Guus Smeets

Effects of verbal information on fear-related reasoning biases in children

The present study made an attempt to induce fear-related reasoning biases by providing children with negative information about a novel stimulus. For this purpose, non-clinical children aged 9-12 years (N=318) were shown a picture of an unknown animal for which they received either negative, ambiguous, positive, or no information. Then children completed a series of tests for measuring various types of reasoning biases (i.e., confirmation bias and covariation bias) in relation to this animal. Results indicated that children in the negative and, to a lesser extent, the ambiguous information groups displayed higher scores on tests of fear-related reasoning biases than children in the positive and no information groups. Altogether, these results support the idea that learning via negatively tinted information plays a role in the development of fear-related cognitive distortions in youths.

Will a Cuscus bite you, if he shows his teeth? Inducing a fear-related confirmation bias in children by providing verbal threat information to their mothers

Confirmation bias refers to the inclination to selectively search for information that confirms the view that one holds. Research has shown that fearful individuals mainly seek information that confirms dangerousness of the dreaded stimulus or situation (i.e., verification), whereas they have less an eye for information that invalidates threat (i.e., falsification). It has been demonstrated that fear-related reasoning biases also occur in children, but little is known about where these biases originate from. The present study examined the role of mothers in the development of a fear-related confirmation bias in children. More precisely, it was tested whether mothers install such a reasoning bias in their children via verbal threat information. For this purpose, mothers of 52 children aged 9-12 years were provided with either threatening or positive information about a novel animal and then instructed to describe the animal to their child on the basis of a number of open-ended vignettes. Results indicated that mothers who received threat information about the novel animal displayed a fear-related confirmation bias: that is, they relied less on a falsification strategy than mothers who had heard the positive information. Most importantly, mothers passed the bias on to their children. More precisely, after the vignettes task, children of mothers who had received threat information also sought less information to invalidate the dangerousness of the animal than children of mothers who had received positive information.

Metacognitive beliefs, beliefs about voices and affective symptoms in patients with severe auditory verbal hallucinations

OBJECTIVES This study explores associations between metacognitive beliefs and beliefs about voices in patients with severe auditory verbal hallucinations, and their hypothesized relationship with levels of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that metacognitive beliefs are better able to explain differences in levels of depression and anxiety, than beliefs about voices. DESIGN Cross-sectional data were obtained from baseline measurements of a randomized controlled trial. All patients (N = 77) met the criteria for a DSM-IV diagnosis within the schizophrenia spectrum. A correlation analysis was conducted to explore the associations between metacognitive beliefs and beliefs about voices. Regression analysis was performed to test the second hypothesis. METHOD Metacognitive beliefs were measured using the MCQ-30. Beliefs about voices were measured using the BAVQ-R. Furthermore, the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied to measure depression and anxiety. All analyses were a priori controlled for gender and level of education. RESULTS Significant associations were found between negative beliefs about voices and negative metacognitive beliefs. One of the metacognitive beliefs, that is, perceived uncontrollability and danger of thinking, proved to be a key variable in explaining differences in levels of depression and anxiety and seemed to have greater explanatory value than all of the beliefs about voices when analysed simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS The results offer modest support to models emphasizing the fact that metacognitive beliefs are a core feature in the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety in patients with severe auditory verbal hallucinations. PRACTITIONER POINTS POSITIVE CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Further evidence for the importance of metacognitive beliefs. Specific emphasis on anxiety and depression in patients with severe hallucinations. LIMITATIONS Small sample size. Cross-sectional data only.

Belief bias and symptoms of psychopathology in a non-clinical sample

This study explores the tenability of the idea that a general tendency to confirm rather than to falsify personal beliefs (i.e., belief bias) is responsible for the general refractoriness of dysfunctional convictions that play a role in psychopathology. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between a generally enhanced belief bias and the severity of self-reported psychopathological symptoms in a non-clinical sample. Participants (N = 200) solved a series of linear syllogisms concerning neutral themes. They were asked to judge the syllogisms’ logical validity, without taking the believability of the syllogisms into account. Participants performed relatively poor (i.e., they made more errors and displayed longer response latencies) when there was a mismatch between the logical validity and believability of the syllogisms (i.e., a general belief bias). However, there was no linear association between the severity of the general belief bias and the severity of psychopathological complaints. Thus, the present study lends no support to the idea that a generally enhanced tendency to confirm rather than to falsify prior beliefs is a diathesis for the development of psychopathology.

Students' and Teachers' Experiences with the Implementation of Problem-Based Learning at a University Law School.

textabstractA few years ago, the Erasmus School of Law implemented problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional method in the bachelor’s program. Transition to a PBL program often brings some difficulties for the teaching staff. To find out whether the implementation at the Erasmus School of Law has been successful, students and teachers were asked about their experiences with and perceptions of the PBL program. Both students and teachers reported positive study behaviors, such as regular studying and active involvement of students as a result of PBL. However, some issues also arose after implementintig PBL: staff members reported dissatisfaction regarding the PBL program and students reported feelings of insufficient preparation for the legal profession. Recommendations on how to address these issues are discussed.