The Pique Technique: Overcoming Mindlessness or Shifting Heuristics?

An unusual request can increase compliance in situations in which the typical response to the request is refusal. This procedure, called the pique technique, is said to be effective because the unusual request causes people to give mindful consideration to it. We tested this explanation in 2 studies. Passersby were asked for either a common amount of change or 37 cents. Participants who inquired about the unusual amount were given either a specific or an uninformative reason. The pique technique increased compliance, but only when participants stopped to ask about the request. These participants gave more money, regardless of the reason provided. The findings failed to support the notion that an unusual request leads to a mindful consideration of it.     

Assessing cross-cultural differences through use of multiple-group invariance analyses

The use of structural equation modeling in cross-cultural personality research has become a popular method for testing measurement invariance. In this report, we present an example of testing measurement invariance using the Sense of Coherence Scale of Antonovsky (1993) in 3 ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, and Whites. In a series of increasingly restrictive constraints on the measurement models of the 3 groups, we demonstrate how to assess differences among the groups. We also provide an example of construct validation.     

Self-Reported Attachment Patterns and Rorschach-Related Scores of Ego Boundary,Defensive Processes,and Thinking Disorders

An Associative Elaboration Scale and an Integration Scale were constructed for evaluating Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) protocols. Interrater reliabilities and the correlation between the two scales were determined for a selection of TAT cards. The Integration Scale was dropped from further analyses, because its interrater reliabilities were low and it correlated highly with the Associative Elaboration Scale. The relation between the Associative Elaboration Scale and age was then investigated for randomly selected patients aged 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15. There tended to be a rapid increase in Associative Elaboration scores up to age 11 and then little or no increase in scores. There was no significant relation between Associative Elaboration and IQ.     

Family-focused management: Treatment of choice for deviant and dependent families

Abstract

Helping professionals working with troubled families takes two approaches. One approach, noting that the identified patient's family's behavioral interactions have positive and negative effects on the patient and his symptoms, advocates involving family members in the treatment process. The other approach, noting that the identified patient alone has the power to resolve his problem, advocates treating the patient independently of the family. This latter approach, in effect, relieves family members of the painful feelings of responsibility. At first glance, these two approaches appear to be in conflict, and it is no wonder that professionals choose to remain with one or the other. Both points of view are valid, so that approaches need to be developed which incorporate both.