Self-determination and conflict in romantic relationships

Four studies examined associations between E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan's (1985, 2000) construct of autonomy, responses to relationship disagreements, and dissatisfaction after conflict. In Study 1, diary data showed that trait autonomy predicted relationship autonomy, which in turn predicted relative satisfaction after disagreements. In Study 2, trait autonomy predicted relationship autonomy, which was associated with less defensive and more understanding responses to conflict. Studies 3 and 4 examined whether one's partner's relationship autonomy uniquely predicted reported and observed behavior during conflict. Autonomous reasons for being in the relationship (of both self and partner) predicted both reported and observed responses to conflict and feelings of satisfaction.     

Outcomes for Children and Adolescents After Residential Treatment: A Review of Research from 1993 to 2003

The focus of this research review is to determine what factors increase the likelihood that positive individual and systemic changes occur for children and adolescents following discharge from residential treatment. Residential treatment outcome studies from 1993 to 2003 that fulfilled predetermined criteria were located through 4 on-line databases using key word combinations. The research selected was: (a) 7 studies that measured outcome immediately upon completion of treatment and discharge, and (b) 11 studies where outcome progress was assessed at one or more follow-up dates after discharge. Results showed that children and adolescents with severe emotional and behaviour disorders can benefit and sustain positive outcomes from residential treatment that is multi-modal, holistic and ecological in its approach. Similar to the clinical child psychotherapy research, conclusions must be tempered due to the limited number of studies and methodological weaknesses. Future considerations highlight how research results can more realistically reflect intervention effectiveness when elements of the ecological and systemic landscape of care are addressed.     

Development of the body image concern inventory

Development of the Body Image Concern Inventory (BICI), a measure designed to assess dysmorphic concern, is described. A panel of expert raters supported the construct validity of the measure, and four college student samples (Ns=184, 200, 56, 40) supported the internal consistency of the BICI. In addition, in studies 1 and 3, concurrent validity was established through comparison of the BICI to extant self-report and interview measures of dysmorphic symptomatology. Convergent validity patterns were assessed through comparison with measures of obsessive-compulsive and eating disorder symptomatology in studies 2 and 4. Finally, the results of study 4 supported that the BICI discriminated individuals with a diagnosis of Body Dysmorphic Disorder or bulimia (disorders that frequently involve high levels of dysmorphic concern) from those with subclinical symptoms. Results suggest that the BICI is a reliable, valid, and user-friendly tool for assessing dysmorphic concern, with utility in both research and clinical settings.     

Positivity can cue familiarity

Given that familiarity is closely associated with positivity, the authors sought evidence for the idea that positivity would increase perceived familiarity. In Experiment 1, smiling and thus positively perceived novel faces were significantly more likely to be incorrectly judged as familiar than novel faces with neutral expressions. In Experiment 2, subliminal association with positive affect (a positively valenced prime) led to false recognition of novel words as familiar. In Experiment 3, validity judgments, known to be influenced by familiarity, were more likely to occur if participants were in happy mood states than neutral mood states. Despite their different paradigms and approaches, the results of these three studies converge on the idea that, at least under certain circumstances, the experience of positivity itself can signal familiarity, perhaps because the experience of familiarity is typically positive.     

Choice with initial and terminal link reinforcement: an alternative self-control paradigm

Self-control is demonstrated when a less desirable immediate outcome is chosen to ensure a substantially better future. In a novel animal analogue of this situation, primary reinforcement was delivered in both the initial and terminal links of a concurrent chain schedule. Rats made initial link choices between equal amounts of ethanol-free or ethanol-containing milk. Choosing the ethanol-free reinforcer resulted in delivery of the larger terminal link reinforcer and was thus analogous to self-control. Self-control decreased as the delay between initial and terminal links increased. The results have implications for human choice situations where decisions are made between two immediately available reinforcement alternatives each associated with a different delayed outcome.     

Seeing faces in the noise: Stochastic activity in perceptual regions of the brain may influence the perception of ambiguous stimuli

Research on binocular rivalry and motion direction discrimination suggests that stochastic activity early in visual processing influences the perception of ambiguous stimuli. Here, we extend this to higher level tasks of word and face processing. In Experiment 1, we used blocked gender and word discrimination tasks, and in Experiment 2, we used a face versus word discrimination task. Stimuli were embedded in noise, and some trials contained only noise. In Experiment 1, we found a larger response in the N170, an ERP component associated with faces, to the noise-alone stimulus when observers were performing the gender discrimination task. The noise-alone trials in Experiment 2 were binned according to the observer’s behavioral response, and there was a greater response in the N170 when they reported seeing a face. After considering various top-down and priming-related explanations, we raise the possibility that seeing a face in noise may result from greater stochastic activity in neural faceprocessing regions.     

Importance of treatment efficacy research on language comprehension in MR/DD research

The purpose of this review is to discuss the importance of treatment efficacy research in language comprehension in MR/DD populations. Although receptive language deficit is an integral part of most MR/DD typologies, there have been relatively few studies evaluating the effectiveness or efficacy of treatment for this condition. Recently, there has been increased attention placed on auditory processing in children with disabilities, an aspect of cognition related to receptive language, but there have also been few studies investigating the effectiveness or efficacy of training designed to improve auditory processing. In addition to arguing that additional studies in this area are needed, the review includes several theoretical frameworks for addressing the treatment of receptive language deficits in MR/DD.     

Glossolalia and altered states of consciousness in two New Zealand religious movements

This article examines the prevalence of altered states of consciousness among Christian tongue speakers and compares it to experiences of glossolalia among meditators in a yoga‐based purificatory group called the Golden Light. The article is based on close interaction and interviews with participants over an eight‐year period. The results showed that, by self‐report, most Pentecostals and Charismatics did not experience altered states except during the baptism of the Spirit and that those who did constructed a meaning for their glossolalia. In contrast, all of the meditators described frequent intense altered states, of which speaking in tongues was an occasional manifestation. I suggest that there are two types of glossolalia—spontaneous glossolalia and context‐dependent glossolalia—and that the former is more likely to occur in groups that are radical, experiential, and charismatically led.     

Inference revision processing in adults with and without aphasia

Processing abilities in aphasia, and the nature of processing breakdowns, were the focuses of this investigation. Individuals with either fluent or nonfluent aphasia, plus a control group, participated in a cross-modal lexical priming task designed to elicit priming effects when activation of inference interpretations occurred. Comprehension of inferences was measured by responses to four types of questions that related to the inferences. Results indicated that both the control group, as well as the nonfluent aphasia group, activated the intended meaning of the stimuli whereas the fluent aphasics did not. Comprehension of the inferences was best demonstrated by control participants, nonfluent aphasic participants, and fluent aphasic participants, in that order.