Union commitment and participation: a 10-year longitudinal study

The authors longitudinally investigated the causal nature of the relationship between union commitment and participation in informal union activities. A total of 134 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers were studied over a 10-year period. Using cross-lagged regression analysis, early union commitment was found to predict the level of informal union participation 10 years later. The reverse and reciprocal relationships were not supported. These findings support and extend earlier research on the causal nature of the short-term relationship between union commitment and participation. The implications of the findings for researchers and labor unions are discussed.     

First record: a methodological approach to counter sampling bias

One goal of survey research is to optimize sampling procedures so that the collected data will produce accurate population estimates. In this context, sampling bias is a primary threat to a study's validity. If individuals who do not respond are a random sample of the population, then the estimates obtained from such a subsample are unbiased. However, as the percentage of nonrespondents increases, the assumption of unbiased estimation becomes increasingly tenuous. At this point an investigator has two choices: delete all subjects who have not provided data as part of the first data collection, or allow a respondent's point of entry to define his baseline measures for the study. No previous discussion of the latter option has been noted in the methods literature. Therefore the authors have termed this approach to baseline the "first record". Conditions under which the "first record" technique would be appropriate or inappropriate are discussed.     

Comparison of two procedures for teaching dictated-word/symbol relations to learners with autism

The efficacy of exclusion and delayed-cue procedures for establishing novel dictated-word/symbol relations with 2 boys with autism was compared using computerized match-to-sample procedures. Acquisition of the relations under the two training conditions was compared via an alternating treatments design. The delayed-cue procedure was more efficacious than the exclusion procedure in four of five comparisons across participants.     

The Efficacy of Behavioral Couples Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couple Distress

Twenty treatment outcome studies, 13 of which evaluated behavioral couples therapy (BCT) and seven of which evaluated emotionally focused therapy (EFT) were reviewed, leading to the following conclusions. BCT leads to short and long-term gains for moderate to severe couple distress. In the long term BCT probably leads to no better outcomes than its constituent components—behavioral exchange training and communication and problem solving skills training. Addition of a cognitive therapy component to BCT or the use of a variety of treatment formats does not improve the efficacy of BCT. Integrative couples therapy and insight-oriented marital therapy may be more effective than BCT, but studies supporting this conclusion require replication. EFT leads to short and long-term gains for mild to moderate couple distress. Addition of a cognitive therapy component to EFT does not enhance its efficacy. EFT may be more effective than problem solving therapy and less effective than integrated systemic therapy, but the two studies supporting this conclusion require replication.Michael Byrne, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist, Midland Health Board, Ireland; Alan Carr, PhD, is Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Programme, Department of Psychology, Arts Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland (alan.carr@ucd.ie). Marie Clark, PhD, is Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, United Kingdom.     

Sexual reorientation therapy: an orthodox perspective.

This article evaluates the phenomenon of sexual reorientation therapy from the standpoint of Orthodox Christian theology. It is argued that homosexual desire is the product of the fall of mankind and cannot be considered "normal." At the same time, however, reorientation therapies, whether secular or Christian, are inherently reductionistic and fail to address the underlying spiritual pathologies involved in homosexual desire (or any other deep-seated passion). The purpose of therapeia in the Orthodox Church is the psycho-somatic transfiguration of the whole person into the image of Christ, not merely the cessation of homosexual activity or the "reidentification" of one's "lifestyle."     

Imagery and interpretations in social phobia: support for the combined cognitive biases hypothesis

Cognitive-behavioral models of clinical problems typically postulate a role for the combined effects of different cognitive biases in the maintenance of a given disorder. It is striking therefore that research has tended to examine cognitive biases in isolation rather than assessing how they work together to maintain psychological dysfunction. The combined cognitive biases hypothesis presented here suggests that cognitive biases influence each another and can interact to maintain a given disorder. Furthermore, it is proposed that the combined effects of cognitive biases may have a greater impact on sustaining a given disorder than if the biases operated in isolation. The combined cognitive biases hypothesis is examined in relation to imagery and interpretation in social phobia. Individuals with social phobia experience negative images of themselves performing poorly in social situations, and they also interpret external social information in a less positive way than those without social anxiety. Evidence of a reciprocal relationship between imagery and interpretations is presented, and the mechanisms underlying the combined effects are discussed. Clinical implications and the potential utility of examining the combined influence of other cognitive biases are highlighted.     

A Spinozan lens onto the confusions of borderline relations

In this paper the author describes how, in his analytic work with difficult personality disorders, he uses a neo-Spinozan position or attitude of alpha-thinking and functioning to understand, clarify, and so to manage confused and confusing psychosomatic 'body-mind' and emotional relations, both internally and inter-personally. Two case examples are given, followed by reflections on technique and on the limits of mourning, transformation and irony. The author suggests that a private, ideational double-aspect, mind-body position may be helpful in working with these analysands. This analytic mode may create a radically different understanding by incorporating a relational system of containment, self-containment, observation and memory. In addition, the author gives his own version of the aetiology and dynamics of borderline states and relations, and weaves the two cases he reports on into reflections on his countertransferential responses, reactions, inter-actions and 'reverie' through the lens of a neo-Spinozan conceptual system.     

Modularity in cognition: framing the debate

Modularity has been the subject of intense debate in the cognitive sciences for more than 2 decades. In some cases, misunderstandings have impeded conceptual progress. Here the authors identify arguments about modularity that either have been abandoned or were never held by proponents of modular views of the mind. The authors review arguments that purport to undermine modularity, with particular attention on cognitive architecture, development, genetics, and evolution. The authors propose that modularity, cleanly defined, provides a useful framework for directing research and resolving debates about individual cognitive systems and the nature of human evolved cognition. Modularity is a fundamental property of living things at every level of organization; it might prove indispensable for understanding the structure of the mind as well.