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Biomedical subjects

H Merckelbach

Publications and source records attributed to H Merckelbach.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Differential recall of central and peripheral details of emotional slides is not a stable phenomenon.

A number of studies have reported that central information of an emotional scene is well retained, whereas peripheral details of such a scene are poorly recalled. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that attentional narrowing is responsible for this phenomenon. In addition, an attempt was made to increase the ecological validity of the experiment by giving extensive self-relevant instructions. Results showed that, although an emotional slide elicited eye-movements consistent with attentional narrowing, the corresponding recall patterns were absent. Experiments 2 and 3 explored some of the variables that might be responsible for the latter result. Experiment 2, relying on the original design of Christianson and E.F. Loftus (1991), found enhanced recall of central information of an emotional scene. Experiment 3 systematically varied stimulus exposure and interstimulus interval durations. However, the results of this experiment were rather complex and did not fully support the predicted differential recall patterns. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed. It is suggested that other methods (e.g. increasing levels of emotion rather than involvement) may be more suitable for testing the attentional narrowing hypothesis of emotional memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Dissociation, schizotypy, and fantasy proneness in undergraduate students.

Previous research has noted a robust correlation between dissociation and schizophrenia-like symptoms. One way to interpret the relationship between dissociation and schizotypy is to assume that it is an artifact of fantasy proneness. In the present study, 152 undergraduates completed measures of dissociation, schizotypy, and fantasy proneness. Dissociative tendencies were found to be related to the full range of schizotypal features. Regression analysis showed that schizotypy still contributed to the prediction of dissociative tendencies when variance related to fantasy proneness was extracted. These results indicate that the close connection between dissociation and schizotypy cannot be interpreted in terms of an artifact produced by fantasy proneness. Thus, the overlap between dissociation and schizotypy warrants systematic study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Fears, worries, and scary dreams in 4- to 12-year-old children: their content, developmental pattern, and origins.

Investigated anxiety symptoms in normal school children 4 to 12 years of age (N = 190). The percentages of children reporting fears, worries, and scary dreams were 75.8, 67.4, and 80.5%, respectively, indicating that these anxiety symptoms are quite common among children. Inspection of the developmental pattern of these phenomena revealed that fears and scary dreams were common among 4- to 6-year-olds, became even more prominent in 7- to 9-year-olds, and then decreased in frequency in 10- to 12-year-olds. The developmental course of worry deviated from this pattern. This phenomenon was clearly more prevalent in older children (i.e., 7- to 12-year-olds) than in younger children. Furthermore, although the frequency of certain types of fears, worries, and dreams were found to change across age groups (e.g., the prevalence of fears and scary dreams pertaining to imaginary creatures decreased with age, whereas worry about test performance increased with age), the top intense fears, worries, and scary dreams remained relatively unchanged across age levels. An examination of the origins of these common anxiety phenomena showed that for fears and scary dreams, information was the most commonly reported pathway, whereas for worry, conditioning experiences were more prominent.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2000

Screening for trauma in children and adolescents: the validity of the Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale of the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders.

Examined the validity of the Traumatic Stress Disorder scale of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), a recently developed self-report questionnaire measuring Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) defined anxiety disorders symptoms in children. A large sample of normal schoolchildren (N = 996) ages 7 to 19 years completed the SCARED. Children who scored high on the SCARED Traumatic Stress Disorder scale (i.e., trauma group; n = 43) and children who scored low on this scale (i.e., control group; n = 43) were then interviewed about their most aversive life event. In addition, children completed self-report questionnaires of traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Results showed that children in the trauma group more frequently reported life events that independent judges considered to be 'potentially traumatic' than did control children. Furthermore, children in the trauma group reported having experienced more traumatic incidents and had higher scores on PTSD-related questionnaires compared with control children. Moreover, trauma group children more frequently fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for PTSD than did control children. The results of this study support the validity of the Traumatic Stress Disorder scale of the SCARED.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Threat perception bias in nonreferred, socially anxious children.

Investigated whether socially anxious children display a threat perception bias. A sample of 252 primary school children ages 8 to 13 years were exposed to ambiguous stories of social situations and instructed to find out as quickly as possible whether a story was scary. Furthermore, children were invited to tell how each story would end and to judge how they would feel when actually confronted with that situation. The main results can be summarized as follows. First, socially anxious children displayed lower thresholds for threat perception than control children. In other words, compared with control children, socially anxious children needed to hear fewer sentences of a story before deciding it was scary. Furthermore, socially anxious children more frequently perceived threat while listening to the stories than did control children. Finally, socially anxious children more often interpreted the stories as threatening and displayed higher levels of negative feelings and cognitions in relation to these stories compared with control children. These findings fit nicely in current information-processing theories of childhood anxiety. An additional aim of this study was to investigate the convergent validity of the social phobia scales of 2 recently developed self-report questionnaires for measuring anxiety disorder symptoms in children: the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (Spence, 1998) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (Birmaher et al., 1997). Results indicated that the social phobia scale of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and the extended social phobia scale of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders correlated substantially with a specific measure of social anxiety, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Associations of symptoms of anxiety disorders and self-reported behavior problems in normal children.

61 children, aged between 14 and 18 years, completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, a scale of anxiety disorders symptoms, and the Youth Self-report, a measure of internalizing, i.e., emotional, and externalizing, i.e., behavioral, problems. Analysis showed that, with the exception of the Social Phobia and the Specific Phobia subscales, Screen total and subscale scores were significantly related to Internalizing problems (rs between .40 and .77). Thus, the more frequently children reported Anxiety Disorder symptoms, the more often they reported emotional problems. Furthermore, in particular, anxious-depressed problems as measured by the Youth Self-report were significantly associated with scores on Screen scales. These results further support the concurrent validity of the Screen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Self-reported automaticity and irrationality in spider phobia.

Spider phobic women (n = 39) and nonfearful controls (n = 41) completed a 20-item questionnaire measuring the extent to which they experience their fear reactions to spiders as automatic and irrational. For the phobic sample, therapy outcome data were also collected. Results suggest that spider phobics tend to view their attitude to spiders as irrational and in this respect, they do not differ from control subjects. Furthermore, compared to control subjects, phobics more often perceive their responses to spiders as automatic, i.e., not under intentional control. Contrary to expectation, no robust correlation was found between automaticity and irrationality. Interestingly, automaticity was not related to treatment outcome, while irrationality to some extent predicted therapy outcome (i.e., the more phobics experienced their fear as irrational, the more they profited from exposure treatment).

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The potential conflict between clinical and judicial decision making heuristics.

The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS; Gudjonsson, 1984) was introduced as a tool for identifying suspects who are at risk of making false confessions. High GSS-scores indicate a greater risk of making false confessions. Recently, some authors have claimed that low GSS-scores can be used to support the credibility of recovered memories. This new application broadens the use of the GSS in two ways. First, low GSS-scores are considered to possess diagnostic value. Second, the GSS is advocated as a practical tool in clinical settings. This article critically evaluates such a clinical application of the GSS. Our main argument has to do with the incompatibility of basic clinical and judicial decision making heuristics. Psychotherapists, and other medical professionals, should base their decisions on different parameters than judicial professionals. Compared to judicial heuristics, clinical heuristics can be characterized as more empathetic, less critical, and less conservative. Given these differences, clinical conclusions (including those about the accuracy of recovered memories) cannot be easily translated into judicial decisions. If they do enter the judicial domain, these conclusions may lead to dubious forensic decisions.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The relationship between anxious rearing behaviours and anxiety disorders symptomatology in normal children.

The present study examined the relationship between perceived parental rearing practices, in particular anxious rearing behaviours, and anxiety symptoms. One-hundred and seventeen school children aged between 9 and 12 years completed the EMBU for children, a questionnaire that measures perceptions of parental rearing behaviours, and the Children's Anxiety Scale, an index of DSM-defined anxiety disorders symptoms. Results showed that there were significant and positive associations between Parental Rejection, Anxious Rearing, and Parental Control, on the one hand, and anxiety symptoms, on the other hand Emotional Warmth was not related to anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1999

Thought-action fusion as a causal factor in the development of intrusions.

Thought-action fusion refers to the tendency to treat thoughts and actions as equivalents. Some authors (e.g., Rachman, 1997; Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 793-802) have suggested that thought-action fusion plays a role in the etiology of obsessive intrusions. The present study sought to test this idea. Subjects (n = 19) in the experimental condition underwent a bogus EEG recording session. They were informed that the apparatus was able to pick up the word 'apple' and that thoughts of that word could result in the administration of electrical shocks to another person. After having spent 15 minutes in the EEG laboratory, experimental subjects and controls (n = 26) completed a short questionnaire containing items about characteristics of the target thought (e.g., frequency, aversiveness). Results indicate that thought-action fusion, indeed, promotes intrusive thinking in that it results in a higher frequency of target thoughts, more discomfort, and more resistance. Thus, the current findings support the idea that thought-action fusion may contribute to the development of obsessive intrusions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Psychopathological correlates of self-reported behavioural inhibition in normal children.

The present study examined the relationship between self-reported behavioural inhibition and psychopathological symptoms in a sample of 152 children aged 12-14 years. Children were provided with a definition of behavioural inhibition and then asked to classify themselves as low, middle or high on behavioural inhibition. Furthermore, children completed questionnaires of worry, depression and anxiety symptoms. Results showed that children who endorsed the high behavioural inhibition category had elevated levels of anxiety, worry and depression compared to children who endorsed the low or middle behavioural inhibition categories. Moreover, children high on behavioural inhibition more frequently reported anxiety disorders symptoms in the subclinical range. These findings fit well with those of previous studies on behavioural inhibition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The structure of specific phobia symptoms among children and adolescents.

Previous research [Frederikson, M., Annas, P., Fisher, H. & Wik, G. (1996). Gender and age differences in the prevalence of specific fears and phobias. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 33-39.] has shown that specific phobia symptoms of adults cluster into three subtypes: animal phobia, blood-injection-injury phobia and environmental-situational phobia. The present study examined whether these specific phobia subtypes can also be found in children. 996 children aged between 7 and 19 years completed a brief questionnaire regarding the frequency with which they experienced specific phobia symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to examine the structure of these data. Results showed that childhood specific phobia symptoms indeed cluster into the three subtypes as described by Frederikson et al. and that these subtypes are either intercorrelated or the product of a single higher order factor. This structure appeared to be largely invariant across genders and age groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Disgust sensitivity, trait anxiety and anxiety disorders symptoms in normal children.

There is evidence to suggest that disgust sensitivity plays a role in the development of small animal fears and phobias. Recently, Phillips, Senior, Fahy, and David (1998) [Phillips, M. L., Senior, C., Fahy, T., & David, A. S. (1998). Disgust: the forgotten emotion of psychiatry. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 373-375.] suggested that disgust sensitivity is also involved in various other anxiety-based symptoms (e.g. obsessive-compulsive complaints, social phobia). The present study sought to test this suggestion in a large sample of normal school children (N = 189). Children completed a measure of disgust sensitivity, the trait anxiety version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, an instrument that measures DSM-defined anxiety disorders symptoms. Disgust sensitivity was indeed found to be correlated with a broad range of anxiety disorders symptoms. However, results also indicated that these correlations were predominantly carried by trait anxiety. That is, when controlling for levels of trait anxiety, only specific phobia symptoms (including animal phobia, blood-injection-injury phobia and situational-environmental phobia) and separation anxiety disorder symptoms were significantly related to disgust sensitivity, although correlations were rather modest. Taken together, these findings cast doubts on the claim that disgust sensitivity is an unique and independent factor that contributes to a broad range of anxiety disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Unconscious processes, subliminal stimulation, and anxiety.

Ever since Poetzl's studies, subliminal stimulation has been used as a paradigm to explore the connection between unconscious processes and psychopathology. Inspired by the psychodynamic tradition, folk psychology attributes a dramatic power to subliminal stimulation. In contrast, most modern researchers argue that effects of subliminal stimulation are rather limited. Does that mean that the unconscious is irrelevant to psychopathology? Not necessarily. Ohman and Soares' hypothesis about the preattentive origins of phobic reactions represents a good example of a model in which a "quick and dirty" unconscious may produce pathogenic effects. Although the empirical basis of this model is still meagre, its attractiveness hinges on the assumption that "quick and dirty" processes that make up the first second of human information processing are essential for higher level analysis and performance. In line with this, recent studies have indicated that the attentional bias that accompanies pathological anxiety, might be an unconscious phenomenon. Theories that focus on unconscious cognitive processes involved in pathological anxiety are certainly interesting, but it should be emphasized that there are other aspects of automaticity (i.e., involuntariness) that may be as relevant to psychopathology as absence of awareness.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1999

The TOM test: a new instrument for assessing theory of mind in normal children and children with pervasive developmental disorders.

This article describes a first attempt to investigate the reliability and validity of the TOM test, a new instrument for assessing theory of mind ability in normal children and children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). In Study 1, TOM test scores of normal children (n = 70) correlated positively with their performance on other theory of mind tasks. Furthermore, young children only succeeded on TOM items that tap the basic domains of theory of mind (e.g., emotion recognition), whereas older children also passed items that measure the more mature areas of theory of mind (e.g., understanding of humor, understanding of second-order beliefs). Taken together, the findings of Study 1 suggest that the TOM test is a valid measure. Study 2 showed for a separate sample of normal children (n = 12) that the TOM test possesses sufficient test-retest stability. Study 3 demonstrated for a sample of children with PDDs (n = 10) that the interrater reliability of the TOM test is good. Study 4 found that children with PDDs (n = 20) had significantly lower TOM test scores than children with other psychiatric disorders (e.g., children with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; n = 32), a finding that underlines the discriminant validity of the TOM test. Furthermore, Study 4 showed that intelligence as indexed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children was positively associated with TOM test scores. Finally, in all studies, the TOM test was found to be reliable in terms of internal consistency. Altogether, results indicate that the TOM test is a reliable and valid instrument that can be employed to measure various aspects of theory of mind.

Adolescent↗