Learning facilitates dual-process face recognition regardless of holistic processing.

Much evidence suggests that faces are recognized based on their global familiarity in a signal-detection manner. However, experiments drawing this conclusion typically present study lists of faces only once or twice, and the nature of face recognition at higher levels of learning remains unclear. Here, three experiments are reported in which participants studied some faces eight times and others twice and then took a recognition test containing previously viewed faces, entirely new faces, and faces which recombined the parts of previously viewed faces. Three measures converged to suggest that study list repetition increased the likelihood of participants rejecting recombined faces as new by recollecting that their parts were studied but in a different combination, and that manipulating holistic or Gestalt-like processing-a hallmark of face perception-qualitatively preserved its effect on how memory judgments are made. This suggests that face learning causes a shift from the use of a signal-detection strategy to the use of a dual-process strategy of face recognition regardless of holistic processing.

The connections between personality, ideology and (counter-)empathic emotions depend on the target.

OBJECTIVES: Examine the group-specific connections between personality, ideology, and the moral emotions of empathy and schadenfreude. BACKGROUND: Empathy and schadenfreude are emotions that often lead to moral prosocial or spiteful harmful behaviors respectively. An outstanding question is what motivates feelings of empathy and schadenfreude towards people from different groups. Here we examine two prominent motivators of emotions: personality traits and ideology. Previous work has found that people's ideological orientations towards respecting traditionalism (RWA) and preferences about group-based hierarchy (SDO) can impact intergroup emotions. Further, personality traits of low agreeableness, low openness, and high conscientiousness uniquely engender SDO and RWA. METHOD: In the research presented here (Study 1 n = 492; Study 2 n = 786), we examine the relationships between personality traits, ideology, and emotions for groups that are perceived to be dangerous and competitive. We hypothesize that SDO and RWA will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude but towards unique groups. SDO will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude towards competitive, low-status groups while RWA will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude towards threatening groups. We further extend past work by investigating left-wing authoritarianism as well. RESULTS: We find broad support for our expectation that the relationships between personality and emotions, as well as ideology and emotions, depend on the specific group in question. CONCLUSIONS: These results help expand the dual process motivational model of prejudice and suggest the importance of specifying a target group when assessing relationships between personality, ideology, and emotions.

Is it true that negative emotions cause more utilitarian judgements? from the influence of emotion and cognition.

ABSTRACTThe affect-as-information (AAI) model proposes that emotions influence the accessibility and value of information (Avramova & Inbar, 2013). Furthermore, according to the dual-process model of moral judgement, emotions and cognition influence moral judgement (Greene, 2007; Greene et al., 2001, 2008); however, there is no direct evidence of a causal chain to support this model's proposition. By using a 3 (emotions: positive vs. neutral vs. negative) × 2 (primed rule: save lives vs. do not kill) between-participants design, we examined two hypotheses in two experiments: supraliminal (Experiment 1) and subliminal (Experiment 2) priming. Our results partially supported the AAI model and confirmed that emotions and cognition independently influence moral judgement. Specifically, the positive emotions group made more utilitarian decisions after being primed with the "save lives" rule and more deontological decisions after being primed with the do not kill rule. However, priming did not affect moral judgement in the negative emotion condition. Further, irrespective of whether priming was done, the negative emotion group mostly made utilitarian decisions. Accordingly, we propose a dynamic dual-process model of moral judgement, that can help clarify how emotion and cognition influence moral judgement.

Widowed Young: The Role of Stressors and Protective Factors for Resilience in Coping with Spousal Loss.

While distressing, late life spousal loss is considered a normative life event and most demonstrate resilient recovery from grief. However, for 5-7% of the population spousal loss comes early, before the age of 50, and little is known about the factors that influence adjustment in this population. We used the DPM integrative framework to examine correlates and predictors of mental wellbeing and grief intensity in an international sample of 603 young widows and widowers. Contrary to existing bereavement research, loss-orientated stressors (e.g., expectedness and cause of death) did not predict bereavement outcomes. Employment and financial wellbeing were the only statistically significant restoration-orientated stressors associated with coping, mental wellbeing and grief intensity. We found no significant associations between parental status and coping or bereavement outcomes. Loss-orientated coping, followed by inter and intrapersonal protective factors for resilience and financial wellbeing were the greatest predictors of grief intensity. Loss-orientated coping was highest in early bereavement, the greatest predictor of grief intensity and associated with being unemployed, financial insecurity and decreased protective factors for resilience. Restoration-orientated coping was highest in later bereavement, was a weak predictor of grief intensity and associated with being employed, increased financial wellbeing and protective factors for resilience. Overall, we found the young-widowed population is at heightened risk of poor adjustment. Almost two-thirds reported decreased functioning, probable depression with high rates of psychological distress. Nearly half met diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder. We discuss implications for research and clinical practice.

Alcohol-related stimuli modulate functional connectivity during response inhibition in young binge drinkers.

Binge drinking is a pattern of intermittent excessive alcohol consumption that is highly prevalent in young people. Neurocognitive dual-process models have described substance abuse and adolescence risk behaviours as the result of an imbalance between an overactivated affective-automatic system (related to motivational processing) and damaged and/or immature reflective system (related to cognitive control abilities). Previous studies have evaluated the reflective system of binge drinkers (BDs) through neutral response inhibition tasks and have reported anomalies in theta (4-8 Hz) and beta (12-30 Hz) bands. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of the motivational value of alcohol-related stimuli on brain functional networks devoted to response inhibition in young BDs. Sixty eight BDs and 78 control participants performed a beverage Go/NoGo task while undergoing electrophysiological recording. Whole cortical brain functional connectivity (FC) was evaluated during successful response inhibition trials (NoGo). BDs exhibited fast-beta and theta hyperconnectivity in regions related to cognitive control. These responses were modulated differently depending on the motivational content of the stimuli. The increased salience of alcohol-related stimuli may lead to overactivation of the affective-automatic system in BDs, and compensatory neural resources of the reflective system will thus be required during response inhibition. In BDs, inhibition of the response to alcohol stimuli may require higher theta FC to facilitate integration of information related to the task goal (withholding a response), while during inhibition of the response to no-alcoholic stimuli, higher fast-beta FC would allow to apply top-down inhibitory control of the information related to the prepotent response.

The effect of deliberative process on the self-sacrificial decisions of utilitarian healthcare students.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted prosocial behavior as a professional healthcare core competency. Although medical students are expected to work in the best interests of their patients, in the pandemic context, there is a greater need for ethical attention to be paid to the way medical students deal with moral dilemmas that may conflict with their obligations. METHODS: This study was conducted in the spring semester of 2019 on 271 students majoring in health professions: medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. All participants provided informed consent and completed measures that assessed utilitarian moral views, cognitive reflections, cognitive reappraisal, and moral judgment. RESULTS: The healthcare-affiliated students who scored higher on the instrumental harm subscale in the measurement of utilitarian moral views were more likely to endorse not only other-sacrificial actions but also self-sacrificial ones for the greater good in moral dilemma scenarios. In particular, those engaged in deliberative processes tended to make more self-sacrificial judgments. The mediation analysis also revealed that the effect of deliberative processes on self-sacrificial judgments was mediated by cognitive reappraisal. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested that cognitive reappraisal through deliberative processes is involved when the students with utilitarian inclination make prosocial decisions, that it is necessary to consider both moral views and emotional regulation when admitting candidates, and that moral education programs are needed in the healthcare field.

Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders and Grief during Recovery.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) often experience loss and grief when recovering from addiction. With fatal overdoses and suicide rates increasing for individuals with SUDs and other mental health concerns, individuals in recovery are often faced with mourning the loss of a loved one while navigating their life in recovery. The loss of a loved one can be compounded by the effect of losing their relationship with their drug of choice. These co-occurring losses may prove overwhelming during recovery and precipitate a relapse. OBJECTIVES: We wish to propose the use of two bereavement models to address the grief present for individuals with SUDs experiencing loss so that providers are better able meet the complex needs of this population. METHODS: This article presents two separate bereavement models that may be used to shape treatment for individuals in recovery from addiction with co-occurring grief from the loss of a loved one: the dual-process model of coping with bereavement (DPM) and the two-track model of bereavement. RESULTS: We propose the application of these two grief models in treatment for individuals with SUDs who are experiencing co-occurring grief issues. We discuss therapeutic interventions that may be utilized to support clients with co-occurring losses.Conclusion/Importance: If an individual experiences the loss of a loved one while navigating their life in recovery from a SUD, they can experience complicated grief due to co-occurring losses. These models provide an opportunity for mental health providers to help those with SUDs work through this complex grief.

Positive Implicit Associations for Physical Activity Predict Physical Activity and Affective Responses During Exercise.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of implicit associations and explicit evaluations with affective responses during an aerobic exercise session, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in adults. Fifty adults (70% women; median age = 31 years; 25th, 75th percentiles: 24.50, 40.50 years old; body mass index = 25.29 ± 4.97 kg/m2) not engaged in regular physical activity completed an implicit association test and a questionnaire of explicit evaluations and wore an accelerometer for 7 days. After the 7-day period, the participants performed 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Every 5 min, the affective response and the perception of effort were recorded. Participants who had more positive implicit associations toward physical activity (vs. sedentary behavior) reported higher affective responses during exercise and engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity. Encouraging pleasant physical activity may act to partially improve future physical activity through automatic motivational processes.

Psychosocial Intervention on the Dual-Process Model for a Group of COVID-19 Bereaved Individuals in Wuhan: A Pilot Study.

Wuhan was the first large city where the initial breakout of COVID-19 took numerous lives. A group of social workers and mental health specialists coordinated the "Be Together Program" (BTP), a psychosocial grief intervention program to help a group of Wuhan COVID-19 bereaved people. Under the Dual-process model framework, BTP used the internet and social media as the main tools, combined with group and individual intervention. Additionally, it employed a "Supermarket Mode" with abundant intervention themes and approaches for BTP participants to choose according to their special needs. Additionally, Chinese cultural elements are integrated into the program. At the end of the program, the grief scores of participants in the qualified sample reduced significantly, and the prevalence of the potential Prolonged Grief Disorder diagnosis reduced from 75% to 12%. The study also found that the BTP was especially effective for those who had high levels of grief reaction.

Understanding Bereavement Experiences and Coping Among Bereaved Family Caregivers in Singapore: Positive Meaning Reconstruction in the Dual Process Model.

The aim of this retrospective qualitative study was to examine the bereavement experiences and coping of family caregivers, with the Dual Process Model (DPM) as the theoretical framework. A purposive sample of 15 bereaved family caregivers, who had lived with and/or cared for their dying spouse or parent, were recruited from a local hospice. Using the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, all one-to-one interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVivo 12 Plus software for analysis. The major themes in this study mirrored well-established components of the DPM, including the concept of overload from the revised model. The cognitive processes of meaning making, an integral component of the DPM, were also discovered and put forth as a fifth theme to illustrate reconstruction of positive meaning. This is posited as an adaptive outcome to successful oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented grieving processes and, hence, leading to implications for bereavement care and support.

Spontaneous and deliberate modes of creativity: Multitask eigen-connectivity analysis captures latent cognitive modes during creative thinking.

Despite substantial progress in the quest of demystifying the brain basis of creativity, several questions remain open. One such issue concerns the relationship between two latent cognitive modes during creative thinking, i.e., deliberate goal-directed cognition and spontaneous thought generation. Although an interplay between deliberate and spontaneous thinking is often implicated in the creativity literature (e.g., dual-process models), a bottom-up data-driven validation of the cognitive processes associated with creative thinking is still lacking. Here, we attempted to capture the latent modes of creative thinking by utilizing a data-driven approach on a novel continuous multitask paradigm (CMP) that widely sampled a hypothetical two-dimensional cognitive plane of deliberate and spontaneous thinking in a single fMRI session. The CMP consisted of eight task blocks ranging from undirected mind wandering to goal-directed working memory task, while also included two widely-used creativity tasks, i.e., alternate uses task (AUT) and remote association task (RAT). Using eigen-connectivity (EC) analysis on the multitask whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) patterns, we embedded the multitask FCs into a low-dimensional latent space. The first two latent components, as revealed by the EC analysis, broadly mapped onto the two cognitive modes of deliberate and spontaneous thinking, respectively. Further, in this low-dimensional space, both creativity tasks were located in the upper right corner of high deliberate and spontaneous thinking (creative cognitive space). Neuroanatomically, the creative cognitive space was represented by not only increased intra-network connectivity within executive control and default mode network, but also by higher coupling between the two canonical brain networks. Further, individual differences reflected in the low-dimensional connectivity embeddings were related to differences in deliberate and spontaneous thinking abilities. Altogether, using a continuous multitask paradigm and a data-driven approach, we provide initial empirical evidence for the contribution of both deliberate and spontaneous modes of cognition during creative thinking.

Bereavement in Times of COVID-19: A Review and Theoretical Framework.

A review of the literature on adaptation to bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted to assess the current state of knowledge. Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were searched for studies published during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 outbreak. 44 articles were included in the review. Narrative synthesis showed that knowledge was largely based on expert assessments of prior bereavement research and professional experience; there is so far absence of empirical evidence linking features of COVID-19 bereavement situations to health outcomes. Severe negative consequences have been consistently predicted by authors. There is still relatively little consideration of positive or compensatory processes or the possibility that these could alleviate the effect of the shocking, traumatic circumstances. With two notable exceptions, there has been lack of attention to the role of theoretical models for guiding research and practice. A theoretical perspective (the Dual Process Model, DPM) was applied to the information derived from the available articles. Two features of the DPM framework illustrated its relevance: 1. It enables systematic assessment of the range of loss- and restoration-related challenges for the bereaved; 2. It speaks for extension of psychotherapeutic intervention to manage secondary, restoration- as well as primary, loss-oriented stressors; studies have demonstrated that this may increase the effectiveness of intervention. Directions for future research and DPM application are suggested.

A Systematic Review of the Dual Process Model of Coping With Bereavement (1999-2016).

This systematic review addressed the question whether the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (DPM) accurately represents the bereavement experience, and whether DPM-based interventions are more effective than traditional grief therapy. Twenty databases were searched to identify publications related to the DPM between 1999 and June 30, 2016. Coded material included source, title, research design, research question(s), data source, measures, method, and outcomes. Of the 474 articles initially identified, 86 underwent full-text review, with 22 quantitative or mixed-methods studies included. The DPM accurately represents the bereavement experience and can be used to understand how bereaved individuals cope. Interventions based upon the DPM may be more effective than traditional grief therapy. Further research is needed to test both the model and intervention design, especially in regard to oscillation, with use of consistent measures between studies.

Parental experiences of the diagnosis of permanent childhood hearing loss: a phenomenological study.

Objective: The objective of the study was to discover the nature of parental lived experiences of the diagnostic process of Permanent Childhood Hearing Loss (PCHL) and to construct an emotional life-world of parent experience around PCHL.Design: Through an Interpretive Phenomenological Analytical (IPA) framework and subsequent purposive sampling, parents were invited to semi-structured interviews.Sample: Ten parents of children who were identified with PCHL as one or the only permanent childhood disability diagnosed during early childhood were interviewed.Results: Five themes emerged; (a) a received disability, (b) casualties, (c) acceptance in real-time, (d) the unique signature of family life, and (e) audiologists are essential and appreciated guides. The emotional landscape chronicled two concurrent, non-linear affective groupings: the spiral of disorientation, and protective states of righting.Conclusion: Parents require a level of emotional support that exceeds frameworks of counselling. We propose the Dual Process Model as an intermediary model of emotional literacy to address both grieving and coping during the passage from diagnosis to early management. We believe it provides an effortless articulation with the principles of Family-Centred Care philosophies (top down) and behaviours (bottom up) by providing a taxonomy of grieving, coping and parents' movement between the two orientations.

Let's Open the Decision-Making Umbrella: A Framework for Conceptualizing and Assessing Features of Impaired Decision Making in Addiction.

Decision-making impairments play a pivotal role in the emergence and maintenance of addictive disorders. However, a sound conceptualization of decision making as an umbrella construct, encompassing its cognitive, affective, motivational, and physiological subcomponents, is still lacking. This prevents an efficient evaluation of the heterogeneity of decision-making impairments and the development of tailored treatment. This paper thus unfolds the various processes involved in decision making by adopting a critical approach of prominent dual- or triadic-process models, which postulate that decision making is influenced by the interplay of impulsive-automatic, reflective-controlled, and interoceptive processes. Our approach also focuses on social cognition processes, which play a crucial role in decision making and addictive disorders but were largely ignored in previous dual- or triadic-process models. We propose here a theoretical framework in which a range of coordinated processes are first identified on the basis of their theoretical and clinical relevance. Each selected process is then defined before reviewing available results underlining its role in addictive disorders (i.e., substance use, gambling, and gaming disorders). Laboratory tasks for measuring each process are also proposed, initiating a preliminary process-based decision-making assessment battery. This original approach may offer an especially informative view of the constitutive features of decision-making impairments in addiction. As prior research has implicated these features as risk factors for the development and maintenance of addictive disorders, our processual approach sets the scene for novel and transdiagnostic experimental and applied research avenues.

Sexual Arousal and Implicit and Explicit Determinants of Condom Use Intentions.

Being sexually aroused may be an important risk factor contributing to sexual decision making. Dual-process cognitive models, such as the reflective-impulsive model of Strack and Deutsch (2004), could be used to explain the effect of sexual arousal on intentions to use a condom. In this study, we investigated whether explicit and implicit attitudes toward condom use can predict intentions to use a condom when participants are sexually aroused and not aroused. In a within-subjects experimental design, male participants (N = 27) watched both a neutral and an erotic movie clip in counterbalanced order. After each clip, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their intentions to use a condom and explicit condom attitudes, followed by a wanting Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald et al., 2003) and a liking IAT to assess their implicit attitudes to unsafe sex. In concordance with the reflective-impulsive model, we found that when participants were not sexually aroused, their intentions to use a condom were solely predicted by their explicit attitudes. However, when they were sexually aroused, intentions to use a condom were predicted by both explicit and implicit attitudes toward condom use.

Mothers Coping With Bereavement in the 2008 China Earthquake: A Dual Process Model Analysis.

The purpose of this study is to explore the grief experiences of mothers after they lost their children in the 2008 China earthquake. Informed by the dual process model, this study conducted in-depth interviews to explore how six bereaved mothers coped with such grief over a 2-year period. Right after the earthquake, these mothers suffered from intensive grief. They primarily coped with loss-oriented stressors. As time passed, these mothers began to focus on restoration-oriented stressors to face changes in life. This coping trajectory was a dynamic and integral process, which bereaved mothers oscillated between loss- and restoration-oriented stressors. This study offers insight in extending the existing empirical evidence of the dual process model.

Cortical-subcortical production of formulaic language: A review of linguistic, brain disorder, and functional imaging studies leading to a production model.

Formulaic language forms about one-fourth of everyday talk. Formulaic (fixed expressions) and novel (grammatical language) differ in important characteristics. The features of idioms, slang, expletives, proverbs, aphorisms, conversational speech formulas, and other fixed expressions include ranges of length, flexible cohesion, memory storage, nonliteral and situation meaning, and affective content. Neurolinguistic observations in persons with focal brain damage or progressive neurological disease suggest that producing formulaic expressions can be achieved by interactions between the right hemisphere and subcortical structures. The known functional characteristics of these structures form a compatible substrate for production of formulaic expressions. Functional imaging using a performance-based analysis supported a right hemisphere involvement in producing conversational speech formulas, while indicating that the pause fillers, uh and um, engage the left hemisphere and function like lexical items. Together these findings support a dual-process model of language, whereby formulaic and grammatical language are modulated by different cerebral structures.

Implicit and Explicit Associations with Erotic Stimuli in Women with and Without Sexual Problems.

Conceptual models of sexual functioning have suggested a major role for implicit cognitive processing in sexual functioning. The present study aimed to investigate implicit and explicit cognition in sexual functioning in women. Gynecological patients with (N = 38) and without self-reported sexual problems (N = 41) were compared. Participants performed two Single-Target Implicit Association Tests (ST-IAT), measuring the implicit association of visual erotic stimuli with attributes representing, respectively, valence and motivation. Participants also rated the erotic pictures that were shown in the ST-IATs on the dimensions of valence, attractiveness, and sexual excitement, to assess their explicit associations with these erotic stimuli. Participants completed the Female Sexual Functioning Index and the Female Sexual Distress Scale for continuous measures of sexual functioning, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to assess depressive symptoms. Compared to nonsymptomatic women, women with sexual problems were found to show more negative implicit associations of erotic stimuli with wanting (implicit sexual motivation). Across both groups, stronger implicit associations of erotic stimuli with wanting predicted higher level of sexual functioning. More positive explicit ratings of erotic stimuli predicted lower level of sexual distress across both groups.

Staff members' ambivalence on caring for patients with multidrug-resistant bacteria at their end of life: A qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore healthcare professionals' personal experiences, feelings and attitudes about caring for hospitalised patients with multidrug-resistant bacteria in palliative and geriatric care. BACKGROUND: Working in end-of-life care involves at times burdening demands that affect not only healthcare professionals personally but also their actions. It is suggested that multidrug-resistant bacteria and their consequences for colonised or infected patients in hospitals are among the challenges for all professionals in end-of-life care. Little is known about the feelings and experiences of staff members during healthcare activities with regard to these bacteria. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study in two German hospitals. METHODS: We interviewed 35 staff members from a German palliative care unit and a geriatric unit about their experiences with multidrug-resistant bacteria in end-of-life care and the management of colonised or infected patients. Semistructured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory. RESULTS: Interviewees represented two interdisciplinary teams with 40% nurses, 26% physicians and 34% other professionals. Salient themes that were identified included impact of multidrug-resistant bacteria on staff members' personal actions, feelings and attitudes towards the bacteria and the required isolation measures. Besides higher workload and consequences for working routines, the patients' palliative care needs were recognised, as well as the necessary protection measures to avoid contaminations in hospital. Healthcare professionals reported a dilemma that they experienced when facing these diverse demands. CONCLUSIONS: Findings point to emotional and behavioural ambivalence in end-of-life care among staff members because necessary isolation measures and particular situation in end-of-life care create unsolvable conflicts for healthcare professionals. Possible strategies to cope with ambivalence are discussed. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Healthcare professionals in palliative and geriatric care have to deal with multidrug-resistant bacteria and have to face contradictory feelings while trying to fulfil patients' needs as well as isolation requirements.