Using diffusion models to understand clinical disorders

Sequential sampling models provide an alternative to traditional analyses of reaction times and accuracy in two-choice tasks. These models are reviewed with particular focus on the diffusion model (Ratcliff, 1978) and how its application can aid research on clinical disorders. The advantages of a diffusion model analysis over traditional comparisons are shown through simulations and a simple lexical decision experiment. Application of the diffusion model to a clinically relevant topic is demonstrated through an analysis of data from nonclinical participants with high- and low-trait anxiety in a recognition memory task. The model showed that after committing an error, participants with high-trait anxiety responded more cautiously by increasing their boundary separation, whereas participants with low-trait anxiety did not. The article concludes with suggestions for ways to improve and broaden the application of these models to studies of clinical disorders.     

Burnout‐depression overlap: Nomological network examination and factor‐analytic approach

Burnout has been defined as a condition in which individuals are left exhausted by a long‐term confrontation with unmanageable job stressors. The question of whether burnout reflects anything other than depressive responses to unresolvable stress remains an object of debate. In this 911‐participant study (83% female; mean age: 42.36), we further addressed the issue of burnout‐depression overlap. Burnout was assessed with the exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI ‐GS ) and depression with the PHQ ‐8. The relationships of burnout and depression with three job‐related variables – illegitimate work tasks, work‐nonwork interference, and job satisfaction – and three “context‐free” variables – social support, general health status, and trait anxiety – were examined. Burnout and depression were found to be strongly correlated, to cluster together, and to exhibit overlapping nomological networks. Remarkably, the average correlations of burnout and depression with job‐related variables were almost identical. A principal component analysis and a principal axis factor analysis both showed that the items of the MBI ‐GS and of the PHQ ‐8 loaded on a single dimension. All in all, our findings are consistent with the view that burnout is a depressive condition. The distinction between burnout and depression may be an instance of the jangle fallacy.     

Anxiety sensitivity as a predictor of panic disorder symptoms: a prospective 3-year study

Background and Objectives: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety symptoms, a feature proven to be an important vulnerability factor for anxiety pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine whether AS (as well as its factors) predicts the onset of panic disorder symptoms when controlling for the contribution of trait anxiety.

Design: We conducted a prospective 3 year follow up study.

Methods: The participants, students at the Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (N?=?1087), completed an Anxiety Sensitivity Index and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Trait form) and, after a period of three years, were asked to self-assess criteria for panic disorder (according to the DSM-5).

Results: The predictive validity of AS for the onset of panic disorder symptoms, regardless of trait anxiety, was confirmed. Furthermore, the physical concerns dimension of AS was the only significant predictor of panic disorder symptoms. The optimal cutoff score of 25 on the ASI provides poor to moderate accuracy indices in detecting participants who will manifest panic disorder symptoms in the next three years.

Conclusion: This study contributes to our current understanding of AS as a prospective risk factor for panic disorder symptoms.     

Validation of the Self-Discrepancies Scale (S-DS). A tool to investigate the self in clinical and research settings

Introduction

Self-discrepancies (the distances between the perceived self and the ideal or the socially prescribed selves) are a hallmark in psychological distress. However, a clinical tool evaluating these discrepancies is lacking.

La mesure en psychologie : pour une démarche pragmatique

Measurement in psychology is at the heart of a major debate in the academic literature. We aim to contribute a critical discussion of this issue. We propose to reposition the object of measurement, namely mental properties. On the basis of a clarified ontology, we consider that an empirical approach to measuring a mental property is possible. This approach must be resolutely pragmatic–realist. In practical terms, this means that a test needs to be renegotiated relative to the context. The validation of quantitative measures requires verification of a certain number of criteria. Consequently, our work critically explores measures as they are usually conceived in psychometrics domain.     

飞行员风险知觉：概念、测量及研究理论取向

风险知觉是飞行员进行正确风险管理的核心,对保证航空安全具有重要作用。本文首先对不同研究者对飞行员风险知觉的概念进行综述,又与传统的知觉和危险知觉进行了区分。其次,文章简明地介绍了飞行员风险知觉的测量方法,包括外显的主观评价法、飞行模拟器测验、内隐联想测验等方法,分析各种方法的内容与其优缺点。最后,本文分别从认知理论取向和组织文化理论取向两个方面来探讨飞行员风险知觉的研究,并针对两种理论取向,提出相应的未来研究方向。     

Cognitive factors associated with depression and anxiety in adolescents: A two-year longitudinal study

Background/Objective: To examine the roles of anxiety sensitivity and attentional bias in the development of anxiety and depression symptoms among adolescents. Method: 214 grade 7 to grade 10 Hong Kong Chinese students completed a package of psychometric inventories to measure levels of anxiety sensitivity, selective attentional processing, and anxiety and depressive symptoms in 2016 and then again in 2017. Results: Girls, when compared with boys, exhibited more anxiety symptoms and anxiety sensitivity in 2016. They also reported a significant increase in mean depression level from 2016 to 2017. Regression analyses revealed that the physical-concerns dimension of anxiety sensitivity, positive attentional bias, and to a lesser extent negative attentional bias were related to the development of both anxiety and depression symptoms one year later. Fear of mental incapacity could predict depression one year later but not anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Intervention through anxiety sensitivity training to reduce somatic concerns and attentional bias modification to increase habitual attention to positive stimuli and to disengage from negative stimuli can reduce anxiety and depression symptoms among high school students.     

Normal executive attention but abnormal orienting attention in individuals with sluggish cognitive tempo

Background/objective: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) is an attentional disorder characterized by the symptoms of slowness in behavior or thinking, a lack of en.ergy, difficulty initiating and sustaining effort, daydreaming, and drowsiness. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distinctive attentional characteristics of SCT as compared to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Method: A total of 110 adults were recruited and divided into four groups: SCT+ADHD, SCT, ADHD, and healthy controls. The Revised version of Attention Networks Test was used to investigate each group’s attentional profile. Results: The results revealed that the two SCT groups (SCT+ADHD and SCT) showed a significantly weaker orienting network due to the problems of engaging and disengaging attention than the other two groups. Additionally, the two ADHD groups (SCT+ADHD and ADHD) showed a significantly weaker executive control network than the other two groups. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate an attentional distinction between the SCT and the ADHD groups with a greater dysfunction in the orienting network in the SCT group as compared to the ADHD group. Furthermore, a greater executive control dysfunction was observed in the ADHD group as compared to the SCT group.