Is the unconscious smart or dumb?

How sophisticated is unconscious cognition? This is one of the most fundamental questions about the unconscious that has been posed by research psychologists over the past century. A. G. Greenwald (see record 1992-33868-001) takes a contemporary look at this classical problem and concludes that unconscious cognition is severely limited in its analytic capability. In response, other leading scholars agree that the reality of unconscious processes is no longer questionable. Although there is some disagreement about just how sophisticated these processes are, the consensus is that exciting times are ahead for both research and theory concerning the mental processes involved in unconscious cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More than a metaphor?

In response to K. S. Bowers's (see record 1988-16849-001) discussion of the unconscious, the present author suggests that what is in doubt about the unconscious is its specific content and organization, the extent to which it is better described by one model or another, and the extent to which it operates as a useful explanation. It is concluded that belief in the existence of the unconscious may indicate a wish for more organization in the brain than really exists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nociceptive neurons in the macaque anterior cingulate activate during anticipation of pain

Since the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is known to be involved both in nociception and in anticipation that precedes the avoidance of aversive stimuli, the linking of these functions may be processed in the ACC. To test this hypothesis, we recorded single neuronal activities in the ACC of a macaque monkey while it was performing a pain-avoidance task and examined them with nociceptive cutaneous electric stimuli (ES). Thirty-six neurons responded in anticipation of the ES. Of these, 22 neurons were tested with the ES and 11 responded. These neurons could be those that are involved both in nociception and in pain anticipation that precedes the avoidance of noxious stimuli.     

Same situation--Different emotions: How appraisals shape our emotions.

Appraisal theories of emotion hold that it is the way a person interprets a situation--rather than the situation itself--that gives rise to one emotion rather than another emotion (or no emotion at all). Unfortunately, most prior tests of this foundational hypothesis have simultaneously varied situations and appraisals, making an evaluation of this assumption difficult. In the present study, participants responded to a standardized laboratory situation with a variety of different emotions. Appraisals predicted the intensity of individual emotions across participants. In addition, subgroups of participants with similar emotional response profiles made comparable appraisals. Together, these findings suggest that appraisals may be necessary and sufficient to determine different emotional reactions toward a particular situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipation in Crohn's disease may be influenced by gender and ethnicity of the transmitting parent

OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine whether anticipation (an earlier age of onset in succeeding generations) is observed in Crohn's disease (CD) patients within the New York metropolitan area, and whether there are differences in the degree of anticipation with respect to gender and ethnicity of the affected parent. METHODS: Sixty-one parent-child pairs both affected by CD were identified; about half of the pairs were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. An additional 17 pairs of second-degree relatives with CD were also identified. The intergenerational difference in age at diagnosis (AAD) was used to perform regression analysis and the degree of anticipation among subsets of patients separated on the basis of gender and ethnicity of the transmitting parent was determined. RESULTS: The AAD was consistently (90% of the time) lower in the younger member of the 61 parent-child pairs (35.3+/-1.6 yr vs 20.8+/-1.1 yr, p = 0.0001). Furthermore, the degree of anticipation was significantly greater for father-child pairs (20.6+/-3.2 yr) than for mother-child pairs (11.7+/-2.1 yr). However, when the patient population where the parent had an AAD of < 28 was analyzed separately, there was a lack of clear-cut evidence of anticipation in the population as a whole. Only when the population was subdivided by ethnicity was there convincing evidence of anticipation in the Jewish population. CONCLUSION: Ascertainment bias may be responsible for the apparent anticipation observed in the CD population as a whole or in the nonJewish CD subgroup. However, the Jewish CD population displays strong evidence of anticipation even after correction for ascertainment bias.     

On the validity of psychoanalytic constructs in the 20th century.

Responds to comments by F. Dumont (see record 1994-42094-001) about J. J. Magnavita's (see record 1993-42219-001) discussion of Freud's purported discovery of unconscious processes. Dumont underestimates the extent to which Freud both synthesized and advanced the knowledge of unconscious processes to create a metapsychological system that forms the foundation of many current psychotherapy models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychodynamics and the unconscious.

The original New Look integrated the constructivist-psychodynamic traditions of F. C. Bartlett and Freud. The unconscious (A. G. Greenwald's "New Look 3"; see record 1992-33868-001) is a logically different idea, although in practice it is often intertwined with constructivist-psychodynamic approaches. The unconscious is a pretheoretic term with a variety of problems: It has multiple and unsettled meanings; null reports need not signify null awareness; the conscious–unconscious dichotomy implied by the limen may not exist; even "absolute subliminality" (chance-level accessibility) is relative to the time interval of testing, as accessibility can increase to above-chance levels over time (hypermnesia). Yet, the phenomena that the unconscious sloppily subsumes are not simple or dumb. The capacity of subliminal perception should not be confused with the capacity of subliminal (unconscious) memory and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The discrepancy-attribution hypothesis: II. Expectation, uncertainty, surprise, and feelings of familiarity.

In the accompanying article (B. W. A. Whittlesea and L. D. Williams, see record 2000-14052-001), surprising violation of and expectation was observed to cause an illusion of familiarity. The authors interpreted that evidence as support for the discrepancy-attribution hypothesis. This article extended the scope of that hypothesis, investigating the consequences of surprising validation of expectations. Ss were shown recognition probes as completions of sentence stems. Their expectations were manipulated by presenting predictive, nonpredictive, and inconsistent stems. Predictive stems caused an illusion of familiarity, but only when the Ss also experienced uncertainty about the outcome. That is, as predicted by the discrepancy-attribution hypothesis, feelings of familiarity occurred only when processing of a recognition target caused surprise. The article provides a discussion of the ways in which a perception of discrepancy can come about, as well as the origin and nature of unconscious expectation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipatory cues can interfere with inhibitory operant behavior in the rat

In four separate experiments a total of 24 male rats were trained for 30 min. daily in the same temporal order to inhibit their responses for at least 6 sec. before a response-contingent reward was delivered (DRL-6 sec.). The rats tested as the second group each day displayed about twice the number of errors (effect size = 40%) shown by rats tested in the first or third groups. These results suggest that anticipatory cues, acquired within two sessions, interfere with response inhibition during an appetitive task for a limited time (between a few minutes to about one hour). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that learned anticipation of reward may decrease inhibitory mechanisms by facilitating limbic lability.     

Anticipatory dementia: a link between memory appraisals and concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease

This exploratory study examines the link between memory appraisals and personal concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease. The sample of persons ages 40-60 includes adult children with a living parent who has Alzheimer's disease (N = 25) and a matched group with no family history of dementia (N = 25). Using two composite measures of memory appraisals, the results show significant bivariate and multivariate relationships between self-assessments of memory functioning and concerns about developing the disease. The findings also suggest that negative memory appraisals evoke concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease within both of the subsamples.     

Revisioning the unconscious.

Discusses K. S. Bowers's (see record 1988-16849-001) justification of the Freudian approach to unconscious mental activity, implicit criticism of introspection as a source of information about what is in the mind, and morality play about the devil. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of unconscious pathogenic beliefs in agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia can severely constrict the life of those who suffer from it. Control-mastery theory is a cognitive psychoanalytic theory that posits that symptoms are caused and maintained by unconscious pathogenic beliefs. Two cases are discussed in detail to support the hypothesis that agoraphobic patients suffer from 2 pathogenic beliefs: The world is a dangerous place that punishes assertiveness and they don't deserve to have a better life. The role of unconscious pathogenic beliefs may serve as a bridge in explaining both the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy as well as the usefulness of longer term psychodynamic treatment in resolving the often significant residual symptoms of these patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive Tertiary Appraisals and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in U.S. Male Veterans of the War in Vietnam: The Roles of Positive Affirmation, Positive Reformulation, and Defensive Denial.

A 70.9% majority of the U.S. male veterans in a nationwide sample appraised the impact of their service in Vietnam on their present lives as mainly positive. A substantial minority, 41.7%, judged the effects to be highly salient. With controls on level of exposure to war-zone stressors measured with data from military records, the valence and salience of these appraisals are investigated in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other indicators of wartime and postwar functioning. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that mainly positive tertiary appraisals are affirmations of successful wartime and postwar adaptation rather than defensive denials related to maladaptive outcomes. The possibility that mainly positive tertiary appraisals also contribute to successful postwar adaptation is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanisms of symptom reduction in treatment for obsessions.

Objective: We explored the dynamic relationship between cognition and obsession severity during 2 different treatments for primary obsessions, examining evidence for the hypothesis that symptom reduction would be mediated by appraisals about the meaning of unwanted intrusive thoughts. Method: Data from a recent randomized controlled trial were analyzed with traditional mediation analyses and latent difference scores. The trial had compared cognitive behavioral therapy and stress management training among 73 patients with primary obsessions. Mediation analyses were conducted with pre-, post-, and follow-up scores on the Obsessions subscale of the Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and 2 self-report measures of cognitions related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Bivariate dual change score (BDCS) analyses were conducted with weekly assessments of obsession severity and appraisals of personal significance. Results: Change in most cognitions related to obsessive-compulsive disorder accounted for reduction in obsession severity during the course of treatment and follow-up. BDCS analyses of the longitudinal data, however, indicated prior obsession severity is a leading indicator of subsequent change in appraisals, rather than the reverse. Analyses also suggested cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective than stress management training when symptoms are severe and that stress management training is more advantageous in the context of mild-to-moderate obsessions. Conclusions: The traditional mediation analysis indicated that appraisal change is a tenable mediator of obsession reduction, but the BDCS results raise doubts about the causal direction. The results highlight the importance of examining the dynamic relationship between putative mediators and outcome variables, and they suggest interesting hypotheses about mechanisms in treatment of obsessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personalized inferences of emotions and appraisals: Component processes and correlates.

Examined children's abilities to consider other people's personal history when inferring their cognitive appraisals and probable emotional reactions. Study 1 explored the sources of children's difficulty in making personalized inferences of emotion. Interviewed children averaging 6, 8, and 11 years of age about a series of stories describing a person's behavior or experience in one situation, followed by a second, related situation, or about partial stories. The youngest children had trouble figuring out mental appraisals from personal history information. Older children were capable of inferring appraisals but had trouble applying them to later situations when both steps were required to infer the person's emotion. Study 2 examined the extent to which social and cognitive factors are associated with the ability to make personalized inferences among 8-year-olds. The tendency to make personalized inferences of appraisals was more clearly associated with sociometric status than with cognitive capacity measures, suggesting that this may be an important element of children's social competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of familism in the relation between parent–child discord and psychological distress among emerging adults of Mexican descent.

Although parent–child discord is a predictor of distress among emerging adults, little is known about this important link among Mexican-descent populations. This is an important gap, given Mexican Americans’ high risk for psychological distress and their expected high value placed on close family ties. This topic was studied in a sample of 392 college students from El Paso, TX (n = 193) and from Ciudad Juárez, México (n = 199). The authors tested a stress-appraisal model with self-report measures of familism, parent–child discord, threat appraisals of parent–child discord, and psychological distress. As predicted, threat appraisals partially mediated the relation between parent–child discord and psychological distress. Moreover, the relation between parent–child discord and threat appraisals was stronger at higher than at lower levels of familism. Study findings highlight the need to consider that, under certain conditions, familism may increase risk of distress among emerging adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How often are our numbers wrong?

Located 21 studies that permitted an estimate of the frequency of recording errors and/or the degree to which errors were nonrandom. The studies, summarizing data from over 300 observers making about 140,000 observations, suggest that about 1% of all observations may be in error and that about two thirds of all errors favor the hypothesis of the observer. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More Thoughts About Anger Determinants.

Replies to comments (see record 2004-15096-002, 2004-15096-003, 2004-15096-004, and 2004-15096-005) made about the current authors' article on anger (see record 2004-15096-001). The authors propose that (a) although strong negative affect can evoke anger without appraisals, appraisals after the initial reactions conceivably might influence the later emotional experience independently of the felt displeasure; (b) maintaining that particular stimuli can automatically elicit anger does not imply that anger will be dominant; and (c) anger is frequently blended with other negative emotions such as fear. A particular stimulus' context can affect this stimulus' meaning and thus determine its effect, but if the stimulus' meaning is held constant, the stimulus will evoke the response to which it is connected. Carefully controlled experiments are required to resolve the issues raised. The theories advanced should offer testable postulates rather than untestable assertions of what processes supposedly were operating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)