No pain, no gain: Perceptions of calorie expenditures of exercise and daily activities

Reduction in physical activity is considered a major contributor to weight problems. Increasingly, people are expending less energy in household chores but joining fitness clubs. Do people perceive ordinary daily activities to expend less energy than exercise activities using similar amounts of calories? In the present study college students were asked to evaluate the calorie expenditure of 30 physical activities (i.e., exercises and household tasks). The household tasks were matched (in terms of caloric expenditure) to at least one exercise activity. When participants rated both exercise and daily activities, it appears that they focused on rate of caloric expenditure rather than type of activity (i.e., household task or exercise). In Study 2, college students evaluated the energy expenditure of light/leisure, moderate, and intense exercise. This emphasis concerning the benefit of intense physical activity was observed once again. College students appear to have assimilated the belief that intense physical activity expends more energy than longer sessions of lower intensity physical activity using similar amounts of calories. Perhaps one reason why people are not physically active is that they believe physical activities must be intense to be of benefit. At the same time they are automatizing household chores and, thus, become less active overall.     

A Meta‐Analysis of Self‐Attributions Following Three Types of Trauma: Sexual Victimization,Illness, and Injury1

Victim self‐attributions (e.g., that one caused an event or was responsible for its occurrence) have been discussed frequently in the trauma literature. However, little empirical work has sought to test the extant theoretical models conceptualizing why self‐attributions occur. We investigated by meta‐analysis the prevalence and predictors of self‐attributions following 3 traumatic events—sexual victimization, illness, and severe injury—in an attempt to identify predictors of self‐attributions and to examine extant theoretical models. The results supported that self‐attribution is not the modal response to trauma. In addition, partial support was found for the extant theoretical models, but no one model could explain the entire pattern of findings. Implications of these results for future empirical and theoretical work are discussed.     

Does Friendship Matter? An Examination of Social Physique Anxiety in Adolescence1

The role of peer group composition and influence variables on social physique anxiety was examined. Peer network data were gathered on 375 adolescents (181 male, 194 female). Females reported experiencing higher social physique anxiety, more pressure and encouragement to alter their physique from peers, greater body‐related discussion, and greater identification with the peer group than did males. Regression analyses revealed 2 peer influence variables—peer pressure and relative attractiveness of peers—to be significant predictors of social physique anxiety. A third variable—extent to which the individual identified with peer network—was a significant predictor for females. Results are discussed in reference to previous research, and future research directions are identified.     

Cognitive Coping Tool Kit for Psychosis: Development of a Group-Based Curriculum

This article outlines an 8-week curriculum that was created to help outpatients develop cognitive and behavioral skills for coping with delusions and hallucinations as well as to reduce patients’ comorbid subjective levels of distress (e.g., depression, anxiety). The manualized protocol consisted of psychoeducation and training in a variety of CBT skills that have shown promise in treating individuals with residual psychosis, using recovery-oriented “naturalistic” methods and culminating in the creation of an individualized “tool kit” of cognitive coping resources. A preliminary study of the effectiveness of this brief group-based CBT program for outpatients with chronic, residual symptoms of schizophrenia was conducted. Participants were 24 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who were stable on medications and connected to case management community follow-up. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia interview and the Symptom Checklist-90 self-report symptom scales were administered pre- and post-intervention. The results suggest that there were significant improvements in psychotic symptoms and self-reported distress from pre- to posttreatment.     

The role of need fulfillment in relationship functioning and well-being: a self-determination theory perspective

Self-determination theory posits 3 basic psychological needs: autonomy (feeling uncoerced in one's actions), competence (feeling capable), and relatedness (feeling connected to others). Optimal well-being results when these needs are satisfied, though this research has traditionally focused on individual well-being outcomes (e.g., E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 2000). Three studies examined the role of need fulfillment in relationship functioning and well-being. Study 1 found that fulfillment of each need individually predicted both individual and relationship well-being, with relatedness being the strongest unique predictor of relationship outcomes. Study 2 found that both partners' need fulfillment uniquely predicted one's own relationship functioning and well-being. Finally, in Study 3, the authors used a diary recording procedure and tested a model in which the association between need fulfillment and relationship quality was mediated by relationship motivation. Those who experienced greater need fulfillment enjoyed better postdisagreement relationship quality primarily because of their tendency to have more intrinsic or autonomous reasons for being in their relationship.     

Belief in an unjust world: when beliefs in a just world fail

Belief in a just world, where people get what they deserve, has been hypothesized to underlie a variety of psychological phenomena (Lerner, 1965). Close inspection of individual difference measures of this belief, however, has indicated repeatedly that just world beliefs are not a unidimensional construct. The purpose of this investigation was to elaborate upon the conceptualization of unjust world beliefs as a related but separate construct from just world beliefs. In two studies, the Unjust World Views scale (UJVS) was developed and its reliability and validity examined. The UJVS demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity and accounted for more variability in related outcomes than just world beliefs. Further, belief in an unjust world was related to defensive coping, anger, and perceived future risk. These findings contribute to theory development and suggest that a belief in an unjust world may serve a self-protective function. Clinical implications are discussed as unjust world views also were found to be potentially maladaptive.     

The Reverse-Caricature Effect Revisited: Familiarization With Frontal Facial Caricatures Improves Veridical Face Recognition

Prior research suggests that recognition of a person's face can be facilitated by exaggerating the distinctive features of the face during training. We tested if this 'reverse-caricature effect' would be robust to procedural variations that created more difficult learning environments. Specifically, we examined whether the effect would emerge with frontal rather than three-quarter views, after very brief exposure to caricatures during the learning phase and after modest rotations of faces during the recognition phase. Results indicate that, even under these difficult training conditions, people are more accurate at recognizing unaltered faces if they are first familiarized with caricatures of the faces, rather than with the unaltered faces. These findings support the development of new training methods to improve face recognition.     

A Sequential Analysis of Externalizing in Narrative Therapy with Children

Externalizing, or separating the person from his/her problem-saturated story, is a central approach in narrative therapy. Michael White, one of the therapy’s founders, lately revised his map of the externalizing process in therapy according to Vygotskian theory. In this study we sought to determine whether White’s proposed process was evident in therapy sessions. Sequential analysis indicated that therapists scaffolded children’s responses according to White’s map, and therapists’ and children’s utterances tended to advance across the levels of the map over the course of a session, indicating that White’s model of narrative therapy matched the therapy’s empirical process.     

Modernism,Postmodernism and (Evidence-Based) Practice

One dominant discourse in the mental health arena revolves around evidence-based practice (EBP). Although there is ongoing debate about the implementation of EBP in the mental health field, most of these discussions have been limited to modernist ideas. While discussions about EBP have occurred from alternate perspectives, particularly postmodernism, a lack of open dialogue has resulted in these two groups “talking past each other” (Levy in Family Process 45:55–73, 2006). In this article we discuss the positions of both modernism and postmodernism with consideration of their respective epistemologies and attitudes toward research and EBP. We argue that critical thinking about EBP needs to include mutual debate from both modern and postmodern perspectives.     

The Other Side of Injustice: When Unfair Procedures Increase Group-Serving Behavior

ABSTRACT— Greater group identification and higher levels of procedural justice typically work together to encourage group members to engage in group-serving cooperative behavior. However, when people who already identify with a group receive information indicating that the group is procedurally unjust, their motivation to engage in group-serving behavior may increase. This article reports two studies in which college students' identification with their university was measured and information about the procedural justice of the university was manipulated. Study 1 used an explicit measure of group identification and a deliberative measure of group-serving behavior. Study 2 used an implicit measure of group identification and both deliberative and spontaneous measures of group-serving behavior. The findings of both studies support the hypothesis that among people who are highly identified with a group, learning about the group's injustice leads to short-term increases in group-serving behavior.