Factor structure of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in a sample from Mexico

The aim of this study was to analyze the cultural adaptation of the European Spanish version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarak, & Mermelstein, 1983), for its use in Mexican samples. Using a random sample of students, internal consistency was analyzed and the factor structure of the Spanish version of the PSS was compared with the factor structure found in the English version. Internal consistency was adequate (alpha = .83) and confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the factor structure. Factor 1 explained 42.8% of the variance and Factor 2 accounted for 53.2%. The goodness-of-fit measures also revealed an adequate fit. The cultural adaptation of the PSS was also evaluated with satisfactory results.     

Toward a dialect theory: cultural differences in the expression and recognition of posed facial expressions

Two studies provided direct support for a recently proposed dialect theory of communicating emotion, positing that expressive displays show cultural variations similar to linguistic dialects, thereby decreasing accurate recognition by out-group members. In Study 1, 60 participants from Quebec and Gabon posed facial expressions. Dialects, in the form of activating different muscles for the same expressions, emerged most clearly for serenity, shame, and contempt and also for anger, sadness, surprise, and happiness, but not for fear, disgust, or embarrassment. In Study 2, Quebecois and Gabonese participants judged these stimuli and stimuli standardized to erase cultural dialects. As predicted, an in-group advantage emerged for nonstandardized expressions only and most strongly for expressions with greater regional dialects, according to Study 1.     

Bilingual aphasia and language control: A follow-up fMRI and intrinsic connectivity study

In a world that is becoming more multilingual, bilingual aphasia is a clinical problem with a major clinical impact. However, at present we lack causal explanations of the many features of recovery patterns and there is no consensus about the language in which the patient should receive speech therapy. Further advance requires an understanding of the dynamics of recovery. In a novel longitudinal, single-case study, we combine fMRI and dynamic causal modeling to examine the effects of specific language treatment for picture naming on the representation and control of language areas during the course of recovery. Improved performance in the treated language was associated with increased activation in language areas. Consistent with theoretical expectations, causal modeling indicated increased connectedness of the control and language networks for the treated language. This functional approach holds great promise for investigating recovery patterns and the effects of specific language treatment in bilingual aphasic patients.     

A genetic analysis of brain volumes and IQ in children

In a population-based sample of 112 nine-year old twin pairs, we investigated the association among total brain volume, gray matter and white matter volume, intelligence as assessed by the Raven IQ test, verbal comprehension, perceptual organization and perceptual speed as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. Phenotypic correlations between the brain volumes and intelligence traits ranged between .20 and .33. Processing speed and brain volume did not correlate. The relation between brain volume and intelligence was entirely explained by a common set of genes influencing both sets of phenotypes.     

ERPs studies of cognitive processing during sleep

In the last few decades, several works on cognitive processing during sleep have emerged. The study of cognitive processing with event related potentials (ERPs) during sleep is a topic of great interest, since ERPs allow the study of stimulation with passive paradigms (without conscious response or behavioural response), opening multiple research possibilities during different sleep phases. We review ERPs modulated by cognitive processes during sleep: N1, Mismatch Negativity (MMN), P2, P3, N400-like, N300-N550, among others. The review shows that there are different cognitive discriminations during sleep related to the frequency, intensity, duration, saliency, novelty, proportion of appearance, meaning, and even sentential integration of stimuli. The fascinating results of cognitive processing during sleep imply serious challenges for cognitive models. The studies of ERPs, together with techniques of neuroimaging, have demonstrated the existence of cognitive processing during sleep. A fundamental question to be considered is if these cognitive phenomena are similar to processing that occurs during wakefulness. Based on this question we discussed the existence of possible mechanisms associated with sleep, as well as the specific cognitive and neurophysiologic differences of wakefulness and sleep. Much knowledge is still required to even understand the conjunction of dramatic changes in cerebral dynamics and the occurrence of cognitive processes. We propose some insights based on ERPs research for further construction of theoretical models for integrating both cognitive processing and specific brain sleep dynamics.     

Predicting romantic relationship satisfaction from life history strategy

Attachment style and communication style have been shown in previous research to predict relationship satisfaction. We hypothesized that the ultimate cause underlying the relationship among attachment style, communication style, and relationship satisfaction is Life History Strategy (LHS). Furthermore, we hypothesized that LHS would not only predict relationship satisfaction indirectly through a couple’s attachment style and communication style, but would also predict relationship satisfaction directly. Two structural equation models were constructed to model and test each of these hypotheses. The first showed that the indirect causal pathways from LHS to attachment style, attachment style to communication style, and communication style to relationship satisfaction predicted 16% of the variance in relationship satisfaction. The second added a causal pathway directly from LHS to relationship satisfaction which reduced the estimate for the influence of communication style on relationship satisfaction and increased the total variance predicted in relationship satisfaction to 60%. These results challenge the notion that it is primarily the communication between two romantic partners which influences their relationship outcome by proposing that their LHS may be influential: (1) indirectly through their attachment style and communication style; and (2) directly upon relationship satisfaction.     

Building an Expanded Therapeutic Alliance: A Task Analysis with Families Trapped in Parental-Adolescent Conflict

Parental-adolescent conflict is part of the normal developmental cycle of families, but when it occurs in a dysfunctional way, it is associated with the appearance of various harmful conditions for the family system and for the adolescent in particular. Family therapy is one of the main options for psychotherapeutic intervention in these cases and has ample evidence of its effectiveness. The success of this intervention is conditioned to the construction of an adequate therapeutic alliance with the family, but the process of this task has not been clarified yet. The present study is a task analysis, the purpose of which was to create a heuristic model of how an expanded alliance may be built in these kinds of cases. The model was revised and improved from the intensive analysis of six cases. The resulting model can be a useful guide for family therapists in that it describes the specific client and therapist behaviors involved in balancing the alliance, as well as the potential obstacles and suggested ways to resolve them.     

Religious Values in Clinical Practice are Here to Stay

Research to date has shown that health professionals often practice according to personal values, including values based on faith, and that these values impact medicine in multiple ways. While some influence of personal values are inevitable, awareness of values is important so as to sustain beneficial practice without conflicting with the values of the patient. Detecting when own personal values, whether based on a theistic or atheistic worldview, are at work, is a daily challenge in clinical practice. Simultaneously ethical guidelines of tone-setting medical associations like American Medical Association, the British General Medical Council and Australian Medical Association have been updated to encompass physicians’ right to practice medicine in accord with deeply held beliefs. Framed by this context, we discuss the concept of value-neutrality and value-based medical practice of physicians from both a cultural and ethical perspective, and reach the conclusion that the concept of a completely value-neutral physician, free from influence of personal values and filtering out value-laden information when talking to patients, is simply an unrealistic ideal in light of existing evidence. Still we have no reason to suspect that personal values, whether religious, spiritual, atheistic or agnostic, should hinder physicians from delivering professional and patient-centered care.

     

Building Communities in Tense Times: Fostering Connectedness Between Cultures and Generations through Community Arts

The worldwide upsurge in social polarizations generates intercommunity tensions that challenge the social fabric of urban neighborhoods and undermine the relationships between their members. Because community arts can foster the creation of connections between people that would not have been in contact otherwise, they are often perceived as being powerful tools to foster community resilience. Through a multiple case study approach, this article describes how three community arts projects, carried out in two socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods of Montreal (Canada), influenced the social relationships between participants from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds and generations. Using participant observation and arts-based data collection methods (photography, video, and arts productions), the authors examine how the three projects illustrate (a) the interactive processes at play, (b) the transmission and hybridization of stories and images of adversity and resiliency, and (c) the access to a collective voice.     

Traits and Adaptations: A Theoretical Examination and New Empirical Evidence

We investigated the distinction between traits (also labelled basic tendencies or dispositions) and (characteristic) adaptations, two related features of the personality system postulated to influence how personality manifests throughout the lifespan. Traits are alleged to be universal, causal, and enduring entities that exist across cultures and through evolutionary time, whereas learned adaptations are acquired through sustained interaction with cultural, physical, and social environments. Although this distinction is central to several personality theories, they provide few measurable criteria to distinguish between traits and adaptations. Moreover, little research has endeavoured to operationalize it, let alone test it empirically. Drawing on insights from four frameworks—the Five-Factor Theory, Cybernetic Big Five Theory, Disposition–Adaptation–Environment Model, and New Big Five—we attempted to investigate the distinction both theoretically and empirically. Using various experimental rating conditions, we first scored 240 questionnaire items in their degrees of definitionally reflecting traits and/or adaptations. Next, we correlated these definitional ratings with the items' estimates of rank-order stability, consensual validity, and heritability—criteria often associated with personality traits. We found some evidence that items rated as more trait-like and less adaptation-like correspond to higher cross-rater agreement and stability but not heritability. These associations survived controlling for items' retest reliability, social desirability, and variance. The theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology