Mood repair and processing mode in depression

Recalling positive autobiographical memories is a powerful emotion regulation strategy that can be used to repair low mood and alleviate negative affect. Unlike healthy individuals, those with current or past depression do not experience an improvement in mood as a consequence of recalling positive memories. We tested whether differences in processing mode might account for this impairment. Following mood induction procedures designed to ensure equivalence of mood state, depressed (n = 35) and recovered depressed (n = 33) participants were instructed to recall a positive memory and focus on it while adopting either an abstract or a concrete mode of processing. Participants in the abstract processing condition experienced no change in mood, while those in the concrete processing condition showed improved mood after memory recall. This research illustrates that the process by which positive autobiographical memories are recalled is important in determining their emotional impact and suggests that psychological interventions for depression may be improved by explicitly targeting processing mode.     

Autobiographical memory characteristics in depression vulnerability: formerly depressed individuals recall less vivid positive memories

The differential activation hypothesis (DAH; Teasdale, 1988) proposes that individuals who are vulnerable to depression can be distinguished from non-vulnerable individuals by the degree to which negative thoughts and maladaptive cognitive processes are activated during sad mood. While retrieval of negative autobiographical memories is noted as one such process, the model does not articulate a role for deficits in recalling positive memories. Two studies were conducted to compare the autobiographical memory characteristics of never-depressed and formerly depressed individuals following a sad mood induction. In Study 1, features of negative memories of never-depressed and formerly depressed individuals did not differ, either in neutral or sad mood. For positive memories, groups did not differ in neutral mood, but following a sad mood induction, formerly depressed individuals rated their positive memories as less vivid than their never-depressed counterparts. Study 2 examined positive autobiographical memory features more comprehensively and replicated the finding that in a sad mood formerly depressed individuals recalled less vivid positive memories than never-depressed controls. These findings suggest that the phenomenological features of positive memories could represent an important factor in depressive vulnerability, and, more broadly, that depression may be associated with a deficit in the processing of positive material.     

The Role of Judaism in Family Relationships

This article explores the religious and social underpinnings of family as a central social structure to Jewish life. Torah and Talmudic sources, conceptual papers, and empirical research that address the relevance of family to Judaism are examined. Suggestions for working with Jewish families in a therapeutic setting are provided. Este artículo explora los fundamentos religiosos y sociales de la familia como estructura social central en la vida judía. Se examinan fuentes de la Torah y el Talmud, ensayos conceptuales e investigaciones empíricas que tratan la relevancia de la familia en el judaísmo. Se proporcionan sugerencias para trabajar con familias judías en un entorno terapéutico.     

Automatic,stimulus-driven attentional capture by objecthood

In three experiments, we investigated whether the mere organization of some elements in the visual field by Gestalt factors into a coherent unit (an object), with no abrupt onset or any other unique transient, could attract attention automatically. Participants viewed a display of nine red and green elements, one of which was the target, and had to identify the target’s color. On some trials, a subset of the elements was grouped by Gestalt factors (collinearity, closure, and symmetry) into an object. The object was task-irrelevant and unpredictive of the target. Performance on trials with an object present in the display was faster than performance on trials with no object for targets in the object area (a benefit) but slower for targets in a nonobject area (a cost). These findings demonstrate that an object by itself can capture attention automatically in a stimulus-driven manner, much as exogenous cues can.     

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ) and the Prediction of Cognitive Control

Study 1 evaluated the psychometric properties of the English version of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ; Luciano et al. 2005), an index of perceived control over intrusive cognitions. Confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 720 University students revealed a clear uni-dimensional structure (after removal of items 5, 7, 8, 14, and 25) with high internal consistency (α = .87, 95% CI = [.86, .88]) and test-retest reliability after a six month interval (r = .68). Correlational analyses supported an inverse relationship with measures of depression, anxiety, maladaptive cognitive control strategies, and obsessive–compulsive symptomatology. Study 2 tested the ability of the TCAQ to predict successful cognitive control during an experimental suppression protocol. Results demonstrated that weak thought control ability was predictive of the frequency and associated levels of distress of a target thought while under instruction to suppress. Additionally, weak perceived thought control ability was predictive of increased efforts to suppress the target material. Collectively, results suggest that thought control ability is a measurable individual difference variable and that the TCAQ is a reliable index of perceived cognitive control.     

Sex differences when searching for a mate: A process‐tracing approach

Sex differences in the extent of mate search were investigated using two sequential choice processes. In Study 1, attribute search, prior to choosing a mate or rejecting two competing mates, for either a short‐ or long‐term relationship, was explored. Men (women) seeking short‐term relationships were the least (most) likely to reject both suitors. Men acquired a greater number of attributes prior to rejecting mates. The length of the relationship solely affected men's search behaviors. Study 2 utilized a nested sequential model namely participants decided how many suitors to sample prior to choosing a short‐term mate, and how many attributes to acquire on each sampled suitor. Women sampled a greater number of suitors prior to choosing a mate. Biological sex was found to be a greater moderator of mate search than were three personality traits linked to search. Across both studies less information was acquired prior to rejecting versus choosing a mate. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Personal-Psychological Variables on the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Political Participation: A Structural Equations Framework

The goal of this research was to test whether the relationship between socioeconomic status and political participation is direct or mediated by personal variables such as self-esteem, locus of control, and political efficacy, and to detect how such a mediating process might operate if it exists. Two forms of participation, namely active political participation and the more passive psychological involvement of citizens in the democratic process, were treated as separate but related facets of participation. Four competing models were advanced and tested. The data were collected from 434 citizens in the north of Israel who were interviewed by questionnaire. The analysis was performed by structural equations modeling with LISREL VIII. The findings show that the relationship between socioeconomic status and political participation can be better understood as being mediated by personal variables rather than direct. This is demonstrated by the many nonsignificant paths in the direct model. The findings also reveal that active political participation and psychological involvement are distinct but related constructs, where involvement leads to active participation. In addition, all research variables were related more strongly to psychological involvement than to active political participation. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on political participation.     

Innovative problem-solving in a small,wild canid

Animal Cognition - Innovation — the ability to solve problems in a novel way — is not only associated with cognitive abilities and relative brain size, but also by noncognitive traits,...