Abortion as stigma: Cognitive and emotional implications of concealment.

This study examined the stigma of abortion and psychological implications of concealment among 442 women followed for 2 years from the day of their abortion. As predicted, women who felt stigmatized by abortion were more likely to feel a need to keep it a secret from family and friends. Secrecy was related positively to suppressing thoughts of the abortion and negatively to disclosing abortion-related emotions to others. Greater thought suppression was associated with experiencing more intrusive thoughts of the abortion. Both suppression and intrusive thoughts, in turn, were positively related to increases in psychological distress over time. Emotional disclosure moderated the association between intrusive thoughts and distress. Disclosure was associated with decreases in distress among women experiencing intrusive thoughts of their abortion, but was unrelated to distress among women not experiencing intrusive thoughts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Covering up what can't be seen: Concealable stigma and mental control.

In these studies the authors examined the effects of concealing a stigma in a social interaction relevant to the stigma. An interview paradigm called for undergraduate female participants who either did or did not have eating disordered characteristics to play the role of someone who did or did not have an eating disorder (ED) while answering stigma-relevant questions. The data suggest that the participants who concealed their stigmas become preoccupied with the control of stigma-relevant thoughts. In Study 1, participants with an ED who role-played not having an ED exhibited more secrecy, suppression, and intrusive thoughts of their ED and more projection of ED-related thoughts onto the interviewer than did those with an ED who role-played someone with an ED or those without an ED who role-played someone without an ED. This finding was replicated in Study 2, and the authors found both increasing accessibility of ED-related words among those participants with concealed stigmas during the interview and high levels of accessibility following the interview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clients’ secret keeping and the working alliance in adult outpatient therapy.

This research investigated the relations among clients’ keeping relevant secrets in therapy, the working alliance, and symptom change. Clients (N = 83) in outpatient therapy and their therapists (N = 22) at a mental health hospital completed confidential surveys after a session of ongoing therapy. The clients who reported keeping a relevant secret (27.7%) scored significantly lower on the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) than did clients who said that they were not, even when the analyses controlled for clients’ social desirability scores and for therapist effects. Therapists of these clients also reported a weaker working alliance, even though the therapists typically did not know that the clients were keeping a relevant secret. However, keeping a relevant secret was not related to symptom change. The findings support the long-standing belief that secret keeping in therapy either hurts the therapeutic relationship or happens when the relationship is relatively weak. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clients' secret keeping in outpatient therapy.

This research investigated the relation between clients' self-reported secret keeping in therapy and symptomatology. Therapy outpatients at a community hospital (N?=?42) completed surveys that asked them to list relevant secrets that they were keeping from their therapists and their reasons for doing so. Over 40% of the clients reported keeping a relevant secret in therapy, and the most frequently listed reason was that they were afraid to express feelings. After adjusting for clients' initial symptomatology, tendency to keep secrets in general, and social desirability scores, the analyses showed that keeping secrets in therapy was a significant predictor of having fewer symptoms. The results support a self-presentational perspective on secret keeping in counseling and suggest that clients may benefit from hiding some undesirable aspects of themselves from their therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The allure of secret relationships.

Two surveys and a laboratory experiment examined the role of secrecy in attraction to relationships. In the 1st survey, respondents reported that past relationships they currently continued to think about were more likely to have been secret than ones they no longer pondered. In the 2nd survey, those respondents who indicated that a past relationship had been secret also reported that it continued to be a target of their obsessive preoccupation. The laboratory experiment explored attraction between mixed-sex couples who were induced to play footsie under a table in the presence of another couple. When this was secret, greater attraction for the partner was reported than when it was not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion regulation and memory: The cognitive costs of keeping one's cool.

An emerging literature has begun to document the affective consequences of emotion regulation. Little is known, however, about whether emotion regulation also has cognitive consequences. A process model of emotion suggests that expressive suppression should reduce memory for emotional events but that reappraisal should not. Three studies tested this hypothesis. Study 1 experimentally manipulated expressive suppression during film viewing, showing that suppression led to poorer memory for the details of the film. Study 2 manipulated expressive suppression and reappraisal during slide viewing. Only suppression led to poorer slide memory. Study 3 examined individual differences in typical expressive suppression and reappraisal and found that suppression was associated with poorer self-reported and objective memory but that reappraisal was not. Together, these studies suggest that the cognitive costs of keeping one's cool may vary according to how this is done. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cancer and the threat of death: The cognitive dynamics of death-thought suppression and its impact on behavioral health intentions.

Five studies examined the cognitive association between thoughts of cancer and thoughts of death and their implication for screening intentions. Study 1 found that explicit contemplation of cancer did not increase death-thought accessibility. In support of the hypothesis that this reflects suppression of death-related thoughts, Study 2 found that individuals who thought about cancer exhibited elevated death-thought accessibility under high cognitive load, and Study 3 demonstrated that subliminal primes of the word cancer led to increased death-thought accessibility. Study 4 revealed lower levels of death-thought accessibility when perceived vulnerability to cancer was high, once again suggesting suppression of death-related thoughts in response to conscious threats associated with cancer. Study 5 extended the analysis by finding that after cancer salience, high cognitive load, which presumably disrupts suppression of the association between cancer and death, decreased cancer-related self-exam intentions. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding terror management, priming and suppression, and responses to cancer are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of dispositional and situational factors in cognitive interference

Two studies investigated the cross-temporal stability and cross-situational consistency of cognitive interference. In Study 1, 70 college students reported on the intrusive thoughts they experienced during 2 course examinations and a self-reflective task. In Study 2, 55 college athletes reported on intrusive thoughts following 2 course examinations and 2 regular season football games. Major findings were (a) cognitive interference showed both cross-temporal stability and cross-situational consistency, (b) it was predicted by a measure of dispositional intrusive thinking, (c) the link between cognitive interference and dispositional intrusive thinking was not accounted for by indices of depressive symptomatology and trait anxiety, and (d) the degree of cross-situational consistency of cognitive interference and the content of these intrusive thoughts were influenced by situational factors.     

Effects of suppression of personal intrusive thoughts.

Whether the rebound effect of thought suppression would occur with self-generated intrusive thoughts and whether the rebound would be followed by negative metacognitions concerning one's ability to control one's thoughts were explored. In Exp 1, Ss (N?=?104) were asked to (1) suppress and then express or (2) express and then suppress their own intrusive thoughts during written stream-of-consciousness tasks. Results revealed the reverse of the rebound effect: Initial suppression was followed by diminished expression of the intrusive thoughts. Exp 2 (N?=?116) replicated the original rebound effect (D. M. Wegner, 1989) and showed that the rebound was followed by increased reports of feeling out of control of one's thoughts. But, once again, the rebound did not occur with Ss' own intrusive thoughts. Suppressing new thoughts may trigger the synthesis of obsession, but suppressing familiar thoughts in a new context may be less problematic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overgeneral memory extends to pictorial retrieval cues and correlates with cognitive features in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show overgeneral memory (OGM) when retrieving autobiographical memories to word cues. We investigated whether OGM extends to picture cues and whether it is related to PTSD symptoms and cognitions. Trauma survivors with (n = 29) and without (n = 26) PTSD completed the standard Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and a novel picture version. Compared to the no-PTSD group, the PTSD group showed OGM in both test versions. Pictures facilitated specific memory retrieval, but this effect was no longer significant when verbal intelligence or depressive symptoms were controlled. OGM correlated with PTSD symptoms and perceived self-change; with intrusive memories, their perceived "nowness," responses to intrusions (thought suppression, rumination, dissociation), and negative interpretations of symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Establishment of compulsory confidentiality in psychiatric practice. II. Establishment of compulsory confidentiality from the viewpoint of the psychiatric patient

The article deals with experience assembled during prestructured interviews with a sample of ambulatory psychiatric patients. The author draws attention to the fact that the sample of patients was little aware of the fact of mandatory medical secret and thus unable to make use of advantages that a significant source of escape of information is medical documentation in the widest sense of the word. Conversely, the trend of social changes will, no doubt, lead to extension and more detailed information of the patient on the nature and prognosis of his disease, as it is the case in advanced countries, whereby the patient will be entitled to decide to whom and to what extent these data on his person will be provided. In future it will be necessary, by developing the legal consciousness of the public, to make people aware of the fact that secrecy on revealed facts is one of the basic legal prerequisites of work in the health services and that the provision of any information to subjects, authorities or institutions without the patient's consent or without restrictions defined by law is not permissible.     

An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades.

Teaching vocabulary to primary grade children is essential. Previous studies of teaching vocabulary (word meanings) using story books in the primary grades reported gains of 20%-25% of word meanings taught. The present studies concern possible influences on word meaning acquisition during instruction (Study 1) and increasing the percentage and number of word meanings acquired (Study 2). Both studies were conducted in a working-class school with approximately 50% English-language learners. The regular classroom teachers worked with their whole classes in these studies. In Study 1, average gains of 12% of word meanings were obtained using repeated reading. Adding word explanations added a 10% gain for a total gain of 22%. Pretesting had no effect on gains. In Study 2, results showed learning of 41% of word meanings taught. At this rate of learning word meanings taught, it would be possible for children to learn 400 word meanings a year if 1,000 word meanings were taught. The feasibility of teaching vocabulary to primary grade children is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The hyperaccessibility of suppressed thoughts.

The accessibility of suppressed thoughts was compared with the accessibility of thoughts on which Ss were consciously trying to concentrate. In Exp 1, Ss made associations to word prompts as they tried to suppress thinking about a target word (e.g., house) or tried to concentrate on that word. Under the cognitive load imposed by time pressure, they gave the target word in response to target-related prompts (e.g., home) more often during suppression than during concentration. In Exp 2, reaction times (RTs) for naming colors of words were found to be greater under conditions of cognitive load when Ss were asked to suppress thinking of the word than under conditions of no cognitive load or when Ss were asked to concentrate on the word. The results support the idea that an automatic search for the suppression target increases the accessibility of the target during suppression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of suppressing trauma-related thoughts on women with rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder

A hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the presence of intrusive thoughts that come to mind against an individual's will and are frequently accompanied by considerable distress. This investigation examined the effects of deliberate suppression of rape-related thoughts on female sexual assault survivors, in order to explore this facet of PTSD. Seventeen women with chronic PTSD following a sexual assault were contrasted with nineteen survivors without PTSD, using a thought suppression paradigm (e.g. [Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White (1987) Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53 5-13]). Results indicated that PTSD participants experienced a rebound in the frequency of rape-related thoughts following deliberate suppression, whereas non-PTSD participants did not experience a rebound. Reported level of perceived controllability over rape-related thoughts for the PTSD participants was significantly lower during the suppression phase (as compared with the expression phase) relative to the non-PTSD participants. PTSD participants were significantly more anxious, depressed and distressed throughout the procedure relative to non-PTSD participants, although mood changes did not parallel the rebound effect found with rape-related thoughts in the PTSD group. Results are discussed in light of the role that intrusive thoughts may play in the maintenance of PTSD.     

Learning color words involves learning a system of mappings.

This research examines the difficulty children encounter when acquiring 2 specific sets of adjectives, color and size words, and suggests that children must acquire a system of mapping in learning these words. Children were assessed on 4 types of mappings (word–word maps, property–property maps, word–property maps, and word–word–property maps) by completing 3 color tasks. Children also participated in comparable tasks for size words. In Study 1, 13 two-year-olds were followed longitudinally at 3-week intervals. In Study 2, 56 two-year-olds participated in a cross-sectional replication. The results indicate that children acquire color maps in a characteristic order. Children demonstrated a different pattern of acquisition for size words. The results suggest that learning word associations may promote color word acquisition and that learning color words may promote selective attention to color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: Reactions to tests.

Analyzed the nature of test anxiety and its relationships to performance and cognitive interference from the standpoint of attentional processes. A new instrument to assess dimensions of reactions to tests is presented, and its psychometric properties are described. The scales of the Reactions to Tests (RTT) questionnaire (Worry, Tension, Test-Irrelevant Thinking, Bodily Symptoms) were compared with regard to intellective performance and cognitive interference. In Study 1, 390 undergraduates completed the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and responded to 91 items regarding their test reactions. In Study 2, 385 undergraduates completed the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire (CIQ), TAS, the Digit Symbol subscale of the WAIS, and the RTT. In Study 3, 180 undergraduates who had completed the RTT were administered difficult anagrams and the CIQ. Results are consistent with the idea that the problem of anxiety is, to a significant extent, a problem of intrusive thoughts that interfere with task-focused thinking. In the last of the 3 studies reported, it is shown that self-preoccupying intrusive thinking can be reduced by means of a task-focusing experimental condition. The studies suggest that the RTT questionnaire may be useful in defining anxiety more sharply and improving understanding of how it relates to performance. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of attribution of motivation in producing postsuppressional rebound.

Three studies demonstrated that postsuppressional rebound (PSR) may be both reduced and enhanced by manipulating people's attributions about why they experience difficulty during suppression. Telling participants that suppression failures indicate a high motivation to use the suppressed construct produced more PSR than telling them that suppression failures indicate a low motivation to use the construct (Study 1). Telling participants that an external stimulus would make suppression easy produced more PSR than telling them that it would make suppression difficult (Study 2). Telling participants that suppressing a stereotype is difficult and unindicative of prejudice eliminated PSR (Study 3). These results support the notion that PSR occurs because people infer from the difficulty experienced during suppression and from suppression failures that they are motivated to use the suppressed construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual word recognition during reading is followed by subvocal articulation.

Three experiments examined whether the identification of a visual word is followed by its subvocal articulation during reading. An irrelevant spoken word (ISW) that was identical, phonologically similar, or dissimilar to a visual target word was presented when the eyes moved to the target in the course of sentence reading. Sentence reading was further accompanied by either a sequential finger tapping task (Experiment 1) or an articulatory suppression task (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed sound-specific interference from a phonologically similar ISW during posttarget viewing. This interference was absent in Experiment 2, where similar and dissimilar ISWs impeded target and posttarget reading equally. Experiment 3 showed that articulatory suppression left the lexical processing of visual words intact and that it did not diminish the influence of visual word recognition on eye guidance. The presence of sound-specific interference during posttarget reading in Experiment 1 is attributed to deleterious effects of a phonologically similar ISW on the subvocal articulation of a target. Its absence in Experiment 2 is attributed to the suppression of a target’s subvocal articulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterization of two rice MADS box genes that control flowering time

This study utilised positron emission tomography (PET) to identify the cortical areas involved in verbal initiation and suppression in normal subjects whilst performing a sentence completion test (the Hayling Test). In the first condition (response initiation) subjects were required to complete a sentence from which the last word was omitted, whereas in the second condition (response suppression) subjects were asked to complete a sentence with a word which made no sense in the context of the sentence. Subjects were also required to perform a control task in which they had to read out the last word of given sentences. Compared to the control task, response initiation was associated with left-sided activation of the frontal operculum, inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and the right anterior cingulate gyrus, whereas response suppression was associated with left frontal operculum, inferior frontal gyrus and right anterior cingulate gyrus activation. The difference in activation between the two conditions of the Hayling Test lay in the increased activation of the left middle temporal gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus during response initiation.     

A taxometric analysis of hypnotic susceptibility.

The possibility that hypnotic ability is typological rather than dimensional was evaluated in a series of 4 studies. Study 1 used two samples of mass-testing measures of hypnotic ability, which were analyzed using the MAXCOV-HITMAX method (R.E. Meehl, 1973). Results of these analyses were in keeping with the existence of a latent typology in hypnotic ability scores. Study 2 investigated the possibility that these results could be a false-positive artifact of factor structure. Results of the simulation analyses indicated that the possibility of a false-positive was unacceptably high. Studies 3 and 4 used larger samples, combined with data-simulation control analyses. Results of Studies 3 and 4 were in keeping with the existence of a latent typology in hypnotic ability scores, whereas datasimulation control analyses demonstrated that the risk of false-positive results was acceptably low. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)