Long-term meditation: the relationship between cognitive processes,thinking styles and mindfulness

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between meditation and cognitive functions. More in depth the purpose is to demonstrate that long-term meditation practice improves attention skills and cognitive flexibility. Eighteen long-term meditation practitioners were compared to a matched control group, who never practiced meditation. Each subject was tested, using computerized software (Presentation Software 9.90), which measured: attention, visual search abilities, working memory and Stroop’s interference tasks. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between long-term meditation practice, mindfulness skills and thinking styles, namely styles of processing information. The results showed significant differences between the two groups, demonstrating that long-term meditation is linked to improvements of attentional functions, working memory and cognitive flexibility.     

Reactive and proactive aggression as meaningful distinctions at the variable and person level in primary school‐aged children

Reactive and proactive aggression is a dichotomous classification of aggression in adults and children. This distinction has been supported by a number of variable‐based and factor analytic studies. Due to high inter‐correlations, however, the reactive—proactive aggression distinction may not be entirely useful for understanding how group or individual aggressive behavior varies in children and adolescents. Drawing on a sample of primary school‐aged children (N = 242) aged 7–12 years, this study sought to determine whether reactive and proactive aggression could be distinguished at the variable‐level and the person‐level in children. Exploratory Factor Analysis of data from an aggression instrument measuring both functions and forms of aggression, found a two‐factor construct of aggression constituted by a reactive and proactive aggression factor. A person‐based analysis was then conducted after classifying children according to the presence of reactive and/or proactive aggression. Discriminant function analysis was used to discern whether classifications on the basis of aggression function produced meaningful distinctions in terms of antisocial traits and emotional valence and intensity measures. Two functions were identified which distinguished children with different combinations of reactive and proactive aggression. Reactive‐only aggressive children were defined primarily by high levels of impulsivity, while proactive‐only children were defined primarily by higher levels of antisocial traits. Children high in both types of aggression exhibited both the presence of antisocial traits and impulsivity. Contrary to recent findings, this suggests that differences in aggression functions remain meaningful at the person level in children. Implications for interventions are discussed.

     

Revisiting a meta-analysis of helpful aspects of therapy in a community counselling service

This small scale mixed methods study examines helpful events in a community counselling setting, categorising impacts of events according to Timulak’s [(2007). Identifying core categories of client-identified impact of helpful events in psychotherapy: A qualitative meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 17, 305–314] meta-synthesis of significant events research. Comparisons were made between the types of impacts reported as helpful by clients receiving cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or relational integrative counselling. Seventy-five clients identified 291 significant events on 216 Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT) forms. The findings broadly reflect all nine impacts identified by Timulak (2007). The study also suggests that a potential new category, ‘voicing’ may exist. Differences between the types of impacts reported as helpful by clients in CBT and integrative therapy showed a higher percentage of CBT clients reporting ‘behavioural change/problem solution’, ‘reassurance’ and ‘client involvement’ as helpful. Differences in other categories were not statistically significant.     

Taxonomy of Psychological and Social Disturbances in Survivors of Group Psychological Abuse

The purpose of this study was to delimit the psychological and social disturbances that individuals who have suffered psychological abuse within a social group on an ongoing basis can experience. A comprehensive classification of these disturbances was developed based on a review of the scientific literature. Its content was revised by an international panel of 38 experts on the topic. Experts also judged the frequency and intensity with which each disturbance is commonly experienced by survivors of abusive groups. The taxonomy, which includes 20 components classified into four main categories, showed adequate content validity. The components considered the most frequent and intense were related to emotional difficulties, followed by those associated with relational and social integration difficulties, cognitive difficulties, and, finally, other specific problematic behaviors. Operationalizing and classifying the specific psychological and social disturbances commonly experienced by survivors of abusive groups contributes to a better delimitation of the phenomenon. Likewise, it contributes to the understanding of the long-term effects of psychological abuse, which is useful in both the academic and clinical settings.     

Male and Female Voices in Commercials: Analysis of Effectiveness, Adequacy for the Product, Attention and Recall

In radio advertising, there is a strong tendency to employ male voices more often than female voices in the belief that male voices sound more convincing. As a result, a gender stereotype is established which would appear to be upheld more by tradition than actual advertising effectiveness. This experimental study analyses the influence of gender on the effectiveness of the voice in terms of adequacy to the product, the ability to attract listeners’ attention and the degree to which voice gender contributes to recall. The objective is to ascertain whether or not the patent infra-use of the female voice is justified. To this end, a gender-balanced sample of 372 students of journalism from Spain was employed. The findings show that when a question is asked about an alleged association with a pre-existing vocal stereotype the answer is consistent with the gender of the voice and the type of product, though this does not occur when the aspects are unrelated, such as voice effectiveness, attention or recall. Accordingly, the supremacy of the male voice over the female voice in radio advertising and the repeated association between voices and types of products is more based on tradition than on alleged advertising effectiveness.     

Emotional and sexual jealousy as a function of sex and sexual orientation in a Brazilian sample

The goal of the present study was to compare the relative distress of homosexual and heterosexual Brazilian men and women on scenarios in which they imagined their partners sexually or emotionally involved with another person, using a forced-choice paradigm and continuous measures. Participants were 68 heterosexual men, 72 heterosexual women, 42 homosexual men, and 35 homosexual women. On the forced-choice questions heterosexual men (39 on one question and 37 on the other) were more upset than their female counterparts (21 on one question and 15 on the other) by scenarios of sexual infidelity than those of emotional infidelity. On questions using continuous measures no significant difference was found between pleasurable sex and attachment scenarios for heterosexual women or heterosexual men. On the highly upsetting scenarios heterosexual men discriminated between flirting and both pleasurable sex and attachment scenarios, being less disturbed by the former. In contrast, heterosexual women were equally distressed by the three scenarios. Scores for the homosexual men and homosexual women fell in between those of the heterosexual men and heterosexual women and did not show a clear cut preference for the sexual infidelity or the emotional alternative on the forced-choice paradigm. However, on the continuous measures of jealousy homosexuals resembled heterosexuals of the opposite sex. There was no evidence that jealousy would be less intense among homosexuals although reproductive outcomes were not at risk.     

“We may be pirates,but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Radical activist organizations face the complex task of managing their identity so as to draw political attention but also to appear legitimate and thus gain public support. In this article we develop a picture of the identities of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) members, a group mostly known for their direct action against whaling, via a thematic analysis of material from the SSCS website and interviews with SSCS members. In online commentary, founder Captain Paul Watson establishes several deliberately paradoxical notions of who the Sea Shepherds are. We relate these identity statements to interviews with core activists to examine how they manage the identity conflicts resulting from the group identity, such as being seen as “pirates” and “hard lined vegans.” We found that SSCS positions themselves as a diverse and unstructured organization, yet distinctively passionate and willing to take action where others will not. The implications of this research are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the constraints and conflicts around political activist identities.     

Narcissism and the self-evaluation maintenance model: effects of social comparison threats on relationship closeness

When threatened with an upward social comparison with a close other in a self-relevant domain, people may reduce either the self-relevance of the ability being compared or their perceived closeness to the other person (Tesser, 1988). Those high in the trait of narcissism may be more likely to push away others who outperform them. Participants and nominated close others completed online measures of narcissism, contingent self-worth, and relationship closeness. Subsequently, participants heard that their friend performed better (or equivalently) on a "competitive spirit" test. Participants higher in narcissism significantly reduced the closeness of their relationships after a threat but did not reduce the relevance of competitiveness to their self-worth.     

The prevalence of suicidal phenomena in adolescents: a systematic review of population-based studies

The results of a systematic review of the international literature on the prevalence of suicidal phenomena in adolescents, including the influence of survey method, gender, and ethnicity are reported. The literature was searched using six electronic databases to identify all population-based studies of self-reported suicidal phenomena; 128 studies were included, comprising 513,188 adolescents. The mean proportion of adolescents reporting they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives was 9.7% (95% CI, 8.5-10.9), and 29.9% (95% CI, 26.1-33.8) of adolescents said they had thought about suicide at some point. Females were significantly more likely than males to report most suicidal phenomena. A lower prevalence of some suicidal phenomena was found for Asian populations. The prevalence of suicidal phenomena varied depending on the terminology used and tended to be higher in studies employing anonymous questionnaires than in studies employing non-anonymous methods (questionnaires or interviews), although most of these differences were not statistically significant.     

Correction to: Effects of Parental Acceptance-Rejection on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Longitudinal,Multicultural Study

Journal of Child and Family Studies -