Task performance and magnitude of goal valence

J. W. Brehm and his associates (J. W. Brehm, R. A. Wright, S. Solomon, L. Silka, & J. Greenberg, 1983, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 21–48) recently argued that the magnitude of goal valence (the attractiveness or unattractiveness of a potential outcome) varies directly with motivational arousal level. Motivational arousal, in turn, is thought to be a function of the perceived difficulty of goal attainment. This formulation was tested in the present study by examining the relationship between goal attractiveness ratings and performance on an anagram task. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law (R. M. Yerkes & J. D. Dodson, 1908, Journal of Comparative Neurological Psychology, 18, 459–482), the relationship between motivational arousal and performance should be curvilinear; optimal performance is usually observed for moderate levels of motivation relative to either low or very high motivation levels. Consistent with the Brehm et al. hypothesis, optimum performance in the present study was observed for subjects who reported moderate levels of goal attractiveness relative to subjects who reported either low or high levels of goal attractiveness. Anticipatory ratings of the difficulty of the anagrams were also congruent with the Brehm et al. model. These findings converge with data from other studies supporting the utility of goal attractiveness as an index of motivational arousal and provide an additional dimension of support for the model proposed by Brehm et al.     

Family and psychosocial predictors of obsessive compulsive disorder in a community sample of young adolescents

A two-stage epidemiologic study conducted between 1986 and 1988 in the southeastern United States investigated family and psychosocial predictors of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and subclinical OCD in young adolescents. In the first stage, a life-event schedule and a family adaptability and cohesion scale were administered to a community sample of 3,283 adolescents. In stage two, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia in School Age Children and the Children's Global Assessment Scale were administered to 488 mother-child pairs. In multivariable models family cohesion was the only significant correlate of OCD (odds ratio=0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.91–0.98). Gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, guardian status, adaptability, undesirable life events and desirable life events were not found to be significant predictors of OCD in models adjusting for cohesion. Note of the above variables were significantly associated with subclinical OCD. However, separate analyses of the 41 individual life events indicated seven specific events were significantly associated with OCD or subclinical OCD. These findings are at odds with the theory that overinvolvement of family members is a risk factor for OCD, though an association with overly rigid family structure cannot be eliminated based on these data. Further exploration of family characteristics is warranted.     

Since she's my queen well I must be king

Conclusion Against the ideology of conflict in which uncompromising violence is the winning attribute in the contest for political supremacy and superiority, Plato seeks to balance the oppositions of masculinity and femininity evenly in the single soul, to rethink manliness and allow it to be a disposition developed out of gentleness as well as spiritedness, and allowing men to draw on feminine characteristics to construct a new ideal of human nature. Socrates, we have seen, argues that guardian natures must be both gentle and spirited, and that a harmonious tension between these traits is conducive to the good of the soul and the city. There is no equivalent re-evaluation of womanliness however, no interest in re-evaluating the female role in the generation of children, and no interest in re-assessing the ontological dependencies of form and matter and their relation to reproduction and identity. Plato complicates and allows variations within the logic of gender relations which privilege the male as ideal, but these moves could not remove that structural inequality. Meanwhile, real women continue to be born withsexed bodies on whichgendered meanings are already inscribed (in a variety of different ways as deformed, inchoate, and lacking specificity), providing the ground and matter on which a creative principle gets to work and produces children, ideas and meanings.Ultimately, reason is master of the self in service of which spirit and gentleness are employed, and the inclusion of feminine gentleness into that service is no threat to the dominance of patriarchal hierarchy; both conceptually and empirically, woman and women remain source and resource for the patriarchal order. Reforming gender roles and abolishing the patrilinear genealogy is Plato's well-intentioned aim, but his failure to achieve this is inevitable, I have argued, as long as a specific identity for woman remains untheorised and a maternal genealogy unrecognized. Unless the ideal human being is re-conceptualised, giving a specific identity and value to the different morphologies of male and female humans, ignoring gender will never allow women an equivalentvalue: for, if women may be queens, this necessarily makes men their kings in the ideal republic.A Jonathan Richman song.     

Category-Based and Feature-Based Cognitive Processes: The Role of Unfavorable Information1

Recent research on selection decisions suggests that favorable features (e.g., attractive physical features or positively-evaluated personality traits) can enhance ratings of applicant suitability, but little research has examined the impact of unfavorable features. Theories of person perception distinguish between two information processing strategies: category-based and feature-based. We predicted that unfavorable features would influence selection decisions only when raters used feature-based processing strategies. Results suggest that applicant features' prototypicality and favorability can compensate for one another, with applicants' negative features resulting in a disadvantage only when the applicant is perceived as nonprototypical.     

An evaluation of the long-term outcomes of small-group work for counsellor development

A questionnaire was designed which enquired into the long-term professional applications and outcomes of Rogerian small-group and Tavistock Group Dynamics training. The 92 respondents were graduates of either a Master's degree or a Diploma in Human Relations or Counselling Studies in a university course where a 'small-group' module was a compulsory element of the taught course. Respondents were drawn from graduates of these one-year full-time or two-year part-time courses over a 21-year period. All respondents were involved either directly in professional or voluntary counselling, in the application of counselling skills in their work, or in training in counselling and counselling skills at work. The respondents reported no loss of learning gains over time: ascribed the application of many specific counselling skills to the small-group training process; reported on the affective component of the learning process; and provided only minimal evidence of forms of psychological damage which could be directly ascribed to the experience. These outcomes have to be considered in the light of the relatively low response rate of 33% and the difficulties in monitoring the precise behaviour of the facilitators in the groups.     

Gender Differences in Pointing Accuracy in Computer-Simulated 3D Mazes

Gender differences in pointing accuracy incomputer-simulated mazes were studied as a function ofmaze complexity and training effects. College students(primarily White) were led through mazes with different numbers of turns; at the end of each maze, theywere asked to indicate the direction of the maze origin(starting point). Pointing accuracy declined with numberof turns, but men were consistently more accurate than women by about 20°,regardless of maze complexity. Training participants totrack the relative position of the maze origin whilemoving through the maze produced equivalent benefits inpointing accuracy for both women and men. Thus, althoughpointing accuracy of men remained higher than that ofwomen, the results suggest that pointing performance canbe modified by experience.     

Internal Validity of the Disruptive Behavior Disorder Symptoms: Implications from Parent Ratings for a Dimensional Approach to Symptom Validity

A dimensional approach was used to evaluate the internal validity of the DSM-III-R ADHD-inattention, ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms (i.e., whether a symptom has a stronger correlation with its own dimension than the other three). Parents rated 4,019 children between the ages of 2 and 19 on these symptoms. The results showed that 5 of the 6 inattention symptoms, 3 of the 4 hyperactivity symptoms, 1 of the 4 impulsivity symptoms, 6 of the 9 oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, and 8 of the 11 CD symptoms had significant internal validity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found support for inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositional defiant, and conduct disorder dimensions. Multiple-group CFA also found support for factor pattern and loading invariance across gender. The implications of these results as well as the merits of the dimensional approach to symptom validity are discussed in the context of the DSM-IV changes in ADHD, ODD, and CD.     

Case vignette: the vicissitudes of managed care

Lee Wilson, age 26, was referred to Dr. Jackson for psychotherapy 5 weeks ago by a friend. Lee has been feeling increasingly depressed about longstanding family issues and the recent breakup of a 2-year relationship with a live-in companion. Over the course of the once-per-week sessions, Dr. Jackson notes persistent suicidal ideation, with vague plans to act if, as Lee puts it, "things get any worse." Just before the sixth session, Dr. Jackson is contacted by a reviewer for the managed care health insurance program covering Lee's therapy. The reviewer informs Dr. Jackson that the company will not authorize payment for further psychotherapeutic care. Dr. Jackson knows that Lee is in need of continued treatment and fears that terminating therapy at this time could result in increased suicide risk. Lee's income could cover only a small portion of Dr. Jackson's usual fee. Dr. Jackson does not wish to abandon Lee, but he already provides a significant amount of reduced-fee service to other clients. Is the health insurance carrier's stance ethical? Should Dr. Jackson be expected to treat Lee for the foreseeable future at a greatly reduced fee? How should Dr. Jackson handle this situation?     

Use of mental health services among severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in San Francisco

This study examined the mental health services available to severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in San Francisco. Social, familial, developmental, and clinical data—as well as service use histories—on 192 youths were collected. Results indicated high levels of family dysfunction, physical and sexual abuse, and neglect in the total study population. The study also identified case history and demographic factors that were associated with repeated psychiatric inpatient hospitalizationand high annual rates of change in residential placement. These factors included being male, older, non-English-speaking, and having a history of physical and sexual abuse. The impact of the service system on the lives and course of illness of these youth is discussed and future directions for research are suggested.