Clinical Cognitive Science: Applying Quantitative Models of Cognitive Processing to Examine Cognitive Aspects of Psychopathology.

Abstract

Numerous th eoreti cal app roach es implicate a role for altered cogn itive proces sing in th e dev elop ment, maintenance, and treatment of a wide ran ge of clinically relevan t beh aviors. Clinical scient ists have been slow, however , to capitalize on the wealth of co n te mporary theoretical, measurement, an d analytical models of cognitive processing when constructing, evalu ating, and ex tend ing the se th eoreti cal approaches to psych opathology (

Influence of Sexually Degrading Music on Men's Perceptions of Women's Dating‐Relevant Cues

“…Models that allow precision of this sort are part of a general movement to use methods derived from cognitive science in order to be more quantitative and theoretically explicit about socially and clinically relevant processes (e.g. Treat et al, 2007). Decomposing the source of observed errors also may provide more precise intervention and prevention targets.…”

Using Cognitive Theory and Methodology to Inform the Study of Sexual Victimization

“…Hybrid models of cognitive and clinical psychology may be one way to increase the use of cognitive theory and methodology in studying sexual victimization (e.g., MacLeod, 1993; McFall & Townsend, 1998; McFall, Treat, & Viken, 1997, 1998; Treat & Dirks, 2007; Treat et al, 2001; Treat et al, 2007; Viken et al, 2002). This review provides only a brief overview of how hybrid models have been developed and utilized in order to illustrate how such approaches may prove useful in the study of sexual victimization, as there are several excellent comprehensive reviews of the integration of clinical and cognitive science available (McFall & Townsend, 1998; McFall et al, 1998; Treat & Dirks, 2007).…”

“…In order to investigate the cognitive processes underlying women’s risk for sexual victimization, it may be necessary to develop new stimuli and cognitive tasks. While cognitive psychologists often rely on a small set of simple, experimentally controlled stimuli, clinical psychologists often prefer more complex stimuli with increased ecological validity for their population of interest (Treat et al, 2007). Both experimental control and ecological validity are important when studying clinical problems such as sexual victimization; thus, researchers should ensure that stimulus sets are relevant to the population of interest but still answer the experimental question with as little ambiguity as possible.…”

“…Toward this end, Treat and colleagues (2007) have provided guidelines for the development of stimulus sets for use in clinical cognitive studies. First, the stimulus set should vary on dimensions theoretically related to the behavior of interest while controlling for extraneous dimensions.…”

Cognitive Processing of Weight and Emotional Information in Disordered Eating

“…Further investigation of the role of cognitive processes in disordered eating would benefit from greater attention to advances in cognitive science, however. Researchers in this area have developed a much wider array of theories, paradigms, and analytic strategies than currently are being employed, and they would seem to be promising for advancing cognitive theories of eating disorders (Treat et al, 2007). Thus, the research described in this article draws on contemporary cognitive science to evaluate whether women who report eating-disorder symptoms, when compared with nonsymptomatic women, exhibit differential processing of other women's emotional and weight information.…”