Evaluation of a group cue-exposure treatment for opiate addicts

Twenty-four detoxified opiate addicts were randomized to an experimental group and a control group to evaluate efficacy of a group cue-exposure treatment to reduce or extinguish classically conditioned responses to drug-related stimuli. Assessment included psychophysiological responses (skin temperature, skin conductance level--SCL--, and heart rate) to a videotape and subjective measures (subjective craving, positive and negative affect) before and after the videotape. The experimental group received a group cue-exposure program to drug-related stimuli that comprised twelve treatment sessions administered three times weekly. The treatment program significantly reduced conditioned responses to drug-related stimuli, as measured by SCL and positive affect.     

Structural contingency theory and individual differences: examination of external and internal person-team fit

This article develops and tests a structurally based, integrated theory of person-team fit. The theory developed is an extension of structural contingency theory and considers issues of external fit simultaneously with its examination of internal fit at the team level. Results from 80 teams working on an interdependent team task indicate that divisional structures demand high levels of cognitive ability on the part of teammembers. However, the advantages of high cognitive ability in divisional structures are neutralized when there is poor external fit between the structure and the environment. Instead, emotional stability becomes a critical factor among teammembers when a divisional structure is out of alignment with its environment. Individual differences seem to play little or no role in functional structures, regardless of the degree of external fit.     

Gender differences in standards for romantic relationships

Why is it that women often report more problems in their romantic relationships than do men? One explanation apparent in the literature is that women may view different standards as important for relationships than do their male counterparts and, as a consequence, women may be less likely to have their standards met. A second explanation is that while women and men may not differ in terms of the importance they associate with various standards, the experiences they have in their romantic relationships may lead women Lo believe their standards are not fulfilled as often as do men. The current study offers a preliminary test of these two rival explanations and found greater support for the latter. Analyses of two composite measures and more detailed factor-based measures generally indicated that the standards held by women and men involved in heterosexual romantic relationships were rated similar in importance. Women, however, tended to note that their standards were met less fully than did men. Further, compared to men, women reported a greater discrepancy between the importance they associated with various standards and the extent to which the standards were fulfilled in the context of their relationship. The ability of two different theoretical models to predict and explain these findings is discussed, as re the implications of the results for future research.     

Sibling aggregation for psychopathology in offspring of opiate addicts: effects of parental comorbidity.

Applied a new analytic approach within the high-risk paradigm, the analysis of sibling aggregation, to identify homogeneous subtypes of familial risk for psychopathology and addiction. All sibling pairs participating in a study of offspring of opiate-addicted parents were identified and their aggregation for psychiatric disorders was determined using pairwise odds ratios, an analytic technique used in genetic epidemiology. Sibling aggregation was most notable for depressive and anxiety disorders but only in the presence of comorbid depressive disorders in the parents. Parental comorbid alcoholism did not impact sibling aggregation. We emphasize methodological implications of this approach for addressing issues of phenotypic and etiologic heterogeneity in the study of developmental risk for substance abuse.     

Outplacement services for displaced employees: attitudes of human resource managers based on differences in internal and external delivery

The results from a survey of 238 human resources executives from organizations that offer outplacement counseling (OPC) internally and 168 that offer it externally suggest that internal OPC delivery is inferior to external OPC delivery. The author found that most internal OPC organizations did not offer the 13 traditional OPC services, even when they were viewed as important. However, both groups had deficiencies in measuring their OPC relative to gender, age, and effectiveness. Internal OPC organizations rated the quality of their OPC service as 4.77 on a scale of 10, whereas external OPC organizations rated their services as 7.96.     

Personality differences between alcohol abusers and matched controls: Relation to frontal symptoms and subtypes of addicts

Epidemiological studies usually show a link between personality disorders and addictions. Dimensional models of personality, such as that of Cloninger, are able to diagnose and discriminate between transient dysfunctional behavior styles and relatively more stable traits. Certain brain areas have been proposed, as trait locations, based on their activation. This paper explores differences in personality traits among a sample of alcohol abusers (N= 95) and a control group of non-clinical population (N= 95), matched in sociodemographic variables, using the TCI-R-67 and the FrSBe-Sp. It is hypothesized that such differences are associated with frontal symptomatology. The existence of different subgroups of addicts based on certain combinations of traits is also analyzed. Results showed significant differences in two temperament traits (Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance) and a characterial trait (Self-Direction). We also found a correlation with a large effect size between these traits and frontal symptomatology. Cluster analysis classified the participants into several subtypes with different combinations of traits that matched diverse frontal symptomatology. Possible neurobiological explanations of these differences and their importance in the clinical practice are discussed.     

Religious disagreement: internal and external

Philosophers of religion have taken the assumption for granted that the various religious traditions of the world have incompatible beliefs. In this paper, I will argue that this assumption is more problematic than has been generally recognized. To make this argument, I will discuss the implications of internal religious disagreement, an aspect of this issue that has been too often ignored in the contemporary debate. I will also briefly examine some implications of my argument for how one might respond to the existence of religious diversity.     

Effect of incompatibility between internal and external group membership criteria on intergroup behaviour

Group membership generally entails that individuals are both defined, and define themselves, as members of that group. This study investigated the effect of incompatibility between these definitions on intergroup behaviour. Subjects were allocated to one of two groups of differential status such that the allocation was compatible or incompatible with their self-categorization. The results indicated that the effect of incompatibility depended on the status of the group imposed on the subjects.     

The necessary connection between internal and external state legitimacy: concerns regarding intervention

It has been traditional in political philosophy to take internal and external state legitimacy as resting on distinct criteria. However, this is a view that is currently being challenged. Assuming that internal and external legitimacy rely on the same criterion, a possible worry that arises is that an unacceptable amount of intervention will necessarily become justifiable. I argue that such worries are not significant and that they do not rule out this alternative to the traditional view.     

The effects of being categorised: The interplay between internal and external social identities

In this chapter, we consider the independent and interactive effects of internal categorisations (how people see themselves) and external categorisations (how they are categorised by others) on social behaviour. Our point of departure is that people do not necessarily accept external categorisations that are imposed upon them (regardless of whether these refer to artificially constructed or naturally occurring groups) and that this affects their willingness to invest in the group. We first outline different reasons people may have to behave in line with externally imposed group memberships. Subsequently, we examine how self-presentation motives may interfere with identity expression, as people consider different social norms, different audiences, and the psychological costs associated with the management of their social identities. We conclude by delineating the conditions under which external categorisations can be internalised by targets, depending on the interplay of multiple identities as well as the way people are treated by others.     

On the difference between internal and external reactions to legitimate and illegitimate frustrations: A demonstration

Although it is commonly assumed that the nature of any given frustration (defined as an unexpected barrier to goal attainment) affects the strength of the resulting instigation to aggression, the present paper argues that the type of frustration, ie, whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, can also influence the strength of an overt attack upon an available target independently of instigation intensity. Two groups of university men were unexpectedly kept from winning a money prize for working on a motor task, and one group was induced to attribute this failure to their partner's misbehavior (illegitimate frustration) while the other men were told the failure was due to the apparatus (legitimate frustration). In comparison to a nonthwarted control group, both frustrated conditions displayed the same level of internal arousal. However, when all subjects had an opportunity to “supervise” a second partner on an unrelated task soon afterwards, only those who had been illegitimately thwarted earlier were now more openly punitive toward this “innocent” individual than the control group. Possible reasons for these results are discussed, but it is emphasized that a distinction must be drawn between the internal and external reactions to a frustration.