Recognizing social class in the psychotherapy relationship: a grounded theory exploration of low-income clients

The process of psychotherapy among 16 low-income clients was explored using grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) in order to understand and identify their unique experiences and needs. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 women and 4 men who had attended at least 6 sessions of psychotherapy within 6 months of the interview. Our grounded theory that evolved depicted a tapestry of the dynamic process by which low-income clients experience social class within psychotherapy. Specific therapist behaviors that contribute to more and less positive experiences emerged from the data and pointed to the importance of acknowledging social class within the therapy room. The significance of therapists enhancing the 50-min hour via advocacy and meaningful moments within and outside of the therapy room was highlighted among all participants. Implications for practice with low-income clients and directions for future research are provided.     

Revisiting the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs of adolescent egocentrism: a conceptual review

Adolescents are thought to believe that others are always watching and evaluating them, and that they are special and unique, labeled the imaginary audience and the personal fable, respectively. These two constructs have been fixtures in textbooks on adolescent development, and have been offered as explanations for self-consciousness and risk-taking. However, their characterization of adolescent social cognition as biased has not been supported empirically, the measures used to assess them lack construct validity, and alternative explanations for both ideation patterns have not been explored. Despite these issues, the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs continue to be considered prototypical representations of social cognitive processes during adolescence. This paper (1) reviews theoretical models of the imaginary audience and the personal fable, and the empirical data pertaining to each model, (2) highlights problems surrounding the two most commonly used measures, and (3) outlines directions for future research, so that a better understanding of the imaginary audience and personal fable, and their roles in adolescent development, may be achieved.     

Shyness, group dependence and self-concept: attributes of the imaginary audience

The imaginary audience of 328 early and late adolescents was studied from the viewpoint of providing educators and clinicians with insight into its attributes--those which both facilitate and hinder youths' development. Early adolescents (about 14 or 15 years of age) displayed a greater awareness of an imaginary audience which probably contributed to their observed, elevated group dependence. Unexpectedly, the shyness of adolescents highly sensitive to an imaginary audience increased with age, possibly because they are unwilling to provide themselves with the social experiences necessary for decentering. Likewise, those highly sensitive to an imaginary audience projected low self-concepts and thus imply that their audience is relatively critical; thus, they probably validate a self-fulfilling prophecy, oblivious to a possible contradictory external reality. The anticipated fact that females appeared to be less socially bold and more group dependent than males might account, in part, for females' greater responsiveness to an imaginary audience. It is suggested that educators and clinicians encourage youth to validate social hypotheses in order to promote the dissolution of the imaginary audience, especially of those who are shy and display self-deprecatory tendencies.     

Formal operations, the imaginary audience and the personal fable

One hundred twenty-nine 6th, 8th, 10th/11th, and 12th graders were administered Enright, Lapsley, and Shukla's Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and How Is Your Logic?, a Piagetian-based, group-administered, written test of cognitive development. A series of ANOVAs on four scales of the AES (imaginary audience, personal fable, self-in-general, nonsocial) provided partial support for Inhelder and Piaget's, and Elkind's views that adolescent egocentrism is a function of beginning formal operations. Discussion focused on the difficulty of assessing the true thoughts/feelings of persons who are worried how they will appear to others.     

Understanding responses to predictive genetic testing: A grounded theory approach

Abstract

In view of the absence of data concerning the understanding and experience of families in which one or more members have undergone predictive genetic testing, a pilot study using a qualitative methodology was conducted with members of families at risk for the late-onset genetic disease, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Semistructured interviews were conducted to elicit illness representations, with responses tape-recorded and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Several themes emerged. The most striking was that when genetic testing indicated an extremely low risk of developing the disease, there was a desire to continue regular bowel screening, even though it was experienced as extremely aversive. Possible explanations draw upon both other themes of the interviews, and psychological models. The role of “functional pessimism” and “uncertain wellness” in maintaining a high threat from the disease, and the role of reinforcement and the nature of tests in providing bowel screening with a high value are discussed.     

The autonomy of social reality: On the contribution of the theory of systems to the theory of society 1

Many contemporary schools of thought contend that the autonomy of the human world is an impossible and dangerous goal to aim at. It is shown that this is the result of the unwarranted identification of autonomy with self‐mastery. Autonomy has to be conceived of in terms of complexity and self‐transcendence (a bootstrapping). Among the paradigms that are thus revisited: Structuralism, Deconstruction, Methodological Individualism.     

Multiple audience problem: a strategic communication perspective on social perception

Examined how communicators send mixed messages containing an explicit surface content and a covert hidden content. In Study 1, Ss wrote constrained essays presenting either an introverted or extraverted personality. Although authors reported manipulating essay credibility and readers reported relying on credibility to make their judgments, readers succumbed to correspondence bias. In Studies 2 and 3, Ss again prepared either constrained essays (Study 2) or constrained videotapes (Study 3) and included in them a hidden message that would be understood by only their friends but not by strangers. Observers then read these essays or watched these videotapes. Friends detected and decoded the hidden messages, whereas strangers did not. We discuss these findings in terms of social perception and strategic communication.     

The sense-making approach for audience assessment of adolescents

The purpose of the research was to test the methodology used to identify how adolescents approach their nutrition concerns and questions. The methodology was based on Dervin's sense-making theory. Using a time-line interview technique, 305 adolescents 14 to 16 years of age detailed a situation involving their most important nutrition concerns. Other pertinent information was obtained. Cluster analysis was chosen as the appropriate analysis to identify groups of adolescents who responded similarly to the technique. Discriminant analysis was then used to determine which variables maximally separated the groups. Four groups were identified, two of which described action-oriented approaches to dealing with nutrition situations and differed in terms of how much outside help they wanted. The remaining two groups perceived barriers to dealing with situations and also differed in how much help they wanted. A fifth group indicated no nutrition concerns or questions. The results will be used to develop and test the effectiveness of nutrition education when it is focused on the different approaches.     

The motor theory of social cognition: a critique

Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of action have considerably enlarged our understanding of human motor cognition. In particular, the activity of the mirror system, first discovered in the brain of non-human primates, provides an observer with the understanding of a perceived action by means of the motor simulation of the agent's observed movements. This discovery has raised the prospects of a motor theory of social cognition. In humans, social cognition includes the ability to mindread, and many motor theorists of social cognition try to bridge the gap between motor cognition and mindreading by endorsing a simulation account of mindreading. Here, we question the motor theory of social cognition and give reasons for our skepticism.     

Agent-based modeling: a new approach for theory building in social psychology.

Most social and psychological phenomena occur not as the result of isolated decisions by individuals but rather as the result of repeated interactions between multiple individuals over time. Yet the theory-building and modeling techniques most commonly used in social psychology are less than ideal for understanding such dynamic and interactive processes. This article describes an alternative approach to theory building, agent-based modeling (ABM), which involves simulation of large numbers of autonomous agents that interact with each other and with a simulated environment and the observation of emergent patterns from their interactions. The authors believe that the ABM approach is better able than prevailing approaches in the field, variable-based modeling (VBM) techniques such as causal modeling, to capture types of complex, dynamic, interactive processes so important in the social world. The article elaborates several important contrasts between ABM and VBM and offers specific recommendations for learning more and applying the ABM approach.     

Toward a grounded theory of self-regulation in mixed martial arts

ObjectivesThe purpose of the current study was to use a grounded theory methodology to better understand the psychological factors involved in training and competition in MMA.DesignA grounded theory methodology underpinned by an interpretivist epistemology was utilized in the current study.MethodsNine MMA athletes participated in formal, recorded interviews with one athlete participating in two recorded interviews. Additionally, observations and field notes from the first author were collected over a one-year period, and aided data collection and analysis. In line with grounded theory methodology (Weed, 2009), an iterative and constant comparison approach to data collection and analysis was employed until saturation was reached.ResultsThroughout data collection and analysis, self-regulation during a training camp emerged as integral to optimal performance. Motivation and ongoing evaluation aided fighters in their ability to self-regulate both external and internal factors related to training and performance. External factors associated with self-regulation consisted of the creation and maintenance of an ascetic routine through environmental regulation, social support, and structured amnesty. Internal factors associated with self-regulation consisted of deliberately induced pain and distress, which facilitated self-efficacy, and produced stress and fatigue.ConclusionsResults of the current study advance the scientific literature in sport psychology by examining the role of self-regulation in the performance of MMA fighters. As the popularity of MMA continues to increase, future research should also examine the role of self-regulation in other aspects of MMA (e.g., injury rehabilitation, life balance).     

Behavioral confirmation in social interaction: From social perception to social reality

A perceiver's actions, although based upon initially erroneous beliefs about a target individual may channel social interaction in ways that cause the behavior of the target to confirm the perceiver's beliefs. To chart this process of behavioral confirmation, we observed successive interactions between one target and two perceivers. In the first interaction, targets who interacted with perceivers who anticipated hostile partners displayed greater behavioral hostility than targets whose perceivers expected nonhostile partners. Only when targets regarded their actions as reflections of personal dispositions did these behavioral differences in hostility persevere into their subsequent interactions with naive perceivers who had no prior knowledge about them. Theoretical implications of the behavioral confirmation construct for social perception processes are discussed.     

The emergence of autobiographical memory: a social cultural developmental theory

The authors present a multicomponent dynamic developmental theory of human autobiographical memory that emerges gradually across the preschool years. The components that contribute to the process of emergence include basic memory abilities, language and narrative, adult memory talk, temporal understanding, and understanding of self and others. The authors review the empirical developmental evidence within each of these components to show how each contributes to the timing, quantity, and quality of personal memories from the early years of life. The authors then consider the relevance of the theory to explanations of childhood amnesia and how the theory accounts for and predicts the complex findings on adults' earliest memories, including individual, gender, and cultural differences.