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Cognition Oct 2023Trait impressions about others are a fundamental tool to navigate the rich social environment and yet a unitary model of its organizational principles is still lacking....
Trait impressions about others are a fundamental tool to navigate the rich social environment and yet a unitary model of its organizational principles is still lacking. The statistical properties of impression formation observed in previous studies are akin to processes that govern information encoding and storage in memory, suggesting similar cognitive and computational mechanisms. Here, in 2,780 participants, impression formation has been formalized with a computational model representing three organizational principles of memory (temporal, semantic and valence-related). The model specifically captured two main patterns of impression formation: (1) a negative valence effect that makes negative impressions loom longer than positive ones; (2) an interaction effect between the temporal and valence content that endorses more negative impressions when negative information is met first. This work shows that mechanisms of information encoding, storage and retrieval interact in ways that explain biased impression formation about social partners, thereby providing quantitative evidence for those mechanisms in individuals' impressions of others' social qualities. We discuss the implications of these results for social impressions in different, real-world contexts, and suggest how the proposed model might be extended to capture other kinds of effects, from negativity bias and pessimism to social discrimination.
Topics: Humans; Social Perception; Attitude; Bias
PubMed: 37506516
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105550 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Sep 2023Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is the process of engaging in negatively valenced and habitual thought patterns. RNT is strongly associated with mental health...
PURPOSE
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is the process of engaging in negatively valenced and habitual thought patterns. RNT is strongly associated with mental health conditions and often affects quality of life. This study explored RNT in older school-age children and adolescents who stutter to quantify the relationship between RNT and self-reported anxiety characteristics. An additional aim was to describe how individual differences in an adolescent's goal when speaking influences the frequency they engage in RNT.
METHOD
Ninety-nine children and adolescents who stutter aged 9-18 years completed a measurement of the frequency/severity of RNT, a screener of anxiety characteristics, and a measure of adverse impact related to stuttering. Children aged 10 years and above also answered questions about their goal when speaking.
RESULTS
Individual differences in RNT significantly predicted Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES) Total Scores more so than a child or adolescent's age. Higher generalized or social anxiety scores were significantly correlated with more frequent RNT and higher OASES Total Scores. Individual differences in goal when speaking (i.e., whether or not to stutter openly) were found to predict RNT. Finally, 22 children and adolescents (22.2%) also screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder and 32 (32.3%) screened positive for social anxiety disorder.
DISCUSSION
These data provide strong evidence that (a) many children and adolescents who stutter engage in RNT; (b) children and adolescents who engage more frequently in RNT or who have higher OASES Total Scores may be at increased risk for more characteristics of generalized or social anxiety; and (c) individual differences in goal when speaking can predict the degree to which an adolescent engages in RNT.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23713296.
Topics: Child; Humans; Adolescent; Aged; Stuttering; Pessimism; Quality of Life; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 37494925
DOI: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00147 -
Cells Jul 2023Depression is a common neuropsychiatric disorder with long-term recurrent depressed mood, pain and despair, pessimism and anxiety, and even suicidal tendencies as the... (Review)
Review
Depression is a common neuropsychiatric disorder with long-term recurrent depressed mood, pain and despair, pessimism and anxiety, and even suicidal tendencies as the main symptoms. Depression usually induces or aggravates the development of other related diseases, such as sleep disorders and endocrine disorders. In today's society, the incidence of depression is increasing worldwide, and its pathogenesis is complex and generally believed to be related to genetic, psychological, environmental, and biological factors. Current studies have shown the key role of glial cells in the development of depression, and it is noteworthy that some recent evidence suggests that the development of depression may be closely related to viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2, BoDV-1, ZIKV, HIV, and HHV6, which infect the organism and cause some degree of glial cells, such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. This can affect the transmission of related proteins, neurotransmitters, and cytokines, which in turn leads to neuroinflammation and depression. Based on the close relationship between viruses and depression, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the new mechanism of virus-induced depression, which is expected to provide a new perspective on the mechanism of depression and a new idea for the diagnosis of depression in the future.
Topics: Humans; Depression; Zika Virus Infection; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Zika Virus; Neurons
PubMed: 37443801
DOI: 10.3390/cells12131767 -
Occupational and Environmental Medicine Aug 2023To assess the odds for not returning to work (non-RTW) 1 year after treatment among patients who had applied for or were planning to apply for disability pension...
Prospects of returning to work after lumbar spine surgery for patients considering disability pension: a nationwide study based on data from the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the odds for not returning to work (non-RTW) 1 year after treatment among patients who had applied for or were planning to apply for disability pension (DP-applicant) prior to an operation for degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine.
METHODS
This population-based cohort study from the Norwegian Registry for Spine surgery included 26 688 cases operated for degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine from 2009 to 2020. The primary outcome was RTW (yes/no). Secondary patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were the Oswestry Disability Index, Numeric Rating Scales for back and leg pain, EuroQoL five-dimension and the Global Perceived Effect Scale. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate associations between being a DP-applicant prior to surgery (exposure), possible confounders (modifiers) at baseline and RTW 12 months after surgery (outcome).
RESULTS
The RTW ratio for DP-applicants was 23.1% (having applied: 26.5%, planning to apply 21.1%), compared with 78.6% among non-applicants. All secondary PROMs were more favourable among non-applicants. After adjusting for all significant confounders (low expectations and pessimism related to working capability, not feeling wanted by the employer and physically demanding work), DP-applicants with under 12 months preoperative sick leave had 3.8 (95% CI 1.8 to 8.0) higher odds than non-applicants for non-RTW 12 months after surgery. The subgroup having applied for disability pension had the strongest impact on this association.
CONCLUSION
Less than a quarter of the DP-applicants returned to work 12 months after surgery. This association remained strong, also when adjusted for the confounders as well as other covariates related RTW.
Topics: Humans; Cohort Studies; Lumbar Vertebrae; Lumbosacral Region; Registries; Pain; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37423749
DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2023-108864 -
Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 2023We review and critically assess several issues arising from the potential -large-scale- implementation or deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) in society. These...
We review and critically assess several issues arising from the potential -large-scale- implementation or deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) in society. These include security, political, economic, cultural, and educational issues as well as issues concerning social biases, creativity, copyright, and freedom of speech. We argue, without a preconceived pessimism toward these tools, that they may bring about many benefits. However, we also call for a balance assessment of their downsides. While our work is only preliminary and certainly partial it nevertheless holds some value as one of the first exploratory attempts in the literature.
PubMed: 37396972
DOI: 10.3389/frai.2023.1130913 -
PloS One 2023The study of optimal best practice, coinciding with a person's 'motivational mindset', is an interesting research inquiry for development. Optimal best practice, in...
Advancing the study of levels of best practice pre-service teacher education students from Spain: Associations with both positive and negative achievement-related experiences.
The study of optimal best practice, coinciding with a person's 'motivational mindset', is an interesting research inquiry for development. Optimal best practice, in brief, relates to the maximization of a person's state of functioning (e.g., cognitive functioning). Moreover, the nature of optimal best practice is positive and motivational, helping individuals to flourish in different courses of action (e.g., academic performance at school). Several research undertakings, non-experimental in design, have provided clear and consistent evidence to substantiate the existing viewpoints and perspectives of optimal best practice. Our proposed investigation, which involved physical education pre-service teacher students from Spain (N = 681), explored one notable focus of inquiry-namely, the formation of optimal best practice and its predictive and explanatory account on future adaptive outcomes. As such, using Likert-scale measures and path analysis techniques, we were able to identify two associative patterns: achievement of optimal best practice is positively accounted for by academic self-concept, optimism, and current best practice and, in contrast, negatively accounted for by pessimism; and that optimal best practice could act as a determinant of academic engagement for effective learning. Such associations are significant, providing relevant information for different teaching and research purposes.
Topics: Humans; Spain; Teacher Training; Students; Educational Personnel; Motivation
PubMed: 37390102
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287916 -
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2023The co-occurrence of suicidality and substance use disorders has been well established, but rating scales to examine suicidal behavior and risk are sparse among...
Psychometrics of the Concise Health Risk Tracking Self-Report (CHRT-SR) Assessment of Suicidality in a Sample of Adults with Moderate to Severe Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Findings from the ADAPT-2 Randomized Trial.
BACKGROUND
The co-occurrence of suicidality and substance use disorders has been well established, but rating scales to examine suicidal behavior and risk are sparse among participants with substance use disorders. We examined the psychometric properties of the 16-item Concise Health Risk Tracking Scale - Self Report (CHRT-SR) to measure suicidality among adults with moderate-to-severe methamphetamine use disorder.
METHODS
Participants (n = 403) with moderate-to-severe methamphetamine use disorder completed the CHRT-SR as part of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pharmacotherapy trial. The CHRT-SR factor structure was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency was estimated with coefficients alpha (α) and omega (ω), test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurement, and convergent validity using Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient test between CHRT-SR factors and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The analyses utilized baseline and week 1 data (for test-retest reliability only).
RESULTS
CFA revealed a seven-factor model of Pessimism, Helplessness, Social Support, Despair, Impulsivity, Irritability, and Suicidal Thoughts as the best-fitting model. The CHRT-SR also exhibited strong internal consistency (α = 0.89; ω = 0.89), test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.78) and convergent validity with the PHQ-9 total score ( = 0.62).
CONCLUSION
The CHRT-SR showed strong psychometric properties in a sample of participants with primary methamphetamine use disorder.
CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER
NCT03078075.
PubMed: 37377462
DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S406909 -
Behaviour Research and Therapy Aug 2023Reduced tendency to engage in potentially rewarding activities is a hallmark of depression. The present study investigated the role of future expectancy biases in...
Reduced tendency to engage in potentially rewarding activities is a hallmark of depression. The present study investigated the role of future expectancy biases in depression-linked behavioural choice, in participants varying in self-reported depression symptoms (dysphoria). A novel laboratory paradigm was developed to test the hypotheses that the degree to which higher dysphoria is associated with reduced tendency to engage in a potentially rewarding activity is dependent on the presence of negative biases in the expected outcomes of activity engagement. Specifically, two types of expectancy biases were distinguished: a) the expected likelihood of a negative rather than positive outcome, and b) the expected emotional impact of either outcome. N = 176 undergraduate students with varied levels of dysphoria were given the opportunity to choose to engage in a coin-tossing game that could result in a win or loss monetary outcome in terms of charity donations, and then rated both types of expectancies. Results indicated that higher dysphoria was associated with more negative expectations concerning the likelihood of objective outcomes and the emotional impact of such outcomes, and as hypothesised, such negative expectancy biases mediated indirect associations between dysphoria and behavioural choice.
Topics: Humans; Emotions; Students; Forecasting; Bias; Depression
PubMed: 37343328
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104353 -
Philosophical Studies 2023The Liar sentence , which reads ' is not true', can be used to produce an apparently valid argument proving that is not true and that is true. There has been...
The Liar sentence , which reads ' is not true', can be used to produce an apparently valid argument proving that is not true and that is true. There has been increasing recognition of the appeal of contextualist solutions to the Liar paradox. Contextualist accounts hold that some step in the reasoning induces a context shift that causes the apparently contradictory claims to occur at different contexts. Attempts at identifying the most promising contextualist account often rely on , which seek to isolate a step at which the context cannot be claimed to have shifted or must have shifted. The literature contains a number of timing arguments that draw incompatible conclusions about the location of the context shift. I argue that no existing timing arguments succeed. An alternative strategy for assessing contextualist accounts evaluates the plausibility of their explanations of why the context shifts. However, even this strategy yields no clear verdict about which contextualist account is the most promising. I conclude that there are some grounds for optimism and for pessimism about the potential to adequately motivate contextualism.
PubMed: 37323614
DOI: 10.1007/s11098-022-01841-2 -
MedRxiv : the Preprint Server For... May 2023We sought to explore the variation in emotional responses and identify clusters of emotional patterns associated with sociodemographic, clinical, and familial factors.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to explore the variation in emotional responses and identify clusters of emotional patterns associated with sociodemographic, clinical, and familial factors.
METHODS
A large-scale survey with questions on demographics, experiences, and emotions at the time of diagnosis was sent to childhood cancer caregivers and completed between August 2012 and April 2019. Dimensionality reduction and statistical tests for independence were used to investigate relationships between sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors and 32 representative emotions.
RESULTS
Data from 3142 respondents were analyzed. Through principal components analysis and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis, three clusters of emotional responses were identified, captured 44%, 20% and 36% of respondents, respectively. Hallmark emotions within each cluster were "anger and grief" (Cluster 1), "pessimism, relief, impatience, insecurity, discouragement, and calm" (Cluster 2), and "hope" (Cluster 3). Cluster membership was associated with differences in parental factors, such as educational attainment, family income, and biological parent status, as well as child-specific factors, including age at diagnosis and cancer type.
CONCLUSIONS
The study revealed substantial heterogeneity in emotional responses to a child's cancer diagnosis than previously recognized, with differences linked to both caregiver and child-related factors. These findings underscore the importance of developing responsive and effective programs to improve targeted support for caregivers from the time of diagnosis throughout a family's childhood cancer journey.
PubMed: 37292771
DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.24.23290421