Scrambled Sentences Test Research Articles

Interplay among attention, appraisal, and memory bias in provisional posttraumatic stress disorder: Exploring the combined cognitive biases hypothesis.

Both theoretical and empirical studies suggest that negative cognitive biases significantly influence the onset and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, the interplay among these cognitive biases and their conjoint contribution to the long-term trajectory of posttraumatic stress symptoms remains underexplored. This study delves into the interplay among attention, appraisal, and memory biases within a provisional PTSD population and evaluates the predictive effects of two integrative models (weakest link, additive approach) on posttraumatic stress symptoms reported 2 months later. Sixty Chinese participants (Mage = 20.17, SDage = 2.11) with provisional PTSD undertook the scrambled sentences test (appraisal bias) with their eye movements recorded (attention bias) and then the free recall task (memory bias). Posttraumatic stress symptom was assessed at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Selective attention bias toward negative words was positively associated with the negative appraisal of scrambled sentences, which subsequently showed a strong association with negative memory bias. Regarding the progression of posttraumatic stress symptoms, the additive approach was found to be a more reliable predictor of self-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms at 2 months than the weak link approach. This study provides initial evidence supporting the combined cognitive biases hypothesis in provisional PTSD. It also underscores potential avenues to enhance cognitive bias modification techniques. Replication of these findings in broader clinical samples is essential. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE ANXIETY, SOCIAL ANXIETY AND COGNITIVE BIASES IN STUDENTS: A MEDIATION MODEL

State anxiety, as well as social anxiety, are portrayed as common phenomena experienced by students. However, the mechanisms which lead to their development are not yet fully known. Student mental health has become a global public health issue, thus understanding its potential underlying factors is particularly relevant. As anxiety is closely connected to the way students interpret information, cognitive biases are thought to play a key role in the development and maintenance of both state and social anxiety. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive biases of interpretation, state anxiety, and social anxiety. The second objective was to test a mediation model, more specifically, to test whether the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety can be explained by cognitive biases of interpretation. 127 students (M = 21.8, SD = 3.15, 84.3% women) enrolled at the University of Bucharest completed two online scales measuring state and social anxiety, over two months, between January and February 2021. Additionally, they completed the Scrambled Sentences Test, a computerized task that assesses cognitive biases of interpretation. Results indicated a positive association between all variables, more precisely, a significant positive correlation between social anxiety and cognitive biases of interpretation (r = .512, p < .001), social anxiety and state anxiety (r = .482, p < .001), and a significant positive correlation between cognitive biases of interpretation and state anxiety (r = .348, p < .001). The mediation analysis indicated that cognitive biases partly explain the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety. These preliminary findings have significant theoretical and practical significance regarding the importance of student mental health.

Cognitive processing biases associated with fear of childbirth

Fear of childbirth (FOC) is a phobic-like response concerning the prospect of giving birth. FOC can have negative implications for women during pregnancy and can impact their birthing experience. Cognitive processing biases (e.g., difficulty disengaging from threatening information, interpreting ambiguous information as threatening, and preferentially recalling threatening content) have previously been found to maintain general anxiety and low mood. To date, there has been no research assessing these attention, interpretation, and memory biases and their relationship with FOC in pregnant women. Accordingly, in this cross-sectional study, participants who were at least 12 weeks pregnant (n = 116), recruited through a local hospital trust, completed tasks assessing attention (emotional Stroop task), interpretation (scrambled sentences test), and explicit memory (recognition task) biases with materials including FOC-related content. They also completed three separate measures of FOC and measures of low mood, general anxiety, worry, and rumination. We found that a negative interpretation bias (but not attention or explicit memory biases) was associated with higher levels of FOC. These findings indicate that women presenting with higher FOC are more likely to demonstrate negative interpretation biases for ambiguous information relating to childbirth, which may inform research developing interventions to support women presenting with FOC.

Analysis of Students’ Ability to Rearrange Jumbled Sentences into an Effective Procedure Text

An explanation of how something is accomplished through a series of steps or actions is given in a procedure text. It has features of language, general structure, and text arrangement. The goal of this study was to find out whether or not students could successfully rearrange a collection of sentences into a process text. Descriptive research methodology was used. Students of vocational high school Kartika 1-2 Padang's second year made up the study's population. Forty students made up the samples. Utilizing proportional stratified random sampling, the sample was taken. The researcher used a writing test instrument called a scrambled sentence test to get the data for this study. According to the results, it can be said that the second-year students at vocational high school Kartika 1-2 Padang had a fair amount of aptitude for organizing sentences into an effective procedural text. Therefore, the teacher should go over the process text materials and encourage the pupils to learn more about procedure text.

Uncovering Negative Interpretation Bias in Remitted/Recovered Depression with Laboratory Task.

Objective: Research has demonstrated that individuals with a history of depression engage in complicated strategies (e.g., thought suppression) that may mask the possible existence of major depression. Increasing the mental strain, such as retrieving a six-digit number, may reveal depressive thinking in previously depressed individuals. This study examined the hypothesis that thought suppression could mask a cognitive vulnerability to depression and illustrated how cognitive tasks disrupt mind control. Method : This case-control study recruited 255 participants with a convenience sampling method conducted at the Razi Educational and Therapeutic Psychiatric Center (Tehran, Iran) in 2021. Participants were divided into five groups, then they were evaluated by a scrambled sentence test (SST) after random assignment to either mental load or no mental load conditions. The number of negative unscrambled statements was used as an index of negative interpretation bias. After gathering data, analysis of variance (ANOVA) for different group factors and conditions was carried out to test the main hypotheses. Results: The effect of the intervention provided to each group on the score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HRDS) was significant (F (4, 208) = 511.77, P < 0.001). A significant correlation (r = 0.36, P < 0.01) was found between depression (HDRS) and negative interpretive bias (SST). Analysis of ANOVA has revealed a significant effect on the group (F (4, 412) = 14.94, P < 0.001). The effect of the mental load was not significant (F (4, 412) = 0.09, P = 0.75), but the group × load interaction was significant (F (4, 412) = 5.03, P < 0.001). Post hoc test was used to draw multiple comparisons between the five groups. Conclusion: The results revealed that people who are vulnerable to depressive disorders are predominantly engaged in thought suppression, which can conceal their depressogenic thinking until cognitive requests consume their mind control efforts.

Development and psychometric evaluation of a scrambled sentences test specifically for worry in individuals with generalised anxiety disorder

The tendency to draw negative conclusions from ambiguous information (interpretation bias) is prevalent across emotional disorders and plays a key role in the development and maintenance of pathological worry and anxious mood. Assessing interpretation bias using valid and reliable measures is central to empirical research. A commonly used measure of interpretation bias is the scrambled sentences test (SST), originally relating to depression. Given the association between interpretation bias and worry, we aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a new version of the SST with items pertaining to common worry domains for use in worry and anxiety research. In Studies 1–3 (analogue samples, combined N = 288), the new worry SST showed excellent construct validity (moderate-to-strong associations with worry and anxiety-related measures), and reliability (split-half and test-retest reliability). We confirmed construct validity in Study 4 (N = 215 individuals with generalised anxiety disorder). Furthermore, we demonstrated version specificity in analogue and clinical samples: the worry SST was associated with trait worry but not trait rumination, while the original depression SST largely showed the opposite pattern. Overall, the new worry SST is a psychometrically robust measure that may be especially useful for research into cognitive processes underpinning worry and anxiety.

Internet-delivered interpretation training reduces worry and anxiety in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled experiment.

Objective: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a debilitating condition, characterized by negative interpretations about ambiguous situations. This study tested whether entirely internet-delivered interpretation training [cognitive bias modification (CBM)] versus control promotes positive interpretations and reduces worry and anxiety in individuals with GAD, with or without depression. Method: A two-arm (CBM; control) parallel-group randomized controlled experiment. Assessments were preintervention (T0), postintervention (T1), 1-month (T2) postintervention, and 3-month (T3) postintervention. Participants with GAD (with or without comorbid depression) were randomly allocated to either CBM (n = 115) or control (n = 115). Participants, but not researchers, were blind to allocated condition. Participants completed up to 10 online CBM or control sessions across 1 month. Interpretation bias [coprimary outcomes: scrambled sentence test (SST), recognition test (RT)], and number of negative thought intrusions during a breathing focus task were measured at T0 and T1. Self-reported levels of worry [Penn State Worry Questionnaire-trait (PSWQ trait); Penn State Worry Questionnaire-past week (PSWQ weekly)], anxiety [Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)], depression [Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)], rumination [Ruminative Response Scale (RRS)], and repetitive negative thinking [RNT; Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire-trait (RTQ-trait)] were assessed at T0-T3. Results: The per-protocol analyses included N = 186 participants (CBM n = 94; control n = 92). As predicted, we found moderate-to-large training effects on the primary outcome of interpretation bias at T1. Secondary outcomes of negative thought intrusions at T1 and self-reported symptoms at T2 were all significantly lower in the CBM versus control condition. All but one effect (trait RNT) were sustained at T3. Conclusions: In this randomized controlled study, we found that fully online interpretation training ameliorated core features of GAD in individuals with or without comorbid depression up to 3 months posttraining. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Using Three Indirect Measures to Assess the Role of Sexuality-Related Associations and Interpretations for Women\u2019s Sexual Desire: An Internet-Based Experimental Study

Theoretical models emphasize the role of both automatic appraisals (i.e., associations) and conscious appraisals (i.e., interpretations) for sexual desire. Studies on sexuality-related appraisals have not combined self-report measures and experimental paradigms in order to compare the relevance of associations or interpretations. The aim of this study was to assess the relative contribution of both associations and interpretations to the explanation of low sexual desire in women. Toward this goal, indirect measures assessing associations (via a Single Target Implicit Association Test [STIAT]) and interpretations (via a Scrambled Sentences Test [SST] and a scenario task) were administered in a sample of 263 women (Mage = 27.90, SD 8.27) with varying levels of sexual desire and different sexual orientations (exclusively heterosexual women: 54.6%). Negative sexuality-related interpretations as assessed with two variants of the SST as well as the scenario task added to the explanation of lower sexual desire in women. Negative associations as measured with the STIAT were predictive of lower sexual desire only in women who did not indicate an exclusively heterosexual orientation. In this study, sexuality-related interpretations were more relevant to women’s sexual desire than automatic associations. Future studies should assess the causal mechanism underlying sexuality-related interpretations (e.g., by evaluating whether these can be changed via cognitive bias modification techniques or psychological treatments).

How does creativity influence dishonest behavior? An empirical study of Chinese students

ABSTRACT This research aims to clarify the relationship between creativity and dishonesty. Study 1 (N = 74) examined whether creativity primed by the scrambled sentence test could influence dishonesty. The results showed that primed individuals were less likely to act dishonestly. Study 2 (N = 134) investigated the association between creative style and spontaneous (using a visual perception task) and instructed dishonesty (differentiation-of-deception paradigm). Rule-followers more often implemented spontaneous dishonest behavior but showed low accuracy in instructed lying tasks. The findings expand our understanding of the correlation between creativity and unethical behavior, which may improve moral creative talents.

Priming autonomous and controlling motivation and effects on persistence

The present studies examined whether priming distinct motivational states influenced persistence at a task designed to promote repeated failure, and post-task plans for engaging in self-regulatory activity. Two double-blind, between-subject experiments (Study 1: N = 58; Study 2: N = 92) involved participants being randomized to Autonomous Motivation, Controlling Motivation, or Neutral prime conditions using a scrambled-sentence test. Participants then attempted an impossible persistence task that promoted repeated failure. Following, participants reported their plans to engage in exercise. Using frequentist and Bayesian analyses, Study 1, Study 2, and an internal meta-analysis showed no differences in persistence or planned exercise across priming conditions, thus contrasting with previous research. Unanticipated moderation effects or motivational priming effects being smaller than those inputted into a priori power analyses may be the most likely reasons for these findings.

A Computerized Version of the Scrambled Sentences Test.

The scrambled sentences test (SST), an experimental procedure that involves participants writing down their cognitions, has been used to elicit individual differences in depressiveness and vulnerability to depression. We describe here a modification of the SST to adapt it to computerized administration, with a particular view of its use in large samples and functional neuroimaging applications. In a first study with the computerized version, we reproduce the preponderance of positive cognitions in the healthy and the inverse association of these cognitions with individual measures of depressiveness. We also report a tendency of self-referential cognitions to elicit higher positive cognition rates. In a second study, we describe the patterns of neural activations elicited by emotional and neutral sentences in a functional neuroimaging study, showing that it replicates and extends previous findings obtained with the original version of the SST. During the formation of emotional cognitions, ventral areas such as the ventral anterior cingulus and the supramarginal gyrus were relatively activated. This activation pattern speaks for the recruitment of mechanisms coordinating motivational and associative processes in the formation of value-based decisions.

Unscrambling jumbled sentences: An authentic task for English language assessment?

Jumbled sentence items in language assessment have been criticized by some authors as inauthentic. However, unscrambling jumbled sentences is a common occurrence in real-world communication in English as a lingua franca. Naturalistic inquiry identified 54 instances of jumbled sentence use in daily life in Dubai/Sharjah, where English is widely used as a lingua franca. Thus it is seen that jumbled sentence test items can reflect real-world language use. To evaluate scrambled sentence test items, eight test item types developed from one jumbled sentence instance (“Want taxi Dubai you?”) were analyzed in terms of interactivity and authenticity. Items ranged from being completely decontextualized, non-interactive, and inauthentic to being fully contextualized, interactive, and authentic. To determine appropriate assessment standards for English tests in schools in this region, the English language standards for schools and English language requirements for university admission in the UAE were analyzed. Schools in Dubai/Sharjah use Inner Circle English varieties of English (e.g., British or American English) as the standard for evaluation, as well as non-native-English-speaker varieties (e.g., Indian English(es)). Also, students applying to English-medium universities in the UAE must meet the required scores on standardized English tests including the IELTS and TOEFL. Standards for evaluation of communication in English involving tasks of jumbled sentences in classroom tests must reflect the language learning goals of the school and community. Thus standards for classroom assessment of English in Dubai/Sharjah are determined by local schools’ and universities’ policies.

Effects of subtle cognitive manipulations on placebo analgesia - An implicit priming study.

BackgroundExpectancy is widely accepted as a key contributor to placebo effects. However, it is not known whether non‐conscious expectancies achieved through semantic priming may contribute to placebo analgesia. In this study, we investigated if an implicit priming procedure, where participants were unaware of the intended priming influence, affected placebo analgesia.MethodsIn a double‐blind experiment, healthy participants (n = 36) were randomized to different implicit priming types; one aimed at increasing positive expectations and one neutral control condition. First, pain calibration (thermal) and a credibility demonstration of the placebo analgesic device were performed. In a second step, an independent experimenter administered the priming task; Scrambled Sentence Test. Then, pain sensitivity was assessed while telling participants that the analgesic device was either turned on (placebo) or turned off (baseline). Pain responses were recorded on a 0–100 Numeric Response Scale.ResultsOverall, there was a significant placebo effect (p < 0.001), however, the priming conditions (positive/neutral) did not lead to differences in placebo outcome. Prior experience of pain relief (during initial pain testing) correlated significantly with placebo analgesia (p < 0.001) and explained 34% of placebo variance. Trait neuroticism correlated positively with placebo analgesia (p < 0.05) and explained 21% of placebo variance.ConclusionsPriming is one of many ways to influence behaviour, and non‐conscious activation of positive expectations could theoretically affect placebo analgesia. Yet, we found no SST priming effect on placebo analgesia. Instead, our data point to the significance of prior experience of pain relief, trait neuroticism and social interaction with the treating clinician.SignificanceOur findings challenge the role of semantic priming as a behavioural modifier that may shape expectations of pain relief, and affect placebo analgesia.

Mapping the interplay among cognitive biases, emotion regulation, and depressive symptoms

ABSTRACTCognitive biases and emotion regulation (ER) difficulties have been instrumental in understanding hallmark features of depression. However, little is known about the interplay among these important risk factors to depression. This cross-sectional study investigated how multiple cognitive biases modulate the habitual use of ER processes and how ER habits subsequently regulate depressive symptoms. All participants first executed a computerised version of the scrambled sentences test (interpretation bias measure) while their eye movements were registered (attention bias measure) and then completed questionnaires assessing positive reappraisal, brooding, and depressive symptoms. Path and bootstrapping analyses supported both direct effects of cognitive biases on depressive symptoms and indirect effects via the use of brooding and via the use of reappraisal that was in turn related to the use of brooding. These findings help to formulate a better understanding of how cognitive biases and ER habits interact to maintain depressive symptoms.

Establishing the Reliability and Validity of a Performance Measure of Big Picture Appraisal

Three separate studies established the psychometric properties of the scrambled sentences test for big picture appraisal (SST–BPA), a performance measure which entails viewing difficult situations and one’s reactions to them in terms of a larger context that includes perspectives such as extended time, one’s broader life, and common human struggles. Study 1 established the content validity of the SST–BPA by showing that judges rated SST–BPA items as consistent with a description of the construct. In Studies 2 and 3, participants completed paper- and computer-administered versions (respectively) of the SST–BPA along with self-report measures of similar and dissimilar constructs. Item-total correlations supported internal consistency and correlations with other measures supported convergent and discriminant validity of the SST–BPA.

Life is … great! Emotional attention during instructed and uninstructed ambiguity resolution in relation to depressive symptoms

Attention and interpretation biases are closely involved in depression. However, it is unclear whether they reflect processing tendencies (i.e., driven by schemas) and/or ability-related processes (i.e., dependent on attentional control). This study tested depressive symptom severity, attention bias, and interpretation bias associations under both processing conditions. Fifty-two participants completed two versions of the scrambled sentences test (to measure interpretation bias) while eye movements were recorded (to measure attention bias). Participants were instructed to unscramble sentences by reporting the first sentence coming to mind (tendency version) and in a fixed, positive manner (ability version). Depressive symptom severity was correlated with attention bias under both conditions. Attention bias acted as an intervening variable in the relation between depressive symptoms and interpretation bias during ability processes. These findings suggest that attention biases reflect both processing tendencies and ability dysfunctions, with attentional control as a relevant mechanism in the interpretation of emotional material.

Experimental Modification of Appraisal Style: Benefits of Seeing the Big Picture

Big picture appraisal (BPA) entails viewing difficult situations and one's reactions to them in terms of a larger context. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether big picture appraisal could be induced using cognitive bias modification (CBM); whether the trained appraisal style could be observed on other tasks; and whether emotional reactivity would be affected. Participants read vignettes that differed between conditions only by the final word or phrase, presented as a to-be-completed fragment. As predicted, participants showed generalization of training effects to the interpretations of new vignettes and showed effects of training on the Scrambled Sentences Test, a measure of cognitive bias that entailed unscrambling sentences under time pressure to form statements that were consistent or not with big picture thinking. In addition, participants in the big picture as compared to the control condition showed a trend toward less negative mood following failure feedback.

The bolstering effect of conceptual priming on psychological help-seeking attitudes in men

Background: It is a well-established finding that men are often unwilling to engage with mental health services, and that they hold negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking. Consequently, men’s psychological problems often remain untreated, which in turn can compromise their quality of life.Aims: The present experiment addresses this problem using a conceptual priming paradigm from social psychology called Scrambled Sentence Test as an intervention to change men’s negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking.Method: The Scrambled Sentence Test works by asking participants to unscramble sentences that unbeknownst to them include priming words – in this case, openness and communication-related words. Sixty-nine men completed the task (with priming or control words) under the instructions of a condition-blind experimenter.Results: The primed group showed more positive attitudes (Mdn = 56.5) toward seeking psychological help compared to controls (Mdn = 40.0), p < 0.01; r = 0.38.Conclusion: The findings are the first to suggest that conceptual priming of this kind can be used an as effective and time-efficient intervention by mental health professionals to encourage men to seek help for psychological problems.

Measuring vulnerability to depression: The Serbian scrambled sentences test - SSST

The goal of this study was to establish whether the SSST, a Serbian language scrambled sentences instrument, is a reliable measure of depressive cognitive bias, and whether it captures the suppression tendency as participants exert the additional cognitive effort of memorizing a six-digit number while completing the task. The sample consisted of 1071 students, randomly assigned into two groups. They completed the SSST divided into two blocks of 28 sentences, together with additional cognitive task during either the first or second block, and after that a number of instruments to establish validity of the SSST. The test was shown to be a reliable instrument of depressive cognitive bias. As a measure of suppression the SSST performed partly as expected, only when load was applied in the second half of the test, and fatigue and cognitive effort enhanced suppression. The advantages of the test versus self-description measures were discussed.

Attention, interpretation, and memory biases in subclinical depression: A proof-of-principle test of the combined cognitive biases hypothesis.

Emotional biases in attention, interpretation, and memory are viewed as important cognitive processes underlying symptoms of depression. To date, there is a limited understanding of the interplay among these processing biases. This study tested the dependence of memory on depression-related biases in attention and interpretation. Subclinically depressed and nondepressed participants completed a computerized version of the scrambled sentences test (measuring interpretation bias) while their eye movements were recorded (measuring attention bias). This task was followed by an incidental free recall test of previously constructed interpretations (measuring memory bias). Path analysis revealed a good fit for the model in which selective orienting of attention was associated with interpretation bias, which in turn was associated with a congruent bias in memory. Also, a good fit was observed for a path model in which biases in the maintenance of attention and interpretation were associated with memory bias. Both path models attained a superior fit compared with path models without the theorized functional relations among processing biases. These findings enhance understanding of how mechanisms of attention and interpretation regulate what is remembered. As such, they offer support for the combined cognitive biases hypothesis or the notion that emotionally biased cognitive processes are not isolated mechanisms but instead influence each other. Implications for theoretical models and emotion regulation across the spectrum of depressive symptoms are discussed.