A note on sufficient conditions that a common factor will be determinate in an infinite domain of variables

It is proved for the common factor model withr common factors that under certain condition s which maintain the distinctiveness of each common factor a given common factor will be determinate if there exists an unlimited number of variables in the model each having an absolute correlation with the factor greater than some arbitrarily small positive quantity.The author is indebted to R. P. McDonald for suggesting the proof of Guttman's determinantal equation for the squared multiple correlation in predicting a factor from the observed variables used in the parenthetical note.     

Personal meaning as therapy: The roots and branches of Frankl's psychology

In recent years, Victor E. Frankl, the Viennese psychiatrist who is the founder of what has come to be known as the Third Viennese School of Psychology — Freud and Adler constituting the founders of the other two schools — has emerged as the leading proponent in psychotherapeutic circles of the centrality of the experience of “meaning” in mental health.” The goal of human life, argues Frankl, is to find meaning and order in the world for “me” personally and “us” collectively — both as an individual and a social sense of purpose and orderliness of the inner and outer environment. This paper attempts to identify—within the framework of the Jewish mystical tradition — the sources and origins of Frankl's scientific constructs in psychotherapy, and their manifestations in psychoreligious therapeutics.     

Emotional deceit: False words versus false action

What speaks louder, false words or false action? Raters assessed the anxiety level of 10 actors portraying their actual anxiety level and simulated displays of high anxiety. Raters were required to base judgments on either video cues alone or audio cues alone. Findings indicate that false words speak louder than false action, with audio-based judgments generating greater judgmental error in both straight and dissembled anxiety conditions. Although raters expressed equal confidence in judgments based on either verbal or nonverbal cues, results indicated that verbal cues played a larger role in emotional deceit. Differences between real and simulated anxiety cues were delineated, suggesting ways of detecting emotional deception. Results were discussed in light of current thought regarding channel contribution in deception.     

Are variations among right-handed individuals in perceptual asymmetries caused by characteristic arousal differences between hemispheres?

We propose that much of the variance among right-handed subjects in perceptual asymmetries on standard behavioral measures of laterality arises from individual differences in characteristic patterns of asymmetric hemispheric arousal. Dextrals with large right-visual-field (RVF) advantages on a tachistoscopic syllable-identification task (assumed to reflect characteristically higher left-hemisphere than right-hemisphere arousal) outperformed those having weak or no visual-field asymmetries (assumed to reflect characteristically higher right-hemisphere than left-hemisphere arousal). The two groups were equal, however, in asymmetries of error patterns that are thought to indicate linguistic or nonlinguistic encoding strategies. For both groups, relations between visual fields in the ability to discriminate the accuracy of performance followed the pattern of syllable identification itself, suggesting that linguistic and metalinguistic processes are based on the same laterally specialized functions. Subjects with strong RVF advantages had a pessimistic bias for rating performance, and those with weak or no asymmetries had an optimistic bias, particularly for the left visual field (LVF). This is concordant with evidence that the arousal level of the right hemisphere is closely related to affective mood. Finally, consistent with the arousal model, leftward asymmetries on a free-vision face-processing task became larger as RVF advantages on the syllable task diminished and as optimistic biases for the LVF, relative to the RVF, increased.     

Cognitive performance deficits induced by exposure to response-independent positive outcomes

Private secondary school students differing in achievement motivation took part in a learned helplessness experiment using a triadic design and noncontingent rewards. A clear learned helplessness effect was observed in both high and low achievement motivation groups. The findings confirmed those from an earlier study using younger subjects drawn from a lower socioeconomic background. However, the results of both experiments were quite different from those of another recently reported investigation using university students that found facilitation as well as an interaction between achievement motivation level and treatment (Jardine & Winefield, 1981). It is concluded that the development of learned helplessness probably depends on the kind of environment in which noncontingent outcomes are experienced.     

Training in child and adolescent group therapy: Two surveys and a model

Although group therapy is widely used in the treatment of children and adolescents, there has been little attention paid to establishing training standards and developing comprehensive programs for training psychiatry fellows in child and adolescent group psychotherapy. The authors conducted two surveys of child and adolescent training programs. After reviewing the literature, they present the data from their surveys, compare similarities and differences, and discuss trends. Finally, they propose a model for training in child and adolescent group therapy.     

Playfulness and humor in the psychoanalytic relationship

This paper, which was presented at the Postgratuate Center for Mental Health, New York, February 10, 1990, is a much abbreviated version of Playfulness in the Psychoanalytic Relationship,Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 26(1), 74–95, 1990.     

Group cohesion: A new multidimensional model

Based upon a careful perusal of all major theoretical reviews and most available controlled, empirical studies from the last 30 years, a five factor model of group cohesion is proposed. These factors are: attraction and bonding; support and caring; listening and empathy; self-disclosure and feedback; and process performance and goal attainment. To understand more fully the complex phenomenon of group cohesion, certain preconditions to the cohesive therapy group must be considered. The most significant of these are: selection of suitable participants; a balanced composition of the group; and effective orientation, training, and contracting. Important early group conditions are: resolving conflict and rebellion; constructive norming and culture building; and reducing avoidance and defensiveness. This new, generic, multidimensional model of group cohesion should prove of great value both to the clinician and the researcher in the group psychotherapy field and related areas.The author is indebted to the following colleagues for constructive criticisms of earlier versions of this report: S. Budman, R. R. Dies, K. R. MacKenzie, W. E. Piper, M. A. Richardsen, and I. D. Yalom.