Sequential Analysis: Monitoring counselling sessions via skin resistance

Very little has been published on the application of the galvanic skin response (GSR) to counselling and psychotherapy, since research has concentrated on applications to lie detection and biofeedback. Dr Ian N. Marshall developed Sequential Analysis in 1968-69, as a system of psychotherapeutic procedures monitored by GSR, but most of his work remains unpublished. Certain meter techniques are described. It is suggested that the ‘paradoxial’ phenomena would be explained by correlating high/low resistance with withdrawal/involvement rather than with relaxation/arousal. The procedures of Sequential Analysis are described briefly. Finally it is suggested that giving oneself sessions is an effective method for training as a counsellor or psychotherapist, because of the experiential understanding of the processes so obtained.     

ON SPLITTING THE UNIVERSE

Although many aspects of James' theorizing about the self have been enormously influential, his notion of the self as the central object in mental life has been largely ignored. He believed that the fundamental psychological processes–attention, perception, emotion, conception, reasoning, will, consciousness–could not be understood without an appreciation of the nature and functioning of the self The value of reclaiming this idea is discussed.     

Ethnic and Racial Differences in Life Stress Among High School Adolescents

L. A. Slavin, K. L. Rainer, M. L. McCreary, and K. K. Gowda's (1991) Multicultural Model of the Stress Process was used as the basis for exploring ethnic and racial differences in the life stress process among 103 Black, 129 Hispanic, and 105 White high school students from a multiethnic, predominantly minority, large urban school district. Cross-group comparisons were made on life stress exposure, appraisal of negative event impact, social support, and psychological symptomatology. White adolescents reported more negatively impactful stressful life events and lower levels of received social support than did Black or Hispanic adolescents. Minority status predicted ethnic and racial differences independent of socioeconomic status.     

Rising from the ashes: Recovery from physical trauma

A counsellor describes her trauma accompanying an accidental physical injury, and the course of psychological recovery during the following 6 weeks. The style of self-analysis which was used during this period reflects the transpersonal approach, using imagery and the intuitive function to increase self-awareness, with moments of therapeutic insight ('release' experiences) at the landmarks en route to a healthy state of re-integration. The implications of the whole experience are discussed in terms both of post-traumatic stress and of personal growth.     

Intelligence and the Frontal Lobe: The Organization of Goal-Directed Behavior

Basic to the study of individual differences is the concept of “general intelligence” or Spearman'sg.In this article we suggest thatgis largely a reflection of the control functions of the frontal lobe. A series of experiments investigates a phenomenon we callgoal neglect:disregard of a task requirement even though it has been understood and remembered. Subjectively it is as though the neglected requirement “slips the subject's mind.” Previously described in frontal patients, we show that goal neglect can also be seen in some members of the normal population. In line with conventional distinctions between controlled and automatic processing, eliciting conditions for goal neglect include novelty, weak error feedback, and multiple concurrent task requirements. Under these conditions neglect is linked closely togand extremely common after frontal lesions. Following many other models, we suggest that behavior in any task is structured by a set of action constraints or requirements, derived in part from verbal instructions and specified at multiple levels of abstraction. A frontal process of constraint or requirement activation is fundamental to Spearman'sg.     

You can't always get what you want: educational attainment, agency, and choice

Using educational attainment to indicate socioeconomic status, the authors examined models of agency and effects of choice among European American adults of different educational backgrounds in 3 studies. Whereas college-educated (BA) participants and their preferred cultural products (i.e., rock music lyrics) emphasized expressing uniqueness, controlling environments, and influencing others, less educated (HS) participants and their preferred cultural products (i.e., country music lyrics) emphasized maintaining integrity, adjusting selves, and resisting influence. Reflecting these models of agency, HS and BA participants differently responded to choice in dissonance and reactance paradigms: BA participants liked chosen objects more than unchosen objects, but choice did not affect HS participants' preferences. Results suggest that HS and BA models of agency qualitatively differ, despite overlap between HS and BA worlds.     

Being mixed: who claims a biracial identity?

What factors determine whether mixed-race individuals claim a biracial identity or a monoracial identity? Two studies examine how two status-related factors-race and social class-influence identity choice. While a majority of mixed-race participants identified as biracial in both studies, those who were members of groups with higher status in American society were more likely than those who were members of groups with lower status to claim a biracial identity. Specifically, (a) Asian/White individuals were more likely than Black/White or Latino/White individuals to identify as biracial and (b) mixed-race people from middle-class backgrounds were more likely than those from working-class backgrounds to identify as biracial. These results suggest that claiming a biracial identity is a choice that is more available to those with higher status.