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The authors describe a development of the Czech version of the Over-claiming Questionnaire (OCQ) in relation to the work of Delroy Paulhus. First, the authors created the longer version (OCQ-150) and subsequently the shortened version (OCQ-100), which contains 100 items in 10 knowledge-based categories. Each category includes 8 items, which exist and 2 items, which do not exist. By the calculation of the accuracy index and the bias index we can get information about how much a proband has a tendency to distinguish real concepts from the unreal concepts and how much tendency a proband has to accept the concept or reject it. The test confirmed the ability to differentiate between the participants of selection procedure, who have a high motivation for good performance and those from general population without such a motivation. The authors recommend a further use of OCQ-100 for research, especially in the area of selection procedures. (Fulltext in Czech)

Reduced impulse control and emotion dysregulation are associated with an increased risk of violence in psychosis. We used an emotional stop-signal task (ESST) with angry and neutral facial expressions stimuli to examine the differences in inhibition in neutral and emotional contexts between acutely violent (N = 117) and non-violent (N = 50) patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and healthy volunteers (N = 50). However, 66 violent patients (56.41%) from the final sample with a higher level of self-reported impulsivity did not finish the behavioral task. Inhibition was found to be weaker in emotional than in neutral contexts in both the violent (n = 51) and non-violent patient groups in comparison with healthy controls. At the same time, violent patients had weaker inhibition in both neutral and emotional contexts than non-violent patients and healthy controls. Violent patients also showed significant associations between response inhibition and positive schizophrenia symptoms. These results show that emotion regulation impairment is present in schizophrenia patients in general and violent behavior is associated with higher impulsivity regardless of the emotional context. Impaired response inhibition seems to be a stronger indicator for violent patients than the disorder itself, and it may constitute a marker for the risk of violent behavior in psychotic patients. Positive symptoms might fall into underlying factors of increased impulsivity in acutely violent psychotic patients. However, the emotional stop-signal task seemed to be too strenuous for highly impulsive patients and acutely violent patients with psychosis, and its use was limited to the patients who were able or willing to complete the task., Author(s): Veronika Jurícková [sup.1] [sup.2] , Pavla Linhartová [sup.3] , Petr Adámek [sup.1] [sup.4] , Andrea Nichtová [sup.2] [sup.5] , Jakub Figueroa [sup.6] , Marek Páv [sup.5] , Marek Preiss [...]

A relatively large literature suggests that hypothetical and potentially real monetary rewards yield similar patterns of responses in delay (DD) and probability (PD) discounting. However, the much smaller literature concerning hypothetical versus potentially real cigarettes is more mixed and the generalizability of findings from both of these literatures outside the United States is unclear. The present study extended research comparing hypothetical and potentially real delayed and probabilistic monetary and cigarette outcomes to adult smokers (N = 59) in the Czech Republic using a within-subjects design. Comparison of hypothetical versus potentially real outcomes across tasks revealed Czech smokers discounted the value of potentially real cigarettes (but not money) more steeply than hypothetical cigarettes on the DD, but not PD, task. Findings also suggest a gender effect in which male participants discounted the value of money and cigarette outcomes more than did women for DD (but not PD). The relevance to methodological factors, cultural factors, and gender effects in discounting are discussed. Keywords Delay discounting * Probability discounting * Hypothetical outcomes * Cigarette smoking * Gender, Introduction Delay discounting (DD) and probability discounting (PD) are behavioral measures of choice that indicate the extent to which an individual is sensitive to delayed (in DD) and probabilistic (in [...]

In recent years, attention has been focused on investigating the effectiveness of composite memory intervention programs with different age and diagnostics groups. The goal of this study was to measure changes in cognitive lapses by Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) in a large trained, dementia free group (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] greater than 26). The CFQ was administrated to older adults before training (Wave 1), after training (Wave 2), and in a six-month follow-up (Wave 3) to an experimental (N = 77; memory training) and control sample (N = 78, no intervention). Significant changes in subjective cognitive functioning in the experimental group and a plateau curve in the control group were observed. The results indicate support for the efficiency of a large memory-training group in promoting subjective cognitive functioning. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Objective. Although previous studies pointed to various aspects of social distance and conflicts with representatives of otherness, associations with objectively measured aspects of personality in the form of a semi-structure interview combined with observation are less common. Based on previous studies, this study focused on the relationship between social distance and conflicts with representatives of otherness. It was hypothesized that the lower the personality functioning, the higher will be social distance and more conflicts with representatives of otherness will be reported. We assumed that impaired empathy would be associated with higher social distance in comparison with other variables of personality functioning derived from Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) - identity, self-direction and intimacy. Sample and methods. Participants (N = 2 04) w ere r ecruited f rom s everal c ontrast g roups i ncluding clinical and measures focused on conflicts, personality functioning (STiP-5.1), social distance (Bogardus Social Distance Scale). Additionally, several related methods were used. Results. Increased impairments in identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy were associated with a higher degree of subjective importance of conflicts with representatives of otherness. Greater social distance was associated with impairments in self-direction and empathy. However, social distance was found independent of subjectively experienced conflicts. Multivariate linear regressions showed that social distance was predicted by education, racism, and personality functioning (STiP-5.1 - Self-direction), BR and SR scores, explaining 58 per cent of the variance. Conclusions. The subjective importance of conflicts and social distance to representatives of otherness is associated with AMPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our primary goal was to determine the sources of assaultive behaviour in acutely psychotic patients. To find a few underlying structures for many different questions regarding assaultive behaviour based on Nolan's semi-structured interview, the Assaults Interview Checklist (AIC), we used factor analysis. Data of 289 psychiatric patients in acute psychotic states perpetrating 820 assaultive attacks were analysed using the polychoric correlation matrix of the AIC items and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). We found five independent factors, i.e. underlying structures of assaultive behaviour: Predatory factors, Personality, Acute psychosis, Contextual Factors, and Cognitive control with high factor loadings explaining an overall 69% of the variance in the acute psychotic assaults. In women, the largest factor loadings were in Personality with Predatory/Psychopathic factors second, whereas in men Psychotic with Predatory gains played the prominent role. We interpret current findings in the framework of the triarchic theory of aggression in psychosis (psychotic, impulsive and predatory/psychopathic) when Predatory factors are dominant with interrelated facets of Personality and Contextual factors, whereas Acute psychosis contributes to psychotic and Cognitive control to impulsive factors. Surprisingly, our analyses show the possible evolutionary role of aggression (co-opting the resources of others) even in an acute psychotic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

about a group of children who lost their parents at an early age during World War II, were placed in the Terezín concentration camp and after the liberation of Czechoslovakia were sent to England, where they were provided with comprehensive support. The article focuses on two sources of psychoanalytically oriented authors - a study by Anna Freud and Sophie Dann entitled An experiment with group upbringing (Freud and Dann, 1951), which is an example of annual monitoring of the development of deprived children and a study by Sarah Moskovitz (1983, 1985) documenting further development of Terezín children in adulthood. From a psychological point of view observations indicate the possibility of good adaptation even after severe deprivation in childhood. From a historical point of view, this is a documentation of the fate of Jewish children connected with their stay in Terezín, the engagement of a number of interested helpers, including Anna Freud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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