Maladaptive correlates of the failure to forgive self and others: further evidence for a two-component model of forgiveness

In a sample composed of 162 young adults, we examined the generalizability of an orthogonal, 2-component model of forgiveness previously reported by Ross, Kendall, Matters, Rye, and Wrobel (2004). Furthermore, we examined the relationship of these two components with maladaptive personality characteristics as measured by the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP; Clark, 1993), with an emphasis on Five-factor model markers of personality. Using multiple measures of forgiveness, principal components analysis supported a 2-component model representing self-forgiveness and other forgiveness. Despite the independence of self-forgiveness and other forgiveness, zero order correlations with SNAP scales supported convergent more than discriminant validity. In contrast, hierarchical multiple regression analyses emphasized the discriminant validity of self-forgiveness and other forgiveness. Among indices of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Agreeableness, Negative Temperament (+) was the sole predictor of self-forgiveness. In contrast, Positive Temperament (+), Aggression (-), and Histrionic PD (-) were most associated with other forgiveness. Overall, these findings support the validity of these factors and highlight the importance of self-forgiveness in clinical assessment.     

Attachment and Religious Beliefs––Attachment Styles in Evangelical Christians

Attachment styles, interpersonal problems, and personality variables were identified in male members of two German charismatic Christian congregations. To assess attachment styles and interpersonal relations, a semi-structured attachment interview was applied. In addition, self report measures focusing on aspects of self concept, self regulation, and interpersonal problems were used and analysed in relation to attachment styles. Significant differences were found between the investigated group and corresponding norm samples in a number of measures related to interpersonal problems, self regulation, and self concept. Focussing on attachment styles, the results are compared with findings of the literature and discussed accordingly. Dr Ross is a clinical psychologist working mainly in the field of forensic psychology and psychotherapy. At the University of Ulm, Germany, he holds the position of a research fellow. He studied psychology and clinical psychology at the Universities of Freiburg, Germany, and Edinburgh, Scotland. His main research interests are: offender treatment and rehabilitation, risk assessment and risk prediction, migration studies, human attachment, the psychology of religion. He has been involved in a large scale thematic network study funded by the European Commission and devised or participated various other research projects on all abovementioned research areas.     

Facial expressions are more easily produced on the upper-lower compared to the right-left hemiface

Clinical research has concentrated on differences in intensity of expression between the right and left hemiface as a means to assess hemispheric differences in motor control. However, observations by social psychologists suggest that control of facial expression may be organized predominantly across the upper-lower hemiface because during social interactions individuals may produce brief facial blends of emotions, in which the upper and lower face display a different emotion. Full facial versus upper/lower and right/left facial blends of emotion were posed by 20 subjects, 10 men and 10 women ranging in age from 20 to 37 years. The subjects rated the difficulty of each pose on a 5-point Likert scale. Digital photographs of the poses were taken and the full and half-facial poses were shown in random order to four judges who indicated what pose was being performed. The results were very robust and confirmed that facial blends of emotion are more easily and accurately posed on the upper-lower than on the right-left hemiface. Our results are consistent with recent anatomical studies showing separate cortical areas for motor control of the upper versus lower face in primates. Based on recent research exploring hemispheric differences in perceiving facial blends of emotion, the left hemisphere may be more involved with modulating lower facial expressions and the right hemisphere more involved with modulating upper facial expressions.     

Trauma and abuse in the case of Little Hans: a contemporary perspective

Newly available interviews with Max and Herbert Graf describe the severe pathology of Little Hans's mother and her mistreatment of her husband and her daughter, who committed suicide as an adult. Reread in this context, the text of "A Phobia in a Five-year-old Boy" provides ample evidence of Frau Graf's sexual seduction and emotional manipulation of her son, which exacerbated his age-expectable castration and separation anxiety, and her beating of her infant daughter. The boy's phobic symptoms can therefore be deconstructed not only as the expression of oedipal fantasy, but as a communication of the traumatic abuse occurring in the home. Through subliminal, indeed unconscious, injunctions conveyed in abusive behavior, parents can confirm the child's worst imaginings and immature views of the world and thereby render the child's oedipal conflicts and fantasies pathogenic.     

The development of infant discrimination of affect in multimodal and unimodal stimulation: The role of intersensory redundancy

This research examined the developmental course of infants' ability to perceive affect in bimodal (audiovisual) and unimodal (auditory and visual) displays of a woman speaking. According to the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (L. E. Bahrick, R. Lickliter, & R. Flom, 2004), detection of amodal properties is facilitated in multimodal stimulation and attenuated in unimodal stimulation. Later in development, however, attention becomes more flexible, and amodal properties can be perceived in both multimodal and unimodal stimulation. The authors tested these predictions by assessing 3-, 4-, 5-, and 7-month-olds' discrimination of affect. Results demonstrated that in bimodal stimulation, discrimination of affect emerged by 4 months and remained stable across age. However, in unimodal stimulation, detection of affect emerged gradually, with sensitivity to auditory stimulation emerging at 5 months and visual stimulation at 7 months. Further temporal synchrony between faces and voices was necessary for younger infants' discrimination of affect. Across development, infants first perceive affect in multimodal stimulation through detecting amodal properties, and later their perception of affect is extended to unimodal auditory and visual stimulation. Implications for social development, including joint attention and social referencing, are considered.     

An application of the matching law to social dynamics

Using a procedure similar to the one described by Conger and Killeen (1974), we evaluated levels of attending for 25 college students who participated in either a 20-min (n = 12) or 30-min (n = 13) discussion on juvenile delinquency. Confederates delivered statements of agreement (e.g., "I agree with that point") according to independent variable-interval schedules. Pooled results were evaluated using three generalized formulations of the matching law, and showed that matching was more likely during the first 5 min of the discussion than during the last 5 min. Individual data for 7 of 9 participants were better described by the generalized response-rate matching equation than by the generalized time-allocation matching equation when response allocation was characterized in terms of frequency rather than duration.     

Bridging the partisan divide: Self-affirmation reduces ideological closed-mindedness and inflexibility in negotiation

Three studies link resistance to probative information and intransigence in negotiation to concerns of identity maintenance. Each shows that affirmations of personal integrity (vs. nonaffirmation or threat) can reduce resistance and intransigence but that this effect occurs only when individuals' partisan identity and/or identity-related convictions are made salient. Affirmation made participants' assessment of a report critical of U.S. foreign policy less dependent on their political views, but only when the identity relevance of the issue rather than the goal of rationality was salient (Study 1). Affirmation increased concession making in a negotiation over abortion policy, but again this effect was moderated by identity salience (Studies 2 and 3). Indeed, although affirmed negotiators proved relatively more open to compromise when either the salience of their true convictions or the importance of remaining faithful to those convictions was heightened, the reverse was true when the salient goal was compromise. The theoretical and applied significance of these findings are discussed.     

Cross-ethnic Applicability of the Gender-based Attitudes Toward Marriage and Child Rearing Scales

The reliability and validity of Hoffman and Kloska’s (1995) Gender-based Attitudes toward Marital Roles (GATMR) and Gender-based Attitudes toward Child Rearing (GATCR) were assessed for a sample of Mexican American mothers and fathers (n = 167) of fifth-grade children in a large metropolitan area in the southwestern United States. Factor analysis was conducted, and the results suggest that the 6-item GATMR is conceptually distinct and reliable for this ethnic group. Correlation of GATMR scores for mothers and fathers with divisions of family labor suggest good validity. A 5-item revised GATCR demonstrated modest reliability and good construct validity. The value of these scales for work with Mexican American families is noted. Theoretical implications for gender socialization are explored, and suggestions for further research are offered. This research was supported by Grant # MH 54154-01A2 from the National Institute of Mental Health.