Ron Wright

Age differences in recognition of emotion in lexical stimuli and facial expressions.

Age differences in emotion recognition from lexical stimuli and facial expressions were examined in a cross-sectional sample of adults aged 18 to 85 (N = 357). Emotion-specific response biases differed by age: Older adults were disproportionately more likely to incorrectly label lexical stimuli as happiness, sadness, and surprise and to incorrectly label facial stimuli as disgust and fear. After these biases were controlled, findings suggested that older adults were less accurate at identifying emotions than were young adults, but the pattern differed across emotions and task types. The lexical task showed stronger age differences than the facial task, and for lexical stimuli, age groups differed in accuracy for all emotional states except fear. For facial stimuli, in contrast, age groups differed only in accuracy for anger, disgust, fear, and happiness. Implications for age-related changes in different types of emotional processing are discussed.

Recollection rejection: False-memory editing in children and adults.

Mechanisms for editing false events out of memory reports have fundamental implications for theories of false memory and for best practice in applied domains in which false reports must be minimized (e.g., forensic psychological interviews, sworn testimony). A mechanism posited in fuzzy-trace theory, recollection rejection, is considered. A process analysis of false-memory editing is presented, which assumes that false-but-gist-consistent events (e.g., the word SOFA, when the word COUCH was experienced) sometimes cue the retrieval of verbatim traces of the corresponding true events (COUCH), generating mismatches that counteract the high familiarity of false-but-gist-consistent events. Empirical support comes from 2 qualitative phenomena: recollective suppression of semantic false memory and inverted-U relations between retrieval time and semantic false memory. Further support comes from 2 quantitative methodologies: conjoint recognition and receiver operating characteristics. The analysis also predicts a novel false-memory phenomenon (erroneous recollection rejection), in which true events are inappropriately edited out of memory reports.

Generalized urn models

This heuristic article introduces a generalization of the idea of drawing colored balls from an urn so as to allow mutually incompatible experiments to be represented, thereby providing a device for thinking about quantum logic and other non-classical statistical situations in a concrete way. Such models have proven valuable in generating examples and counterexamples and in making abstract definitions in quantum logic seem more intuitive.

Forward association, backward association, and the false-memory illusion

In the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false-memory illusion, forward associative strength (FAS) is unrelated to the strength of the illusion; this is puzzling, because high-FAS lists ought to share more semantic features with critical unpresented words than should low-FAS lists. The authors show that this null result is probably a truncated range artifact. When FAS and its complement, backward associative strength (BAS), were independently manipulated in factorial designs, they both affected illusion strength. Moreover, their effects did not interact and were of comparable magnitude. Conjoint-recognition analyses were used to pinpoint the influence of BAS and FAS on retrieval processes that support or suppress false-memory responses. Although the variables affected both types of processes, their effects on suppressive processes were larger and more consistent. This research also provided the first clear evidence that subjects often use suppressive processes inappropriately to reject studied items that preserve the gist of experience.

CSF neurochemicals during tryptophan depletion in individuals with remitted depression and healthy controls

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of acute tryptophan (TRP) depletion vs. sham condition on plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical parameters, and mood in the following three subject groups: (1) nine antidepressant-free individuals with remitted depression, (2) eight paroxetine-treated individuals with recently remitted depression, and (3) seven healthy controls. Plasma TRP decreased during TRP depletion and increased during sham condition (p<.01). CSF TRP and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were lower during TRP depletion than sham condition (p<.01 each). During TRP depletion, CSF TRP correlated significantly with the plasma sum of large neutral amino acids (SigmaLNAA) (R=-.52, p=.01), but did not significantly correlate with plasma TRP (R=.15, p=.52). The correlation between CSF TRP and ratio of TRP to SigmaLNAA was R=.41 and p=.06 during TRP depletion, and R=-.44 and p=.04 during sham condition. A negative correlation trend was observed between CSF-TRP levels and peak Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores during TRP depletion in patients recovered from depression (R=-.45, p=.07), but not in healthy controls (R=-.01, p=.98). CSF neuropeptide Y was higher during TRP depletion than sham condition (t=1.75, p<.10). These results illustrate the importance of assessing plasma SigmaLNAA when using the TRP depletion paradigm. The use of a single CSF sampling technique although practical may result in data acquisition limitations.

THE STATE OF THE PENTAGON A NONCLASSICAL EXAMPLE

Publisher Summary This chapter explains quantum logic, which is also called orthologic, and its states. Any bounded orthocomplemented poset in which orthogonal joins exist and in particular, any orthomodular poset is an orthologic. The chapter presents an example to show that there is a well-behaved quantum logic with faithful interpretations in Boolean algebras, which supports states that cannot be interpreted either in a Boolean algebra or in a Hilbert space projection lattice. It briefly discusses the question of when an orthologic and its states admit classical interpretations. An orthologic admits a classical interpretation if it has at least one dispersion free state, if it has a unital set of dispersion free states, and if it has a full set of dispersion free states.

The structure of projection-valued states: A generalization of Wigner's theorem

A projection-valued state is defined to be a completely orthoadditive map from the projections on one Hilbert space into the projections on another Hilbert space, which preserves the unit. Any such mapping is shown to have the formP →U1(P ⊗ 11)U1−1 ⊕U2(P ⊗ 12)U2−1, whereU1 is unitary andU2 is antiunitary, generalizing Wigners theorem on symmetry transformations. A physical interpretation is given and the relation to “quantum logic” is discussed.

SPIN MANUALS: EMPIRICAL LOGIC TALKS QUANTUM MECHANICS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the language of Empirical Logic that is constructed with the aim of allowing maximum freedom regarding what it can describe while at the same time continuing to discriminate among conceptually distinct ideas. It describes a particular collection of experiments called the spin experiments. The chapter is not about physics but it illustrates how to use the concepts of Empirical Logic to discuss a theory and explains how Empirical Logic can be used to make fine distinctions that would otherwise be obscured. Empirical Logic is general enough to describe any experimental arrangement that can be characterized by a collection of operations and it is tight enough to keep from confusing certain distinct ideas.

The neglect of data-gathering instruments in behavior therapy practice

Although the Willoughby Personality Questionnaire and the Fear Survey Schedule are demonstrably valuable aids to the practice of behavior therapy of neurosis, it is evident that many behavior therapists do not use them. In order to determine the extent of their neglect, we sent a questionnaire to all Clinical Fellows of the Behavior Therapy and Research Society. The 134 replies we received revealed that the Willoughby was routinely used by only 19% and the Fear Survey Schedule by only 42%. This seems to be manifestation of a wide-spread but indefensible homogenized view of neuroses. It is a sad reflection on the quality of behavior therapy training programs.