Explaining Gender Differences in Depression: an Interpersonal Contingent Self-Esteem Perspective

The quality of interpersonal relationships may be a key factor in the etiology of depression. An interpersonal depressive vulnerability has been proposed to interact with interpersonal stressors to predict depressive symptoms. Research examining gender differences in this link has been inconclusive. We propose that research should focus on whether one’s self-esteem is based on the quality of interpersonal relationships. We propose a model of gender differences in depression that examines the role of interpersonal contingent self-esteem (ICSE) in the development of depression. Specifically, we propose that ICSE interacts with gender in the face of interpersonal stress to promote decreases in momentary self-esteem. Decreases in momentary self-esteem, in turn, lead to rumination, maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, and depressive symptoms.     

The Situational Facilitation of Interpersonal Attraction: A Three-factor Hypothesis1

A theoretical analysis of observations of natural and man-made disasters, festive social events, and task-oriented crash programs led to a three-factor hypothesis of attraction facilitation. It was proposed that interpersonal attraction toward strangers is facilitated when there is emotional arousal, sharing, and out-of-role behavior. In a laboratory investigation (N= 120), postexperimental attraction toward a dissimilar stranger increased when all three factors were present but not when only two of the three factors were present (p < .01). Consistent with the reinforcement-affect model of attraction, increased attraction toward the stranger in the three-factor conditions was paralleled by more positive feelings about the experiment in the three-factor than in the two-factor conditions. Knowledge of the variables underlying facilitation effects could be utilized on a societal basis to create attraction-enhancing occurrences.     

Self-Esteem: The Past of an Illusion

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Teaching the Rorschach and Learning Psychodiagnostic Testing: A Commentary on Hilsenroth and Handler (1995)

A recent report by Hilsenroth and Handier (1995) surveyed graduate students impressions of their predoctoral-level training on the Rorschach method. My commentary underscores two central points from their article: (a) the problem of program specialization, in a crowded curriculum, and (b) students indication of a need for more secure grounding in personality theory and clinical diagnosis. The focus of these remarks concerns current trends in clinical psychology education, their implications for training in psychological assessment, establishing a reasonable upper limit of solid competence, for achieving a journeyman level of ability, and some considerations about a suitable role for continuing education workshops. A sharp distinction between filling in gaps in knowledge and compensating for fundamental deficiencies is emphasized in this context.     

Towards an Integration of Interpersonal Risk Models of Depression and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: A Commentary on What Constitutes Interpersonal Therapy

The article by Dobson, Quigley, and Dozois on interpersonal model provides a very useful guide on how to extend cognitive behavioural models of depression to incorporate interpersonal vulnerabilities that influence how depressed people behave towards others. The point is made that interpersonal processes are very likely to influence the onset and course of depression. In this commentary, I extend this analysis further examining the evidence on how interactions within close relationships, particularly couple relationships, interact with individuals' depression. Evidence is also cited on the effectiveness of couple‐based therapy in treating depression.     

An Interpersonal Perspective on Dreams: Commentary on Paper by Hazel Ipp

A basic rhythm of breakdown–recovery, with many offshoots and permutations, characterizes aspects of psychic life. This rhythm threads its way through Elkin's, Winnicott's, and Bion's work and plays an important role in the unconscious processing of affects. If this rhythm is damaged or jammed, affect processing goes awry. Dream work helps initiate affect processing, a kind of emotional digestion. If the dream work's rhythm of breakdown–recovery is damaged, one lives in a state of chronic emotional indigestion or starvation. Clinical work, including a child's dream of the World Trade Center disaster, illustrates the discussion.     

Self-Esteem in Adult Prison Population: The Development and Validation of the Self-Esteem Measure for Prisoners (SEM-P)

The main aim of the current study was to develop and validate the Self-Esteem Measure for Prisoners (SEM-P), composed of personal and prison self-esteem, among a systematically selected sample of prisoners (N = 1,794). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the SEM-P was best captured with the bifactor conceptualization reflecting two grouping factors (personal and prison self-esteem) and one general factor. Although factor loadings were stronger for the general factor, the two grouping factors evidenced good differential predictive validity. The SEM-P is a reliable and valid measure of self-esteem among inmates because it considers the importance of prison culture for self-evaluations.     

Concepts as Tools Not Rules: a Commentary on (Re-) Defining Racism

In (Re-) Defining Racism, Alberto Urquidez argues that conflicting philosophical accounts over the definition of racism are at bottom linguistic confusions that would benefit from a Wittgensteinian-inspired approach. In this essay, I argue that such an approach would be helpful in disputes over the definition of metaphysically contested concepts, such as “race,” or semantically contested concepts, such as “racialization.” I disagree, however, that such insights would prove helpful or do very little for disputes concerning normatively contested concepts, such as “racism.”

     

The Psychology of Simonton's Science: Commentary on Simonton (2009)

ABSTRACT— One key assumption of the psychology of science is that psychological factors make certain interests, talents, and abilities more likely and others less likely ( Feist, 2006 ). The line of argument that Simonton (2009 , this issue) puts forth—integrating and uniting the metaliteratures on dispositional and developmental influences on scientific and artistic creativity—is not only consistent with this assumption from the psychology of science, but it is also a breeding ground for a host of testable hypotheses and calls for future empirical investigations. Given Simonton's own extraordinary levels of scientific creativity, indeed it would be interesting to turn his ideas back on him to see how his science is a product of his own developmental and dispositional experiences. We'll leave that, however, for future biographers and psychologists of science.     

The Weight Influenced Self-Esteem Questionnaire (WISE-Q): Factor structure and psychometric properties

Weight-based self-esteem (WBSE) is hypothesized to be the core cognitive feature of eating disorders. The Weight Influenced Self-Esteem Questionnaire (WISE-Q) was designed to measure the influence of a negatively perceived body image on multiple dimensions of self-esteem, which we believe to be one aspect of WBSE. Study 1 sought to determine the factor structure of the WISE-Q as well as to examine the reliability and concurrent validity of WISE-Q scores among eating disorder and undergraduate student participants. In Study 2, validity was further investigated by examining changes in WISE-Q scores with treatment. The WISE-Q has two factors representing generalized and expected WBSE. Evidence of internal and test–retest reliability was found. Also, the pattern of correlations between WISE-Q scores and other constructs was in line with predictions. As expected, WISE-Q scores improved with treatment yet remained high.     

Ethnic In-Group Favoritism Among Minority and Majority Groups: Testing the Self-Esteem Hypothesis Among Preadolescents

The self-esteem hypothesis in intergroup relations, as proposed by social identity theory (SIT), states that successful intergroup discrimination enhances momentary collective self-esteem. This hypothesis is a source of continuing controversy. Furthermore, although SIT is increasingly used to account for children's group attitudes, few studies have examined the hypothesis among children. In addition, the hypothesis's generality makes it important to study among children from different ethnic groups. The present study, conducted among Dutch and Turkish preadolescents, examined momentary collective self-feelings as a consequence of ethnic group evaluations. The results tended to support the self-esteem hypothesis. In-group favoritism was found to have a self-enhancing effect among participants high in ethnic identification. This result was found for ethnic majority (Dutch) and minority (Turkish) participants.     

The functional independence of trait self-knowledge: Commentary on Sakaki (2007)

In a recent paper, Sakaki (2007) proposed that Klein and Loftus's conclusion that semantic and episodic trait self-knowledge are functionally independent (e.g., Klein, Babey, & Sherman, 1997; Klein & Loftus, 1993a; Klein, Loftus, Trafton, & Fuhrman, 1992b) was based on questionable assumptions and not supported by the available evidence. In this paper we show that Sakaki (2007) has misinterpreted our position on the independence of self-knowledge, omitted mention of large portions of the relevant research at odds with her contention, and conducted her studies with procedures we explicitly warned against due to interpretive ambiguities associated with their use.     

人际关系与高中生内外化问题的关系:自尊的中介及性别的调节作用

为了解亲子关系、师生关系和同伴关系对高中生内外化问题的相对影响大小,并探究自尊的中介作用,采用问卷法对北京4所中学共计794名高中生进行了调查。结果发现：（1）师生关系对于高中生内外化问题的影响大于亲子关系和同伴关系的影响;（2）自尊在亲子、师生、同伴关系与高中生内化问题中起中介作用,而在亲子、师生同伴关系与外化问题中的中介作用不显著;（3）性别差异检验发现,自尊在女生同伴关系与内化问题中起完全中介作用,而在男生同伴关系与内化问题的中介作用不显著。     

Counseling as an Interpersonal Influence Process: A Perspective for Counseling Practice

J. D. Corrigan, D. M. Dell, K. N. Lewis, & L. D. Schmidt. Counseling as a social influence process: A review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1980, 27, 395–441 (Monograph).     

大学生自尊与微信成瘾：状态焦虑和网络人际信任的中介作用

摘要 为探究大学生微信成瘾的原因及其心理机制,采用自尊量表、网络人际信任量表、状态焦虑量表和微信成瘾量表对931名来自三所高校的大学生进行调查。结果表明：（1）自尊与焦虑、微信成瘾显著负相关;焦虑与网络人际信任显著负相关;网络人际信任、焦虑与微信成瘾显著正相关。（2）自尊对微信成瘾有显著的直接预测作用,而且能够通过焦虑、以及焦虑和网络人际信任的链式中介作用间接对微信成瘾产生影响。研究结果对减少大学生微信成瘾具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Measuring Feeling of Knowing: Comment on Schraw (1995)

Schraw compares two coefficients for the 2×2 contingency tables resulting from many feeling of knowing (FOK) studies: Hamann's coefficient and Goodman and Kruskal's γ. He favours Hamann's coefficient and gives examples where Hamann's coefficient produces what might be considered the more intuitive result. Further scrutiny reveals that these examples are not as convincing as Schraw makes them out to be. Because Hamann's coefficient depends on the row and column marginals, it does not map onto FOK ability as well as Goodman and Kruskal's γ, which is a direct measure of the diagnostic worth of FOK ratings.     

Talking about talking: Interpersonal process recall as an intersubjective approach to research

Research methods are often marked by inequalities between researcher and researched, maintained through dominant discourses that structure expectations of research. This study considers how therapeutic skills such as reflexivity can help to develop alternative discourses, raise awareness and challenge inequalities in research. An approach to the qualitative analysis of research interviews using interpersonal process recall (IPR) is outlined. By focusing attention on the dialogue and enabling researcher and research participant to review and explore their interaction reflexively, IPR offers an opportunity to understand interviews as intersubjective events. It thus facilitates the collaborative identification of processes and narratives as key moments for further analysis and increases awareness of the potential blurring of genres between therapeutic and research conversations. The contribution of IPR to an intersubjective lens and greater equality in research interviewing is discussed. Potential implications for both research and therapy practices are suggested.     

Self-Esteem and Reactions to Ego threat: A (Battle)Field Investigation

Although high self-esteem has historically been associated with superior performance and goal setting, some evidence suggests that individuals with high self-esteem are prone to maladaptive reactions to ego threat (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1993). In a military training situation, we tested the hypothesis that high self-esteem individuals would overreact to ego threats and predispose themselves to failure. Cadets were given false feedback from a leadership test and subsequently attempted grenade tosses in which they selected the distance they would try. Consistent with expectations, an interaction appeared between self-esteem and ego threat such that high self-esteem cadets who received ego-threatening feedback selected more difficult targets than low self-esteem cadets, leading to marginally reduced accuracy. When not receiving an ego threat, results suggested relatively equal performance by high and low self-esteem cadets.