Reality Bytes: Reply to Commentaries

The author discusses Danielle Knafo’s paper, “Guys and Dolls,” from the developmental perspective of transitional space and the interplay of intersubjectively constructed spontaneous gestures, in the co-construction of a new narrative in the process of psychoanalytic treatment.     

The Establishment of Core Competencies for Canadian Genetic Counsellors: Validation of Practice Based Competencies

Numerous groups of health professionals have undertaken the task of defining core competencies for their profession. The goal of establishing core competencies is to have a defined standard for such professional needs as practice guidelines, training curricula, certification, continuing competency and re-entry to practice. In 2006, the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors (CAGC) recognized the need for uniform practice standards for the profession in Canada, given the rapid progress of genetic knowledge and technologies, the expanding practice of genetic counsellors and the increasing demand for services. We report here the process by which the CAGC Practice Based Competencies were developed and then validated via two survey cycles, the first within the CAGC membership, and the second with feedback from external stakeholders. These competencies were formally approved in 2012 and describe the integrated skills, attitudes and judgment that genetic counsellors in Canada require in order to perform the services and duties that fall within the practice of the profession responsibly, safely, effectively and ethically.     

Explaining the Relationship Among Fundamentalism and Authoritarianism: An Epistemic Connection

Although numerous studies have documented a strong, positive association between Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Religious Fundamentalism (RF), little empirical work has actually investigated the reasons for this relationship. In the present study we propose that a fundamentalist meaning system predicts a system of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (e.g., personal epistemology), which is then partially responsible for sustaining authoritarian attitudes. A convenience sample of 227 undergraduate students was given the RWA scale, the Epistemic Belief Inventory, and the Revised Religious Fundamentalism scale in an online survey. A partial mediation model was tested using structural equation modeling analysis, in which 2,000 bootstraps were taken from the observed covariance matrix to construct confidence intervals around each indirect effect. Findings from the present study support the partial mediation hypothesis, in which the effect of RF to RWA travels through belief in certain knowledge, simple knowledge, and omniscient authority.     

A Basic TAT Set

The 10 TAT cards judged most valuable for a basic test set were selected by a total of 170 highly experienced psychologists. The judges' choices, separately determined for adults and children, were very consistent. For example, 86.7% of judges in the adult series and 92.5% of judges in the child series listed Picture 1 (Boy-Violin) within their first 10 choices. Rankings of the 10 most frequently chosen cards were closely parallel in the adult and child series. Utilizing these findings a recommended Basic TAT set of eight cards (Pictures 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7BM, 13MF, 8BM) is proposed to enhance development of the TAT for clinical research and teaching purposes.     

New Strategies in the Assessment of Psychological Factors Affecting Medical Conditions

In this article, we examine research that may lead to a better assessment of psychological factors affecting medical conditions. We performed a review of the psychosomatic literature using both Medline and manual searches. We selected papers that were judged to be relevant to new strategies of assessment, with particular reference to the use of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research. We assessed 8 areas concerned with the assessment of psychological factors in the setting of medical disease: hypochondriasis, disease phobia, persistent somatization, conversion symptoms, illness denial, demoralization, irritable mood, and Type A behavior. A new subclassification of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed. [DSM-V]; not yet published) category of psychological factors affecting physical conditions appears to be feasible and may provide the clinician with better tools for identifying psychological distress.     

Mirroring Activity in the Brain and Movement Determinant in the Rorschach Test

Human movement (M) responses to the Rorschach are related to cognitive sophistication, creativity, and empathy. Recent studies also link Ms to EEG-mu suppression, an index of mirroring activity in the brain. In this article, we further investigate the link between Ms and mu suppression by testing some clinical interpretative distinctions. Previously collected EEG data recorded during the administration of the Rorschach were reanalyzed. We hypothesized that (a) among several responses investigated, only M would be associated with mu suppression, and (b) Ms with active movement, ordinary form quality, or whole human figures would be most strongly associated with mu suppression. Hypothesis 1 was fully confirmed, thus supporting that the traditional interpretation of M has a neurobiological foundation. Hypothesis 2 was partially confirmed; that is, active Ms were associated with mu suppression more strongly than passive Ms (p < .05), but no other significant differences emerged. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Comparison of Nomothetic Versus Idiographic-Oriented Methods for Making Predictions About Distal Outcomes From Time Series Data

We illustrate the idiographic/nomothetic debate by comparing 3 approaches to using daily self-report data on affect for predicting relationship quality and breakup. The 3 approaches included (a) the first day in the series of daily data; (b) the mean and variability of the daily series; and (c) parameters from dynamic factor analysis, a statistical model that uses all measurement occasions to estimate the structure and dynamics of the data. Our results indicated that data from the first measurement occasion does not provide information about the couples' relationship quality or breakup 1 to 2 years later. The mean and variability of the time series, however, were more informative: females' average positive and negative affect across time was related to relationship quality, whereas males' variability in negative affect across time was predictive of breakup. The dynamic factor analysis, in turn, allowed us to extract information central to the dyadic dynamics. This information proved useful to predict relationship quality but not breakup. The importance of examining intraindividual variability and couple dynamics is highlighted.