Social validation of a conversational skills-training program

This study sought to demonstrate the social validity of a conversational skills-training program administered to two male clinical cases. Multiple-baseline, single-subject experimental designs were used to evaluate the effects of training on nonverbal and verbal behavior as assessed in unstructured dyadic interactions with experimentally naive peers. The interpersonal attractiveness of subjects also was rated by conversational partners following assessment interactions. Behavioral measures and attraction ratings were converted toT scores relative to means and standard deviations derived from normal subjects. Subject 1 demonstrated posttreatment behavioral skills which were between one and two standard deviations above the norm. Behavioral improvement was associated with comparable improvement in rated interpersonal attractiveness. Following treatment, Subject 2 demonstrated average behavioral competence, but interpersonal attractiveness was not notably enhanced by skills training. These findings are discussed relative to experimental and therapeutic criteria for evaluating treatment outcome.Portions of this research were completed while the authors were affiliated with the University of Georgia. Special thanks are extended to Michael Breakwell for his assistance in completing behavior ratings.     

The relationship between the assertive behavior of parents and the behavior of their children

Abstract

This investigation attempted to measure the relationship between parents' and their children's assertive and interpersonal behavior in order to identify the family population which can best profit from interpersonal skills training. Subjects were 60 volunteer mothers and fathers and 95 children, ages six to twelve, from a white upper socio-economic suburban population. The adult assessment measures were Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B) and the Adult Self-Expression Scale. The child assessment measures were Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior Children (FIRO-BC) and Self-Expression Scale: Children. The most notable result of this study indicates that contrary to most published literature on the family, assertiveness relates to affection rather than control; that assertiveness training should be subordinated to interpersonal skills training; that the FIRO instruments provide a more effective assessment of family interaction than do assertiveness instruments.     

EFFECTS OF SELF-EFFICACY AND POST-TRAINING INTERVENTION ON THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF COMPLEX INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

This study examined the effects of self-efficacy and a two-stage training process on the acquisition and maintenance (i.e., retention) of complex interpersonal skills. In stage one, all participants received basic training in negotiation skills; behavioral measures of negotiation performance were taken following this training. During stage two, alternative post-training interventions (goal setting and self-management) were offered to facilitate skill maintenance. Six weeks later, behavioral measures of performance were repeated. Results indicated that pre-test self-efficacy contributed positively to both initial and delayed performance. While training condition contributed to skill maintenance, self-efficacy also interacted with post-training method to influence delayed performance. Specifically, self-management training attenuated the self-efficacy performance relationship, while goal-setting training accentuated performance differences between high and low self-efficacy trainees. Implications of these findings are discussed for researchers and practitioners concerned with interpersonal skills training.     

Don't stand so close to me: the effects fo self-construal in interpersonal closeness

Abstract— Three studies investigated the effects of self-construal activation on behavior conducive to interpersonal proximity. Study 1 revealed that compared with control participants, participants who were primed with the independent (or personal) self sat further away from where they anticipated another person would sit in a waiting room. Results of Study 2 indicated that participants primed with the interdependent (or social) self sat closer to the anticipated other person than did those primed with the independent self. Finally, Study 3 used the chronic self-construal of participants to predict the seating distance in dyadic settings. Results showed that greater independence of participants' self-construals was associated with greater spatial distance during the interaction. Together, the studies provide clear evidence that self-construal activation automatically influences interpersonal behavior as reflected in the actual distance between the self and others. Results are discussed in terms of the functions and motives connected to self-construals.     

Risk it? Direct and collateral impacts of peers' verbal expressions about hazard likelihoods*

When people encounter potential hazards, their expectations and behaviours can be shaped by a variety of factors including other people's expressions of verbal likelihood (e.g., unlikely to harm). What is the impact of such expressions when a person also has numeric likelihood estimates from the same source(s)? Two studies used a new task involving an abstract virtual environment in which people learned about and reacted to novel hazards. Verbal expressions attributed to peers influenced participants’ behaviour toward hazards even when numeric estimates were also available. Namely, verbal expressions suggesting that the likelihood of harm from a hazard is low (vs. higher) yielded more risk taking with respect to said hazard. There were also inverse collateral effects, whereby participants’ behaviour and estimates regarding another hazard in the same context were affected in the opposite direction. These effects may be based on directionality and relativity cues inferred from verbal likelihood expressions.     

Complementarity of interpersonal behaviors in dyadic interactions

An important assumption of interpersonal theory is that during social interactions the behavior of one person tends to invite complementary behavior from the other person. Past research examining complementarity has usually used either confederates or fictitious interaction partners in their designs and has produced inconsistent results. The current study used observational ratings of behaviors of 158 participants as they interacted with partners across three different dyadic social situations. Randomization tests of hypothesized order relations found that the behaviors exhibited during these interactions tended to occur in a circular pattern predicted by the interpersonal circumplex. These tests also indicated support for Leary's (1957) orientation of the control and affiliation dimensions of the interpersonal circumplex and Carson's (1969) notion that dominant behavior induces submissive responses and friendly behavior encourages friendly responses.     

Unfolding the concept of person by verbal abuse

Examined the prevalence of an interpersonal device, namely insult types, in a collectivistic and individualistic cultural context as an index of how the concept of person is culturally constructed. Insults were divided into three general categories, individualistic (those that refer directly to a person), relational (those that refer to a person and his/her significant relations) and swear-words. An examination of the insults subjects produced in Catania, southern Italy (collectivistic), Trieste, northern Italy (individualistic) and Bologna, central Italy, partially confirmed the hypothesized differences in types of verbal abuse. In the collectivistic context instances of verbal abuse are significantly more likely to be directed to a person and his/her relations than in the individualistic context. The social psychological implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personage Admiration and Other Correlates of Conservatism-Radicalism

Summary

Forty female subjects were reinforced by a liked or disliked person in a verbal conditioning experiment. Liking for the reinforcing person had only marginal effects on performance levels, but rates of responding were significantly higher for those in the high-attraction condition. The results are interpreted in terms of an expectancy notion of interpersonal attraction.     

Vocal indicators of facilitative interpersonal skills

The facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) method uses simulations of difficult client moments as a test of helpers' ability to remain therapeutic in therapeutically stressful situations. A total of 135 participants completed the FIS task as part of a training in helping skills and provided verbal responses that were assessed by trained raters for interpersonal skills. Audio recordings of these verbal responses were then analysed acoustically for fundamental frequency (F0), spectral slope and F0 range. Mean F0 and F0 range were more highly associated with trained raters' ratings of FIS for female participants than for male participants, although F0 range was associated with FIS of both males and females. The results suggest that F0 is associated with FIS for females, especially the FIS items that are indicative of emotional expression and verbal fluency. Findings are discussed as possibly indicating that some expression of higher F0 in response to distressed client situations may be part of interpersonal skills, such that more skilled therapists respond to stressful client situations with a higher F0.     

On knowing one's patient inside out: The aesthetics of unconscious communication∗1

“Knowing one's patient inside out” is a metaphor that is intended to capture the paradoxical quality of the intersubjective field that we call the analytic relationship. The interface among trauma, dissociation, and regression is discussed in the context of unconscious communication as a transferential enactment of unsymbolized experience.The view is offered that for certain patients in particular, past experience is not so much unconscious as “frozen in time” and that a key element of the psychoanalytic relationship is bridging dissociated aspects of self through the creation of a dyadic experiential field that is both “inside” and “outside.” The writings of Michael Balint, D. W. Winnicott, and several other British object relational theorists are explored in the context of a contemporary interpersonal psychoanalytic perspective.     

Agreement in interpersonal perception as a predictor of group performance

The present work deals with quantifying group characteristics. Specifically, dyadic measures of interpersonal perceptions were used to forecast group performance. Forty-six groups of students, 24 of four and 22 of five people, were studied in a real educational assignment context and marks were gathered as an indicator of group performance. Our results show that dyadic measures of interpersonal perceptions account for final marks. By means of linear regression analysis, 85% and 85.6% of group performance, respectively, was explained for group sizes equal to four and five. Results found in the scientific literature based on the individualistic approach are no larger than 18%. The results of the present study support the utility of dyadic approaches for predicting group performance in social contexts.     

Acting, behaving, and the selfless basis of metaperception.

The desire to create a particular impression of oneself to others is a fundamental interpersonal motive that should be followed by an assessment of the success of the self-presentation. The authors integrate the areas of self-presentation and metaperception in the present research by assigning participants to enact roles during 2 dyadic interactions and measuring the actors' metaperceptions and their partners' trait judgments. They found a high level of accuracy in actors' metaperceptions but no accuracy in partners' trait judgments of the actors. Instead, partners' trait judgments corresponded closely to the actors interpersonal behavior, indicating that there was little or no "personality leakage" in the actors' behavior. Random assignment to role created a situation in which private self was uncorrelated with public self. Results indicate that actors were able to disregard their self-concepts when determining the impressions they created.     

Young women with and without non-suicidal self-injury: A comparison of romantic relationship functioning

IntroductionThe interpersonal context of an individual struggling with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is of critical importance.ObjectiveThe purpose of the current study is to offer, through a dyadic perspective, a unique portrait of the relevant indicators of romantic relationship functioning (i.e., romantic attachment, dyadic trust, dyadic coping, relationship satisfaction, and caregiving) that distinguish young women who have engaged in NSSI from those who have not.MethodParticipants consisted of 20 women who indicated having engaged in NSSI in the past six months and 20 women who indicated having never engaged in NSSI, along with their respective partner.ResultsResults revealed that women who engaged in NSSI were more likely to report subjective distress in the form of attachment anxiety and distrust, as well as lower relationship satisfaction and adaptive dyadic coping strategies, compared to women who had never engaged in NSSI. Findings also showed that partners of women who engaged in self-injury reported more attachment anxiety than partners of women who do not engage in NSSI.ConclusionThese results highlight the importance of romantic relationship dynamics and the potential associations with engagement in self-injurious behaviors, which has implications for the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies.     

Coping rarely takes place in a social vacuum: Exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships

ObjectivesDespite widespread acceptance that coping is an interpersonal phenomenon, sport psychology research has focused largely on athletes' and coaches’ ways of coping individually. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore coping from an interpersonal perspective (i.e., dyadic coping) in coach-athlete relationships.Methodology and methodsAntecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping were discussed with five coach-athlete dyads. We conducted individual interviews with athletes and coaches and then one interview with each coach-athlete dyad. Interviews were analyzed using dyadic analysis and composite vignettes were created to present the data. Methodological rigor was enhanced by focusing on credibility, resonance, rich rigor, significant contribution, and meaningful coherence.ResultsFive themes were identified. These represented the essence of dyadic coping (theme: the essence of dyadic coping), antecedents of dyadic coping (themes: lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor), and outcomes of dyadic coping (theme: protection and support). The first theme captures coaches' and athletes’ understanding of dyadic coping. The antecedent themes represent the factors that were necessary for dyadic coping to occur. Protection and support relates to the positive nurturing environment that was discussed as an outcome of dyadic coping.ConclusionThe results extend published research by exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in sport. The findings highlight that dyadic coping was prevalent in coach-athlete relationships when various antecedents (lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor) existed. Protection and support were pertinent outcomes of dyadic coping that contributed to personal and relationship growth.     

Evaluating the Coaching for Life Skills online training program: A randomised controlled trial

ObjectivesHigh school sport is considered a suitable context in which to develop life skills, yet most coaches are not equipped with the knowledge/tools needed to deliberately teach life skills. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Coaching for Life Skills online training program in helping coaches create environments conducive to the teaching of life skills.DesignRandomised controlled trial using a concurrent multiple baseline across groups design.MethodA total of 1,238 (58.8% male) Canadian high school coaches completed baseline testing examining coach-athlete relationship, coach interpersonal behaviours, and life skills teaching. Participants were then randomly assigned to an experimental, waitlist, or control group. A final sample of 285 (59.7% male) participants completed the trial (i.e., 36 experimental, 58 waitlist, and 191 control). Data were analysed using 3 x 3 repeated measures factorial analyses.ResultsAcross the three constructs assessed, there were no significant within-subject main effects for time, group, or for the interaction between time and group.ConclusionsAlthough the results were not statistically significant, visual analysis indicated positive directional changes for all three dependent variables, with increases in mean scores observed for both experimental and waitlist group participants following their completion of the Coaching for Life Skills online training program. Findings have implications for the design of online coach training programs aimed at helping coaches teach life skills through sport.     

More than talk: Relations between emotion understanding and positive behaviour in toddlers

Background. Associations between positive behaviour, emotion understanding and verbal ability have been reported in studies of preschoolers ( Cassidy, Werner, Rourke, Zubernis, & Balaraman, 2003 ), but have yet to be investigated in younger children. Methods. In this study the performance of 36 toddlers (17 boys and 19 girls; mean age = 29 months, SD = 3.9 months) on standardized verbal ability assessments and four simple tests of emotion understanding was examined in relation to three measures of positive behaviour: maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997 ), and video‐based coding of the toddlers in 20‐minutes dyadic play with (i) mothers and (ii) familiar peers. Results. Relations between the three measures of positive behaviour were rather modest, and only significant for the association between maternal ratings and observed positive behaviours with peers. Maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour were significantly correlated with performance on the emotion‐understanding tasks, even when age effects were controlled. Together, emotion understanding and verbal ability explained over half the variance in maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour; unique predictive effects were significant for emotion understanding but not verbal ability. Further, emotion understanding mediated the relationship between verbal ability and mothers' ratings of prosocial behaviour. Conclusions. These findings highlight the importance of emotion understanding as a proximal influence on very early prosocial behaviour.     

Exercise Training for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Caregivers: A Review of Dyadic Exercise Interventions

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and the prevalence will increase dramatically in the next decades. Although exercise has shown benefits for people with dementia due to AD as well as their caregivers, the impact of a dyadic exercise intervention including both groups as study participants remains to be determined. The authors review the current clinical evidence for dyadic exercise interventions, which are exercise regimens applied to both the person with dementia and the caregiver. A total of 4 controlled trials were reviewed. This review shows that dyadic exercise interventions are feasible and may produce a positive effect on functional independence and caregiver burden. However, there was insufficient evidence to support a benefit of dyadic exercise intervention on cognitive performance and on behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms in participants with dementia due to AD. A dyadic exercise intervention improves functional independence and caregiver burden. However, there is a need for well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials to confirm these benefits and to investigate several important points such as the effects of a dyadic exercise intervention on cognitive and noncognitive outcomes of AD, the optimal intensity of exercise training, and the cost effectiveness of such a program.     

Method for examining children's beliefs about the functional role played by defensive interpersonal behaviour

The goal of this study was to develop a method for examining children's expectations about the short‐term consequences of defensive interpersonal behaviour. We employed the theory of interpersonal defence (Dahmen & Westerman, in press; Westerman, 1998, 2005 ; Westerman & Prieto, 2006 ), an interpersonal reconceptualization of defence processes, as the framework for this method. We developed a two‐part procedure for eliciting children's responses to closed‐ended and open‐ended questions about interpersonal vignettes presented in storyboard format, and we employed this method in a preliminary investigation with a sample of 62 intellectually gifted boys and girls aged 7–8 and 10–11. The results showed that the participants understood that defensive interpersonal behaviours affect the likelihood that feared and wished‐for short‐term outcomes will occur. Participants demonstrated that they understood that people behave defensively in order to avoid feared consequences and nondefensively in order to pursue wished‐for outcomes. Findings also indicated that older participants understood that a person is more likely to behave defensively in highly conflict‐ridden situations. The results suggest that our method provides the basis for research that complements previous studies of children's understanding of how intrapsychic defence mechanisms regulate a person's affective experience. Future research using this method could investigate the role of beliefs about defensive behaviour in the development of behaviour problems.     

The question‐behaviour effect in intergroup attitudes research: When do attitudes towards a minority predict a relevant behaviour?

We hypothesised that the question‐behaviour effect, referred to as the influence of questioning about a given behaviour on its subsequent performance, is a relevant issue when exploring the external validity of intergroup attitudes. In a pair of studies, we have corroborated that merely expressing attitudes towards the Jewish minority affects people's relevant behaviour towards this group. In an Internet study, participants who first completed verbal attitude measures were more likely to donate to a Jewish organisation compared to those who completed the measures after making the decision to donate. Moreover, responses to attitude measures of various types and donating to the Jewish organisation were correlated when attitudes had been expressed in the first step. When attitudes were measured after the decision to donate, only the responses to the traditional anti‐Semitic scale were correlated with this behaviour. In the field study, in which the time interval between attitude and behaviour measures was introduced, no question‐behaviour effect was observed. We explain the results with reference to cognitive dissonance and attitude accessibility mechanisms and discuss them in a broader context of attitude‐behaviour research.