http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpsychol/ The editor's pick of recent articles published by BMC Psychology 2013-03-11T00:00:00Z Background: The objective of this study was to examine the cross-cultural differences of the PANSS across six geo-cultural regions. The specific aims are (1) to examine measurement properties of the PANSS; and (2) to examine how each of the 30 items function across geo-cultural regions. Methods: Data was obtained for 1,169 raters from 6 different regions: Eastern Asia (n = 202), India (n = 185), Northern Europe (n = 126), Russia & Ukraine (n = 197), Southern Europe (n = 162), United States (n = 297). A principle components analysis assessed unidimensionality of the subscales. Rasch rating scale analysis examined cross-cultural differences among each item of the PANSS. Results: Lower item values reflects items in which raters often showed less variation in the scores; higher item values reflects items with more variation in the scores. Positive Subscale: Most regions found item P5 (Excitement) to be the most difficult item to score. Items varied in severity from −0.93 [item P6. Suspiciousness/persecution (USA) to 0.69 item P4. Excitement (Eastern Asia)]. Item P3 (Hallucinatory Behavior) was the easiest item to score for all geographical regions. Negative Subscale: The most difficult item to score for all regions is N7 (Stereotyped Thinking) with India showing the most difficulty Δ = 0.69, and Northern Europe and the United States showing the least difficulty Δ = 0.21, each. The second most difficult item for raters to score was N1 (Blunted Affect) for most countries including Southern Europe (Δ = 0.30), Eastern Asia (Δ = 0.28), Russia & Ukraine (Δ = 0.22) and India (Δ = 0.10). General Psychopathology: The most difficult item for raters to score for all regions is G4 (Tension) with difficulty levels ranging from Δ = 1.38 (India) to Δ = 0.72. Conclusions: There were significant differences in response to a number of items on the PANSS, possibly caused by a lack of equivalence between the original and translated versions, cultural differences among interpretation of items or scoring parameters. Knowing which items are problematic for various cultures can help guide PANSS training and make training specialized for specific geographical regions. http://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/5 Anzalee Khan Christian Yavorsky Stacy Liechti Mark Opler Brian Rothman Guillermo DiClemente Luka Lucic Sofija Jovic Toshiya Inada Lawrence Yang BMC Psychology 2013, 1:5 2013-03-11T00:00:00Z ${item.identifier} Geographic differences for PANSS <p>The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) has significant differences in a number of items in various geo-cultural areas, with implications for training in use of the scale in specific regions.</p> /content/figures/2050-7283-1-5-toc.gif BMC Psychology 2050-7283 1 5 2013-03-11T00:00:00Z XML Irismar Reis de Oliveira, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. He is the Section Editor for the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy section for BMC Psychology. In this interview we find out a little more about Professor Reis de Oliveira and the key issues in the field of psychotherapy research. http://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/4 Irismar Reis de Oliveira BMC Psychology 2013, 1:4 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z ${item.identifier} An interview with Irismar Reis de Oliveira <p>Section Editor Irismar Reis de Oliviera talks to us about his interest in psychotherapy including what challenges and developments we can expect to see in the next few years. He also explains why BMC Psychology is an important addition to the field.</p> /content/figures/2050-7283-1-4-toc.gif BMC Psychology 2050-7283 1 4 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z XML Background: Facial emotion recognition depends on cortical and subcortical networks. HIV infection of the central nervous system can damage these networks, leading to impaired facial emotion recognition. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional single cohort study consecutively enrolling HIV + subjects during routine outpatient visits. Age, gender and education-matched HIV-negative healthy individuals were also selected. Subjects were submitted to a Facial Emotion Recognition Test, which assesses the ability to recognize six basic emotions (disgust, anger, fear, happiness, surprise, sadness). The score for each emotion and a global score (obtained by summing scores for each emotion) were analyzed. General cognitive status of patients was also assessed. Results: A total of 49 HIV + and 20 HIV − subjects were enrolled. On the Facial Emotion Recognition Test, ANOVA revealed a significantly lower performance of HIV + subjects than healthy controls in recognizing fear. Moreover, fear facial emotion recognition was directly correlated with Immediate Recall of Rey Words. The lower the patients’ neurocognitive performance the less accurate they were in recognizing happiness. AIDS-defining events were negatively related to the correct recognition of happiness. Conclusions: Fear recognition deficit in HIV + patients might be related to the impaired function of neural networks in the frontostriatal system. AIDS events, including non-neurological ones, may have a negative effect on this system. Inclusion of an emotion recognition test in the neuropsychological test battery could help clinicians during the long term management of HIV-infected patients, to better understand the cognitive mechanisms involved in the reduction of emotion recognition ability and the impact of this impairment on daily life. http://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/3 Eleonora Baldonero Nicoletta Ciccarelli Massimiliano Fabbiani Manuela Colafigli Erika Improta Alessandro D’Avino Annalisa Mondi Roberto Cauda Simona Di Giambenedetto Maria Caterina Silveri BMC Psychology 2013, 1:3 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z ${item.identifier} HIV associated with impaired emotion processing Facial emotion recognition depends on cortical and subcortical networks that can be damaged due to HIV infection, making people with HIV less able to recognize facial emotion than non-infected individuals. /content/figures/2050-7283-1-3-toc.gif BMC Psychology 2050-7283 1 3 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z XML Psychology has been historically plagued by the under-reporting of both replications and null findings. The avoidance of these core ingredients of scientific practice means that the psychology literature is unquestionably distorted. The bias in psychology is pervasive and systemic, afflicting researchers, reviewers, editors and journals, all of whom are wed to pursuing the novel and the curious at the expense of the reliable. Psychology therefore operates in a manner that is askew of other sciences, with the links between replicability and believability seemingly much weaker. Additional problems follow from the distorted way that psychology currently operates - including spinning findings, publication bias, and sadly, outright fraud. Such problems represent a serious challenge for psychologists to get their house-in-order – and one step is to make sure that replications and null findings find a home in psychology rather than remain our dirty little secrets that further eat away at the credibility of our science. http://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/2 Keith R Laws BMC Psychology 2013, 1:2 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z ${item.identifier} Publishing negative findings in psychology <p>The bias towards publishing positive results in psychology is a systemic problem, affecting researchers, reviewers, editors and journals, all of whom are driven towards pursuing the novel over the reliable.</p> /content/figures/2050-7283-1-2-toc.gif BMC Psychology 2050-7283 1 2 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z XML This editorial celebrates the launch of BMC Psychology (1), the newest addition to the BMC series (2) journal group. BMC Psychology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of psychology, human behavior and the mind, including developmental, clinical, cognitive, experimental, social, evolutionary and educational psychology, as well as personality and individual differences. The journal welcomes quantitative and qualitative research methods, including animal studies. It is journal policy to publish work deemed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to scientific knowledge and to put less emphasis on interest levels, provided that the research constitutes a useful contribution to the field. In this editorial, Gordon Harold, Section Editor for Developmental psychopathology, discusses why this journal will be a valuable addition to the psychology milieu, and the aims of the journal. http://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/1 Gordon Harold BMC Psychology 2013, 1:1 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z ${item.identifier} Why BMC Psychology? <p><em>BMC Psychology</em> is a unique open access, open peer-reviewed journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of psychology, human behavior, and the mind.</p> /content/figures/2050-7283-1-1-toc.gif BMC Psychology 2050-7283 1 1 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z XML