The Spanish adaptation of ANEW (Affective Norms for English Words)

This article presents the Spanish adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW; Bradley & Lang, 1999). The norms are based on 720 participants' assessments of the translation into Spanish of the 1,034 words included in the ANEW. The evaluations were done in the dimensions of valence, arousal and dominance using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). Apart from these dimensions, five objective (number of letters, number of syllables, grammatical class, frequency and number of orthographic neighbors) and three subjective (familiarity, concreteness and imageability) psycholinguistic indexes are included. The Spanish adaptation of ANEW can be downloaded at www.psychonomic.org.     

Experiencing Range in an Electric Vehicle: Understanding Psychological Barriers

Range of electric vehicles (EVs) has long been considered a major barrier in acceptance of electric mobility. We examined the nature of how range is experienced in an EV and whether variables from other adaptation contexts, notably stress, have explanatory power for inter‐individual differences in what we term comfortable range. Forty EVs were leased to a sample of users for a 6‐month field study. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of range experiences were performed, including regression analyses to examine the role of stress‐buffering personality traits and coping skills in comfortable range. Users appraised range as a resource to which they could successfully adapt and that satisfied most of their daily mobility needs. However, indicators were found that suggested suboptimal range utilisation. Stress‐buffering personality traits (control beliefs, ambiguity tolerance) and coping skills (subjective range competence, daily range practice) were found to play a substantial role in comfortable range. Hence, it may be possible to overcome perceived range barriers with the assistance of psychological interventions such as information, training, and interface design. Providing drivers with a reliable usable range may be more important than enhancing maximal range in an electric mobility system.     

The effects of special reading time in Spanish on the reading abilities and attitudes of Hispanic junior high school students

The purpose of this study is to determine whether providing special reading time with a wide variety of reading materials in Spanish affects the reading abilities, reading attitudes and academic self-concepts of Hispanic junior high school students. Common reading measures in both English and Spanish, and related attitude tests, were given to 400 experimentally accessible Hispanic students. On most of the measures, the difference between the E and C groups was not statistically significant. On the 4 measures for which significance (=0.10) was attained (and on the other tests not achieving statistical significance) there was a trend for the E group to perform better on the Spanish reading tests and the C group to do better on the English reading tests. Differences on the reading attitude and academic self-concept tests did not approach statistical significance. The pattern of results was consistent for both sexes, and for students who were, and who were not, taking a Spanish language course, and for students whose teachers taught in both the E and C situations. E teachers who were conscientious in implementing the treatment tended to have significantly greater gains in both English and Spanish reading achievement. Within the E group gains in English and Spanish reading abilities were positively correlated.The authors wish to acknowledge and express gratitude to the administrators and teachers in the Tempe Elementary School District, Tempe, Arizona, who contributed much time and effort to this study; to the Division of Bilingual Education, Arizona Department of Education; and to the Department of Educational Technology and Library Science, Arizona State University, which made this study possible.     

Some Cultural Facilitators and Deterrents for the Development of Psychology: The Role of Graduate Research Training

Traditional evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of graduate research training conducted in developed countries normally include a series of educational and curricular criteria. In order to accommodate this analysis to developing countries and to understand the problem fully from a global perspective, it is imperative that, in addition, a socio-cultural-political and economic context be provided to the analysis. This allows for a clearer scrutiny of deficiencies, and permits differential, ecosystem-based changes and interventions directed at improving and reforming the current status of research graduate training in psychology.     

Sexual Orientation and Developmental Challenges Experienced by Gay and Lesbian Youths

Youths with a homosexual orientation face different developmental challenges during adolescence than those faced by heterosexual youths or individuals who recognize their homosexual orientation later in life. We discuss the impact of “coming out,” or defining a homosexual orientation, on the development and identity formation of youths who come out during adolescence. The process of coming out is presented as entailing four broad dimensions: recognizing oneself as lesbian or gay; exploring one's sexual orientation through the gay and lesbian community; disclosing one's sexual orientation to others; and becoming more comfortable with one's sexual orientation. Some of the major challenges faced by these youths are described, and future directions for research efforts are discussed.     

Restricting the scope of justice to justify discrimination: The role played by justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants

In this research, we have analysed the role played by the scope of justice and belief in a just world (BJW) in discrimination against immigrants. In Study 1 (n = 185), we found that the relationship between prejudice and discrimination is mediated by a restricted view of the scope of justice. In addition, the results also showed that this mediation is moderated by BJW insofar as the mediation occurred in participants with a high level of BJW but not in participants with a low level of BJW. Studies 2 and 3 experimentally tested our prediction that the legitimising role played by the scope of justice is guided by a justice motive such as BJW. In both studies, the results showed a greater degree of discrimination against immigrants when a restricted scope of justice was considered but only when the BJW was made salient. In sum, these results introduced an innovation into the literature on the legitimation of social inequalities by demonstrating the relevant role played by the justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assimilation Setbacks as Switching Strands: A Theoretical and Methodological Conceptualization

This paper offers a theoretical and methodological formulation of setbacks in the process of assimilation of problematic experiences in psychotherapy. It is based on a series of theory-building case studies, in which case observations were used to modify and confirm an evolving understanding. Assimilation typically follows a sawtoothed progression in which advances alternate with setbacks. Research has identified two main types of setbacks, called exceeding the therapeutic zone of proximal development, and the balance strategy, which occur under systematically different conditions. Both types of setbacks can be understood as switching strands within a problematic theme. This formulation defines and elaborates the methodological concepts of topic, theme, and strand, as well as the underlying theoretical concepts of internal voices and sub-voices. These are illustrated with examples from a clinical case. This elaboration of the assimilation model is related to other perspectives that emphasize people’s multiplicity of internal voices and used to suggest further studies.     

Dyadic coping mediates the relationship between parents’ grief and dyadic adjustment following the loss of a child

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to examine forms of dyadic coping (DC) as mediators of the association between parents’ grief response and dyadic adjustment and to determine whether these indirect effects were moderated by the child’s type of death, timing of death, and age.

Design: The study design was cross-sectional.

Method: The sample consisted of 197 bereaved parents. Participants completed the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale, Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Dyadic Coping Inventory.

Results: Significant indirect effects of parents’ grief response on dyadic adjustment were found through stress communication by oneself and by the partner, positive and negative DC by the partner, and joint DC. The timing of death moderated the association between grief response and dyadic adjustment and between joint DC and dyadic adjustment. Grief response was negatively associated with dyadic adjustment only when the death occurred after birth. Grief response was negatively associated with joint DC, which, in turn, was positively associated with dyadic adjustment, when the death occurred both before and after birth. However, the association was stronger in the latter.

Conclusions: Specific forms of DC might be mechanisms through which grief response is associated with dyadic adjustment and should be promoted in clinical practice.     

Early Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) intervention in a disaster mental health care context

‘Early psychological intervention’ is defined as commencing treatment within three months of the traumatic event, with the aim to prevent or treat posttraumatic stress disorder, ongoing distress or acute stress disorder. In natural disaster situations, specific issues may limit the amount of time available for treatment and the possibility of interventions. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be used without regard to these limits. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of EMDR, Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP) provided within three months of the traumatic event to a large sample of individuals exposed to the earthquake that hit Emilia Romagna Region (Northern Italy) in 2012. This study is based on a retrospective review of medical records collected during the activities of psychological and psychosocial unit in the immediate aftermath of earthquake. In total, 529 participants completed the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) (pre e post treatment). In order to provide a comparison similar to a waitlist-like control group, a method of cohort analysis was applied. In addition, possible time dependent effect was tested. ET (early-treated sample, participants treated within one month after the earthquake) and LT (late-treated sample, participants treated after the first month from the earthquake) reported at post-treatment an improvement to a level below the IES-R cutoff (65.8% of the ET sample and 64.02% of the LT sample). Control group analogue and time-outcome correlation suggest that positive changes in symptoms were likely due to the treatment provided and not merely to the time lapse from the traumatic event. The results of this study suggest that EMDR is a viable treatment option in response to a disaster crisis and in reducing psychological distress of acutely traumatized individuals within the context of a natural disaster.