Attentional bias (AB) refers to increased attention or salience to certain stimuli. Women who use hormonal contraception only have a greater accuracy and response bias for sad expressions, which...Show moreAttentional bias (AB) refers to increased attention or salience to certain stimuli. Women who use hormonal contraception only have a greater accuracy and response bias for sad expressions, which can be linked to depression symptoms and diagnoses. It was hypothesized that women who use hormonal contraception have a larger AB towards negative emotions in comparison to naturally cycling women. Healthy female volunteers (N=266) participated in an online AB task, the emotional dot-probe task including the facial expressions: neutral, angry, happy, and fearful faces. Additionally, the participants filled in the DASS-21 questionnaire, where this study utilized the depression subscale. AB was quantified as the difference between reaction times to incongruent and congruent trials. A significant AB was found in this online set-up. The naturally cycling women group showed a stronger AB in comparison to the hormonal contraception users. This effect was independent of emotion. Even though no significant effect of depression was found and no correlation between AB and depression was found, there was a trend for the naturally cycling women group to score higher on depressive symptoms, which may contribute to the higher AB in this group. The contradictory results may be clarified by the fact that, compared to naturally cycling women, hormonal contraception users experience less variation in mood during the menstrual cycle and there is less negative mood throughout the menstrual period. By comparing these groups, these findings contribute to increasing evidence of research examining the use of hormonal contraception and the influence it may have on mood.Show less
Introduction The reinforcement learning theory shows that learning for another (prosocial learning) and learning for ourselves (selfish learning) can both be used as an effective way to learn. Low...Show moreIntroduction The reinforcement learning theory shows that learning for another (prosocial learning) and learning for ourselves (selfish learning) can both be used as an effective way to learn. Low self-esteem is linked to many clinical disorders and with prosocial and selfish behavior. The current study further examines selfish and prosocial learning and a possible relation with self-esteem. Method A total of 139 healthy participants finished the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and performed an online learning task. Participants had to choose between different stimuli that were probabilistically associated with rewards for themselves (self), another person (prosocial), or no one (control). The number of high probable stimuli (correctly chosen trials) for the selfish condition, prosocial condition and the none condition were analyzed. The two probability ratios that were used were 40/60 and 30/70. Results In contrast with our hypothesis, in the 30/70 probability context there was no significant difference found between conditions over time. Additionally, no significant effect was found between conditions and the 25% high and low self-esteem over time. Additionally, no significant correlations were found between self-esteem and the difference score ‘Prosocial minus Selfish’, the selfish condition and the prosocial condition. Discussion The current study found no significant relation between selfish and prosocial learning and self-esteem. The insignificant effects found in this study may be due to the difficulty of the task, uncontrollable environment, in diversity of sample and differences between global and specific self-esteem. Future research should focus on providing better insight in the relation between prosocial learning and self-esteem.Show less
The current research investigated the role of state self-esteem in the relationship between menstrual cycle and mood symptoms, specifically depression and anxiety. Research has not only generally...Show moreThe current research investigated the role of state self-esteem in the relationship between menstrual cycle and mood symptoms, specifically depression and anxiety. Research has not only generally shown a higher incidence rate of depression in women but also specifically increased rates of depression in women with menstrual related symptoms. In the present study it was hypothesized that women during their menstruation, compared to during their ovulation, show more depressive and anxious symptoms. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that there is a mediating effect of self-esteem. It was predicted that women during their menstruation have less self-esteem and that women with less self-esteem show more depressive and anxious symptoms. An online questionnaire about depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and additionally questions about women’s menstrual cycle was filled out by 268 participants. Focusing on only naturally cycling women, 18 women were grouped into the ovulating and 25 women into the menstruating group. Contrary to the predictions, results from the multiple regression analyses showed that there was neither an effect of the menstrual cycle phase on mood symptoms such as depression and anxiety nor a mediation effect of state self-esteem in the relationship of the menstrual cycle phase on mood symptoms. However, there seemed to be a relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms. This means the lower the woman’s self-esteem, the higher she scored on depressive symptoms. It thus seems as if depressive and anxious symptoms are not influenced by whether a woman is currently ovulating or menstruating. The results of the study add to the body of literature about the menstrual cycle, self-esteem, and mood symptoms.Show less
Steroid hormones are frequently highlighted as an important modulator of women’s susceptibility for developing mood and anxiety disorders. One of the often-considered influences is the effect of...Show moreSteroid hormones are frequently highlighted as an important modulator of women’s susceptibility for developing mood and anxiety disorders. One of the often-considered influences is the effect of estradiol on the dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal cortex. Given this association it was investigated if natural levels of estradiol might affect women’s executive functions. The focus of measurement was the participant’s performance on the flanker task. It was hypothesised that women in a menstrual cycle phase marked by high estradiol show enhanced interference control and post-error adjustment. The study was conducted as an observational, natural group design and executed in an online format. Self-reports on the menstrual cycle were used for an approximation of the women’s current estradiol levels based on which two groups of women, either high or low in estradiol, were created. Main comparisons were made between 29 naturally cycling women in total and 48 men. The outcomes suggest that the cycle phase of women and the assumed levels of estradiol may not have influenced the processes of interference control or post-error adjustment. To interpret the obtained results, the measured constructs, interference control, error monitoring, and the menstrual cycle are discussed, and possible uncontrolled variables outlined. Future research is needed to further explore women’s executive processes and related neural correlates in the context of the menstrual cycle. Research in this field may provide better understanding of possible influences on women’s cognitive and emotional circuits in the brain, which will help to achieve a clearer picture of women’s psychological wellbeing throughout their life span.Show less
Mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior, behavior or actions carried out with the intention to benefit another individual, are unclear. Previous studies have found a positive relationship between...Show moreMechanisms underlying prosocial behavior, behavior or actions carried out with the intention to benefit another individual, are unclear. Previous studies have found a positive relationship between empathy and prosocial learning. The current study, inspired by the study of Lockwood and colleagues (2016), consists of two experiments where the link between prosocial learning, learning to obtain rewards for others, and empathy is investigated through a probabilistic learning task based on reinforcement learning principles. Participants had to choose between two different symbols and learn which of these had the highest probability of earning points in three different conditions: for themselves (selfish), for another person (other) or for no one (none). The first experiment measured the conditions with two probabilities (60/40, 70/30), whereas in the second experiment one probability was used (75/25). The aim of the current study was to replicate the findings of Lockwood and colleagues (2016) who found a positive relationship between empathy and prosocial learning with the same probabilities as our second experiment. The results from both experiments revealed no significant relationship between empathy and prosocial learning. The second experiment showed that participants learned better in the selfish condition compared to the prosocial and none condition. It can be concluded that in the current study no link was found between empathy and prosocial learning, which might be explained from the differences in research design between the study of Lockwood and colleagues (2016) and the current study. There seemed to be a self-bias in learning, i.e., people learn better for themselves than for others.Show less
How we behave in social contexts influences essential life aspects such as quality of relationships and well-being. Here, actions may have positive or negative consequences for others. Notably,...Show moreHow we behave in social contexts influences essential life aspects such as quality of relationships and well-being. Here, actions may have positive or negative consequences for others. Notably, patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) display inflated responsibility attitudes and often fear negatively affecting others. This study investigated whether participants high in obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) display enhanced learning to benefit others in a prosocial learning task. Healthy individuals of two samples (N = 95; N = 86) performed the task in three responsibility contexts. Participants in the first study learned to obtain rewards for 1) no one, 2) an anonymous other, or 3) themselves. Participants in the second study learned to obtain rewards for a friend instead of no one. Groups of low and high scorers were created based on the participants’ scores on the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R). The results did not reveal support for a relationship between OCS and prosocial behavior. Further, high OCS learned similarly to obtain rewards in anonymous and public prosocial contexts. Additionally, in both studies, participants learned best to obtain rewards for themselves. Results suggest that responsibility contexts do not modulate high OCS participants’ learning. This unexpected pattern may be explained by the absence of negative consequences for others. The present study also suggests that individuals, in general, may show enhanced motivation for effort when they can obtain a reward for themselves. Future research should investigate whether individuals who score low and high on OCS exhibit differences in obtaining rewards and preventing punishment.Show less
