Unequal impairment in the recognition of positive and negative emotions after right hemisphere lesions: a left hemisphere bias for happy faces

The processing of several important aspects of a human face was investigated in a single patient (LZ), who had a large infarct of the right hemisphere involving the parietal, and temporal lobes with extensions into the frontal region. LZ showed selective problems with recognizing emotional expressions, whereas she was flawless in recognizing gender, familiarity, and identity. She was very poor in recognizing negative facial expressions (fear, disgust, anger, sadness), but scored as well as the controls on the positive facial expression of happiness. However, in two experiments using both static and dynamic face stimuli, we showed that LZ also did not have a proper notion of what a facial expression of happiness looks like, and could not adequately apply this label. We conclude that the proper recognition of both negative and positive facial expressions relies on the right hemisphere, and that the left hemisphere produces a default state resulting in a bias towards evaluating expressions as happy. We discuss the implications of the current findings for the main models that aim to explain hemispheric specializations for processing of positive and negative emotions.     

Über die Treffsicherheit der standardisierten Risikoeinschätzungsverfahren Static-99 und Stable-2007 bei aus einer Sicherungsmaßnahme entlassenen Sexualstraftätern

The accuracy of the recidivism risk assessment instruments Static-99 and Stable-2007 for sexual offenders was examined in a population of released male forensic sexual offenders hospitalized under mandatory treatment in Austria (N?=?96). The Static-99 with an area under the curve (AUC) ?value of 0.86 and the Stable-2007 (AUC?=?0.71) were significantly related to sexual reoffending after nearly 7 years time at risk, thus revealing a predictive power comparable with offenders released from prison (N?=?274). Also the Stable-2007 incrementally supplemented the predictive accuracy of the Static-99. Static-99/Stable-2007 risk/need categories identified a high risk group with a 50?% chance for sexual reconviction within 5 years after release despite a favorable risk assessment as the precondition for release and post-release risk management. On the other hand, there was virtually no relapse in the three lowest risk categories suggesting a specific effect of the mandatory treatment at least in these offender categories. The data suggest that the instruments are valid not only for offenders released from prison but also for forensic sexual offenders.     

Boundary Disturbances and Eating Disorder Symptoms

Female graduate students in counseling and clinical psychology retrospectively rated maternal and paternal boundaries in their families of origin. Subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory-3 were used to assess disordered eating, including drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, bulimia symptoms, and overall risk. Results indicated that maternal enmeshment and maternal psychological control were related to disordered eating. Further, daughters who reported that their mothers shielded them from parents’ conflict and adult concerns were less likely to report drive for thinness or bulimic tendencies. With respect to paternal boundary problems, paternal infantilization (overprotection) was significantly related to daughters’ drive for thinness.     

Morningness‐eveningness and educational outcomes: the lark has an advantage over the owl at high school

Background. Chronotype refers to individuals’ preference for morning or evening activities. Its two dimensions (morningness and eveningness) are related to a number of academic outcomes. Aims. The main goal of the study was to investigate the incremental validity of chronotype as a predictor of academic achievement after controlling for a number of traditional predictors. In so doing, a further aim was ongoing validation of a chronotype questionnaire, the Lark‐Owl Chronotype Indicator. Sample. The sample comprised 272 students attending 9th and 10th grades at five German high schools. Data was also obtained from 132 parents of these students. Method. Students were assessed in class via self‐report questionnaires and a standardized cognitive test. Parents filled out a questionnaire at home. The incremental validity of chronotype was investigated using hierarchical linear regression. Validity of the chronotype questionnaire was assessed by correlating student ratings of their chronotype with behavioural data on sleep, food intake, and drug consumption and with parent ratings of chronotype. Results. Eveningness was a significant (negative) predictor of overall grade point average (GPA), math–science GPA, and language GPA, after cognitive ability, conscientiousness, need for cognition, achievement motivation, and gender were held constant. Validity evidence for the chronotype measure was established by significant correlations with parent‐ratings and behavioural data. Conclusions. Results point to the possible discrimination of adolescents with a proclivity towards eveningness at school. Possible explanations for the relationship between chronotype and academic achievement are presented. Implications for educational practice are also discussed.     

The effect of observational learning on students’ performance,processes, and motivation in two creative domains

Background . Previous research has shown that observation can be effective for learning in various domains, for example, argumentative writing and mathematics. The question in this paper is whether observational learning can also be beneficial when learning to perform creative tasks in visual and verbal arts. Aims . We hypothesized that observation has a positive effect on performance, process, and motivation. We expected similarity in competence between the model and the observer to influence the effectiveness of observation. Sample . A total of 131 Dutch students (10^th grade, 15 years old) participated. Method . Two experiments were carried out (one for visual and one for verbal arts). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions; two observational learning conditions and a control condition (learning by practising). The observational learning conditions differed in instructional focus (on the weaker or the more competent model of a pair to be observed). Results . We found positive effects of observation on creative products, creative processes, and motivation in the visual domain. In the verbal domain, observation seemed to affect the creative process, but not the other variables. The model similarity hypothesis was not confirmed. Conclusions . Results suggest that observation may foster learning in creative domains, especially in the visual arts.     

Intrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder: phenomenology, theory, and therapy

The article describes features of trauma memories in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including characteristics of unintentional re-experiencing symptoms and intentional recall of trauma narratives. Reexperiencing symptoms are usually sensory impressions and emotional responses from the trauma that appear to lack a time perspective and a context. The vast majority of intrusive memories can be interpreted as re-experiencing of warning signals, i.e., stimuli that signalled the onset of the trauma or of moments when the meaning of the event changed for the worse. Triggers of re-experiencing symptoms include stimuli that have perceptual similarity to cues accompanying the traumatic event. Intentional recall of the trauma in PTSD may be characterised by confusion about temporal order, and difficulty in accessing important details, both of which contribute to problematic appraisals. Recall tends to be disjointed. When patients with PTSD deliberately recall the worst moments of the trauma, they often do not access other relevant (usually subsequent) information that would correct impressions/predictions made at the time. A theoretical analysis of re-experiencing symptoms and their triggers is offered, and implications for treatment are discussed. These include the need to actively incorporate updating information ("I know now ...") into the worst moments of the trauma memory, and to train patients to discriminate between the stimuli that were present during the trauma ("then") and the innocuous triggers of re-experiencing symptoms ("now").     

Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow

Recent theoretical and empirical work in cognitive science and neuroscience is brought into contact with the concept of the flow experience. After a brief exposition of brain function, the explicit-implicit distinction is applied to the effortless information processing that is so characteristic of the flow state. The explicit system is associated with the higher cognitive functions of the frontal lobe and medial temporal lobe structures and has evolved to increase cognitive flexibility. In contrast, the implicit system is associated with the skill-based knowledge supported primarily by the basal ganglia and has the advantage of being more efficient. From the analysis of this flexibility/efficiency trade-off emerges a thesis that identifies the flow state as a period during which a highly practiced skill that is represented in the implicit system's knowledge base is implemented without interference from the explicit system. It is proposed that a necessary prerequisite to the experience of flow is a state of transient hypofrontality that enables the temporary suppression of the analytical and meta-conscious capacities of the explicit system. Examining sensory-motor integration skills that seem to typify flow such as athletic performance, writing, and free-jazz improvisation, the new framework clarifies how this concept relates to creativity and opens new avenues of research.     

Speed of comprehension of visualized ordered sets

The authors investigated the effects of visual properties of hierarchical graphs on speed of comprehension: planarity (crossing of lines), slopes (orientation of lines), and levels (adjustment of dots). In each of 4 experiments, 30 participants responded to interpretive questions that required comparisons among the elements of the graph. Knowledge provided to participants differed across Experiments 1a, 1b, and 1c; question demands varied in Experiment 2. Analysis of response latencies showed that crossing of lines is the most influential variable independent of orientation, dot adjustment, and question demands. Speed of comprehension decreased with increasing question demands. When question demands were high, orientation of lines also had an effect on speed of comprehension. Preliminary conclusions for the presentation of hierarchical graphs are drawn.     

Separating trait effects from trait-specific method effects in multitrait-multimethod models: a multiple-indicator CT-C(M-1) model

An overview of several models of confirmatory factor analysis for analyzing multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data and a discussion of their advantages and limitations are provided. A new class of multi-indicator MTMM models combines several strengths and avoids a number of serious shortcomings inherent in previously developed MTMM models. The new models enable researchers to specify and to test trait-specific-method effects. The trait and method concepts composing these models are explained in detail and are contrasted with those of previously developed MTMM models for multiple indicators. The definitions of the models are explained step by step, and a practical empirical application of the models to the measurement of 3 traits x 3 methods is used to demonstrate their advantages and limitations.