Depression is a mental health condition for which individuals commonly seek treatment. However, depressive episodes often resolve on their own, even without treatment. One evolutionary perspective, the analytical rumination hypothesis (ARH), suggests that depression occurs in response to complex problems. According to this perspective, depressive symptoms promote analytical rumination, i.e., distraction-resistant thoughts about the causes of problems [causal analysis (CA)] and how they can be solved [problem-solving analysis (PSA)]. By helping individuals solve complex problems, analytical rumination may contribute to remission from depression. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) whether clinically-depressed individuals have more complex problems and engage in more CA and PSA than non-depressed and (2) the effects of CA and PSA on decreases in problem complexity, depressive symptoms, and remission from the depression. Samples of 85 patients were treated for depression with antidepressants and psychotherapy, and 49 healthy subjects were assessed three times over a 4-month period (at Weeks 1, 5, and 16). At each assessment, they completed measures of depression, analytical rumination, and problem complexity. Depressed individuals reported having more complex problems and engaging in more CA than non-depressed participants. The two groups engaged in a similar degree of PSA. Findings from a multiple regression suggested that more PSA at Week 1 was related to a decrease in depressive symptoms at Week 5, even after controlling for baseline depression, problem number, and complexity. PSA at Week 1 did not predict the remission after hospitalization or at follow-up; however, having less complex problems at the baseline made it more likely that a patient would later remit. Engaging in more CA or PSA at Week 1 did not affect perceived problem complexity at Week 5 or at follow-up. However, these findings were not statistically significant when influential observations (or outliers) were included in the analysis. Our findings suggest that PSA may contribute to a decrease in symptoms of depression over time. However, alleviations in problem complexity and remission might only be achieved if problems are initially less complex. Future directions involve exploring how PSA might contribute to decreases in depressive symptoms and other mechanisms underlying remission from depression.

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The psychological consequences of trauma related to the Holocaust have been primarily studied in samples derived from Israel, North America, and Western Europe. Few studies have examined postcommunist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The present study focused on three generations living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII): Holocaust survivors (71-95 years of age), their children (30-73 years of age), and their grandchildren (15-48 years of age). We compared scores on measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS; the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version) and posttraumatic growth (PTG; the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory) derived from three focal samples with scores from age-matched comparison participants. Higher PTSS scores emerged for Holocaust survivors in all generations, η 2 P=.087 but only participants in the first generation reported higher PTG scores relative to the comparison group, with small effect sizes for the overall group differences, η 2 P=.029 . These results are discussed in the historical and political context of postwar Czechoslovakia.

When we are exposed to a large number of scenes, we are remarkably good at memorizing them. The precise nature of large memory capacity is still an unresolved issue. Because visual scenes involve complex stimuli, it was difficult, until recently, to evaluate the similarity of two scenes. Researchers required a crucial manipulation check to decode this remarkable memory performance. One possible tool for helping us express how two scenes are perceptually similar are deep neural networks. In this study, we explored the extent to which we can create false visual memories using tasks inspired by the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm. The similarity of scenes was evaluated by creating similarity space defined by a pre-trained deep network. The distances defined by the deep network were evaluated in a simple validation experiment. Results showed increased false alarm rates for scenes close to the averaged representation of the presented stimuli. A similar approach can be used for further studies regarding visual memory for complex scenes.

When we are exposed to a large number of scenes, we are remarkably good at memorizing them. The precise nature of large memory capacity is still an unresolved issue. Because visual scenes involve complex stimuli, it was difficult, until recently, to evaluate the similarity of two scenes. Researchers required a crucial manipulation check to decode this remarkable memory performance. One possible tool for helping us express how two scenes are perceptually similar are deep neural networks. In this study, we explored the extent to which we can create false visual memories using tasks inspired by the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm. The similarity of scenes was evaluated by creating similarity space defined by a pre-trained deep network. The distances defined by the deep network were evaluated in a simple validation experiment. Results showed increased false alarm rates for scenes close to the averaged representation of the presented stimuli. A similar approach can be used for further studies regarding visual memory for complex scenes.