What Are You Really Saying? Associations between Shyness and Verbal Irony Comprehension

Verbal irony exploits the ambiguity inherent in language by using the discrepancy between a speaker's intended meaning and the literal meaning of his or her words to achieve social goals. Irony provides a window into children's developing pragmatic competence. Yet, little research exists on individual differences that may disrupt this understanding. For example, verbal irony may challenge shy children, who tend to interpret ambiguous stimuli as being threatening and who have difficulty mentalizing in social contexts. We examined whether shyness is related to the interpretation of ironic statements. Ninety‐nine children (8–12 year olds) listened to stories wherein one character made either a literal or ironic criticism or a literal or ironic compliment. Children appraised the speaker's belief and communicative intention. Shyness was assessed using self‐report measures of social anxiety symptoms and shy negative affect. Shyness was not related to children's comprehension of the counterfactual nature of ironic statements. However, shyness was related to children's ratings of speaker meanness for ironic statements. Thus, although not related to the understanding that speakers intended to communicate their true beliefs, shyness was related to children's construal of the social meaning of irony. Such subtle differences in language interpretation may underlie some of the social difficulties facing shy children. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inhibition of return promotes stop-signal inhibition by delaying responses

Inhibition of return (10R) refers to a mechanism that slows response times (RTs) to detect, localize, or discriminate a target that is presented at a location previously occupied by an irrelevant peripheral cue. Generally, the slowing of RTs is described as a negative effect on responding that is believed to promote searching to new locations. In this report, we consider whether IOR might benefit performance when the goal is to prevent a prepared response. Using the stop-signal paradigm, we show that IOR improved the ability to inhibit a prepared response by delaying responses to the target. Thus, in addition to aiding visual search, IOR may also provide an opportunity for the adjustment of decisions and behaviour in accordance with the demands of a dynamic environment.     

Parental object representations,attachment to God,and recovery among individuals with psychosis

This study explored the relationships between object representations of mother and father and recovery among outpatients with psychotic disorders, and examined the role of attachment to God in moderating those relationships. A total of 46 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated. Benevolent representations of mother and father were associated with recovery whereas punitive representations were negatively associated with recovery. Secure attachment to God amplified the association between benevolent representations of father and recovery. Secure attachment to God was found to buffer the relationship between mild-to-moderate punitive parental representations and recovery; however, this relationship was not evident for those with the most punitive parental representations. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters and Acquired Capability for Suicide: A Reexamination Using DSM-5 Criteria

This study used the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide to explore the relationships among DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters derived from the six-factor anhedonia model and facets of acquired capability for suicide (ACS). In a sample of 373 trauma-exposed undergraduates, most PTSD symptom clusters were negatively associated with facets of ACS in bivariate correlations, but the anhedonia cluster was positively associated with ACS in regression models. Structure coefficients and commonality analysis indicated that anhedonia served as a suppressor variable for the other symptom clusters. Our findings further elucidate the complex relationship between specific PTSD symptom clusters and ACS.     

Narcissistic Measures of Lutheran Clergy Who Self-Reported Committing Sexual Misconduct

This study sought to determine if narcissism was a factor in Lutheran clergy who self-reported committing sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct was defined as any activity in which a clergyperson, single or married, engaged in sexual behavior (sexual intercourse, kissing, touching or hugging with sexual intent, use of sexually explicit language) with a parishioner, client, or employee of the church (Francis & Turner, 1995). The results indicated that clergy who self-reported having committed sexual misconduct and had high levels of narcissism were not significantly different from those clergy who self-reported not having committed sexual misconduct. Demographic and related findings are also discussed. Former Lutheran minister and is currently an Assistant Professor of education atAssociate Professor of professional counseling in the Division of Professional Psychology at the     

Made in America: Perspectives on Friendship in West African Immigrant Families

This qualitative study compared West African immigrant parents’ and adolescents’ perspectives on parental monitoring of adolescents’ peer groups. Parents (n = 31) and adolescent children (n = 25) were interviewed using focus groups and individual interviews, and data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Parents expressed a general concern about external influences on their children, particularly their mistrust of their children’s friends. Adolescents reported that they were aware of their parents’ fears and described their attempts to manage their parents’ concerns while simultaneously maintaining friendships with same-ethnic and other-ethnic peers. This study offers both parent and adolescent perspectives in an effort to better understand adolescents’ peer socialization and parental monitoring among West African immigrant families, one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. Recommendations for mental health professions are discussed.     

Engaging the Borders: Empathy,Religious Studies,and Pre‐Professional Fields

This article proposes that religious studies instructors can gain pedagogical insights regarding the value and teaching of empathy from pre‐professional health care and counseling fields. I present research findings from these fields to support claims that empathic skills are teachable. I then show that empathy has been established within the field of religious studies as important in order to understand the beliefs of the religious other. I conclude that religious studies educators should be concerned about how to teach empathy, and suggest that pre‐professional research findings point us in the direction of how to do this. Experiential exercises such as role‐playing and other simulation exercises seem to be most effective in teaching empathic skills. I present examples that demonstrate how listening exercises and the role‐playing of cases can be used in the religious studies classroom and can assist in the development of empathy for the religious other.     

The Consequences of School Environment and Locus of Control on Adulthood Deviant Behavior

We examine the long-term effect of school environment on individual deviant behavior. Specifically, we contrast the effects of school deviance and students’ perception of school deviance on personal deviance later in life. Using longitudinal data from four waves of more than 3,100 participants in the Kaplan Longitudinal and Multigenerational Study, we are able to show that school deviance in 7th grade has only a short-term effect on individual deviance. However, when students perceive a lack of deviance in their school at 7th grade, it decreased their personal deviance in their mid-forties if they were both deviant in 7th grade and reported an external locus of control.     

Does Working Memory Mediate the Link Between Dispositional Optimism and Depressive Symptoms?

The aim of this study was to explore the interplay between working memory (WM), dispositional optimism, and depressive symptoms in participants across a wide age band (16–79 years) in a nonclinical sample using a computer‐based interface. We administered tests of visuospatial WM (processing and recall), dispositional optimism (optimism and pessimism), and self‐reported depression. There were two main findings: 1) both optimism and pessimism were independent predictors of a self‐rated depression score; 2) WM recall scores predicted both optimism and pessimism. The findings suggest the following pattern: according to the negativity bias, a pessimistic outlook presents as a strong stimulus for attentional allocation, which results in depression. However, a strong WM can counter this pattern, as individuals can allocate attention to the weaker stimulus, which is an optimistic outlook. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.