Through the Lenses of Gender, Race, and Class: Students’ Perceptions of Childless/Childfree Individuals and Couples

Earlier research has documented negative perceptions of childless couples, particularly the voluntarily childfree, among college students. In this project we used hypothetical vignettes to assess variations in students’ (N?=?478) perceptions of childless couples related to the couple’s race, occupations of husband and wife, and assumed reasons for childlessness. Perceptions were strongly influenced by occupational status and gender, but we found few race differences. Neither infertility nor chosen childlessness was rated negatively, but couples were rated more positively if they were perceived as temporarily rather than permanently childless. Our findings suggest that delayed parenthood is regarded as normative and that students have few negative biases regarding infertility or chosen childlessness. Perceptions were strongly conditioned by economic and employment considerations, which reflect current concerns about balancing work and family trajectories.     

Introduction to the special section on prevention science: From generic rules to differential adaptations

Prevention science as an interdisciplinary specialty is addressed in this introduction to the special section of the journal. The six papers that comprise the special section are briefly summarised, especially noting the global regions that are represented, that is, Europe, Middle East, New Zealand and South America. Attention to the importance of differential adaptations of prevention interventions developed in one region, country or locale but implemented in another is emphasised. The Guest Editors reflect on the importance of developing cross-national collaborations to further the advance of prevention science globally.     

Illness Perception and Well-Being Among Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Caregivers

This study jointly examined illness beliefs held by persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and caregivers in relation to well-being. A group of 68 PwMS and their caregivers completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, Psychological Well-being Scales, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule. Findings revealed that PwMS’ well-being was primarily predicted by their own illness beliefs, and that also caregivers’ well-being was primarily predicted by their own beliefs. Across the two groups, well-being was positively associated with their belief that they understood the disease, and inversely associated with their representations of negative emotions. In addition, among PwMS, well-being was inversely associated with the number of symptoms they specifically attributed to their illness, while among caregivers, well-being was positively associated with beliefs that treatment could control the disease. Based on the study findings, psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral strategies are suggested to promote well-being among PwMS and caregivers.     

Enhanced Implicit Sequence Learning in College‐age Video Game Players and Musicians

We examined whether college‐age video game players and musicians are better than controls at implicit sequence learning in the Alternating Serial Reaction Time Task. People learn to use subtle sequence regularities to respond more accurately and quickly to predictable versus non‐predictable events. Although previous studies have shown experts' enhanced processing speed and perception, this is the first to demonstrate that people who regularly play video games or a musical instrument showed greater implicit sequence learning, suggesting that experience playing games or music may improve the efficiency with which people learn sequential regularities in the environment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The dream between “here‐and‐now” and “there‐and‐then”

The analysand recounts his/her dream now, and here, in the setting. Though a dream may be recounted repeatedly, the human situation in which the recounting takes place is unrepeatable. Each moment of the analytic relationship is unique, and the recounting is essentially relational. Even if the dreamer were to read from a written text, his/her voice and non‐verbal aspects would render the communication unique. Not only the recounting but also the content recounted may present relational aspects, manifest or latent, but of a relational nature different from that of the session “here‐ and‐now”. The dream dreamt belongs to the “there‐and‐then”, and its analysis, like every analysis, implies an objectification. The analyst reacts to the recounted dream, trying to objectify it in its “there‐and‐then” and also inviting the dreamer to a common task. Working on the manifest content, free associations and interpretations of symbols, they voyage through the time and space of the analysand's life. The recounted dream involves the “here‐and‐now” of the session and asks to be meaningful as a cue in the analytic dialogue (what is the meaning of recounting this dream at this moment). At the same time it refers back to the dream dreamt, to a “there‐and‐then” which, if it is not to remain “an unopened letter”, must be received as an enigmatic challenge and a window on the unconscious, open and ready to close. Thinking of an opening of the dreamer's unconscious the analyst may find himself/herself faced with an opening of his/her own unconscious.     

Psychoanalyst's Values and Countertransference

On the subject of countertransference we attempt to establish a line of continuity between Freud's own expression "blind spot" and Fromm's idea of "counterattitude". It is pointed out that both expressed the idea of the analyst's unconscious as an "instrument" for understanding the patient's unconscious. It follows that the decision to openly use or not to use countertransference in analysis also depends on the concept we have of it and on its extent. The psychoanalyst's real and illusory values and his convictions with regard to human nature influence the countertransference and the analytic relationship. Analytic listening itself may be distorted by it. We must be highly aware of this to avoid enclosing what the patient says in a theoretic scheme. What is needed, therefore, is an open theoretic scheme, more oriented towards understanding than interpretation. Aspects of analytic communication and of the relationship between language, thought and insight are examined. A humanistic point of view is assumed in distinguishing between the transferral and the real plane, and the reasons behind the legitimacy of such a distinction are expounded.     

Contextual Pavlovian conditioning in the crab Chasmagnathus

In contextual conditioning, a complex pattern of information is processed to associate the characteristics of a particular place with incentive or aversive reinforcements. This type of learning has been widely studied in mammals, but studies of other taxa are scarce. The context-signal memory (CSM) paradigm of the crab Chasmagnathus has been extensively used as a model of learning and memory. Although initially interpreted as habituation, some characteristics of contextual conditioning have been described. However, no anticipatory response has been detected for animals exposed to the training context. Thus, CSM could be interpreted either as an associative habituation or as contextual conditioning that occurs without a context-evoked anticipatory response. Here, we describe a training protocol developed for contextual Pavlovian conditioning (CPC). For each training trial, the context (conditioned stimulus, CS) was discretely presented and finished together with the unconditioned stimulus (US). In agreement with the CSM paradigm, a robust freezing response was acquired during the 15 training trials, and clear retention was found when tested with the US presentation after short (2 and 4 h) and long (1–4 days) delays. This CPC memory showed forward but not simultaneous presentation conditioning and was context specific and protein synthesis dependent. Additionally, a weak CPC memory was enhanced during consolidation. One day after training, CPC was extinguished by repeated CS presentation, while one presentation induced a memory labilisation–reconsolidation process. Finally, we found an anticipatory conditioned response (CR) during the CS presentation for both short-term (4 h) and long-term memory (24 h). These findings support the conditioning nature of the new paradigm.     

Alexithymia in Young people’s academic career: The mediating role of anxiety and resilience

Alexithymia prevents people from understanding and adopting verbal language to describe and regulate one’s emotions. Recent studies have found that alexithymia symptoms also impact on young people’s academic achievement. Nevertheless, it is worth investigating risk and protective roles played by students’ academic anxiety and resilience, respectively. The authors expected that students’ anxiety and resilience mediated the effect of alexithymia symptoms on students’ academic burnout and performance. A sample of 257 university students answered self-report questionnaires about alexithymia, academic anxiety and resilience, and academic burnout and performance. Mediation analyses were performed by the structural equation model. Anxiety acted as a mediator between alexithymia and academic burnout and performance. Furthermore, resilience mediated the effect of alexithymia on burnout, but not on academic performance. The study provides support for preventing alexithymia consequences on young people’s academic career by reducing their anxiety and promoting academic resilience. Implications of intervention programs were discussed.