A comparison of laboratory and clinical working memory tests and their prediction of fluid intelligence

The working memory (WM) construct is conceptualized similarly across domains of psychology, yet the methods used to measure WM function vary widely. The present study examined the relationship between WM measures used in the laboratory and those used in applied settings. A large sample of undergraduates completed three laboratory-based WM measures (operation span, listening span, and n-back), as well as the WM subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and the Wechsler Memory Scale-III. Performance on all of the WM subtests of the clinical batteries shared positive correlations with the lab measures; however, the Arithmetic and Spatial Span subtests shared lower correlations than the other WM tests. Factor analyses revealed that a factor comprising scores from the three lab WM measures and the clinical subtest, Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS), provided the best measurement of WM. Additionally, a latent variable approach was taken using fluid intelligence as a criterion construct to further discriminate between the WM tests. The results revealed that the lab measures, along with the LNS task, were the best predictors of fluid abilities.     

Emotion Regulation in Youth with Emotional Disorders: Implications for a Unified Treatment Approach

Given the relationship between internalizing disorders and deficits in emotion regulation in youth, the emotion science literature has suggested several avenues for increasing the efficacy of interventions for youth presenting with anxiety and depression. These possibilities include the identification and addition of emotion-regulation skills to existing treatment packages and broadening the scope of those emotions addressed in cognitive-behavioral treatments. Current emotion-focused interventions designed to meet one or both of these goals are discussed, and the developmental influences relevant to the selection of emotion-focused treatment goals are explored using the framework of a modal model of emotion regulation. These various lines of evidence are woven together to support the utility of a novel emotion-focused, cognitive-behavioral intervention, the Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth, a transdiagnostic treatment protocol that aims to treat the range of emotional disorders (i.e., anxiety and depression) simultaneously. Avenues for future directions in treatment outcome and assessment of emotion regulation are also discussed.     

Reviews: Books, Theater, and Painting

JUNG AND THE POSTMODERN: THE INTERPRETATION OF REALITIES. By Christopher Hauke. 304 pp. London & Philadelphia: Routledge, 2000. THE FASHIONING OF ANGELS: PARTNERSHIP AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE. By Stephen and Robin Larsen. pp. Chrysalis Books, 2000, $19.95. CHILDREN IN THERAPY: USING THE FAMILY AS A RESOURCE. Edited by C. Everett Bailey. 529 pp. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. $45.00. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION AND COPING: THEORY, RESEARCH, PRACTICE. By Kenneth I. Pargament. New York: Guilford Press, 1997. $50.00. SOUL WILDERNESS: A DESERT SPIRITUALITY. By Kerry Walters. 153pp. New York/Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2001. $12.95. SOUL MAKING: THE DESERT WAY OF SPIRITUALITY. By Alan Jones. 215 pp. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1985. $16.00. Theater: Words of Albert Schweitzer and the Music of Bach. Painting: Vermeer and the Delft School     

Perfectionism, beliefs, and adjustment in dating relationships

Two studies examined the extent to which dimensions of perfectionism are associated with indices of relationship beliefs, behaviors, and dyadic adjustment. In Study 1, 69 students in dating relationships completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and a multidimensional measure of relationship beliefs. In addition, partici-pants completed self-report measures of positive and negative relationship behaviors, and global measures of liking and loving. In Study 2, 91 students in dating relation-ships completed a battery of measures including the MPS and scales assessing perfec-tionism cognitions and perfectionistic self presentation. They also completed mea-sures of dyadic adjustment and limerence (i.e., intense, obsessive low with fears of rejection). Collectively, the findings indicated that individuals with high levels of self-oriented perfectionism and other-oriented perfectionism have stronger relationship beliefs in the areas of communication, trust, and support, suggesting that these perfec-tionists have high relationship standards in these particular areas. Although social prescribed perfectionism had little association with specific relationship beliefs, so-cially prescribed perfectionism was associated with a tendency to display destructive relationship responses (i.e., exit, neglect, and insensitivity), lower dyadic adjustment, and various aspects of limerence, including obsessive preoccupations and emotional dependence on the dating partner. Perfectionistic self-presentation and perfectionism cognitions were also linked with aspects of limerence. The results suggest that inter-personal aspects of perfectionism are associated with self-defeating tendencies in dating relationships. This research was supported, in part, by grant #410-93-1256 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the authors. The authors wish to thank Lisa Davidson for her assistance with the data analyses in Study 1. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Gordon L. Flett, Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3.     

When Two Heads Aren't Better Than One: AIDS Risk Behavior in College-Age Couples1

Individuals in intimate relationships engage in higher levels of HIV risk behavior than do individuals engaging in casual sex (e.g., Bowen & Michal-Johnson, 1989; Misovich, Fisher, & Fisher, 1996). While there are many possible reasons for this consistent pattern of effects, few studies have focused on identifying the underlying causes. Therefore, same-gender focus groups were conducted with college-age men and women in intimate relationships as participants in order to examine, qualitatively, factors particular to relationships which are associated with HIV risk. Focus-group members indicated that concerns about questioning interpersonal trust and commitment in their relationship through the introduction of condoms or HIV testing were often strong impediments to these practices. Recommendations for future HIV-prevention interventions specific to individuals in relationships are discussed.     

The Correlation Between Depression and Headache: The Role Played by Generational Changes in Female Achievement

The relationship between depression and somatic symptoms such as headache has never been explained. Both depression and headache appear to become more prevalent among women than among men only for cohorts that reach adolescence during periods of great change in opportunities for a female's academic achievement. In Studies 1a and 1b, the same pattern was found to apply to the correlation between depression and headache. In Studies 2a and 2b, self-report measures of depression and headache were found to share significant variance only among female adolescents who reported concerns regarding the limited achievements of their mothers. These females may view the roles of adult women as being limited and may experience stress and low self-esteem associated with depressive and somatic symptomatology.     

Retention and treatment failure in Classwide Peer Tutoring: Implications for further research

Knowledge of basic arithmetic facts aids in the acquisition and speed of performance of arithmetic operations. A peer mediated instructional procedure, Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), has been shown to increase the rates and accuracy of students responses to academic tasks and to improve student performance on a variety of academic tasks. The present investigation evaluated the retention of 100 subtraction items by primary grade-age children with mild disabilities using CWPT for 10 weeks. Short- and long-term retention of items, and rate of correct responding were assessed. Results indicated that the students' average pretest score was 58.0% correct, and their average weekly posttest score was 87.12 correct, a 27% improvement in accuracy. Short- and longer-term retention measured on posttests was 88.7 % and 85.0% correct, respectively. Improvement in students rate of accurate responding to subtraction items practiced during CWPT was obtained. Student failure to learn particular items was not attributable to fewer opportunities to practice these items, less accurate practice, or item difficulty. Students reported positive evaluation of CWPT and perceived positive social and self esteem outcomes. Directions for future research focusing on retention and analysis of treatment failure are suggested.