Dream rebound of suppressed emotional thoughts: the influence of cognitive load

Initial evidence suggests that suppressing a thought prior to sleep results in subsequent dreaming of that thought. The present research examined the influence of cognitive load on dreaming following suppression. In Experiment 1, 100 participants received either a suppression instruction or no instruction for an intrusive thought prior to sleep, and subsequently completed a dream diary. Participants instructed to suppress reported dreaming about the target thought more than controls; dream rebound was predicted by poorer performance on a working memory task. In Experiment 2, 126 participants received either a suppression instruction or no instruction for an intrusive thought prior to sleep, and half of participants also had cognitive load of learning a 9-digit number. Participants receiving the suppression instruction under cognitive load reported greater dream rebound than other participants. These findings indicate that thought suppression prior to sleep leads to dream rebound, and this effect is enhanced by cognitive load.     

Towards a computational theory of experience

A standing challenge for the science of mind is to account for the datum that every mind faces in the most immediate – that is, unmediated – fashion: its phenomenal experience. The complementary tasks of explaining what it means for a system to give rise to experience and what constitutes the content of experience (qualia) in computational terms are particularly challenging, given the multiple realizability of computation. In this paper, we identify a set of conditions that a computational theory must satisfy for it to constitute not just a sufficient but a necessary, and therefore naturalistic and intrinsic, explanation of qualia. We show that a common assumption behind many neurocomputational theories of the mind, according to which mind states can be formalized solely in terms of instantaneous vectors of activities of representational units such as neurons, does not meet the requisite conditions, in part because it relies on inactive units to shape presently experienced qualia and implies a homogeneous representation space, which is devoid of intrinsic structure. We then sketch a naturalistic computational theory of qualia, which posits that experience is realized by dynamical activity-space trajectories (rather than points) and that its richness is measured by the representational capacity of the trajectory space in which it unfolds.     

Differential item functioning of the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale in the US and China: Measurement bias matters

Using an item‐response theory‐based approach (i.e. likelihood ratio test with an iterative procedure), we examined the equivalence of the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSES) in a sample of US and Chinese college students. Results from the differential item functioning (DIF) analysis showed that the RSES was not fully equivalent at the item level, as well as at the scale level. The two cultural groups did not use the scale comparably, with the US students showing more extreme responses than the Chinese students. Moreover, we evaluated the practical impact of DIF and found that cultural differences in average self‐esteem scores disappeared after the DIF was taken into account. In the present study, we discuss the implications of our findings for cross‐cultural research and provide suggestions for future studies using the RSES in China.     

The relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and psychological need thwarting in junior sports participants

Objectives

Perfectionism is thought to energise high quantities of motivation; however, its wider influence on the quality of the motivation exhibited by athletes is less clear. The purpose of this study was to examine the multivariate and univariate relationship between multidimensional perfectionism (perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic striving) and perceived psychological need thwarting. Perfectionistic concerns was assessed via sub-dimensions of socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, parental pressure and coach pressure. Perfectionistic striving was assessed via sub-dimensions of self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, personal standards and a need for organisation.

Design

A cross-sectional, survey-based design was employed.

Method

One hundred and ninety-nine junior sports participants were recruited from after-school sports clubs and completed measures of multidimensional perfectionism and psychological need thwarting.

Results

Canonical correlation analyses revealed that higher levels of perfectionistic concerns were associated with higher levels of perceived psychological need thwarting. Analogously, lower levels of perfectionistic striving were associated with lower levels of perceived psychological need thwarting. Regression analyses revealed that the relative importance of individual sub-dimensions of perfectionism differed depending on the facet of psychological need thwarting being assessed. Perceptions of parental pressure, coach pressure and concern over mistakes emerged as especially important.

Conclusion

Overall, the findings indicate that while perfectionism may contribute to high levels of behavioural investment, it may also impoverish the necessary support required for the fulfilment of psychological needs.     

The revised perceived locus of causality in physical education scale: Psychometric evaluation among youth

Objectives

Given instances of less than optimal internal consistency levels of the Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC) scale when applied to school-based physical education (PE), the aim of the study was to examine the psychometrics of a revised PLOC instrument for use in PE.

Design

A cross-sectional study in which self-report data on behavioral regulations, perceived autonomy support by the PE teacher, and subjective vitality were collected from 1729 students in relation to their PE participation at the elementary school (5th and 6th grade), middle school, and high school levels, including boys and girls.

Results

The revised instrument (PLOC-R) demonstrated satisfactory levels of internal consistency; a sound factor structure; evidence in support of a simplex-like structure; configural, metric, strong, and strict measurement invariance across boys and girls, students who participate or not in out-of-school sport activities, and across the three school grade levels; and nomological validity.

Conclusions

Initial evidence has emerged in favor of the PLOC-R as a scale appropriate for use with 5th and 6th grade elementary, middle school, and high school students to measure the degree of self-determined motivation for participation in compulsory school-based physical education classes.     

Proof theory and mathematical meaning of paraconsistent C-systems

A proof-theoretic analysis and new arithmetical semantics are proposed for some paraconsistent C-systems, which are a relevant sub-class of Logics of Formal Inconsistency (LFIs) introduced by W.A. Carnielli et al. (2002, 2005) [8] and [9]. The sequent versions BC, CI, CIL of the systems bC, Ci, Cil presented in Carnielli et al. (2002, 2005) [8] and [9] are introduced and examined. BC, CI, CIL admit the cut-elimination property and, in general, a weakened sub-formula property. Moreover, a formal notion of constructive paraconsistent system is given, and the constructivity of CI is proven. Further possible developments of proof theory and provability logic of CI-based arithmetical systems are sketched, and a possible weakened Hilbert?s program is discussed. As to the semantical aspects, arithmetical semantics interprets C-system formulas into Provability Logic sentences of classical Arithmetic PA (Artemov and Beklemishev (2004) [2], Japaridze and de Jongh (1998) [19], Gentilini (1999) [15], Smorynski (1991) [22]): thus, it links the notion of truth to the notion of provability inside a classical environment. It makes true infinitely many contradictions B∧¬B and falsifies many arbitrarily complex instances of non-contradiction principle ¬(A∧¬A). Moreover, arithmetical models falsify both classical logic LK and intuitionistic logic LJ, so that a kind of metalogical completeness property of LFI-paraconsistent logic w.r.t. arithmetical semantics is proven. As a work in progress, the possibility to interpret CI-based paraconsistent Arithmetic PACI into Provability Logic of classical Arithmetic PA is discussed, showing the role that PACIarithmetical models could have in establishing new meta-mathematical properties, e.g. in breaking classical equivalences between consistency statements and reflection principles.     

Interpreting Self-Directed Search profiles: Validity of the “Rule of Eight”

Based on the standard error of measurement, Holland (1985) suggested the “rule of eight” for determining the meaningfulness of differences between two summary scores on the Self Directed Search. The present study empirically examined the rule's validity for practice. The participants were 2397 (1497 females and 900 males) undergraduate students enrolled in the exploratory major at a large Midwestern university. The results strongly supported the interpretive rule of eight. For those participants who scored a primary-code distinction of eight or more points, the hit rate was 55% with a kappa of .38. This compared to a hit rate of 40% with a kappa of .21 for those participants with less than eight-point distinction between their top two scores. The authors also discuss the practical implications for interpreting SDS results using the “rule of eight.”     

Managing organizational commitment: Insights from longitudinal research

This article summarizes what is known about the active management of affective organizational commitment (AOC) through a review of 58 studies employing longitudinal research designs. The review yields six broad categories of antecedents that have empirically demonstrated effects on AOC: socialization practices, organizational changes, human resource practices, interpersonal relations, employee–organizational relations, and a residual “other” category. Insights from the review include (a) that perceptions of personal attachment to the organization are among the most substantiated (but tenuous) strategies for enhancing AOC, (b) that theorizing and research efforts have focused almost exclusively on achieving high levels of AOC, and (c) organizations have been reticent to address situations when AOC is low. Implications and recommendations for the theoretical, research and practical advancement of AOC are offered.     

The workable here and now and the why of there and then

At an earlier time our work as analysts was easier. We searched for the repressed in order to make constructions that connected the past to the present symptoms. Making these connections conscious, based upon the continuing influence of the Topographic theory, was thought to be the curative factor in psychoanalysis. Freud (1912, 1914) briefly expressed the importance of working in the present but his main focus remained the importance of reconstructing the past. The importance of working in the present started to be fully articulated approximately 30 years ago, and has become a central part of most views on technique. However, it is the contention of this paper that, while there is general agreement on the necessity of working in the here and now, the understanding of what this means or why it is useful runs along parallel lines rather than leading to a central point. Further, it is my impression there is little agreement on the reasons for interpreting the there and then. The idea of a 'workable here and now' is introduced to capture how the here and now might best include the analysand's readiness to synthesize what is offered, while a theory of the necessity for working in the here and now and the there and then is offered.