Évolution des idées en psychologie de la santé dans le monde anglo-saxon. De la psychologie de la santé (health psychology) à la psychologie critique de la santé (critical health psychology)

The authors adopt a historical perspective and exhibit the debates held within Health Psychology in the Anglo-Saxon universe since the 1980s. They show how the development of the North-American mainstream approach has aroused several objections. These objections were firstly methodological (qualitative methods) then, theoretical and epistemological. This evolution has allowed the creation of two main approaches: Qualitative Health Psychology and Critical Health Psychology. While this course is not yet well-known in France, it illustrates, however, the present developments and the richness of the discussion within Anglo-Saxon Psychology. The conclusion shows that these debates should be known and accepted if we intend to improve our models in Psychology, so that they take into account the situated nature of the human being, its dynamics, its temporality as well and its complexity. Hence, Health Psychology perspectives as a whole will gain in pertinence in the fields of research and intervention.     

Adaptation française d’une version courte de l’Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem pour enfants (Child Sex Role Inventory)

The main objective of this work is to propose a French adaptation of the Child Sex Role Inventory (CSRI; Boldizar, 1991) in a short form. This one will be called “Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem-enfants” (IRSB-E). The validation of the new inventory followed the main recommendations of Vallerand (1989): (1) conception of a preliminary version; (2) evaluation of items’ clarity and concomitant validity of the questionnaire; (3) evaluation of its construct validity by the analysis of its factorial structure (Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses); (4) evaluation of internal consistency and fidelity test-retest of the instrument and (5) study of the correlates. On the whole, five studies implying 654 subjects were carried out. In its final version, the questionnaire comprises two sub scales called masculinity and femininity made up of nine and eight items respectively, gathering on three dimensions for the masculinity scale (i.e., self-affirmation, competition, leadership) and two dimensions for the femininity scale (i.e., sensitivity to others, tenderness). The construct validity of the questionnaire was attested by (a) exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and (b) correlates in conformity with the theory. This tool made it possible to reproduce data evoked in the literature, in particular positive correlations between masculinity and masculine-stereotyped activities (e.g., mathematics, sport practice) on the one hand, and self-esteem on the other hand; femininity being rather negatively correlated with self-esteem and sport practice but positively related to perceived competence in French.     

Étude développementale de l’interprétation de combinaisons conceptuelles nominales « relation » et « propriété »

The present research addresses how people interpret novel noun-noun conceptual combinations. First, we focused on two types of conceptual combinations: property and relational combinations. Secondly, we manipulated the order of the constituents. Finally, we studied if the interpretation in terms of “Property” or “Relation” changes along with age. So, four groups of 6-, 8- and 10-year-old children and adults participated in a production task. Our results indicated that the interpretations in terms of relation were more frequent for the “Relation” combinations compared to the “Property” ones. Property-transferring interpretations increased with age when Property combinations are presented. The most frequent interpretations followed the order Head noun-Modifier, which is opposite to the order observed in English.     

L’expertise psychologique, élément de preuve du jugement judiciaire ?

With the psychological report, the French justice system seeks, not to reach a verdict, but to assess the defendant's penal responsibility (liability) and to adapt the sanction accordingly. The aim of this article is to examine, as part of the French penal procedure, the effect of an expert's psychological report, revealing material and moral elements relevant to the case that are incriminating the defendant or not, on objective, subjective, and general responsibility attribution. The results of an experimental study carried out among students, in ecological conditions, show that the psychological report is taken more as evidence about the case then as subjective information about the defendant. These results are discussed in light of recent judicial events.     

Systèmes de personnalité au niveau de l'individu : vers une évaluation de l'architecture sociocognitive de la personnalité

This paper addresses conceptual strategies in the assessment of intra-individual personality architecture, including the assessment of those social-cognitive structures and dynamics that contribute to personality coherence. The paper also relates social-cognitive analyses of intra-individual personality architecture to trait-theoretic analyses of inter-individual differences in the population. An overarching theme is that these alternative research traditions should be understood as approaches to different scientific problems. Unlike, for example, the lexical Big Five tradition of personality research, social-cognitive theories are concerned fundamentally with mental structures and dynamics that causally contribute to personality functioning and coherence, and with understanding how these cognitive and affective systems develop and function in interaction with the social environment. As has been explained by Lamiell (2003) and others, inter-individual analyses cannot substitute for the study of intra-individual personality dynamics and dispositions.     

Le paradigme de Jellison et Green : de la clairvoyance à la réactivité normative

This article questions congruence between the contents of the definition of the concept of normative perspicacity and Jellison and Green's paradigm to obtain its measurement. It centres the discussion on the capacity of the subjects to answer the changes of instructions and restores it in the study of complex mechanisms governing the relations of the individuals with the social standards.     

Créativité, haut potentiel et talent

Creativity (the capacity to realize original productions that fit the problem at hand) is increasingly considered as an important part of giftedness and talent. In this article, we first examine different points of view concerning the role of creativity in the phenomenon of giftedness and talent. Measures of creative potential and talent, as well as studies on the development of creativity are presented. We then consider the place of creativity in the education of gifted children. Finally, we discuss the implications of studying creativity in gifted children and propose possible lines of research and educational applications with a special focus on creativity.     

Apprentissage, mémorisation, et généralisation de nouveaux noms chez l'enfant trisomique 21. Une comparaison avec l'enfant en développement normal

We compared a group of Down syndrome participants with a group of normally developing children matched on mental age in a lexical learning task. Participants had to learn the name of four unfamiliar animals or musical instruments. Training was assessed through a naming and a pointing task, immediately after the end of the training phase, two days later, or two weeks later. Results revealed that participants with Down syndrome were better than the control group in the naming (production) task. We conclude that the learning processes involved in a novel name-learning task are not impaired in the Down syndrome persons. The two groups used the contextual cues in the same way. Finally, the notion of fast mapping in lexical learning is also discussed.     

Validation d’une batterie d’échelles en français portant sur l’identité de genre chez des jeunes de huit à 16 ans

The goal of this study was to validate in French a series of scales assessing gender identity among eight to 16-year-old youth. These scales were originally validated by Egan and Perry (2001) with an American sample. The series of scales was administered to 214 French-speaking students from the province of Quebec. Principal components analyses showed that the factorial structure of the French version confirmed the one found in the English version. Multivariate analyses of variance of the gender identity scales as a function of sex and age showed significant sex differences on most scales, similar to those found with the English version. The Cronbach alphas were lower than the alphas in the original version. Suggestions to improve internal consistency are made.     

L’information et la gestion des risques dans le suivi de la grossesse lors du 1 trimestre : quelques réflexions sur le défi éthique et le cadre légal en Suisse

The progress in prenatal medicine raises complex questions with respect to the physician–patient relationship. The physician needs to reconcile medical aspects, ethical principles as well as judicial norms. Already, during the first trimester, the physician has to put into practice the schedule combining for each individual pregnancy physical, laboratory and other appropriate exams. Physicians are under the obligation to inform in a clear and comprehensive way without creating unnecessary anxiety for their patients. Legal requirements include informed consent, the respect for the patient's right to self-determination, and compliance with the Swiss federal law on genetic testing, especially with its articles on prenatal screening and diagnosis. This article discusses the complexity of obstetrical practice when it comes to delivering adequate information within the scope of ethical and legal requirements in Switzerland.     

Méta-analyse et efficacité des psychothérapies : faits et fictions

In a political environment increasingly concerned with the problem of escalating health care costs, the issue of psychotherapy efficacy evaluation is still debated. Historically, this debate started after Eysenck (1952) published a famous article suggesting that average improvement from pre- to post-therapy has nothing to do with psychotherapy participation, but something that would tend to happen anyway (“spontaneous remission”). Wanting to prove that psychotherapy was effective (Glass, 2000), Smith and Glass (1977) published the first meta-analysis of the psychotherapy efficacy, combining the results of several controlled clinical trials, and found that psychotherapy was remarkably efficacious. Following a brief historical introduction, the objectives of this paper is to define the principles of meta-analysis, to discuss of epistemological contextualization of this methodological approach, and finally to examine the interest and limits of the application of this method in the field of evaluation of psychotherapy.     

Les caractéristiques émotionnelles des enfants à haut potentiel

Most theoretical accounts of giftedness now include an emotional as well as an intellectual component. Yet the multi-dimensional nature of giftedness has often been overlooked in the field of education. According to practitioners, gifted children not only think differently but also feel in other ways. From this point of view, the intellectual complexity interacts with emotional intensity to provide a qualitatively different way of experiencing the world, which leads to the production of the gifted child’s greater potential for high achievement. This paper will focus on emotional features of gifted individuals, and how they could be used to complete current measures and to enrich the concept of giftedness.     

Motivation autodéterminée, perceptions de conflit et d'instrumentalité et assiduité envers la pratique d'une activité physique : une étude prospective sur six mois

Exercising regularly represents a challenging public health issue. The purpose of this study was to extend prior research based on self-determination theory by considering perceptions of conflict-instrumentality with regard to physical activity. A 6-month prospective study was conducted among 62 adults. In January, their self-determined motivation toward exercise and work was assessed by questionnaire, as well as their perceptions associated to the role of exerciser. Their presence was then controlled until the end of the season. The analyses revealed a negative relationship between self-determined motivation and role conflicts, and between this variable and observed assiduity. Those results are discussed with regard to their practical implications for exercise adherence.     

L'interprétation d'indices non verbaux par les enfants

Interpreting appropriately face expressions and analyzing social relations between people, according to their actions are useful competence for treating pragmatic aspects of communication. We do research on these competences by presenting a recognition emotion task, and a task in which movements of geometrical figures simulate social interaction, to 98 children (children aged 8, 10, 12 and 14 years, children with autism and mental retardation). Results show that answers qualitatively increase with age, even after 12 years. Children with autism encounter more difficulties to recognize emotional expression than to attribute intentional actions. Emotion recognition is related to simple intention attribution but not with complex one, which develops later.     

Vers une prise en compte de la contrainte liée à l’effecteur dans la dynamique de coordination graphomotrice

Comparing two independent experiments following the same paradigm, the present article ponders the influence of constraints on graphic activity. A first study realized by Athènes et al. (2004) on the reproduction of simple graphic shapes revealed the presence of five preferential shapes when the effector was not constrained. With the forearm fastened, our results suggest that four only shapes are preferential when reproducing these same shapes. Overall, our findings suggest that the addition of a constraint related to the effector does not necessarily imply a negative effect on the graphic landscape. Were this assumption to be confirmed by full-fledged studies, it would be then possible to reveal new preferential shapes that are not spontaneously reproduced without additional constraints.     

Analyse multitraits–multiméthodes des scores au Questionnaire d’attributs personnels (Personal attributes questionnaire [PAQ]) auprès d’un échantillon féminin

The present study examines convergent and discriminent validity of the scores on a French version of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) using confirmatory factor analysis of a multitrait–multimethod matrix. The convergent validity of self-rating scores on the PAQ and parent rating scores (i.e., mothers about their own daughters) on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was satisfactory. Results revealed that the PAQ manifested significant discriminant validity. Although the factorial structure of the PAQ was confirmed, one item did not seem to be a good indicator of expressivity. Finally, the content validity of the PAQ was discussed.