Browsing by Subject "Avoidance"
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Item The benefits of expressive writing on overgeneral memory and depressive symptoms(2009-12) Maestas, Kacey Little; Rude, Stephanie SandraTwo decades of research suggest that a non-specific style of autobiographical memory retrieval–known as overgeneral memory–may be a cognitive style that increases depression vulnerability. Recent theorizing and empirical evidence suggest the mechanisms underlying overgeneral memory include rumination and avoidance. This study provided a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention, which has been found to reduce rumination and avoidance, in reducing overgeneral memory, with the ultimate goal of preventing future depressive symptoms among non-depressed college students. Two hundred and seven non-depressed college students completed the expressive writing intervention, in addition to a one-month and six month follow-up assessment. Participants were randomized one of three writing conditions: traditional expressive writing, specific expressive writing, or control writing. Participants in the traditional and specific expressive writing conditions were instructed to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about an emotional event; the specific expressive writing condition contained the additional instruction that participants describe the events in a vivid and detailed manner. Participants in the control condition were instructed to write about a neutral topic (i.e., time management). All groups wrote for 20 minutes on three consecutive days. Study results showed that compared to participants in the control writing condition, participants in the traditional and specific expressive writing conditions demonstrated significantly greater autobiographical memory specificity at the six-month follow-up, but not at the one-month follow-up. Furthermore, the observed increase in autobiographical memory specificity for the expressive writing conditions could not be attributed to change in depressive symptoms over the same time interval. Results revealed that the effect of the traditional expressive writing intervention on increased autobiographical memory specificity was partially mediated by a reduction in avoidance assessed at the one-month follow-up. The hypothesis that rumination would partially mediate the effect of the expressive writing intervention on increased autobiographical memory specificity was not supported. Despite preliminary evidence that an expressive writing intervention compared to a control wiring condition is effective in increasing autobiographical memory specificity over a six-month period for initially non-depressed college students, it remains to be seen if increased autobiographical memory specificity decreases vulnerability to future depressive symptoms.Item PacTrack: The use of virtual environments in the identification and analysis of the neuronal correlates of fear, anxiety, and approach-avoidance behaviors(2020) Devara, Ethan; Watrous, Andrew J.Electroencephalography (EEG) is a powerful tool that has proven itself essential in successfully discovering significant neuronal correlates underlying various cognitive and behavioral events, such as the hippocampal theta oscillation in memory and spatial navigation. A large negative deflection in potential has been observed as a critical component in modulating error in information processing, termed the ERN. A similar pattern has been found following positive feedback, though whether an analogous effect occurs in internally recognized success is unknown. Researchers have additionally found evidence that theta and gamma oscillations and their intersections play important roles in regulating general fear and anxiety. In this investigation, we study whether a significant deflection in potential occurs as a result of internally recognized success, as well as whether the neuronal correlates associated with fear and memory extend themselves to approach-avoidance behaviors, by observing scalp EEG in midfrontal cortex while playing Pac-Man, taking advantage of Pac-Man’s various behavioral events and states to simulate the above. We find evidence of the ERN following failure, though no significant evoked potential following similar internally recognized success events is observed. The theta and gamma oscillatory patterns modulating fear and anxiety are ascertained to hold true to novel approach-avoidance contexts, and preliminary evidence detecting a shift in oscillations following learning is marked. While EEG is typically performed in laboratory settings, our study shows the merits of and our increasing capability to gather EEG data in naturalistic environments, informing our ability to decode neuronal mechanisms in more everyday contexts and increasing the ethological validity of our work.