Do traumatic events influence the clinical expression of compulsive hoarding?

Traumatic experiences have been posited as one potential catalyst for the abrupt onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms including compulsive hoarding. To determine whether traumatic life events (TLEs) might influence the expression of compulsive hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), interview responses to the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) were examined in 180 individuals with OCD. Compared to individuals with OCD who did not meet criteria for hoarding, participants classified as hoarders (24% of the sample) were significantly more likely to have reported at least one TLE in their lifetime. Patients who met criteria for hoarding and who had also experienced TLEs had significantly greater hoarding symptom severity than those hoarders not exposed to trauma. This association was found to be robust. That is, the relationship between TLEs and hoarding symptom severity was not better accounted for by age, age of OCD onset, depressive symptoms, general OCD symptomatology, or mood and anxiety comorbidity. Closer examination revealed that the clutter factor of compulsive hoarding (and not difficulty discarding or acquisitioning) was most strongly associated with having experienced a traumatic event.     

Fluctuations in state implicit self-esteem in response to daily negative events

A repeated assessment study examined changes in state implicit self-esteem after negative events. Multilevel analyses revealed that trait explicit self-esteem and self-concept clarity moderated the within-person association between daily negative events and state implicit self-esteem. People with low trait explicit self-esteem or low self-concept clarity experienced decreases in state implicit self-esteem when they experienced negative life events. In contrast, for people with high trait explicit self-esteem or high self-concept clarity, state implicit self-esteem remained stable after negative events. In addition, changes in state implicit self-esteem remained significant after controlling for state explicit self-esteem and daily negative affect. This study is the first to study changes in implicit self-esteem in the context of daily life events.     

A prospective investigation of the impact of attachment style on stress generation among clinically depressed individuals

The present study sought to determine if attachment style contributed to the generation of stressful life events among clinically depressed individuals during the course of treatment. Participants (N=68) were interviewed about life stressors experienced during a 3-month treatment protocol using a contextual approach (Life Events and Difficulties Schedule; [Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press]). Results suggested interactive effects between severity of depression and attachment style on stress associated with future sociotropic and dependent life events. Mildly depressed individuals who reported a dismissing attachment style (higher levels of avoidant attachment and lower levels of anxious attachment) or preoccupied style (lower levels of avoidant attachment and higher levels of anxious attachment) experienced higher levels of stress associated with sociotropic events. Likewise, a dismissing attachment style predicted stress associated with dependent events among mildly depressed individuals. These effects were not present among our more severely depressed participants.     

Psychological characteristics of women with eating disorders: Permanent or transient features?

The purpose of the study was to make a psychological profile of Danish women with Eating Disorders, who were not currently hospitalized. 75 women between the ages of 19 and 46 years participated. 22 participants suffered from a clinical eating disorder (ED). 20 women had previously suffered from a clinical ED, and 33 women had never suffered from ED. The study included sociodemographic data, problems in relation to eating and weight, exposure to stressful life events, and the following questionnaires: The Eating Disorder Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Coping Styles Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist. Psychologically, women with ED differed significantly from women without ED by using a more primitive defense style, perceiving themselves as being more exposed to stress, using more inefficient methods of coping and having lower self-esteem. Unexpectedly, the study also showed that recovery from an ED was resulting in normalisation of both behavioral and psychological characteristics. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

斯金纳激进行为主义的一个理论特色及其反思

斯金纳激进行为主义的一个理论特色是包容对私人事件(语言、意识、思维)的研究,体现了斯金纳激进行为主义的特有认识论立场及独特的行为分析理论和行为解释原则。     

心理弹性、负性生活事件和抑郁症状的关系：钢化效应和敏化效应

该研究追踪调查汶川地震后1573名青少年,考查心理弹性、生活事件和抑郁症状的关系,以探讨幸存者的心理修复过程。结果表明:（1）心理弹性既能直接预测抑郁症状,也能通过抑郁症状间接影响生活事件;（2）生活事件既能直接预测心理弹性,也能通过抑郁症状间接预测心理弹性;（3）抑郁症状既能直接影响心理弹性,也能通过生活事件间接影响心理弹性。结论：灾后不同特征的青少年心理修复过程不同,存在"钢化效应"和"敏化效应"。     

震后18个月都江堰地区青少年负性生活事件、父母教养方式与焦虑性情绪的关系

以1021名高中生为被试,于震后18个月用儿童焦虑性情绪筛查量表、父母教养方式问卷、青少年自评生活事件量表等进行评估,探索震后继发的负性生活事件、父母教养方式对青少年焦虑的影响。结果发现:震后18个月都江堰地区青少年焦虑问题仍较为严重;青少年的父亲、母亲过度保护和父亲关怀对震后焦虑问题有直接影响;负性生活事件对青少年焦虑影响显著,母亲过度保护和父亲自主性对这种关系调节作用显著。     

Evaluating increased effort for item disposal to improve recycling at a university

An evaluation of increased response effort to dispose of items was conducted to improve recycling at a university. Signs prompting individuals to recycle and notifying them of the location of trash and recycling receptacles were posted in each phase. During the intervention, trashcans were removed from the classrooms, and one large trashcan was available in the hallway next to the recycling receptacles. Results showed that correct recycling increased, and trash left in classrooms increased initially during the second intervention phase before returning to baseline levels.     

On the generalization of attitude accessibility after repeated attitude expression

The more accessible an attitude is, the stronger is its influence on information processing and behavior. Accessibility can be increased through attitude rehearsal, but it remains unknown whether attitude rehearsal also affects the accessibility of related attitudes. To investigate this hypothesis, participants in an experimental condition repeatedly expressed their attitudes towards exemplars of several semantic categories during an evaluative categorization task. Participants in a control condition performed a non‐evaluative task with the same exemplars and evaluated unrelated attitude objects. After a 30‐minute interval, participants in the experimental condition were faster than controls to evaluate not only the original exemplars but also novel exemplars of the same categories. This finding suggests that the effect of attitude rehearsal on accessibility generalizes to attitudes towards untrained but semantically related attitude objects. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.