Mothers’ Prementalizing Psychic Functioning and Reactive Attachment Disorder: Two Clinical Cases

This article explores the relationship between maternal reflective functioning (MRF) and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) from both a theoretical and clinical perspective. A new scoring system that evaluates the predominance in the mother of prementalizing modes of psychic functioning (psychic equivalence and pretend mode) has been developed and applied to the Parent Development Interview-Revised. The theoretical foundations of this system are presented and its scoring criteria are briefly described. The protocols of two mothers whose children suffer from RAD are analyzed using the RF scoring system (Slade, Bernbach et al., 2005) and the new scoring system developed for this study (Leroux & Terradas, 2012) in order to demonstrate their complementary use. Some theoretical and clinical thoughts about the impact of MRF on the development of RAD are revealed. This being a small-scale exploratory study, further research is needed to establish the psychometric properties of this new coding system.     

A mechanism for elliptic-like bursting and synchronization of bursts in a map-based neuron network

A system consisting of two Rulkov map-based neurons coupled through reciprocal electrical synapses as a simple phenomenological example is discussed. When the electrical coupling is excitatory, the square-wave bursting can be well predicted by the bifurcation analysis of a comparatively simple low-dimensional subsystem embedded in the invariant manifold. While, when the synapses are inhibitory due to the artificial electrical coupling, a fast–slow analysis is carried out by treating the two slow variables as two different bifurcation parameters. The main result of this paper is to present a mechanism for the occurrence of a kind of special elliptic bursting. The mechanism for this kind of elliptic-like bursting is due to the interaction between two chaotic oscillations with different amplitudes. Moreover, the generation of antiphase synchronization of networks lies in the different switching orders between two pairs of different chaotic oscillations corresponding to the first neuron and the second neuron, respectively.     

Electrophysiological differences in the processing of affective information in words and pictures

It is generally assumed that affective picture viewing is related to higher levels of physiological arousal than is the reading of emotional words. However, this assertion is based mainly on studies in which the processing of either words or pictures has been investigated under heterogenic conditions. Positive, negative, relaxing, neutral, and background (stimulus fragments) words and pictures were presented to subjects in two experiments under equivalent experimental conditions. In Experiment 1, neutral words elicited an enhanced late positive component (LPC) that was associated with an increased difficulty in discriminating neutral from background stimuli. In Experiment 2, high-arousing pictures elicited an enhanced early negativity and LPC that were related to a facilitated processing for these stimuli. Thus, it seems that under some circumstances, the processing of affective information captures attention only with more biologically relevant stimuli. Also, these data might be better interpreted on the basis of those models that postulate a different access to affective information for words and pictures.     

The role of peripheral vision in implicit contextual cuing

Implicit contextual cuing refers to the ability to learn the association between contextual information of our environment and a specific target, which can be used to guide attention during visual search. It was recently suggested that the storage of a snapshot image of the local context of a target underlies implicit contextual cuing. To make such a snapshot, it is necessary to use peripheral vision. In order to test whether peripheral vision can underlie implicit contextual cuing, we used a covert visual search task, in which participants were required to indicate the orientation of a target stimulus while foveating a fixation cross. The response times were shorter when the configuration of the stimuli was repeated than when the configuration was new. Importantly, this effect was still found after 10 days, indicating that peripherally perceived spatial context information can be stored in memory for long periods of time. These results indicate that peripheral vision can be used to make a snapshot of the local context of a target.     

Experiential Training: Connecting School Counselors‐in‐Training,English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers,and ESL Students

English as a second language (ESL) students present challenges to counselors who are unaccustomed to working with students who speak limited English. A field experience prepared school counselors‐in‐training to develop cultural sensitivity while working with ESL teachers and students. The counselors suggested that early experiential learning fostered multicultural sensitivity and refined counseling skills. Los estudiantes de inglés como segunda lengua (ESL) presentan desafíos para aquellos consejeros que no están acostrumbrados a trabajar con estudiantes con un nivel de inglés limitado. Una experiencia práctica de campo preparó a los consejeros escolares en formación para que desarrollaran una sensibilidad cultural mientras trabajaban con profesores y alumnos de ESL. Los consejeros indicaron que el aprendizaje experiencial en fase temprana fomentó su sensibilidad multicultural y perfeccionó sus habilidades en consejería.     

Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Performance Evaluations: Distributive Justice or Injustice?

Purpose  

The purpose of this study was to examine employees’ reactions to the use of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in performance evaluations. In addition, gender differences in such reactions were examined.     

ESTABLISHING DERIVED TEXTUAL CONTROL IN ACTIVITY SCHEDULES WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Activity schedules are often used to facilitate task engagement and transition for children with autism. This study evaluated whether conditional discrimination training would serve to transfer the control from activity‐schedule pictures to printed words (i.e., derived textual control). Two preschoolers with autism were taught to select pictures and printed words given their dictated names. Following training, participants could respond to printed words by completing the depicted task, match printed words to pictures, and read printed words without explicit training (i.e., emergent relations).     

"Shaking Out the Mat": Schism and Organizational Transformation at a Mexican Ark of the Virgin

The apocalyptic Marian colony of Nueva Jerusalén, Mexico suffered a violent schism in 1982, marking a turning point in the history of the sect. The rift resulted in a major organizational transformation and helped to establish the centralized system of authority now observable in the colony. This article examines the ideological and structural factors that promoted the schism. A succession crisis, caused by the death of a Marian apparition seer, precipitated schismatic activity as dissidents struggled to block the charismatic leader's attempts to revise the sect's authority structure and identity. At the same time, the prophet escalated tensions by reframing the conflict as a commitment test. Wallis's theory of structural opportunity for schism is used to show how the conflict grew out of long-standing interest groups and ambiguous authority arrangements in the colony.