Individual differences in emotional memory: adult attachment and long-term memory for child sexual abuse

In the present study, attachment-related differences in long-term memory for a highly emotional life event, child sexual abuse (CSA), were investigated. Participants were 102 documented CSA victims whose cases were referred for prosecution approximately 14 years earlier. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals defensively regulate the processing of potentially distressing information (Bowlby, 1980), attachment avoidance was negatively associated with memory for particularly severe CSA incidents. This finding was not mediated by the extent to which participants reported talking about the abuse after it occurred, although post abuse discussion did enhance long-term memory. In addition, accuracy was positively associated with maternal support following the abuse and extent of CSA-related legal involvement. Attachment anxiety was unrelated to memory accuracy, regardless of abuse severity. Implications of the findings for theories of avoidant defensive strategies and emotional memory are discussed.     

Acquisition, retention, and recall of memory after injection of RS67333, a 5-HT(4) receptor agonist, into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis of the rat

The serotonin 5-HT4 subtype receptor is predominantly localized into anatomical structures linked to memory and cognition. A few experimental studies report that the acute systemic administration of selective 5-HT4 agonists has ameliorative effects on memory performance, and that these effects are reversed by contemporary administration of 5-HT4 receptor antagonists. To verify whether this procognitive action occurs via the activation of the cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM)-cortical pathways, we examined the effects of RS67333, a selective partial agonist of the 5-HT4 receptor, on rat performance in a place recognition task upon local administration of the drug into the NBM area. The intra-NBM administration of RS67333 enhances the acquisition (200-500 ng/0.5 microL) and the consolidation (40-200 ng/0.5 microL) of the place recognition memory. These effects are reversed by pretreatment with the selective 5-HT4 receptor antagonist RS39604 (300 ng/0.5 microL). Conversely, the recall of memory is not affected by the 5-HT4 agonist. Our results indicate that 5-HT4 receptors located within the NBM may play a role in spatial memory and that the procognitive effect of RS67333 is due, at least in part, to the potentiation of the activity of cholinergic NBM-cortical pathways.     

Timed picture naming in seven languages

Timed picture naming was compared in seven languages that vary along dimensions known to affect lexical access. Analyses over items focused on factors that determine cross-language universals and cross-language disparities. With regard to universals, number of alternative names had large effects on reaction time within and across languages after target-name agreement was controlled, suggesting inhibitory effects from lexical competitors. For all the languages, word frequency and goodness of depiction had large effects, but objective picture complexity did not. Effects of word structure variables (length, syllable structure, compounding, and initial frication) varied markedly over languages. Strong cross-language correlations were found in naming latencies, frequency, and length. Other-language frequency effects were observed (e.g., Chinese frequencies predicting Spanish reaction times) even after within-language effects were controlled (e.g., Spanish frequencies predicting Spanish reaction times). These surprising cross-language correlations challenge widely held assumptions about the lexical locus of length and frequency effects, suggesting instead that they may (at least in part) reflect familiarity and accessibility at a conceptual level that is shared over languages.     

A prospective study of memory for child sexual abuse: new findings relevant to the repressed-memory controversy

Previous research indicates that many adults (nearly 40%) fail to report their own documented child sexual abuse (CSA) when asked about their childhood experiences. These controversial results could reflect lack of consciously accessible recollection, thus bolstering claims that traumatic memories may be repressed. In the present study, 175 individuals with documented CSA histories were interviewed regarding their childhood trauma. Unlike in previous studies, the majority of participants (81%) in our study reported the documented abuse. Older age when the abuse ended, maternal support following disclosure of the abuse, and more severe abuse were associated with an increased likelihood of disclosure. Ethnicity and dissociation also played a role. Failure to report CSA should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence that the abuse is inaccessible to memory, although inaccessibility or forgetting cannot be ruled out in a subset of cases.     

A brief history of Romanian psychology

The evolution of Romanian psychology followed several stages, similarly to other countries in Eastern Europe, yet with its own particularities. The first psychology institutes were introduced by former students of Wilhelm Wundt, and the field saw a rapid development, with distinguished scholars making relevant scientific contributions. However, after the communist regime was enforced, psychology stagnated somewhat due to ideological, financial, and political reasons, and, in 1977, it was even removed from academia. After 1989, psychology revived in academia and research, and as a profession as well. This article summarizes the evolution of Romanian psychology through these stages, focusing on its postcommunist revival.     

Choice freedom

Individuals seek and value choice freedom, firms provide consumers ever-increasing opportunities to exercise it, citizens worry about protecting their right to choose freely, and scholars across different disciplines study the topic around the globe. We adopt a consumer psychology perspective to systematize the vast literature on choice freedom, and we present a framework to examine the relationship between choice freedom and personal and societal well-being. We begin by proposing choice freedom as an antecedent of autonomy and personal control and by clarifying the meaning of these interrelated constructs. We then use autonomy and personal control as separate processes to explain benefits and limits of choice freedom for well-being, and we review interventions that mitigate the limits. Finally, we discuss future research questions related to autonomy and personal control. Whereas extant literature focuses on the presence of freedom and on the relationship between choice freedom and the individual, we reflect on the extent to which consumers actually have freedom of choice and on the role of others in the provision and exercise of choice freedom.     

The development of the memorability-based strategy: insight from a training study

We investigated whether the memorability-based strategy, a process supporting the rejection of nonexperienced event occurrence, could be promoted through training. The performance of children who received memorability-based training was compared with that of (a) children who received source-monitoring training and (b) children who did not receive any specific training but were instructed to be as accurate as possible. Participants (142 6- to 10-year-olds) enacted common and bizarre actions. Eighteen days later, participants received misinformation about the first session. Five days after being misinformed, children were questioned about the first session. Compared with children in the no training condition, those in both training conditions reported significantly more true events, but only older children who received the memorability-based training were more likely to reject bizarre suggested events. Age interacted with action type when metacognitive assessments about false event rejection were examined, consistent with the idea that the use of the memorability-based strategy develops late during the elementary school years.     

False memories in children and adults: age,distinctiveness, and subjective experience

This study investigated developmental trends associated with the Deese/Roediger-McDermott false-memory effect, the role of distinctive information in false-memory formation, and participants' subjective experience of true and false memories. Children (5- and 7-year-olds) and adults studied lists of semantically associated words. Half of the participants studied words alone, and half studied words accompanied by pictures. There were significant age differences in recall (5-year-olds evinced more false memories than did adults) but not in recognition of critical lures. Distinctive information reduced false memory for all age groups. Younger children provided with distinctive information, and older children and adults regardless of whether they viewed distinctive information, expressed higher levels of confidence in true than in false memories. Source attributions did not significantly differ between true and false memories. Implications for theories of false memory and memory development are discussed.