Psychological research on videotex

Videotex is considered to be a powerful, but simple to use, computer network available for use in homes, offices, and schools. Information in the form of text and color graphics can be requested and displayed on the user’s television set. While retrieval of information is the first service provided on videotex, many other services, including electronic mail, electronic shopping, and electronic funds transfer, will be developed. However, in order to achieve the popularity predicted for videotex, a number of human factors and social problems must be solved. Research concerning some of these problems, and the role psychologists can play in their solution, is described.     

Psychological research questions about yoga

There are two kinds of scientific questions about procedures such as yoga: ‘process' questions and ‘outcome’ questions. Research on the effectiveness of yoga indicates that it has a variety of beneficial effects, but there is more doubt about whether it has unique effects. A broad range of procedures which combine physical stillness with mental alertness seem to have comparable effects. More subtle questions arise concerning the ‘processes' by which yoga achieves its effects, and both mental and physical processes need to be investigated. Concerning physical aspects, attention needs to be given to the under-explored effects of posture on states of consciousness. Concerning mental aspects, the ‘focusing’ of consciousness is likely to be important; an unusual aspect of many forms of yoga is the somatic focus of consciousness. Also relevant are the critical comments of Jung about appropriateness of yoga in the West. Though Jung's views on this should not be accepted uncritically, they can be taken as setting an agenda for a research programme.     

Five-year research update (1986-1990): Evaluations for competence to stand trial

This article reviews and evaluates publications during 1986–1990 with relevance for assessments of competence to stand trial. The review focuses specifically on articles that provide new concepts or data supported by research or case studies. The studies are reviewed under the following headings; (a) the systemic context of competence to stand trial (CST) evaluations, (b) conceptual definitions of competence and models for CST assessment, (c) research on CST assessment methods, (d) characteristics of incompetent defendants, (e) interpretation of CST evaluation data, (f) issues in CST assessment of special populations, and (g) treatment to restore competence. Suggestions are offered for further research to advance the quality of clinical evaluations for competence to stand trial.     

The Distance from Psychological Research to Real Life

Considering our experiences in everyday life, the result of research based on sample assumed to be derived from a “population” cannot afford individual predictions. That is because the variabilities within individuals which play an important role in actual psychological processes are erased from the data in samples-based studies. In this article, we begin the discussion with how the intra-individual variance contributes to individual prediction. As case study works on the basis of variability within each individual, it explores the intrinsic mechanism of development and emphasize the connection between person and environment. The question of how to generalize from case studies requires that the researcher to selectively consider some of the variance and construction of a hypothetical model that shows how different features of oppositions (Yin and Yang) are integrated into an abstract whole that is applicable to all individual cases.

Change in value orientations of Turkish youth from 1989 to 1995

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in value orientations of Turkish youth from 1989 to 1995 and to see how changes in Turkish society affected the value orientations of Turkish youth. The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS; M. Rokeach, 1973) was administered in Ankara to 289 young people in 1989, to 318 young people in 1992, and to 397 young people in 1995. Results indicated that the value orientations of the Turkish youth in 1989 underwent major changes that were manifested in 1992, toward a more competitive and individualistic orientation. Similar characteristics were reflected in the value priorities of the young people in 1995, which indicates that values are modified to fit the changes the society experiences.     

Psychological research and the prostate-cancer screening controversy

In October of 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a draft report in which they recommended against using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer. We attempt to show that four factors documented by psychological research can help explain the furor that followed the release of the task force's report. These factors are the persuasive power of anecdotal (as opposed to statistical) evidence, the influence of personal experience, the improper evaluation of data, and the influence of low base rates on the efficacy of screening tests. We suggest that augmenting statistics with facts boxes or pictographs might help such committees communicate more effectively with the public and with the U.S. Congress.     

心理解剖及其在自杀研究中的应用

心理解剖是一种综合性、回顾性的研究方法, 指的是通过访谈死者的知情人或信息代理人, 收集死者生前和死后的相关信息, 重新构建死者的社会、生理、心理状况, 以推定其自杀的危险因素。研究表明, 心理解剖对自杀研究有着重要贡献, 是自杀研究中最有价值的工具之一。本文主要分为两部分：一部分主要论述了心理解剖的研究过程, 为该方法在自杀研究中的应用提供参考; 另一部分论述了通过心理解剖研究得到的自杀的危险因素, 帮助更加详细地了解心理解剖在自杀研究中的研究进展。未来应该进一步加强心理解剖的本土化研究和跨文化研究; 同时有必要应用心理解剖进一步探索自杀的多个危险因素之间的交互作用。     

宽恕的心理学研究现状及其不足

宽恕逐渐成为心理学研究的热门课题。当前对宽恕的理论研究集中在人际宽恕的理论构建和相关研究,主要是对宽恕的神经心理基础、发展模式以及人格与宽恕的关系的研究;多数应用研究注重于其临床价值,已经有很成熟的临床干预模式出现。但是宽恕的研究还存在一些问题,对宽恕的定义存在争议,导致对宽恕的研究片面;对于测量宽恕的研究远远不够成熟和完善。宽恕的研究有待于细化和拓展。     

Psychological adaptation to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995: 16 years later victims still report lower levels of subjective well-being

We investigated psychological adaptation to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, using surveys conducted in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2011. Respondents whose houses were damaged reported lower life satisfaction, more negative affect, and more health problems than those who did not suffer any damage in all surveys, including in 2011, or 16 years after the earthquake. Likewise, residents with at least one immediate family member who died in the earthquake reported lower life satisfaction, more negative affect, and more health problems than those who did not have any immediate family members killed in all surveys, including in 2011. Surprisingly, the effect of housing damage on subjective well-being remained significant, above and beyond human loss. Equally important, the 2011 survey data showed that pre-existing differences in socioeconomic status between the victims of housing damage and human loss did not change our main findings.     

Autism: from research to practice

Autism is the most commonly studied of a spectrum of developmental disorders that are believed to be neurobiologically based but which, at this point, for lack of good biomarkers, are defined purely by behavior. In the last 20 years, the definition of autism has shifted in emphasis from extreme aloofness and positive signs of abnormality in repetitive and sensorimotor behaviors to a greater awareness of the importance of more subtle reciprocal social communication deficits as core features. Standard diagnostic instruments were developed for research purposes to acquire information both through caregiver interviews and direct clinical observation. Use of these instruments in clinical practice resulted in major improvements, which in turn affected research results. These results yielded further improvements that led to changes in clinical practice over time. The synergism between research and clinical practice in the understanding of autism is discussed.     

The right to withdraw from research

The right to withdraw from participation in research is recognized in virtually all national and international guidelines for research on human subjects. It is therefore surprising that there has been little justification for that right in the literature. We argue that the right to withdraw should protect research participants from information imbalance, inability to hedge, inherent uncertainty, and untoward bodily invasion, and it serves to bolster public trust in the research enterprise. Although this argument is not radical, it provides a useful way to determine how the right should be applied in various cases.     

A Feminist Analysis of Seventeen Magazine: Content Analysis from 1945 to 1995

This study is an extension of the contentanalysis conducted by K. Peirce [(1990) AFeminist Theoretical Perspective on the Socialization ofTeenage Girls Through Seventeen Magazine, SexRoles, Vol. 23, pp. 491-500]. Her study examined thecontent of Seventeen magazine for the years 1961, 1972,and 1985, and the impact of the feminist movement fromthe 1960s through the 1980s. The present study explored the content of Seventeen magazine in the years1945, 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, and 1995 to determine ifthe articles that are presented have changed in responseto the feminist movement from the 1940s to the present day. These results would supportthe contention that there is a relationship between thecontent of Seventeen magazine, in terms of traditionalvs. feminist messages, and the women's movement. However, these changes are slight and still donot reflect the various roles of teenage girls.Implications for further research arediscussed.     

日益孤独的中国老年人：一项横断历史研究

随着社会的巨大变迁, 我国老年人孤独感水平可能逐年增高。通过采用横断历史研究的方法, 对使用UCLA孤独量表(第三版)调查老年人孤独感的25篇文献进行元分析, 调查年代跨度为1995年至2011年, 共涉及13280名老年人。研究结果表明：(1)我国老年人孤独感水平随年代的变迁呈上升趋势; (2)不同婚姻状况、不同性别老年人的孤独感水平随年代均呈上升趋势; (3)老年人孤独感水平存在婚姻状况差异, 但不存在性别差异。