What people believe about memory

Two representative samples of adult Norwegians (n=2000) were asked a set of general and specific questions regarding their beliefs and opinions about human memory. The results indicate that on many questions, such as time of the earliest memories, inhibiting effects of collaboration, and memory for dramatic versus ordinary events, the views of the general public concurred with current research findings, and people in general had realistic views about their own memory performance. On other questions, such as the reliability of olfactory as compared with visual and auditory memory, the memory of small children in comparison with that of adults, the likelihood of repression of adult traumatic memories, and on more general questions such as the possibility of training memory and the capacity limitations of long-term memory, a large proportion of the participants expressed views that are less supported by scientific evidence. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed.     

Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A)

The present study reports the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale in non-clinical and clinical populations. The participants were 344 young male military recruits, 41 healthy controls and 142 psychiatric outpatients. All the participants completed the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. The analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85, indicating satisfactory reliability. Evidence for the construct validity was obtained by the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (r = 0.47) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (r = 0.47). Finally, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale significantly discriminated between clinically depressed, non-depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. The results showed that the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale possess satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this instrument is appropriate for use as a cognitive measure in a Norwegian cultural context.     

Innovative behaviour in fish: Atlantic cod can learn to use an external tag to manipulate a self-feeder

This study describes how three individual fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.), developed a novel behaviour and learnt to use a dorsally attached external tag to activate a self-feeder. This behaviour was repeated up to several hundred times, and over time these fish fine-tuned the behaviour and made a series of goal-directed coordinated movements needed to attach the feeder’s pull string to the tag and stretch the string until the feeder was activated. These observations demonstrate a capacity in cod to develop a novel behaviour utilizing an attached tag as a tool to achieve a goal. This may be seen as one of the very few observed examples of innovation and tool use in fish.     

How valuable is a well‐crafted design and name brand?: Recognition and willingness to pay

Preferences for similarly designed consumer products, evaluated blind and branded and also with and without prices, were tested in a consumer setting. The consumer's perceptual experience led to preference of the well‐crafted high‐priced option. This preference was enhanced by priming consumers with background information about the brand, perhaps causing the subjects to guess which choice was the well‐known brand before evaluation. Preferences for that choice increased again when brand names were visible during evaluation. When actual prices were added to the evaluations, preferences for the well‐known brand were very robust to high prices, indicating the strength of the brand name. Using the least preferred option and the lowest price as an anchor, the consumers' price threshold to pay for the preferred design and the brand name was computed. Attempts to explain and predict individual differences of choices using measures of inherent design acumen, prior experience, and purchasing behavior were largely unsuccessful. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trajectories of self-efficacy in persons with chronic illness: An explorative longitudinal study

Background: Self-efficacy is important for changing health behaviour in persons with chronic illness. Longer term trajectories have not been previously explored.

Objective: This study’s objective was to explore the trajectories of self-efficacy in two different groups with chronic illnesses attending a patient education course.

Design: The study design was a longitudinal, comparative cohort study with five time points during a one-year follow-up, using repeated measures analysis of variance.

Setting and participants: Persons with morbid obesity (n = 55) and persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n = 56) were recruited at the start of patient education courses in Norway and followed-up four times the following year.

Main outcome measure: The General Self-Efficacy Scale was the main outcome.

Results: Obese persons showed a linear pattern of increasing self-efficacy during the follow-up period, whereas persons with COPD had an initial increase followed by a decrease in self-efficacy. Having paid work was associated with a more positive self-efficacy trajectory.

Conclusion: The results provide support for the currently employed patient education course for morbidly obese persons. In contrast, persons with COPD may need more extensive and/or more frequent support in order to increase and maintain self-efficacy across time.     

Relationships between non-pathological dream-enactment and mirror behaviors

Dream-enacting behaviors (DEBs) are behavioral expressions of forceful dream images often occurring during sleep-to-wakefulness transitions. We propose that DEBs reflect brain activity underlying social cognition, in particular, motor-affective resonance generated by the mirror neuron system. We developed a Mirror Behavior Questionnaire (MBQ) to assess some dimensions of mirror behaviors and investigated relationships between MBQ scores and DEBs in a large of university undergraduate cohort. MBQ scores were normally distributed and described by a four-factor structure (Empathy/Emotional Contagion, BehavioralImitation, Sleepiness/Anger Contagion, Motor Skill Imitation). DEB scores correlated positively with MBQ total and factor scores even with social desirability, somnambulism and somniloquy controlled. Emotion-specific DEB items correlated with corresponding emotion-specific MBQ items, especially crying and smiling. Results provide preliminary evidence for cross-state relationships between propensities for dream-enacting and mirror behaviors—especially behaviors involving motor-affective resonance—and our suggestion that motor-affective resonance mediates dream-enactment imagery during sleep and emotional empathy during waking.     

Processes in acceptance and commitment therapy and the rehabilitation of chronic fatigue

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has never been tested for patients with chronic fatigue. We aimed to test if a 3.5‐week ACT rehabilitation program for patients with chronic fatigue improved quality of life (QoL), fatigue, and psychological flexibility. Further, to test if improvements in QoL and fatigue were associated with improvement in psychological flexibility, and if psychological flexibility explained variance above and beyond maladaptive cognitions typically targeted in CBT for fatigue. Patients (n = 140) who had been on sick leave > 8 weeks due to chronic fatigue received a 3.5‐week non‐controlled inpatient rehabilitation program based on ACT. A physician and a psychologist examined the patients, assessing medication use and SCID‐I diagnoses. Patients completed questionnaires about somatic complaints, psychological complaints, and maladaptive cognitions before and after treatment. At post‐treatment, patients reported improved QoL (p < 0.001; g = 1.07) and less fatigue (p < 0.001; g = 1.08), but not increased psychological flexibility (p = 0.6). Changes in psychological flexibility was associated with improved QoL, but not fatigue, in hierarchical regression analyses. When adjusting for other cognitions, changes in fear‐avoidance cognitions and all‐or‐nothing thoughts, but not psychological flexibility, were associated with improved QoL and fatigue. The ACT‐based treatment improved QoL and reduced fatigue for patients with chronic fatigue with large effect sizes. Improvement was associated with a reduction in fear‐avoidance cognitions and all‐or‐nothing thoughts, but not psychological flexibility.