Introduction to special section on three-generation studies

Interest in lifespan research and cross-generational associations in parenting practices and child behaviors has grown rapidly in recent years. The four papers presented in this journal test three key intergenerational research questions regarding intergenerational continuities for externalizing behaviors, using different 3-generational samples.     

Introduction to the special section on the structure of emotion.

This section is devoted to articles about the structure of affect, the patterned interrelations of moods and emotions. Structural features of affect, such as a bipolar pleasantness-unpleasantness dimension, a circumplex ordering, prototypical discrete emotions, and separable positive and negative emotion clusters, are discussed. It is proposed that positive and negative affect systems create the conditions for the co-occurrence of discrete positive emotions with each other and of discrete negative emotions with each other. The experience of affect tends to be felt along a bipolar pleasantness-unpleasantness dimension because pleasant emotions and unpleasant emotions tend not to be experienced together at intense levels. To move beyond current knowledge, future research in the area must more often use non-self-report measures, more sophisticated statistical and measurement methods, dynamic as well as static data, systematically varied response formats, and experimental manipulations.     

Introduction to the special section on the concept of disorder.

Despite the absence of a consensual definition of disorder, considerable research and clinical work is based on the categorization and diagnosis of mental disorder. This article introduces a special section of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology that expands the debate between J. C. Wakefield (1999), who has proposed a "harmful dysfunction" analysis of disorder and S. O. Lilienfeld and L. Marino (1995, 1999), who offer an alternative "Roschian" or prototype analysis. This introduction summarizes the main arguments of Wakefield's target article and 8 critiques and discusses the conceptual value of the debate, especially an integration of diverse viewpoints and stimulation to further consideration of this important topic.     

Introduction to the special section on health and cognitive function.

Numerous factors related to health and diseases have been studied in relation to cognitive function. It has been shown that across the life span, systemic medical diseases can negatively impact cognitive function. Factors that influence the development of medical diseases, such as poor health habits, biological risk factors, hormones, genetic factors, exposure to environmental toxins, and certain treatments for disease, can also have an adverse effect on cognitive function. Conversely, factors such as high levels of education, good health habits, and some treatments for disease can be protective. Included in this special section are 6 empirical articles that examine the relation of health or disease to cognitive function.     

Introduction to the special section on the future of health psychology.

Following 25 years of landmark progress, health psychology faces even greater change in the foreseeable future. Evolving patterns of health and illness and developments in medicine and related fields will shape the future of health psychology. The articles in this special section discuss these future issues in several areas: the biopsychosocial model, changes in demographics, prevention, clinical health psychology interventions, health care financing, and new technologies. In every case, the future holds a variety of important challenges and opportunities in research, practice, training, and policy.     

Introduction to the special section on structural equation modeling

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a frequently used data-analytic technique in psychopathology research. This popularity is due to the unique capabilities and broad applicability of SEM and to recent advances in model and software development. Unfortunately, the popularity and accessibility of SEM is matched by its complexities and ambiguities. Thus, users are often faced with difficult decisions regarding a variety of issues. This special section is designed to increase the effective use of SEM by reviewing recently developed modeling capabilities, identifying common problems in application, and recommending appropriate strategies for analysis and evaluation.     

Introduction to the special section on integrative approaches to source memory

Source memory involves recognizing or recalling particular features that cause us to think of a mental experience as representing a particular past event. Research directed at understanding source memory comes from many domains, including cognitive-behavioral psychology, neuroscience, lifespan psychology, clinical psychology, and psychiatry. The authors believe that integrating multiple approaches to investigating source memory--most notably here, cognitive-behavioral and cognitive neuroscience--provides productive cross-fertilization of theory, methods, and analyses that in turn will yield unique constraints to our understanding of human memory. The investigations in this special section demonstrate the promise of such an integrative approach for advancing theories of source memory.     

Introduction to the special section on clinical applications of analogue behavioral observation

This Special Section addresses methods, validity, and utility of analogue behavioral observation. Separate contributions to the Special Section cover analogue behavioral observation of marital interaction, child behavior problems, parent-child interaction, and adult social functioning. Additional articles address psychometric foundations of analogue behavioral observations, general issues, and future directions in the development and evaluation of this assessment method. Many published studies were reviewed in detail and issues of validity, clinical assessment utility, and sources of variance in obtained measures are addressed.     

Introduction to the special section: toward a dimensionally based taxonomy of psychopathology

Much current psychopathology research is framed by categorical constructs. Limitations of categorical constructs have been articulated, and dimensional constructs are often proposed as viable alternatives to categories of psychopathology. The purpose of this Special Section is to articulate and discuss diverse issues that arise in contemplating dimensional constructs as targets for psychopathology research.