The mortality of psychoanalysts

The mortality rate for male psychoanalysts was compared to that for the general white male population; for male physicians; and for male psychiatrists and neurologists. For psychoanalysts the rate was found to be significantly lower than for any of the other three groups. Several possible explanations for this low mortality rate are considered. Two major factors may be the careful screening of candidates for psychoanalytic training and their personal analysis. Possible methods of controlling for these factors are suggested.     

Self-generated attitude change: A person by situation analysis of attitude polarization and attenuation

The potential moderating effects of differences in the need for cognition on the attitude polarization process were explored. Based on putative schematabased differences in information processing, it was predicted that an increased opportunity for thought would result in (a) more attitude polarization for low need for cognition persons than for high need for cognition persons and (b) more attitude attenuation for high need for cognition persons than for low need for cognition persons. Participants completed the Need for Cognition scale and were given either little or ample time to think about issues toward which they previously held moderate attitudes. Attitudes were reassessed following thought about the issues. The results were consistent with the predicted moderating effects of individual differences in the need for cognition on thought-induced attitude polarization. Implications of and alternative explanations for the findings are discussed.     

观点采择因素对3～4岁儿童延迟满足决策的影响

通过采用延迟满足决策任务,要求儿童分别为自己和他人做出决策,本研究考察了观点采择因素对儿童情感决策发展的影响。实验一选取3岁和4岁儿童各40名,结果发现3岁儿童和4岁儿童在为自己选和为他人选两种条件下的表现均无显著差异,都倾向于做出延迟选择。实验二选取3岁和4岁儿童各60名,在为他人的选择中进一步区分了不同的观点提示条件,并增加了观点采择测验任务。结果发现,4岁儿童的观点采择能力得到了初步的发展,在不同的观点提示条件下为他人选择时分别表现出了与为自己选择不同的决策趋势;3岁儿童尚未获得观点采择能力,在各种不同观点提示条件下为自己和为他人做选择时差异均不显著。本研究结果表明,观点采择能力对儿童情感决策的影响是发展性的。随着观点采择能力的发展,儿童逐渐能够确立正确的延迟动机,为他人做出有效的决策。     

The Impact of Need for Achievement Components on Goal Commitment and Performance

A laboratory study examined the effects of components of need for achievement on goal commitment and performance. It was predicted that need for mastery and need for work are related to goal commitment. It was also predicted that need for mastery and need for work are more highly related to goal commitment than competitiveness, given the characteristics of the task environment. Finally, goal commitment was expected to mediate the effects of need for mastery and need for work on performance. Fifty-four undergraduate students performed nine trials of a complex task and completed a need for achievement scale composed of four subscales. Support was obtained for the first two predictions, and evidence of a sequential model partially supported the third prediction.     

Sex difference trends in completed suicide

The recent suicide literature increasingly has contained statements suggesting that the differences in completed suicide between the sexes are lessening. A compilation of official suicide data for 1933-1980 verifies such a trend from the 1950s through 1971. However, increased differences (as measured by the ratio of male to female rates) were consistently observed from 1971 to 1980. These trends were found for data for the nation, for whites and nonwhites, for numbers of suicides, for crude rates, and for age-adjusted rates. Decreased sex differences were obtained for those 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and for 65+ years of age, but increased sex differences were observed for those aged 15-24 and 25-34. Possible explanations for these findings are presented.     

Evaluating a modified exercise self-efficacy scale for college-age women

This pilot study examined test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities of original and modified formats of the Exercise Self-efficacy Scale in college-age women. 30 completed original and modified versions of the scale. Data from both tests, administered 1 wk. apart, were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to assess test-retest reliability and Cronbach coefficient alpha for internal consistency. Scores for both versions correlated .96. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the original scale were .96 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the revised scale were .95 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency remained consistently high for both versions of the scales within this sample. Implications for use of this scale and recommendations for research are given.     

英语词汇记忆中关键字母法效应的条件研究——基于初一学生的干预研究

通过干预范式和中介刺激法, 随机选取112名初中一年级学生为被试, 采用一系列自编的材料和工具, 考察了关键字母法效应的三个条件:识别关键字母、提取同分异构词和提取同分异构词释义。结果表明:(1)如果要求准确的回忆, 从短期和长期看, 识别关键字母和提取同分异构词都是关键字母法效应的必要条件, 提取同分异构词释义是关键字母法效应的充分条件。(2)如果只要求大致的回忆, 从长期看, 识别关键字母是关键字母法效应的必要条件, 提取同分异构词是关键字母法效应潜在的充分条件, 而提取同分异构词释义则是关键字母法效应的充分条件。     

Beyond a stereotyped view of older adults' traditional family values

Structural equation models for predictors of traditional family values regarding relationships were examined in 2 samples: undergraduate students and adults ranging widely in age (23-86 years). Predictor variables included verbal ability, need for cognition, need for closure, intolerance for ambiguity, religiosity, and gender orientation. The models accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in traditional family values (64% for students, 63% for adults). Findings provide little support for common stereotypes regarding age and gender differences in traditionalism. Instead, 3 individual-differences variables predicted traditional family values: need for closure, religiosity, and verbal ability. Outcomes argue for the need to identify multiple mechanisms by which personal characteristics such as need for closure and religiosity influence traditionalism in social belief systems and argue against reliance on status variables such as age and gender as explanatory variables for these beliefs.     

诚信内在结构解析

对诚信的内在结构可有多种解析。从所属领域角度,诚信可以被分为心诚、言诚、行诚三个层面。这三个层面相互依赖、相互作用：心诚是言诚和行诚的内在依据,言诚和行诚是心诚的必要外化,而言诚和行诚则相互促进。从所涉对象角度,诚信可以被分为诚己、诚人、诚群三个维度。这三个维度彼此相关、层层推进：诚己是诚人和诚群的必要前提,诚人是诚己的必然延伸和必要确证,而诚群则是诚人的合乎逻辑的扩展。     

Exploring the Association Between Anxiety and Conduct Problems in a Large Sample of Twins Aged 2–4

Anxiety and conduct problems covary, yet studies have not explored the genetic and environmental origins of this association. We analyzed parent-reported anxiety and conduct problems in 6,783 pairs of twins at 2-, 3-, and 4-years of age. As anxiety and conduct problems were fairly stable across the three ages (average 1-year correlation was .53), ratings from all three were combined. The aggregate anxiety and conduct ratings correlated .33 for boys and .30 for girls. Bivariate genetic analyses indicated fairly low genetic correlations (.31 for boys, .16 for girls), and high shared environmental correlations (1.0 for boys and 0.99 for girls) between anxiety and conduct problems. Most of the phenotypic correlation was accounted for by shared environmental mediation (65% for boys and 94% for girls), indicating that many of the same family environmental factors are responsible for the development of both anxiety and conduct problems.     

"Let me count the ways:" fostering reasons for living among low-income, suicidal, African American women

Protective factors for fostering reasons for living were examined among low-income, suicidal, African American women. Bivariate logistic regressions revealed that higher levels of optimism, spiritual well-being, and family social support predicted reasons for living. Multivariate logistic regressions indicated that spiritual well-being showed unique predictive value for reasons for living. Further, the multivariate model accurately predicted reasons for living 72% of the time. Partial support was found for a cumulative protective model hypothesizing a linear relationship between the number of protective factors endorsed and increased reasons for living. Implications for community-based preventive and recovery-oriented intervention efforts and future research are discussed.     

Scoring reliability on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III)

Nineteen psychologists and 19 graduate students scored two Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition patient protocols. Mean IQs and indexes were similar across groups, but the ranges for Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) on one protocol were 25, 22, and 11 points, respectively. For both protocols taken together, percentages of agreement with the "actual" IQs for psychologists were only 26.3 for VIQ, 36.8 for PIQ, and 42.1 for FSIQ. For students, percentages were 15.8 for VIQ, 23.7 for PIQ, and 31.6 for FSIQ. The percentages of FSIQs that fell within +/- 1 standard error of measurement of the actual IQs were 89.5 for psychologists and 76.3 for students. Scoring error also had a negative impact on index scores. Both groups were confident about their scoring accuracy.     

Developmental trends in utilizing perceptual closure for grouping of shape: effects of spatial proximity and collinearity

In two experiments, visual search was used to study the grouping of shape on the basis of perceptual closure among participants 5-23 years of age. We first showed that young children, like adults, demonstrate an efficient search for a concave target among convex distractors for closed connected stimuli but an inefficient search for open stimuli. Reliable developmental differences, however, were observed in search for fragmented stimuli as a function of spatial proximity and collinearity between the closure-inducing fragments. When only closure was available, search for all the age groups was equally efficient for spatially close fragments and equally inefficient for spatially distant fragments. When closure and collinearity were available, search for spatially close fragments was equally efficient for all the age groups, but search for spatially distant fragments was inefficient for younger children and improved significantly between ages 5 and 10. These findings suggest that young children can utilize closure as efficiently as can adults for the grouping of shape for closed or nearly closed stimuli. When the closure-inducing fragments are spatially distant, only older children and adults, but not 5-year-olds, can utilize collinearity to enhance closure for the perceptual grouping of shape.     

Predictive Characteristics of Type A Behavior Among Working Men and Women

This study examined which motivation needs and job variables are associated with Type A/B behavior pattern for working women and men, and to what degree, if any, can these variables be used as predictors of Type A/B behavior pattern for each sex. Subjects were 797 working men and women (female, n = 439; male, n = 358) in 34 organizations in a metropolitan city in the West. Results showed that for both Type A women and men, the most significant factors were high levels of need for power, job commitment and hierarchical position. Job satisfaction was a significant predictor of Type B behavior pattern for both sexes. Need for achievement was a significant predictor of Type A behavior pattern for women but not for men. Age, working for a profit or nonprofit company, and level of education were significant predictors of Type A/B behavior for men but were not important contributors for women. Substantial differences between managers and nonmanagers were reported both within and between genders.     

Humans as professional interactants with elephants in a global commons

All current versions of ethics for human interaction with animals are based on theories originally developed for relationships between humans or for human understanding of the environment. The perceived analogies between relationships among humans those theories were designed for and the relationships between human and animals have led to specifically revised and adapted theories for ethical interaction between humans and animals. In this essay I propose two further analogies that I develop into one core argument to cover specific issues in human–animal relationships not yet adequately addressed. First I adapt the ethical theory designed for use between human professionals and their clients for analogous use in the power relationship between humans and animals; second I similarly adapt the ethical theory designed for interactions between humans and the global environment. I use elephants as example of an animal species and they stand as proxy for all similar animal species. The overall argument justifies moral duties for humanity to protect both species and the global biosphere as home for all living organisms.     

Locus of Control as a Stress Moderator and Mediator in Children of Divorce

This paper examined the stress moderator and mediator effects of four dimensions of perceived control in children of divorce. The dimensions of locus of control included internal control for positive events, internal control for negative events, unknown control for positive events, and unknown control for negative events. The sample consisted of 222 children between the ages of 8 and 12 whose parents had divorced in the previous 2 years. Moderational analyses showed that unknown control for positive events interacted with negative events to predict total symptoms. Plots of the simple slopes indicated a stress buffering effect whereby the slope of negative events on symptoms was higher for high than for low levels of unknown control for positive events. Mediational analysis showed that the relations between negative events and symptoms were mediated by both unknown control for positive events and unknown control for negative events. In contrast, evidence was not found for either a stress mediational or a moderational model for perceived internal control for positive or negative events. These results suggest that unknown control beliefs may be a particularly important dimension of control for children of divorce.     

Relevance and Alliance: Cornerstones in Training Counselors of Men

The need for alliance between women and men is fundamental for fully understanding as well as for effectively countering the negative consequences of gender roles and related strains for both sexes. This article discusses training counselors of men in relation to two questions: Is sexism as relevant an issue for men as it seems to be for women? and What are appropriate goals for training sessions of counselors of men?     

Attitude Change Toward Animal Experimentation in an Academic Setting

Social values theory was used to examine how parents make decisions for their adolescent children. Social values theory states that decision making for others is based on the social value of an action, leading to a norm for how to decide for others, whereas self decisions are influenced by a number of additional factors. Consistent with a risk-aversion norm, in hypothetical health and safety scenarios parents made more risk-averse decisions for their adolescent children than for themselves. Further, the level of risk and inconvenience affected self decisions more than decisions for one's child. A second study showed that the norm was stronger for decisions for one's child than for oneself and more related to parents’ decisions for their child than for themselves. In sum, parents’ decisions for their children seem to be largely determined by a norm stating how they are supposed to decide, at least in the domain of health and safety. Implications for both the judgment and decision making and parenting literatures are discussed.     

Profile validity standards for MMPI and MMPI-2 F scales

Although numerous indices of validity have been developed for the MMPI and MMPI-2, interest in the F scale and its variants continues, especially among practicing clinicians. The use of the binomial for assessing standards for random answering and possibly for judgments of malingering offers another approach for the interpretation of F-scale scores. The theoretical binomial distribution and Monte Carlo data are in accord. Cut-off scores of 24 for the MMPI and 23 for the MMPI-2 suggest random responses, and scores of 40 and 37, respectively, suggest clinical interpretation rather than randomness of responding.     

Identifying predictor variables of weight loss outcome: Implications for a stepped program and weight management

Abstract

Four variables were identified that predicted outcome for the minimal and moderate intensity weight control programs presented in sequence. Predictive models for pounds lost and percentage overweight lost were computed for both programs and follow-up and accounted for 33% to 62% of the variance. The predictor variable that contributed to the two programs and follow-up was success in losing weight previously. Greater rate of weight loss in the first five weeks contributed to the model for the minimal intensity program and for follow-up and total number of calories expended in nonroutine physical activity added to the model for the minimal intensity program. Marital dissatisfaction of subjects was a predictor for the moderate intensity program and follow-up. The findings have utility for a stepped program for weight and provide confirmation of variables noted as predictors in prior research. This study may help in the quest to identify consistent predictors of weight loss success.