Clarifying the unique associations among intolerance of uncertainty,anxiety, and depression*

Increasing evidence suggests that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) may be a transdiagnostic factor across the anxiety disorders, and to a lesser extent, unipolar depression. Whereas anxiety inherently involves uncertainty regarding threat, depression has traditionally been associated with certainty (e.g. the hopelessness theory of depression). Some theorists posit that the observed relationship between depression and IU may be due to the relationship between depression and anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and IU. The present study sought to elucidate the unique relationships among trait anxiety, depression, and IU in undergraduate (N = 554) and clinical (generalized anxiety disorder; N = 43) samples. Findings suggest that IU may play a larger role in anxiety than depression, although some evidence indicates that inhibitory IU and depression may have a modest but independent relationship.     

A comparison of experienced and novice drivers’ rear-end collision avoidance maneuvers under urgent decelerating events

A leading vehicle’s sudden deceleration can lead to a rear-end collision. Due to a lack of driving experience, novice drivers have a greater tendency to be involved in these accidents. Most previous studies have examined driver response time and braking behaviors, but few researchers have focused on what experienced and novice drivers did after their feet touched the braking pedal and their hands turned the steering wheel. These braking and steering parameters are essential in understanding driver avoidance behavior during emergencies. We programmed rear-end crash risk scenarios to examine experienced and novice drivers’ behaviors thoroughly using a driving simulator. Twenty experienced and twenty five novice subjects participated in our experiments, and their braking and steering maneuvers were recorded when leading vehicles ran at 60 km/h, 80 km/h and 100 km/h. The results showed that the two groups of subjects tended to execute two kinds of maneuvers to avoid crashes: braking only (novice 33%, experienced 19%) and the combination of braking with steering (novice 22%, experienced 26%). When the novice drivers executed braking with steering, their response time and steering duration were significantly longer than those of the experienced drivers who executed braking with steering. As the speed increased, the novice drivers’ response time, maximum braking force and maximum steering angle were significantly affected. These results showed that novice drivers should brake only when the leading vehicle suddenly decelerates. The experienced drivers executed steadier maneuvers. Their risk perception time was shorter, and their maximum braking force and the maximum steering angles were smaller. The response time, braking intensity and steering wheel angle should be considered when developing rear-end collision warning systems.     

矛盾态度对决策后自我评价的影响：有中介的双阶段调节作用

矛盾态度不仅影响信息搜索、态度形成和决策行为, 而且影响决策后自我评价。本研究构建了一个基于不确定性的中介作用、决策困难水平和结果效价的双调节作用的矛盾态度与决策后自我评价关系模型, 3个实验通过设计冲突情境对矛盾态度进行操纵, 冲突情境包括选择一所大学和就业企业, 运用SPSS 20.0软件对数据进行分析, 发现矛盾态度对决策后自我评价存在积极影响, 矛盾态度通过不确定性影响决策后自我评价的中介过程受到决策困难水平和结果效价的调节。矛盾态度和决策困难水平对不确定性产生影响, 不确定性和结果效价对决策后自我评价产生影响, 由于不确定性的分离效应, 使矛盾态度和决策困难水平对决策后自我评价产生相互冲突的双重作用结果。当获得负面结果时, 相较于低决策困难水平, 高决策困难水平的个体, 矛盾态度通过不确定性对决策后自我评价产生积极影响; 当获得正面结果时, 相较于高决策困难水平, 低决策困难水平的个体, 矛盾态度通过不确定性对决策后自我评价产生积极影响。     

Citations of Murray Sidman's work in JEAB: Evidence of a long and large contribution

We examined citations of Murray Sidman's publications in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior from the journal's inception in 1958 through May 2020. On average, he was cited 35.6 times per year. The rate of citation did not change substantially across time and the cumulative citation count was 2,212. His 10 publications cited most often deal with behavior-analytic research methods, stimulus equivalence, and unsignaled free-operant (or Sidman) avoidance. Our data provide clear evidence of the breadth and depth of Sidman's influence on the experimental analysis of behavior across 7 decades. His contributions were both exceptional and praiseworthy and his legacy will long endure.     

共情可控?以自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性

以往研究表明共情的特点包括自动化与情境依赖性。但是, 有关共情的理论模型与潜在神经机制仍存有争议。为更好地适应现实需求, 研究重点从共情的结构和功能角度逐渐向塑造和调节共情发展。近年来, 有研究者提出自上而下的心理过程与共情调节有关, 特别是共情的目标表征形式, 以及目标的价值权衡。因此, 考虑到共情的目标导向性对于共情的内部构建与外部表现形式的影响, 建议未来研究考虑从自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性。     

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Perinatal Period: Impact on Problematic Behaviors

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most frequently diagnosed anxiety disorder among women in the perinatal period (pregnancy to one year postpartum). Recent studies have examined the relationship between problematic behaviors and GAD symptoms. Studies in nonperinatal samples indicate that adults with GAD engage in avoidance and safety behaviors and these behaviors are associated with greater symptom severity. Little research has examined the use of problematic behaviors among pregnant or postpartum women. However, preliminary research suggests that these behaviors may have a negative impact on both anxious women and their children. Our aim was to examine the extent to which women with GAD in pregnancy or the postpartum engage in problematic behaviors and whether cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in reducing these behaviors. Fifty-eight women with GAD in pregnancy or postpartum were recruited from a larger clinical trial (Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT02850523) evaluating the effectiveness of group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBGT) for perinatal anxiety disorders. The results indicated that women with perinatal GAD reported high levels of avoidance and safety behaviors and greater engagement in these behaviors was associated with higher levels of worry and related symptoms. CBGT was effective in reducing GAD symptoms and problematic behaviors and a bidirectional relationship was found between changes in worry and problematic behaviors during treatment. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Does psychosocial stress exacerbate avoidant responses to cancer information in those who are afraid of cancer? A population-based survey among older adults in England

Objective: Communication of cancer information is an important element of cancer control, but cancer fear may lead to information avoidance, especially when coping is low. We examined the association between cancer fear and cancer information avoidance, and tested whether this was exacerbated by psychosocial stress.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of 1258 population-based adults (58–70 years) in England.

Main outcome measures: Cancer fear (intensity and frequency), perceived psychosocial stress and cancer information avoidance. Control variables were age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and education.

Results: A quarter (24%) of respondents avoided cancer information. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed main effects of psychosocial stress (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.29) and cancer fear: cancer information avoidance was lowest in those with no cancer fear (13%), followed by those with moderate (24%; OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.49–3.12), and high cancer fear (35%; OR = 3.90, 95% CI: 2.65–5.73). In the adjusted model, the interaction between cancer fear and stress was significant (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.004–1.29, p < .05): 40% of those with high fear/high stress avoided cancer information compared with 29% with high fear/low stress.

Conclusion: Cancer fear and psychosocial stress interact to produce disengagement with cancer-related information, highlighting the importance of affective processes to cancer control efforts.     

Reduced specificity and enhanced subjective experience of future thinking in ageing: the influence of avoidance and emotion-regulation strategies

Future thinking in older adults is characterised by a lack of specificity of imagined events and by an equal or even higher subjective experience, compared to younger adults. We considered whether this lack of specificity stemmed partly from the avoidance of a somewhat disturbing future and then examined the extent to which certain types of emotion-regulation strategies, namely positive reappraisal and positive refocusing, contributed to the subjective experience of future thinking. Middle-aged and older adults completed an adapted version of the AMT, in which temporal distance and cue word valence were manipulated, thus resulting in future conditions assumed to represent varying degrees of discomfort. Results indicate that distant future and negative cues restricted both the specificity and the subjective experience of future thinking. In addition, the use of avoidance strategies predicted the nature of future thoughts in the context of a supposed uncomfortable future (i.e., a distant future induced by negative cues), although it followed quite different age-related patterns. Together with the findings that positive reappraisal and positive refocusing (to a lesser extent) contributed to the subjective experience of future thinking, this study indicates that how individuals imagine their personal future also relies on affect- and emotion-regulation strategies.     

Beliefs about emotion: implications for avoidance-based emotion regulation and psychological health

People’s beliefs about their ability to control their emotions predict a range of important psychological outcomes. It is not clear, however, whether these beliefs are playing a causal role, and if so, why this might be. In the current research, we tested whether avoidance-based emotion regulation explains the link between beliefs and psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (N?=?112), a perceived lack of control over emotions predicted poorer psychological health outcomes (increased self-reported avoidance, lower well-being, and higher levels of clinical symptoms), and avoidance strategies indirectly explained these links between emotion beliefs and psychological health. In Study 2 (N?=?101), we experimentally manipulated participants’ emotion beliefs by leading participants to believe that they struggled (low regulatory self-efficacy) or did not struggle (high regulatory self-efficacy) with controlling their emotions. Participants in the low regulatory self-efficacy condition reported increased intentions to engage in avoidance strategies over the next month and were more likely to avoid seeking psychological help. When asked if they would participate in follow-up studies, these participants were also more likely to display avoidance-based emotion regulation. These findings provide initial evidence for the causal role of emotion beliefs in avoidance-based emotion regulation, and document their impact on psychological health-related outcomes.     

Between Avoidance and Problem Solving: Resilience,Self‐Efficacy,and Social Support Seeking

The authors explored resilience, self‐efficacy, and social support seeking as (a) mediators between stress and problem solving and (b) moderators buffering the effect of stress on avoidance. Participants were 220 college students. Structural equation modeling showed that resilience and self‐efficacy positively influenced problem solving but could not buffer stress's effect on avoidance. Social support seeking played a more important role than resilience and self‐efficacy in reducing avoidance when individuals intentionally used social support seeking as a source for problem solving instead of avoidance.