A comparison of preference‐assessment methods

In Study 1, we evaluated preference stability across 4 preference‐assessment methods for 6 individuals, 5 of whom had autism spectrum disorder and 1 of whom had traumatic brain injury. We also measured participants’ problem behavior as a corollary measure during all assessment methods. The highest mean correlation coefficients and Kendall rank coefficients of concordance across administrations were observed for the paired‐stimulus and multiple‐stimulus‐without‐replacement methods. Lower correspondence across administrations was observed for the free‐operant and response‐restriction methods. Although differentially higher levels of problem behavior did not occur with a single method, lower levels were consistently observed with the free‐operant method. During Study 2, we evaluated the implications of lower coefficients on reinforcer efficacy by comparing an initially identified and an immediately identified high‐preference stimulus in a reinforcer assessment. Initially identified and immediately identified high‐preference stimuli were equally effective reinforcers, suggesting that fluctuations in preference do not necessarily affect reinforcer efficacy in practice.     

The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of two subjective career success instruments

This study investigated the psychometric properties of two subjective career success instruments within the South African context: Perceived Career Success (PCSS: Gattiker &; Larwood, 1986 Gattiker, U. E., &; Larwood, L. (1986). Subjective career success: A study of managers and support personnel. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1(2), 78–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01018805[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Life Success Measures Scale (LSMS: Parker &; Chusmir, 1992 Parker, B., &; Chusmir, L. H. (1992). Development and validation of a life-success measures scale. Psychological Reports, 70(2), 627–637. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1992.70.2.627[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Data were collected via a convenient sample of 708 South African Police Services (SAPS) personnel (females = 36.8%; Sotho language = 62.50%). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on both instruments, followed by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Both instruments showed acceptable construct validity and reliability of scores.     

Parental Personality,Relationship Stress,and Child Development: A Stress Generation Perspective

This study aimed to investigate associations among the parental personality dimensions of self‐criticism and dependency, parental relationship stress, and child development from a stress generation perspective. Data from 79 first‐time parents and their children aged 8–13 months, who were followed up in a two‐wave, 1‐year longitudinal study, were analysed within a multilevel structural equation modelling framework in order to account for within‐couple interdependence. Results revealed that, as hypothesised, both parental self‐criticism and dependency were associated with increased levels of relationship stress, which in turn were negatively related to child development. Hence, parental personality features in combination with relationship stress may be an important target in couple and family‐based interventions. Implications for further research on family dynamics and interventions are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquake Aftershock Anxiety: An Examination of Psychosocial Contributing Factors and Symptomatic Outcomes

This study examined the direct and indirect effects of cognitions and anxiety associated with aftershocks on psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, acute stress) and daily functioning (general and relationship). Participants were 600 adults from Christchurch, New Zealand. Data collection was approximately four months after the fatal 2011 earthquake. Path analysis was used for modelling. Socioeconomic status was directly associated with appraisals of uncontrollability of response to aftershocks. These cognitions were directly related to aftershock anxiety, which heightened general anxiety, depression, and acute stress symptoms. These symptoms were directly associated with relationship and general life dysfunction. Aftershock anxiety plays a significant role in ongoing psychological distress associated with earthquakes.     

Finding Hope as a “Tempting Girl” in China: Sex Work,Indentured Mobility,and Cosmopolitan Individuals

This article chronicles the experiences which lead some female migrant workers in Dongguan, China, to deliberately transition from factory work to sex work. Their decisions are guided by indentured mobility as well as bounded rational choice. This article presents ethnographic data from 45 streetwalkers in Dongguan who navigated highly competitive and risky urban environments involving pimps, police, and gang members. The Chinese government hukou system puts them at an additional disadvantage. Still, life as a streetwalker became their path to economic freedom, removing them from the abject poverty of the factory sweatshop and into an individualized life in urban China.     

Ideology and Social Psychology

This article takes as critical point of departure the currently individualized nature of mainstream social psychology. It is argued that by using the concept of ideology, social psychology may be transformed into a more societal social psychology and thereby a discipline more relevant to individual, society and social life. Based on the interplay between language usage and ideology, moreover, a methodology for assessing ideological changes in society by identifying shifts in language usage in the public discourse (newspapers) is presented. Research conducted by this methodology, including comparative studies of how the globalized neoliberalism with its strong individualism merges with local ideologies in various societies around the world is then reviewed. Finally, analyses of a society’s ideological reactions upon terrorism, is presented.     

Measuring Team Performance in Complex and Dynamic Military Environments: The SPOTLITE Method

The Scenario-based Performance Observation Tool for Learning In Team Environments (SPOTLITE) provides a systematic method for developing team performance measurement instruments comprised of behaviorally anchored rating scales that are tied to observable behaviors that tap critical knowledge and skills and can be assessed at specific intervals during a training scenario. We developed a measurement instrument for four-person teams of F-16 pilots training for air-to-air combat in a high-fidelity simulation environment and implemented it in a handheld computer to support fast and accurate data entry as a team executes a scenario. An experiment demonstrated the sensitivity, reliability, and validity of the instrument.     

The trauma of attempted suicide

Suicide is a traumatic event, one which may acutely recreate a previously-experienced traumatic situation. The person's capacity to think after a failed suicide attempt is affected by the use of defence mechanisms against persecutory anxieties and depressive pain, and there is a wish to turn a blind eye to the seriousness of the suicidal act. This includes the damaging effects on the person's relationships with others, and damage to his own psychic integrity.

The need to turn a blind eye to the consequences of a failed suicide attempt may also be mirrored by the therapist who assesses and treats the patient in the early hours after such an event. Suicide is associated not only with the pain of despair but also with a ruthless abandonment of life. It is a complex and difficult task for a therapist in the immediate aftermath of a suicide attempt to be able to keep in mind a concept of suicide that includes both the patient's role as the perpetrator of great violence against himself, in which death is the intended outcome of his actions, and at the same time recognise the patient's identification with an abandoned and cruelly treated object.

In this paper, we describe some of the psychodynamic factors that affect and influence the assessment and treatment of patients in the immediate period following a failed suicide attempt. We emphasise the importance of supervision in helping prevent destructive acting-out by the therapist when treating disturbed patients under such painful circumstances.