Relations between life difficulties, measures of working memory operation, and examination performance in a student sample

This study investigated the hypothesis that the negative effect of life difficulties on examination performance in university students (Andrews & Wilding, 2004) can be explained by impairment of working memory efficiency. UK-based students were given an extensive interview covering recent life stressors, and carried out a task testing working memory span, in which they had to judge the truth of arithmetic expressions while retaining words. Students reporting one or more life difficulties in the preceding 12 months recalled significantly fewer words than those reporting no such difficulties, but showed no difference in processing time on the task. However, while the number of words recalled was unrelated to examination performance at the end of the year, students who took longer on the task did significantly less well in the examination. This relation was more marked in Science than in Arts students. A number of possible explanations for this pattern of results are considered, which need to be explored in further research. In particular it is suggested that the number of words retained in the working memory span task reflects current state, and is reduced by intrusive thoughts provoked by current life difficulties, while time on the task reflects more permanent efficiency of the processing system and, therefore, efficiency in study and examinations.     

Further evaluation of latency measures in the assessment and treatment of severe self‐injurious behavior

Recent research has demonstrated the utility of latency measures during the functional analysis of problem behavior; however, few studies have evaluated the utility of latency measures during subsequent treatment analyses. The current study seeks to extend the literature on the use of latency measures during the treatment of severe self‐injurious behavior (SIB). Following a latency‐based functional analysis, a treatment analysis was conducted using a hybrid procedure in which baseline sessions were terminated following the first instance of SIB, and test sessions ended after a fixed length of time. Latency to SIB was compared across conditions, whereas latency and rate measures for both SIB and functional communication responses were compared for the functional communication training condition. Results suggest that latency measures may be too sensitive during treatment analyses and that it is beneficial to use a hybrid procedure that allows for both latency and rate comparisons.     

Understanding Psychological Safety in Health Care and Education Organizations: A Comparative Perspective

Psychological safety plays a vital role in helping people overcome barriers to learning and change in interpersonally challenging work environments. This article focuses on two such contexts—health care and education. The authors theorize differences in psychological safety based on work type, hierarchical status, and leadership effectiveness. Consistent with prior research, the authors employ cross-industry comparison to highlight distinctive features of different professions. The goal is to illuminate similarities and differences with implications for future psychological safety research. To do this, the authors review relevant literature and present analyses of large data samples in each industry to stimulate further research on psychological safety in both sectors, separately and together.     

Intolerance for approach of ambiguity in social anxiety disorder

Previous research has utilised the approach–avoidance task (AAT) to measure approach and avoidance action tendencies in socially anxious individuals. “Neutral” social stimuli may be perceived as ambiguous and hence threatening to socially anxious individuals, however it is unclear whether this results in difficulty approaching ambiguous (“neutral”) versus unambiguous threat (e.g. disgust) faces (i.e. intolerance of ambiguity). Thirty participants with social anxiety disorder (SADs) and 29 non-anxious controls completed an implicit AAT in which they were instructed to approach or avoid neutral and disgust faces (i.e. pull or push a joystick) based on colour of the picture border. Results indicated that SADs demonstrated greater difficulty approaching neutral relative to disgust faces. Moreover, intolerance for approach of ambiguity predicted social anxiety severity while controlling for the effects of trait anxiety and depression. Our results provide further support for the role of intolerance of ambiguity in SAD.     

Drive for thinness and drive for muscularity: Opposite ends of the continuum or separate constructs?

The goal of this study was to examine whether the drive for thinness and the drive for muscularity occur concurrently among late adolescents and to understand the body attitudes associated with desiring a thinner and/or a more muscular physique. Participants included 235 college freshmen who participated in a larger study of body image and eating attitudes. The majority of individuals reported having both a high drive for thinness and a high drive for muscularity (65.4%). Additionally, the presence of both drives significantly predicted body compulsivity and body anxiety among females, and body-esteem among males. Results of the current study provide considerable evidence that a drive for thinness and a drive for muscularity are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, the degree to which an individual strives for thinness and/or muscularity has differential effects on their body attitudes.     

Feminism and family therapy—a possible meeting point

This paper centres on the question ‘Is it possible to be a feminist and to practise family therapy?’ We explore the essence of feminism and family therapy and conclude that a style of feminist family therapy is possible. Feminist family therapy has a particular theoretical base and is characterized by a particular combination of practice principles. It also raises general issues for the training and practice of all family therapists.