Labour market careers of immigrants in Germany and the United Kingdom

This article examines the employment careers of immigrants as compared with those of the native-born in Germany and the United Kingdom using existing longitudinal data from the German Socioeconomic Panel and the British Household Panel Study. Results of the sequence analysis show that in both countries employment career sequences of immigrants are similarly remote from those of native-born men. Further analysis reveals that long and frequent spells of unemployment are behind this dissimilarity in both countries. Results of the pairwise Optimal Matching analysis of the occupational career sequences, however, show that immigrants in the UK and Germany pursue largely different occupational paths, the former having occupational careers similar to those of the native-born, the latter being segmented in manual, mostly unskilled, jobs.     

The Defence Mechanism Test (DMT) revisited: experimental validation using threatening and non‐threatening pictures

Although the Defence Mechanism Test (DMT) has been in use for almost half a century, it is still unclear what it actually measures. The psychodynamic theory on which the test is based states that the threatful DMT pictures activate various defence mechanisms. To test this proposition, the original DMT pictures were redrawn by a professional artist, changing the emotional content without altering the structural properties. In this way, a neutral and a friendly variant were shaped. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to the threatful, neutral, and friendly stimulus conditions. In contrast to predictions made from psychodynamic theory, that the threatful picture would activate more ‘signs of defence’ than the others, the results disclosed that the three conditions activated the same amounts of ‘signs of defence’ and the same levels of various perceptual thresholds. Thus, rather than capturing psychodynamic defence mechanisms, our results suggest that the DMT taps perceptual or information‐processing difficulties in correct identification of brief stimulus exposures regardless of their emotional contents. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How to like yourself better, or chocolate less: Changing implicit attitudes with one IAT task

The current paper introduces a novel feature of implicit association tests (IATs) by demonstrating their potential to change implicit attitudes. We assume that such changes are driven by associative learning mechanisms caused by carrying out an IAT task. Currently, evaluative conditioning appears to be the only widespread paradigm for changing implicit attitudes. An IAT task could provide an alternative. In two experiments, participants initially reacted to only one IAT task. Implicit preferences subsequently assessed with different implicit measures depended on the initial IAT task. This was shown for implicit self-esteem and for implicit attitudes towards well-known candy brands. Findings are discussed in relation to task-order effects in IATs.     

An empirical look at the Defence Mechanism Test (DMT) Stimulus effects

Based on a sample of non-clinical subjects (N=74) the study examines the Defence Mechanism Test (DMT) by focusing on when perceptual distortions, called ‘signs of defence’ in DMT terminology, occur (distribution in exposure duration), which part of the picture is involved (distribution in localisation), and which ‘signs’ go together (using correlation and factor analyses). The results disclosed that the occurrence of perceptual distortions (‘signs of defence’) was related to exposure duration (some ‘defences’ are more frequent at brief exposures, some others at longer exposure durations), and to localisation on the picture. The location of misperceptions to the central person (hero) or the peripheral person (pp) of the picture was the major explanatory principle for the distribution of ‘signs’ on factors. Rather than capturing psychodynamic defence mechanisms, which is the theoretical basis of the test, the analyses imply that the DMT seems to measure misperceptions which are a function of the localisation of persons on the stimulus picture and of exposure durations.     

Consistent (but not variable) names as invitations to form object categories: new evidence from 12-month-old infants

Recent research documents that for infants just beginning to produce words on their own, novel words highlight commonalities among named objects and, in this way, serve as invitations to form categories. The current experiment identifies more precisely the source of this invitation. We asked whether applying a consistent name to a set of distinct objects is crucial to categorization, or whether variable names might serve the same conceptual function. The evidence suggests that for 12-month-old infants, consistency in naming is critical. Infants hearing a single consistent novel noun for a set of distinct objects successfully formed object categories. Infants hearing different novel nouns for the same set of objects did not. These results lend strength and greater precision to the argument that naming has powerful and rather nuanced conceptual consequences for infants as well as for mature speakers.     

Family Therapy in Poland: Development and Current Perspectives

The authors of the present article describe the historical context of family therapy in Poland and current issues in the field. They highlight the fact that Polish therapists first began to develop the field after coming into contact with family therapy leaders from the United States and Western Europe. With the political breakthrough of 1989, there were new opportunities for multilateral cooperation, attendance at international conferences, and the exchange of experiences. Currently, the work of Polish family therapists, the place of family therapy among other forms of psychotherapy, and the related problems and challenges do not differ from other European nations.     

Safety behaviour does not necessarily interfere with exposure therapy

There has been much recent controversy regarding whether or not the use of safety and other neutralizing behaviour interferes with exposure-based therapy. The aim of this study was to examine the role of safety behaviour in the treatment of specific phobia. Sixty-two snake-fearful participants were randomized to a 45-min exposure session with or without the use of safety gear, such as gloves and goggles. During the treatment, participants in the safety behaviour group were able to achieve a significantly closer initial distance of approach to the snake compared to controls. When tested post-treatment without any safety gear, both groups demonstrated comparable treatment gains involving significant reductions in fearful cognitions and subjective anxiety, as well as significant improvements in distance of approach. Results suggest that reliance on safety behaviour during exposure therapy for anxiety disorders may not interfere with treatment outcome.     

Spirituality and Mental Health Care in a Religiously Homogeneous Country: Definitions,Opinions, and Practices Among Polish Mental Health Professionals

Journal of Religion and Health - This qualitative study involved a sample of 121 Polish mental health professionals who were interviewed about their definitions of spirituality and their opinions...     

Intra- and inter-judge reliabilities in measuring the skin-fold thicknesses of ultra runners under field conditions

Inter- and intra-judge reliabilities of skinfold measures were investigated in a sample of 27 men and 11 women ultramarathon runners. Two physicians had agreement higher than 90% in field measurements before an ultramarathon race.