Investigating the M-FAST: psychometric properties and utility to detect diagnostic specific malingering

This study examined the ability of the M-FAST to differentiate a group of undergraduate students simulating one of four DSM-IV diagnoses (n = 190; schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder) and a clinical comparison sample drawn from previous M-FAST studies comprising individuals with the same diagnosis (n = 142). Across all diagnostic conditions, the simulators obtained higher M-FAST total scores than the clinical comparisons, and the rare combinations scale was equal or superior to the total score at differentiating the groups. The M-FAST was most efficient at distinguishing feigned from bona fide schizophrenia. Although the internal consistency of the total score was high (alpha = 0.88), inter-item correlations were lower than values reported in previous research. Lastly, given the importance of base rate considerations in the evaluation of diagnostic instruments, it was notable that the M-FAST was able to identify malingerers even at relatively low base rates.     

Wayfinding through an unfamiliar environment

Strategies for finding one's way through an unfamiliar environment may be helped by 2D maps, 3D virtual environments, or other navigation aids. The relative effectiveness of aids was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a large, park-like environment. 24 participants (12 men, 12 women; age range = 22-50 years; M=32, SD = 7.4) were divided into three groups of four individuals, who explored a 2D map of a given route prior to navigation, received a silent guided tour by means of an interactive virtual representation, or acquired direct experience of the real route through a silent guided tour. Participants then had to find the same route again on their own. 12 observers were given a "simple" route with only one critical turn, and the other 12 a "complex" route with six critical turns. Compared to three people familiar with the routes, among the naive participants, those who had a direct experience prior to navigation all found their way again on the simple and complex routes. Those who had explored the interactive virtual environment were unable to find their way on the complex route. The relative scale representation in the virtual environment may have given incorrect impressions of relative distances between objects along the itinerary, rendering important landmark information useless.     

On misunderstanding science

Abstract

The paper examines the differences between Kuhn's account, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, of the sciences as necessarily communal activities with internally set standards of procedure and achievement, and that view of the sciences which calls itself ‘Scientific Realism’ and regards them as striving toward, and perhaps asymptotically approaching, some external and objective reality that bestows truth or falsity on scientific theories.

The main argument turns on Poincaré's demonstration that Newton's Second Law (f = ma) is not a testable, provable proposition with a truth value, but something that is simply adopted. It is adopted in the light of experience, certainly, but there is no logical necessity in the adoption. My suggestion is that it is a ‘way of looking’ and ‘a method of analysis’ and that the necessity of its adoption by any individual lies in its being a necessary condition of entry into the scientific community. That community itself adopts ways of looking or methods of analysis for their fruitfulness in dealing with old problems and defining new ones.

Incoherences in the ‘approach’ account of scientific progress are looked at, and the individualistic assumptions that motivate it. These require the sciences to be presented as the source and basis of agreement and community amongst separated individuals. This picture and its requirement inverts reality as well as Kuhn's account, which makes community and agreement the starting point. The notion of reality as a transcendental convergence point becomes redundant.

The old problem of the incommensurability of paradigms is discussed by relating them to the notions of ways of looking and methods of analysis. These may be incompatible in that one cannot look at things in two different ways at once, but at the same time they cannot be measured on any common scale.     

Clinicians’ Attitudes Toward Therapeutic Alliance in E-Therapy

Although therapeutic alliance is a crucial factor in face-to-face therapies, no data exist on clinicians’ attitudes towards alliance in E-therapy. The study explored clinicians’ perceived importance of alliance in E-therapy, clinicians’ confidence in their skills to develop alliance in E-therapy, and whether attitudes towards alliance in E-therapy are associated with intended E-therapy practice. Clinicians (n = 106) responded to an online survey. The majority of clinicians considered alliance to be extremely important in both face-to-face therapy and E-therapy. However, clinicians’ ratings of the importance of alliance in face-to-face therapies were significantly higher than their ratings of the importance of alliance in E-therapy. Clinicians reported less confidence in their skills to develop alliance in E-therapy than in face-to-face therapy. Intended E-therapy practice correlated with confidence in one's ability to develop alliance in E-therapy and with previous E-therapy practice.     

Confronting Math Stereotypes in the Classroom: Its Effect on Female College Students’ Sexism and Perceptions of Confronters

Women often face sexism and stereotypes about their academic ability, and this makes it important to examine the effects of confronting sexism in the college classroom. The current research consisted of 2 studies of how witnessing a confrontation of a sexist stereotype in the classroom affects female students’ perceptions of the confronters and self-reported sexism. The samples consisted of female students from a public college in the Northeastern U.S. who provided their perceptions of teachers described in vignettes as either confronting or not confronting a student’s stereotype of women as unskilled at math. In Study 1 (N?=?48) perceptions of the teacher were more positive when confronting the stereotype, and students’ self-reported sexism was reduced when the teacher confronted rather than ignored the stereotype. Study 2 (N?=?56) compared the effects of a teacher versus a student confrontation of the same stereotype. Participants perceived the teacher and student more positively when they confronted rather than ignored the stereotype. However, the source of the confrontation yielded no differences in sexism. These results suggest that students want their teachers to respond to bias in the classroom and that teachers should respond to sexist incidents in order to reduce the level of sexism among their students.     

Tom Thumb in hospital: The fairy tale workshop in a paediatric oncology and haematology ward

Abstract

Definitions of and attitudes towards countertransference have changed throughout the twentieth century. From being seen as a contaminant in the analytical process, countertransference has come to be seen by many therapists as a potentially useful source of information about a client and his or her problems. There are dangers as well as benefits associated with analysis and utilization of countertransference. This article reviews these issues and proposes some guidelines that therapists may find useful when contemplating their countertransference reactions to clients, and when considering how best to utilize these.     

Perceived stress and everyday memory complaints among older adult women

Abstract

Memory complaints among older adults are often influenced by depression and anxiety, but the association of stress to memory complaints has received little attention. We examined the associations of perceived stress, life events, and activity level to everyday memory complaints among healthy older women, while controlling for the influence of depression and anxiety. Participants (N=54) completed self-report questionnaires on memory complaints, perceived stress, recent life events, activity level, depression, and anxiety. Partial correlation analyses indicated that higher levels of perceived stress were associated with higher levels of memory complaints when controlling for the influence of depression and anxiety, but that life events and activity level were not related to memory complaints. This study highlights that perceived stress, like depression and anxiety, is a psychological factor that influences the appraisal of cognitive ability; however, larger and more heterogeneous samples will be needed to better understand the multifactorial nature of memory complaints in older adulthood.     

The partial-reinforcement extinction effect and the contingent-sampling hypothesis

The partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) implies that learning under partial reinforcements is more robust than learning under full reinforcements. While the advantages of partial reinforcements have been well-documented in laboratory studies, field research has failed to support this prediction. In the present study, we aimed to clarify this pattern. Experiment 1 showed that partial reinforcements increase the tendency to select the promoted option during extinction; however, this effect is much smaller than the negative effect of partial reinforcements on the tendency to select the promoted option during the training phase. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the overall effect of partial reinforcements varies inversely with the attractiveness of the alternative to the promoted behavior: The overall effect is negative when the alternative is relatively attractive, and positive when the alternative is relatively unattractive. These results can be captured with a contingent-sampling model assuming that people select options that provided the best payoff in similar past experiences. The best fit was obtained under the assumption that similarity is defined by the sequence of the last four outcomes.     

A job characteristics approach to explain workplace bullying

This article analyses job characteristics as antecedents of workplace bullying, in line with the early Scandinavian research tradition. Research thus far suggests a large variety of possible job related antecedents. Recent review findings and methodological criticism, however, suggests that these findings need to be treated with caution. Warr's Vitamin model is used to summarize relevant job-related antecedents of workplace bullying. All relationships are tested simultaneously in a hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for covariates. A large and heterogeneous sample of Belgian workers is used to test the hypotheses (n = 6175). The results show that task autonomy is not significantly related to bullying. In line with earlier research, role conflicts and role ambiguity are the most important antecedents. Also (lack of) participation in decision making, (lack of) skill utilization, workload, cognitive demands, changes in the job, job insecurity, and (lack of) task-related feedback are found to be directly related to workplace bullying. These findings are discussed in the light of the literature and some suggestions for practice are formulated.