Effective functioning in dual-career families: an investigation

This study is concerned with the commonalities inherent in diverse psychotherapeutic strategies, despite seemingly discontinuous theoretical stances. Two approaches were evaluated with respect to effective family functioning, viz. Analytical Psychology and Systems Theory. Analytical Psychology posits the growth of conscious awareness in the individual as the source of therapeutic change. Problem centred systems therapy of the family emphasizes the importance of teaching clinically presenting families to negotiate collectively family rules and expectations and thus to allocate and monitor roles via clear and direct verbal communication. Both positions thus stress the reflective mode as a pivotal factor in effective problem solving. Analytical psychology maintains that conscious awareness expands to the extent that the individual integrates the contrasexual aspect of the personality, that is, the affective, expressive mode or 'feminine principle' in the male, or the instrumental, assertive 'masculine principle' in the female. Such individuals are said to be 'androgenous'. It was therefore hypothesized that such individuals would more readily be able to negotiate family rules and expectations in a manner consistent with a major therapeutic thrust of family therapy. These clinically derived hypotheses were subjected to an empirical test by assessing twenty, non-clinical, dual-career families where both parents pursued careers and were therefore presumably both required to share instrumental and affective roles on the basis of mutual agreement. Results indicated that negotiation contributed significantly to successful role fulfilment and effective family functioning, thus substantiating the focus of family therapy strategies upon clear and direct communication and role allocation.     

Why Reading? Because it's there

Three papers (V. A. Mann, Reading skill and language skill. Developmental Review, 1984, 4, 1–15; G. Wolford & C. A. Fowler, Differential use of partial information by good and poor readers. Developmental Review, 1984, 4, 16–35; F. J. Morrison, Reading disability: A problem in rule learning and word decoding. Developmental Review, 1984, 4, 36–47) are critiqued from the standpoint of their adequacy in advancing our understanding of a problem as complex as reading disability. Experimenters should be explicit about their guiding theoretical assumptions, and should think through the relations, if any, between their laboratory tasks and the actual processes of reading. The reading protocol of a dyslexic child is provided, and is interpreted within the frameworks of the Mann, Wolford and Fowler, and Morrison viewpoints.     

The effects of empathic instructions upon donating behavior: Sex differences in young children

First-grade children were given either empathy instructions (in which they were told to imagine themselves in the target person's place) or neutral instructions (in which they were told to listen to what the target person did). For half the subjects, the target person was of the same sex; for the other half, the target person was of the opposite sex. Subjects were then given a chance to anonymously donate money to the target child, who was presented as being in need. Liking for the target child, subject's perceptions of the target child's emotional state, and subjects' report of their own emotional states were also assessed. Empathic instructions increased donating behavior for males, but not for females. Accuracy of perception of the target person's state was generally high. Self-reports of emotional states congruent with that of the target tended to be associated with increased donating behavior only for males, but these self-reports were greater for females than males, and greater for both sexes with same-sex target persons. Liking also was enhanced by gender similarity. These results are discussed in terms of a proposed relationship among empathy, prosocial behavior, sex, and age.We wish to express our gratitude to the staff and students of Wannamaker and North Fairview Elementary Schools of Topeka, Kansas, for their assistance in carrying out this research, and also thank C. Daniel Batson for his helpful suggestions and comments.     

INCREASING APPOINTMENT KEEPING BY REDUCING THE CALL-APPOINTMENT INTERVAL

We examined the effect of reducing the interval between a patient's call for an appointment and the appointment itself. In Experiment 1, patients calling a family planning unit of a public health department were assigned appointments within either 1 or 3 weeks of their call. Data on patient “shows” and “no-shows” were recorded weekly for 6 weeks. Show rates for those in the 1-week appointment group were significantly higher than those in the 3-week group. In Experiment 2, patients were assigned to appointment dates either the next operating clinic day (next-day group) or 2 weeks from the call date (2-week group). Show rates for those in the next-day group were significantly better than show rates for patients in the 2-week group. Clinic productivity, time spent with patients, and consumer satisfaction were also assessed. Implications for appointment scheduling are discussed.     

The co-therapy relationship: Mutuality,agreement and client outcome

This project, utilizing a pretest and posttest design, studied interactions between co-therapists and the relationships of their interactions to client outcome. Six co-therapist pairs at a counseling center saw two clients in multiple treatments yielding twelve cases. The study investigated co-therapist relationships in regard to: (a) their level of mutuality or caring for their partners, (b) their ratings of the quality of their relationships, and (c) their agreement as to perceptions and behavior during sessions. Also investigated were: the relation of co-therapist interaction to client outcome and the personal growth of the therapists over the course of therapy. Results supported success claims of the literature concerning co-therapy.     

Multidimensional assessment of depression

A brief version of the Multiscore Depression Inventory was evaluated. Good coefficient alpha and test-retest reliabilities were obtained for the total score and the subscales. Two factor analyses were reported which appear to justify the use of a multiscore approach for at least 8 of the 9 subscales: helplessness, energy level, guilt, social introversion, cognitive difficulty, irritability, pessimism, and low self-esteem. Sad mood apparently overlapped with energy level on one analysis (replicating findings with the 118-item Multiscore Depression Inventory), and with self-esteem on the second analysis. Normative data are provided on diverse samples totaling 849 subjects.