Sanctifying Work: Effects on Satisfaction,Commitment, and Intent to Leave

Sanctification involves perceiving objects or events: (a) theistically by viewing them as having spiritual significance, or (b) nontheistically by viewing them as extraordinary and worthy of veneration and respect without any reference to a higher being. Previous research has found positive outcomes associated with sanctification, including increased satisfaction with marriage (Mahoney et al., 1999 Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Jewell, T., Swank, A. B., Scott, E.Emery, E. 1999. Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13: 321–338. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), body image (Mahoney, Carels, et al., 2005 Mahoney, A., Carels, R. A., Pargament, K. I., Wachholtz, A., Leeper, L. E.Kaplar, M. 2005. The sanctification of the body and behavioral health patterns of college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 221–238. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and sexual intercourse (Murray-Swank, Pargament, & Mahoney, 2002 Murray-Swank, N. A., Pargament, K. I. and Mahoney, A. 2002. At the crossroads of sexuality and spirituality: The sanctification of sex by college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 199–219.  [Google Scholar]) to name a few. This study extends these findings into the world of work by demonstrating that those who sanctify their jobs are more satisfied, more committed to their organization, and at the same time less likely to intend to leave.     

The Mutual Development of Intersubjectivity and Metacognitive Capacity in the Psychotherapy for Persons with Schizophrenia

While cognitive behavioral approaches have been shown to help some individuals with schizophrenia, these approaches may be limited when working with patients with impairments in the metacognitive abilities required to form complex and integrated representations of themselves and others. In response, this paper explores the possibility that a key to working with patients with relatively impaired self-reflectivity lies in explicitly focusing on a patient’s intersubjective experience within psychotherapy. We offer theoretical and empirical support for the assertion that the tolerance and capacity for intersubjectivity is a basis for the development of self-reflectivity in general. We also explore how the fostering of intersubjective processes in psychotherapy might enable some patients to form more complex ideas about themselves and so better ward off delusions in the face of the challenges of daily life. To illustrate these principles we present the case of a patient with tenaciously held delusions and limited capacity for self-reflection. We discuss when and how the therapist’s awareness and verbalization of intersubjective processes within session allowed her and the patient to develop more complex and consensually valid ideas about him as a being in the world, which then assisted the patient to achieve improvements in a number of domains in his life.     

Preschoolers Use Questions as a Tool to Acquire Knowledge From Different Sources

How do children use questions as tools to acquire new knowledge? The current experiment examined preschool children's ability to direct questions to appropriate sources to acquire knowledge. Fifty preschoolers engaged in a task that entailed asking questions to discover which special key would open a box that contained a prize. Children solved simple and complex problems by questioning two puppet experts who knew about separate features of each key. Results indicate dramatic developmental differences in the efficiency and efficacy of children's questions. Although even 3-year-olds asked questions, their questions were largely ineffective and directed toward inappropriate sources. Four-year-olds directed questions toward the appropriate sources but asked approximately equal numbers of effective and ineffective questions. Only 5-year-olds both asked the appropriate sources and formulated effective questions. Implications for the development of problem-solving abilities are discussed.     

Developmental lead exposure has mixed effects on butterfly cognitive processes

While the effects of lead pollution have been well studied in vertebrates, it is unclear to what extent lead may negatively affect insect cognition. Lead pollution in soils can elevate lead in plant tissues, suggesting it could negatively affect neural development of insect herbivores. We used the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) as a model system to study the effect of lead pollution on insect cognitive processes, which play an important role in how insects locate and handle resources. Cabbage white butterfly larvae were reared on a 4-ppm lead diet, a concentration representative of vegetation in polluted sites; we measured eye size and performance on a foraging assay in adults. Relative to controls, lead-reared butterflies did not differ in time or ability to search for a food reward associated with a less preferred color. Indeed, lead-treated butterflies were more likely to participate in the behavioral assay itself. Lead exposure did not negatively affect survival or body size, and it actually sped up development time. The effects of lead on relative eye size varied with sex: lead tended to reduce eye size in males, but increase eye size in females. These results suggest that low levels of lead pollution may have mixed effects on butterfly vision, but only minimal impacts on performance in foraging tasks, although follow-up work is needed to test whether this result is specific to cabbage whites, which are often associated with disturbed areas.     

Children’s Play with a Forest Diorama as a Window into Ecological Cognition

This study examined the play of 4-year-old children with a forest diorama that included toy representations of plants and animals. To examine the potential role of culture and expertise in diorama play, children from 3 samples participated: rural Native American, urban Native American, and urban non-Native American. Children’s playtime was divided into time segments, which were coded for types of actions and for types of talk. Children from all 3 samples actively engaged with the diorama in both realistic and imaginative play. Furthermore, children from all samples were sensitive to ecological relations. In addition, Native American children talked at least as much as the non-Native American children, a finding that challenges widespread characterizations of Native American children as less talkative and possessing smaller vocabularies. The most striking finding was that Native American children (both urban and rural) were more than twice as likely as non-Native American children to take the perspective of an animal in their play. These results demonstrate the value of dioramas for assessing young children’s biological cognition.     

The Case Study of Jacob: Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Limitations of the Holding Environment

Childhood sexual abuse and trauma influence relational development in significant ways. Notable among them are the development of a patient's internal object world, fantasies, and sense of self. Dynamic formulations and holding techniques are used to identify, process, and alter fractured relational dynamics. However, the use of such techniques may also influence a patient's narrative process, pulling them away from the realities of their life as lived. Using the case study method, focusing specifically on the patient's narrative development, this article examines the impact of analytic framing on a patient's experience of child sexual abuse and trauma.     

Mindfulness,General Trust,and Social Support Among Trauma-Exposed College Students

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether mindfulness predicts general trust and social support among trauma-exposed college students, as well as to examine the potential moderating effect of posttraumatic stress on these relationships. Participants consisted of 536 trauma-exposed college students attending a public university in the southeast United States. After controlling for PTSD symptoms and type of trauma, mindfulness was positively associated with general trust and social support at low and mean levels of PTSD symptomatology; however, the relationships between mindfulness and these variables were nonsignificant at high levels of PTSD symptomatology.     

Racial Socialization Practices of White Mothers Raising Black-White Biracial Children

The purpose of this retrospective qualitative study was to examine the impact of monoracial Black or White parents’ racial socialization practices on the process of biracial identity development for their Black-White biracial children. Data were obtained through in-person, semi-structured interviews with ten White monoracial mothers and 11 of their adult (ages 18–40) biracial children. The phenomenological analysis of participants’ experiences raising biracial children and growing up biracial revealed two overarching themes of racial socialization practices interacting with and influencing biracial identity development: creating a biracial family identity and navigating biracial with the outside world. Findings from this study expand the racial socialization research by connecting parental racial socialization with their child’s biracial identity and adding the unique perspective that racial socialization is an interactive family process in interracial families. Additionally, data from this study has important clinical and future research implications.     

Improving the Generalization of Computer-Based Math Fluency Building Through the Use of Sufficient Stimulus Exemplars

Computers have become an important piece of technology in classrooms for implementing academic interventions. Often, students’ responses to these interventions are used to help make important educational decisions. Therefore, it is important to consider the effect of these interventions across multiple contexts. For example, previous research has demonstrated that when students practice math fact fluency on the computers gains did not generalize to paper–pencil performance. The current study extended this research by examining the effect of multiple stimulus exemplars on the generalization of computer-based math practice to paper–pencil performance. A total of 57 second-grade students completed fluency drills only on the computer, computer mixed with paper–pencil or with only paper–pencil. Pretest–posttest performance was evaluated using a 3 × 2 doubly multivariate repeated-measures ANOVA, with follow-up univariate analysis to determine whether the interaction between time and treatment type was similar across matched and unmatched treatment modalities. Results from previous research were replicated with a lack of generalization across modalities, but the addition of multiple stimulus exemplars resulted in increased generalization for those students receiving a mix of computer and paper–pencil practice.     

The Behavioral Avoidance Task with Anxious Youth: A Review of Procedures,Properties, and Criticisms

The measurement of avoidance behavior in youth with anxiety and related disorders is essential. Historically, the behavioral avoidance task (BAT) has been used as a measure of avoidance that can be tailored to a youth’s particular fear. Although in use for over 90 years, there has yet to be a systematic review of its use, properties, etc. Here we examine the use of the BAT with youth as a measure of avoidance over the past 30 years. Studies have used the BAT as a measure of treatment outcome, to explore theories related to avoidance, and provide evidence for the psychometric properties of phobia questionnaires. Specifically, we compare the results of these studies, the purposes of the BAT, and the types of data collected. Results indicated that the BAT might be particularly sensitive to treatment effects. Furthermore, youth with specific phobias can be expected to complete an average of 30% of the BAT at pre-treatment and 60% at post-treatment. These affects have generally been maintained at 6-month follow-ups. Measures of subjective units of distress (SUDS) proved more consistent than steps completed, but more resistant to treatment effects; researchers can expect a SUDS rating of approximately 55% at pre-treatment and 40% at post-treatment. We review the properties and procedures that are used within these studies and provide a critical review. Overall, the BAT is in need of a standardized procedure to allow for psychometric studies to provide evidence of the task’s reliability and validity.