The darkroom of the mind — what does neuropsychology now tell us about brands?

How does a brand live and die in the memory? Where does the concept of a relationship with a brand fit into mental activity? What are thoughts, emotions and feelings and do people have them about brands in any meaningful way? What should one think about such concepts as consciousness and the unconscious in relation to brands and brand messages? Is the way in which managers of brands codify them a reflection of reality? These are only some of the fundamental questions that should concern professionals involved with organisations and brands. This paper draws on scientific discoveries about the human brain to build on the empirical knowledge that leaders in organisations, marketers, academics and researchers have gained about brands over the last five decades. The first part of the paper highlights the inconsistencies that occur between what is found in the development and evaluation of brand strategy and what happens in ‘real life’. It suggests that the newly merged disciplines of neuroscience and cognitive psychology (called neuropsychology) offer the scientific basis for understanding how human beings create, store, recall and relate to brands in everyday life. The second part explains some of the most relevant neuropsychological discoveries about the brain in terms of the implications for brand marketing. The topics covered are: brain functions and structure; consciousness and the unconscious; memory and language. The paper concludes by thinking about the current practise of qualitative research and how it matches up to the findings of the new science. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Should I trust you? Autistic traits predict reduced appearance‐based trust decisions

Facial impressions of trustworthiness guide social decisions in the general population, as shown by financial lending in economic Trust Games. As an exception, autistic boys fail to use facial impressions to guide trust decisions, despite forming typical facial trustworthiness impressions (Autism, 19, 2015a, 1002). Here, we tested whether this dissociation between forming and using facial impressions of trustworthiness extends to neurotypical men with high levels of autistic traits. Forty‐six Caucasian men completed a multi‐turn Trust Game, a facial trustworthiness impressions task, the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient, and two Theory of Mind tasks. As hypothesized, participants’ levels of autistic traits had no observed effect on the impressions formed, but negatively predicted the use of those impressions in trust decisions. Thus, the dissociation between forming and using facial impressions of trustworthiness extends to the broader autism phenotype. More broadly, our results identify autistic traits as an important source of individual variation in the use of facial impressions to guide behaviour. Interestingly, failure to use these impressions could potentially represent rational behaviour, given their limited validity.     

Facial emotion recognition in violent men

The goal of this study was to explore the ability of violent men to recognise facial affect. In contrast to traditional approaches to this research question, we took the effects of the models' sex and different types of violent behaviour into consideration. Data obtained from 71 violent men revealed that they recognised facial expressions of fear (p = .019) and disgust (p = .013) more accurately when displayed by female than male models. The opposite was found for angry faces (p = .006), while the models' sex did not affect the recognition of sad, happy and surprised facial expressions or neutral faces. Furthermore, sexual coercion perpetrators were more accurate than other violent men in the recognition of female facial disgust (p = .006). These results are discussed in the context of social learning theory, and the hypothesis that female facial expressions of disgust could be subtle cues to their sexual infidelity that motivate sexual coercion in some men.     

Cross‐cultural,population‐based study on adolescent body image and eating distress in Japan and Finland

This cross‐sectional population‐based survey compares the prevalence of self‐reported body image and eating distress symptoms among adolescents in Japan and Finland, and associations between emotional/behavioral problems, body image and eating distress from a cross‐cultural perspective. The study included 1,840 Japanese and 1,135 Finnish 8th grade students. The self‐reported questionnaire included the Body Image and Eating Distress Scale and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The female adolescents from both Finland and Japan reported much greater dissatisfaction with, and concern about, their bodies than the males and Japanese females expressed even higher distress than Finnish females. High levels of body image and eating distress were associated with psychiatric problems measured with the SDQ. There was a significant three‐way interaction effect of body image and eating distress, gender and country with SDQ peer problems and prosocial behavior.     

Topological assessment of gait synchronisation in overground walking groups

Walking is one of the fundamental forms of human gross motor activity in which spatiotemporal movement coordination can occur. While considerable body of evidence already exists on pedestrian movement coordination while walking in pairs, little is known about gait control while walking in more complex topological arrangements. To this end, this study provides some of the first evidence of spontaneous gait synchronisation while walking in a group. Nine subjects covered the total distance of 40 km at different speeds while assembled in a three-by-three formation. Two experimental protocols were applied in which the subjects were either not specifically asked to or specifically asked to synchronise their gait. To obtain results representative from the point of view of gait control, the movement coordination was quantified using the indirectly measured vertical component of ground reaction force, based on output from a network of wireless motion monitors. Bivariate phase difference analysis was conducted using wavelet transform, synchronisation strength measures derived from Shannon entropy, and circular statistics. A fundamental relationship describing the influence of the group walking speed on individuals’ pacing frequency was established, showing a positive correlation different from that previously reported for walking in solitude. A positive correlation was found between the average synchronisation strength within a group and group’s walking speed. The most persistent coordination patterns were identified for pedestrians walking front-to-back and side-by-side. Overall, the spontaneous gait synchronisation while walking in a group is relatively weak, well below the levels reported for walking in pairs.     

Considering boundaries when doing therapeutic work with people who are seeking asylum: a reflective case study

People who are seeking asylum often have lived experience of their personal boundaries and human rights being violated. For this reason, it is especially important that we consider the impact of boundaries in therapeutic work with this population. This paper explores work with a woman with a severe trauma history who was seeking asylum in England. Examples of perceived boundary crossings in the therapeutic relationship are examined. Considerations for other clinicians working with asylum seekers are discussed. These include: addressing socio-political factors; being sensitive to cultural differences; the importance of supervision and reflective practice; the personal impact of such work; and using critical thinking and warmth to manage boundaries rather than rigidly following rules.     

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Achievement Goal Orientations Shift with Age

Students engage in learning activities with different achievement goal orientations. Some students pursue learning for learning sake (i.e. mastery goal orientation), some are driven by gaining favourable judgement of their performance (i.e. performance approach goal orientation), and others focus on avoiding negative judgement (i.e. performance avoidance goal orientation). These goal orientations are linked with academic achievement, and troublingly, students report decreasing levels of goal orientations across the school years. However, little is known concerning the mechanisms that drive this decline. In a large (N = 891 twin pairs) cross‐sectional genetically informative sample (age = 8 to 22 years), we found that older students reported lower goal orientations. Then, we identified shifts in the magnitude of genetic and environmental variance in each goal orientation. For example, variance in mastery goal orientation was primarily associated with environmental factors during the elementary school years. As students entered high school, genetic influences increased, replacing shared environmental influences. Finally, we situated these findings in the larger nomological network by testing associations with psychological constructs (e.g. personality and cognitive ability) and contextual variables (e.g. parents, schools, and peers). The development of academic motivation is complex with many interconnecting factors that appear to shift with age © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioural group therapy for social phobia in a community clinic: a benchmarking study

This study used a benchmarking strategy to investigate the transportability of cognitive behavioural group therapy (CBGT) for social phobia to a community mental health clinic. The influence of common exclusion criteria on effect sizes was also examined. Patients (N=153) attended seven 4-h sessions of CBGT, which resulted in significant reductions in symptoms of social anxiety and depression. Effect sizes compared favourably to previous efficacy and effectiveness studies of both group and individual treatment. More than half of the treatment completers achieved reliable change. One-third achieved clinically significant change (CSC) on the Social Phobia Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, but fewer achieved CSC on the Social Interaction and Anxiety Scale. Restricting the sample on the basis of depression symptoms, age above or below 50 years, comorbidity, alcohol problems, or student status did not significantly moderate effect sizes for social anxiety. It is concluded that CBGT is effective within community mental health clinics.     

Belief disconfirmation versus habituation approaches to situational exposure in panic disorder with agoraphobia: a pilot study

Exposure therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) are both effective in the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia. Cognitive theories suggest that the way in which exposure to avoided situations is implemented in either treatment may be crucial. In particular, it is suggested that clinical improvement will be greatest if opportunities for disconfirmation of feared catastrophes are maximized. In a small pilot study, 16 patients with panic disorder and (moderate or severe) agoraphobia were randomly allocated to either habituation based exposure therapy (HBET) or exposure planned as a belief disconfirmation strategy and accompanied by dropping of safety-seeking behaviours. Both treatments were brief (total of 3.25 h of exposure) and were similar in terms of expectancy of change. Patients in the CBT condition showed significantly greater improvements in self-report measures of anxiety, panic and situational avoidance. They also completed significantly more steps in a standardized behavioural walk, during which they experienced significantly less anxiety. The controlled effect sizes for CBT were substantial (range 1.7-2.7), which suggests it may be a particularly efficient way of managing therapeutic exposure to feared situations in panic disorder with agoraphobia. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanism of change involved.     

Juvenile prostitution and community rehabilitation: an exploratory analysis of beliefs and values

A community, juvenile prostitution rehabilitation programme in Bogotá, Colombia, South America is described; and beliefs and values of the residents were explored. Multiple sorting procedures and multi‐dimensional scaling analysis elicited qualitative, structured, self‐report data, and investigated cognitive constructs. Participants discriminated between belief‐statements along two global dimensions: street‐life and prostitution; and rehabilitation. These were comprised of qualitatively different elements. Clinical implications for interventions with this group and the rehabilitation programme are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.