Emotion regulation difficulties in anorexia nervosa: Relationship to self-perceived sensory sensitivity

Changes in sensation (e.g., prickly skin) are crucial constituents of emotional experience, and the intensity of perceived changes has been linked to emotional intensity and dysregulation. The current study examined the relationship between sensory sensitivity and emotion regulation among adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), a disorder characterised by disturbance in the experience of the body. Twenty-one individuals with AN, 20 individuals with AN who were weight–restored, and 23 typical controls completed self-report measures of sensory sensitivity and emotion regulation. AN participants reported heightened sensory sensitivity and greater difficulty regulating emotions relative to controls. Self-perceived sensory sensitivity was associated with greater emotion dysregulation. Weight-restored AN participants reported greater ability to regulate emotions than their currently underweight counterparts, despite heightened sensitivity. Findings suggest that hypersensitivity may be a persisting feature in AN, and that weight restoration may involve improved ability to cope with sensation.     

Stimulus Equivalence: Effects Of A Default-response Option On Emergence Of Untrained Stimulus Relations

Human subjects were exposed to a concurrent-chains schedule in which reinforcer amounts, delays, or both were varied in the terminal links, and consummatory responses were required to receive points that were later exchangeable for money. Two independent variable-interval 30-s schedules were in effect during the initial links, and delay periods were defined by fixed-time schedules. In Experiment 1, subjects were exposed to three different pairs of reinforcer amounts and delays, and sensitivity to reinforcer amount and delay was determined based on the generalized matching law. The relative responding (choice) of most subjects was more sensitive to reinforcer amount than to reinforcer delay. In Experiment 2, subjects chose between immediate smaller reinforcers and delayed larger reinforcers in five conditions with and without timeout periods that followed a shorter delay, in which reinforcer amounts and delays were combined to make different predictions based on local reinforcement density (i.e., points per delay) or overall reinforcement density (i.e., points per total time). In most conditions, subjects' choices were qualitatively in accord with the predictions from the overall reinforcement density calculated by the ratio of reinforcer amount and total time. Therefore, the overall reinforcement density appears to influence the preference of humans in the present self-control choice situation.     

儿童对图画喻意理解的比较研究

本文针对儿童对图画中隐喻情绪的识辨和理解的发展特点 ,进行了跨文化研究。旨在探索儿童对图画喻意的敏感性的发展规律以及不同教育方式对儿童图画认知发展的影响。 3 60名 4岁到 2 0岁的中英被试参加了实验。结果表明 :在识辨作品任务及口头评价中 ,中国儿童比英国同龄儿童更早理解图画的情绪喻意 ,并很少对图画的悲伤喻意持忽略态度。提示不同文化背景下 ,儿童对图画喻意的理解存在发展上的不均衡性 ,中国的幼教方式也许促进了儿童对图画喻意理解的发展。     

The role of anxiety sensitivity in the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative outcomes in trauma-exposed adults

Background: The development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSs) following a trauma is related to impairment, diminished quality of life, and physical health issues. Yet it is not clear why some trauma-exposed individuals experience negative outcomes while others do not. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of several influential factors related to PTS severity and negative outcomes. Methods: One hundred and twenty-two trauma-exposed adults were administered the following self-report measures: the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian, the Trauma History Questionnaire-Short, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale 21, Sheehan Disability Scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF, and an abbreviated Patient Health Questionnaire. Primary Results: PTS severity was positively correlated with depressive symptom severity (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), chronicity of the most distressing trauma (r = 0.21, p = 0.017), and number of traumas (r = 0.22, p = 0.012). Main effects were found for PTS severity (β = ?0.38, p < 0.01) and anxiety sensitivity (AS; β = ?0.39, p < 0.01) on quality of life. No interaction was found between PTS severity and AS with any negative outcome. PTS severity mediated the relationship between AS and physical health issues (0.05; 95% CI: 0.02–0.08). Conclusion: This study helps clarify the role of various factors in the relationship between trauma and negative outcomes. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Health anxiety and hypochondriasis in the light of DSM-5

Background: In the DSM-5, the diagnosis of hypochondriasis was replaced by two new diagnositic entities: somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and illness anxiety disorder (IAD). Both diagnoses share high health anxiety as a common criterion, but additonal somatic symptoms are only required for SSD but not IAD. Design: Our aim was to provide empirical evidence for the validity of these new diagnoses using data from a case–control study of highly health-anxious (n = 96), depressed (n = 52), and healthy (n = 52) individuals. Results: The individuals originally diagnosed as DSM-IV hypochondriasis predominantly met criteria for SSD (74%) and rarely for IAD (26%). Individuals with SSD were more impaired, had more often comorbid panic and generalized anxiety disorders, and had more medical consultations as those with IAD. Yet, no significant differences were found between SSD and IAD with regard to levels of health anxiety, other hypochondriacial characteristics, illness behavior, somatic symptom attributions, and physical concerns, whereas both groups differed significantly from clinical and healthy controls in all of these variables. Conclusion: These results do not support the proposed splitting of health anxiety/hypochondriasis into two diagnoses. Further validation studies with larger samples and additional control groups are warranted to prove the validity of the new diagnoses.     

Lang,S. K. W. and Gardiner,B. D. (2014). As they like it – culture-centred counsellor education in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand: A play on bicultural pluralism. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 42 (1), 73–85. doi.org./10.1080/03069885.2013.824949

In their article, Lang and Gardiner draw support from the Treaty of Waitangi to deconstruct cultural dominance and reconstruct a framework, which promotes bicultural pluralism in the new counsellor education programme at the Massey University. However, they omit significant details of the Treaty and therefore mislead the audience to think that the Treaty has always served its purpose to protect Māori and the colonisers all the time. They develop a new counselling framework ‘ARC?=?Attend Reflect Collaborate’ which merely describes what has happened or what should have happened in counselling. It fails to address the need to raise a counsellor's awareness of his or her own cultural identity and understanding of the worldview of a culturally different client before counselling starts.     

Improving an optimization‐based framework for sensitivity analysis in multi‐criteria decision‐making

The framework for sensitivity analysis in discrete multi‐criteria decision analysis developed by Rios Insua and French allows simultaneous variation of all parameters and applies to many paradigms for decision analysis. However, its computational load may inhibit use, particularly in the context of a decision conference where results are required in near real time. In order to improve on the current algorithm and its implementation, we investigate, on the one hand, an opportunistic approach aimed at reducing the number of optimization problems solved in the original framework and, on the other, an alternative framework based on distance analysis. Computational results on linear and bilinear models are reported. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

复杂图形的双眼视差敏感性

该研究用心理物理学实验方法,以能正确分辨图形在深度上起伏周期数的多少作为判据,检测了七名被试的体视性能。实验结果表明,被试者观看复杂图形的视差敏感性是和图形在深度上变化的复杂程度有关。如果以视差作纵坐标,以图形在深度起伏频率为横坐标,则其深度感知的范围是一个区域,该区域的频率变化范围是从０．１周／度到４周／度,当深度变化频率大于４周／度,则无深度感知。七名被试的双眼深度敏感区有个体差异,但其区域的形状是相似的。     

风险决策中动态框架效应研究

风险决策的框架效应一直是理论研究和实践应用的焦点。该研究利用计算机联网模拟团队分布式动态风险决策任务,从三个方面（过去绩效,启动资金和目标设置）研究决策者在动态条件下风险偏好的变化规律。研究发现“目标设置”因素框架效应具有抑制作用,“启动资金”因素对个体和团队有不同影响。研究结果表明,风险敏感性同样适用于解释动态情境下的风险偏好。