The Expression of Achievement Motives in Interpersonal Problems

ABSTRACT Achievement motivation influences self-regulatory strategies, affective processes, and achievement outcomes, but little is known about how individual differences in achievement motivation influence interpersonal behavior. Different forms of achievement motivation are likely to influence interpersonal behavior because achievement motives are grounded in social emotions. Two studies were conducted to examine relations between achievement motives and dispositional interpersonal problems. These studies linked deficits in pride-based need for achievement with self-reported submission-related interpersonal problems, and shame-based fear of failure (FF) with both self- and peer-reported interpersonal distress. The achievement motives were largely not associated with individuals' perceptions of their peers' interpersonal problems. These findings reinforce propositions that FF represents the commingling of achievement and relational concerns and suggest new mechanisms by which achievement motives may influence productivity, social success, and well-being.     

Lethality of suicide attempt rating scale

An 11-point (0-10) scale for measuring the degree of lethality of suicide attempts is presented. The scale has nine example "anchors" and uses the relative lethality of an extensive table of drugs. The psychometric studies show the scale to be of at least equal-interval, possibly even ratio measurement level. The equal-interval quality allows suicidal behaviors to be specified in numeric relationship to each other relieving us of the burden of using unquantified labels such as "mild," "moderate," and "serious." Having a standardized, commonly used reference scale should greatly facilitate our research and clinical efforts to communicate our findings. The scale can be used reliably by nonmedical personnel with no prior training.     

A comparison of mean partialing and dual-hypothesis testing to evaluate stereotype effects when assessing profile similarity

Assessing profile similarity is an important task in research and clinical practice, but conclusions about profile similarity may be confounded by stereotype effects that create artificially similar profiles. In this article, we review the impact of stereotype effects on profile similarity and a conventional approach to addressing this confound (i.e., mean partialing). We argue that a dual-hypothesis testing approach distinguishing the no-effect null hypothesis (i.e., is the observed similarity different from zero?) from the chance-effect null hypothesis (i.e., is the observed similarity different from chance given the distribution of profile elements?) can provide a more nuanced understanding of profile similarity. To compare results from these 2 perspectives, we analyzed data from 2 samples using within-persons correlations as indexes of similar profile shapes. Results indicated that a dual-hypothesis testing approach led to more conservative conclusions about profile similarity (i.e., fewer Type 1 errors) than mean partialing and may be especially valuable when dealing with moderate-sized stereotype effects. Both approaches led to identical conclusions when stereotype effects were largest. Conclusions emphasize the relative merits and limitations of the dual-hypothesis testing approach as well as potential future applications in the personality assessment domain.     

The coregulatory effects of emotionally focused therapy

This study examined the heart rate synchrony between a single couple in emotionally focused therapy (EFT) as a method of measuring coregulatory effects over the course of treatment. A clinician who is an EFT certified therapist, supervisor, and trainer administered all eight sessions in a private practice setting. Surrogate synchrony analysis assessed heart rate synchrony between partners, indicating that significant heart rate synchrony was more likely over time. Significant heart rate synchrony was more likely during sessions that focused on clients’ sharing attachment injuries, bonds, and longings with their partner compared to sessions more focused on cognitive processing of the relationship. Additionally, there were delays in heart rate synchrony that occurred between the couple, which may be indicative of the emotional processing speed of the empathic response of each partner. Understanding the physiological synchrony patterns between dyads in treatment could clarify the potential of coregulation in the therapeutic process.     

Habit strength moderates the strength of within-person relations between weekly self-reported and objectively-assessed physical activity

ObjectivesPhysical activity (PA) habit strength influences how people control their PA and may also influence how people encode, store, or recall their PA. This study evaluated whether individual differences in PA habit strength moderated the magnitude of within-person associations between weekly self-reported PA and step counts.DesignLongitudinal.MethodAfter an initial assessment of PA habit strength, university students wore pedometers for four weeks and completed four self-reports of weekly mild, moderate, and strenuous PA.ResultsOn average, people's weekly step counts and self-reported PA across time were weakly-to-moderately associated, but there was substantial variability in the magnitude of these associations across people. People with strong PA habits had weaker within-person associations between deviations from their average self-reported PA and step counts than those with weak PA habits.ConclusionsThese results may indicate that PA habit strength influences the sensitivity of self-report PA measures to change in objectively-measured PA.     

Counseling in Ireland

Counseling in Ireland has experienced rapid growth in the past 30 years. Public attitudes toward counseling have become more positive, especially with the increasing secularization of a once strongly religious Catholic society. Licensure is nonexistent but there are certification bodies that attempt to ensure qualified practice. There is no third‐party payment, so access to counseling for impoverished individuals is a problem. Training programs are quite varied. Efforts are being made to standardize training and to develop licensure requirements.     

The Relation between Mind‐mindedness in Mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder and Mental State Understanding in their Children

This study investigated relations between mind‐mindedness in mothers with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and mental state understanding in their children. Participants were 20 mothers with BPD and 19 mothers without personality disorder and their children, aged 39–61 months. Children's mental state understanding was examined via a battery of theory of mind and emotion labelling tasks. Maternal mind‐mindedness was assessed by mothers' use of mental state references to describe their children relative to other attributes. Maternal BPD was associated with fewer references to children's mental states as well as poorer levels of mental state understanding in their children. Findings lend some empirical support to recent theoretical suggestions that BPD is associated with a reduced capacity for mentalization, as well as reduced capacity for mental state understanding in children of mothers with BPD. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Within-person covariation of agentic and communal perceptions: Implications for interpersonal theory and assessment

Interpersonal theory identifies agency and communion as uncorrelated (orthogonal) dimensions, largely evidenced by research examining between-person analyses of single-occasion measures. However, longitudinal studies of interpersonal behavior demonstrated the within-person association of agency and communion is not orthogonal for many individuals, and between-person differences in these associations relate to adjustment. We applied a similar approach to investigate the association of interpersonal perceptions. 184 university students completed a 7-day event-contingent study of their interpersonal experiences. Using multilevel regression models, we demonstrated that agentic and communal perceptions were positively associated, and the strength of this within-person association was moderated by between-person scores of dependency and narcissism. We discuss the benefits of incorporating within-person interpersonal associations (termed interpersonal covariation) into interpersonal theory and assessment.     

Integrating Methods to Optimize Circumplex Description and Comparison of Groups

The ‘self-steering behaviour’ syndrome, as measured by the barrier index of the body image boundary, was investigated as a predictor of level of adjustment to stress induced by physical-disability. Rorschach blots were administered to three groups of 24, randomly selected subjects differing in degree of disability, and Barrier scores were derived according to the Fisher and Cleveland technique. It was hypothesized that Barrier score would significantly discriminate between levels of adjustment and degrees of disability, but the results did not support these hypotheses. Results indicated that ‘self-steering behaviour’ as indexed by Barrier score is not a valid technique for predicting typical behavioural patterns of reaction to disability-stress.     

Multidimensional Fear of Failure Measurement: The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory

The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) is a multidimensional measure of cognitive-motivational-relational appraisals associated with fear of failure (FF). College students ( N = 544) completed the PFAI and a variety of other measures. Calibration sample analyses reduced the PFAI to 25 items measuring five appraisals in a higher-order factor structure that demonstrated tight cross-validity in the second half of the sample. The five aversive consequences of failure assessed by the PFAI included (a) experiencing shame and embarrassment, (b) devaluing one's self-estimate, (c) having an uncertain future, (d) important others losing interest, and (e) upsetting important others. A five-item short form also demonstrated tight cross-validity. FF was associated with (a) high levels of worry, somatic anxiety, cognitive disruption, and sport anxiety, and (b) low levels of optimism. General FF was unrelated to either perceived competence or fear of success.