Later stages in Experiential Marital Therapy

This is the second of two papers dealing with symbolic-experiential treatment of marital issues. The first—Early Stages in Experiential Marital Therapy — discussed three early stages. This paper discusses regressive work with couples, including engagement with the family of origin.     

Learning to argue with parents and peers

The infant's first natural response when faced with opposition or when he opposes others' actions is to cry. As this kind of behavior becomes ineffective, the responses of the individuals with which he interacts force him to adopt more conventional — especially verbal — patterns of arguing, leading him to rational argumentation. The purpose of the present paper is to observe progressions in children's earliest verbal arguments and to see how and when they learn to adjust their strategies for different kinds of opponents (peers; parents; other adults). In order to examine the emergence of such persuasive strategies, and their distribution according to the different categories of opponents, systematic audiotape recordings of two Spanish-speaking girls between 2 and 3 years were analyzed. The data suggest that, although there were some differences in how the girls argued with parents versus peers, they were only beginning to adjust their speech to make it appropriate for one or the other type of listener. In general, they resorted to one dominant strategy for all listeners (insist, repeat, cry, scream, ...). Each girl, however, developed a small number of less frequently used strategies that she reserved for a subcategory of opponents. For example, one of them, Nancy, only threatened and insulted peers, while the other, Marisa, only used please and a temporizing strategy with parents. The girls used less adaptive, more agressive strategies (e.g. threats and insults) with their peers. With one exception, all of the girls' moves were self-centered. In fact, the girls had not yet reached the stage of rational argumentation.     

Wilderness family therapy: Experiential dimensions

This paper describes the process in which families participate in a wilderness experience. Metaphors such as climbing or paddling a canoe are translated into daily living patterns to deepen individual and family self-knowledge, self-esteem, and intimacy.     

“Marital trap analysis”—incompetence,complementarity, and success traps: Identifying potential future dysfunctions based on a couple's current collusive agreements

This paper describes three types of traps or collusive marital agreements-incompetence traps, complementarity traps, and success traps-in which the mates renounce or forgo competent functioning in vital areas of marital roles and experience. It is suggested that responsible clinical work with the couple should include a careful evaluation of such traps and the potential breakdown or dysfunction inherent in each one, and a decision as to whether or not to attempt therapeutic penetration into such collusive agreements even before the couple complain directly about their arrangement.     

Things are always more complicated than you think: An open systems approach to the organizational effects of computer-automated technology

The effects of computerized office and factory automation are examined. An open systems framework is used to organize this literature. The review suggests that the benefits of technology are derived from theintermediate effects of the technology on organizational processes (the task structure, personnel system, formal structure, and informal organization). Thus, it is misleading to examine thedirect effects of computerized technology on organizational outcomes such as profits and satisfaction. Some of the effects of technology on the organizational processes are inevitable (e.g., changes in informal communication patterns). Others are determined less by the technology than by management decisions. The key to achieving success with computerized technology is matching changes in organizational processes to each other, as well as to the technology and the larger environment of the organization.Ann Majchrzak is currently Associate Professor of Human Factors at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management at the University of Southern California. She has recently written two books on the subject of technological change. Katherine J. Klein is an Assistant Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the Psychology Department of the University of Maryland at College Park.     

Characteristics of residential retarded clients as predictors of staff expectations and frustrations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of four client characteristics—functioning level, aggressive behavior, self-injurious behavior, and attractiveness—with staff expectations of and frustration with clients. Forty staff members who worked with severely and profoundly retarded individuals served as participants. Staff members rated each client with whom they worked on the extent to which the client could behave better and learn faster as well as the level of frustration experienced in working with the client. A client's functioning level was related to staff perceptions such that the higher the functioning level, the more the client was seen as having the potential to behave better or learn faster than (s)he was presently demonstrating. Staff frustration was related to client aggression indicating that as aggression increased so did staff frustration in working with that client. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Visual and auditory attention performance in hyperactive children: Competence or compliance

The effect of self-control and compliance on the attentional performance of hyperactive children was assessed. Visual and auditory attention tasks were presented in conditions in which the experimenter was either absent and therefore not imposing external control, or present and therefore imposing some degree of control. There was no difference in performance between hyperactives and controls when the experimenter was present, but the hyperactives' performance showed a greater deterioration than controls when the experimenter was absent. The amount of movement displayed during the tasks was greater for hyperactives and increased more for this group during experimenter-absent conditions. The results support the contention that noncompliance is a major contributor to the poor performance of hyperactive children, which can be seen as an application deficit rather than an ability deficit. These findings have relevance for the current debate on the association between hyperactivity and conduct disorder, and from an applied perspective they serve to stress the importance of situational contributors to the problem behaviors of hyperactive children.     

Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis

Since the 1970s, investigative profilers at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit (now part of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime) have been assisting local, state, and federal agencies in narrowing investigations by providing criminal personality profiles. An attempt is now being made to describe this criminal-profile-generating process. A series of five overlapping stages lead to the sixth stage, or the goal of apprehension of the offender: (1) profiling inputs, (2) decision-process models, (3) crime assessment, (4) the criminal profile, (5) investigation, and (6) apprehension. Two key feedback filters in the process are: (a) achieving congruence with the evidence, with decision models, and with investigation recommendations, and (b) the addition of new evidence.     

Workaholism,sex, and sex role stereotyping among female professionals

This paper examines the relationship between workaholism, sex, and sex role orientation among professionals. The sample consisted of 86 male and 106 female attorneys, physicians, and psychologists/therapists. Results indicated a significant relationship between sex and sex role stereotyping. Among females, workaholics were grouped exclusively in the sex role categories masculine and androgynous. Implications for counseling include increasing awareness of changing sex role attitudes among professional women and possible role conflict that can occur from integration of work and family.     

Divorce in the kibbutz: Past and present

In the kibbutz today, there are no ideological or economic barriers to prevent a couple from deciding to divorce. Both husband and wife are assured continued economic security and equal opportunities for co-parenting, thus reducing fears of disruption in the daily contact with the children. In spite of these favorable circumstances, marital breakups in the kibbutz are less frequent than in the larger cities in Israel. In recent years, however, at a time when a stronger and more intensive family life has gained legitimacy within the kibbutz structure, there is a marked tendency toward a rise in the rate of divorce. In this article we analyze the possible causes of the variations in the frequency of divorce within the kibbutz framework.The authors express appreciation to Esther Mivtzari, a psychologist on the staff of the Kibbutz Child and Family Clinic and a member of the religious kibbutz Ein-Tzurim, for assistance in gathering data on divorce in the religious kibbitzum.