Self-punishment as a regulation strategy in borderline personality disorder

Studies using the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ; Wells & Davies, 1994) suggest that the tendency to use self-punishment (e.g., shouting at oneself) in order to control unpleasant internal experiences (e.g., cognitive and emotional) is associated with psychopathology. To evaluate the role of self-punishment in borderline personality disorder (BPD), we first examined whether TCQ scales, including Self-Punishment, were different among adults with BPD (n = 31) when compared to those with other personality disorders (OPD; n = 24), elevated symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 24), and healthy controls (n = 105). Findings indicated that Self-Punishment was elevated in the BPD group relative to other groups. Next, Self-Punishment was examined as a potential mediator in the relationship between negative affectivity and BPD symptom severity in all participants. Results indicated that Self-Punishment did not mediate this relationship, but did account for significant variance in BPD symptoms over and above negative affectivity. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Heightened sensitivity to facial expressions of emotion in borderline personality disorder

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been hypothesized to exhibit significant problems associated with emotional sensitivity. The current study examined emotional sensitivity (i.e., low threshold for recognition of emotional stimuli) in BPD by comparing 20 individuals with BPD and 20 normal controls on their accuracy in identifying emotional expressions. Results demonstrated that, as facial expressions morphed from neutral to maximum intensity, participants with BPD correctly identified facial affect at an earlier stage than did healthy controls. Participants with BPD were more sensitive than healthy controls in identifying emotional expressions in general, regardless of valence. These findings could not be explained by participants with BPD responding faster with more errors. Overall, results appear to support the contention that heightened emotional sensitivity may be a core feature of BPD.     

Comparison and contrast in perceptual categorization

People categorized pairs of perceptual stimuli that varied in both category membership and pairwise similarity. Experiments 1 and 2 showed categorization of 1 color of a pair to be reliably contrasted from that of the other. This similarity-based contrast effect occurred only when the context stimulus was relevant for the categorization of the target (Experiment 3). The effect was not simply owing to perceptual color contrast (Experiment 4), and it extended to pictures from common semantic categories (Experiment 5). Results were consistent with a sign-and-magnitude version of N. Stewart and G. D. A. Brown's (2005) similarity-dissimilarity generalized context model, in which categorization is affected by both similarity to and difference from target categories. The data are also modeled with criterion setting theory (M. Treisman & T. C. Williams, 1984), in which the decision criterion is systematically shifted toward the mean of the current stimuli.     

Changing Metaphors of the Self: Implications for Counseling

This article reviews some of the more prevalent metaphors used to describe the nature and character of the self. These metaphors include the unified and integrated selves as well as the postmodern perspectives of multiple selves. The authors contend that counselors have theories about the self whether implicit or explicit, and that these theories directly influence their practice. They further contend that it is beneficial for counselors and other helping professionals to take the time to clarify their beliefs and assumptions about the self and that metaphors are useful conceptual tools. Various ethical questions associated with different metaphors of the self are posed.     

Testing a self-determination theory process model for promoting glycemic control through diabetes self-management.

A longitudinal study tested the self-determination theory (SDT) process model of health behavior change for glycemic control within a randomized trial of patient activation versus passive education. Glycosylated hemoglobin for patients with Type 2 diabetes (n=159) was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Autonomous motivation and perceived competence were assessed at baseline and 6 months, and the autonomy supportiveness of clinical practitioners was assessed at 3 months. Perceptions of autonomy and competence were promoted by perceived autonomy support, and changes in perceptions of autonomy and competence, in turn, predicted change in glycemic control. Self-management behaviors mediated the relation between change in perceived competence and change in glycemic control. The self-determination process model fit the data well.     

Affective orientation influences memory for emotional and neutral words

Memory is better for emotional words than for neutral words, but the conditions contributing to emotional memory improvement are not entirely understood. Elsewhere, it has been observed that retrieval of a word is easier when its attributes are congruent with a property assessed during an earlier judgment task. The present study examined whether affective assessment of a word matters to its remembrance. Two experiments were run, one in which only valence assessment was performed, and another in which valence assessment was combined with a running recognition for list words. In both experiments, some participants judged whether each word in a randomized list was negative (negative monitoring), and others judged whether each was positive (positive monitoring). We then tested their explicit memory for the words via both free recall and delayed recognition. Both experiments revealed an affective congruence effect, such that negative words were more likely to be recalled and recognized after negative monitoring, whereas positive words likewise benefited from positive monitoring. Memory for neutral words was better after negative monitoring than positive monitoring.Thus, memory for both emotional and neutral words is contingent on one's affective orientation during encoding.     

Vested interest and environmental risk communication: improving willingness to cope with impending disasters

Vested interest theory (VIT), first investigated on environmental risk, suggests that the hedonic relevance of an attitude object moderates relations between attitudes, intentions, and responses to danger. Emphasizing vested interest may maximize impacts of risk communications. Study 1 (N = 215) assessed differences between inhabitants of two flood‐risk areas in Italy on past experience, risk perceptions, concerns, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Objectively, higher risk areas' residents reported more experience, and greater perceived risk and concern, while no preparedness differences were found (both at “between cities” and “within city” levels). Study 2 (N = 444) looked at the moderating role of VIT‐based risk communication messages on the relationship between vested interest and behavioral intentions. Components of vested interest moderate attitude–intention consistency, suggesting a new method of developing effective risk announcements.