Short review and book note

Michael Carrithers, The forest monks of Sri Lanka: an anthropological and historical study, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1983, pp. xii + 306. Rs 145

Philippe Besnard (editor), The sociological domain: The durkheimians and the founding of French sociology, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. xii + 296. $44.50     

Leader Member Exchanges: Distinction Between Two Factors

Abstract

The dimensionality of Graen's Leader Member Exchange concept was examined in a cross-sectional questionnaire study among 1147 Dutch nurses. The total sample was divided into two subgroups by means of stratified random selection (n1 = 574; n2 = 573) and analyses were performed in each subgroup separately. The factorial structure of a 12-item self-report Leader Member Exchange questionnaire was examined. Exploratory factor analysis on the data of subgroup 1 yielded two factors, which were labelled “consideration/coaching by the leader” and “filling an assistant position”. Confirmatory factor analyses with LISREL showed that a two-factor oblique model had the best fit in both subgroups. Equality of factor structures in both subgroups was clearly demonstrated. Differential validity of the two Leader Member Exchange factors was studied by correlating each factor with measures of job-related affect. In both subgroups, the consideration/coaching factor had a significantly stronger, positive relationship with job satisfaction and a significantly stronger, negative relationship with propensity to quit the job, whereas the assistant position factor had a significantly stronger, positive relationship with job-responsibility. Results concerning the relationships with effectiveness ratings were inconclusive. The results of this study indicate that the Leader Member Exchange concept is two-dimensional rather than unidimensional.     

The dreaming brain/mind, consciousness and psychosis

Several independent lines of research in neurobiology seem to support the phenomenologically-grounded view of the dreaming brain/mind as a useful model for psychosis. Hallucinatory phenomena and thought disorders found in psychosis share several peculiarities with dreaming, where internally generated, vivid sensorimotor imagery along with often heightened and incongruous emotion are paired with a decrease in ego functions which ultimately leads to a severe impairment in reality testing. Contemporary conceptualizations of severe mental disorders view psychosis as one psychopathological dimension that may be found across several diagnostic categories. Some experimental data have shown cognitive bizarreness to be equally elevated in dreams and in the waking cognition of acutely psychotic subjects and in patients treated with pro-dopaminergic drugs, independent of the underlying disorder. Further studies into the neurofunctional underpinnings of both conditions will help to clarify the use and validity of this model.     

The Deceiving Mirror. Altered Body Perception and Alexithymia in a Group of Sports Adolescents and Adults

Recent literature emphasizes an altered perception of the body in subjects practicing sport to pursue an ideal body image. Sometimes such bodily misperception is associated with the inability to recognize and express emotions, and addiction to sport. This research investigates the relationship between body image and alexithymia in a group of 363 sportive adolescents and adults, including 78 males and 285 females, aged 11 to 68?years. Participants completed the Anamnestic Data Questionnaire, Body Uneasseness Test, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results highlight differences between adolescents and adults, especially about externally oriented thinking, concern for body image, and compulsive self-monitoring.