Near-death veridicality research in the hospital setting: Problems and promise

We attempted to conduct near-death veridicality research in the hospital setting, the rationale for which (we presented previously (Holden, 1988).) This paper describes problems, both anticipated and unanticipated, that we encountered. Based on the successes and failures of this undertaking, we present recommendations for future research of this type.At the time of this study, Dr. Holden was a candidate for the Ed.D. degree at the Northern Illinois University Graduate SchoolThis study was funded in part by a Dissertation Completion Award granted to Dr. Holden by the Northern Illinois University Graduate School. The authors also express gratitude to Robert Stromberg, Chaplain of the Lutheran General Hospital CCU at the time of this study, for his assistance in this research.     

An Exploratory Study About the Buffering Effect of Gratitude on the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Anhedonic Depression

This study explored the interactive and independent effects of gratitude and neuroticism on anhedonic depression. The tripartite theory of affect deems blunted positive affect to be tantamount to anhedonia (Clark and Watson in J Abnorm Psychol 100:316–336, 1991); hence, gratitude as a positive affective trait was posited to be related to anhedonic depression. A sample of 493 undergraduate students completed measures of the variables. Hierarchical regression showed that even though gratitude did not appear to moderate the relationship between neuroticism and anhedonic depression, it had a significant main effect on the outcome such that those who had higher gratitude scores exhibited lower levels of anhedonic depression even after controlling for the effects of both positive and negative affect. Implications of the findings regarding gratitude’s utility as a resiliency factor against anhedonic depression as well as its potential to buffer against the effects of many risk factors other than neuroticism are discussed. Researchers and mental health practitioners are encouraged to explore the nature of gratitude as a possible resource of individuals at risk for developing psychopathology, as there may be multiple avenues through which gratitude could be fostered in psychotherapy and in everyday life.     

初中生感戴维度研究

根据文献检索和理论分析,通过开放式问卷和个别访谈,编制初中生感戴问卷,并对问卷进行探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析,结果表明:感戴包含人物取向、事物取向和道义取向3个维度,该问卷具有较好的信、效度,可以作为初中生感戴教育的测量工具。     

On narcissism and post-narcissism: Psychology and theology in context

A contextual approach to narcissism is developed in which theology is seen to articulate simultaneously with psychological needs and cultural values. Some implications of the psychology of the self for theology and culture are discussed in this framework.The author wishes to express his gratitude to Dr. Larry K. Graham for his comments on an earlier version of this paper.Dr. Fallot is a psychologist on the staff of the Student Counseling Service, University of Illinois at Chicago, P.O. Box 4348, Chicago, Il. 60680.     

The severely emotionally distressed: A conceptual framework and potential roles for clergy and church

The importance of the clergy in the treatment of emotional distress can not be overestimated. Yet throughout the literature, there is a curious absence of attention to the role of the clergy and church in aiding severely emotionally distressed persons, i.e., those manifesting psychotic symptoms. This study first presents a clinical conceptual framework within which the severely disturbed may be understood. Second, potential roles of the pastor in helping such persons are described, followed by an examination of several common clinical syndromes. Finally, models used by the church on national and local levels to aid the severely distressed are discussed.Dr. Holinger is on the staff of the Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Institute, Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois 60616. The research which forms the basis for this paper was done when Dr. Holinger was at the Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.     

Validation of the Differential Emotions Scale in 613 mothers

Mothers (N=613) with infants who took the Differential Emotions Scale (DES) were compared in a cross-validation study by factor analysis to 957 high school and college students. Despite differences in factor-analytic technique, similarities in factor structure suggested that the DES discriminates the majority of fundamental emotions as posited by Izard.Robert Emde is supported by Research Scientists Award No. 5 KO5 MH 36808 and NIMH Project Grant No. 2 RO1 MH 22803. The authors wish to acknowledge the critical support of the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Medical School, and wish to express their gratitude to Carroll Izard for allowing us to publish his factor-analytic results.     

PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S VISUAL ATTENTION TO ATTRIBUTES OF TELEVISION

Preschool children's visual attention to nearly three hours of a heterogeneous sample of children's programing was examined in relationship to the presence of 37 simple visual and auditory attributes of television programs. A factor analysis of the attributes indicated that they were largely independent, with the exception of two factors, which were labeled “women and children” and “puppets.” Attributes and factors that were positively related to attention were the puppet factor, women and children factor, auditory changes, peculiar voices, movement, cuts, sound effects, laughter, and applause. Attributes that were negatively related to attention were adult male voices, extended zooms and pans, eye contact, and still shots. Other attributes had both positive and negative effects on attention depending on whether the child was looking at the TV at the time the attribute occurred. It is suggested that attributes are positive or negative to the degree to which they signal informative comprehensible content.     

Ministry to the chronic hemodialysis patient

The beginning point of ministry to those persons suffering from renal failure and turning to hemodialysis in order to sustain life is a sensitive understanding of the total dialysis experience. The minister or chaplain who visits a hemodialysis unit only occasionally will be more effective in bringing his skills to the task by understanding the unique dynamics of the physical, emotional and spiritual adjustment of those who depend on this relatively new therapy. The specific elements of this ministry in terms of those closely involved, professional care givers, families, and patients, are discussed with attention to the factors that tend to make ministry to the hemodialysis patient unique.This article is the result of a one-year chaplain residency at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, in partial fulfillment of clinical requirements for the D. Min. degree in Pastoral Theology and Counseling at the Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.     

Letters of Gratitude: Further Evidence for Author Benefits

This study examined the effects of writing letters of gratitude on three primary qualities of well-being; happiness (positive affect), life-satisfaction (cognitive evaluation), and depression (negative affect). Gratitude was also assessed. Participants included 219 men and women who wrote three letters of gratitude over a 3 week period. A two-way mixed method ANOVA with a between factor (writers vs. non-writers) and within subject factor (time of testing) analysis was conducted. Results indicated that writing letters of gratitude increased participants’ happiness and life satisfaction, while decreasing depressive symptoms. The implications of this approach for intervention are discussed.     

Gratitude and Life Satisfaction in the United States and Japan

Being grateful has been associated with many positive outcomes, including greater happiness, positive affect, optimism, and self-esteem. There is limited research, however, on the associations between gratitude and different domains of life satisfaction across cultures. The current study examined the associations between gratitude and three domains of life satisfaction, including satisfaction in relationships, work, and health, and overall life satisfaction, in the United States and Japan. A total of 945 participants were drawn from two samples of middle aged and older adults, the Midlife Development in the United States and the Midlife Development in Japan. There were significant positive bivariate associations between gratitude and all four measures of life satisfaction. In addition, after adjusting for demographics, neuroticism, extraversion, and the other measures of satisfaction, gratitude was uniquely and positively associated with satisfaction with relationships and life overall but not with satisfaction with work or health. Furthermore, results indicated that women and individuals who were more extraverted and lived in the United States were more grateful and individuals with less than a high school degree were less grateful. The findings from this study suggest that gratitude is uniquely associated with specific domains of life satisfaction. Results are discussed with respect to future research and the design and implementation of gratitude interventions, particularly when including individuals from different cultures.     

Varisim: A new machine method for orthogonal rotation

The derivative of Kaiser's Varimax criterion, if set to zero, yields a set of equations which are quite similar to those obtained for a least-squares problem of the Procrustes type. This similarity suggested an iterative technique for orthogonal rotation, dubbed Varisim, which was programmed for the IBM 7094 in FORTRAN. An empirical comparison between Varimax and Varisim, which was based on a number of data sets taken from the literature yielded three major results so far: (i) Varisim is slower than Varimax, roughly by a factor of 3, (ii) Varisim yields factors which in general contribute more evenly to the common test variance than Varimax factors, and which (iii) line up more closely with oblique configurations obtained with Binormamin than Varimax factors.This paper is based on parts of a thesis submitted to the Graduate College of the University of Illinois in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree in Psychology. Some of its contents were read at the joint meeting of the Psychonomic and the Psychometric Society, Niagara Falls, Ontario, 1964. Most of the computer-bound work was carried out while the author was employed by the Statistical Service Unit, University of Illinois; it was written up while the author held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Psychometric Laboratory of the University of North Carolina. Although space limitations forbid more complete acknowledgments, I am bound to record my deep gratitude to my advisor, Prof. H. F. Kaiser.     

Does gratitude always work? Ambivalence over emotional expression inhibits the beneficial effect of gratitude on well‐being

The psychological benefit of gratitude has been well demonstrated in previous studies. However, when we examined these studies closely, we found that the moderators were rarely investigated, suggesting that further work is needed to explore the boundaries of gratitude In this regard, the authors have proposed that ambivalence over emotional expression might be a potential moderator that would inhibit the beneficial effect of gratitude on well-being. Two studies were conducted to examine our hypothesis. Study 1 consisted of 353 Taiwanese college students who completed the Gratitude Questionnaire-Taiwan version (GQ-T), Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (AEQ), and one question about subjective happiness. We found that ambivalence over emotional expression significantly moderated the effect of gratitude on happiness. To validate our findings in Study 1, 233 Taiwanese college students were recruited for Study 2, and they completed the GQ-T, AEQ, subjective happiness short-form UCLA loneliness scale, as well as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Both studies demonstrated that ambivalence over emotional expression moderated the relationship between gratitude and well-being indexes. Simply stated, the authors found that across the two independent samples, among students who are high in ambivalence over emotional expression, the beneficial effect of gratitude on subjective happiness was inhibited. However, the moderating pattern for loneliness and depression was contrary to our expectations, indicating that high ambivalence over emotional expression does not inhibit gratitude. Possible explanations and implications for social relationships and emotional expression are discussed.     

Comparison of accommodations and interventions for youth with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial

School psychologists have a variety of evidence-based interventions from which to choose when recommending classroom-based strategies for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, strategies frequently found on individualized education plans are accommodations designed to remove barriers to learning, which have limited empirical evidence. As such, the purpose of the current study was to compare the efficacy of three interventions (i.e., organization training, self-management, note-taking instruction) and three accommodations (i.e., organization support, extended time, copy of teacher notes) to address difficulties with organization and maintaining attention during a science lesson and associated independent practice. The study included 64 middle school students with ADHD randomized to either an intervention or an accommodation condition. The intervention group was further divided into two subgroups, consisting of (a) students who were willing to follow intervention procedures and (b) students who were not willing to follow the procedures (behavioral indicators of social validity). Results indicated that adolescents with ADHD in the intervention group were statistically significantly more likely to organize and maintain binder organization and to take complete and accurate notes than those in the accommodation group. In addition, exploratory analyses indicated that adolescents who demonstrated willingness to follow intervention procedures were more likely to be academically engaged during instruction and independent work and to complete independent work accurately than those who resisted the procedures.     

The guttman-harris uniqueness estimates

It is shown that, under very general conditions, uniqueness estimates proposed independently by Guttman [1957] and by Harris [1963] provide tighter upper bounds on the unknown uniqueness values of factor analysis than do existing estimates.The Illinois Department of Mental Health Drug Abuse Program is co-sponsored by the State of Illinois and the Department of Psychiatry, Division of the Biological Sciences and Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. Send reprint requests to Drug Abuse Programs—Research, East Pavilion, Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60637.     

特质感恩与状态感恩对初中生合作水平的影响

为探究感恩对初中生合作水平的影响,本研究采用追踪调查与实验相结合的方法,通过两个研究分别探究了特质感恩与内在的合作倾向,状态感恩与外在的合作行为之间的关系。结果发现：（1）初中女生的特质感恩、人物取向感恩显著高于男生;初一下的合作倾向显著低于初一上、初二上时期;（2）初中生的特质感恩水平能显著正向预测合作倾向,状态感恩的唤起会增加公共物品困境中的合作行为。     

"I ain't been reading while on parole": experts, mental tests, and eugenic commitment law in Illinois, 1890-1940

This article analyzes professional challenges to the 1915 commitment law and the ultimate demise of eugenic institutionalization in Illinois. It reveals the pivotal role of psychologists and intelligence testing in the debate over the necessity and viability of a state-sponsored system of eugenic commitment. It focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on a specific group of young female test subjects and the female professionals who attempted to measure their intelligence. The article relies on published studies as well as case records chosen at random from the Illinois State Training School for Girls at Geneva to explain and analyze the complex relationships among mental testing, feeblemindedness, and eugenics. Focusing on Geneva enables the author to highlight and evaluate previously underanalyzed social and environmental factors that affected testing as well as the experience of women in both eugenics and intelligence testing.     

Analysis of clustered data in community psychology: With an example from a worksite smoking cessation project

Although it is common in community psychology research to have data at both the community, or cluster, and individual level, the analysis of such clustered data often presents difficulties for many researchers. Since the individuals within the cluster cannot be assumed to be independent, the use of many traditional statistical techniques that assumes independence of observations is problematic. Further, there is often interest in assessing the degree of dependence in the data resulting from the clustering of individuals within communities. In this paper, a random-effects regression model is described for analysis of clustered data. Unlike ordinary regression analysis of clustered data, random-effects regression models do not assume that each observation is independent, but do assume data within clusters are dependent to some degree. The degree of this dependency is estimated along with estimates of the usual model parameters, thus adjusting these effects for the dependency resulting from the clustering of the data. Models are described for both continuous and dichotomous outcome variables, and available statistical software for these models is discussed. An analysis of a data set where individuals are clustered within firms is used to illustrate fetatures of random-effects regression analysis, relative to both individual-level analysis which ignores the clustering of the data, and cluster-level analysis which aggregates the individual data. Preparation of this article was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant R18 HL42987-01A1, National Institutes of Mental Health Grant MH44826-01A2, and University of Illinois at Chicago Prevention Research Center Developmental Project CDC Grant R48/CCR505025.     

Gratitude and PTSD symptoms among Israeli youth exposed to missile attacks: examining the mediation of positive and negative affect and life satisfaction

Based on a sample of Israeli adolescents living in a city which was under missile attack 2½ months prior to this study, we examined the possible affective and cognitive mechanisms through which gratitude may serve as a protective factor against PTSD symptoms. Specifically, we focused on how this process might be mediated by positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. These are widely understood as the emotional and cognitive components of subjective well-being and have each been significantly associated with gratitude and with pathology in the literature. Using pathway analysis, our findings revealed that life satisfaction and negative affect, but not positive affect, mediated the relationship between gratitude and PTSD symptoms. Our study suggests that gratitude may serve as a protective factor primarily through cognitive appraisal processes tied to greater appreciation of life in a way that distinguishes it from other positive emotions.     

A Puzzle Concerning Gratitude and Accountability

P.F. Strawson’s account of moral responsibility in “Freedom and Resentment” has been widely influential. In both that paper and in the contemporary literature, much attention has been paid to Strawson’s account of blame in terms of reactive attitudes like resentment and indignation. The Strawsonian view of praise in terms of gratitude has received comparatively little attention. Some, however, have noticed something puzzling about gratitude and accountability. We typically understand accountability in terms of moral demands and expectations. Yet gratitude does not express or enforce moral demands or expectations. So, how is it a way to hold an agent accountable? In a more general manner, we might ask if there is even sense to be made of the idea that agents can be accountable—i.e., “on the hook”—in a positive way. In this paper, I clarify the relationship between gratitude and moral accountability. I suggest that accountability is a matter of engaging with others in a way that is basically concerned with their feelings and attitudes rather than solely a matter of moral demands. Expressions of gratitude are a paradigmatic form of this concerned engagement. I conclude by defending my view from the objection that it leads to an overly generous conception of holding accountable and suggest in reply that moral responsibility skeptics may not help themselves to as many moral emotions as they might have thought.

     

Looking at me,appreciating you: Self-focused attention distinguishes between gratitude and indebtedness

We provide evidence that self-focused attention (both dispositional and situationally induced) affects the evaluation of a benefactor. Specifically, self-focused attention distinguishes between gratitude and indebtedness. In Study 1, gratitude correlated negatively with dispositional public self-focused attention and social anxiety, whereas indebtedness correlated positively with public self-focused attention and social anxiety. In Study 2, participants recalled a recent benefit under either high self-focused attention, induced via a mirror, or low self-focused attention. Highly self-focused individuals recalled increased indebtedness, but not gratitude, toward a benefactor, relative to those in the control condition. Self-focused individuals also felt less commitment and closeness to the benefactor. The implications for the link between self-focus and social emotions (and thus social life) are discussed.