Teaching cotherapy: Instructional and supervisory processes

A course on cotherapy for mental health practitioners is described. The authors strongly recommend that clinicians from all disciplines be taught and trained to do cotherapy, since it is a highly effective therapeutic modality in treating individuals, families and groups.     

The cotherapy relationship: Special issues and problems in aids therapy groups

This paper examines the special issues and problems in the co-leadership relationship which arise in ongoing AIDS therapy and support groups. A brief review is given outlining some of the advantages and disadvantages of the coleader model. Specific attention is then paid to the issues/themes of physical deterioration of members, disfigurement, frequent absences, and members dying. Four particular patterns of interaction that develop between cotherapists are identified, illustrated, and discussed.The author thanks the Group Services staff and volunteer therapists for their contributions to this article.     

Transition in the cotherapy dyad: To wait or not to wait

Transition within the cotherapy dyad is explored and examined in relation to institutional ethos and needs, the attitudes and needs of the psychotherapy group, and the attitudes and needs of the cotherapists. The timing of transition is discussed as are a variety of potential approaches to transition within the cotherapy dyad. Some significant dynamics which underlie the process of transition within the cotherapy dyad are examined and discussed in relation to their potential effects on the psychotherapy group and group process.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the American Group Psychotherapy Assn., February, 1979, New York, NY.     

The impact of socially projected group composition on behavior in a commons dilemma: A self-attention perspective

Socially projected group compositions, based on subjects’ expectancies about the behavior of others and the number of subjects taking part on the resource use task, were indexed using Mullen’s Additive Other-Total Ratio (Mullen, 1987) and used to predict harvesting behavior in a commons dilemma. One-hundred forty-three males took part in a resource use task in groups ranging in size from two to six members. Just prior to harvesting trials, subjects indicated the number of those taking part that they expected to overharvest and to underharvest, and indicated to which of these groups they had assigned themselves. Results indicated that harvesting behavior varied as a function of the number of others expected to behave differently from self, and conformed to patterns predicted by Self-Attention Theory. With increases in the number of others expected to underharvest, indexing an increase in self-attention, subjects who indicated they would overharvest become more conservative in resource use. However, subjects who indicated they would underharvest did not significantly decrease harvest size with increases in the number of others expected to overharvest. These subjects were already harvesting at an optimal or sub-optimal rate, and therefore had no need to reduce the size of their harvests to match their behavior to standards stressing conservatism in resource use.     

The give-or-take-some dilemma: An empirical investigation of a hybrid social dilemma

We describe and empirically investigate a hybrid social dilemma that merges give-some and take-some dilemmas by allowing individuals to choose to either give or to take resources from a shared resource pool. Study 1 finds that (a) group size increases the inequality among group members and the likelihood of creating the public good, while reducing the amount of wasted resources; (b) larger bonuses increase provision rates; and (c) asymmetry in the wealth distribution of the group members induces higher levels of inequality of the final outcomes. Following the logic of appropriateness, players with high (low) endowments were more likely to give toward (take from) the shared resource. Study 2 finds that the tendency of the players with high (low) endowments to give (take) is amplified as the difference between endowment levels increased, and the players’ behavior is correlated with, and predictable from, independent judgments of what is perceived as appropriate.     

Psychiatric group dimensions within the pen structure

A method is described for constructing two-dimensional diagrams in which psychiatric group dimensions are represented within the PEN structure of Eysenck personality theory. Applied to the Eysenck data, it seems to give a clearer and more vivid picture of the relationships between the P, E and N dimensions and the various psychiatric categories.     

The Tripartite Model of Neuroticism and the suppression of depression and anxiety within an escalation of commitment dilemma

We found evidence of a mutual suppression effect between anxiety and depression on an individual's level of commitment within escalation dilemmas. On the one hand, our results demonstrate a positive relationship between anxiety and level of commitment; on the other, our results demonstrate a negative relationship between depression and level of commitment. Based on the opposing relationships between anxiety and depression and commitment, the broad factor of neuroticism does not demonstrate any relationship with level of commitment, and the significant effects of anxiety and depression on commitment is contingent upon partialling the effect of the other facet of neuroticism. Thus, we contend that applied psychologists, who have focused on neuroticism as a broad construct, should consider the large body of work among clinical psychologists, who argue that anxiety and depression have unique variance associated with them. We conclude by addressing organizational implications of measuring the broad trait of neuroticism more narrowly.     

Nurse psychologists: A unique group within health psychology

Since the mid-1980s commonalities between nursing and psychology have been explored, with subsequent establishment of a Nursing and Health Psychology Committee within the American Psychological Association's Division 38. A survey was undertaken to study this little-known, unique cadre of individuals with dual preparation in both nursing and psychology. Participants were queried regarding their educational preparations in both disciplines, current employment, theoretical and/or research interests, and current projects. Results of the survey provide information about the characteristics of this group. Dual preparation appears to offer certain advantages for the practice of health psychology.     

Promoting perspective coordination by dilemma discussion. The effectiveness of classroom group discussion on interpersonal negotiation strategies of 12-year-old students

Promoting social competence and social cognition is an important aim of education and socialization. According to theories of social cognitive and moral development, social cognition may be promoted by adolescent peer interaction. In this study, social cognition is theoretically conceptualized by the interpersonal negotiation strategies model of Selman which distinguishes levels of perspective coordination and steps of information processing (identification of a problem, generating negotiation strategies, selection of a strategy, evaluation). In a pre-post control group design this study investigated whether dilemma discussions among peers lead to higher individual levels of perspective coordination compared to an individualistic condition. Members of the discussion-condition exhibited higher gain scores in perspective coordination compared to the control group regarding the information processing steps generating strategies and strategy selection. In order to analyze verbal interaction in the discussion groups, an integrative coding schedule was developed. In addition, trait-like argumentative motives of the participants were assessed. The results of multilevel analyses suggest that progress in posttest-perspective coordination is mediated by the groups consensual solution of the dilemma as well as by an explanation-oriented discussion style, but only if the latter is accompanied by a trait-like subject- and consensus-oriented argumentative motive. Theoretical and practical conclusions are drawn.