Beyond the what, when, and how of transference: a consideration of the why.

Transference has generally been discussed in terms of its operating to distort the way in which a current relationship is dealt with and experienced because of one's past. In the present paper, emphasis is placed on that aspect of transference which operates as a defense, and which is called into play in response to signal anxiety associated with a "pathogenic complex" and is based on (1) a traumatic experience of stimulus overload or (2) an intrapsychic conflict stemming from instinctual drive pressure which in turn threatens a repetition of the traumatic experience. Clinical illustrations are presented in which both traumatic experience and drive-conflict forces are prominent, leading to a discussion of the here-and-now versus reconstruction of the past, as well as affective/cognitive and interpersonal/intrapsychic factors.     

Dimensions of assertiveness: factors underlying the college self-expression scale

A total of 447 Israeli students, both males and females, from four educational institutions were administered the College Self-expression Scale, a measure of assertiveness. The obtained responses were factor analyzed using the principal axis solution and the varimax rotation method. The results showed four main factors which included 43 of the 50 items of the original scale. These factors were identified as the willingness to take risks in interpersonal interactions, the ability to communicate feelings, setting rules and rectifying injustices, and the presence or absence of a tendency to invoke a self-punitive attitude. The findings were interpreted as adding support to the validity of the scale as a measure of assertiveness.     

Retaliatory aggression in individuals and groups

Retaliatory aggression in individuals and groups was compared. Physically and verbally attacked males in group or individual conditions were given the opportunity to retaliate against their tormentor by administering him electric shocks in the context of a bogus learning experiment. Groups retaliated much more severely than did individuals. Analysis of the group decision-making dynamics suggested the process of social modelling as a mediator of group aggression. Additional data suggested the mediating influence of diffusion of responsibility as well.     

AVTA: a device for automatic vocal transaction analysis

The Automatic Vocal Transaction Analyzer was designed to recognize the pattern of certain variables in spontaneous vocal transactions. In addition, it records these variables directly in a machine-readable form and preserves their sequential relationships. This permits the immediate extraction of data by a digital computer. The AVTA system reliability has been shown to be equal to or better than that of a trained human operator in uncomplicated interaction. The superiority of the machine was demonstrated in complex interactions which tax the information processing abilities of the human observer.     

Measuring racial essentialism in the genomic era: The genetic essentialism scale for race (GESR)

Current Psychology - Racial essentialism is the belief that races are biologically distinct groups with defining core “essences,” a notion associated with increased social distance and...     

Therapist empathy,homework compliance,and outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: partitioning within- and between-therapist effects

Although client-perceived therapist empathy relates to positive therapy outcomes, including in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), little is known about how empathy exerts its ameliorative effect. One possible way is by promoting clients’ subsequent homework compliance, a variable that also predicts positive outcomes in CBT. The present study sought to investigate simultaneously, in the context of 43 therapist–client dyads receiving 15 sessions of CBT for generalized anxiety disorder, (1) the association of early client-perceived therapist empathy (averaged over sessions 1, 3, 5) with mid-treatment client homework compliance (averaged over sessions 6, 8, 10); (2) the association of mid-treatment homework compliance on client posttreatment worry severity; and (3) the indirect effect of early perceived therapist empathy on posttreatment worry through mid-treatment homework compliance. Given that clients were nested within therapists, we examined both within- and between-therapist differences in clients’ ratings of therapist empathy and homework compliance, and tested both of these indices as predictors of the relevant dependent variables in a multilevel model. At the within-therapist level (i.e., differences between clients within a given therapist’s caseload), greater early empathy was associated with greater mid-treatment homework compliance. At the between-therapist level (i.e., differences between therapists across all of their cases), greater between-therapist homework compliance was related to lower posttreatment worry. Finally, homework compliance was not found to mediate the relationship between empathy and posttreatment outcome. The results underscore the importance of parsing client and therapist effects, and are discussed with regard to their training and research implications.     

Stress factors,social support,and violence in Israeli society: A quantitative analysis

In the present study violence in Israel for a period of 32 years (1950-1981) was analyzed, within a stress model according to which the probability of violence and agression as a reaction to stress will increase when social support systems fail or malfunction. Following this model, three types of variables were identified: 1. Measures of stress and social change: to the regular social stressors (i.e., inflation and unemployment), we added two measures of affluence (income per capita and rates of cars) as well as population density. 2. Measures of social support: rates of birth to unmarried mothers and marriage and divorce rates served as measures of the strength of the family. Another measure in this category was rates of psychiatric hospitalization. 3. Measures of violence: in addition to rates of homicide, robbery, and all offenses, inward directed aggression (suicide) was included in this category. At the first stage of the data analysis, Guttman's Smallest Space Analysis (SSA-1) was applied, providing a two-dimensional space diagram of the correlations between the variables. At the second stage, a multiple regression analysis was introduced. The findings indicate that the theoretical model received substantial support mainly from four stress measures (inflation, income per capita, cars, and population density) and one measure of social support (divorce). Unemployment contributed significantly (in the expected direction) only to homicide. Some theoretical implications of the findings, as well as their relevance to some developments in Israeli society are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.     

Religiosity as a Substance Use Protective Factor Among Female College Students

Journal of Religion and Health - Research exists about religiosity as a substance use protective factor. However, there is little attention of this issue regarding Israeli female college students....     

Relationship Quality among Chronically Ill Children and their Parents

The present study examined the quality of parent–child relationships as reported by 383 parents of chronically ill children. The medical condition category, child’s mobility, education type and childcare assistance were examined. Parents answered the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI). In addition, 45 parents of chronically ill children were interviewed. The results indicated a significant difference in most aspects of the PCRI (limit setting, promotion of autonomy, communication, satisfaction and involvement) across medical condition categories. Further child variables (mobility, assistance and education type) had an effect on the PCRI subscales as well. Interview analysis revealed a difference in the reported quality of parent–child relationships between medical conditions categories. Parents of mentally ill children primarily felt anger and guilt in their relationship with their ill children, whereas parents of children with cancer and autoimmune disease primarily felt depressed. Our results suggest the need for further study of parent–child relationships in and between different chronic childhood medical conditions in an attempt to address parents’ and children’s needs in an optimal way.