Obsessive-compulsive disorder with comorbid major depression: what is the role of cognitive factors?

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) commonly experience comorbid mood disturbances such as major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous studies that have compared OCD patients with and without MDD have revealed differences in demographic characteristics, clinical severity, and symptom presentation between these two patient groups. Previous studies have not, however, examined whether there are differences with respect to cognitive processes. The present study therefore aimed to address this gap in the literature. Eighty patients with OCD and no unipolar mood disorders were compared with 34 OCD patients with comorbid major depression on measures of OCD symptoms, cognitions, and insight, as well as on measures of depression and functional impairment. Whereas depressed OCD patients evidenced higher scores than non-depressed OCD patients on semi-idiographic measures of OCD symptoms and cognitions, this was not the case for nomothetic measures. Functional impairment and the tendency to misinterpret innocuous intrusive thoughts as significant emerged as unique predictors of depression within the entire sample of OCD patients. Results are discussed in terms of (a) the importance of semi-idiographic assessment of OCD, (b) possible explanations for the relationship between OCD symptoms, depression, and cognitive processes, and (c) the psychological treatment of comorbid OCD and MDD.     

Mutual gaze duration as a function of length of conversation in male-female dyads

To assess the effects of familiarity on the duration of mutual gaze, and other measures of visual interaction, e.g., duration of unilateral gaze and discrepancy in duration between partners, 14 male-female dyads discussed unconditional positive regard for 8 min., after individually studying the topic for 10 min. Mutual gaze duration was significantly longer during the last 2 min. of the discussion than during the first 2 min. This suggests that, after some exposure at least, participants maintain longer durations of mutual gaze. Further, if the duration of mutual gaze is interpreted as a measure of intimacy, even a relatively short social interaction appears to increase the intimacy between two individuals of opposite sex. However, it is not clear whether these findings could be generalized to male-male and female-female dyads.     

Intraperson Consistency in Financial Risk Tolerance Assessment: Temporal Stability,Relationship to Total Score,and Effect on Criterion-related Validity

Purpose  

In assessing financial risk tolerance it is common practice to compute an overall score but not the intraperson variability across test items (because the latter is believed to be just error variance). We analyzed (1) the stability of intraperson variability, (2) its correlation to the total score, (3) its moderating effect on validity coefficients, and (4) its relation to internal consistency reliability and test–retest reliability.     

Armstrong was a Cheat: A Reply to Eric Moore

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we reply to Eric Moore’s argument that Lance Armstrong did not cheat, at least according to one, standard account of cheating. If that is the case, we argue, so much the worse for the standard account of cheating, since Armstrong was a cheat. We argue that the standard account of cheating fails on several counts: it specifies conditions that are not necessary for cheating: that cheating involves trying to secure an unfair advantage and that cheating depends on fair application of the rules. We dispute Moore’s claim that doping in the peloton was a convention that had normative force, and reject his anti-formalist analogy between doping in the peloton and bodily contact in basketball.