The effects of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Preschool Program on teacher–children relationships and children's social competence in Turkey

This quasi‐experimental study examined the effects of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) Preschool Program on the outcomes of children's social‐emotional competence, perceived relationships between teacher and children and teachers' ability to create a positive classroom atmosphere. Two hundred and eighty five children (48–72 months) and teachers in Izmir participated in the intervention, and 280 children (48–72 months) and teachers participated as comparison group. Intervention teachers implemented PATHS in their classrooms. For data triangulation, multiple sources of data were collected in the study. Classrooms were observed using two different scales. Teacher rated students using another two different scales. Children were assessed with an interview to evaluate their perceptions of relationships. Intervention group teachers reported greater improvement of children's social‐emotional skills, interpersonal relationship skills and emotion regulation. Furthermore, when observed intervention group children showed higher levels of pro‐social behaviour, increased levels of compliance, better problem solving skills and more positive feelings. Intervention group children also described their relationships with their teachers as significantly more positively. Finally, intervention group teachers perceived more dependency in their relationships with children.     

Time Urgency and Job Performance: Field Evidence of an Interactionist Perspective1

Individual predispositions toward time urgency were assessed among 118 emergency room nurses and 145 small‐town librarians. Following from research on person–job fit, according to which people perform better when the demands of the situation match their individual characteristics than when these are mismatched, it was hypothesized that nurses (who typically face high time‐urgent demands) would perform better when they scored high in time urgency, and that librarians (who typically face low time‐urgent demands) would perform better when they scored low in time urgency. The results, based on a standardized measure of task performance, were precisely as expected. The practical ramifications of these findings are discussed along with the implications for research on person–job fit.     

To belong or not to belong,that is the question: terror management and identification with gender and ethnicity

The terror management prediction that reminders of death motivate in-group identification assumes people view their identifications positively. However, when the in-group is framed negatively, mortality salience should lead to disidentification. Study 1 found that mortality salience increased women's perceived similarity to other women except under gender-based stereotype threat. In Study 2, mortality salience and a negative ethnic prime led Hispanic as well as Anglo participants to derogate paintings attributed to Hispanic (but not Anglo-American) artists. Study 3 added a neutral prime condition and used a more direct measure of psychological distancing. Mortality salience and the negative prime led Hispanic participants to view themselves as especially different from a fellow Hispanic. Implications for understanding in-group derogation and disidentification are briefly discussed.     

Fatal attraction: the effects of mortality salience on evaluations of charismatic, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented leaders

A study was conducted to assess the effects of mortality salience on evaluations of political candidates as a function of leadership style. On the basis of terror management theory and previous research, we hypothesized that people would show increased preference for a charismatic political candidate and decreased preference for a relationship-oriented political candidate in response to subtle reminders of death. Following a mortality-salience or control induction, 190 participants read campaign statements by charismatic, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented gubernatorial candidates; evaluated their preferences for each candidate; and voted for one of them. Results were in accord with predictions. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.     

Deliver us from evil: the effects of mortality salience and reminders of 9/11 on support for President George W. Bush

According to terror management theory, heightened concerns about mortality should intensify the appeal of charismatic leaders. To assess this idea, we investigated how thoughts about death and the 9/11 terrorist attacks influence Americans' attitudes toward current U.S. President George W. Bush. Study 1 found that reminding people of their own mortality (mortality salience) increased support for Bush and his counterterrorism policies. Study 2 demonstrated that subliminal exposure to 9/11-related stimuli brought death-related thoughts closer to consciousness. Study 3 showed that reminders of both mortality and 9/11 increased support for Bush. In Study 4, mortality salience led participants to become more favorable toward Bush and voting for him in the upcoming election but less favorable toward Presidential candidate John Kerry and voting for him. Discussion focused on the role of terror management processes in allegiance to charismatic leaders and political decision making.     

Trajectory of development in adolescents and adults with autism

This article seeks to elucidate the trajectory of development in adolescents and adults with autism. Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies are reviewed to reveal the manifestation of and changes in the core symptoms of autism in adolescence and adulthood. Comparing children with adolescents and adults, modest degrees of symptom abatement and improvement in skills have been documented in multiple studies, as are increases in verbal and decreases in performance IQ. Nevertheless, most individuals do not attain normative outcomes in adulthood and continue to manifest significant degrees of symptomatology and dependency. However, a small sub-group (about 15%) has more favorable adult outcomes.     

An analysis of the internalizing and externalizing behaviors of traumatized urban youth with and without PTSD

To test the differential validity of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) classification, 3 groups of youths (PTSD, traumatized PTSD negatives, and controls) were examined. Youth with major comorbid disorders were excluded. On the basis of an analysis of parent-derived Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) ratings, significant variations in CBCL scores were associated with PTSD but not with exposure to exceptional stress in the absence of PTSD. The results also indicated that traumatic exposure without the development of PTSD was not associated with higher estimates of psychopathology.     

The body as a source of self-esteem: the effect of mortality salience on identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring

The present research investigated the role of the physical body as a source of self-esteem and tested the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality increases self-esteem striving in the form of identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring. The results revealed that individuals high in body esteem responded to mortality salience manipulations with increased identification with their physical bodies in Study 1 and with increased interest in sex in Study 2. Study 3 showed that reminders of death led to decreased appearance monitoring among appearance-oriented participants who were low in body esteem. These findings provide insight into why people often go to extreme lengths to meet cultural standards for the body and its appearance.     

Neurosurgical approaches to intractable obsessive-compulsive disorder

Although significant progress has been made over the last decade in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), approximately 20% of OCD patients remain refractory to nonsurgical therapies, including pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Because a number of neural circuits involving the basal ganglia, thalamus, limbic system, and frontal lobes have been implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD, the need for an effective intervention in these patients has brought the focus on surgical approaches, including cingulotomy and capsulotomy procedures. Unlike free-hand surgical approaches used in the past, current neurosurgical interventions have been greatly enhanced by advances in technology, which allow lesioning to an accuracy of 1 mm. Today's neurosurgical approaches have shown significant benefit in as many as 60% of refractory patients, while preserving personality and cognitive functioning and limiting morbidity. A study of gamma knife capsulotomy conducted at Brown University School of Medicine showed that 40% of patients undergoing two lesioning procedures were much or very much improved 2 years postsurgery. The inherent obstacles to conducting placebo-controlled studies in these severely ill patients mean that further study is required to identify optimal candidates for surgical intervention.