61 research outputs found
Semantic satiation in schizophrenia : the role of valence of stimuli
Aim. The primary aim of the research was to define the relation between semantic satiation effect, overactivation of semantic network and a symptom of derealisation in people suffering from schizophrenia. The semantic satiation was defined as the subjective and temporary experience of loss of meaning of repeatedly pronounced words or images which is the result of excessive activation in the semantic network. Because overactivation in semantic network is common feature of schizophrenia, it was expected that schizophrenic patients would be prone to satiation effect more than healthy subjects.
Methods. Satiation of negative, positive and emotionally neutral images was determined for patients suffering from schizophrenia and in healthy controls. The subjects were presented with pictures from different categories flashed on a computer screen 3, 13, 23 and 33 times.
Each presentation was followed by the category name and the subjects decided, whether the object presented on the photograph belonged to this category. It was expected that the loss of meaning of satiated images would delay participants’ lexical decision and that this effect should be stronger for the schizophrenic than for the control group.
Results. Reaction times to a decision based on repeated images were longer in a group of patients suffering from schizophrenia than in the control group. It was also observed that in the group of patients the satiation effect depends on valence of satiated images. Emotionally positive and negative pictures were satiated faster than neutral ones.
Discussion. The conducted experiment confirmed the greater susceptibility of patients to the effect of semantic satiation. It has been revealed that subjective experience of the loss of meaning of images depends on the valence of stimuli
The Polish version of the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory: factor analysis, reliability and the prevalence of delusion-like experiences in the Polish population
Aim. The study aimed at providing the psychometric properties of Polish version
of Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI) (1999) and assessing the prevalence of
delusion-like experiences among healthy subjects in the Polish population. Method. Polish version of PDI was developed on the basis of back translation procedure. The scale was completed by 421 adult subjects. On the basis of the scores, the factor analysis, the reliability of the scale and the frequency of delusion-like experiences in the Polish population were calculated. Results. The Polish version of Peters et al. Delusions Inventory has satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.084 to 0.87). The examination of scree plot suggests a single-factor solution. The participants confirmed the incidence of, on average, 12.5 (SD = 6.9), out of 40 different experiences measured using PDI. In the current study the most frequently asserted delusion-like belief is that people say things with double meaning (79.8% of participants), while the least likely beliefs were those similar to delusions observed among psychiatric patients (2.37% of participants). Conclusions. The Polish version of PDI is characterised by good psychometric properties and can be used for delusion-like experiences assessment in non-clinical population. The frequency of delusion-like experiences in the Polish population varies from 2 to 80% depending on their content
The neutral stimuli detection deficits in delusion-prone individuals
Aim. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the delusion-prone individuals tend to select relevant
information among distractors in order to examine whether the occurrence of overt delusions could
be preceded by specific features of attention functioning.
Methods. Individuals with high and low susceptibility to delusions completed the experimental task relying
on the search for the specified signal hidden among distractors.
Results. The delusion-prone individuals did not select emotionally neutral signal more effectively than the
non delusion-prone ones. What is more, they made more ‘false-alarm’ mistakes than the control group,
especially at the later stage of the task related to the increased fatigue level.
Conclusion. The delusion-proneness is not related to the excessive information selection ability
The neutral stimuli detection deficits in delusion : prone individuals
The aim of the study was to investigate whether the delusion-prone individuals tend to select relevant
information among distractors in order to examine whether the occurrence of overt delusions could
be preceded by specific features of attention functioning.
Methods. Individuals with high and low susceptibility to delusions completed the experimental task relying
on the search for the specified signal hidden among distractors.
Results. The delusion-prone individuals did not select emotionally neutral signal more effectively than the
non delusion-prone ones. What is more, they made more ‘false-alarm’ mistakes than the control group,
especially at the later stage of the task related to the increased fatigue level.
Conclusion. The delusion-proneness is not related to the excessive information selection abilit
Depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between the retrospectively measured symptoms of premenstrual disorders and negative but not positive psychotic‑like experiences
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms and subclinical forms of positive and negative psychotic symptoms (psychotic-like experiences; PLEs). It was hypothesised that subjective intensity of the symptoms of premenstrual disorders predicts PLEs frequency and that this relationship is mediated by anxiety and depression. The study sample comprised 108 non-clinical subjects. Study variables were assessed with self-report questionnaires: the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST); the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II); the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; trait sub-scale); the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). Regression and mediation analyses were performed. The PSST scores were significantly and positively associated with psychotic-like experiences frequency. The relation was stronger for positive PLEs. Anxiety and depression partially mediated the relationship between premenstrual symptoms and negative PLEs, but not between premenstrual symptoms and positive PLEs. Although the design of the study does not allow to infer causality, it demonstrates strong, positive relationship between the symptoms of premenstrual disorders and psychotic-like experiences. The relationship between premenstrual disorders and negative PLEs seems to be partially based on a general psychopathological factor. Further longitudinal studies are needed to test whether premenstrual disturbances increase risk of psychotic symptoms
The mediating role of stress in the relationship between attention to threat bias and psychotic-like experiences depends on coping strategies
Aim: Recent studies have provided evidence that enhanced stress level is associated with the increase of psychotic symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical populations. It has also been demonstrated that cognitive biases contribute to psychotic experiences. However, it remains unclear whether the effect of cognitive biases and perceived stress on psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) is influenced by coping methods. In the present study we examined whether the relationship linking cognitive biases with PLEs is mediated by the level of stress and whether particular coping methods modify the relationship between stress and PLEs. Methods: The study sample consisted of 290 non-clinical subjects; study variables were assessed by questionnaires. Moderated mediation analyses were conducted. Results: Perceived stress was found to serve as a partial mediator in the relationship linking attention to threat (ATB) and external attribution biases (ETB) with psychotic-like experiences. Also, moderated mediation analysis revealed that the indirect effect of attention to threat bias on positive and depressive symptoms of psychotic-like experiences via perceived stress was stronger at higher levels of distraction seeking coping. Moreover, the indirect effect of ATB on depressive symptoms was moderated by task-oriented coping and emotion-oriented coping. Task-oriented coping also moderated the indirect effect of ETB on depression.
Conclusion: The findings imply that both perceived stress and coping styles are important factors affecting the association between cognitive biases and psychotic-like experiences
The role of the jumping to conclusion bias in delusions formation
The results of many researches indicate that individuals with delusions reveal the reaso-ning bias. In probabilistic reasoning tasks they reveal hastiness in decision – making. The individuals with delusions request less information than non – deluded individuals, even if additional data is easily available. What is more, they also prove to be convinced to a greater extend of having made the right decision. This finding has been replicated by a number of studies. However, the previous researches have not confirmed the origins of ‘jumping to conclusion’ bias, and its role in the process of forming delusions has not been yet confirmed. The article in question contains the review of the results of the jumping to conclusion bias in people with delusions. It discusses the main hypotheses explaining the relations between the hasty decision making and the delusions formation. The article also deals with the specifics of ‘jumping to conclusion’ bias in case of individuals with delusions, as well as summarizes its relation to factors such as the level of intelligence or the intensity of delusion
Psychological gender in clinical depression : preliminary study
Aim. Psychosocial and social theories of mood disorders indicate that factors connected
with women’s gender roles could create a higher risk of depression. The fact that social role
is an important factor associated with depressive disorders suggests that not only a biological
but also a psychological gender influences the vulnerability to depression.
Method. Gender schema theory was applied to investigate a role of femininity in depressive
disorders. It was predicted that patients who identify themselves with the traditional feminine
gender role will be more depressed than androgynous and undifferentiated patients or individuals
with high level of masculinity. Sixty one patients suffering from affective disorder
participated in this research. The Polish adaptation of Bem Sex – Role Inventory and Beck
Depression Inventory were used to investigate the association between psychological gender
and symptoms of depression.
Results. The results indicated that there is a significant connection between the type of
psychological gender and the level of depression. The highest level of depression was shown
by undifferentiated patients, femininity was also found to be associated with a great number of
depressive symptoms. These findings also suggest that androgynous individuals and patients
with a high level of masculinity tend to be less depressed.
Conclusions. Psychological gender is an important factor which interacts to create a higher
depression risk in men and women
Signal detection in pathological skin picking : findings from non - clinical sample
Aim of the study. The present study investigated the role of general impulsivity in pathological skin picking
(PSP).
Material and methods. Three groups of participants: university students who pick their skin and experience
distress and/or functional impairment caused by picking (n = 27), students who pick their skin but
do not experience distress and/or functional impairment caused by picking (n = 19), and students without
history of skin picking (n = 43) were administered the task based on the search for the emotionally neutral
signal hidden among distractors. It was predicted that individuals suffering from PSP should present
an impulsive reaction style, i.e. they should search for the signal faster than individuals without history of
PSP and should react to irrelevant stimuli rather than missing the correct reaction.
Results. Participants with severe picking performed as quickly and correctly as controls, thus not revealing
an impulsive reaction pattern. Students with milder forms of picking reacted more slowly than the others
gradually diminishing their performance as the task was extended.
Discussion. Individuals with severe PSP symptoms are not characterized by general impulsiveness defined
as a tendency to react quickly and carelessly. Skin picking behaviors of different severity may be associated
with different signal detection patterns.
Conclusions. The results of the current study indicate that skin picking is not a homogeneous condition.
They also provide that skin picking behavior in ‘severe’ pickers and non – ‘severe’ ones may have different
underlying psychological mechanism
Faces affect recognition in schizophrenia
Clinical observations and the results of many experimental researches indicate that indi-viduals suffering from schizophrenia reveal difficulties in the recognition of emotional states experienced by other people; however the causes and the range of these problems have not been clearly described. Despite early research results confirming that difficulties in emotion recognition are related only to negative emotions, the results of the researches conducted over the lat 30 years indicate that emotion recognition problems are a manifestation of a general cognitive deficit, and they do not concern specific emotions.
The article contains a review of the research on face affect recognition in schizophrenia. It discusses the causes of these difficulties, the differences in the accuracy of the recognition of specific emotions, the relationship between the symptoms of schizophrenia and the severity of problems with face perception, and the types of cognitive processes which influence the disturbances in face affect recognition. Particular attention was paid to the methodology of the research on face affect recognition, including the methods used in control tasks relying on the identification of neutral faces designed to assess the range of deficit underlying the face affect recognition problems. The analysis of methods used in particular researches revealed some weaknesses. The article also deals with the question of the possibilities of improving the ability to recognise the emotions, and briefly discusses the efficiency of emotion recognition training programs designed for patients suffering from schizophrenia
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