Rates of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Exposure

Research on the social influences associated with rates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is scarce and limited to studies of contagion within inpatient and residential treatment settings. Using an archival dataset that included 1,965 college students, the current study examined whether exposure to acts of NSSI and/or suicidal behavior in others was associated with increased rates of NSSI. Results supported hypotheses in that participants who knew someone who had engaged in NSSI only, or knew someone who engaged in both NSSI and suicidal behavior were more likely to have engaged in NSSI compared to those not exposed. The findings provide preliminary, albeit indirect, evidence of the potential for social modeling to influence rates of NSSI within college students. Directions for future studies are offered.     

The Relationship Between Childhood Teasing and Later Interpersonal Functioning

The current study explored the relationship between recall of a form of bullying, specifically childhood teasing, and later interpersonal functioning in a sample of 414 college students. It was predicted that memories of frequent teasing during childhood would be associated with fewer close friends, a more anxious attachment style in the context of romantic relationships, and lower social self-esteem in early adulthood. Although recalled-teasing was not associated with number of friends later in life, it was related to other interpersonal difficulties. Specifically, frequent teasing was associated with less comfort with intimacy and closeness, less comfort in trusting and depending on others, a greater degree of worry about being unloved or abandoned in relationships, and poorer social self-esteem. The relationship of these difficulties to specific domains of teasing was also explored.     

Intrinsicality and determinacy

Philosophical Studies - Comparativism maintains that physical quantities are ultimately relational in character. For example, an object’s having 1 kg rest mass depends on the...     

Between orientalism and normalization: cross-cultural lessons from Japan for a critical history of psychology

Cross-cultural research performs a vital role within the confirmation of psychological "truths." Its differentiations work simultaneously to establish their general applicability and the superiority of Anglo-U.S. ways of living and relating. Taking three examples of how "Japan" figures within English language psychological accounts (i.e., group/individual, shame/guilt societies, and attachment styles), I indicate how the apparent stability of these truths suppressed the violent history of their generation. Moreover, I suggest how resisting the assimilation of cultural specificity into a discourse of mere variation can challenge the hegemony of Anglo-U.S. psychology and reframe the vexed question of specificity versus universality.     

Parent management training for reducing oppositional and aggressive behavior in preschoolers

This article provides an overview of parent management training (PMT) for preschool-age children with aggressive and oppositional behaviors. Assessment strategies and basic concepts of PMT are provided. Theoretical underpinnings and research outcomes are highlighted for some variations of PMT programs that have strong empirical support. These programs include Helping the Noncompliant Child, Parent–Child Interaction Therapy, Incredible Years Training Series, Triple P-Positive Parenting Program, and Oregon Early Intervention Foster Care.     

Ways in which coherence is confirmation conducive

Recent works in epistemology show that the claim that coherence is truth conducive – in the sense that, given suitable ceteris paribus conditions, more coherent sets of statements are always more probable – is dubious and possibly false. From this, it does not follows that coherence is a useless notion in epistemology and philosophy of science. Dietrich and Moretti (Philosophy of science 72(3): 403–424, 2005) have proposed a formal of account of how coherence is confirmation conducive—that is, of how the coherence of a set of statements facilitates the confirmation of such statements. This account is grounded in two confirmation transmission properties that are satisfied by some of the measures of coherence recently proposed in the literature. These properties explicate everyday and scientific uses of coherence. In his paper, I review the main findings of Dietrich and Moretti (2005) and define two evidence-gathering properties that are satisfied by the same measures of coherence and constitute further ways in which coherence is confirmation conducive. At least one of these properties vindicates important applications of the notion of coherence in everyday life and in science.     

The prediction of employee counterproductivity through attitude assessment

Two studies were conducted to identify psychological predictors of employee counterproductivity. Results of the first study showed that tolerant attitudes toward violence and dissatisfaction with co-workers significantly predicted on-the-job damage by employees. In addition, condoning attitudes toward violence and dishonesty, dissatisfaction with co-workers and lie scale scores reliably predicted on-the-job waste by employees. The second study found that condoning attitudes toward dishonesty, dissatisfaction with work, sex of employee, and two measures of overall job dissatisfaction significantly predicted counterproductive behavior on the job, using a cross-validation strategy. These variables explained over a quarter of the variance in the criterion. Attitudes toward dishonesty were found to be the best single predictor of counterproductivity. Implications for industry are discussed.     

A cry unheard: Sudden reductions in blood pressure while talking about feelings of hopelessness and helplessness

This paper describes sudden extreme drops in blood pressure in both experimental and clinical situations when a person is talking about or describing situations of hopelessness and helplessness. These changes are discussed in the context of historical perspectives about the cardiovascular system. A new perspective is introduced, one in which these blood pressure changes are seen as part of an unheard cry for understanding. It is hypothesized that such changes do not occur in response to a person’s attempts to communicate a sense of hopelessness, but rather are the biological foundations of the hopelessness itself. Viewed from such a context an entirely new therapeutic approach is outlined regarding the treatment of patients suffering from a wide variety of psychosomatic as well as psychological disturbances.