Inhibitory Control in Individuals with Clinical Levels of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms.

Previous research has shown that individuals suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) seem to have inhibitory control deficits compared with healthy controls. However, few studies have been conducted in Spanish-speaking countries. Thus, this study aims to analyze the performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) between groups of Colombian participants with clinical levels of depression and GAD symptoms and a nonclinical control group. According to previous research, we expected to find significant differences in inhibitory control among groups. An ex post facto design was implemented. The SCWT was administered to a total sample of 105 individuals (64.8% women, M = 22.94 years, SD = 4.62), including 27 depressed and 15 anxious participants according to their scores on the Personal Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, respectively. Bayesian t-tests showed that depressed participants showed the same processing speed but lower scores on inhibitory control than healthy controls, BF = 13.70, δ = 0.50, 95% CI [0.08, 0.94]. Conversely, anxious participants showed deficits in processing speed, SCWT-Word: BF = 16.19, δ = 0.68, 95% CI [0.15, 1.24]; SCWT-Color: BF = 5.98, δ = 0.50, 95% CI [-0.01, 1.04], but not in inhibitory control compared with the nonanxious counterparts. This study provides preliminary evidence concerning the inhibitory control deficits in Colombian depressed individuals and processing speed deficits in those experiencing clinical levels of GAD symptoms.

Development and initial validation of the Generalized Tracking Questionnaire.

The concept of rule-governed behavior (RGB) has been used in the behavior-analytic literature as a way to analyze complex human behavior, including thinking and problem-solving. Relational frame theory suggests the existence of two main functional types of RGB termed pliance and tracking. In this paper, we describe the development of the Generalized Tracking Questionnaire (GTQ) and the preliminary evaluation of its psychometric properties and validity through three studies, with a total of 1155 participants. In Study 1, a pool of items describing the main characteristics of generalized tracking was designed and evaluated by experts on the RFT account of RGB. The resulting 11 items were administered to 460 undergraduates to examine the understandability and psychometric quality of the items. The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the GTQ can be seen as a unidimensional scale, with all items exhibiting high factor loadings and corrected item-total correlations. In Study 2, the GTQ was administered online to a sample of 464 non-clinical participants and a clinical sample of 125 participants. The one-factor model of the GTQ obtained a good fit in the conducted confirmatory factor analysis. The GTQ showed measurement invariance across gender and clinical and nonclinical participants. It also obtained excellent internal consistency and correlated in theoretically coherent ways with other constructs. In Study 3, the GTQ and a neuropsychological battery of executive functions were administered to 105 participants. The GTQ showed statistically significant, medium-size correlations with working memory tests, verbal fluency, planning, and behavioral inhibition. In conclusion, the GTQ seems to be a promising measure to advance in the empirical analysis of functional classes of RGB.

Efectos de los comerciales con contenido erótico-sexual sobre el recuerdo, actitudes y actividad fisiológica, en relación con el grado de liberalidad / Effects of Ad with Erotic-Sexual Content on Recall, Attitudes and Physiological Activity, in Relation to the Degree of Liberality

Resumen El presente estudio pretendió establecer el efecto de comerciales con contenidos de naturaleza erótico-sexual sobre el recuerdo y las actitudes hacia el anuncio y la marca publicitada. Se analizó la activación fisiológica y se buscaron relaciones con el grado de liberalidad-conservadurismo de cada participante. Para ello, se desarrolló un estudio cuasiexperimental con dos grupos, uno conformado por 29 hombres y el otro por 29 mujeres. Se diseñó un programa de televisión que consistía en un documental sobre la naturaleza en donde se insertaron tres tipos de comerciales: A1 (alto contenido erótico-sexual), A2 (bajo contenido erótico-sexual) y A3 (sin contenido erótico-sexual). Los comerciales fueron clasificados de acuerdo con las categorías empleadas por la NICAM y por la ISFP. Se combinaron los órdenes de aparición de estos comerciales y se eligió el orden que recibió cada participante de manera aleatoria. Posteriormente, fueron conectados a un polígrafo que registró su actividad fisiológica frente al programa que observaban. Una vez terminado el procedimiento, se aplicó un cuestionario para medir el recuerdo y actitudes frente al comercial y a la marca. Los resultados muestran que no existen diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres en la activación fisiológica frente a los comerciales con alto grado de erotismo y que el contenido erótico-sexual aportó significativamente a la recordación de la marca. De la misma manera, no se observaron efectos diferenciales de los contenidos eróticos en relación con el grado de liberalidad de los participantes.

Abstract This study aimed to establish the effect of ad with erotic content of a sexual nature on the recall and attitudes toward the ad and the advertised brand, analyzing the physiological activation of individuals and the observed differences between men and women. In addition, the differences in relation to the degree of conservatism of each participant settled. For this, a quasi-experimental study compared two groups, one consisting of 29 men and the other for 29 women developed. Television program was designed consisting in a nature documentary where 3 types of commercial A1 (highly erotic-sexual content), A2 (under erotic-sexual content) and A3 (without erotic-sexual content) were inserted. The commercials were classified according to the categories used by NICAM and the ISFP. The order of appearance of these commercials were combined and the order received each participant was randomly chosen. They were then connected to a polygraph which recorded its physiological activity to the program watching. Once the procedure is completed, a questionnaire was applied to measure memory and attitudes towards trade and off the mark. The results show no significant differences between men and women in physiological arousal against commercial high degree of eroticism and the erotic-sexual content did not contribute significantly improved the brand recall. No differential effects of erotic content depending on the degree of concessionality of participants were observed.

Relación entre el fenómeno de la ilusión de la mano falsa y variables personales / Relationship between the rubber hand illusion phenomenon and personal variables

El fenómeno de la ilusión de la mano falsa (IMF) se ha propuesto como un diseño que permite discriminar procesos perceptuales a partir de entradas sensoriales multimodales. Se han reportado varias modificaciones y variables que podrían afectar la generación del fenómeno. Este estudio se planteó bajo un diseño descriptivo-correlacional del fenómeno. Se realizó el procedimiento en jóvenes (16-48 años M = 20.86 años, DE = 4.4) colombianos para replicar el fenómeno de IMF. Los sujetos se dividieron al azar en dos grupos que diferían en el tipo de estimulación (sincrónica y desincronizada). La identificación de la IMF se realizó mediante la escala reportada en múltiples estudios, mostrando que en algunas variables como la estimulación se presentaba una diferencia en el reporte de IMF (P2. X² = 5.856: p < 0.05; P3. X² = 6.655: p <0.01 y P7(X² = 4.764: p < 0.05). Otras variables como sexo y dominancia manual mostraron algunas diferencias. La escala presenta una consistencia interna aceptable (α = 0.8). Los resultados de la IMF son similares a algunos estudios pero con puntuaciones menores que en los estudios iniciales, la diferencia en cuanto al género en tareas perceptuales podría explicar gran parte de los resultados.

The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) has been proposed as a design which allows to discriminate perceptual processes based on multimodal sensory inputs. Several modifications and variables have been reported that could affect the generation of the phenomenon. This study was conducted using a descriptive correlational design of this phenomenon. The procedure was conducted with young Colombian individuals (16-48 years-M = 20.86 years, SD = 4.4), seeking to replicate the RHI. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups that differed in type of stimulation (synchronised and unsynchronised). Identification of the RHI was performed using the scale reported in multiple studies, showing that the RHI report had differences in some variables such as stimulation (P2. X² = 5.856: p <.05; P3. X² = 6.655: p <.01 y P7 (X² = 4.764: p <.05). Other variables, such as gender and handedness, also showed some differences. The scale has an acceptable internal consistency ( X= 0.8). The results of the RHI are similar to some studies, but with lower scores than in the initial studies. The difference in gender in perceptual tasks could explain most of the results.