Virtually ostracized: studying ostracism in immersive virtual environments

Electronic-based communication (such as Immersive Virtual Environments; IVEs) may offer new ways of satisfying the need for social connection, but they also provide ways this need can be thwarted. Ostracism, being ignored and excluded, is a common social experience that threatens fundamental human needs (i.e., belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence). Previous ostracism research has made use of a variety of paradigms, including minimal electronic-based interactions (e.g., Cyberball) and communication (e.g., chatrooms and Short Message Services). These paradigms, however, lack the mundane realism that many IVEs now offer. Further, IVE paradigms designed to measure ostracism may allow researchers to test more nuanced hypotheses about the effects of ostracism. We created an IVE in which ostracism could be manipulated experimentally, emulating a previously validated minimal ostracism paradigm. We found that participants who were ostracized in this IVE experienced the same negative effects demonstrated in other ostracism paradigms, providing, to our knowledge, the first evidence of the negative effects of ostracism in virtual environments. Though further research directly exploring these effects in online virtual environments is needed, this research suggests that individuals encountering ostracism in other virtual environments (such as massively multiplayer online role playing games; MMORPGs) may experience negative effects similar to those of being ostracized in real life. This possibility may have serious implications for individuals who are marginalized in their real life and turn to IVEs to satisfy their need for social connection.     

Bilingual Generation Effect: Variations in Participant Bilingual Type and List Type

Slamecka and Katsaiti (1987, Experiment 1) reported that there is no generation effect with bilingual materials under intentional learning instructions. In contrast, O'Neill, Roy, and Tremblay (1993, Experiment 1) demonstrated a bilingual generation effect when an incidental learning set was induced. In the present experiment, the possibility that another procedural variation between the two studies accounts for the disparate findings was examined. A 2-stimuli (read bilingual translations, generate bilingual translations) list was compared with a 3-stimuli (read bilingual translations, generate bilingual translations, read unilingual repetitions) list, in accordance with the procedures used in the earlier experiments. Under incidental learning conditions, for both list types, a strong generation effect was found. Participant type—coordinate or compound bilingualism—was also varied. The generation effect was much larger for compound bilinguals than for coordinate bilinguals, presumably because of a greater difference in the allocation of attention to read than to generate items by compound bilinguals.     

A Spontaneous Request for Treatment by a Group of Adolescents

In this article, we build on our clinical knowledge in working with the adult children of alcoholics, examining the importance of the “alcoholic” family, past and present, to the current functioning of adults who grew up in such an environment. Specifically, we focus on key issues related to the development of family transference in the group therapy setting.     

Gender and Nature: A Psychological Analysis of Ecofeminist Theory1

For ecofeminists, the logic of domination (Warren, 1990) subserves the interconnected oppressions of patriarchy (i.e., sexism) and the anthropocentric domination of nature (i.e., naturism). Given this premise, it was hypothesized that interconnections would be found across instruments that assessed the following constructs: right-wing authoritarianism, attitudes toward women, social-dominance orientation, and attitudes toward the environment. As predicted, a correlation was found between attitudes toward women and the environment. Regression analyses indicate that authoritarianism reliably predicted sexism in men and women. Authoritarianism also predicted naturism in women. These results are interpreted as an initial rapprochement between psychology and the ecofeminism framework delineating the social attitudes that are inherent in the oppressive systems of sexism and naturism.     

Luria-nebraska neuropsychological battery: High rates of false positives for geriatirc subjects

This study examined false positive rates obtained for two normal adult age groups, using three different methods for interpreting performances on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB). Among normal subjects ages 18 to 30 and ages 65 to 85, false positive rates were found to range from 3.9% to 7.7% for younger subjects and 13.5% to 32.7% for older subjects. Significant differences were found between the proportion of false positives in each age group on each method of interpretation. A lack of agreement was found between the three different methods of interpretation concerningwhich subjects should be classified as impaired. Further analysis was performed by dividing older subjects into two groups, ages 65 to 70 and over 70. False positive rates for subjects over age 70 were found to range from 20.7% to 41.4%. Significant differences were also found between the proportion of false positives in each of these two groups.     

Therapeutic group approaches in an inpatient facility for children and adolescents: A 15-year perspective

Inner city, psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents are accessible to group therapy intervention. We developed a unique approach combining Slavson's theories with principles of family treatment and psychoanalytic theory. The group was conceptualized as a corrective family experience with the therapists functioning as model parents. Our model relies on a four-phase process, which is discussed.