Manual asymmetries in bimanual reaching: the influence of spatial compatibility and visuospatial attention

The goal of the present investigation was to explore the possible expression of hemispheric-specific processing during the planning and execution of a bimanual reaching task. Participants (N = 9) completed 80 bimanual reaching movements (requiring simultaneous, bilateral production of arm movements) to peripherally presented targets while selectively attending to either their left or right hand. Further, targets were presented in spatially compatible (ipsilateral to the aiming limb) and incompatible (contralateral to the aiming limb) response contexts. It was found that the left hand exhibited temporal superiority over the right hand in the response planning phase of bimanual reaching, indicating a left hand/right hemisphere advantage in the preparation of a bimanual response. During response execution, and consistent with the view that interhemispheric processing time (Barthelemy & Boulinguez, 2002) or biomechanical constraints (Carey, Hargreaves, & Goodale, 1996) generate temporal delays, longer movement times were observed in response to spatially incompatible target positions. However, no hemisphere-specific benefit was demonstrated for response execution. Based on these findings, we propose lateralized processing is present at the time of response planning (i.e., left hand/right hemisphere processing advantage); however, lateralized specialization appears to be annulled during dynamic execution of a bimanual reaching task.     

From self-prediction to self-defeat: behavioral forecasting, self-fulfilling prophecies, and the effect of competitive expectations

Four studies explored behavioral forecasting and the effect of competitive expectations in the context of negotiations. Study 1 examined negotiators' forecasts of how they would behave when faced with a very competitive versus a less competitive opponent and found that negotiators believed they would become more competitive. Studies 2 and 3 examined actual behaviors during a negotiation and found that negotiators who expected a very competitive opponent actually became less competitive, as evidenced by setting lower, less aggressive reservation prices, making less demanding counteroffers, and ultimately agreeing to lower negotiated outcomes. Finally, Study 4 provided a direct test of the disconnection between negotiators' forecasts for their behavior and their actual behaviors within the same sample and found systematic errors in behavioral forecasting as well as evidence for the self-fulfilling effects of possessing a competitive expectation.     

Subgrouping in obesity based on Rorschach personality characteristics

Conceptual (a priori) subgroups in obesity based on personality findings from the Rorschach Comprehensive System were suggested for 100 obese patients. The subgroups were further compared in terms of general anamnestic and behavioral data. The largest subgroup was Rorschach characterized by difficulties with emotions and a tendency towards depression. Demographic and behavioral data for this subgroup revealed intermediate or higher education, regular meals, eating disorders like binge eating, periodic variations in eating during the year and experiencing body size as having a psychological meaning. The other subgroup was characterized by coping liabilities and was further associated with a lower socio-economic level and irregular or chaotic meal patterns. For the group with emotional difficulties, the results suggest a more complex psychological pattern, where eating and emotions could be closely related. The group with coping liabilities could have difficulties other than emotional ones concerning food and eating, such as finding a structure for eating and making changes in lifestyle and habits.     

Psychiatric disorders among employment requiring firearms

Individuals who carry guns as a requirement of employment frequently experience hazards that can be stress inducing, violent, traumatizing, or cause personal injury. This study used data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Surveys (CPES; n = 20,013), to examine mental health diagnoses of individuals that ever worked at a job requiring a firearm. Consistent with existing literature, the findings indicated that those who worked in professions requiring a firearm showed similar risk of mental health diagnoses as law enforcement officers which includes symptoms of trauma, mood disorders, and alcohol use. Further, race/ethnic differences emerged in patterns of mental health diagnoses, suggesting sociocultural differences influence diagnoses. These findings indicate the necessity for further investigation of the understudied area of mental health of those within employment positions that require firearms.     

The relation of sex-role self-concept and sex-role attitudes to the marital satisfaction and personal adjustment of dual-worker couples with preschool children

The present study was designed to investigate the relation of sex-role self-concept and sex-role attitudes to the marital satisfaction and personal adjustment of dual-worker couples with preschool children. One hundred husbands and wives completed an assessment package consisting of the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Locke- Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, and the Profile of Mood States. As predicted, androgynous individuals reported the greatest levels of marital satisfaction and personal adjustment. This was true for both men and women and across occupational levels. In addition, congruence between spouses' sex-role attitudes was associated with greater marital satisfaction.The present study is based on a masters thesis by the first author under supervision of the second and third authors. The authors thank Manuel Barrera and Sandy Braver, who were very helpful committee members, and Larry Cooper and Clark C. Presson for their helpful comments.     

Parenting Stress,Parenting, and Adolescent Externalizing Problems

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Although the association between parenting stress and child behavioral outcomes is well established, there is limited research with families of adolescents....     

Essential anxiety: COVID-19 in analytic practice

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on my relationship with analysands and my inner world. I reflect on the role of the archetypal Self during times of existential anxiety that may lead to an experience of ‘essential anxiety’. This term refers to a meeting by a fearful ego with an inward recognition of the Self, when faced with threat. The efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic changed our ways of life, while the virus itself threatened our existence in debilitating or outright destructive ways. But what also came into view, in sessions of analysis and supervision, was the creative instinct, and a celebration of life. The soul-to-soul relationship, and the connection with images of the archetypal Self, made the experience of existential anxiety at times an essential experience that facilitated psychological growth. I discuss some advantages of on-line Jungian analysis where, despite distance and partial view, the body still serves as container to hold important psychological material, conferring a sense of wholeness for analyst and analysand. The COVID-19 crisis is terrible and terrifying but it also provides an opportunity for self-regulation and individuation.     

An evaluation of a three‐component multiple schedule to indicate attention availability

Students may engage in high rates of social approach responses at inappropriate times throughout the school day. One intervention that has been used to teach students appropriate and inappropriate times to access attention is a multiple schedule of reinforcement. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of a multiple schedule that indicated when attention was available or not available in a bilingual preschool classroom during small‐group instruction. Results showed that the intervention was effective in bringing students’ social approaches under stimulus control.     

Reduced Contact Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions for Adult Depression: A Review

Depression is a highly prevalent and debilitating mental health condition. Evidence suggests that there is a widening gap between the demand for and availability of effective treatments. As such, there is a vast need for the development and dissemination of accessible and affordable treatments for depression. In the past decade, there has been a proliferation of reduced client-therapist contact protocols for depression. In this article, the authors review and compare the efficacy of reduced contact cognitive-behavioral interventions for adult depression across two degrees of therapist-client contact (i.e., no therapist-client contact versus minimal therapist-client contact interventions). The authors also discuss the methodological and theoretical limitations of this research base. The present review suggests that a) reduced contact interventions for depression can be effective in remediating the symptoms of depression; b) the effect sizes of some reduced contact protocols may approximate those reported in traditional protocols involving significantly greater client-therapist contact; and c) protocols which employ some form of client-therapist contact, on average, generate higher effect sizes than those that are purely self-help in nature. A discussion of the theoretical and applied implications of such findings, as well as areas in need of further research, is provided.