Anxiety and cognitive inhibition.

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated whether anxiety proneness is associated with impaired inhibitory processing. Participants made speeded decisions requiring inhibition of threatening or neutral meanings of ambiguous words, which were inappropriate in their current context. In Experiment 1 there were no differences found in inhibitory processing associated with anxiety. However, in Experiment 2, when the capacity for controlled processing was reduced by imposition of a mental load, anxious individuals showed a response pattern consistent with a general impairment of inhibitory processing. In Experiment 3, a group who had experienced a traumatic event also showed evidence of impaired inhibition, despite the absence of additional load. Thus anxiety proneness is associated with a general deficit of inhibitory processing, but this may be revealed only under conditions that limit the availability of controlled processing resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction model of anxiety and the threat of Quebec's separation from Canada.

The interaction model of anxiety was investigated by assessing trait and state anxiety in students at a Canadian university during the Quebec referendum. The results of Study 1 confirmed that the threat of separation by Quebec from Canada was perceived as an ambiguous, uncertain situation. In Study 2, reactions to this situation were assessed by having participants complete measures of anxiety and situation perception at Time 1 (i.e., 3 hr before the event) and Time 2 (i.e., 1 week after the vote). The results provide support for the interaction model; individuals who were high in trait anxiety in ambiguous situations and appraised the referendum situation as threatening were characterized by elevated state anxiety before the uncertain outcome of the vote. The results illustrate the need to examine trait anxiety and specific appraisals of situational threat in uncertain life situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of shame and guilt to constructive versus destructive responses to anger across the lifespan.

This study explored the relation of shame proneness and guilt proneness to constructive versus destructive responses to anger among 302 children ( Grades 4–6 ), 427 adolescents ( Grades 7–11), 176 college students, and 194 adults. Across all ages, shame proneness was clearly related to maladaptive responses to anger, including malevolent intentions; direct, indirect, and displaced aggression; self-directed hostility; and negative long-term consequences. In contrast, guilt proneness was associated with constructive means of handling anger, including constructive intentions, corrective action and nonhostile discussion with the target of the anger, cognitive reappraisals of the target's role, and positive long-term consequences. Escapist-diffusing responses showed some interesting developmental trends. Among children, these dimensions were positively correlated with guilt and largely unrelated to shame; among older participants, the results were mixed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tumor antigen presentation: changing the rules

The relationship between dental status and dental anxiety was analysed in 165 patients. To assess the dental status, D3.4 MFS-index and Bleeding-on-Probing-Index (BOP) were applied. Dental anxiety was assessed using dental anxiety rating, whereas aspects of state and trait anxiety were analysed by the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory. The hypothesis was: higher levels of dental anxiety lead to avoiding check-ups and necessary treatment, the consequence of which is a deterioration of the dental status. No significant correlation was found between dental anxiety and dental status. A significant difference was found when comparing patients with high or low dental anxiety in respect of the D3.4 MFS-index, whereas a different trend was found on comparing these groups for BOP-index. In addition, a significant correlation was found between dental anxiety and trait anxiety. These results suggest that dental anxiety is a rather non-specific phenomenon, since it is an aspect of proneness to anxiety. In addition, in patients who display considerably high dental anxiety, this may lead to anxiety denial and abnormal behaviour (e.g. avoidance of dental hygiene or care) thus contributing to further deterioration of oral health.     

Assertiveness predicts threat and challenge reactions to potential stress among women.

In this study assertiveness as a moderator of stress reactions among women was examined. Specifically, the experimenters examined how high and low assertive women cognitively appraised, affectively and physiologically responded to, and behaviorally coped with the stress of giving an impromptu speech. High assertive women appraised the speech stressor as challenging, whereas low assertive women appraised the stressor as threatening. High assertive women also had a challenge pattern of autonomic response during the task, compared with the threat response of low assertive women. Afterward, the high assertive women reported experiencing less stress and negative emotion and greater positive emotion than did the low assertive women. Overall, the high assertive women's stress-related reactions indicated challenge, whereas the low assertive women's reactions indicated threat (see J. Tomaka, J. Blascovich, R. M. Kelsey, & C. L. Leitten, 1993). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality dynamics and accident proneness in an industrial setting.

"Two groups of Ss… [17 men with a total of 47 accidents over 2 years, and 17 accident-free men] were [compared] by means of a sentence completion test… . the high accident Ss, in comparison with the non-accident Ss, were significantly lower on the socially desirable personality dispositions of optimism, trust, and sociocentricity. In general, there were no statistically significant differences… on several negative personality dispositions, but there was a slight indication of positive association between high accident proneness and high scores on a cluster composed of the socially undesirable personality dispositions of egocentricity, anxiety, and resentment. There was highly significant association between high accident proneness and projective responses indicative of a negative attitude toward employment." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Irrational beliefs, anger, and anxiety.

Administered to 382 undergraduates measures of irrational beliefs, general anxiety, and general anger to investigate their relationship. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and 2 self-report measures of irrational beliefs and anger were used. Analyses showed that personal perfection, anxious overconcern, blame proneness, and catastrophizing were predictors of general anger. Anxious overconcern, problem avoidance, catastrophizing, and personal perfection were significant regression factors for the full range of general anxiety. Demand for approval replaced personal perfection in this order for the regression on extreme anxiety groups. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipatory anxiety in women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Examined (1) the prevalence and course of anxiety before the 1st 6 infusions of cancer chemotherapy and (2) the contribution of trait anxiety, side effect expectations, and prior occurrence of posttreatment side effects to anxiety before infusions. 53 women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer participated. Anxiety was most prevalent and intense before the 1st infusion. Trait anxiety predicted anxiety before the 1st and subsequent infusions. Prior occurrence of posttreatment nervousness also predicted anxiety before subsequent infusions, even after accounting for trait anxiety and other posttreatment side effects. Results are discussed in terms of the role that anxiety proneness, response expectancy, and classical conditioning may play in the development of anxiety before repeated chemotherapy infusions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What makes us human (Homo sapiens)? The challenge of cognitive cross-species comparison.

Two major theoretical approaches have dominated the quest for uniquely human cognitive abilities: a developmentalist approach stressing the importance of environmental and social conditions, and a predominant approach in experimental and comparative psychology, the deterministic approach suggesting the effect of environmental and social conditions to be minimal. As a consequence, most claims of human cognitive uniqueness are based on comparisons of White middle class Westerner humans (Homo sapiens) with captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). However, humans are much more than only White middle class Westerners, and chimpanzees are much more than only captives. A review of some data available on different populations of humans and chimpanzees reveals that only the predictions of the developmentalist approach are supported. In addition, systematic biases are too often introduced in experiment protocols when comparing humans with apes that further cast doubts on cross-species comparisons. The author argues that only with consideration of within-species population differences in the cognitive domains and the use of well-matched cross-species experimental procedures will an objective understanding of the different cognitive abilities between species emerge. This will require a shift in the theoretical approach adopted by many in experimental and comparative psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, Type A behavior, and coronary heart disease: The role of emotional expression.

The nature of the relation between personality factors and coronary heart disease (CHD, the nation's greatest killer) is one of the most important if controversial issues in the field of psychology and health. Although there is still a great deal of conceptual confusion, progress is being made in refining the key components of a predisposition to heart disease. In this article we examine the construct of a coronary-prone personality in the context of the relations among personality, emotional expression, and disease. Special consideration is given to mode of measurement of the Type A behavior pattern—Structured Interview (SI) versus Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS)—and to components and non-Type A correlates of the general coronary-prone construct. Fifty middle-aged men who had had a myocardial infarction were compared with 50 healthy controls in terms of relevant aspects of their psychological functioning. Results indicate that the SI is better than the JAS as a predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) because of its attention to emotional expressive style. Traditional emphases on hurry sickness in coronary proneness are deemed wholly inadequate. Furthermore, the results indicate that depression, anxiety, or both may relate to CHD independently of and in addition to Type A behavior. Other aspects of personality and social support are also discussed in the context of improving the construct of coronary proneness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential role of the medial and lateral prefrontal cortices in fear and anxiety.

In the rat, both the medial and lateral prefrontal. cortices (PFC; mPFC and lPFC, respectively) have direct connections with limbic structures that are important in the expression of fear and anxiety. The present study investigated the behavioral effects of excitotoxic lesions of either the mPFC or the lPFC on conditioned and unconditioned fear paradigms. In both unconditioned fear paradigms (open field, elevated plus-maze), lesions of the mPFC decreased anxiety. In fear conditioning, lPFC lesions substantially increased freezing throughout the different phases of the experiment, whereas mPFC lesions increased freezing to contextual cues and showed reduced freezing to discrete cues. These results support the functional role of the PFC in mediating or modulating central states of fear and anxiety and suggest a functional dissociation between the lPFC and mPFC in their role in fear and anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social anxiety, anxious self-preoccupation, and recall of self-relevant information.

Theoretical and empirical efforts concerning cognitive processes associated with anxiety have typically emphasized either cognitive deficits (i.e., reduced learning, memory, and task performance) or cognitive excesses (i.e., increased self-focused, ruminative thought). Evidence of these 2 types of cognitive processes has primarily been based on different types of sources (performance measures and self-reports), which precludes direct comparisons of the extent to which cognitive deficits and/or excesses characterize anxiety states. The present study attempted to directly compare the cognitive excesses and deficits associated with social anxiety by operationalizing both types of cognitive phenomena with similar performance measures. 97 undergraduates, selected on the basis of high or low scores on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, performed a modified self-referent depth-of-processing paradigm under stress or no-stress conditions. Socially anxious Ss in a socially evaluative situation evidenced a specific type of cognitive excess (i.e., concern over evaluations by others) but not cognitive deficits. Results are discussed in terms of person-by-situation models of anxiety and the nature and treatment of social anxiety. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of gender, sex role identity, and Type A behavior in anger expression and mental health functioning.

This study, including 407 female and 222 male college students, investigated the relationship of gender, sex role identity, and Type A behavior to multiple dimensions of anger expression and mental health functioning. Significant multivariate effects were found for sex role and behavior pattern type for anger expression. Significant gender differences were not observed. Univariate analyses revealed consistent relationships between sex role identity and anger proneness, suppression, and control and the tendency to express anger outwardly. Consistent relationships were found between behavior pattern type and both anger proneness and suppression. Significant multivariate effects were found for gender, sex role, and behavior pattern type for mental health functioning. Gender differences were not observed in depression. Women obtained higher scores on indirect hostility, irritability, and dependency, and men obtained higher scores on assault and aggressiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Appraisals and coping with workplace interpersonal stress: A model for women managers.

This study extended a previously developed integrative model of workplace stress by focusing specifically on interpersonal stressors. After controlling for negative affect, results of the prospective study of 157 Canadian managerial women indicated that conflicts appraised as threats to self-interest, less perceived control over the stressor, and more upsetting appraisals led to the use of disengagement coping, whereas conflicts appraised as threats to social relationships and greater control were associated with the use of engagement coping. Individual differences were also associated with primary appraisals and perceptions of the work environment. Primary appraisals had both direct and indirect effects on psychosomatic distress and fully mediated the effects of individual differences on distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive processes, trauma, and dissociation—Misconceptions and misrepresentations: Reply to Bremner (2010).

In a recent review (see record 2008-11487-001), we critically evaluated the research literature on cognitive processes in dissociation. In a comment, Bremner (see record 2009-24669-001) has voiced reservations about our contention that evidence for the causal role of trauma in dissociation is limited. In this reply, we argue that Bremner’s arguments are unconvincing and that a closer examination of the dissociation literature only strengthens the basis for our conclusions. Specifically, we show that dissociation exhibits a robust association with fantasy proneness and that Bremner’s criticisms regarding our operationalization of dissociation are unfounded. Moreover, we demonstrate that heightened levels of fantasy proneness, suggestibility, and cognitive failures are related to the propensity to develop pseudomemories, which in turn may account for why dissociation is related to self-reported, but not objective, trauma. We conclude that there is little evidence for the gross cognitive deficits (e.g., interidentity amnesia, memory fragmentation) that many scholars have claimed accompany dissociative symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

循环荷载下花岗岩应力门槛值的细观能量演化及岩爆倾向性

为研究三轴循环加卸载条件下三山岛花岗岩细观能量演化规律, 采用颗粒流理论确定了花岗岩的应力门槛值(起裂应力σ_ci、损伤应力σ_cd和峰值强度σ_f), 研究了应力门槛值对应的边界能、应变能(线性接触应变能和平行黏结应变能)、耗散能(摩擦能和阻尼能)、动能随围压变化的规律, 并从能量角度建立了岩爆倾向性评价指标W_x. 结果表明: 三山岛花岗岩不同围压下相应的σ_ci/σ_f位于37.0%~44.8%区间, σ_cd/σ_f位于81.2%~89.0%区间, 随着围压的增大, 起裂边界能、应变能和耗散能呈线性关系增加, 损伤(峰值)边界能、应变能和耗散能呈指数关系增加; 其中耗散能受围压影响最为敏感, 增幅倍数最大, 其次是边界能, 最后为应变能. 围压对起裂应变能比例影响不大, 损伤和峰值应变能比例随围压增大缓慢减小, 峰值应变能比例下降幅度最大. 基于岩爆倾向性评价指标W_x可知, 当围压在20 MPa内, 三山岛花岗岩岩爆倾向性相对较小; 当围压达到30 MPa时岩爆倾向性开始迅速增加. 研究成果为岩爆倾向性的评价提供了新的参考指标, 进一步为井下岩体工程的稳定性研究提供了新思路.      

Instructional desensitization: A semantic behavior treatment of anxiety disorder.

Explored the efficacy of instructional desensitization (ID) in the treatment of public speaking anxiety, using 30 speech-anxious undergraduates as Ss. Three self-report measures of confidence, affect, and anxiousness were completed by Ss, and 20 behavioral manifestations of anxiety were observed during Ss' delivery of a 4-min speech. Ss were randomly assigned to ID, placebo, or waiting list groups. Ss in the placebo group were led to believe that they were receiving a new form of therapy. Results show that ID Ss showed a significant decrement in their anxiety reactions as measured by objective and subjective anxiety measures. A significant anxiety decrement was also found in placebo Ss. However, self-report gains were not verified by objective observations. It is concluded that ID is a new semantic behavior therapy intervention that may have beneficial effects in the treatment of a broad variety of anxiety disorders. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosis proneness and clinical psychopathology: Examination of the correlates of schizotypy.

The present report examined the associations between the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS), a prominent psychometric index of hypothetical psychosis proneness, and several measures of clinical psychopathology in a nonpsychotic psychiatric sample (N?=?101). Patients were examined by experienced clinicians using structured psychiatric interviews to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) Axis I and II conditions and rated for anxiety, depression, severity of illness, and current adult social competence. Elevated scores on the PAS were most closely associated with anxiety and depression as well as schizotypal, schizoid, avoidant, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder symptomatology. Hierarchical regression analysis identified schizotypal symptoms and anxiety as the two underlying psychopathological processes most useful in explaining variance in PAS scores. Results are interpreted as supporting both the clinical relevance and research utility of the PAS and enhancing the construct validity of Meehl's model of schizotypy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensory deprivation versus sensory variation.

Compared verbal and physiological reactions to sensory deprivation (SD) and extreme sensory variation (SV). 22 male undergraduates were confined to a cubicle for 8 hr. in each condition on 2 different occasions. 2 other 8-hr sessions were spent in a relatively normal, nonconfined condition. Ss found SD more boring, dislikable, and anxiety and depression provoking than SV. More unreality stress was reported after SD. However, more autonomic activation was found in SV. Both SD and SV produced more hostility, somatic complaints, and adrenocortical output than control conditions. Trait anxiety was associated with stress response to both conditions. Subjective stress is associated with a condition, SD, which produces less than optimal arousal. Confinement may produce hostility and adrenocortical activation at either extreme of sensory variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to racial discrimination: Emotional stress and help-seeking behaviors.

This study examines Black, Latino, Asian American, American Indian and Biracial participants' (N = 260) emotional and psychological reactions to encounters with racism, and the help-seeking strategies they used to deal with those reactions. This class of participants is important to study because its members are likely to live and/or work in racially diverse environments. Participants who reported direct experiences with racism had higher levels of anxiety, guilt/shame, hypervigilance, and positive emotions than those who did not. Racial harassment (hostility) was associated with more hypervigilant and anxious reactions than racial discrimination (avoidance). Help-seeking patterns indicated that people of Color were more likely to seek help from friends and family than from mental health professionals. Practice and research implications are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)