Making sense of powerful qualities

According to the powerful qualities view, properties are both powerful and qualitative. Indeed, on this view the powerfulness of a property is identical to its qualitativity. Proponents claim that this view provides an attractive alternative to both the view that properties are pure powers and the view that they are pure qualities. It remains unclear, however, whether the claimed identity between powerfulness and qualitativity can be made coherent in a way that allows the powerful qualities view to constitute this sort of alternative. I argue here that this can be done, given a particular conception of both the qualitativity and powerfulness of properties. On this conception, a property is qualitative just in the sense that its essence is fixed independently of any distinct properties, and it is powerful just if its essence grounds its dispositional role.

     

2D or not 2D? An fMRI study of how dogs visually process objects

Animal Cognition - Given humans’ habitual use of screens, they rarely consider potential differences when viewing two-dimensional (2D) stimuli and real-world versions of dimensional stimuli....     

Maternal Harsh Parenting,SES, and Young Children’s Sleep

Journal of Child and Family Studies - There is a need to better understand the influence of daytime parenting behaviors on children’s sleep. We investigated relations between maternal harsh...     

Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD: A Case Study of a Transgender Male Co-Parenting With Former Spouse and Perpetrator of Domestic Violence

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms have shown to contribute to intimate relationship discord (Taft et al., 2011). Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT for PTSD; Monson & Fredman, 2012) is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD effective at significantly decreasing PTSD symptoms and increasing relationship satisfaction among dyads (Macdonald et al., 2016). To date, there has only been one case study examining the effectiveness of CBCT for PTSD with a sexual minority couple, (same-sex female couple) leaving uncertainty of the effectiveness of this treatment for other sexual minority couples. This case study examined a married couple’s response to treatment, in which the patient identified as a transgender male and his spouse identified as a cisgender female. The patient was diagnosed with PTSD per a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) total score of 45 (of a maximum of 80). On the CAPS-5, the patient reported a first sexual encounter rape at age 15, from his first marriage with his ex-husband, whom he was dating at the time, as his index trauma. Of note, the patient and his wife currently co-parent two children with the patient’s ex-husband, who perpetrated daily sexual assaults for years during their marriage. Pre-treatment relationship happiness for the couple was “a little unhappy” on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) Relationship Happiness Scale. Patient was also diagnosed with Dysthymia and responded well to continued Bupropion for depression. Following completion of the 15-session CBCT for PTSD protocol, the patient’s diagnosis of PTSD was determined to be in remission as evidenced by a post-treatment CAPS-5 total score of 7. At post-treatment the patient rated his relationship happiness as “happy” and his partner “very happy” on the DAS. The couple demonstrated clinically meaningful changes in areas of PTSD and relationship happiness. Functional improvements were also reported in the patient pursuing new employment and hobbies, improved co-parenting between the patient and his wife, improved sexual functioning, and decreased depression symptoms. Treatment gains were maintained at a 1-month and 3-month follow-up. These results demonstrate the effective use of CBCT for PTSD with a sexual minority couple that has continued co-parenting contact with a perpetrator of domestic violence.     

“Not Tied Up Neatly with a Bow”: Professionals’ Challenging Cases in Informed Consent for Genomic Sequencing

As the use of genomic technology has expanded in research and clinical settings, issues surrounding informed consent for genome and exome sequencing have surfaced. Despite the importance of informed consent, little is known about the specific challenges that professionals encounter when consenting patients or research participants for genomic sequencing. We interviewed 29 genetic counselors and research coordinators with considerable experience obtaining informed consent for genomic sequencing to understand their experiences and perspectives. As part of this interview, 24 interviewees discussed an informed consent case they found particularly memorable or challenging. We analyzed these case examples to determine the primary issue or challenge represented by each case. Challenges fell into two domains: participant understanding, and facilitating decisions about testing or research participation. Challenges related to participant understanding included varying levels of general and genomic literacy, difficulty managing participant expectations, and contextual factors that impeded participant understanding. Challenges related to facilitating decision-making included complicated family dynamics such as disagreement or coercion, situations in which it was unclear whether sequencing research would be a good use of participant time or resources, and situations in which the professional experienced disagreement or discomfort with participant decisions. The issues highlighted in these case examples are instructive in preparing genetics professionals to obtain informed consent for genomic sequencing.     

Identity Shift III: Effects of Publicness of Feedback and Relational Closeness in Computer-Mediated Communication

Identity shift occurs when an individual's self-perception changes as a result of feedback to her or his self-presentation. This research, the third in a series, further explores the influences of identity shift, specifically exploring the effects of the publicness of feedback to an individual and the relational closeness between the individual and feedback provider on the individual's subsequent self-perceptions of her or his extraversion. An experimental study (N = 56) utilized a 2 (extroverted/introverted) × 2 (private/public feedback) × 2 (feedback from a relationally close/nonclose partner) design. Results of between-groups analysis revealed both main intensification effects of public and relationally close feedback and an interaction effect between the conditions. Findings are discussed with respect to identity shift, the hyperpersonal model, and online self-presentation.     

The role of aggression‐related early maladaptive schemas and schema modes in aggression in a prisoner sample

Contemporary social‐cognitive aggression theory and extant empirical research highlights the relationship between certain Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) and aggression in offenders. To date, the related construct of schema modes, which presents a comprehensive and integrated schema unit, has received scant empirical attention. Furthermore, EMSs and schema modes have yet to be examined concurrently with respect to aggressive behavior. This study examined associations between EMSs, schema modes, and aggression in an offender sample. Two hundred and eight adult male prisoners completed self‐report psychological tests measuring their histories of aggression, EMSs, and schema modes. Regression analyses revealed that EMSs were significantly associated with aggression but did not account for a unique portion of variance once the effects of schema modes were taken into account. Three schema modes, Enraged Child, Impulsive Child, and Bully and Attack, significantly predicted aggression. These findings support the proposition that schema modes characterized by escalating states of anger, rage, and impulsivity characterize aggressive offenders. In this regard, we call attention to the need to include schema modes in contemporary social‐cognitive aggression theories, and suggest that systematic assessment and treatment of schema modes has the potential to enhance outcomes with violent offenders.

     

Child anger proneness moderates associations between child-mother attachment security and child behavior with mothers at 33 months

Child-mother attachment security, assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure (Cassidy & Marvin, with the MacArthur Attachment Working Group, 1992), and parent-reported child proneness to anger were examined as correlates of observed child behavior toward mothers during a series of interactive tasks (N = 120, 60 girls). Controlling for maternal sensitivity and child gender and expressive language ability, greater attachment security, and lower levels of anger proneness were related to more child responsiveness to maternal requests and suggestions during play and snack sessions. As hypothesized, anger proneness also moderated several security-behavior associations. Greater attachment security was related to (a) more committed compliance during clean-up and snack-delay tasks for children high on anger proneness, (b) more self-assertiveness during play and snack for children moderate or high on anger proneness, and (c) more help-seeking during play and snack for children moderate or low on anger proneness. Findings further our understanding of the behavioral correlates of child-mother attachment security assessed during late toddlerhood via the Cassidy-Marvin system and underscore child anger proneness as a moderator of attachment-related differences in child behavior during this developmental period.