Ambiguous Story Research Articles

The Search for Meaning after Pregnancy Loss: An Autoethnography

The focus of this autoethnography is the often hidden and marginalized experience of pregnancy loss. Through an exploration of “the search for meaning” in the aftermath of three different losses over a period of 9 years, I seek to problematize Western discourses which, influenced by Enlightenment ideals, adhere to linear notions of progress. Such discourses can be argued to sustain an imperative to create positive meaning from traumatic life experience, to gain beneficial insight from suffering, and ultimately to triumph over adversity. In articulating a messier and more ambiguous story, the difficulties of living through and voicing experience, which fails to conform to such a framework, is highlighted.

Interpretation of Ambiguous Information in Girls at Risk for Depression

Research has consistently documented that depressed individuals process information in a negatively biased manner. There is little evidence, however, concerning whether these biases represent risk factors for depression, as is hypothesized by cognitive models. In the present study we investigated whether a particular cognitive bias observed in currently depressed individuals, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information negatively, characterizes daughters of depressed mothers, a population known to be at increased risk for depression. Following a negative mood induction, young daughters of depressed and never-disordered mothers completed two information-processing tasks in which their interpretations of emotionally ambiguous stimuli were evaluated. Daughters of depressed mothers interpreted ambiguous words more negatively and less positively, and ambiguous stories more negatively, than did daughters of never-disordered mothers. These results provide support for cognitive vulnerability models of depression.

‘But I listen to children anyway!’—teacher perspectives on pupil voice

This paper explores the perspectives of teachers who initially observed, and later came to participate in, a pupil voice initiative in a primary school. Such ‘marginal’ points of view are often neglected in discussions of youth participation. The article aims to demonstrate that whilst adult support for pupil voice is crucial in ensuring its success and sustainability, it is important to recognise the demands it places on teachers, for instance in changing their identities as professionals and their relations both with children and with other staff. Methodologically, it offers a case‐study approach, drawing on research notes and data gathered during a two‐year period in which a deputy head attempted to develop pupil voice in a primary school and focusing on her own account of how the other teachers responded to her work. It shows that, whilst children seemed to rise quickly to the challenge of pupil voice ways of working and being, the perceptions, experiences and reactions of the teachers tell a more ambiguous story of the complexities that emerge as intentions are implemented. At the same time, the article offers insights into how pupil voice can be implemented in ways that help achieve positive outcomes for all involved.

Social anxiety and cognitive biases in non-referred children: The interaction of self-focused attention and threat interpretation biases

Cognitive-behavioral models of social phobia emphasize the combined effects of cognitive biases in the maintenance of the condition, and recent findings in adults implicate self-focused attention as one such bias. However, research examining self-focus in youth is limited. This investigation examined the causal role of self-focused attention on threat interpretation biases in a community sample of 175 socially anxious children. Self-focused attention was experimentally induced via a mirror manipulation procedure and self-focused attention was assessed before and after mirror exposure. Social interpretation biases were examined via an ambiguous stories task with half of the children completing the task in front of a mirror and the other half without a mirror. Social anxiety predicted self-focus and threat interpretation bias. The mirror manipulation did not have an effect on focus of attention or on threat interpretation bias, nor did it interact with social anxiety. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Violent video games and anger as predictors of aggression

Considerable research has demonstrated that playing violent video games can increase aggression. The theoretical framework upon which a good deal of this research has rested is known as the General Aggression Model (GAM; [Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51]). The current study tested an assumption of the GAM by examining if the dispositional trait of anger moderated the relation between violent video games and aggression. A total of 167 undergraduate students (79 females, 88 males) first completed a measure of anger and were then randomly assigned to play either a non-violent or violent video game. After the video game play period, participants completed ambiguous story stems in order to assess aggression. Consistent with predictions of the GAM, anger significantly moderated the effect of video game violence on aggression. Specifically, participants who were angry were more affected by violent video games than participants who were not angry.

Maternal Appraisal Styles, Family Risk Status and Anger Biases of Children

The present study investigated the relationship between maternal appraisal styles, family risk status, and anger biases in children. Participants included 90 mothers and their children between 3-6 years of age. Eighty families were followed up 1 year later. Maternal appraisal styles were assessed via a naturalistic story-reading method, and Time 1 and Time 2 emotion biases included teacher ratings of anger and aggression, peer ratings of anger, as well as classroom and playground observations of anger. While discussing ambiguous stories with their children, mothers with higher scores on the family risk index utilized more hostile appraisals and fewer prosocial appraisals in their explanations. A higher proportion of hostile-to-prosocial appraisals was also related to higher-risk family status. Prosocial appraisals by mothers were inversely correlated with children's anger biases at school. When the appraisal balance in mothers' talk favored hostile appraisals, children tended to show higher levels of anger biases evidenced at school. Finally, a hostile balance of maternal appraisals was found to predict change in children's anger biases in the school with different effects in high- and low-risk families.

Family influences on dysfunctional thinking in anxious children

AbstractAnxious children are found to interpret ambiguous stories in a negative way. The current study attempted to examine the possible influence of parental fear and parental interpretation bias on the maintenance of such an interpretation bias. Children varying in level of anxiety (n=25) and their parents, filled in a questionnaire to measure their own fears, and gave their interpretations concerning nine ambiguous stories, relevant for childhood ‘interactional’ anxieties: social anxiety, separation anxiety, and generalized anxiety. Then, parents were asked to talk with their children about three of the stories. After the family discussion the children had to give their final interpretations. Results indicated that parents' self‐reported fear level and interpretation bias were associated with children's interpretation bias before the family discussion. However, no evidence was found for the idea that parents maintain or enhance the interpretation bias of their children. That is, irrespective of parental fear and parental interpretation bias, children interpreted the ambiguous stories as less negative after discussing them with their parents. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Anxiety, Threat Perception Abnormalities, and Emotional Reasoning in Nonclinical Dutch Children

Examined the relation between childhood anxiety and threat-perception abnormalities using vignettes in which external (i.e., exposure to potential threat cues) and internal (i.e., experience of anxiety responses) information were systematically varied. Nonclinical children (N = 156) aged 8 to 13 years completed anxiety questionnaires and were then exposed to 3 types of stories: ambiguous stories, ambiguous + anxiety- response stories, and nonthreatening stories. From children's responses to these stories, a number of threat-perception indexes were derived. Results showed that both external and internal information inflated children's perception of threat. Further, high levels of anxiety were accompanied by enhanced threat perception in response to external threat cues. Finally, little evidence was found that high levels of anxiety, and in particular of anxiety sensitivity, were associated with a greater tendency to use internal information (i.e., emotional reasoning). Potential avenues for future studies on anxiety-related threat-perception distortions are briefly discussed.

The stability of threat perception abnormalities and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children.

The current study examined the temporal stability of threat perception abnormalities and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children. One-hundred-and-thirteen primary school children aged 9 to 13 years completed a self-report measure of anxiety disorder symptoms, and were interviewed individually using an ambiguous story paradigm from which a number of threat perception indices were derived. The assessment was repeated some 4 weeks later, so that it became possible to study prospective relationships for threat perception abnormalities and anxiety disorder symptoms. Results indicated that, on both occasions, anxiety disorder symptoms were significantly associated with threat perception abnormalities. Furthermore, threat perception abnormalities were moderately stable with test-retest correlations between 0.44 and 0.63 for the various threat indices and a test-retest correlation of 0.61 for the threat perception composite score. Finally, no evidence was obtained for a direct prospective link between threat perception and anxiety disorder symptoms. Implications for the role of threat perception distortions in the maintenance of anxiety complaints in children are briefly discussed.

Violent Video Games and Hostile Expectations: A Test of the General Aggression Model

Research conducted over several decades has shown that violent media increase aggression. It is now time to move beyond the question of whether violent media increase aggression to answering the question why violent media increase aggression. The present research tested whether violent video games produce a hostile expectation bias—the tendency to expect others to react to potential conflicts with aggression. Participants (N = 224) played either a violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts. They were asked what the main character will do, say, think, and feel as the story continues. People who played a violent video game described the main character as behaving more aggressively, thinking more aggressive thoughts, and feeling more angry than did people who played a nonviolent video game. These results are consistent with the General Aggression Model.

Threat perception abnormalities in children: the role of anxiety disorders symptoms, chronic anxiety, and state anxiety

This study investigated the relative contribution of general (trait) anxiety and state anxiety to threat perception abnormalities in nonreferred children aged 8–13 years ( N=299). Children were first asked to complete self-report measures of anxiety disorders symptoms and chronic anxiety. Next, they were individually interviewed using an ambiguous story paradigm from which a number of threat perception indexes were derived. Just before the interview started, children were asked to fill out a measure of state anxiety. Results showed that high levels of general anxiety (as indexed by anxiety disorders symptoms and chronic anxiety) were significantly related to increased threat perception and lower threat thresholds. High levels of state anxiety were also associated with increased threat perception and lower threat thresholds. Regression analyses indicated that general anxiety and state anxiety both accounted for a unique proportion of the variance in threat perception abnormalities, although the contribution of general anxiety was in most cases substantially larger than that of state anxiety. Finally, no support was found for the notion that threat perception abnormalities are the result of the conjoint influence of general anxiety and state anxiety.

Gender differences in implicit prejudice

In three experiments ( n =131), we examined gender differences in implicit (and explicit) racial prejudice employing priming of immigrant and Swedish facial photographs without attention or without awareness. Implicit prejudice was defined as the degree of negativity expressed toward a person described in a subsequent ambiguous story in an impression formation task. We found, contrary to our hypothesis, that women displayed systematically higher implicit prejudice than men in all three experiments, although men scored higher on explicit prejudice than women. The results are discussed against the background of related prejudice research, the dissociation of implicit and explicit prejudice, and gender differences in cognitive functioning, especially in the processing of pictorial stimuli.

Threat Perception Bias in Nonreferred, Socially Anxious Children

Investigated whether socially anxious children display a threat perception bias. A sample of 252 primary school children ages 8 to 13 years were exposed to ambiguous stories of social situations and instructed to find out as quickly as possible whether a story was scary. Furthermore, children were invited to tell how each story would end and to judge how they would feel when actually confronted with that situation. The main results can be summarized as follows. First, socially anxious children displayed lower thresholds for threat perception than control children. In other words, compared with control children, socially anxious children needed to hear fewer sentences of a story before deciding it was scary. Furthermore, socially anxious children more frequently perceived threat while listening to the stories than did control children. Finally, socially anxious children more often interpreted the stories as threatening and displayed higher levels of negative feelings and cognitions in relation to these stories compared with control children. These findings fit nicely in current information-processing theories of childhood anxiety. An additional aim of this study was to investigate the convergent validity of the social phobia scales of 2 recently developed self-report questionnaires for measuring anxiety disorder symptoms in children: the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (Spence, 1998) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (Birmaher et al., 1997). Results indicated that the social phobia scale of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and the extended social phobia scale of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders correlated substantially with a specific measure of social anxiety, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised.

“Danger is lurking everywhere”. The relation between anxiety and threat perception abnormalities in normal children

The present study examined the relation between anxiety and depression and threat perception abnormalities. Children were exposed to stories describing social situations. Some of the stories were ambiguous (i.e., these stories contained information that could be interpreted as threatening) whereas other stories were non-threatening (i.e., these stories contained no obvious trace of threat). From children's responses to the stories, several threat perception indices were derived. Children's level of anxiety and depression were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that high levels of anxiety were accompanied by a high frequency of threat perception, high ratings of threat, a high frequency of threatening interpretations, high levels of negative feelings and cognitions, and an early detection of threat. Interestingly, significant associations between anxiety and threat perception abnormalities were not only observed in response to ambiguous stories but also in relation to non-threatening scenarios. Furthermore, depression was also connected with threat perception distortions. Even when controlling for anxiety levels, depression remained significantly related to threat frequency, threat ratings, and threat thresholds.

Art and the Construction of Community in "The Death of the Lion"

Art and the Construction of Community in “The Death of the Lion” Paul B. Armstrong What are the uses of art in constructing community? And, conversely, what are the uses of community in construing art and constructing relations with authors and other readers? In “The Death of the Lion,” the author’s rapid rise to glory and equally sudden passing out of the limelight and into the grave leave the reader asking not only what care art deserves but also whether forms of social relation might be found that are reciprocal and mutually enhancing rather than conflictual, destructive, and violent. Contrary to widespread opinion, James does not view the private aesthetic realm as an authentic sphere of meaning and value which criticizes the fallen public world. 1 Similar battles for power, zero-sum games, and exclusionary structures occur in both domains. This replication of the communicative irrationalities of the public sphere in the realm of privacy does not mean, however, as some would have it, that art necessarily reinforces mechanisms of social control it only pretends to evade. 2 In “The Death of the Lion,” as in other of James’s ambiguous stories of authors and writing, the tale’s criticism of art’s misuses implies an alternative mode of caring for the aesthetic and of being with others nowhere dramatized in the text but enacted as a challenge to the reader through the mediation of its form of narration. Because identity and social forms are contingent structures of difference rather than intrinsic givens, they are open to a variety of uses and ends that are not predetermined. The question of how a community cares for art matters to James among other reasons because the contingency of identity and social relations can lead to opposing results. The instability of a world of differences can be invigorating and transformative, or the oppositions that make meaning possible can become the instruments and the stakes in conflicts between rival wills to power. The mutability of social forms can allow emancipatory acts of self-creation [End Page 99] which fixed structures would prevent, but it can also inspire projects of personal apotheosis that use contingency as a tool to assert ascendancy. Fluid relations can make possible a playful reciprocity based on mutual recognition and engagement, or they can become a field of contest between opponents who would structure them for their own purposes. 3 “The Death of the Lion” portrays art and artists as objects of a battle for power between rivals for ascendancy and as instruments for instituting exclusionary structures of domination and control. This negative picture points the question of whether, in a thoroughly contingent world, art can be used socially as a mediator fostering mutual recognition and an emancipatory exchange of differences. The act of reading might be a place where that could start, but the dilemma for the reader is that such a beginning can be made only by reading against the narrator and becoming his rival in a struggle to control the meaning of his tale. How the construction of the author may construct the community, and vice versa, is evident in how The Empire (a name that signals almost too loudly that issues of power and community-building are at stake) elevates Neil Paraday: The big blundering newspaper had discovered him, and now he was proclaimed and anointed and crowned. His place was assigned him as publicly as if a fat usher with a wand had pointed to the topmost chair; he was to pass up and still up, higher and higher, between the watching faces and the envious sounds—away up to the dais and the throne. The article was “epoch-making,” a landmark in his life; he had taken rank at a bound, waked up a national glory. A national glory was needed, and it was an immense convenience he was there. (110) The functions of exclusion and regulation in establishing fields of difference are on display here. If socially defining distinctions depend on the institution of a negative (the identity of something defined by what it is not), then, as here, an act of exclusion can inscribe differences through negation by placing someone in a...

Emotion and prior knowledge in memory and judged comprehension of ambiguous stories

Abstract Two experiments investigated the effects of experimentally induced mood states on memory and judged comprehension of stories. The experiments examined the issue of whether induction of a depressed mood would affect prose memory and comprehension and impair the ability of individuals to use prior knowledge, activated by way of a title, in remembering the passage. In Experiment 1, depressed subjects who were given a title for the passage recalled fewer idea units when compared with neutral control conditions, but no depressive deficit in recall occurred in the absence of a title. In Experiment 2 the same pattern of results occurred when subjects learned two successive passages. The depressive deficits obtained were interpreted in terms of a resource allocation model which proposes that emotional states increase the production of irrelevant, competing thoughts that interfere with processes important in remembering the criterion passage. Alternative explanations involving cognitive initiative and sch...

Encoding effects of remindings

Understanding requires prior knowledge. Most theories and empirical work on understanding have focused on the use of general prior knowledge. In the experiments presented here, we examined the role of specific prior episodes in understanding. Subjects read ambiguous stories that had some superficial cue to make them think back to an earlier story. Experiment 1 shows that a superficial cue to an earlier story affects how the new story is interpreted. Experiment 2, in which a reading-time measure was used, provides evidence that this effect of the earlier story occurs during the initial understanding of the new story. We discuss the implications of these results for theories of understanding and the use of remindings in analogy.

Chaucer’s “Court Baron”: Law and The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer’s “Court Baron”: Law and The Canterbury Tales

Intensity of amnesia during hypnosis is positively correlated with estimated prevalence of sexual abuse and alien abductions: implications for the false memory syndrome.

20 normal young women listened to an ambiguous story concerning a young boy who experienced fear, odd smells, and a smothering sensation during the night and skin lesions the next morning. After the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) had been established, they were asked to estimate either the percentage prevalence of childhood sexual abuse or alien abduction in the general population. There were moderate (0.50) positive correlations between the subjects' estimates of prevalence and the amount of amnesia ("lost time") and indices of right-hemispheric anomalies (history of sensed presence and left-ear suppressions during a dichotic-listening task). Relevance of observations to formation of the False Memory Syndrome and to the development of nonpsychotic delusions is discussed.

Ambiguous stimuli: Sex is in the eye of the beholder

It is usually assumed that sexual material is easily identifiable by its content. The present study investigated whether subjects could be led to interpret ambiguous material as sexual or not via simple instructions. Thematically ambiguous written text was presented to 269 subjects. The principal independent variable was the content of advance information. Advance information was designed to suggest that the accompanying text had either a sexual or a nonsexual theme. After reading the story and completing an intervening task, subjects completed recall and recognition tasks based on the text. These data were used to determine the theme or story interpretation given by subjects. The information contained in the advance organizers influenced subjects' memories for and interpretations of the ambiguous story. When the story was preceded by introductory information that suggested sexual content, subjects tended to attribute sexual meaning to the story. Other subjects attributed a nonsexual meaning to the same text when it was preceded by nonsexual information. Findings suggest that under certain conditions, sex is in the "eye of the beholder."