Dimensions of DSM-IV personality disorders and life-success

This study examined associations between dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders and life-success in a community sample of 304 men at age 48. Measures included a standardized social interview and the SCID-II for assessment of personality disorders. The identified indicators of life-success were factor-analyzed resulting in two moderately correlated components representing "status and wealth" and "successful intimate relationships." Avoidant, obsessivecompulsive, and narcissistic dimensional scores were positively associated with "status and wealth." Inverse relationships were found between dependent, schizotypal, schizoid, and adult antisocial personality disorder dimensions and this domain of life-success. Avoidant, schizoid, and borderline personality disorder dimensions were negatively associated with "successful intimate relationships." The findings suggest that although most personality disorders are associated with impaired psychosocial functioning and life-failure, some personality disorder traits (even if considered as pathological) can contribute positively to one important aspect of life-success: status and wealth.     

Antecedent Priming at Trace Positions in Children’s Sentence Processing

The present study examines whether children reactivate a moved constituent at its gap position and how children’s more limited working memory span affects the way they process filler-gap dependencies. 46 5–7 year-old children and 54 adult controls participated in a cross-modal picture priming experiment and underwent a standardized working memory test. The results revealed a statistically significant interaction between the participants’ working memory span and antecedent reactivation: High-span children (n = 19) and high-span adults (n = 22) showed evidence of antecedent priming at the gap site, while for low-span children and adults, there was no such effect. The antecedent priming effect in the high-span participants indicates that in both children and adults, dislocated arguments access their antecedents at gap positions. The absence of an antecedent reactivation effect in the low-span participants could mean that these participants required more time to integrate the dislocated constituent and reactivated the filler later during the sentence.     

Predicting Satisfaction and Outcome Acceptance with Advisory Committee Meetings: The Role of Procedural Justice1

Research on procedural justice shows that when people view procedures as fair, they are more satisfied with the process and accepting of the outcomes. The group value model, in particular, argues that people care about procedural justice because it communicates whether those in charge are neutral, trustworthy, and respectful of people's rights. This study tested the group value model using survey data from people attending U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meetings. The results confirmed a strong role for procedural justice, even when controlling for procedural knowledge, tolerance for potential conflicts of interest among committee members, and respondents' stakes in the outcomes. [T]o seem to be just to the disappointed participant, to retain his allegiance, this must surely be one of the more difficult tests that a decision‐making system can undergo ( Thibaut & Walker, 1975 , p. 68).     

The Perspective of Feminist Pastoral Theology,a Review of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context

This essay review examines Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context, Edited by U. Kim, K.-S. Yang and K.-K. Hwang (New York, NY, US: Springer, 2006), from the perspective of feminist pastoral theology. In doing so, it focuses on shimjung, a critical Korean indigenous concept by Choi and Kim (Naïve psychology of Koreans’ interpersonal mind and behavior in close relationships. In U. Kim, K.-S. Yang &; K.-K. Hwang (Eds.), Indigenous and cultural Psychology: Understanding people in context (pp. 357–369). New York: Springer, 2006). There are three main sections in the essay review. First, shimjung of Korean women is discussed and compared with that of Korean men. Second, shimjung in mother–son relationship is analyzed and explored. Third, an invitation is given for further research in promoting shimjung exchange in the husband and wife relationship in Korean culture.     

Extracellular amino acid levels in the paraventricular nucleus and the central amygdala in high- and low-anxiety dams rats during maternal aggression: regulation by oxytocin

Brain oxytocin (OT) regulates aspects of emotionality and stress coping including maternal behavior and maternal aggression. Maternal aggression correlates with the amount of OT released within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the central amygdala (CeA). OT, a key neurotransmitter or neuromodulator, is likely to modulate other neurotransmitter systems. Here, we investigated the dynamic changes in extracellular concentrations of the amino acids aspartate, glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serine, histidine, arginine and taurine in the PVN and CeA in lactating rats bred for high (HAB) and low (LAB) anxiety-related behavior under basal conditions and during maternal aggression. Further, to determine whether local OT is involved in the regulation of amino acid release we infused a selective OT receptor antagonist (OTA) via local retrodialysis. Within the CeA, HAB and LAB dams differed in the basal release of glutamate and arginine. Infusion of a selective OTA increased the concentrations of glutamate and aspartate in LAB dams and GABA in HAB dams. In OTA-treated HAB and LAB dams taurine levels increased during maternal aggression. Within the PVN, the highly-aggressive HAB dams showed a more pronounced increase in aspartate and serine levels; the latter being attenuated by local OTA administration. However, OTA did not affect the level of any amino acid in the LAB dams. Thus, the extracellular concentrations of selected amino acids differed between lactating HAB and LAB dams under both basal conditions and following maternal aggression. The effects of OT within the CeA and PVN on maternal aggressive behavior might be related to its regulation of local amino acid release.     

Suicidal ideation versus suicidal obsession: a case report

This case report illustrates the relationship between stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by describing an unusual case of OCD sequelae following a suicide attempt. The patient is a 29-year-old married woman who suffered a major depressive episode without OCD and tried to commit suicide by drinking household cleaner. Following the attempt, violent obsessive thoughts of harming herself and others emerged along with avoidance behavior. After exposure therapy, there was a decrease in her obsessive thoughts, less anxiety, and no avoidance behavior. This report highlights not only the existence of "posttraumatic obsession" but also the importance of accurate interpretation of suicidal preoccupation, leading to the diagnosis of OCD rather then suicidal ideation secondary to depression.     

The De of Levinas: Cultivating the Heart-Mind of Radical Passivity

This essay explores the early Chinese text Guanzi to address the question of ethical responsibility in the work of Emmanuel Levinas. We begin with the premise that being responsive to the other, feeling the impossibility of renouncing ethical obligation, and experiencing the basic moral asymmetry at the heart of Levinas’s project all rely on the welcome openness of the subject that Levinas describes as the subject’s “radical passivity.” However, his emphasis on infinite responsibility, coupled with the theme of radical passivity, gives the problematic impression that ethics amounts to a never-ending to-do list for the other, and certainly this is not what Levinas means. We turn to the Guanzi, which recommends that the ethically efficacious sage-prince must cultivate a state of passive stillness and inner vacuity. Only because the sage-prince maintains this deferential heart-mind is he freely open and responsive to others. Here the sage-prince looks strikingly like a good Levinasian: He is deferential, sensitive to context, and hyper-aware of the limits of his own knowledge. The Guanzi goes on to describe specific practices the sage-prince can employ to cultivate his ethical prowess, including practices of meditation and gentle physical exercises. Taking this insight into Levinas’s context, we suggest that such practices of self-regulation are necessary to enable effective responsiveness to the other. From this perspective, responsibility is “infinite” not because I am perpetually beholden to the other’s whims, but because I am perpetually accountable for calming and clearing my own mind of the unstable emotions, selfish desires, and intellectual machinations that prevent the welcome openness of radical passivity.     

Finer Distinctions: Variability in Satisfied Older Couples’ Problem‐Solving Behaviors

This study utilized observational and self‐report data from 64 maritally satisfied and stable older couples to explore if there were meaningful differences in how couples approached marital disagreements. Using a typology approach to classify couples based on their behaviors in a 15‐minute problem‐solving interaction, findings revealed four types of couples: (1) problem solvers (characterized by both spouses’ higher problem‐solving skills and warmth), (2) supporters (characterized by both spouses’ notable warmth), (3) even couples (characterized by both spouses’ moderate problem‐solving skills and warmth), and (4) cool couples (characterized by both spouses’ greater negativity and lower problem‐solving skills and warmth). Despite the differences in these behaviors, all couples had relatively high marital satisfaction and functioning. However, across nearly all indices, spouses in the cool couple cluster reported poorer marital functioning, particularly when compared to the problem solvers and supporters. These findings suggest that even modest doses of negativity (e.g., eye roll) may be problematic for some satisfied couples later in life. The implications of these typologies are discussed as they pertain to practitioners’ efforts to tailor their approaches to a wider swath of the population.