Testing Strengths-Based Interventions: A Preliminary Study on the Effectiveness of a Program Targeting Curiosity, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, and Zest for Enhancing Life Satisfaction

The study compares the impact of character strengths-based positive interventions in a sample of 178 adults. An experimental group that trained strengths of the Values-in-Action classification that typically correlate highly with life satisfaction (curiosity, gratitude, hope, humor, and zest) was compared in its gain in life satisfaction with a group that trained strengths that usually demonstrate low correlations with life satisfaction (appreciation of beauty and excellence, creativity, kindness, love of learning, and perspective) and a wait-list control group. If pre and post measures in life satisfaction were compared, the group with the strengths most correlated with life satisfaction improved significantly (statistically) in their satisfaction in comparison to a control group. This could be interpreted as support for the idea that primarily those strengths that correlate highly with life satisfaction should be addressed in strengths-based interventions. When asked for subjective ratings of well-being after the interventions concluded, participants in both intervention groups indicated gains above that of a wait-listed control group. Further analyses underscore the special role of self-regulation in facilitating success in the interventions. Overall, the data underline the potential of strength-based interventions for improving human well-being.     

Dream recall and nightmare frequency: a family study

The present study investigated dream recall as well as nightmare frequency in families. Whereas a positive correlation for nightmare frequencies between children and mothers was found (but not for children and their fathers), the relationship for dream recall frequency was small and nonsignificant. Assuming that mothers are still the primary caregivers in the modern family, and, thus, might encourage or discourage children to talk about their dreams, the findings of the study support Cohen's 1973 hypothesis of a socialization effect on nightmare frequency and maybe a smaller effect on dream recall frequency.     

Transference and attachment: how do attachment patterns get carried forward from one relationship to the next?

This research investigated how working models of attachment are carried forward from one relationship to the next. A two-part study was conducted in which participants learned about two potential dating partners: one that was constructed to resemble a romantic partner from their past and one that resembled a partner from another participant's past. Results showed that people applied their attachment representations of past partners to both targets but did so to a greater degree when the target resembled a past partner. People also tended to feel more anxious and less avoidant toward the target that resembled their past partner. Overall, the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that working models of attachment are transferred in both general and selective ways in new relationships.     

Traumatic Brain Injury Outcome in Older Adults: A Critical Review of the Literature

This paper is a critical overview of the literature on older adults' outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Eighteen outcome studies were reviewed. Results indicated that older patients demonstrated an increased risk for negative outcome following TBI when compared to younger patients with similar injury severity. Poorer outcome was characterized by higher mortality rates, decreased likelihood of returning to preinjury living arrangement, and declines in cognitive and affective functioning. In the studies reviewed, discharge destination, global outcome scales, and standardized neuropsychological tests were the primary measures of outcome from elderly TBI. Conceptual and methodological difficulties including variability in the definition of and inadequate measures of recovery from elderly TBI, inadequate control groups, and poor follow-up were discussed. Recommendations for future outcome research to increase uniformity in defining recovery in order to enhance comparability between studies and to tailor cognitive rehabilitation to the special needs of the older TBI patient were provided.     

Limits on the role of retrieval cues in memory for actions: Enactment effects in the absence of object cues in the environment

Verb-object phrases (open the umbrella, knock on the table) are usually remembered better if they have been enacted during study (also called subject-performed tasks) than if they have merely been learned verbally (verbal tasks). This enactment effect is particularly pronounced for phrases for which the objects (table) are present as cues in the study and test contexts. In previous studies with retrieval cues for some phrases, the enactment effect in free recall for the other phrases has been surprisingly small or even nonexistent. The present study tested whether the often replicated enactment effect in free recall can be found if none of the phrases contains context cues. In Experiment 1, we tested, and corroborated, the suppression hypothesis: The enactment effect for a given type of phrase (marker phrases) is modified by the presence or absence of cues for the other phrases in the list (experimental phrases). Experiments 2 and 3 replicated the enactment effect for phrases without cues. Experiment 2 also showed that the presence of cues either at study or at test is sufficient for obtaining a suppression effect, and Experiment 3 showed that the enactment effect may disappear altogether if retrieval cues are very salient.     

Training psychiatric teams to do family systems acute psychiatry

This article presents an account of a comprehensive eighteen‐day, multi‐team, multidisciplinary training approach to family systems inpatient acute psychiatry. It has been developed and tested as part of the SYMPA project (systems therapy in acute psychiatry), which aims to establish systemic case conceptualizations and interventions as routine practice in acute psychiatry. Content, didactic characteristics and specifications of this training are discussed. To illustrate the practical implementation of the training, specifically designed exercises are described and a clinical case is included. The article concludes by presenting first results of the research on implementation indicating that the training had a significant impact on the quantity and quality of conversations with patients.     

Applying a Modified Moral Decision Making Model to Change Habitual Car Use: How Can Commitment be Effective?

Une intervention basée sur une théorie a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 297 automobilistes pour tenter de lancer de nouvelles habitudes de déplacement (essayer de préférer les transports en commun plutôt que la voiture). Un modèle de modification d’une décision morale relevant de la théorie de Schwartz et Howard (1981) fut exploité dans la conception d’une intervention associant une technique de décristallisation des comportements antérieurs (remise provisoire d’une carte gratuite) avec une technique focalisée sur une norme (appel à l’implication). L’échantillon était constitué de 297 citoyens allemands pouvant utiliser facilement leur voiture et vivant dans des quartiers bien desservis par les transports en commun. Les participants ont été répartis au hasard dans quatre conditions (implication précédée par une carte gratuite, seulement l’implication, seulement la carte gratuite et groupe contrôle) et durent faire part de leur choix de transport pour un trajet précis et habituel (par exemple aller au travail) sur une durée de huit semaines suivie d’une période contrôle de deux semaines. En outre, les variables du modèle (la règle personnelle de réduction de l’utilisation de la voiture, les normes sociales, les coûts comportementaux ressentis et les habitudes) ont été enregistrées toutes les deux semaines. Bien que les effets globaux de l’intervention aient été faibles, les résultats montrent qu’une motivation morale est un prédicteur pertinent du choix d’un mode de transport qui peut être renforcé par une intervention portant sur l’implication précédée par un changement temporaire de la situation. A theory‐driven intervention was carried out to initiate the try‐out of a new travel mode behavior (try out taking public transport instead of car) in a sample of habitual car users (N= 297). A modified moral decision making model based on the theory of Schwartz and Howard (1981 ) served as background for the design of an intervention combining a habit‐defrosting technique (temporary gift of a free ticket) with a norm‐focused technique (plea for commitment). The sample consisted of 297 German citizens with good car access and living in areas with a convenient supply of public transportation. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups (commitment preceded by a free ticket, commitment only, free ticket only, and control) and had to report their travel mode choice for a particular, regular trip (e.g. trip to work) for a period of 8 weeks and a 2‐week follow‐up period. Additionally, model variables (personal norm to reduce car use, social norm, perceived behavioral costs, and habit) were recorded every 2 weeks. Although overall effects of the interventions were small, results indicate that a moral motivation is a relevant predictor for travel mode choices and can be stabilised by a commitment intervention preceded by a temporary change of the situation.     

Moderation of Stimulus Material on the Prediction of IQ with Infants' Performance in the Visual Expectation Paradigm: Do Greebles Make the Task More Challenging?

The objective of this study was to examine the role of the stimulus material for the prediction of later IQ by early learning measures in the Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP). The VExP was assessed at 9 months using two types of stimuli, Greebles and human faces. Greebles were assumed to be associated with a higher load on working memory in comparison to human faces. IQ was assessed at 3 years and 4 months of age. Sixty‐four children participated at both assessments in this longitudinal study. The results show a moderation of the stimulus material on the prediction of IQ. With Greebles as stimulus material, a significant relationship between infants' learning and IQ was found. There was no relation when infants' learned in the VExP using human faces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.