Survival processing in times of stress

Recent studies have found that processing information according to an evolutionary relevant (i.e., survival) scenario improves its subsequent memorability, potentially as a result of fitness advantages gained in the ancestral past. So far, research has not revealed much about any proximate mechanisms that might underlie this so-called survival processing advantage in memory. Intriguingly, research has shown that the memorability of stressful situations is enhanced via the release of stress hormones acting on brain regions involved in memory. Since survival situations habitually involve some degree of stress, in the present study, we investigated whether stress serves as a proximate mechanism to promote survival processing. Participants rated words for their relevance to either a survival or a neutral (moving) scenario after they had been exposed to a psychosocial stressor or a no-stress control condition. Surprise retention tests immediately following the rating task revealed that survival processing and acute stress independently boosted memory performance. These results therefore suggest that stress does not serve as a proximate mechanism of the survival processing advantage in memory.     

The relationship between mean square differences and standard error of measurement: comment on Barchard (2012)

In the discussion of mean square difference (MSD) and standard error of measurement (SEM), Barchard (2012) concluded that the MSD between 2 sets of test scores is greater than 2(SEM)2 and SEM underestimates the score difference between 2 tests when the 2 tests are not parallel. This conclusion has limitations for 2 reasons. First, strictly speaking, MSD should not be compared to SEM because they measure different things, have different assumptions, and capture different sources of errors. Second, the related proof and conclusions in Barchard hold only under the assumptions of equal reliabilities, homogeneous variances, and independent measurement errors. To address the limitations, we propose that MSD should be compared to the standard error of measurement of difference scores (SEMx-y) so that the comparison can be extended to the conditions when 2 tests have unequal reliabilities and score variances.     

从自尊的文化差异说起

在不同的文化背景中,自尊既有相似性,也有差异性。在东西方文化中,自尊在其根源性、包容性及表达性等方面均存在差异。树立文化差异性与普遍性的意识,加强对自尊文化差异的研究对于科学地认识社会心理现象和学科建设都具有重要意义。未来可以从自尊的内涵、自尊研究的内容及研究方法等方面开展自尊的中国化研究。     

Impaired goal-directed behavioural control in human impulsivity

Two dissociable learning processes underlie instrumental behaviour. Whereas goal-directed behaviour is controlled by knowledge of the consequences, habitual behaviour is elicited directly by antecedent Pavlovian stimuli without knowledge of the consequences. Predominance of habitual control is thought to underlie psychopathological conditions associated with corticostriatal abnormalities, such as impulsivity and drug dependence. To explore this claim, smokers were assessed for nicotine dependence, impulsivity, and capacity for goal-directed control over instrumental performance in an outcome devaluation procedure. Reduced goal-directed control was selectively associated with the Motor Impulsivity factor of Barrett's Impulsivity Scale (BIS), which reflects propensity for action without thought. These data support the claim that human impulsivity is marked by impaired use of causal knowledge to make adaptive decisions. The predominance of habit learning may play a role in psychopathological conditions that are associated with trait impulsivity.     

Phonological, visual, and semantic coding strategies and children's short-term picture memory span

Three experiments addressed controversies in the previous literature on the development of phonological and other forms of short-term memory coding in children, using assessments of picture memory span that ruled out potentially confounding effects of verbal input and output. Picture materials were varied in terms of phonological similarity, visual similarity, semantic similarity, and word length. Older children (6/8-year-olds), but not younger children (4/5-year-olds), demonstrated robust and consistent phonological similarity and word length effects, indicating that they were using phonological coding strategies. This confirmed findings initially reported by Conrad (1971), but subsequently questioned by other authors. However, in contrast to some previous research, little evidence was found for a distinct visual coding stage at 4 years, casting doubt on assumptions that this is a developmental stage that consistently precedes phonological coding. There was some evidence for a dual visual and phonological coding stage prior to exclusive use of phonological coding at around 5-6 years. Evidence for semantic similarity effects was limited, suggesting that semantic coding is not a key method by which young children recall lists of pictures.     

Sperm control

Evidence is accumulating that in many species, males deliver more sperm to some females and fewer to others depending on how valuable they perceive the copulation. Do humans have any control over the number of sperm they ejaculate?     

Listening to Both Sides of the Therapeutic Dyad: Self-Disclosure of Gay Male Therapists and Reflections From Their Gay Male Clients

Clinicians vary as to their beliefs about the use of self-disclosure in psychotherapy depending on theoretical framework, experience level, and the problem focus. Given the limited number of studies examining therapeutic pairs (client and clinician), this study used qualitative methodology to interview gay male therapists and their gay male clients about how therapist self-disclosures affected their therapy. Results show that clients often felt aware of therapist self-disclosures, whether explicit or implicit, and believed the disclosures assisted them in feeling connected to their therapists and served to normalize the clients’ experiences. Limitations to the study are discussed.     

An Evaluation of Two Types of Cognitive Intervention in the Management of Chronic Tinnitus

Abstract

Fifty-four subjects with chronic distressing tinnitus were randomly allocated to one of four experimental treatment conditions: (1) attention control and imagery training (AC1); (2) cognitive restructuring (CR); (3) combined attention control and imagery training plus cognitive restructuring (ACI + CR); and (4) a waiting list control (WLC). Significant overall improvements were found on measures of distress associated with tinnitus, and on a number of other measures of cognition and coping strategies. These improvements were maintained at the six-month follow-up. Relative to the WLC, the three treatment conditions (combined) were associated with improvements in tinnitus-related distress, reductions in tinnitus-related dysfunctional cognitions and an increase in the frequency of use of coping strategies. There was a significant effect in favour of the ACI group compared to the CR group on the measure of irrational beliefs. The analyses also revealed that the combined treatment condition (ACI + CR) showed significantly greater improvement on a measure of psychological distress and achieved a higher clinical response rate compared to the two single treatments. There were significant improvements from pretreatment to follow-up on some measures, although the mean scores revealed that some of the gains had been lost at this stage on the main measure of tinnitus-related distress. There were no significant group X time effects for any of the dependent variables at the six-month follow-up. The results were interpreted as supporting the practice of combining the two cognitive approaches.     

Generalist genes and cognitive abilities in Chinese twins

This study considered how far nonverbal cognitive, language and reading abilities are affected by common genetic influences in a sample of 312 typically developing Chinese twin pairs aged from 3 to 11 years. Children were individually given tasks of Chinese word reading, receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, tone awareness, syllable and rhyme awareness, rapid automatized naming, morphological awareness and orthographic skills, and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. Factor analyses on the verbal tasks adjusted for age indicated two factors: Language as the first factor and Reading as the second factor. Univariate genetic analyses indicated that genetic influences were substantial for nonverbal cognitive ability and moderate for language and reading. Multivariate genetic analyses showed that nonverbal cognitive ability, language and reading were influenced by shared genetic origins, although there were specific genetic influences on verbal skills that were distinct from those on nonverbal cognitive ability. This study extends the Generalist Genes Hypothesis to Chinese language and reading skills, suggesting that the general effects of genes could be universal across languages.     

The career development of Christiaan Neethling Barnard: A psychobiography

This study employs a psychobiographical case study to describe and interpret the career development of Christiaan Neethling Barnard, who performed the first human heart transplant. It interprets Barnard's life history according to the career development model of Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk (2010), which proposes the following four stages: occupational and organisational choice, early, middle, and late career. Generally, Barnard's career progression matched the stages proposed by Greenhaus et al. (2010 Greenhaus, J. H., Callanan, G. A., & Godschalk, V. M. (2010). Career management (4th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. [Google Scholar]). Exceptions were noted that relate to the first and fourth stages: Barnard experienced an extended occupational and organisational choice stage, while he showed no signs of career disengagement during the late career stage. The study confirmed the usefulness of the career development model of Greenhaus et al. within the psychobiographical research tradition.