EXAMINING THE THEORY AND CLINICAL UTILITY OF WRITING ABOUT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES

Abstract— Pennebaker's (this issue) intervention for writing about emotional experiences shows promise as a module for inclusion in therapeutic packages. There are conceptual, methodological ant practical issues to be considered, however. These issues are discussed, and parallels are drawn from the literatures on the moodregulatory function of dreams and on the effects of social support on health. Although there is evidence that anything about emotional experiences has beneficial effects on health, it is premature to recommend writing intervention as a treatment component for specific problems. What is needed at this point is systematic research to evaluate to clinical utility.     

SPEECH PERCEPTION AS A TALKER-CONTINGENT PROCESS

Abstract— To determine how familiarity with a talker's voice affects perception of spoken words, we trained two groups of subjects to recognize a set of voices over a 9-day period One group then identified novel words produced by the same set of talkers at four signal-to-noise ratios Control subjects identified the same words produced by a different set of talkers The results showed that the ability to identify a talker's voice improved intelligibility of novel words produced by that talker The results suggest that speech perception may involve talker-contingent processes whereby perceptual learning of aspects of the vocal source facilitates the subsequent phonetic analysis of the acoustic signal     

ART AS A THERAPEUTIC MODALITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ALCOHOL-RELATED PROBLEMS IN A MILIEU SETTING

Alcoholism is a biopsychosocial illness that requires treatment on nearly every level of life. Disordained brain functioning, reflected in maladaptations in thinking, feeling, relating and producing, diminish spontaneity and creativity. The authors have utilized a series of art and awareness experiential exercises that challenge the person's creative, analytic and integrative abilities. These exercises were modified from other sources or created by the authors with emphasis placed on reducing anxiety and resistances so frequently encountered in alcoholism treatment. A typical art experience session, along with theoretical assumptions, client characteristics, and specific exercises are described.     

VARIATIONS IN HELP-SEEKING, BATTERED WOMEN'S RELATIONSHIP COURSE, EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, AND EXPERIENCES OF ABUSE OVER TIME

Despite assumptions that leaving the batterer offers the best chance for improvement in battered women's lives, few studies provide conclusive data on this issue. Although many women eventually reunite with partners, also unexamined is the influence of relationship course over time. Five waves of data from 206 low-income, largely Black, help-seeking battered women revealed minimal differences in emotional well-being either initially or over time for women following different relationship trajectories during the course of 1 year. Consistency in relationship status (completely apart, completely together) tended to be associated with sharper drops in violence during the year; abuse tended to decrease most slowly among women who were in and out of their relationship over time. Findings suggest that the act of leaving is not necessarily associated with improvements for victims—how the process of leaving occurs may be more influential. Challenging common assumptions, women remaining with partners may sometimes fare better than women who leave.     

ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AS A LEARNING PROCESS: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION ACQUISITION

This study investigated newcomers'information acquisition about organizational contextual domains from different sources, the relationship between information acquisition and knowledge of domains, relationships between information acquisition from sources, knowledge of domains and socialization outcomes, and shifts in these processes over time. Questionnaires assessing information acquisition strategies, knowledge and socialization outcomes were completed by 151 new organizational members across a variety of organizations, after an average of 17 weeks on the job and again several months later. Results of the study indicated that newcomers differentially relied on sources to gather information, that different sources were of varying importance for gaining knowledge, and that supervisors, coworkers, task and role mastery were related to the assimilation process of new employees. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOTHERAPY AS RITUAL PROCESS: AN INITIAL RECONNAISSANCE

Abstract. Instead of attempting to reduce rituals of healing to so-called primitive psychotherapy this essay raises the question of whether contemporary psychotherapies might not fruitfully be viewed as ritual processes through which a small segment of modern society receives ritual leadership in times of crisis. Selected phenomena in contemporary psychotherapeutic practice are analyzed in an attempt to discern the ritual processes which are manifest in them. It is concluded that most modalities of contemporary psychotherapy manifest elements of ritualized submission, containment, and enactment.     

NEO-POSITIVISM ABOUT RIGHTS THE PROBLEM WITH 'RIGHTS AS ENFORCEABLE CLAIMS'

ABSTRACT Sue James recommends an 'enforcement account' of rights, where a right is to be understood simply as an enforceable claim. I show that adopting this analysis of rights implies giving up non-rhetorical, important, uses of the word 'right' which are possible on the best alternative theory of rights to James's position: the ability to deny a moral right's existence, even where claims are effectively enforced; the notion of a right's violation; and the idea that rights imply entitlement to make a demand, and not just enforcement of demands. Thus, adopting James's position implies giving up much more than mere rhetoric about rights.     

AN EXPRESSIVE WRITING INTERVENTION TO COPE WITH LESBIAN-RELATED STRESS: THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF OPENNESS ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Over the past two decades, expressive writing interventions have been used successfully to reduce distress and improve well-being for those dealing with traumatic events, stressors, and illnesses. The purpose of this study was to investigate an expressive writing intervention for lesbian-related stressors. As expected, writing about traumatic events related to sexual orientation reduced self-reported confusion and perceived stress over a 2-month period for those lesbians who were less open about their sexual orientation. Interestingly, writing about such traumatic experiences was associated with increases in confusion and perceived stress for those who were more open about their sexual orientation. Applying this paradigm to assist individuals in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation represents an important addition to the expressive writing literature. Furthermore, it offers a promising, cost-effective method to assist closeted lesbians in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation.     

THE STABILITY OF PATHOLOGIC SIGNS IN THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS AS REVEALED BY A SERIAL TACHISTOSCOPIC EXPERIMENT

S mith , G. J. W., and J ohnson , G. The stability of pathologic signs in the perceptual process as revealed by a serial tachistoscopic experiment. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2, 142–148.—The study demonstrates high inter-rater and inter-set consistency in a serial tachistoscopic experiment utilizing pairwise presentations of stimuli A and B, B being presented at constant time levels, A at gradually increasing ones. Two parallel sets contain two series each. In one series A is incongruent with B, in another a threat directed against B. Fifty psychiatric patients are given the two sets with a one-day interval. Reports of change in A and B during the micro-genesis of A are scored in the dimensions of repression, isolation, projection, and depression.     

LATERALIZATION FOR FACIAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR: A METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE*

Recent attention has focused upon the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying facial emotional expression. The greater intensity of expression and more extensive muscular involvement of the left hemiface have suggested right hemisphere dominance in the expression of emotion. This interpretation is based on the fact that the lower portion of the face is predominantly innervated by the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. The current paper reviews a series of studies on (a) facial asymmetry in normal subjects, (b) facial emotional expression in brain-damaged subjects with unilateral lesions, and (c) peripheral factors mediating facial expression findings. Neuropsychological mechanisms underlying emotional processing are also discussed. Our finding of left-sided facial asymmetries in normals is underscored by our finding that right brain-damaged patients are impaired in the expression of facial emotion. Finally, our studies have demonstrated that the asymmetries in normals and the deficits in patient populations are not artifacts of hemiface size and mobility or facial paralysis and apraxia. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that the right hemisphere is specialized for the expression of facial emotion.