Styles of pulling in trichotillomania: exploring differences in symptom severity, phenomenology, and functional impact

Previous research has examined possible phenomenological differences between “focused” (i.e., with a compulsive quality) and “automatic” (i.e., with decreased awareness) pulling associated with trichotillomania (TTM), but these constructs have not been assessed using psychometrically sound measures. In the current study, differences in TTM severity, phenomenology, comorbid psychiatric symptoms, and functional impact were examined across individuals with varying combinations of “focused” and “automatic” pulling styles. Participants aged 18 and older were recruited via an internet-based survey. Those meeting inclusion criteria and completing the Milwaukee Inventory for Subtypes of Trichotillomania-Adult Version (MIST-A; n=1545) were classified as either high- or low-focused and either high- or low-automatic based on scores obtained from the focused and automatic scales of the MIST-A using a median split procedure. Results showed some significant differences between pulling styles. For example, “high-automatic” pullers reported more severe TTM and greater stress than “low-automatic” pullers, and “high-focused” pullers reported more severe TTM, greater stress and depression, and greater functional impact than “low-focused” pullers. Subsequent analyses suggest that, in comparison to individuals experiencing low levels of both automatic and focused pulling, those experiencing high levels of each pulling style reported greater severity, psychological impact, and functional impact. Clinical and research implications, study limitations, and future areas of research are discussed.     

Styles of pulling in youths with trichotillomania: exploring differences in symptom severity, phenomenology, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms

To date, no studies have examined possible phenomenological differences between the automatic and focused styles of pulling in youths with TTM. The aims of the current study were to examine differences in TTM severity, phenomenology, comorbid psychiatric symptoms, and functional impact across youths with varying degrees of these pulling styles. Youths between the ages of 10 and 17 years (and their parent) were recruited via an Internet-based survey. A total of 186 youths with chronic hair pulling was classified as “high-focused” or “low-focused” and either “high-automatic” or “low-automatic” based upon scores obtained on the Milwaukee Inventory for Styles of Trichotillomania-Child Version (MIST-C) using a median-split procedure. Results demonstrated significant differences between pulling styles. More specifically, “high-focused” pullers reported more severe TTM and greater symptoms of anxiety and depression than “low-focused” pullers, and “high-automatic” pullers reported greater symptoms of depression than “low-automatic” pullers. Subsequent analyses suggest that, in comparison to youths with low levels of both automatic and focused pulling, those experiencing high levels of focused pulling but low levels of automatic pulling reported phenomenological differences and were more likely to engage in additional repetitive behaviors (i.e., skin picking, lip/cheek biting). Clinical and research implications, study limitations, and future areas of research are discussed.     

Drinking without thinking: an implicit measure of alcohol motivation predicts failure to control alcohol use

Addiction is characterized by dyscontrol - substance use despite intentions to restrain. Using a sample of at-risk drinkers, the present study examined whether an implicit measure of alcohol motivation (the Implicit Association Test [IAT]; Greenwald, A.G., McGhee, D.E., & Schwartz, J.L.K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: the Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480) would predict dyscontrol of alcohol use. Participants completed an IAT and, to elicit motivation to restrain alcohol use, were instructed that greater consumption in a taste test would impair performance on a later task for which they could win a prize. All participants viewed aversive slides and then completed a thought-listing task. Participants either exerted self-control by suppressing negative affect and thoughts regarding the slides or did not exert self-control. Post-manipulation, the groups did not differ in mood, urge to drink or motivation to restrain consumption. During the subsequent taste test, participants whose self-control resources were depleted consumed more alcohol than did those in the control group. Additionally, the IAT, but not an explicit measure of alcohol motivation, more strongly predicted alcohol use when self-control resources were depleted. The results indicate that the IAT may have utility in predicting dyscontrolled alcohol use.     

Blonde like me: When self-construals moderate stereotype priming effects on intellectual performance

Stereotype priming can lead to assimilation or contrast effects on behavior. We argue that self-activation is a moderator of both assimilation and contrast effects. To test this hypothesis, in two studies, we activated independent or interdependent self-knowledge before priming participants with the dumb Blonde stereotype or a control category (Study 1) or no prime (Study 2). Participants then answered a knowledge test. Results support our expectations: Participants presented assimilation under interdependence (i.e., underperformance compared to control group) while they presented no assimilation (i.e., comparable performance with control group in Study 1) and contrast (better performance than control group in Study 2) under independence. We discuss implications of these findings in regards of previous research and recent models such as the Active Self Account [Wheeler, S. C., DeMarree, K. G., & Petty, R. E. (2005). The roles of the self in priming-to-behavior effects. In A. Tesser, J. V. Wood, & D. A. Stapel (Eds.), On building, defending and regulating the self: A psychological perspective (pp. 245-271). New York, NY, USA: Psychology Press].     

Assimilation and contrast to group primes: The moderating role of ingroup identification

This research examined the conditions under which behavioral contrast would be observed in relation to ingroup and outgroup primes. The authors tested the hypothesis that differing levels of commitment to the ingroup would predict diverging behavioral responses to outgroup but not ingroup primes. Across two studies, featuring both age and gender groups, we found that ingroup identification predicted responses to outgroup primes with higher identifiers showing an increased tendency to contrast, that is, behave less like the outgroup, and more like the ingroup. Ingroup identification did not predict responses to ingroup primes. The implications of these findings for social comparison and social identity theories are discussed.     

Distinguishing automatic and controlled components of attitudes from direct and indirect measurement methods

Distinct automatic and controlled processes are presumed to influence social evaluation. Most empirical approaches examine automatic processes using indirect methods, and controlled processes using direct methods. We distinguished processes from measurement methods to test whether a process distinction is more useful than a measurement distinction for taxonomies of attitudes. Results from two studies suggest that automatic components of attitudes can be measured directly. Direct measures of automatic attitudes were reports of gut reactions (Study 1) and behavioral performance in a speeded self-report task (Study 2). Confirmatory factor analyses comparing two-factor models revealed better fits when self-reports of gut reactions and speeded self-reports shared a factor with automatic measures versus sharing a factor with controlled self-report measures. Thus, distinguishing attitudes by the processes they are presumed to measure (automatic versus controlled) is more meaningful than distinguishing based on the directness of measurement.     

Will the Real Moral Judgment Please Stand Up?

The recent, influential Social Intuitionist Model of moral judgment (Haidt, Psychological Review 108, 814–834, 2001) proposes a primary role for fast, automatic and affectively charged moral intuitions in the formation of moral judgments. Haidt’s research challenges our normative conception of ourselves as agents capable of grasping and responding to reasons. We argue that there can be no ‘real’ moral judgments in the absence of a capacity for reflective shaping and endorsement of moral judgments. However, we suggest that the empirical literature indicates a complex interplay between automatic and deliberative mental processes in moral judgment formation, with the latter constraining the expression and influence of moral intuitions. We therefore conclude that the psychological literature supports a normative conception of agency.

Multinomial process tree models of control and automaticity in weapon misidentification

When primed with a Black face, people are more likely to misidentify a non-weapon as a weapon. Weapon misidentification may hinge on the distinction between controlled and automatic processes. Various relationships between controlled and automatic processes are cast in the form of five multinomial process models, which are illustrated and compared. It is shown that variants of the traditional Process Dissociation model and the Stroop model are nested within the Quad-Model. Across four different studies, various complexity corrected model performance measures converged to support the Process Dissociation account. This account suggests that the automatic association between race and weapons is subordinate to controlled processing. More generally, these results suggest that the weapon-bias might be alleviated without interventions that directly target stereotypes.     

When the method makes a difference: Antagonistic effects on “automatic evaluations” as a function of task characteristics of the measure

Researchers often employ implicit measures as dependent variables to investigate processes of attitude formation and change. In such studies, experimentally induced differences are typically interpreted as reflecting change in automatic evaluations. We argue that experimentally induced effects on implicit measures may not always reflect genuine changes in evaluative responses, but can be driven by the mechanisms underlying the measurement procedure. In line with this assumption, the present research shows that these mechanisms can produce opposite effects of the same experimental manipulation for otherwise equivalent implicit measures. These results indicate that merely observing experimental effects on implicit measures does not allow direct inferences regarding changes in automatic evaluations. Instead, psychological interpretations of such effects hinge upon the mechanics of how a given measurement procedure responds to variations in the context. Implications for research using implicit measures are discussed.     

The Evaluation of Parental Fitness in Termination of Parental Rights Cases: A Functional-Contextual Perspective

This article highlights issues involved in carrying out evaluations for termination of parental rights cases and suggests caution for mental health professionals doing such evaluations. It argues that current models of parenting that come from the child development and child maltreatment fields are too narrow in their focus to act as a foundation for such evaluations and are often based on research with select groups in our society making them open to bias. Similarly, it is argued that traditional assessment measures are limited in their utility for responding to the kinds of relational and basic care questions asked in such evaluations. A functional-contextual model is offered as an alternative with examples of potentially useful measurement strategies. With such a frame as a starting point, the field might progress to providing more useful information to courts. Future research directions to improve this practice arena are discussed.