Effect of anosmia on the behavior of standard non-aggressive male mice opponents during agonistic encounters

This study assessed whether the differences observed in a previous experiment [Martinez M, Salvador A, Simon VM (1994): Aggressive Behavior 20:441–451] in the behavior of isolated male mice over several agonistic encounters in which they confronted either an “anosmic” or an “intact” non-aggressive “standard opponent” were due to the differences in the behavior of the opponents themselves. Ethologically-inspired analysis was used to assess the behavior of the opponents during the first agonistic encounter. Anosmic opponents spent less time in social investigation and defense and more time in immobility than intact ones. These results suggest that the differences in the behavior of the opponents could be one of the causes of the differences observed in the behavior of the aggressive males confronting them. However, more research is needed to study if other variables, such as the production of odors, are also affected by the state (deprived or intact) of the olfactory sense. These findings provide additional support for the view that the type of opponent used in studies on intermale aggression is of paramount importance.Aggr. Behav. 23:179–181, 1997.© 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Age-Related Changes in Smoothness of Gait of Healthy Children and Early Adolescents

Abstract

In this study, we acquired and processed trunk accelerations during level walking in 85 children aged 8-13?years to calculate spatio-temporal parameters and Harmonic Ratio (HR), which is a metrics representative of gait smoothness and step-to-step symmetry. The results show that while spatio-temporal parameters remain unchanged once normalized considering individuals’ anthropometry, significantly higher values of HR for both the antero-posterior and vertical directions were found in participants aged 12–13 with respect to those of 8–9. This indicates an improvement of gait symmetry, which suggests that the gait maturation process is still ongoing for the age ranges tested here.     

COCAINE ADDICTS AND THEIR FAMILIES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PROCESSES OF IDENTIFICATION

The processes of identification between adolescent cocaine addicts and their parents were studied in 402 subjects, in total 134 familial triads (father"mother"son), subdivided into two groups of 67 triads, one of these groups having as the child an adolescent of masculine sex dependent on cocaine and the other, equal in number, being a control group, duly matched for age and socio-economic status. The instrument employed was the Rorschach test (1922), limited to the application of the Lerner Defense Scale (LDS; Lerner & Lerner, 1980). The findings in the affected triads showed up as consistent statistically for the presence of intense processes of pathological identification, especially between father and son, a sign of the importance of the presence of disturbances of paternal function in the development of this addiction. The utilisation of very regressive defence mechanisms, above all of projective identification, was the predominant mode of procedure in triads with a dependent child. In comparisons between the fathers the odds ratio (OR) for projective identification was 8.66 to 1, which points to the association between cocaine addiction and the primitive mental functioning of the fathers. With empirical methodology these findings serve to corroborate the psychoanalytical conclusions based on studies of single case studies, testifying that the dysfunctions of identificatory phenomena in familial functioning are predominant in the mental organisation of cocaine addicts.     

Comparison of outcome in men and women after treatment in psychiatric security hospitals in Germany

Previous research has shown that forensic psychiatric treatment reduces reoffending, rehospitalization and premature mortality. Treatment outcome varies with diagnosis, but little is known about the influence of sex, psychosocial adjustment and aftercare. To assess these variables, we interviewed male and female patients discharged from three psychiatric security hospitals in Germany in the years 2010–2017. Participants were interviewed at discharge (n = 609) and 1 year later (n = 366) about reoffending, readmissions, substance use and psychosocial adjustment. Among patients with substance use disorder (SUD), 14% reoffended, 20% were re-hospitalized and 60% maintained abstinence. Among patients with severe mental disorder, 5% reoffended and 13% were re-hospitalized. Significant sex differences were found in offenders with SUD. The results suggest that sociodemographic and disorder-related risk factors are associated with treatment success and that female patients with SUD might need a specific treatment approach. Sex-specific aspects, diagnosis and psychosocial adjustment should be considered in forensic psychiatric treatment and risk assessment.     

Adaptation of Nussbaum's Capabilities Framework to Community Mental Health: A Consumer‐Based Capabilities Measure

The capabilities approach provides a rich evaluative framework to guide transformative change in the community mental health system. This study reports the content and construct validity and psychometric properties of a contextualized measure of the extent to which mental health programs foster achieved capabilities. The Achieved Capabilities Questionnaire for Community Mental Health (ACQ‐CMH), adapted from Nussbaum's capabilities framework, was developed previously with consumer collaboration. Content validity was assessed through a collaborative process, involving a panel of eight consumers, staff members, and senior researchers. The resulting shorter version (ACQ‐CMH‐98) was completed by 332 community mental health consumers sampled throughout Portugal. Factor (PCA) analysis, internal consistency reliability, and test–retest reliability over 2 weeks (N = 33) showed good psychometric properties. The resulting six‐factor structure with 48 items explains 48.88% of the total variance (KMO = 0.89; Bartlett p = .00). Internal consistency of the obtained dimensions ranges from .91 to .76. Associations of the measure with recovery, quality of life, and psychological distress scales add further evidence of construct validity. The adaptation of Nussbaum's framework stressed specific components that may enhance understanding and change within the community mental health system.     

La interpretación asociativa del proceso creador

Resumen

Este trabajo es una revisión de las aportaciones a la psicología de la creatividad, que proceden de las interpretaciones asociativas del proceso creador.

Las referencias introspectivas de los individuos excepcionalmente creadores en el ámbito científico, literario o artístico han servido de argumento a los teóricos del proceso asociativo, por ello se hace una referencia a estos trabajos en la primera parte del artículo, para, posteriormente, centrar la revisión en el análisis de la teoría asociativa de Mednick, como la más elaborada y sistemática de cuantas aportaciones se han hecho a la definición del pensamiento creador como un proceso asociativo. Se ofrecen datos del propio grupo de Mednick sobre argumentos empíricos de validación de la teoría y se plantean las limitaciones de la validez de la misma en relación con el instrumento de evaluación de la aptitud creadora en términos asociativos: el «Remote Associated Test».     

El contexto de descubrimiento y la psicología de la ciencia

Resumen

Desde que el neopositivista Reichenbach planteó la división, en el análisis de la ciencia, entre contexto de descubrimiento y contexto de justificación se empieza a considerar el primero como una tarea que incumbe a los psicólogos. Aquí se revisan las explicaciones de la psicología actual sobre el descubrimiento científico que se incluyen dentro de ese nuevo enfoque científico propugnado por los postpopperianos, donde convergen el análisis histórico, sociológico y psicológico. Se reseñan las aportaciones más relevantes para la explicación de la creatividad científica: el estudio cognitivo de casos de Gruber, el análisis temático de Holton, la concepción del genio científico de Simonton así como las obras «programáticas» definidoras de los contenidos y métodos de esta «ciencia de la ciencia» como las de Tweney et alt., Miller o Giere.     

The cognitive regulation of emotions: The role of success versus failure experience and coping dispositions

Attention deployment and generating specific types of cognitions are central cognitive mechanisms of emotion regulation. Two groups of hypotheses make contradicting predictions about the emotion-cognition relationship. The moodcongruency hypothesis expects the emergence of mood-congruent cognitions (i.e., negative mood leads to negative and positive mood to positive cognitions). Similarly, a substantial body of research suggests that negative mood induces selffocus, whereas positive mood elicits an external focus of attention. The moodrepair hypothesis, on the other hand, assumes that persons in a negative mood state summon thoughts incongruent with that state and divert attention away from the self. However, the temporal sequence of cognitions assessed as well as coping dispositions, such as vigilance and cognitive avoidance, may moderate these relationships. Positive and negative emotional states were elicited by exposing the participants to the experience of success or failure in a demanding cognitive task. Cognitions that were present after emotion induction were assessed by means of a thought-listing procedure. For the total sample, results clearly confirmed the moodcongruency hypothesis. Thought order was a critical factor only for changes in self-focus. Thought valence (positive, neutral, negative) as well as self-focus were substantially influenced by coping dispositions.