Anxiety and expectancy violations: Neural response to false feedback is exaggerated in worriers

This study investigated how individual differences in anxiety modulate the neural response to errors and performance feedback. The design included false feedback on some trials in order to test the hypothesis that anxious people show stronger neural reactions to feedback that is worse than expected. Participants completed a trial-and-error learning task that required learning the correct key to press in response to face images. EEG was recorded during the task, and the response-locked error-related negativity (ERN) and feedback-locked ERN were computed to measure neural responses to error commission and feedback. As expected, errors produced a response-locked ERN and false feedback produced a feedback-locked ERN in the group as a whole. High levels of trait worry predicted a disproportionately larger ERN following false feedback, but did not predict the magnitude of the response-locked ERN following errors. These results imply that worry-prone people react more strongly to violations of expectations, rather than to errors themselves.     

Judgements of others’ emotional appropriateness are multidimensional

This study investigated the multidimensional structure of judgements of emotional appropriateness, the degree to which an observer judges a target's emotion to conform to observer-valued expectations for emotion in that context. Participants (N=169) were shown one of two brief video clips of an actor either showing anger or neutral expressions in an anger-evoking situation of either low, medium, or high severity. Participants rated the target's emotion on the Perception of Emotion Appropriateness Rating Scale (PEARS), which taps observers’ perceptions of a target's emotional appropriateness for a specific situation. We found that appropriateness ratings are comprised of three factors, assessment of Type Present (type of emotion in expression); Type Absent (missing key emotions); and Intensity (intensity with which the emotion is felt or expressed). Results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of a multidimensional conceptualisation of emotional appropriateness.     

Language use of depressed and depression-vulnerable college students

Essays written by currently-depressed, formerly-depressed, and never-depressed college students were examined for differences in language that might shed light on the cognitive operations associated with depression and depression-vulnerability. A text analysis program computed the incidence of words in predesignated categories. Consistent with Beck's cognitive model and with Pyczsinski and Greenberg's self-focus model of depression, depressed participants used more negatively valenced words and used the word, "I" more than did never-depressed participants. Formerly-depressed (presumably depression-vulnerable) participants did not differ from never-depressed participants on these indices of depressive processing. However, consistent with prediction, formerly-depressed participants' use of the word "I" increased across the essays and was significantly greater than that of never-depressed writers in the final portion of the essays.     

Negative processing biases predict subsequent depressive symptoms

This study investigated the possible relationship between negative processing biases and subsequent depression. The Scrambled Sentences Test (SST), a measure of processing bias, was administered to a large sample of undergraduates. Participants also completed self-report measures of thought suppression tendencies, current level of depression, and lifetime worst-depression symptoms. High scores on the SST, reflecting a negative processing bias, predicted depression symptoms measured 4 to 6 weeks later, even after controlling for concurrent and past depression. The SST was administered both with and without cognitive load to all participants. The SST with load predicted subsequent depression for both men and women. The SST without load predicted depression for women only. The SST difference score, a measure of the change in scores between the no-load and load conditions, was a significant predictor of subsequent depression for men but not women. Among men, the combination of high thought suppression with either high SST-load scores or high SST difference scores proved to be a particularly strong indicator of vulnerability to subsequent depression.     

Cognitive vulnerability to depression: The role of thought suppression and attitude certainty

Previous research indicates that dysfunctional attitudes wax and wane with shifts in mood, suggesting that they are more likely the result than the cause of depression. The present research examined the possibility that attitudinal precursors to depression exist but are difficult to detect because at-risk individuals are trying to suppress dysfunctional thinking. However, the lingering maladaptive beliefs should be reflected in attitude uncertainty. To test this idea, participants completed a measure of chronic thought suppression and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale that was amended to include certainty ratings. Participants also reported current and past experiences with depression. The results indicated that although formerly depressed individuals—who are at high risk for relapse—reported relatively adaptive attitudes, they were more uncertain about those beliefs than were their never-depressed counterparts. Moreover, this greater uncertainty was associated with high levels of thought suppression that, in turn, were related to previous depression.     

Personality Traits Predict Irrational Beliefs

Irrational beliefs are the focus of many psychological theories, since research has shown that holding irrational beliefs often leads to unhealthy emotions, dysfunctional behaviors, and psychological disturbances. The aim of such therapies as rational emotive behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy is to dispute irrational beliefs to promote more rational ways of thinking; however they do not take into account individual personality differences. The aim of this study was to determine whether personality traits predict rational and irrational beliefs in a mixed student and clinical sample. It was hypothesized that the domains of the five factor model of personality would predict rational beliefs as well as a range of irrational beliefs. Our findings supported the hypothesis, showing distinct associations between personality traits and each specific irrational belief. Neuroticism predicted rational beliefs as well as six out of the seven types of irrational beliefs measured. Additionally, extraversion predicted rationality and self-downing, openness predicted need for comfort and total irrationality, and conscientiousness predicted need for achievement and demand for fairness. Agreeableness did not predict any type of rational or irrational beliefs. Knowledge of these distinct relationships may increase a clinician’s ability to conceptualize a therapy case and determine the best approach to treatment.     

Risk Factors for Misconduct in a Navy Sample

Understanding antisocial behavior and organizational misconduct is an important objective, because these maladaptive behaviors are disruptive and costly to organizations and to society as a whole. The objective of this study was to identify psychosocial risk factors for misconduct and antisocial behavior in a sample of Navy personnel. A group of sailors (n = 158) who had engaged in significant misconduct were compared with a demographically similar group of sailors (n = 288) who had not engaged in misconduct and who were in good standing with the Navy. The psychosocial variables that emerged as the most important risk factors for antisocial behavior were alcohol use (odds ratio [OR] = 2.42), high impulsivity (OR = 2.20), high trait hostility (OR = 1.79), and antisocial behavior of friends (OR = 1.65). The implications of these results for the military and for research on antisocial behavior are discussed.     

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Event-Related Potentials: Evidence for Deficits in Allocating Attentional Resources to Relevant Stimuli

Current research on the nature of attentional deficits in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is reviewed with a focus on studies using event-related potentials (ERPs). A robust effect is the smaller amplitude of the P3 wave to both auditory and visual stimuli for individuals with ADHD than for normal controls. This effect is indicative of deficits in the allocation of attentional resources to task-relevant information. The Nd wave is also smaller for individuals with ADHD, an effect that suggests impairments in the discrimination and preferential processing of task-relevant information, rather than distractibility by irrelevant stimuli. Studies of the effects of methylphenidate on ERPs in ADHD indicate that this stimulant enhances the quality of stimulus evaluation and speeds response time. These specific effects support the view that ADHD involves deficits in energetic processes that are required for processing task-relevant stimuli.     

Promoting Cognitive,Emotional, and Spiritual Client Change: The Infusion of Solution‐Focused Counseling and Ritual Therapy

Solution‐focused brief counseling offers clients an opportunity to find solutions to problems and evoke cognitive change. This treatment modality is criticized for negating the emotional and spiritual aspects of client change. The authors propose that the inclusion of rituals in solution‐focused brief counseling can enhance the counseling experience for clients by encouraging meaningful cognitive, emotional, and spiritual change. A new model, Brief Solution Rituals, was developed to incorporate the use of rituals into solution‐focused counseling. The 6‐phase model, example clinical scenarios, and a case study are presented in this article. The strengths and potential limitations of the new model are discussed.     

Infant temperament and maternal parenting self-efficacy predict child weight outcomes

Relationships between infant negative reactivity and self-regulation, parenting self-efficacy, and child weight outcomes were examined. Greater observed negative reactivity predicted more child weight gain when mothers had lower parenting self-efficacy. Lower mother-reported self-regulation predicted a greater child weight status. Results highlight potential early risk/protective factors.