examined the effects of trait and state anxiety on the proportion of viewing time on emotional versus neutral images. State anxiety was associated with increased attention to threatening images for participants, regardless of trait anxiety. Furthermore, when in a state of anxiety, relative to a baseline condition, durations of initial gaze and average fixation were longer on threat versus neutral images. These findings were specific to the threatening images; no anxiety-related differences in attention were found with the positive images. The implications of these results for future research, models of anxiety-related information processing, and clinical interventions for anxiety are discussed.     

The Reading Fluency and Comprehension of Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Struggling Readers Across Brief Tests of Various Intervention Approaches

Although several different reading fluency intervention approaches appear promising for adolescents who are struggling readers, few studies have directly compared various approaches. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine the relative effects of word-oriented, fluency-oriented, comprehension-oriented, and multi-component interventions on the reading fluency performance of fifth and sixth grade struggling readers; and 2) to examine the concomitant effects of each intervention approach on comprehension. A within participant design, where all 29 participants received all interventions, was used. Outcomes were measured using instructional and transfer materials. The results provide support for a fluency-oriented and multi-component approach.     

Examination of the Relationship Between PTSD and Distress Tolerance in a Sample of Male Veterans With Comorbid Substance Use Disorders

Distress tolerance (DT), the perceived or actual ability to tolerate negative emotional or physical states, is inversely related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in civilian, community samples. No studies to date have examined the relationship between DT and PTSD in clinical samples of veterans with a comorbid diagnosis of PTSD and a substance use disorder (SUD). Thus, the present study examined the relationship between DT and PTSD in a sample of predominately African American, male veterans (n = 75) diagnosed with comorbid PTSD and SUD (according to a structured clinical interview). Results of hierarchical linear regression models indicated that DT was inversely related to total PTSD symptom severity score, above and beyond depressive symptoms and SUD severity. Of the 4 symptom clusters, DT was inversely associated with intrusions and hyperarousal. These findings are discussed in light of previous work with civilian samples. Determining whether treatment incorporating DT skills would be useful for veterans undergoing PTSD treatment should be evaluated.     

Major memory for microblogs

Online social networking is vastly popular and permits its members to post their thoughts as microblogs, an opportunity that people exploit, on Facebook alone, over 30 million times an hour. Such trivial ephemera, one might think, should vanish quickly from memory; conversely, they may comprise the sort of information that our memories are tuned to recognize, if that which we readily generate, we also readily store. In the first two experiments, participants’ memory for Facebook posts was found to be strikingly stronger than their memory for human faces or sentences from books—a magnitude comparable to the difference in memory strength between amnesics and healthy controls. The second experiment suggested that this difference is not due to Facebook posts spontaneously generating social elaboration, because memory for posts is enhanced as much by adding social elaboration as is memory for book sentences. Our final experiment, using headlines, sentences, and reader comments from articles, suggested that the remarkable memory for microblogs is also not due to their completeness or simply their topic, but may be a more general phenomenon of their being the largely spontaneous and natural emanations of the human mind.     

Examining the Validity of Cyclothymic Disorder in a Youth Sample: Replication and Extension

DSM-IV-TR defines four subtypes of bipolar disorder (BP): bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymic disorder and bipolar not otherwise specified (NOS). However, cyclothymic disorder in children is rarely researched, or often subsumed in an “NOS” category. The present study tests the replicability of findings from an earlier study, and expands on the criterion validity of cyclothymic disorder in youth. Using the Robins and Guze (1970) framework we examined the validity of cyclothymic disorder as a subtype of BP. Using a youth (ages 5–17) outpatient clinical sample (N?=?894), participants with cyclothymic disorder (n?=?53) were compared to participants with other BP spectrum disorders (n?=?399) and to participants with non-bipolar disorders (n?=?442). Analyses tested differences in youth with cyclothymic disorder and bipolar disorder not otherwise specified who do, and those who do not, have a parent with BP. Compared to youth with non-bipolar disorders, youth with cyclothymic disorder had higher irritability (p?<?0.001), more comorbidity (p?<?0.001), greater sleep disturbance (p?<?0.005), and were more likely to have a family history of BP (p?<?0.001). Cyclothymic disorder was associated with a younger age of onset compared to depression (p?<?0.001) and bipolar II (p?=?0.05). Parental BP status was not significantly associated with any variables. Results support that cyclothymic disorder belongs on the bipolar spectrum. Epidemiological studies indicate that cyclothymic disorder is not uncommon and involves significant impairment. Failing to differentiate between cyclothymic disorder and bipolar NOS limits our knowledge about a significant proportion of cases of bipolarity.     

The cognitive underpinnings of creative thought: A latent variable analysis exploring the roles of intelligence and working memory in three creative thinking processes

The field of creativity has largely focused on individual differences in divergent thinking abilities. Recently, contemporary creativity researchers have shown that intelligence and executive functions play an important role in divergent thought, opening new lines of research to examine how higher-order cognitive mechanisms may uniquely contribute to creative thinking. The present study extends previous research on the intelligence and divergent thinking link by systematically examining the relationships among intelligence, working memory, and three fundamental creative processes: associative fluency, divergent thinking, and convergent thinking. Two hundred and sixty five participants were recruited to complete a battery of tasks that assessed a range of elementary to higher-order cognitive processes related to intelligence and creativity. Results provide evidence for an associative basis in two distinct creative processes: divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Findings also supported recent work suggesting that intelligence significantly influences creative thinking. Finally, working memory played a significant role in creative thinking processes. Recasting creativity as a construct consisting of distinct higher-order cognitive processes has important implications for future approaches to studying creativity within an individual differences framework.     

Prospective and retrospective time perception are related to mental time travel: Evidence from Alzheimer’s disease

Unlike prospective time perception paradigms, in which participants are aware that they have to estimate forthcoming time, little is known about retrospective time perception in normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our paper addresses this shortcoming by comparing prospective and retrospective time estimation in younger adults, older adults, and AD patients. In four prospective tasks (lasting 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, or 120 s) participants were asked to read a series of numbers and to provide a verbal estimation of the reading time. In four other retrospective tasks, they were not informed about time judgment until they were asked to provide a verbal estimation of four elapsed time intervals (lasting 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, or 120 s). AD participants gave shorter verbal time estimations than older adults and younger participants did, suggesting that time is perceived to pass quickly in these patients. For all participants, the duration of the retrospective tasks was underestimated as compared to the prospective tasks and both estimations were shorter than the real time interval. Prospective time estimation was further correlated with mental time travel, as measured with the Remember/Know paradigm. Mental time travel was even higher correlated with retrospective time estimation. Our findings shed light on the relationship between time perception and the ability to mentally project oneself into time, two skills contributing to human memory functioning. Finally, time perception deficits, as observed in AD patients, can be interpreted in terms of dramatic changes occurring in frontal lobes and hippocampus.     

Family and Cultural Predictors of Depression Among Samoan American Middle and High School Students

This study investigated family intergenerational conflict and collective self‐esteem as predictors of depression in a sample of 128 Samoan middle and high school students. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed that each independent variable significantly contributed to an overall model that accounted for 13% of the variance in depression. Implications for counseling research and practice are discussed in terms of how schools may consider ways to promote these youth's cultural worth and positive family dynamics. Este estudio investigó el conflicto familiar intergeneracional y la autoestima colectiva como predictores de depresión en una muestra de 128 estudiantes samoanos de enseñanza media y secundaria. Los análisis simultáneos de regresión revelaron que cada variable independiente contribuyó de forma significativa a un modelo general que explicó un 13% de la varianza en depresión. Se discuten las implicaciones para la investigación y práctica de la consejería, en términos de cómo las escuelas pueden considerar formas de promover el valor cultural de estos jóvenes y una dinámica familiar positiva.