Psychological and sexual functioning among outpatient sexual offenders against children: A Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) cluster analytic study

Multivariate clustering procedures were used to identify homogeneous subgroups of outpatient sex offenders against children (n=110)on the basis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results indicated a five-subgroup solution. Two within-normal-limits and two clinically elevated profile subgroups replicated subtypes found in previous cluster analytic studies of child sex offenders. The fifth subgroup appeared similar in MMPI profile pattern and elevation to a previously identified subtype of rapists. Discriminant analyses showed that subgroups differed along dimensions of cognitive disturbance and sexual functioning. Furthermore, levels of psychopathology corresponded with levels of sexual pathology. Results are discussed with reference to previous MMPI cluster analytic studies of sex offenders and theories of sexual aggression.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, 1992, Chicago, Illinois.     

Right Hemisphere Positivity Bias in Preconscious Processing: Data From Five Experiments

Using a signal detection paradigm, participants’ sensitivity to emotionally toned stimuli was evaluated in five experiments. A tachistoscope was used to present stimuli to one hemisphere at a time, too rapidly for conscious identification. Pictures, words, and faces were pretested for emotional valence and familiarity. Stimulus selection was based on obtaining the largest possible difference between the positive and negative valence ratings, keeping familiarity equal. Each experiment used a 2×2×2 mixed groups design. The within-subject variables were the hemispheric presentation (right and left) and the emotional tone of the stimuli (positive and negative). Gender of the participant was the between-subjects variable. The results of these studies indicate greater sensitivity in the right than in the left hemisphere, and greater sensitivity to positive than to negative stimuli. Interpretations focus on the automatization of affect and the brain lateralization of emotional processing.     

Borderline personality features and instability of daily negative affect and self-esteem

We used a daily process design and multilevel modeling to examine the role of borderline personality features in the day-to-day stability of college students' negative affect and self-esteem and their reactivity to interpersonal stressors. At the end of each day for two weeks, students completed a checklist of daily stressors and measures of state affect and self-esteem. We predicted that high scores on a measure of borderline features would be related to more daily interpersonal stressors, greater negative affective and self-esteem reactivity to these stressors, and less day-to-day carryover of negative mood and self-esteem. The first and third hypotheses were supported, but not the second. The findings demonstrate the utility of a daily process methodology and multilevel modeling to study the day-to-day functioning of individuals with borderline features.     

Cross-sectional and longitudinal relations among peer-reported trustworthiness, social relationships, and psychological adjustment in children and early adolescents from the United Kingdom and Canada

Trustworthiness was examined in children and early adolescents from two countries. In Study 1,505 children in the fifth and sixth school years in the United Kingdom (mean age = 9 years 7 months) were tested across an 8-month period. In Study 2,350 sixth- through eighth-grade Canadian children and early adolescents (mean age = 12 years 11 months) were tested across a 1-year period. Participants completed measures assessing trustworthiness (ratings of promise and secret keeping by peer group and also by best friend in Study 1), assertiveness (Study 1), prosocial behavior (Study 2), social relationships (friendships and peer preference), and psychological adjustment (self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and loneliness). Peer-reported trustworthiness was positively associated with, and predicted changes across time in, the number of friendships. The observed relations were found to be statistically independent of peer preference and peer-reported assertiveness or prosocial behavior. Trustworthiness was found to be positively associated with peer preference (Study 1 and Study 2) and psychological adjustment (Study 1).     

Imitation in shadowing words

Imitation of shadowed words was evaluated using Goldinger's (1998) AXB paradigm. The first experiment was a replication of Goldinger's experiments with different tokens. Experiment 1's AXB tests showed that shadowed words were judged to be better imitations of target words than were baseline (read) counterparts more often than chance (.50). Order of presentation of baseline and shadowed words in the AXB test also significantly influenced judgments. Degree of prior exposure to token words did not significantly influence judgments of imitation. Experiment 2 employed modified target tokens with extended voice onset times (VOTs). In addition to AXB tests, VOTs of response tokens were compared across baseline and shadowing conditions. The AXB tests revealed shadowed words to be better imitations of target tokens than baseline, without an influence of AXB presentation order. Differences between baseline and shadowing VOTs were greater when VOTs were extended. The implications of spontaneous imitation in nonsocial settings are considered.     

Perfectionism as an Explanatory Construct in Comorbidity of Axis I Disorders

Understanding comorbidity is an important challenge for psychopathology researchers and diagnostic systems given the repeated finding of very high comorbidity rates among Axis I disorders in psychiatric samples. This paper proposes that perfectionism may be a critical factor for understanding levels of comorbidity, and a conceptual argument for the importance of perfectionism as an explanatory construct for comorbidity is advanced. The link between perfectionism and comorbidity in a large sample of patients (N = 345) who attended an anxiety disorders clinic is examined using a variety of methods. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV), and perfectionism was assessed using both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales. Overall, scores on both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost perfectionism scales were correlated with the number of diagnoses, and a logistic regression analysis, controlling for current symptoms, showed that maladaptive evaluative concerns perfectionism in particular predicted higher levels of comorbidity.     

Stereotype reactance at the bargaining table: the effect of stereotype activation and power on claiming and creating value

Two experiments explored the hypothesis that the impact of activating gender stereotypes on negotiated agreements in mixed-gender negotiations depends on the manner in which the stereo-type is activated (explicitly vs. implicitly) and the content of the stereotype (linking negotiation performance to stereotypically male vs. stereotypically female traits). Specifically, two experiments investigated the generality and limits of stereotype reactance. The results of Experiment 1 suggest that negotiated outcomes become more one-sided in favor of the high power negotiator when masculine traits are explicitly linked to negotiator effectiveness. In contrast, the results of Experiment 2 suggest that negotiated outcomes are more integrative (win-win) when feminine traits are explicitly linked to negotiator effectiveness. In total, performance in mixed-gender negotiations is strongly affected by the cognitions and motivations that negotiators bring to the bargaining table.     

Exploring the rabbit hole of possibilities by myself or with my group: The benefits and liabilities of activating counterfactual mind‐sets for information sharing and group coordination

The current experiment explored the effect of activating a counterfactual mind‐set on the discussion of unique information and group judgment accuracy. Evidence suggests that a counterfactual mind‐set is characterized by a focused, analytic mental state and, when activated at the group level, improves group judgment accuracy in the murder mystery paradigm (a hidden profile task). We hypothesized that the beneficial effect of the counterfactual mind‐set would only help group problem‐solving tasks if the mind‐set had been activated at the group level, allowing the analytical mind‐set to play out in an atmosphere of synergistic coordination. In contrast, if this highly focused mental state is activated at the individual level, it could impair group judgment quality because inwardly focused analytical individuals may fail to coordinate their behavior with other group members. Consistent with our hypothesis, activating a counterfactual mind‐set at the individual level had a debilitating effect on the group judgment task, whereas activating a counterfactual mind‐set at the group level had a facilitative effect, increasing information sharing, synergistic coordination and judgment accuracy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trichotillomania: Assessment,Diagnosis, and Treatment

This article examines the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of trichotillomania (the recurrent desire to pull out one's hair). The authors provide a brief review both of proposed etiologies of trichotillomania and of the diagnostic and assessment issues related to this disorder, and they discuss interventions and treatments that have been shown to be most efficacious when working with clients diagnosed with trichotillomania.