Animal foraging and the evolution of goal-directed cognition

Foraging- and feeding-related behaviors across eumetazoans share similar molecular mechanisms, suggesting the early evolution of an optimal foraging behavior called area-restricted search (ARS), involving mechanisms of dopamine and glutamate in the modulation of behavioral focus. Similar mechanisms in the vertebrate basal ganglia control motor behavior and cognition and reveal an evolutionary progression toward increasing internal connections between prefrontal cortex and striatum in moving from amphibian to primate. The basal ganglia in higher vertebrates show the ability to transfer dopaminergic activity from unconditioned stimuli to conditioned stimuli. The evolutionary role of dopamine in the modulation of goal-directed behavior and cognition is further supported by pathologies of human goal-directed cognition, which have motor and cognitive dysfunction and organize themselves, with respect to dopaminergic activity, along the gradient described by ARS, from perseverative to unfocused. The evidence strongly supports the evolution of goal-directed cognition out of mechanisms initially in control of spatial foraging but, through increasing cortical connections, eventually used to forage for information.     

Contemporary Psychotherapy: Moving Beyond a Therapeutic Dialogue

Psychotherapy was developed as a means of using words to heal emotional pain. Although a therapeutic dialogue can be helpful to many clients, some people need a more action-based intervention. Psychotherapy may be enhanced by adapting several therapeutic procedures that have been found effective in physical therapy. Where physical therapy can help clients learn to manage chronic physical pain, psychotherapy can help clients learn to manage chronic emotional pain. Both physical therapy and psychotherapy can help to facilitate awareness, flexibility, strength and endurance in order to maximize the clients functional ability.     

Relationships of Functional Flexibility with Individual and Work Factors

To investigate how functional flexibility is related to demographics, personality traits, and work perceptions, 250 employees of a large Dutch passenger transport firm filled out a written questionnaire. Two dimensions of functional flexibility were discerned: willingness and ability to be flexible. Analysis of variance showed the support staff and managers were higher on willingness and ability to be flexible than workers. Hierarchic regression analysis showed that willingness to be flexible was positively related to initiative and trust in management, and was negatively related to age and task formalization. Ability to be flexible was positively related to general self-efficacy and initiative, and was negatively related to task formalization. It was concluded that willingness to be flexible depends on fair treatment and freedom provided by their organization and that ability to be flexible is part of the development of general self-efficacy.     

情绪调节灵活性对负性情绪的影响：来自经验取样的证据

情绪调节灵活性是指个体根据不断变化的情境需求灵活部署情绪调节策略的能力。本研究采用经验取样方法,通过拟合个体在日常生活事件(如,未通过考试)和突发公共卫生事件(COVID-19)中的策略使用剖面结构和情境负性程度与策略使用程度的共变关系测量个体的情绪调节灵活性水平,并探讨其对个体后续负性情绪(抑郁和焦虑)的影响。两个独立样本结果表明：单一策略使用偏好(如沉浸偏好和表达抑制偏好)的个体在负性生活事件中和疫情期间经历了更高水平的抑郁和焦虑情绪。此外,当个体随情境负性程度提高使用更多分心策略,而随情境负性程度降低使用更多认知重评策略(意味较高的情绪调节灵活性),其抑郁和焦虑情绪水平更低。以上结果共同证实了情绪调节灵活性有利于减少个体的负性情绪体验。     

False memory,attentional bias and future thinking among people living with HIV with posttraumatic stress disorder

People living with HIV can experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Complex relationships exist between HIV, PTSD and cognitive impairments. This cross-sectional study compared three cognitive impairments (false memory, attentional bias, deficits in future thinking) among people living with HIV with and without PTSD in Iran. People living with HIV with PTSD (n = 20) and without PTSD (n = 20) completed measures of psychological symptomatology, dot-probe task, Deese Roediger McDermott paradigm and future thinking task at Razavi Khorasan Health Center. The PTSD group, when compared to the non-PTSD group, recognised a significantly greater number of false memories (p < .001; η² = .58), had an attentional bias toward threat-related words (p < .001; η² = .35) and imagined fewer specific future events (p < .001; η² = .31). People living with HIV with PTSD may have difficulties with false memory, attentional biases, and generating future events. Since psychological treatments are limited in Iran, this research highlighted some potential cognitive targets for people living with HIV.     

Thinking about multiple identities boosts children’s flexible thinking

Studies of children's developing social identification often focus on individual forms of identity. Yet, everyone has multiple potential identities. Here we investigated whether making children aware of their multifaceted identities—effectively seeing themselves from multiple angles—would promote their flexible thinking. In Experiment 1, 6‐ to 7‐year‐old children (N = 48) were assigned to either a Multiple‐Identities condition where they were led to consider their multiple identities (e.g. friend, neighbor) or to a Physical‐Traits condition where they considered their multiple physical attributes (e.g. legs, arms). Children in the Multiple‐Identity condition subsequently expressed greater flexibility at problem‐solving and categorization than children in the Physical‐Traits condition. Experiment 2 (N = 72) replicated these findings with a new sample of 6‐ to 7‐year‐old children and demonstrated that a Multiple‐Identity mindset must be self‐relevant. Children who were led to think about another child's multiple identities did not express as much subsequent creative thinking as did children who thought about their own multiple identities. Experiment 3 (N = 76) showed that a Mmultiple‐Identity framework may be particularly effective when the identities are presented via generic language suggesting that they are enduring traits (in this case, identities depicted as noun phrases rather than verbal phrases). These findings illustrate that something as simple as thinking about one's identity from multiple angles could serve as a tool to help reduce rigid thinking, which might increase open‐mindedness in a society that is becoming increasingly diverse.     

奖赏历史对自上而下注意控制的调节：促进还是干扰？

奖赏能够影响注意控制,但是关于奖赏历史对注意控制的影响还处于争论之中。本研究以大学生为被试,采用点探测范式,操作了奖赏历史和奖赏额度,考察了奖赏历史对自上而下注意控制的调节作用。实验一结果发现,有奖赏-无奖赏条件下前后阶段反应时无显著差异,无奖赏-有奖赏条件下有奖赏阶段的反应时显著短于无奖赏阶段。实验二操作了奖赏额度,结果与实验一一致。整个研究表明,奖赏历史促进自上而下注意控制,先前奖赏对随后自上而下注意控制产生持续促进效应。     

焦虑和抑郁对正负性注意偏向的影响：注意控制的中介作用

采用状态-特质焦虑量表、流调抑郁量表、注意控制量表和正负性信息注意量表,对481名在校大学生进行调查研究,考察了焦虑、抑郁对注意偏向的影响,并探讨了注意控制在其中的中介作用。研究发现：（1）正性注意偏向与注意控制呈正相关,与状态焦虑、特质焦虑和流调抑郁呈负相关;负性注意偏向与注意控制呈负相关,与状态焦虑、特质焦虑和流调抑郁呈正相关。（2）特质焦虑、注意集中、注意转移可显著预测正性注意偏向,状态焦虑、流调抑郁和注意集中则显著预测负性注意偏向。（3）注意转移和注意集中中介了状态焦虑、特质焦虑、流调抑郁和正、负性注意偏向间的关系。研究提示注意控制是一个重要的保护性因素,可缓解或消除焦虑和抑郁对注意偏向的负面影响。     

Risky decision making and cognitive flexibility among online sports bettors in Nigeria

Online sports betting is a popular recreational activity in Nigeria. Like other forms of gambling, risk of pathological progression exists for gamblers who continue betting despite severe financial and psychosocial consequences. In the present study, we examined whether this population of gamblers shows deficits in decision making and cognitive flexibility that have been documented in Western gambling populations. Thirty-six online sports bettors and 42 non-gambling participants completed a version of the Iowa gambling task (IGT) and an established set-shifting task for the assessment of cognitive flexibility. The two groups did not differ significantly in the selection of disadvantageous decks on the IGT. In contrast, sports bettors committed significantly more errors on the set-shifting task than non-gambling control participants. As this performance deficit was not specific to trials requiring a set shift, it most likely resulted from gambling-related changes in general cognitive or motivational abilities that are required to successfully complete challenging mental tasks. While our results illustrate that findings from Western populations cannot automatically be generalised to other contexts, it should be noted that we focused on only one particular type of gambling and included mostly participants with mild gambling-related problems.     

社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响：基于帮助和阻碍行为的探讨

采用学习-测验两任务范式, 通过3项实验探讨了社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响。在学习阶段, 被试观看具有积极效价的帮助行为(某智能体帮助另一智能体爬山)和消极效价的阻碍行为(某智能体阻碍另一智能体爬山), 以及与各自运动特性匹配的无社会交互行为, 其目的为建立不同智能体颜色与社会行为效价信息的联结关系。在测验阶段, 则分别检验社会行为中的施动方(帮助者和阻碍者)颜色和受动方(被帮助者和被阻碍者)颜色的注意捕获效应。结果发现, 消极社会行为中施动方颜色和受动方颜色均更容易捕获注意, 而积极社会行为效价信息并没有改变联结特征值的注意捕获效应; 且相比于受动方, 与消极社会行为效价建立联结的施动方颜色的注意捕获效应更强。该结果提示, 存在消极社会行为效价驱动的注意捕获, 且消极的效价信息与卷入社会行为所有个体的特征建立联结, 但该联结中施动方物理特征具有更高的注意优先性。这一发现暗示, 声誉信息与对社会交互行为的整体表征可能综合作用于对社会交互事件的注意选择。