Aggression in dyadic interaction

It is shown that the notions of aggressive behavior as ‘intentional emission of noxious stimulation’ (Buss, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1971) and that of ‘injuriating goal response’ (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower and Sears, 1939) are identical. The usefulness of these theories to predict S's reaction to the reception of a given noxious stimulation is questioned. It is suggested that S's reactions to noxious stimulation may or may not be aggressive, depending on whether the noxious stimulation S receives is interpreted as being a behavior justified by the nom in the situation, or as reflecting an aggressive intent of O. It is hypothesized that the norms established in the situation depend on (i) victim's perception of the noxious stimulation received as being instrumental for O's goal attainment, (ii) victim's perception of the value of O's goal, and (iii) the value of victim's own goal. The establishment of norms regulating the exchange of noxious stimulation between Ss is operationalized in two experiments. Aggression, defined as an infringement of these norms, is measured. In Experiment I, participate 56 female students, and in Experiment 2, 80 male students. Subject is alternately victim (he performs a sensorimotor task and receives an electric shock) and aggressor (he shocks the other S). In Experiment I it is found that Ss counteraggress faster and more frequently if they interpret the shock received from the partner as an infringement of the norm. In Experiment 2, Ss do not counteraggress more frequently, but they do counteraggress faster and evaluate O more negatively. It is concluded that the results clearly contradict current positions and favor the authors' cognitive reformulation of the determinants of aggressive behavior.     

Instrumental Behaviors Following Test Administration and Interpretation: Exploration Validity of the Strong Interest Inventory

A two-phase longitudinal study was conducted to explore the exploration validity (i.e., the power of interest inventories to facilitate career exploration activities such as talking to professionals and seeking vocational information) of the 1985 Strong Interest Inventory (SII) for college students. Participants in the study included an experimental group (N =75), which participated in the SII testing and a group interpretation, and a contrast group(N=67). Students in the experimental group reported significantly more instrumental career exploration behaviors at a 1-year follow-up than did the contrast group.     

Interrelationships of personality and coping in a challenging extreme situation

The relationship between personality characteristics, daily stressors, and means of coping were studied in a 12-person Soviet-American expedition ateamconsisting of Caucasian and Eskimo men and women. The members scored relatively high on scales measuring well-being, achievement orientation, and traditionalism and scored relatively low on stress reactivity. The use of social support as a coping mechanism was positively related to high stress reactivity, control, and negative emotionality and negatively related to well-being. Negative emotionality was related to ratings of daily intrapersonal stressor. Discussion centered on the function of social support in an extreme, task-focused situation and the relationship of social support coping in this particular type of situation to maladaptive personality characteristics.     

A Comparison of Anglo-American and Mexican-American Jurors' Judgments of Mothers Who Fail to Protect Their Children from Abuse1

Two studies were conducted to determine if people with an individualist cultural background differ from those with a collectivist cultural background (Triandis, 1990) in their adjudication of mothers who fail to protect their children from abuse. In the first study, 452 students evaluated the case of a mother accused of failure to protect her son from physical abuse. In the second study, an additional 334 subjects considered a case of a mother's failure to protect her daughter from sexual abuse. While the verdicts depended on the gender of the juror, female jurors were significantly more likely to convict the defendant; the verdict was independent of ethnicity. However, ethnicity did influence sentencing and whether the juror recommended that the defendant serve time. The results are discussed in terms of cultural influences on discretionary decisions.     

Pre- and postlexical loci of contextual effects on word recognition

The context in which a word occurs could influence either the actual decoding of the word or a postrecognition judgment of the relatedness of word and context. In this research, we investigated the loci of contextual effects that occur in lexical priming, when prime and target words are related along different dimensions. Both lexical decision and naming tasks were used because previous research had suggested that they are differentially sensitive to postlexical processing. Semantic and associative priming occurred with both tasks. Other facilitative contextual effects, due to syntactic relations between words, backward associations, or changes in the proportion of related items, occurred only with the lexical decision task. The results indicate that only associative and semantic priming facilitate the decoding of a target; the other effects are postlexical. The results are related to the different demands of the naming and lexical decision tasks, and to current models of word recognition.     

Suicide after surgical treatment in patients with epilepsy: a meta-analytic investigation

Suicide is a major issue in surgically treated epileptic patients. A meta-analysis was performed comparing suicides in a sample of such patients and in the general population. The Index Medicus and the World Health Statistics Annual were searched to ascertain the suicide rates in the age groups indicated in the studies of epileptic patients for specific years and country. 11 studies were selected, comprising 2,425 patients, 24 of whom committed suicide. Data obtained for each study were processed together to calculate the mean number of suicides per 100,000 individuals with surgically treated epilepsy for each year. This meta-analysis shows that suicide in patients with epilepsy after surgical treatment is more frequent than in the general population. Results are discussed with particular attention to possible causative factors.     

Meta-analyses of ethnic match as a predictor of dropout,utilization, and level of functioning

Meta-analyses were performed on 7 studies of ethnic match and psychotherapy. From 13 comparisons of ethnic match and dropout, a small overall effect size was found (r = .03). From 16 comparisons of ethnic match and number of sessions attended, a small overall effect size was found (r = .04). Effect sizes for dropout and utilization were heterogeneous, with ethnic minority groups having larger effect sizes than Caucasian Americans. From 9 comparisons of ethnic match and termination Global Assessment Score, a negligible overall effect size was found (r = .01). The small dropout and utilization effect sizes indicate that ethnic match is not a significant clinical predictor of decreasing dropout after the first session or increasing number of sessions attended.     

Non-pharmacologic Interventions for CFS: A Randomized Trial

Non-pharmacological behavioral treatments for CFS have been suggested as promising. These trials have tested protocols composed of behavioral, cognitive and cognitive–behavioral interventions but there have been few efforts to differentially evaluate their outcomes. The primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse delivered non-pharmacologic interventions. In the present study, 114 participants diagnosed with CFS were randomly assigned to four 6-month interventions. The interventions were: cognitive–behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, anaerobic activity, and a relaxation control group. The study found that these interventions led to increases in several areas of functioning, with more consistent changes occurring among those participants in the cognitive condition. For the 25 variables in this study, significant change occurred for 28%, 20%, 16%, and 12% of the variables for the cognitive, cognitive behavior therapy, anaerobic activity, and relaxation conditions, respectively. However, the majority of participants continued to be diagnosed with CFS following the treatment trial. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The psychological process of reintegration following a nine month/260 day solo sailboat circumnavigation of the globe

The focus of this case report is on the psychological reintegration process following the achievement of a highly challenging long‐duration and solitary endeavor. The participant was a 29 year old male who successfully circumnavigated the globe during a 260 day solo sailing expedition. We assessed the psychological aftermath in terms of stability and change in personality characteristics and personal beliefs prior to, and at 180 and 360 days after the completion of the journey. Overall, the personality configuration reflected adaptive personality functioning. A belief in an internal locus of control was consistent throughout, as were perceptions of personal growth as a result of the circumnavigation experience. NEO PI‐R Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, and Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (Tri‐PM) Boldness scores remained stable. Positive personality change was reflected by an elevation in Conscientiousness; negative change by a decline in Agreeableness and an increase in Tri‐PM Disinhibition. While overall the participant exhibited positive change as a result of his journey, there were also some negative aspects of the reintegration phase in regard to interactions with other persons. This latter change may be related to the effects of isolation from usual social contacts over an extended period.