The animacy advantage for free-recall performance is not attributable to greater mental arousal

People often demonstrate better memory for animate concepts (e.g., lion and sailor) than for inanimate concepts (e.g., hammer and mountain). Researchers have attributed this effect to an adaptive memory mechanism that favours information relevant for survival, including information about living things. In the present experiment, we examined the hypothesis that people demonstrate better free-recall performance for animate than inanimate words because animate words tend to be associated with greater mental arousal than inanimate words, a factor that was not controlled for in previous experiments on this topic. To this end, we matched animate and inanimate word lists on mental arousal (and several other factors), and compared participants’ free-recall performance for the two word types. We were able to replicate past findings that participants’ free-recall of animate words exceeds their free-recall of inanimate words, but we found no support for the possibility that the effect stems from differences in mental arousal between animate and inanimate concepts, as this effect maintained even when the word lists were matched on mental arousal. The present results therefore indicate that mental arousal cannot explain the effects of animacy on free-recall performance.     

THE PHYSICALIZED MIND AND THE GUT‐BRAIN AXIS: TAKING MENTAL HEALTH OUT OF OUR HEADS

As it becomes increasingly plausible that the mind–brain is explicable in naturalistic terms, science‐and‐religion scholars have the opportunity to engage creatively and proactively with facets of brain‐related research that better inform our understanding of human well‐being. That is, once mental health is recognized as being a whole‐body phenomenon, exciting theological conversations can take place. One fascinating area of research involves the “gut–brain axis,” or the interactive relationship between the microbiome in the gastrointestinal tract (i.e., gut bacteria), the central nervous system, and mental health. A growing body of literature explores the immensely significant interactions between the gut microbiome and mental health issues involving depression, anxiety, gene expression, and stress responses. One's mental health does not occur in a disembodied state, but in a complex physical environment that is strongly influenced by environmental factors, many of which we can control. This article argues that science‐and‐religion can welcome scientific research in this area, creatively incorporating such insights into a theology of mental health and physical well‐being.     

La gestion des émotions et ses déficits,chez les personnes atteintes de douleur chronique : une revue systématisée des études relatives à l’alexithymie, à l’intelligence émotionnelle, à la régulation émotionnelle et au coping

The goal of this review is to synthesize the data of scientific literature on emotional management and its deficits in chronic pain. We used terms referenced in databases and MesH terms (of the United States National Library of Medicine) to perform a literature search in a powerful online search engine (EBSCOhost research databases). Four hundred and forty-nine papers, taken from international reviews and published of 1994 (because it is in the middle of the 1990s that this theme begins to be handle) to the end of January, 2015, are identified by a total 5 electronic databases with predefined keywords about emotions and chronic pain. Forty-six of which met the inclusion criteria, according to their title, their summary and their complete text. The findings suggest that some emotional management strategies and its deficits can maintain a vicious circle of negative emotional states with physiological and psychopathological consequences. Several studies show that alexithymia, emotional ambivalence and emotional suppression have a deleterious impact on pain, emotional distress (depression, anxiety) and disability. In spite of some contradictions concerning the nature of this effect (sensory or affective pain intensity or even duration of pain), it seems that alexithymia is a major variable implied in chronic pain. Inversely, experiential acceptance has a beneficial effect on psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress). Emotional disclosure (of stressful or traumatic events) can decrease pain intensity but not disability and mental health. Likewise, emotional expression in daily life seems beneficial, but when the expression of the positive and negative feelings are distinguished, emotional expression of negative feelings increases pain, disability and distress. The whole of these findings emphasize the need to further research about emotional management in chronic non-cancer pain. It is necessary to identify and control the source of potential bias. Some hypotheses have been proposed to explain these findings. In the future, it would be interesting to use a multifactorial approach to investigate the interactions between various processes of emotional management in chronic pain patients.     

Changes in schemas of patients with severe borderline personality disorder: The Oulu BPD study

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a relatively common and severe psychiatric disorder that can impair quality of life in many ways. The aim of this study was to determine whether a combined treatment model for BPD patients, utilising major principles from schema‐focused therapy (SFT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), could be more effective in relieving early maladaptive schemas of BPD patients, compared to treatment as usual (TAU). This study is a part of the Oulu BPD study conducted at mental health care services run by Oulu city social and health care services. The study is a multisite, randomized controlled trial conducted over a one year period, involving two groups of patients with severe BPD: (1) Community Treatment By Experts (CTBE) patients (n = 18) receiving the combined treatment model, and 2) TAU patients (n = 27). The patients' schemas were assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ‐L3a) before and after one year of treatment. The results reveal that CTBE patients who attended the combined treatment model showed a statistically significant reduction in eight out of 18 early maladaptive schemas, while patients receiving treatment as usual did not demonstrate any significant changes in schemas. The cognitive therapeutic treatment model can be applied for clinical use in public mental health settings using existing professionals, and appears to produce positive changes in patients with BPD.     

Vocational Personality Traits in Counselor Education and School Psychology Students

We assessed the vocational personality of 104 graduate students in school counseling, mental health counseling, and school psychology programs using Holland's ( 1997 ) theory of personality and career choice. The correlational findings confirmed the importance of vocational personality traits in relation to the academic performance of graduate students. Among the Self‐Directed Search–Revised vocational personality types, the Investigative type emerged as a consistent predictor of performance on all sections of the Graduate Record Examination. The participants from 3 graduate programs predominantly identified Social as their primary vocational personality type, with variability in the secondary and tertiary code positions. The student group with the highest degree of congruence, defined as the degree of fit between one's personality and the environment, had the highest graduate grade point average, indicating the relationship between the degree of congruence and achievement. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Which Are the Genuine Properties?

This article considers three views about which properties are genuine. According to the first view, we should look to successful commonsense and scientific explanations in determining which properties are genuine. On this view, predicates that figure in such explanations thereby pick out genuine properties. According to the second view, the only predicates that pick out genuine properties are those that figure in our best scientific explanations. On this view, predicates that figure in commonsense explanations pick out genuine properties only if such explanations are vindicated by the sciences. According to the third view, the only genuine properties are the fundamental, microphysical ones. On this view, although there are “higher‐level” predicates that figure in true commonsense and scientific explanations, there are no “higher‐level” properties corresponding to such predicates. The article argues that the third view is superior to the others.     

Perceptions of Private Market Landlords Who Rent to Tenants of a Housing First Program

The rental of housing units by landlords to participants in Housing First (HF) programs is critical to the success of these programs. Therefore, it is important to understand the experiences of landlords with having these individuals as tenants. The paper presents findings of qualitative interviews with 23 landlords who rented to tenants from a HF program located in a small city and adjoining rural area in eastern Canada and in which approximately 75 % of tenants had been housed for at least six consecutive months at 2 years in the program. Findings showed that landlords are motivated to rent to HF tenants for financial and pro‐social reasons. They reported holding a range of positive, neutral, and negative perceptions of these tenants. They identified problems encountered with some HF tenants that included disruptive visitors, conflict with other tenants, constant presence in their apartments, and poor upkeep of units. On the other hand, landlords perceived HF tenants as being mostly good tenants who are similar to their other tenants. Implications for practice in the context of HF programs are discussed.     

Increasing Awareness of Potentially Helpful Motivations and Techniques for Forgiveness

The authors examined 3 motives and 3 techniques for forgiveness to assess differences between people high or low in dispositional forgiveness (HDF and LDF, respectively). HDF participants rated all motives as more compelling and familiar than did LDF participants. Forgiveness being the right thing to do was rated as more persuasive and familiar; however, mental and physical health benefits were rated as compelling but less familiar forgiveness motives. LDF participants rated the various techniques as less familiar and more difficult compared with HDF participants. Overall, participants rated forgive and forget as the most familiar but most difficult technique to implement.     

Reconciling sexual orientation and Christianity: Black same-gender loving men's experiences

This qualitative study examined the methods that Black same-gender loving (SGL) men used to reconcile their sexual orientation and Christianity. Specifically, the study sought to answer two questions: (1) What does it mean to Black SGL men to have reconciled their Christian beliefs and participation with their sexual orientation? and (2) What specific methods do Black SGL men use to reconcile their Christian beliefs and participation with their sexual orientation? Seven Black Christian SGL men participated in the study. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was conducted and yielded eight themes: happiness with and acceptance of self; sense of integrity; geographically distancing self from family and home church; personal interpretation of Biblical text; educating self about same-sex sexual orientation; seeking interpersonal support from and providing interpersonal support for other Black SGL people; use of lived experiences to guide actions; and reconciliation as a practice. The implications of these findings are discussed.