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The authors examined group differences in memories for hearing the news of and reactions to the September 11 attacks in 2001. They measured memory for reception context (immediate memory for the circumstances in which people first heard the news) and 11 predictors of the consistency of memory for reception context over time (flashbulb memory). Shortly after 9/11, a questionnaire was distributed to 3,665 participants in 9 countries. U.S. vs. non-U.S. respondents showed large differences in self-rated importance of the news and in memory for event-related facts. The groups showed moderate differences in background knowledge and emotional-feeling states. Within non-U.S. groups, there were large differences for emotional-feeling states and moderate differences for personal rehearsal, background knowledge, and attitudes toward the United States. The authors discuss the implications of those findings for the study of group differences in memory and for the formation of flashbulb memories.

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A client's mood can hinder or enhance treatment and its effectiveness. Positive emotions can encourage exploration and experimentation, and they may have the long-term effect of resource building. The purpose of the present study was to assess this perspective as applied to the treatment of suicidal individuals. The authors found that patients prone to positive moods, as compared with those less prone to such moods, displayed more positive problem-solving attitudes following treatment for suicidal symptoms, and, partly as a function thereof, displayed enhanced treatment response. These findings suggest that clinicians may improve their chances of achieving successful treatment outcomes if they present skill-building treatments during windows of positive mood for the client, rather than in times of crisis.Suicidality represents an interesting yet challenging area for clinical practitioners. For at least two reasons, the interconnections between suicidality, problem-solving, and mood appear to be clinically important. First, suicidality has been linked to problemsolving deficits (Schotte & Clum, 1982), and skill-based treatments appear to be effective in reducing suicidal behavior (Rudd, Joiner, & Rajab, 2000;Rudd et al., 1996). Second, although there is no question that people in suicidal crises experience predominantly negative moods, suicidal crises are time limited, and much of therapy is conducted once the crisis subsides, when patients' range of moods is broader. In the course of therapy with suicidal patients, then, positive moods may well occur, and according to the logic of the broaden-and-build model (Fredrickson, 1998), may represent windows of opportunity for problem-solving skill acquisition.In her broaden-and-build model of positive emotions, Fredrickson (1998) proposed that emotions such as joy, interest, and contentment have the momentary effect of "broadening" cognition and behavior, so that exploration, experimentation, and play are more likely. Furthermore, because positive emotions subserve exploration and experimentation, they have the long-term effect of resource building. Through exploration and experimentation, new ideas and actions are discovered, building up an individual's repertoire of physical, intellectual, and social resources. The broaden-and-build model has accrued reasonable research support

Among 180 Turkish university students, the probability of suicide was strongly predicted by both hopelessness and deficiencies in problem solving. In addition, for women, unhealthy attachment styles (preoccupied and dismissing) also predicted suicidality. The clinical implications of these findings are that psychotherapists should focus on helping suicidal adolescents improve their problem solving skills and decreasing their hopelessness and, for women, assisting them to develop healthier relationship styles.