Development and Validation of a Quantitative Measure of Intensive Parenting Attitudes

Intensive mothering (IM) attitudes have been considered the dominant discourse of motherhood, but have only been assessed qualitatively The goal of this study was to develop a quantitative scale to assess these ideologies, their construct validity, and their relationship to relevant constructs (i.e., work status and division of household labor). An on-line questionnaire was given to 595 mothers asking 56 questions assessing different aspects of IM attitudes as well as several validation measures. An Exploratory Factor Analysis on 315 randomly selected mothers yielded a 5 factor solution. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the remaining 280 mothers demonstrated good fit. The five factors expressed the ideas that (1) women are inherently better at parenting than men (Essentialism), (2) parenting should be fulfilling (Fulfillment), (3) children should be cognitively stimulated by parents (Stimulation), (4) mothering is difficult (Challenging), and (5) parents should prioritize the needs of the child (Child-Centered). Scales had adequate reliability and construct validity compared to the Parental Investment in the Child questionnaire, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Beliefs about Maternal Employment. The Essentialism, Fulfillment, and Challenging scales were positively related to having more responsibility for child care and household chores. Stay-at-home mothers had higher scores on Essentialism and lower scores on Stimulation than both part-time and full-time working mothers supporting the notion that both working and non-working mothers have intensive parenting ideologies that are manifested in different ways.     

Book Review

Throughout different civilisations and historical epochs, anthropological and religious texts have been replete with accounts of persons who have reported anomalous experiences in the form of visions or voices. In these contexts, such experiences are considered to be a “gift” that can be spiritually enriching or life enhancing. One such group of individuals are mediums who claim to receive information from spirits of the deceased in the form of auditory or visual perceptions. This study explores how mediums come to interpret their experiences as mediumistic and how they describe their relationship with spirit voices. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Spiritualist mediums using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three themes were identified: “Childhood anomalous experiences”, “A search for meaning: Normalisation of mediumship”, and “relationship with spirit”. These themes illuminated aspects of the mediumistic experience that have therapeutic implications for individuals who have similar experiences but become distressed by them.     

Religion and the judgement of obsessionality

Abstract

Ninety-six lay participiants read case vignettes of two OCD sufferers, one high on religious activity and one low on religious activity. Possible confounding factors were balanced. Obsessionality and psychological symptoms were seen as significantly more likely in the OCD sufferer with a high level of religious activity, compared to the OCD sufferer with a low level of religious activity, though sadness and tension were not. Limitations of the study are discussed, as are possible interpretations of the findings.     

Group Leader-Recorder Relationship in a State Hospital: A Learning Tool

The process group for staff and trainees in institutional settings has become increasingly unpopular as a resource, although ironically, the need for such a group has grown. The author presents the idea that the process group is not used more often because of a general lack of understanding of the nature of such groups as well as a failure to clearly distinguish process groups from traditional psychotherapy groups. The author goes on to give a clear definition of the task and the boundaries of a process group and, using knowledge of systems thinking, discusses special techniques for running such groups with illustrative examples.     

The Efficacy of Cognitive Intervention in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): a Meta-Analysis of Outcomes on Neuropsychological Measures

Cognitive training in MCI may stimulate pre-existing neural reserves or recruit neural circuitry as “compensatory scaffolding” prompting neuroplastic reorganization to meet task demands (Reuter-Lorenz & Park, 2014). However, existing systematic reviews and meta-analytic studies exploring the benefits of cognitive interventions in MCI have been mixed. An updated examination regarding the efficacy of cognitive intervention in MCI is needed given improvements in adherence to MCI diagnostic criteria in subject selection, better defined interventions and strategies applied, increased use of neuropsychological measures pre- and post-intervention, as well as identification of moderator variables which may influence treatment. As such, this meta-analytic review was conducted to examine the efficacy of cognitive intervention in individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) versus MCI controls based on performance of neuropsychological outcome measures in randomized controlled trials (RCT). RCT studies published from January 1995 to June 2017 were obtained through source databases of MEDLINE-R, PubMed, Healthstar, Global Health, PSYCH-INFO, and Health and Psychological Instruments using search parameters for MCI diagnostic category (mild cognitive impairment, MCI, pre-Alzheimer’s disease, early cognitive decline, early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease) and the intervention or training conducted (intervention, training, stimulation, rehabilitation, or treatment). Other inclusion and exclusion criteria included subject selection based on established MCI criteria, RCT design in an outpatient setting, MCI controls (active or passive), and outcomes based on objective neuropsychological measures. From the 1199 abstracts identified, 26 articles met inclusion criteria for the meta-analyses completed across eleven (11) countries; 92.31% of which have been published within the past 7 years. A series of meta-analyses were performed to examine the effects of cognitive intervention by cognitive domain, type of training, and intervention content (cognitive domain targeted). We found significant, moderate effects for multicomponent training (Hedges’ g observed?=?0.398; CI [0.164, 0.631]; Z?=?3.337; p?=?0.001; Q?=?55.511; df?=?15; p?=?0.000; I ² ?=?72.978%; τ ² ?=?0.146) as well as multidomain-focused strategies (Hedges’ g?=?0.230; 95% CI [0.108, 0.352]; Z?=?3.692; p??< 0.001; Q?=?12.713; df?=?12; p?=?0.390; I ² ?=?5.612; τ ² ?=?0.003). The effects for other interventions explored by cognitive domain, training type, or intervention content were indeterminate due to concerns for heterogeneity, bias, and small cell sizes. In addition, subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted with the moderators of MCI category, mode of intervention, training type, intervention content, program duration (total hours), type of control group (active or passive), post-intervention follow-up assessment period, and control for repeat administration. We found significant overall effects for intervention content with memory focused interventions appearing to be more effective than multidomain approaches. There was no evidence of an influence on outcomes for the other covariates examined. Overall, these findings suggest individuals with MCI who received multicomponent training or interventions targeting multiple domains (including lifestyle changes) were apt to display an improvement on outcome measures of cognition post-intervention. As such, multicomponent and multidomain forms of intervention may prompt recruitment of alternate neural processes as well as support primary networks to meet task demands simultaneously. In addition, interventions with memory and multidomain forms of content appear to be particularly helpful, with memory-based approaches possibly being more effective than multidomain methods. Other factors, such as program duration, appear to have less of an influence on intervention outcomes. Given this, although the creation of new primary network paths appears strained in MCI, interventions with memory-based or multidomain forms of content may facilitate partial activation of compensatory scaffolding and neuroplastic reorganization. The positive benefit of memory-based strategies may also reflect transfer effects indicative of compensatory network activation and the multiple-pathways involved in memory processes. Limitations of this review are similar to other meta-analysis in MCI, including a modest number studies, small sample sizes, multiple forms of interventions and types of training applied (some overlapping), and, while greatly improved in our view, a large diversity of instruments used to measure outcome. This is apt to have contributed to the presence of heterogeneity and publication bias precluding a more definitive determination of the outcomes observed.     

Reasoning strategies with rational numbers revealed by eye tracking

Recent research has begun to investigate the impact of different formats for rational numbers on the processes by which people make relational judgments about quantitative relations. DeWolf, Bassok, and Holyoak (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(1), 127–150, 2015) found that accuracy on a relation identification task was highest when fractions were presented with countable sets, whereas accuracy was relatively low for all conditions where decimals were presented. However, it is unclear what processing strategies underlie these disparities in accuracy. We report an experiment that used eye-tracking methods to externalize the strategies that are evoked by different types of rational numbers for different types of quantities (discrete vs. continuous). Results showed that eye-movement behavior during the task was jointly determined by image and number format. Discrete images elicited a counting strategy for both fractions and decimals, but this strategy led to higher accuracy only for fractions. Continuous images encouraged magnitude estimation and comparison, but to a greater degree for decimals than fractions. This strategy led to decreased accuracy for both number formats. By analyzing participants’ eye movements when they viewed a relational context and made decisions, we were able to obtain an externalized representation of the strategic choices evoked by different ontological types of entities and different types of rational numbers. Our findings using eye-tracking measures enable us to go beyond previous studies based on accuracy data alone, demonstrating that quantitative properties of images and the different formats for rational numbers jointly influence strategies that generate eye-movement behavior.     

Assessing the Role of the Self‐Concept on the Destructive Impact of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder in Managers

Managers can have personal afflictions that may interfere with their role as managers in an organization. One of these maladies is obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition frequently identified with excessive patterns of seemingly unnecessary behavior. OCD compels individuals to seek “perfection” in the accomplishment of primarily routine tasks. This overt routine of behaviors distracts individuals from accomplishing their goals and those they manage. This paper examines the role of self‐concept as being central in identifying and understanding the characteristics of the behavioral disorder OCD and how to modify the self‐concept to prevent disruption in the workplace. In addition, the paper explores how to measure OCD and the impact of maladies on peers, subordinates, and superiors in the organization. I've learned . . . that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we pray for. —My father     

Mental abilities and school achievement: A test of a mediation hypothesis

This study analyzes the interplay of four cognitive abilities - reasoning, divergent thinking, mental speed, and short-term memory - and their impact on academic achievement in school in a sample of adolescents in grades seven to 10 (N = 1135). Based on information processing approaches to intelligence, we tested a mediation hypothesis, which states that the complex cognitive abilities of reasoning and divergent thinking mediate the influence of the basic cognitive abilities of mental speed and short-term memory on achievement. We administered a comprehensive test battery and analyzed the data through structural equation modeling while controlling for the cluster structure of the data. Our findings support the notion that mental speed and short-term memory, as ability factors reflecting basic cognitive processes, exert an indirect influence on academic achievement by affecting reasoning and divergent thinking (total indirect effects: β = .22 and .24, respectively). Short-term memory also directly affects achievement (β = .22).