One's own name distorts visual space

Here, we demonstrated that one's own name attracts the subjective location of a visual target. We simultaneously presented observers their own name and others’ name in the left and right visual fields. A target circle was presented for 53 ms around the center of the display 200 ms after the names disappeared. Ten observers were required to manually reproduce the target location by pointing with the mouse. The results indicated that the observers significantly mislocalized the target 1.61′ on average toward the location of their own name. These observations indicated that the visual space is distorted by one's own name, which biases the spatial distribution of visual attention.     

Inhibiting one's own knowledge in false belief reasoning: An ERP study

Inhibiting one's own knowledge is one of the preconditions of successfully inferring other's false belief (FB). To investigate the neural correlates of such inhibition, event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by FB reasoning in the standard unexpected location FB tasks were compared with those in the adapted unexpected location FB tasks. In both kinds of tasks, participants firstly read the stories depicting by four pictures and then inferred the puppet's FB. The story was following, a puppet put a ball at location A and then left; after his leaving, the ball was carried to location B in the standard condition; in the adapted condition, the ball was carried to certain place that participants did not know. Following the stories, participants were asked FB question (where will the puppet think the ball is after he come back). To infer FB, participants need inhibit their own knowledge about ball's current location in the standard condition while they need not in the adapted condition. Results showed that participants’ average response time in the standard condition was significantly longer than that in the adapted condition; the ERP component elicited by FB reasoning in the standard tasks was more positive at 470–520 ms than that in the adapted tasks; and this late positive component (LPC) divergence was located in the left middle frontal gyrus (LMFG). The results confirm the on-line influence of inhibitory control to FB reasoning and imply that inhibition process in FB reasoning is earlier than the operation of FB conception.     

Appearance matters: The frame and focus of health messages influences beliefs about skin cancer

Objectives. This study sought to ascertain whether the health message ‘framing effect’, which has been observed for several diseases, occurs for messages concerning the consequences of skin cancer for one's appearance or one's health. Specifically, the effect of the frame and focus of health messages on intentions to perform skin protection behaviours and the perceived threat of skin cancer was investigated. Design. Consistent with previous research and to avoid carry‐over effects, a two‐factor, between‐groups (message frame: gain vs. loss × message focus: appearance vs. health) design was used. Methods. Participants (N= 390) were recruited using convenience sampling and presented with one of four health messages, which were embedded in a questionnaire concerning beliefs about skin cancer (intentions to perform different skin protection behaviours, the perceived threat of skin cancer) and body consciousness. The health messages were framed in terms of loss (risks of sun exposure) or gain (benefits of skin protection) and focused on the consequences of sun exposure for one's appearance or one's health. The primary outcome measures were responses on rating scales concerning the perceived threat of skin cancer, intentions to perform different skin cancer protection behaviours, and body consciousness. Results. Perceived threat of skin cancer was found to be greater for appearance‐focused messages and intentions to perform different skin protection behaviours were greater for loss‐framed messages. These findings held when individual differences in body consciousness were controlled for. Conclusions. These findings suggest that, for the communication of information about skin cancer to be effective, messages must focus on the impact of sun exposure and inadequate skin protection for people's appearance, not just their health. Moreover, to maximize effectiveness, health messages about skin cancer should take account of dispositional differences in the importance placed upon one's appearance.     

Motor activity and imagery modulate the body-selective region in the occipital–temporal area: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

The extrastriate body area (EBA) lies in the occipital–temporal cortex and has been described as a “body-selective” region that responds when viewing other people's bodies. Recently, several studies have reported that EBA is also modulated when the subject moves or imagines moving their own body, even without visual feedback. The present study involved 3 experiments, wherein the first experiment was conducted to examine whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) could capture any activity in the EBA when viewing images of bodies. The second experiment was designed to elucidate whether this region also responds when the subjects move their own body, and the third to observe whether imagining carrying out a movement would activate EBA. Images of human bodies and chairs were used as the stimuli for the first experiment, simple hand movements carried out by the subject were used for the second and the act of imagining hand movements for the third. Our results confirmed that the region we defined as EBA was clearly activated when the subject viewed images of human bodies, carried out movements of their own body and imagined moving parts of their own body, thus demonstrating the usefulness of NIRS as a new brain imaging method. Moreover, we found a gender-based difference when imagining movement; male subjects showed a greater response than female subjects. This may reflect a gender difference in imagery skills; however, further research is needed to verify this hypothesis.     

‘What they’re not telling you’: A new scale to measure grandparents’ information needs when their grandchild has cancer

Objective

To determine the information needs and preferences of grandparents of children with cancer, to identify clinically useful predictors of high information need, and to develop the first validated scale to assess grandparents’ information needs regarding their grandchild's cancer.

Methods

Grandparents of children with cancer completed a questionnaire, including a newly developed instrument to measure information needs.

Results

Eighty-seven grandparents participated (mean age 65.02 years, range 46–81, 31% male). Grandparents’ information needs were high, especially among young and paternal grandparents. Grandparents’ greatest need was for information pertaining to their grandchild's chance of survival (81.6% reported “high need”), possible consequences of the child's cancer (81.6%), and phases of their treatment (72.4%). Ninety-three percent endorsed the development of a grandparents’ booklet, distributed at diagnosis and available online.

Conclusions

Grandparents of children with cancer desire more information for their own reassurance, to reduce their reliance on ‘second-hand’ information from their grandchild's parents and to improve the support they provide their families. Grandparents strongly endorse the development of grandparent-targeted educational resources.

Practice implications

Administration of this short, 15-item questionnaire can help staff identify the information needs of grandparents. Findings will inform the development of evidence-based resources for this important (but oft-neglected) population.     

How information about other people's personal experiences can help with healthcare decision-making: a qualitative study

Objective

To investigate people's views of using ‘general facts’ and information about other people's ‘personal experiences’ for health-related decision-making.

Methods

Sixty-two people, who between them had experience of five different focal health issues, participated in 12 focus groups and 9 interviews. Exploration of uses of the two types of information was supported by discussion of illustrative excerpts.

Results

There was less discussion of ‘general facts’; participants thought it obvious that good decisions required these. Participants reported having used ‘personal experiences’ information to: recognise decisions that needed consideration; identify options; appraise options and make selections (including by developing and reflecting on their reasoning about possible choices); and support coping strategies. Their inclination to use ‘personal experiences’ information was apparently moderated by assessments of personal relevance, the motives of information providers and the ‘balance’ of experiences presented.

Conclusion

People can use ‘personal experiences’ information in various ways to support their decision-making, and exercise some discrimination as they do.

Practice implications

‘Personal experiences’ information may help people in a number of ways in relation to decision-making. However, ‘personal experiences’ information does not replace the need for ‘general facts’ and care should be taken when it is used in resources for patients.     

Error-related brain activity in extraverts: Evidence for altered response monitoring in social context

While the personality trait of extraversion has been linked to enhanced reward sensitivity and its putative neural correlates, little is known about whether extraverts’ neural circuits are particularly sensitive to social rewards, given their preference for social engagement and social interactions. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), this study examined the relationship between the variation on the extraversion spectrum and a feedback-related ERP component (the error-related negativity or ERN) known to be sensitive to the value placed on errors and reward. Participants completed a forced-choice task, in which either rewarding or punitive feedback regarding their performance was provided, through either social (facial expressions) or non-social (verbal written) mode. The ERNs elicited by error trials in the social – but not in non-social – blocks were found to be associated with the extent of one's extraversion. However, the directionality of the effect was in contrast with the original prediction: namely, extraverts exhibited smaller ERNs than introverts during social blocks, whereas all participants produced similar ERNs in the non-social, verbal feedback condition. This finding suggests that extraverts exhibit diminished engagement in response monitoring – or find errors to be less salient – in the context of social feedback, perhaps because they find social contexts more predictable and thus more pleasant and less anxiety provoking.     

A qualitative evaluation of a pre-consultation guide intended to promote the participation of young people in asthma review consultations

Objective

Young people's (age range 14–19 years) participation in consultations with health professionals can be limited. There has been little research into pre-consultation support for young people. This study evaluated a pre-consultation guide developed to promote young people's participation in asthma review consultations.

Methods

A pre-consultation guide was evaluated in qualitative exit interviews with 24 young people and 9 primary care nurses in the United Kingdom.

Results

Young people found the guide to be reassuring and supportive; peer written content, particularly example questions, helped to develop confidence and an intention to participate. Nurses suggested the guide could be a useful tool to aid young people's communication of asthma-related experiences.

Conclusion

Quotations from young people were highlighted as of particular value. Self-efficacy can be increased through observing how peers perform. Confidence and intention to change behavior are linked with actual behavior change. Future research should explore the impact of the pre-consultation guide on increased self-efficacy, developing an intention to change behavior and whether this is acted upon.

Practice implications

Used as a tool in a consultation may support change in practice nurses’ consulting style and enable young people's participation.     

When cure is no option: How explicit and hopeful can information be given? A qualitative study in breast cancer

Objective

To investigate how oncologists can balance explicit with general and realistic with hopeful information when discussing various topics at the transition from curative to palliative care in breast cancer.

Methods

Qualitative analysis of focus groups consisting of female breast cancer survivors and healthy women.

Results

Perceptions of survivors and healthy women largely overlapped. Participants thought that oncologists can help patients regain a future perspective during this consultation. To achieve this, four themes seemed important: honest medical information, availability of continued support, hope has many faces, and space to choose. Moreover, participants stressed they would need time to let the message sink in before any further information was provided.

Conclusion

Participants thought that when confronted with this type of consultation they would need – more or less explicit – medical information and information regarding support. In order to maintain hope, knowledge about (treatment) possibilities is important, but also the certainty not to be abandoned by the hospital at a later stage of the disease and the confidence to remain able to make one's own decisions.

Practice implications

A life-limiting diagnosis may shatter patients’ future perspective; however, this study provides suggestions for oncologists to create a new perspective.     

Multiple neural signatures of social proof and deviance during the observation of other people's preferences

Detecting one's agreement with or deviation from other people, a key principle of social cognition, relies on neurocognitive mechanisms involved in reward processing, mismatch detection, and attentional orienting. Previous studies have focused on explicit depictions of the (in)congruency of individual and group judgments. Here, we report data from a novel experimental paradigm in which participants first rated a set of images and were later simply confronted with other individuals’ ostensible preferences. Participants strongly aligned their judgments in the direction of other people's deviation from their own initial rating, which was neither an effect of regression toward the mean nor of evaluative conditioning (Experiment 1). Most importantly, we provide neurophysiological evidence of the involvement of fundamental cognitive functions related to social comparison (Experiment 2), even though our paradigm did not overly boost this process. Mismatches, as compared to matches, of preferences were associated with an amplitude increase of a broadly distributed N400‐like deflection, suggesting that social deviance is represented in the human brain in a similar way as conflicts or breaches of expectation. Also, both early (P2) and late (LPC) signatures of attentional selection were significantly modulated by the social (mis)match of preferences. Our data thus strengthen and valuably extend previous findings on the neurocognitive principles of social proof.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF HOPE AND CONTEXT

One of the tenets of community psychology is examining psychological phenomena in context, and our studies explored the relationship between hope and context among individuals in recovery for substance use disorders. Study 1 involved 595 participants who resided in 90 recovery homes. We found that context, as house effects, was salient in residents’ perceptions of hope, suggesting that the context of recovery homes–their configurations and dynamics–may play a role in an individual's future perspective. Study 2 involved 102 recovering adults. Findings indicated that one's perceived context (i.e., opportunities, choices, and obstacles) was related to not only one's self‐reported levels of hope but also one's perception of hope for others. Approximately 50% of an individual's hopefulness was explained by contextual factors, thus suggesting that system‐level effects are critical to an individual's hopefulness. The finding that context was predictive of hopefulness suggests that a community psychology perspective on feelings of hope is critical, especially for individuals in substance use recovery. Implications regarding the importance of hope and context for ecological research and contextual influences on behavior change are discussed.     

Personal responsibility modulates neural representations of anticipatory and experienced pain

An individual's sense of personal responsibility is crucial for adaptive functioning in ever‐changing social situations. This study investigated how the sense of personal responsibility affected the neural dynamics of anticipating one's own pain and another person's pain, using EEG. Participants played a cooperation game in which either the participant (self‐context) or the confederate (other‐context) received a mild electric shock whenever one of them erred. At the anticipatory stage of pain, feedback‐related negativity (FRN) and P300 were sensitive to the degree of responsibility in both contexts. The FRN was more negative when the participant had full responsibility (only the participant had erred) than when the participant shared responsibility with the confederate (both had erred) or had no responsibility (only the confederate had erred), and shared responsibility elicited more negative FRN than no responsibility. Having no responsibility produced larger P300 amplitudes than having shared or full responsibility, whereas there was no significant difference in P300 amplitude between the shared responsibility and the full responsibility conditions. When the shock was delivered to the participants, the P2 was smaller when there was no responsibility than when there was shared or full responsibility. When participants observed the painful facial expressions of the confederates, the P300 was not sensitive to responsibility level. Our results suggest that responsibility level modulates FRN and P300 in anticipation of pain experienced by both self and others, reflecting the attentional and affective experiences in both pain‐ and empathy‐related processes.     

The cognitive–behavioural model of hoarding disorder: Evidence from clinical and non‐clinical cohorts

The cognitive–behavioural model of hoarding disorder incorporates information processing difficulties, maladaptive attachment to possessions, erroneous beliefs about the nature of possessions, and mood problems as etiologically significant factors, although developmental experiences such as a compromised early family environment have also been proposed in an augmented model. This study examined the specificity and relevance of variables highlighted in the augmented cognitive–behavioural model. Various clinical participants (n = 89) and community controls (n = 20) were assessed with structured clinical interviews to verify diagnosis. Participants completed self‐report measures of hoarding severity, cognitions, meta‐memory, and early developmental experiences (e.g., memories of warmth and security in one's family). Hoarding cohorts (with and without obsessive–compulsive disorder) reported poor confidence in memory, but relative to other groups (obsessive–compulsive disorder without hoarding disorder, anxiety disorders, and healthy controls), hoarding‐relevant cognitions, need to keep possessions in view, and concerns about the consequences of forgetting were significantly higher. Hoarding groups reported the lowest recollections of warmth in their family, although no differences were found between hoarding and non hoarding clinical cohorts for uncertainty about self and others. Nonetheless, clinical cohorts reported generally higher scores of uncertainty than healthy controls. When predicting hoarding severity, after controlling for age and mood, recollections of lack of warmth in one's family was a significant predictor of hoarding severity, with hoarding‐related cognitions and fears about decision‐making being additional unique predictors. The study supports the augmented cognitive–behavioural model of hoarding, inclusive of the importance of early developmental influences in hoarding.     

Mental rotation strategies reflected in event‐related (de)synchronization of alpha and mu power

During a mental rotation task of hands, participants mentally rotate their hand into the orientation of the shown hand. These mental movements are subject to the body's biomechanical constraints. In this study, we investigated whether the involvement of motor processes during the mental rotation process, as reflected in mu‐power desynchronization, is also influenced by one's movement capabilities. We performed an EEG study and used a delayed response mental rotation task of hands to examine the event‐related desynchronization differences between movements that are biomechanically easy and difficult to perform. Our results show an increase in event‐related desynchronization of the mu power for biomechanically easy compared to difficult‐to‐adopt postures. These findings provide further evidence for the notion that motor simulations can only be performed for movements that can already be performed overtly.     

Being needy versus being needed: The role of self‐regulatory focus in the experience of breast cancer

Objectives. Individual differences may exist in the psychological distress that women with breast cancer experience as a result of disease‐related changes in both their own needs and the needs of their social environment. In the current study, we investigated whether the negative impact of one's personal needs versus the needs of others depends on the self‐regulatory focus of women with breast cancer, that is, the extent to which they are motivated by promotion or prevention goals. Design and methods. In an on‐line survey among 113 women with breast cancer, participants were primed on either their personal needs or the needs of others. Subsequently, women's perception of having been distressed in the past week was measured with the CES‐D. Results. As expected, promotion focus was found to moderate the effect of this experimental manipulation: after concentrating on their own needs, women with breast cancer with a strong promotion focus perceived themselves as having been less distressed in the past week than those with a weak promotion focus, whereas promotion focus was not related to distress when women concentrated on the needs of others. Prevention focus, on the other hand, did not moderate the relationship between the experimental conditions and perceived distress, but it proved to be a strong predictor of perceived distress, independent of whether patients were focusing on their own needs or the needs of others. Conclusion. By identifying the role of a promotion focus in the relationship between patients' personal needs and their perception of distress, the current study highlights the importance of individual differences in the experience of breast cancer.     

Sexuality after breast cancer: A review

It is widely recognised that women's sexuality can be particularly complex after breast cancer, with sexual changes often becoming the most problematic aspect of a woman's life. The impact of such changes can last for many years after successful treatment, and can be associated with serious physical and emotional side-effects. The objective of this paper is to review research on breast cancer and sexuality from the years 1998 to 2010. Research has documented a range of physical changes to a woman's sexuality following breast cancer, including disturbances to sexual functioning, as well as disruptions to sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm, sexual desire, and sexual pleasure, resulting from chemotherapy, chemically induced menopause, tamoxifen, and breast cancer surgery. Women's intrapsychic experience of changes to sexuality includes a fear of loss of fertility, negative body image, feelings of sexual unattractiveness, loss of femininity, depression and anxiety, as well as alterations to a sense of sexual self. The discursive construction of femininity and sexuality shapes the way women construct and experience their illness and their body – leading many women to try to appear ‘normal’ to others post-breast surgery. Finally, the quality of a woman's partnered relationship consistently predicts sexual health post-breast cancer – reinforcing the importance of recognising the intersubjective nature of issues surrounding breast cancer and sexuality. It is concluded that analyses of sexuality in the context of breast cancer cannot conceptualise the physical body separately from women's intrapsychic negotiation, her social and relational context, and the discursive constructions of sexuality and femininity: a material–discursive–intrapsychic interaction.     

The role of feared possible selves in obsessive–compulsive and related disorders: A comparative analysis of a core cognitive self‐construct in clinical samples

Increasingly, cognitive‐behavioural models have been considering the role of beliefs about the self in the development and maintenance of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), including sensitive domains of self‐concept and feared self‐perceptions. This has led to the development of the Fear of Self Questionnaire (FSQ; Aardema et al., 2013 ), which has shown strong internal consistency, divergent and convergent validity, and found to be a major predictor of unwanted thoughts and impulses (i.e., repugnant obsessions). The current study aimed to investigate fear of self‐perceptions using the FSQ in an OCD sample (n = 144) and related psychological disorders (eating disorders, n = 57; body dysmorphic disorder, n = 33) in comparison to a non‐clinical (n = 141) and clinical comparison group (anxiety/depressive disorders, n = 27). Following an exploratory factor analysis of the scale in the OCD sample, the results showed that participants with OCD in general did not score significantly higher on fear of self‐perceptions than did the clinical comparison participants. However, consistent with previous findings, fear of self was highly characteristic among OCD patients with unwanted repugnant thoughts and impulses. In addition, fear of self‐perceptions were significantly more elevated in those with eating or body dysmorphic disorders relative to the other non‐clinical and clinical groups. The construct of a “feared possible self” may be particularly relevant in disorders where negative self‐perception is a dominant theme, either involving concerns about one's inner self or concerns related to perceived bodily faults.     

Development of an early memories of warmth and safeness scale and its relationship to psychopathology

Experiences of early childhood have a major impact on physiological, psychological, and social aspects of maturation and functioning. One avenue of work explores the recall and memory of positive or negative rearing experiences and their association with psychopathology measures. However, while many self‐report studies have focused on the recall of parental behaviours this study developed a new measure called the early memories of warmth and safeness scale (EMWSS), which focuses on recall of one's own inner positive feelings, emotions and experiences in childhood. Student participants (N=180) completed the new scale and a series of self‐report scales measuring different types of early recall, psychopathology, types of positive affect, and self‐criticism/reassurance. The EMWSS was found to have good psychometric properties and reliability. Recall of parental behaviour and recall of positive emotional memories were highly related, but recall of positive emotional memories was a better predictor of psychopathology, styles of self‐criticism/self‐reassurance and disposition to experience positive affect, than recall of parental behaviour.     

Bodily self‐relatedness in vicarious touch is reflected at early cortical processing stages

Studies have suggested that there is a strong link between the bodily self and the mechanisms underlying vicarious representations. Here, we used somatosensory ERPs to investigate the temporal dynamics of vicarious touch for stimuli that are more or less related to one's own body (human hands vs. rubber gloves). We found that vicarious touch effects were restricted to self‐relatable events (human hands) at early implicit stages of somatosensory processing (P45). At later more cognitive stages of processing (late positive complex, LPC), the vicarious touch effect was stronger for self‐relatable events (touch on human hands) than nonself‐relatable events (touch on rubber gloves) but present for both. Both effects, but especially the vicarious touch effect for human hands at P45, were stronger in individuals with higher levels of interoceptive awareness. Our results confirm that there is a tight link between vicarious touch and the bodily self and characterize P45 effects of vicarious touch as its likely neural basis. We propose that vicarious processes and the embodied self may be representationally indistinct (linked in a common neural representation) at early implicit somatosensory processing stages.