Development of the State Impostor Phenomenon Scale

The purpose of this study was to develop a State Impostor Phenomenon Scale (SIPS). Participants (344 graduate and undergraduate students) were asked to complete the SIPS, the State Self-Esteem Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Scale in three situations, followed by the Trait Self-Esteem Scale. Results showed that the SIPS had stable factor structure, and adequate reliability. In addition, the predicted correlational patterns among the scales demonstrated the construct validity of the SIPS. Moreover, the SIPS was responsive to different situations, as evidenced by significant differences between the scores in the three situations.     

Performance on Stroop‐like assessments of inhibitory control by 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children

The rapid development of an aspect of executive functioning (EF), inhibitory control (IC), between the ages of 3‐ and 5‐years, leads to an increase in a child's capacity to suppress inappropriate responding and therefore activate the necessary resources to carry‐out goal‐directed activity (Psychological Bulletin, 1997, 121 , 65–94). To measure EF in children, tasks administered clinically to adults are adapted. The Day–Night Stroop (DNS) is a pictorial modification of the Stroop Test (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1935, 18 , 642–662), developed for pre‐literate children. Although suitable as a measure of IC in 3‐ to 4‐year‐old children, ceiling effects have been reported on the DNS in slightly older preschoolers. The present study attempted to overcome this limitation by examining the suitability of two modified versions of the DNS in 4‐ to 5‐year‐old preschoolers. To investigate the executive demands made by both Stroop‐like tasks, their associations with another measure of IC (stop‐signal task) and a measure of working memory were examined. Counter to expectations, no significant association was found in performance between the two Stroop‐like tasks; however, the modified DNS developed in this study showed significant relationships with the other executive tasks. The results are discussed in relation to the different methodologies used by these Stroop measures. Implications of this study suggest that researchers should consider more test‐specific factors when assessing EF in young children. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual differences in ERP measures of executive function in early childhood: Relation to low-risk preterm birth and parent-reported behavior

Although behavioral studies have demonstrated that executive function (EF) develops rapidly during early childhood, few studies have investigated neural systems supporting EF during the preschool years. These systems are sensitive to variations in children’s early life experiences, including preterm birth. The current study collected behavioral and event related potential (ERP) data during an EF task (directional Stroop) in a sample of 150 full-term and low-risk preterm children aged 4-years. Children’s IQ and processing speed (WPPSI-III), and parent report of EF (BRIEF-P), were also measured. Forty-nine children born full-term and 43 low-risk preterm children provided useable ERP data. Similar to prior studies with adults and older children, preschool-aged children showed modulation of ERP components (N2, P3) by cognitive conflict. Effects of trial type were also present for early attentional components (N1 and P2). Exploratory analyses demonstrated that ERP measures of EF were correlated with individual differences in cognitive and behavioral functioning in both full-term and low-risk preterm populations. Future research investigating the neural correlates of early measures of EF in low-risk preterm children and other at-risk groups is warranted to better understand how trajectories of EF development are altered in the first years of life.     

Effects of seat position on perception of power in Chinese traditional culture

In China, some rituals show that power is represented by seat positions. The current study empirically investigated the relationship between seat position and perception of power, and the cultural differences in this relationship. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to arrange seats for people with different power. The results showed that seats for high‐power people were placed facing the door while others’ seats were placed with their backs to the door. In Experiment 2, a priming task was employed to test the link between seat position and perception of power. Results revealed that after pictures of the seat facing the door were primed, judgments for high‐power words were more accurate and faster than for low‐power words, as compared to priming with the condition of the seat with its back to the door. A Stroop task was employed in Experiment 3 to explore cultural differences. Results showed that Chinese participants judged high‐power words faster in the congruent trials than in the incongruent trials, but no such difference was found in African participants. These findings suggest that the concept of power can be partly represented by seat position in China.     

Enduring cognitive dysfunction in unipolar major depression: A test–retest study using the Stroop paradigm

Hammar, Å., Sørensen, L., Årdal, G., Oedegaard, K.J., Kroken, R., Roness, A. & Lund, A. (2009). Enduring cognitive dysfunction in unipolar major depression: A test–retest study using the Stroop‐paradigm. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The aim of the study was to investigate automatic and effortful information processing with the Stroop paradigm in a long term perspective in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Patients were tested at two test occasions: at inclusion with a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score >18, and after 6 months, when most patients had experienced symptom reduction. The Stroop paradigm is considered to measure aspects of attention and executive functioning and consists of three conditions/cards: naming the color of the patches (Color), reading of the color‐words (Word) and naming the ink color of color‐words (Color‐Word). The Color‐Word condition is proved to be the most cognitive demanding task and requires the proband to actively suppress interference and is therefore considered to require more effortful information processing, whereas naming the color of the patches and reading the color‐words are expected to be more automatic and less cognitive demanding. A homogenous group of 19 patients with unipolar recurrent MDD according to DSM‐IV and a HDRS score of >18 were included in the study. A control group was individually matched for age, gender and level of education. Depressed patients performed equal to the control group on the Color and Word cards at both test occasions. However, the patients were impaired compared with the control group on the Color‐Word card task at both test occasions. Thus, the depressed patients showed no improvement of effortful attention/executive performance as a function of symptom reduction. The results indicate that the depressed patients showed impaired cognitive performance on cognitive demanding tasks when symptomatic and that this impairment prevailed after 6 months, despite significant improvement in their depressive symptoms.     

Automatic affective priming of recently acquired stimulus valence: Priming at SOA 300 but not at SOA 1000

In a recent series of studies, it was demonstrated that originally neutral stimuli that were predictive of an electrocutaneous stimulus in a differential aversive conditioning procedure not only acquired “signal-value” but also acquired a negative affective valence. These affective changes were not only evident from the evaluative ratings scales, but also from the data of an affective priming procedure. This response-latency based priming procedure has recently been employed as an indirect and unobtrusive index of stimulus valence (attitudes) (e.g., Fazio, Jackson, Dunton, & Williams, 1995). In the present experiment, the use of the affective priming procedure as an indirect measure of stimulus valence was further explored. Results showed that aversively conditioned stimuli revealed their newly acquired valence in this priming procedure. As predicted, this effect was obtained at the short SOA (300 ms) but not at the long SOA (1000 ms). The significant SOA X Priming interaction suggests that the affective priming procedure is less or not affected by demand effects and (self-presentational) response strategies. This makes the affective priming effect and excellent and unobtrusive measure of affective valence and an interesting alternative to subjective rating scales in situations where demand effects might otherwise influence responding. The results are also related to recent research on conditioning models of the acquisition of anxiety disorders, and to research on the co-occurrence of expectancy learning and affective learning within these models.     

The Road to Becoming a Psychologist: Indicators of Success and Hardship during the University Years

Abstract

In order to become a full-fledged psychologist, one must undertake a long, demanding, and quite difficult journey in academia. The academic journey holds a promise of delivering knowledge, interesting theories, and strategies on helping those who need psychological assessment and/or treatment. However, the constant expectation of keeping up with the material, of succeeding in tests and exams, and of preparing to proceed to the next educational level can be daunting and exhausting. In line with the topic of this special issue, this paper addresses factors contributing to academic success at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels of psychology. Utilizing the available literature on the Big Five personality classification scheme, high conscientiousness was found to be the most consistent predictor of success, although curiously, this relationship was only found to be reliable at the undergraduate level. Less robust findings included high agreeableness and low neuroticism as predictors of general academic success in all tertiary levels of education. The importance of mentorship figures in psychology, and a highlight of its lack of widespread implementation at the undergraduate level, are also addressed. Additionally, we discuss the negative implications of the impostor phenomenon and of loneliness, which students at all levels may experience as common barriers to scholastic success in psychology. Following a discussion of each factor as outlined above, there is a brief literature review regarding ways that its constraining effects may be limited or its positive effects possibly enhanced.