Mediation and moderation of the effects of watching the angiography screen on patients

It has been reported that allowing patients to watch the coronary angiography screen during the procedure results in psychological benefits. This study aimed to investigate the roles of illness perceptions as mediators of this outcome and to examine whether individual differences in monitoring coping style moderated these effects. The experiment compared patients who were instructed to watch the monitor screen (n = 57) with those who were not (n = 51). Questionnaires were used to measure the research variables at one day and one month after the procedure. Results showed that watching the angiography screen increased patients’ personal and treatment control perceptions that mediated changes in self-assessed health, risk perceptions, negative affect, general and diet outcome expectancies, and diet and physical activity intentions. The behavior-related outcomes were moderated by monitoring coping style. These findings illustrate the significance of illness perceptions, perceived control and monitoring coping style in achieving desirable outcomes among patients undergoing coronary angiography, and reveal opportunities for interventions using medical imaging technologies.     

Physical Activity Among Urban Children with Asthma: Does Sleep Matter?

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - The present study examined associations between sleep and physical activity among a diverse sample of 97 urban children (ages 7–9) with...     

Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS) reference data for Israeli adolescents

This study presents Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 1974, 2003) data for a sample of 100 Israeli nonpatient adolescents divided into 2 age-based groups: 11-14 (n = 42) and 15-18 (n = 58). The data are compared to those derived from the international project of Meyer, Erdberg, and Shaffer (2007). The results suggest that contemporary Israeli adolescents demonstrate age-appropriate inclination to show excessive self-inspection (FD), to be overly individualistic, perceiving reality in a unique and unconventional manner (elevated Xu%; lowered X+% and P), and to be involved in scientific issues (elevated Sc). The age-based group of 11 to 14, however, also tends to show difficulties in affect modulation (C > 0). Nonetheless, Israeli nonpatient adolescents are quite unlikely and not more than nonpatient adults, to show elevation on the major CS constellations of psychopathological manifestations. Although these observations are mostly in agreement with data collected from their peers around the world, the Israeli youngsters seem to be more similar to adults than to youngsters from other countries as to various CS measures, including those pointing to openness and attentiveness to stimuli (i.e., Lambda, F%). The main conclusion is that with the exception of some age-appropriate deviations, the international reference data for adults can be used for evaluating psychopathology in adolescents.     

The collapse illusion effect: A semantic-pragmatic illusion of truth and paradox

Abstract

Two Experiments demonstrate the existence of a “collapse illusion”, in which reasoners evaluate Truthteller-type propositions (“I am telling the truth”) as if they were simply true, whereas Liar-type propositions (“I am lying”) tend to be evaluated as neither true nor false. The second Experiment also demonstrates an individual differences pattern, in which shallow reasoners are more susceptible to the illusion. The collapse illusion is congruent with philosophical semantic truth theories such as Kripke's (1975 Kripke, S. 1975. Outline of a theory of truth. The Journal of Philosophy, 72: 690–716. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and with hypothetical thinking theory's principle of satisficing, but can only be partially accounted for by the model theory principle of truth. Pragmatic effects related to sentence cohesion further reinforce hypothetical thinking theory interpretation of the data, although the illusion and cohesion data could also be accounted for within a modified mental model theory.     

Models of dependence and independence: A two-dimensional architecture of dual processing

This theoretical note proposes a two-dimensional cognitive architecture for dual-process theories of reasoning and decision making. Evans (2007b Evans, J. St. B. T. 2007b. On the resolution of conflict in dual process theories of reasoning. Thinking and Reasoning, 13: 321–339. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2008a Evans, J. St. B. T. 2008a. Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59: 255–278. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2009 Evans, J. St. B. T. and Frankish, K. 2009. In two minds: Dual processes and beyond, Oxford, , UK: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) distinguishes between two types of dual-processing models: parallel-competitive, in which both types of processes operate in parallel, and default-interventionist, in which heuristic processes precede the analytic processes. I suggest that this temporal dimension should be enhanced with a functional distinction between interactionist architecture, in which either type of process influences the content and valence of the other, and independent architecture, in which they do not. Override architecture is a special case of the latter, which postulates statistical interaction, but no interaction of valence and content. I show that this added dimensional distinction casts doubt on two assumptions of statistical modelling that Evans makes: independence and linearity. However, Evans' (2007b Evans, J. St. B. T. 2007b. On the resolution of conflict in dual process theories of reasoning. Thinking and Reasoning, 13: 321–339. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) point, that statistical modelling is underspecified vis-à-vis the verbal theory, is given further support. The functional dimension is crucial to interpreting the statistical model, as well as to theoretical understanding of the cognitive architecture and its educational applications.     

Commentary on Paper by Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg

In this discussion, I stress two points. First, I have underlined the powerful understanding Dr. Zornberg brings to her exegesis of the book of Jonah via her competence as Biblical scholar, literary critic, and master of psychoanalytic theory. In her hands, Jonah becomes a fully minded person, not just a moral icon. Second, I have focused on her major thesis, that Jonah's need to escape, his repeated going down into and away from himself, evolves from his putative trauma, which is comprised of not only the horror of near death but also the shock of survival.     

Propranolol and the Prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Is it Wrong to Erase the “Sting” of Bad Memories?

The National Institute of Mental Health (Bethesda, MD) reports that approximately 5.2 million Americans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) each year. PTSD can be severely debilitating and diminish quality of life for patients and those who care for them. Studies have indicated that propranolol, a beta-blocker, reduces consolidation of emotional memory. When administered immediately after a psychic trauma, it is efficacious as a prophylactic for PTSD. Use of such memory-altering drugs raises important ethical concerns, including some futuristic dystopias put forth by the President's Council on Bioethics. We think that adequate informed consent should facilitate ethical research using propranolol and, if it proves efficacious, routine treatment. Clinical evidence from studies should certainly continue to evaluate realistic concerns about possible ill effects of diminishing memory. If memory-attenuating drugs prove effective, we believe that the most immediate social concern is the over-medicalization of bad memories, and its subsequent exploitation by the pharmaceutical industry.     

What’s good for me depends on what I see in you: Intimacy avoidance and resources derived from close others

Past research has demonstrated that comfort with intimacy differentially affects the extent to which a person assimilates/contrasts to a close other. Specifically, individuals comfortable with intimacy benefit most from assimilating to those who embody positive aspects, whereas individuals uncomfortable with intimacy benefit most from contrasting to those who embody a mix of positive and negative aspects. Using a multi-method approach, the current research provides evidence suggesting that both those who are positively regarded and those who engender mixed feelings have the potential to benefit the perceiver differentially as a function of the types of traits that are most salient at the time. In Study 1, consistent with predictions, high-avoidant individuals contrasted to the salient traits of a romantic partner and performed better on an intelligence test after thinking about their partner’s unintelligent compared to intelligent traits, whereas low-avoidant individuals assimilated. In Study 2, high-avoidant individuals contrasted to friends’ traits and exhibited more positive cardiovascular responses (i.e., greater challenge) while talking about friends’ negative traits and more negative responses (i.e., greater threat) while talking about friends’ positive traits. Together, these findings suggest that there are situations during which low- and high-avoidant individuals differentially benefit from highly regarded close others.     

Cognitive behavioral therapy in practice: treatment delivered by trainees at an outpatient clinic is clinically effective

Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) is known to be effective for a number of disorders, and can be delivered effectively by trainees in controlled settings. However, the effectiveness of trainee therapists in general practice compared to that of more experienced therapists is unknown. In this study, the authors used a benchmarking strategy to compare the outcomes of naturalistic CBT delivered by trainee therapists to those of efficacy and effectiveness studies using primarily professional therapists. Patients (N = 249) with mood and anxiety disorders were treated by trainees (primarily by interns and postdocs) using nonstandardized nonmanualized CBT at an outpatient clinic in an urban academic medical center. Changes in anxiety and depression were assessed using effect sizes, reliable and clinically significant change, and benchmarked to efficacy and effectiveness studies. Symptoms of anxiety and depression significantly improved from start to end of treatment. Rates of improvement and recovery compared favorably to those achieved in other studies, with the exception of recovery rates in severe depression. Effect sizes were in the medium to large range, but generally lower than those achieved in other studies. Results suggest that CBT can be delivered effectively by trainees in an outpatient setting.