How a person values and describes themselves.
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1076 to 1100 of 1,216Having a word with yourself: neural correlates of self-criticism and self-reassurance.
Self-criticism is strongly correlated with a range of psychopathologies, such as depression, eating disorders and anxiety. In contrast, self-reassurance is inversely associated with such psychopathologies. Despite the importance of self-judgements and evaluations, little is known about the neurophysiology of these internal processes. The current study therefore used a novel fMRI task to investigate the neuronal correlates of self-criticism and self-reassurance. Participants were presented statements describing two types of scenario, with the instruction to either imagine being self-critical or self-reassuring in that situation. One scenario type focused on a personal setback, mistake or failure, which would elicit negative emotions, whilst the second was of a matched neutral event. Self-criticism was associated with activity in lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions and dorsal anterior …
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The roles of the medial prefrontal cortex and striatum in reputation processing.
How we are viewed by other individuals-our reputation-has a considerable influence on our everyday behaviors and is considered an important concept in explaining altruism, a uniquely human trait. Previously it has been proposed that processing one's own reputation requires a reputation representation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and a value representation in the striatum. Here, we directly tested this idea using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects disclosed their behavioral tendencies with reference to social norms in the presence or absence of other people, a manipulation that is known to greatly affect an individual's concern for their reputation. The mPFC showed strong activation during self-referential processing, and this activity was enhanced by the mere presence of observers. Moreover, the striatum was also strongly activated when subjects responded in…
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The neural bases of distraction and reappraisal.
Distraction and reappraisal are two commonly used forms of cognitive emotion regulation. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that each one depends upon interactions between pFC, interpreted as implementing cognitive control, and limbic regions, interpreted as mediating emotional responses. However, no study has directly compared distraction with reappraisal, and it remains unclear whether they draw upon different neural mechanisms and have different emotional consequences. The present fMRI study compared distraction and reappraisal and found both similarities and differences between the two forms of emotion regulation. Both resulted in decreased negative affect, decreased activation in the amygdala, and increased activation in prefrontal and cingulate regions. Relative to distraction, reappraisal led to greater decreases in negative affect and to greater increases in a network of …
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Emotion recognition and regulation in anorexia nervosa.
It is recognized that emotional problems lie at the core of eating disorders (EDs) but scant attention has been paid to specific aspects such as emotional recognition, regulation and expression. This study aimed to investigate emotion recognition using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) task and emotion regulation using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in 20 women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 20 female healthy controls (HCs). Women with AN had significantly lower scores on RME and reported significantly more difficulties with emotion regulation than HCs. There was a significant negative correlation between total DERS score and correct answers from the RME. These results suggest that women with AN have difficulties with emotional recognition and regulation. It is uncertain whether these deficits result from starvation and to what extent they might be reversed by w…
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An examination of emotion regulation, temperament, and parenting style as potential predictors of adolescent depression risk status: a correlational study.
Given that depression is a debilitating disorder, it is critical that we advance our understanding about the aetiology of this disorder. This study investigated both traditional (temperament and parenting) and novel (emotion regulation strategy) risk factors associated with adolescent depression. Forty-four adolescents (12-16 years; 64% females) with high scores on a self-report depressive symptomatology questionnaire were compared to a similar group of 44 adolescents with low scores, matched for age, gender, and ethnicity. Significant group differences were present on all assessed risk factors. The presence of high depressive symptomatology was found to be associated with (1) low levels of temperamentally based positive mood, flexibility, and approach behaviours, (2) a parenting style characterized by low nurturance and high overprotection, and (3) emotion regulation characterized by hi…
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Positive parenting in adolescence and its relation to low point narration and identity status in emerging adulthood: a longitudinal analysis.
In this longitudinal study, we examined identity development using the life story model (McAdams, 2001), in addition to a traditional identity status approach, in order to explore the association between perceived parenting in adolescence and the subsequent quality of life story narration in emerging adulthood. Participants (N = 100) were given a battery of questionnaires at ages 17 and 26 years and were asked to narrate a story at age 26 about their most difficult life experience. Low point narratives were analyzed for evidence of concluding clarity, resolution, and affective tone, termed coherent positive resolution (Pals, 2006). Structural equation modeling showed that participants who experienced more positive parenting at age 17 narrated their low points with clearer evidence of coherent positive resolution at age 26. Coherent positive resolution of the low point was also related to…
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Nonsuicidal self-injury in college students: the role of perfectionism and rumination.
A paucity of research exists examining personality and cognitive characteristics that may contribute to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). The purpose of the current study was to clarify the contribution of perfectionism and rumination, along with depression and anxiety, to NSSI within a sample of 170 college students. Group comparisons revealed that participants with a history of NSSI endorsed significantly more rumination and depressive and anxious symptoms then non-NSSI controls. Results regarding perfectionism were mixed, with NSSI participants differing from controls on select aspects of perfectionism. Results suggest higher levels of depression and anxiety and a ruminative cognitive style may increase vulnerability for NSSI; however, further research is needed to clarify the contribution of perfectionism.
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Early trauma and adult obesity: is psychological dysfunction the mediating mechanism?
Several studies have shown that physical and/or sexual abuse during childhood may lead to the development of obesity later in life. Despite these consistent findings, the mechanism for the increased risk of obesity following developmental trauma is unknown. It has been suggested that psychological dysfunction, including the presence of disordered eating behavior, may account for the added risk of adult obesity. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the prevalence and severity of different types of early traumatic life events, assessed the presence of co-existing psychiatric disorders and measured adult attachment style in a sample of 200 subjects including non-obese healthy volunteers and obese participants undergoing a psychiatric assessment to determine suitability for bariatric surgery. Participants who scored higher on a scale measuring the severity of traumatic events experienced dur…
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Neural mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal of negative self-beliefs in social anxiety disorder.
Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by distorted negative self-beliefs (NSBs), which are thought to enhance emotional reactivity, interfere with emotion regulation, and undermine social functioning. Cognitive reappraisal is a type of emotion regulation used to alter NSBs, with the goal of modulating emotional reactivity. Despite its relevance, little is known about the neural bases and temporal features of cognitive reappraisal in patients with SAD.
Methods: Twenty-seven patients with SAD and 27 healthy control subjects (HCs) were trained to react and to implement cognitive reappraisal to downregulate negative emotional reactivity to NSBs, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and providing ratings of negative emotion experience.
Results: Behaviorally, compared with HCs, patients with SAD reported greater negative emotion both while reacting to and…
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Self-criticism, dependency, and stress reactivity: an experience sampling approach to testing Blatt and Zuroff's (1992) theory of personality predispositions to depression in high-risk youth.
S. J. Blatt and D. C. Zuroff's 1992 theory of personality predispositions to depression posits that individuals who possess high levels of self-criticism and/or dependency are vulnerable to developing depression following negative events. The current study used experience sampling methodology to test this theory in a sample of 49 children ages 7 to 14. Children completed measures of dependency, self-criticism, and depressive symptoms. Subsequently, children were given a handheld computer that signaled them to complete measures of depressive symptoms and negative events at randomly selected times over 2 months. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that higher levels of both self-criticism and dependency were associated with greater elevations in depressive symptoms following negative events. Furthermore, each personality predisposition remained a significant predicto…
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The relationship among sense of coherence, socio-economic status, and oral health-related behaviours among Finnish dentate adults.
This study assessed the independent and interactive associations between sense of coherence (SOC) and socio-economic status (SES) with oral health-related behaviours. Data from 5,399 dentate adults regarding their demographic characteristics, years of education, SOC score, and oral health-related behaviours were analysed. Household income was obtained from tax authorities. Logistic regression was used to test the adjusted association of SOC with each behaviour and to test the statistical interaction between each SES indicator and the SOC score. Subjects were 1.20 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.11-1.28] and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.12-1.32) times more likely to visit dentists regularly for check-ups and to brush their teeth twice daily or more often, respectively, and were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.03-1.20) and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.12-1.32) times less likely to be daily smokers and to consume sugar-added p…
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Medial cortex activity, self-reflection and depression.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated neural activity associated with self-reflection in depressed [current major depressive episode (MDE)] and healthy control participants, focusing on medial cortex areas previously shown to be associated with self-reflection. Both the MDE and healthy control groups showed greater activity in anterior medial cortex (medial frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus) when cued to think about hopes and aspirations compared with duties and obligations, and greater activity in posterior medial cortex (precuneus, posterior cingulate) when cued to think about duties and obligations (Experiment 1). However, the MDE group showed less activity than controls in the same area of medial frontal cortex when self-referential cues were more ambiguous with respect to valence (Experiment 2), and less deactivation in a non-self-referential condition i…
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Interoceptive awareness declines with age.
Aging has been shown to increase sensory thresholds for a variety of exteroceptive and proprioceptive stimuli. However, the influence of aging on interoceptive awareness has received relatively little empirical attention. Here we report an inverse association between aging and interoception, as indexed by the ability to sense the heartbeat at rest. In a group of 59 participants ranging in age from 22 to 63 years, age inversely predicted heartbeat detection ability, both within and across several measurement sessions. On average, age accounted for 30% of the variance in heartbeat detection accuracy. Other attribute variables including body mass index and sex were not related to heartbeat detection ability. These findings provide clear empirical evidence that interoception, much like exteroception and proprioception, declines with age.
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The meaning of feeling well in people with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.
Aim: The aim of this study was to elucidate the meaning of feeling well for people with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.
Background: Considerable attention has been given to research consequences, quality of life and satisfaction with life in people with traumatic brain injury. Most studies reveal negative aspects of living with traumatic brain injury. Knowledge that provides an understanding of the meaning of feeling well for people with a traumatic brain injury entails the possibility that they could receive support to feel well, despite their injury.
Design: This study used a qualitative research approach, as the aim was to elucidate meaning.
Methods: Data were collected through qualitative research interviews with two women and six men with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury who had lived with the injury for between 7-15 years. A phenomenological hermeneutic method w…
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The brain under self-control: modulation of inhibitory and monitoring cortical networks during hypnotic paralysis.
Brain mechanisms of hypnosis are poorly known. Cognitive accounts proposed that executive attentional systems may cause selective inhibition or disconnection of some mental operations. To assess motor and inhibitory brain circuits during hypnotic paralysis, we designed a go-no-go task while volunteers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in three conditions: normal state, hypnotic left-hand paralysis, and feigned paralysis. Preparatory activation arose in right motor cortex despite left hypnotic paralysis, indicating preserved motor intentions, but with concomitant increases in precuneus regions that normally mediate imagery and self-awareness. Precuneus also showed enhanced functional connectivity with right motor cortex. Right frontal areas subserving inhibition were activated by no-go trials in normal state and by feigned paralysis, but irrespective of motor blockade…
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Kim J, LaRose R, Peng W (2009)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usCyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society171 citations Loneliness as the cause and the effect of problematic Internet use: the relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being.
The current research started from the assumption that one of the major motives driving individuals' Internet use is to relieve psychosocial problems (e.g., loneliness, depression). This study showed that individuals who were lonely or did not have good social skills could develop strong compulsive Internet use behaviors resulting in negative life outcomes (e.g., harming other significant activities such as work, school, or significant relationships) instead of relieving their original problems. Such augmented negative outcomes were expected to isolate individuals from healthy social activities and lead them into more loneliness. Even though previous research suggests that social use of the Internet (e.g., social networking sites, instant messaging) could be more problematic than entertainment use (e.g., downloading files), the current study showed that the former did not show stronger as…
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Leveling up and down: the experiences of benign and malicious envy.
Envy is the painful emotion caused by the good fortune of others. This research empirically supports the distinction between two qualitatively different types of envy, namely benign and malicious envy. It reveals that the experience of benign envy leads to a moving-up motivation aimed at improving one's own position, whereas the experience of malicious envy leads to a pulling-down motivation aimed at damaging the position of the superior other. Study 1 used guided recall of the two envy types in a culture (the Netherlands) that has separate words for benign and malicious envy. Analyses of the experiential content of these emotions found the predicted differences. Study 2 and 3 used one sample from the United States and one from Spain, respectively, where a single word exists for both envy types. A latent class analysis based on the experiential content of envy confirmed the existence of …
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Klein DN, Arnow BA, Barkin JL, Dowling F, Kocsis JH, Leon AC, Manber R, Rothbaum BO, Trivedi MH, Wisniewski SR (2009)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDepression and anxiety108 citations Early adversity in chronic depression: clinical correlates and response to pharmacotherapy.
Background: There is growing evidence suggesting that early adversity may be a marker for a distinct pathway to major depressive disorder (MDD). We examined associations between childhood adversity and a broad variety of clinical characteristics and response to pharmacotherapy in a large sample of patients with chronic forms of MDD.
Methods: Subjects included 808 patients with chronic forms of MDD (chronic MDD, double depression, or recurrent MDD with incomplete recovery between episodes and a total continuous duration of >2 years) who were enrolled in a 12-week open-label trial of algorithm-guided pharmacotherapy. Baseline assessments included a semi-structured diagnostic interview, and clinician- and self-rated measures of depressive symptoms, social functioning, depressotypic cognitions, and personality traits, and childhood adversity. Patients were re-evaluated every 2 weeks.
Results…
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Should we manage terror--if we could?
Terror Management Theory (TMT) has been revitalizing the traditional study of death anxiety since its introduction in the 1980s. Melding the perspectives of existential philosophy and social science, TMT has stimulated a varied and often creative program of empirical studies. There are methodological limitations to be noted, however, along with a cultural bias, and the neglect of other significant encounters with death in which terror is not the dominant concern. The should or should-not of terror management is viewed from functionalistic and death system as well as TMT perspectives. Suggestions are offered for adaptive responses to primal terror.
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Emotion regulation in spider phobia: role of the medial prefrontal cortex.
Phobic responses are strong emotional reactions towards phobic objects, which can be described as a deficit in the automatic regulation of emotions. Difficulties in the voluntary cognitive control of these emotions suggest a further phobia-specific deficit in effortful emotion regulation mechanisms. The actual study is based on this emotion regulation conceptualization of specific phobias. The aim is to investigate the neural correlates of these two emotion regulation deficits in spider phobics. Sixteen spider phobic females participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in which they were asked to voluntarily up- and down-regulate their emotions elicited by spider and generally aversive pictures with a reappraisal strategy. In line with the hypothesis concerning an automatic emotion regulation deficit, increased activity in the insula and reduced activity in the ve…
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Psychological factors linked to self-reported depression symptoms in late adolescence.
Background: The likelihood of developing depression increases throughout adolescence.
Aims: Understanding the relative contribution of psychosocial and cognitive variables to depressive symptoms during the transitional stage of late adolescence should increase the scope for effective prevention and intervention.
Method: The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), Adolescents' Cognitive Style (ACSQ), Relationship Rating Scales (RRS), The Life Events Checklist, and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) were completed by 140 adolescents aged 16-18 years.
Results: Alienation from parents and peers, helpless attributional style, gender, and perceived criticism from teachers contributed significantly to variance in scores for depressive symptoms. Negative self-inference and helpless attributions moderated the relationship between perceived criticism and depression in male participa…
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Self-affirmation and self-control: affirming core values counteracts ego depletion.
Research has established that acts of self-control deplete a resource required for subsequent self-control tasks. The present investigation revealed that a psychological intervention-self-affirmation-facilitates self-control when the resource has been depleted. Experiments 1 and 2 found beneficial effects of self-affirmation on self-control in a depleted state. Experiments 3 and 4 suggested that self-affirmation improves self-control by promoting higher levels (vs. lower levels) of mental construal. Self-affirmation therefore holds promise as a mental strategy that reduces the likelihood of self-control failure.
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A stress-coping model of mental illness stigma: I. Predictors of cognitive stress appraisal.
Stigma can be a major stressor for individuals with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. It is unclear, however, why some stigmatized individuals appraise stigma as more stressful, while others feel they can cope with the potential harm posed by public prejudice. We tested the hypothesis that the level of perceived public stigma and personal factors such as rejection sensitivity, perceived legitimacy of discrimination and ingroup perceptions (group value; group identification; entitativity, or the perception of the ingroup of people with mental illness as a coherent unit) predict the cognitive appraisal of stigma as a stressor. Stigma stress appraisal refers to perceived stigma-related harm exceeding perceived coping resources. Stress appraisal, stress predictors and social cue recognition were assessed in 85 people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective or affective disorders. Stress …
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The stigma of psychiatric treatment and help-seeking intentions for depression.
Aims: The stigma of mental illness has often been considered a potential cause for reluctant willingness to seek help for mental problems, but there is little evidence on this issue. We examine two aspects of stigma related to seeing a psychiatrist and their association with help-seeking intentions for depression: anticipated discrimination by others when seeking help and desire for social distance from those seeking help.
Methods: Representative population survey in Germany 2007 (n = 2,303), containing a depression vignette with a question on readiness to seek psychiatric care for this problem, a focus group developed scale anticipated discrimination when seeing a psychiatrist (ADSP), and a scale on desire for social distance from someone seeing a psychiatrist (SDSP). We further elicited previous contact to psychiatric treatment, depressive symptoms, and socio-demographic data.
Results:…
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When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude.
We often evaluate the self and others from social comparisons. We feel envy when the target person has superior and self-relevant characteristics. Schadenfreude occurs when envied persons fall from grace. To elucidate the neurocognitive mechanisms of envy and schadenfreude, we conducted two functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. In study one, the participants read information concerning target persons characterized by levels of possession and self-relevance of comparison domains. When the target person's possession was superior and self-relevant, stronger envy and stronger anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activation were induced. In study two, stronger schadenfreude and stronger striatum activation were induced when misfortunes happened to envied persons. ACC activation in study one predicted ventral striatum activation in study two. Our findings document mechanisms of painful emo…
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