Transparency and self-disclosure in family therapy: dangers and possibilities

Therapy is a paid intimate relationship that thrusts clients and therapists into navigating personal and professional boundaries. When, where, why, and how is it appropriate and ethical for family therapists to be transparent, and when is it damaging? Theorists take varied stances from Haley's position of tight boundaries around therapist disclosure—whether in treatment or training—to the narrative viewpoint that therapists should be transparent about models of therapy, personal values, and life experiences that inform their practice and beliefs. However, these positions are not research based, and theorists who support disclosure offer few guidelines other than general statements. This article examines the history of ideas about disclosure in six major family therapy models, and the dangers and possibilities of transparency. It looks at the research on self‐disclosure in individual therapy and whether and how it could apply to family therapy. Guidelines are proposed that take into account the multiple social identities of therapists and clients, and issues of safety and transparency.     

Neural basis of individual differences in impulsivity: contributions of corticolimbic circuits for behavioral arousal and control

The objective of the current study was to analyze the neural correlates of behavioral arousal and inhibitory control as they relate to individual differences in impulsivity via well-established functional MRI amygdala reactivity and prefrontal inhibitory control paradigms in healthy adult subjects. Impulsivity correlated positively with activity of the bilateral ventral amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 32), and bilateral caudate. Conversely, impulsivity correlated negatively with activity of the dorsal amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex (BA 47). Together, these findings suggest that dispositional impulsivity is influenced by the functional interplay of corticolimbic behavioral arousal and control circuits.     

Aging and autobiographical memory: dissociating episodic from semantic retrieval

Cognitive aging research documents reduced access to contextually specific episodic details inolder adults, whereas access to semantic or other nonepisodic information is preserved or facilitated. The present study extended this finding to autobiographical memory by using a new measure; the Autobiographical Interview. Younger and older adults recalled events from 5 life periods. Protocols were scored according to a reliable system for categorizing episodic and nonepisodic information. Whereas younger adults were biased toward episodic details reflecting happenings, locations, perceptions, and thoughts, older adults favored semantic details not connected to a particular time and place. This pattern persisted after additional structured probing for contextual details. The Autobiographical Interview is a useful instrument for quantifying episodic and semantic contributions to personal remote memory.     

Colour constancy in goldfish and man: influence of surround size and lightness

Colour constancy was investigated by using a series of 10 simultaneously presented surface colours ranging in small steps from green through gray to red-purple. Goldfish were trained to select one medium test field when the entire setup was illuminated with white light. In the tests, either red or green illumination was used. Colour constancy, as inferred from the choice behaviour, was perfect under green illumination when the test fields were presented on a gray or a white background, but imperfect on a black background. Under red illumination and a white background, however, colour constancy was overcompensated. Here, a colour contrast effect was observed. The influence of background lightness was also found when the surround was restricted to a narrow annulus of 4-11 mm width (test field diameter: 14 mm). By applying colour metrics it could be shown that the von Kries coefficient law can describe the overall effect of colour constancy. For an explanation of the effect of surround size and lightness, lateral inhibitory interactions have to be assumed in addition, which are also responsible for simultaneous colour contrast. Very similar results were obtained in experiments with the same colours in human subjects. They had to name the test field appearing 'neutral' under the different illumination and surround conditions, as tested in the goldfish experiment.     

Students' perspectives on their high school experience

This study explored students' levels of belonging and engagement in high school by obtaining their perspectives on the instruction, teachers, friends, and activities in their school. We interviewed 33 students from seven comprehensive high schools in Richmond, Virginia. Students indicated that they were more engaged when the instructional program included authentic learning experiences, teachers who provided challenging activities and showed interest in student learning, and a school day that supported interpersonal relationships with peers and adults. It was concluded that, to promote belonging and engagement, school personnel should attend to the quality of student learning and relationships.     

The Impact of Leadership Style on Global Management Practices1

A study was conducted to explore the impact of differences in leadership style on the practice of global leadership and management. Data were collected from 391 senior managers from a global organization and 1,701 of their direct reports, 358 straight-line supervisors, and 266 dotted-line supervisors. ANOVA results indicate that transformational leaders were rated significantly higher on all behaviors by their direct reports than were transactional leaders. Straight-line supervisors rated transformational leaders significantly higher on managing change- and relationship-management behaviors, whereas dotted-line supervisors rated transformational leaders higher on learning orientation. Finally, transformational leaders were significantly more self-aware (greater congruence in self vs. direct reports' average ratings) regarding the practice of these behaviors. implications for future research are discussed.     

Different trends in perceptual pattern microgenesis as a function of the spatial range of local brightness averaging

Summary Stimulus patterns, quantized into small squares with the brightness level averaged within each square, were presented for recognition with various exposure durations. Qualitatively different recognition functions were obtained with varying spatial levels of quantization. The method used, if further elaborated, seems appropriate for the empirical differentiation between global and local levels of form and between integration and differentiation stages of a perceptual/attentional process.     

Short versus long term gains of a cognitive-behavioral social skills program targeting the giving and receiving of criticism

Seventy-four university undergraduates (40.2% male and 59.8% female) reporting difficulty in giving and receiving criticism were randomly assigned to either a training group consisting of cognitive behavioral criticism skills including behavior rehearsal, modeling, coaching, cognitive restructuring, or to a control group. Dependent measures were given at pre-test, post-test, and one year follow-up. Included were self-report measures consisting of Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Criticism Concerns Scale (CCS), Criticism Self-Esteem Giving and Receiving Scales, and behavioral role-play measures consisting of judges’ global ratings of subject’s verbal and nonverbal criticism behaviors in role-play scenarios with a live actor. Results for the self-report measures, FNE, and Criticism Self-Esteem Receiving showed both training program and control groups improved at post-test, but only the training program group maintained gains at one year follow-up. For the CCS and Criticism Self-Esteem Giving, the training program group improved over time, yet was only significantly different from control group at post-test. Results were discussed in terms of the pro-active nature of giving criticism versus the more reactive nature of receiving criticism.