Working Memory Capacity in Generalized Social Phobia

Working Memory Capacity in Generalized Social Phobia Nader Amir and Jessica Bomyea INTRODUCTION According to DSM-5TM (2013), Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) is a †Marked fear of one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others.† Also they fear they will be judged negatively which might result being humiliated or face rejection to one (Comer, 2010). According to the report on working memory capacity the availability of cognitive resources depend on social cues and these cognitive abilities have a significant impact on people with social phobia. However, very few studies have been conducted so far regarding working memory and social phobia (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). It has been found in many studies that people suffering from social anxiety disorder has maladaptive cognitive assumptions which presumably results of worsening the symptoms associated with this disorder. This cognitive process can be without conscious effort and the availability of the cognitive resources can prevent the illogical thought processes which might arise if the mental resources are low. These executive control processes is referred as processes that are related to cognitive functions (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). It has been also found that people with social anxiety disorder has problems with attention thus it can hurt the performance of cognitive tasks. This has been proven in verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning and many other studies which were done on the purpose of proving that anxiety has an impact on the central processes. This is due to the fact that the anxious person has to focus on many other tasks rather than the main purpose and waste its mental resources without b eing effectively used. For instance, as the client has social phobia will evaluate oneself negatively on something that was stored on autobiographic memory. This wasting of cognitive resources in perceiving oneself in negative situations like this can affect the performance of working memory of an anxious person compared to a non-anxious person thus doing poor on tasks that requires cognition. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). This research was done in order to assess the impact on working memory capacity performance with neutral and social threat stimuli, among clients who have been clinically labeled with generalized social phobia. This was the first study done to compare WMC with neutral and threat stimuli on anxious individuals and these individuals use bottom-up information processing which enables them to be caught up in threat related stimuli. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Therefore, they proposed the hypothesis as; Ho: individuals with generalized social phobia show a greater WMC performance when exposed to a threat related stimuli than a neutral stimuli. H1: individuals who are non-anxious shows a greater WMC performance when exposed to a neutral stimuli than a threat related stimuli Method Participants There were 36 individuals in experimental group and 35 in the control group. In the experimental group patients are chosen with regard to the criteria mentioned in Diagnostic Statistical Manual ( DSM-IV) which includes taking a Structured Clinical Interview(SCID) as well as getting a score above 60 on Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Those who met the criterion were also in an ongoing treatment by the Center for Understanding and Treating Anxiety at San Diego state university. Among the 36 interviews which was videotaped, 20% percent was randomly rated by an independent clinician and got an interrater score of k=0.89 which increases the reliability of the selection procedure. As for the control group with non- anxious 35 individuals selected from the community had to undergo SCID screening aided by a clinic staff to check whether they met any past or present criteria’s of the disorder. Moreover they had to have a score that didn’t exceed beyond 29 on self-report version of LSIS. In this experiment all participants $20 for their collaboration. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Materials and Procedure This experiment was conducted empirically and the data was collected for a quantitative study although it was done by means of electronic media. This assessment was done by a computer based OSPAN (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). In which Operations Span paradigm (OSPAN) the members are supposed to recall words in a succession at the same time performing simple math problems. While keeping each participant in about a distance of 30cm from the computer screen, a fixation (+) at the center was shown for 500ms and then shows a blank screen for 500ms and finally shows a solved mathematics problem preceded by a word for 800ms.the math equation can be for example 2+3=4, which are researched to be used in WMC tasks. Once the decision is made the participant presses the right key on the mouse and then continues this same procedure for 2-6 times. Once this is done for2- 6 times the participants has to recall the order of the words which are shown on a screen and which were shown during the process. Words like â€Å"chair† which is neutral and â€Å"stupid† which is socially threatening were shows to study the effect of neutral and threat words on WMC span. Along with the words extra words are used as distractions on the screen during the 20 trials each participant finished. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Before the start of the experiment each participant was allowed to sign a consent form and do a LSAS( by the anxious) and LSAS-SR(by the non-anxious) tests with similar psychometric value. The participants were given a trial round before the real experiment and advised to remember the words and do as fast as possible while doing the math problems at the same time. The words used during the practice rounds were not included in the experimental sessions as part of accuracy. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Results Self-Report Measures At the end of the 20 sessions the group with generalized social phobia was reduced to 32 participants with the elimination of 3 participants due to lack of math accuracy below 85% and one participant having a math solving capacity three times higher than the mean standard deviation. Also the non-anxious group was reduced to 30 after elimination of 5 due to low math scores. However, the groups didn’t differ that much in age and education. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Math Reaction Times In this study participants were removed due to low math performance or too high performance which is consistent with other studies done earlier. The reaction times was calculated as a median value which shows that bot the generalized anxiety group and non-anxious group had close results when solving problems with social threat, t(60)=1.10,p=.28 or neutral words, t=(60)=1.60,p=.11. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Working Memory Span Scores WMC scores were calculated by the partial-credit load scoring where each participant gets one point for a word in its correct order in the list. The figure 1 below shows the comparison of means and standard error bars in both groups. The results obtained are consistent with the results from prior research. The results were also put into mixed design analysis of ANOVA with anxious, non-anxious, social threat and neutral as 2Ãâ€"2 designs. This test showed the interaction among the Group and Word type was significant. To add more value t tests was done which showed the worst WMC in GSP and NAC when neutral words are compared. Comparing non-anxious with two word types it doesn’t show much difference unlike the generalized social phobia group who recalled threat words by, t(31) = 2.30, p=.028. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Figure 1. Working memory capacity scores for generalized social phobia(GSP) and non-anxious control(NAC) groups. Discussion Results prove that non-anxious group did great when remembering neutral information. Also the generalized social phobia group was better at remembering threat related than neutral stimuli. This support the idea that anxious people are worse at recalling neutral information and thus support that their inability to maintain attention on one task leads to wasting of cognitive resources thus, doing bad at tasks. (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Limitations This study itself has its own limitations including the idea the participants in GSP were more depressed than anxious, this hinders the understanding of anxiety on the results. This may be why they GSP group did much better on recalling social threats. Furthermore, they are unable to compare people with different levels of anxiety with the type of stimulus. The study also was not able to represent an entire population of people suffering generalized social phobia as the sample size is not representative plus the elimination of members from each group reduced its population size. . (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Suggestion for future research In future they could compare patients suffering from various stages of generalized social phobia to explain the extent of anxious nature can impact on the working memory performance (Amir, Bomyea, 2011). Also they could select a sample that represents the population and has equal number of participants in both groups to improve accuracy. Moreover, in this study 72% of GSP and 50% NAC group represent female population which makes it unable to compare among the genders. So if the experiments can be conducted on genders we could understand how this anxious nature can have an impact on women and men that are equivalent in severity of the disorder to understand how powerful cognitive resources in both genders. This can also enable to assess the amount of damage that generalized social phobia can act on the cognitive resources in both genders WMC when a stimulus is a neutral one. This may in turn help to give proper attention to the people suffering from generalized social phobia and may recover easier with proper care for the individuals. Moreover, they could conduct experiment again with the DSM-5 criteria since it’s a recent version compared to DSM-IV text revised edition. References Amir, N., Bomyea, J. (2011). Working memory capacity in generalized social phobia.Journal Of Abnormal Psychology,120(2), 504-509. doi:10.1037/a0022849 APA (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Edition; DSM-5). Comer, R. J. (2010). Abnormal Psychology (7th Edition). New York: Worth Publishers.

Essay --

If you knocked someone’s tooth out, do you think it’s fair for that person to hit your tooth out? If so, you agree with a law written by King Hammurabi which states "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Hammurabi was one of the best known Mesopotamian kings, and ruled the Babylon Empire from 1792-50 B.C.E. As his kingdom grew he knew he had to bring together the groups he controlled. He combined all these laws from different places into one big code. Hammurabi was one of the first people to write laws about taxes. The difference between Hammurabi and all these people he took the ideas from, is that Hammurabi’s taxes were not like taxes you know today, he did tax the people for money but he also asked for grain and oils as payment. Hammurabi’s idea was to write laws to bring justice in the land, abolish the bad people, and protect the weak. Hammurabi was convinced that the gods selected him to bring truth and structure to his people, and he took this task very passionately. Shortly after rising to power, he created his Code, 282 laws written to explain all relationships a...

of mice and men :: essays research papers

Why do we have dreams? We have dreams because that is what we want in life. With out a dream we would have no reason to live. In the book Of Mice And Men there is lennie an george who share a dream of copanionship. Lennie is a large, mentlly handicapped man. Lennie need George because of his handicap. He would be all alone and probably grow up to be ignorant and may hurt other people. For example in the beginning of the book he drinks some water out of a rivver that isn't running. George tell him he shouldn't drink water that isnt running because it may have bacteria in it. Lenny had no response to George. This prove lennies ignorance. He is because he had killed Curly's Wife, a mouse, and a puppy. Lennie killed Curly's Wife because she asked him if he want edth feel her soft hair. Lennie felt her hair and got carried away. She had gotten frightend and started screaming. lennie got frieghtend and started to shack here and then ended up breaking her neck. George is a small man. He to ok care of Lennie since Lennie was a little boy. George needs Lennie because George gets Lennies paycheck. He get Lennies paycheck to help them get closer to their dream. George also needs Lennies freindship. In the book George says "Guys like us, that work on ranches are the lonliest guys in the world. They got no family. They dont belong no place." and Lennie says "But not us! an' why? Because I got you to look after me an' you got me to look after you and thats why." This quotation tells us why they have their dream and why it is so importantto them. George and Lenny's dreamis to own a ranch. George in the book, says, "We'll have a big vegtable patch an' rabbit hutch an' chickens. And when it rains in the winter we'll just say "The hell with goin to work" and we'll biuld up a fire in the stoveand set around it an' listen to the rain come down on the roof.

Frankenstein, the Novel :: essays research papers fc

How does information about early cognitive development relate to violence the creatures commits?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human cognition is the study of how people think and understand. As part of growing up, there are four stages called the cognitive developmental stages that an individual goes through. From the sensory motor stage to the formal operational stage, human beings learn to interpret their surroundings of everyday life experiences. However, in the case of the Creature in the novel, Frankenstein, he was never developed in a cognitive way, and therefore, the creature was passively torn by opposing forces of human beings in his surrounding environments. Overall, cognitive development and the relation between the Creature’s turn towards violence is a result of neglect, psychological indifferences, and lack of socialization skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a variety of perspectives and emphases within cognitive psychology of human beings. Psychological indifferences of the Creature creates conflicts within himself and his surroundings. If an individual has a different view of life, the resulting factor may be psychologically challenging. This Creature was brought to life with grotesque looks and an abnormal brain. He did not know any concepts to the environment surrounding him, and therefore, was a child in an adult’s body. According to Jean Piaget, when the Creature was first brought to life, he is in the ‘sensory motor stage’ of human development. This is the level at which â€Å"individuals experience the world only through their senses† (Macionis 65). Since the Creature was never taught right from wrong, he thought that whatever he was doing was the right concept. It is obvious that we do not commit acts of murder; however, in the Creature’s world of his own, he though t an act of murder was entertainment and dramatizing when he first comes into contact with a little girl. For example, when the little girl comes and asks the Creature to play with her, he ends up throwing her into the lake, drowning her because she can not swim (Frankenstein). If this Creature was psychologically taught that he is larger than other humans and needs to be cautious with how he handles situations, such circumstances might be prevented. In a movie version titled, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature and his creator, Victor Frankenstein are in a cave and they are both arguing with each other about the events that has happened with the murdering of Victor’s relatives. The Creature responds to Victor’s statements with, â€Å"You gave me these emotions, but you did not tell me how to use them† (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein).

Nova Scotia should join the Canadian Confederation. Essay

I will explain why Nova Scotia should join the Canadian Confederation from two aspects. The two aspects are defense security, economy and trade. First, I’ll talk about defense security. Nova Scotia is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, convenient for maritime transportation and has pleasant climate and abundant resources. Also it is the closest landing site that European colonists immigrate to Canada mainland and an international important port. So Nova Scotia has very important strategic position. It’s the starting point of European going into Canada or attempting to invade Canada. Because of these, Nova Scotia used to be the focus of the Anglo-French colonists’ interests for the region. In addition, many pirates often infested in Oak Island which is located in the east of Nova Scotia. Local resident masses had no means to live. And the area of Nova Scotia is very small, from the perspective of war, it is flimsy. If Nova Scotia doesn’t join the Canadian Confederation, it will be captured when colonists invade. If Nova Scotia joins the Canadian Confederation, the Canadian Confederation will be the most powerful backing. Second, I’ll talk a bout economy and trade. Nova Scotia is surrounded by water. Most people on the island are fishing for their living. Most of their wares are transported to Canada inland various areas and they trade with these areas. This is the major revenue stream of Nova Scotia. However, there are so many invaders and pirates in the island, it doesn’t have a safe convenient channel to transport wares to Canada inland. When we transport wares to Canada inland, we still need to pay a lot of taxes. So revenue stream is not enough stable. In addition, the number of people on the island is small and industry is relatively single. Some of necessities need to be imported from Canada inland. These imported necessities are also interfered because of the reasons I just said. So life can’t get security. In the other side, Nova Scotia is an important port for transportation and relatively close to Europe and United States. It is very suit for international trading. However, if security is not guaranteed, it won’t be able to get better development. Beyond these, if Nova Scotia joins the Canadian Confederation, we can put more focus on the development of international trade and local industry, and use the Canadian Confederation’s funds and technology to build railways and roads et al. We can also use its education and medical resources to improve the local infrastructure and raise the level of resident’s life. Finally, if Nova Scotia joins the Canadian Confederation, it can get good security safeguard. Its economy can get better development. The residents will also live better. So, Nova Scotia should join the Canadian Confederation.

Describe Some Difficulties You Face

When studying a particular language, it seems that everyone has to carefully prepare for many things, such as many grammatical terms, new words, as well as sentence structures. In fact, as time passed people will deeply comprehend why a language has to follow several rules and some exceptions. Most people just think a language only contains few aspects such as grammar or words, which is so easy for learners to understand. In fact, there are a lot of burdens as well as difficulties which one will run into when he or she really wants to fully have a clear picture.Take English as a prime example. Obviously, English is more and more spoken around the world. In fact, there are many English levels in which one needs to realize when studying English. For example, in beginner or pre-intermediate levels, English seems to be easy for most people, because people just gain some basic words and most time they use English for only communicative purposes. However, far beyond these levels, learners will enter a much tougher level of English-studying, especially English uesed in many academic domains or many literary purposes.Thus, in these fields, English is no longer something easy; people have to meticulously understand how to precisely use English both in words and many grammatical points. For one thing, it is very easy to use English in many informal contexts, people feel free to express their ideas, talk about what they think and so on†¦ Nevertheless, in some formal situations, particularly in academic writings, it is very difficult for us to determine who will be readers. In practice, the audiences may be our friends, professors or someone else.Therefore, we have to devise a formal essay which not only shows our respects to readers, also give them impression of what we wrote. A problem here is how we can know or have an idea whether the way we are writing is formal. Moreover, how formal we can make to give a clear picture for the readers or too many formalities can cause confusion to out audiences. To solve this problem effectively, we have to practice writing as much as we can to see our weaknesses and learn many important lessons from previous mistakes.In addition, we can also read several English books to have a grip on how many native English write to model ourselves on the way they think and write. Another point is the usage of words. Apparently, there is no doubt that we will write what we think. However, what if there are many same words in just one passage. Readers will be bored because there is no attraction, emphasis to highlight main points. Hence, learning new words is particularly essential when studying English. But the difficulty is how we can use a word in a right context. To better illustrate, think about the two words â€Å"tall† and â€Å"high†.Obviously, these two words are used to measure a length of an object. Tall will be used to talk about height of a person or tree. But it cannot be used to mention qualit y, size or degree. No one says â€Å"a tall temperature or speed†. As a result when learning a new word besides remembering its meaning we need to have a very good idea of how we can apply it in right contexts. To conclusion, there are many vital aspects that we need to consider when learning a language. Keep practice using language regularly is the best way which we can use it perfectly.

University of Washington Admissions

The challenging family situation I would like to share with you is our move from Korea to the United States. In 1989, my life was changed when my family immigrated to a new country, hoping for a better future. My life in Korea was hopeless, because I was a failing student with not much interest in school. I spent the majority of my time in Arcades, wasting my coins on video games. Rather than studying with my friends, as I had told my parents I would, I obsessed over the games. The only positive aspect to my life was my private computer programming lessons. Programming in Apple BASIC presented me with an opportunity to create my own world. One day, my parents told me that we were going to move to the United States of America, and I developed a strong feeling that my life soon would change forever. After spending eleven years in Korea, our family moved a totally different environment. This I knew would be my toughest challenge to date. As a fifth grader attending a new elementary school in a new country, I felt left out because of my inability to communicate. Some kids assumed that I did not understand them at all, so they made rude remarks about me. I understood them, maybe not completely, but I knew the intent of their messages. All that I had was my Apple II computer at which I just sat and programmed when I came home from school. At home, my parents pressured me to study all of the time, but I was frustrated and wanted to return to Korea. I wanted to go back and talk freely with my friends and play games with them. My parents often told me that they decided to move here because of the educational opportunities, yet I continued to rebel and refused to listen to what they said. Over time, my English improved. I moved on to regular sixth grade classes; some of which were challenging, but tolerable because of my teachers whom were willing to help. I always enjoyed class trips to the computer lab, where I would start programming on the computer. Other kids would start to gather around and treat me like a genius. Before long, I made more friends and found that I was enjoying school. Thoughts of going back to Korea faded, and my grades rose to a satisfactory level. This pleased my parents who now encouraged me to invite friends to dinner. When my friends came over, I became the translator between my parents and my friends. Since then, I often translate for my parents in any occasion where translation is needed. Talking to some adults was intimidating and sometimes embarrassing, but I felt mature and responsible. The rest of my school year went by very smoothly, and my self-confidence grew. Now I help other Korean people with language difficulties, helping them to understand English and American customs. Prior to my arrival to the United States, I thought everything would be nice and easy, but it did not turn out that way. Life was difficult, since I had to learn a new language, culture, and customs. One of the best things I learned was that my parents were right. This experience helped change me from a hopeless kid to a confident and responsible young adult. From this experience, I have learned that if one sets goals, works hard towards those goals, dedicates oneself to those goals, and takes advantage of opportunities presented, they can achieve anything.