The positive and negative effects of anger on dispute resolution: evidence from electronically mediated disputes

Scholars have argued that anger expressed by participants in mediation is counterproductive; yet, there is also reason to believe that expressions of anger can be productive. The authors tested these competing theories of emotion by using data from online mediation. Results show that expression of anger lowers the resolution rate in mediation and that this effect occurs in part because expressing anger generates an angry response by the other party. However, when respondents are especially vulnerable, expressions of anger by the filer do not hinder settlement. The authors also examined precursors to anger, such as value of dispute and reputation, and the degree to which a focus on dispute resolution is reciprocated.     

Borderline psychopathology in the first-degree relatives of borderline and axis II comparison probands

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of each of the nine DSM criteria for borderline personality disorder and the prevalence of the disorder itself in the first-degree relatives of borderline probands and Axis II comparison subjects. Four hundred and forty-five inpatients were interviewed about familial borderline psychopathology using the Revised Family History Questionnaire--a semistructured interview of demonstrated reliability. Of these 445 subjects, 341 met both DIB-R and DSM-III-R criteria for BPD and 104 met DSM-III-R criteria for another type of personality disorder (and neither criteria set for BPD). The psychopathology of 1,580 first-degree relatives of borderline probands and 472 relatives of Axis II comparison subjects was assessed. Both DSM-III-R and DSM-IV BPD were found to be more common among the relatives of borderline than Axis II comparison probands. However, five of the criteria for BPD (inappropriate anger, affective instability, paranoia/dissociation, general impulsivity, and intense, unstable relationships) and all four sectors of borderline psychopathology (affect, cognition, impulsivity, and interpersonal relationships) were found to be both more common and discriminating than the BPD diagnosis itself. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the subsyndromal phenomenology of BPD may be more common than the borderline diagnosis itself.     

Regulation of emotion and behavior among 3- and 5-year-olds

In this cross-sectional study, the authors examined the relationship between emotion and behavior regulation in 3- and 5-year olds. Eighty-seven children performed a compliance sorting task. The authors manipulated the demand for emotion regulation by presenting and then hiding toys (low) or making toys visible (high). Mothers and teachers rated children's coping responses. Five-year-olds sorted less in the high condition than in the low condition, and 3-year-olds spent equal time sorting in both conditions. Compliance was positively correlated with problem-focused coping and negatively correlated with emotion-focused coping. Correlations between emotion and behavior regulation were stronger for the 5-year-olds. Age groups were differently affected by the higher demands of emotion regulation, indicating that the child's resources for regulation interact with the task demands to determine behavioral outcome.     

The formation of in-group favoritism and out-group prejudice in young children: are they distinct attitudes?

Although standardized measures of prejudice reveal high levels of ethnocentric bias in the preschool years, it may reflect in-group favoritism or out-group prejudice. A measure that partially decouples the two attitudes was given to White children between 4 and 7 years of age to examine the reciprocal relation between and the acquisition and correlates of in-group and out-group attitudes. The two attitudes were reciprocally correlated in 1 sample from a racially homogeneous school but not in a 2nd sample from a mixed-race school. In-group favoritism did not appear until 5 years of age but then reached significant levels; it was strongly related to developing social cognitions. Out-group prejudice was weaker, but its targets suffer from comparison with the high favoritism accorded in-group members.     

The locus of spatial attention during the temporal integration of visual memories and visual percepts

Temporal integration is a process by which two serially presented visual stimuli are mentally integrated to form a composite representation. In the present research, we explored how spatial selective attention is used during the delay separating stimuli, in order to determine the contents of spatial working memory in this task. A two-task situation was created. On the primary task, two dot arrays were serially presented within a grid, leaving one space empty, which subjects identified. On the secondary task, instead of the second array, a discrimination probe was presented. Integration accuracy increased through delays of 1,500 msec, revealing an estimate of the time required to form an optimal memory trace for integration. Once the memory trace was formed (but not before), response time to the probe was faster if it was presented in a location previously occupied by a dot from Array 1. This indicates that during the delay separating the arrays, the subjects assigned spatial attention to the locations occupied by the first array and actively maintained the leading array in working memory. Implications for theories of visual processing and memory are discussed.     

The ‘redefinition of death’ debate: Western concepts and western bioethics

Biomedicine is a global enterprise constructed upon the belief in the universality of scientific truths. However, despite huge scientific advances over recent decades it has not been able to formulate a specific and universal definition of death: In fact, in its attempt to redefine death, the concept of death appears to have become immersed in ever increasing vagueness and ambiguity. Even more worrisome is that bioethics, in the form of principlism, is also endeavouring to become a global enterprise by claiming neutrality. It appears that the discourse within both disciplines have similarly manipulated the boundaries of death to include the “dying”. This paper argues that the redefinition of death debate in biomedicine reveals a concept of personhood which is profoundly western in origin and which is in accordance to the concept adhered to within principlism. Biomedicine and bioethics do not appear to acknowledge the limitations of their own world view and hence lack an understanding of their applicability and appropriateness in diverse social and cultural contexts; a situation which adds credence to claims as to the hegemonic and imperialistic nature of all such global enterprises. Ms. Jones is an intensive care clinical nursing specialist. Dr. Kessel is a public health physician and medical ethicist.     

Practical Memory Concerns of Older Adults

We examine practical memory concerns in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. Participants responded to open-ended questions that were designed to solicit information regarding memory self-efficacy, memory management, memory remediation, and fears about memory aging in adulthood. Results indicated that (a) important dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries, were easily remembered, but names were not; (b) external memory aids were used most frequently; (c) a desire to improve memory for names and certain types of verbal information was expressed; and (d) loss of independence emerged as a fear associated with memory aging. Implications of these findings for the design of strategies to improve everyday memory performance and clinical memory management in older adults are discussed.