Robert Horselenberg

Individual differences in thought suppression. The white bear suppression inventory: Factor structure, reliability, validity and correlates

The White Bear Suppression Inventory [WBSI; Wegner, D.M. & Zanakos, S. (1994), Journal of Personality, 62, 615-640] is a self-report questionnaire measuring peoples general tendency to suppress unwanted negative thoughts. The current article describes two studies investigating the reliability, factor structure, validity, and correlates of the WBSI. Study 1 (n = 172) showed that the WBSI is a reliable instrument in terms of internal consistency and test-retest stability. Factor analyses of the WBSI revealed a 1-factor solution. Furthermore, the WBSI was found to correlate positively with measures of emotional vulnerability and psychopathological symptoms. In Study 2 (n = 40), the relationship between WBSI and levels of intrusive thinking was examined in more detail, using a thought suppression task. In general, results of this thought suppression experiment provided evidence for the validity of the WBSI. That is, subjects with high WBSI scores exhibited higher frequencies of unwanted intrusive thoughts than subjects with low WBSI scores.

The Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ): a brief self-report measure of fantasy proneness

The current article describes the psychometric qualities of the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), a brief 25-item self-report measure of fantasy proneness. Findings indicate that the CEQ demonstrates adequate test-retest stability and internal consistency. CEQ scores appear not to be related to social desirability. The CEQ was found to be strongly correlated with a concurrent measure of fantasy proneness. Furthermore, there are substantial correlations between the CEQ and standard measures of absorption, schizotypy, and dissociation. Bearing in mind that these constructs are thought to be intimately linked to fantasy proneness, this pattern of correlations supports the validity of the CEQ. The CEQ might be fruitfully used as a brief research scale in several domains (e.g. studies on pseudomemories).

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.

Dissociative experiences, response bias, and fantasy proneness in college students

In two studies, the connection between dissociative experiences as measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and memory distortions was examined. In the first study, DES scores of female students (N = 42) were not found to be related to reality monitoring failures. There was, however, a significant association between DES and false positive memory failures, suggesting a response bias in participants scoring high on the DES. In the second study, students (N = 70) completed the DES, a measure of fantasy proneness, and the Life Events Inventory (LEI). The LEI lists a large number of discrete events and requires respondents to indicate whether these events have happened to them before the age of 10. A positive connection between DES and LEI was found, such that higher DES scores were accompanied by more positive answers to the LEI. The connection between DES and positive response tendencies to LEI items was evident for both neutral and negative items and was carried by fantasy proneness. Taken together, the data indicate that high DES scores are related to a positive response bias tendency. This may have substantial implications for retrospective studies that attempt to link high DES scores to traumatic antecedents. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disgust and psychopathological symptoms in a nonclinical sample

There is little doubt that disgust sensitivity plays a role in the development of small animal phobias. However, it has been suggested that the basic emotion of disgust is implied in a broad range of psychopathological conditions. The present study examined the relationship between disgust sensitivity and symptoms of phobias (other than animal phobias), obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and eating disorder in a nonclinical sample. Undergraduate psychology students were asked to complete the Disgust Sensitivity Questionnaire, as well as measures of phobic (Fear Questionnaire), obsessive-compulsive (Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory), depressive (Beck Depression Inventory), and eating disorder (Restraint Scale) symptomatology. Results showed that disgust sensitivity was only related to symptoms of agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The present findings cast doubts on the idea that disgust sensitivity is a central factor underlying a broad range of psychopathological conditions.

Modeling the connection between self-reported trauma and dissociation in a student sample

A sample of 109 undergraduate students completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale and self-report measures on absent-mindedness, fantasy proneness, and childhood trauma. As in previous studies, dissociative tendencies were strongly related to absent-mindedness and fantasy proneness. Also, dissociative symptoms were linked to trauma self-reports. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that both the conventional trauma-dissociation model and an alternative dissociation-trauma model provided an adequate fit to our data. Thus, our results demonstrate that cross-sectional and non-clinical studies relying on self-reports of dissociation and trauma should seriously consider the possibility that dissociation, together with its correlates absent-mindedness and fantasy proneness, contribute to trauma self-reports.

Dissociative experiences and interrogative suggestibility in college students

The present study examined whether scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) are related to interrogative suggestibility, as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS-1). In addition, an attempt was made to identify factors that may mediate this relationship. The DES and GSS were administered to a sample of 56 female undergraduate students along with self-report measures of cognitive failures and fantasy proneness. DES and cognitive failures were found to be related to total GSS scores. In contrast, fantasy proneness was not linked to total GSS scores. Correcting for the influence of cognitive failures attenuated the correlation between DES and GSS. This suggests that cognitive efficiency is one of the mediating factors operating in the connection between dissociation and interrogative suggestibility.

False confessions in the lab: Do plausibility and consequences matter?

Abstract The present paper describes three studies that examined false confessions in the laboratory. Studies 1 (N=56) and 2 (N=9) relied on the by now classic computer crash paradigm introduced by Kassin and Kiechel (Psychological Science, 7, 125–128, 1996). Study 3 (N=12) employed a novel paradigm in which undergraduate participants were falsely accused of exam fraud. Our data indicate that false confessions do occur, even when conditions become more ecologically valid. Furthermore, we explored whether individual differences in compliance, suggestibility, fantasy proneness, dissociation, and cognitive failures are related to false confessions. Of these, only fantasy proneness was associated with false confessions.

Defense styles, personality traits, and psychopathological symptoms in nonclinical adolescents.

The purpose of the present study was to examine relationships between defense styles, personality traits, and psychopathological symptoms in nonclinical youths. A large sample of adolescents (n = 437) completed the Defense Style Questionnaire for Adolescents, the Junior version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and a scale measuring symptoms of DSM-defined disorders. Results showed that there were clear relationships between personality traits (neuroticism and psychoticism) and defense styles (neurotic and immature defense) on the one hand and psychopathological symptoms on the other hand. Most importantly, regression analyses indicated that personality traits and defense styles both accounted for unique proportions of the variance in psychopathological symptoms.

Imagining fictitious childhood events : the role of individual differences in imagination inflation.

Imagination inflation refers to the phenomenon that imagining a low probability childhood event promotes subjective confidence that the event actually happened. The present article describes two studies that addressed the issue of whether imagination inflation is related to certain personality characteristics (i.e. social desirability, imagery ability, and dissociation). In Study 1, students (N = 34) rated the probability of 60 childhood events. Four weeks later, they came to the laboratory and were asked to imagine four low-probability childhood events. Next, new confidence ratings of target (i.e. imagined) and control items were collected. Students also completed measures of social desirability, imagery ability, and dissociation. While a higher percentage of increased confidence ratings was found for target items than for control items, the size of this imagination inflation effect was modest. Only imagery ability was found to be related to imagination inflation in that individuals with better imagery abilities displayed a larger imagination inflation effect. The procedure of Study 2 (N = 45) closely followed that of Study 1, except that imagination of target items now had to be written down. Writing about a fictitious event generated a straightforward imagination inflation phenomenon, but this was not related to any of the personality characteristics. The discussion focuses on the extent to which imagination inflation may model therapy-induced false memories. Copyright ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.