PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND WOMEN'S DATING RELATIONSHIP OUTCOMES

Self-verification theory implies that people with negative self-views may be drawn to abusive partners who mistreat them. However, abusive partner behavior differs from the types of partner feedback typically examined within a self-verification framework, which could render generalization to abuse problematic. We propose that self-enhancement theory better accounts for the effects of abuse on relationship outcomes. Self-enhancement theory suggests that people are drawn to others who treat them favorably, regardless of people's own self-views. We investigated the effects of abusive feedback from dating partners, relative to women's Self-esteem levels, on relationship intimacy and stability. Predictions based on both self-verification and self-enhancement theories were tested cross-sectionally and with a subsample of women 6 weeks after the initial assessment. Results were most consistent with self-enhancement theory; partner abuse was related to lesser relationship stability and intimacy. More limited support was obtained for self-verification theory. Importantly, women with lower self-esteem did not endorse greater stability or intimacy as a function of receiving psychological abuse. We conclude that self-enhancement theory better explains the link between psychological abuse and relationship outcomes, although self-verification theory may account for reactions to other types of partner behavior.     

Atypical shape bias and categorization in autism: Evidence from children and computational simulations

The shape bias, a preference for mapping new word labels onto the shape rather than the color or texture of referents, has been postulated as a word‐learning mechanism. Previous research has shown deficits in the shape bias in children with autism even though they acquire sizeable lexicons. While previous explanations have suggested the atypical use of color for label extension in individuals with autism, we hypothesize an atypical mapping of novel labels to novel objects, regardless of the physical properties of the objects. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate this phenomenon in some individuals with autism, but the novelty of objects only partially explains their lack of shape bias. In a second experiment, we present a computational model that provides a developmental account of the shape bias in typically developing children and in those with autism. This model is based on theories of neurological dysfunctions in autism, and it integrates theoretical and empirical findings in the literature of categorization, word learning, and the shape bias. The model replicates the pattern of results of our first experiment and shows how individuals with autism are more likely to categorize experimental objects together on the basis of their novelty. It also provides insights into possible mechanisms by which children with autism learn new words, and why their word referents may be idiosyncratic. Our model highlights a developmental approach to autism that emphasizes deficient representations of categories underlying an impaired shape bias.     

Trips as a Treatment Tool in Activity Group Therapy

The authors provide an overview of the growing body of literature on women's groups and then report their own experience with such groups. Their main focus is on a transference-countertransference constellation that becomes the central area of resistance, interpretation, and therapeutic change. They argue that the group participants engage in a collusion to expose what they believe is the therapist's incompetence and then console her for it. This dynamic is conceptualized as a projection of the devalued self-representation. The dynamic of devaluation and the enforced symbiosis tend to evoke powerful countertransference feelings in the therapist. The authors discuss interventions to work through these issues. This article is subsequently discussed by members of the Editorial Committee of the Journal.     

The Direct Use of Projective Techniques in Psychotherapy

Relationships between MMPI scales and criteria were evaluated to determine if the MMPI is racially biased with a juvenile delinquent population. The MMPI was administered to 333 white and 107 Black male juvenile delinquents, and criterion data were collected. The regression equations developed for Blacks and whites resulted in similar accuracies. However, the weights of the regression equations tended to differ for the two races. How they differed depended on the criterion predicted by the equations. Consequently, it was impossible to state unconditionally that the use of the MMPI with Black delinquents will have an adverse impact. In fact, one interpretation of the results suggested that the MMPI may not be racially biased for predictions with juvenile delinquents because the amount of constant error in prediction for a racial group decreased toward zero as the apparent objectivity of the criteria increased.     

The Effect of Education on Age-Related Functional Activation During Working Memory

Education has been suggested to play a protective role against the development of age-related dementias. Accordingly, we examined modulation of functional activation during working memory by age and education. Eight older individuals with a college education, six older individuals with a high school education, and eight younger individuals with a college education performed a working memory task during O¹⁵ [water] PET scanning. In a voxel-by-voxel whole brain search, older participants with less education demonstrated greater left frontal activation relative to older participants with more education. Older participants with more education demonstrated greater right precuneus activation relative to older participants with less education. This suggests that older less educated participants may have used additional frontal resources to compensate for dysfunctional parietal cortex. These results occurred in the context of similar activation in well-educated younger and older participants. Younger participants had one unique area of activation in the left posterior parietal cortex and no differences in frontal activation were observed between these two groups. The results of this study indicate the need to consider education in age-related neuroimaging studies.     

Effect of first ball possession on partial and final scores in 2003, 2005, and 2007 Water Polo World Championships

The purpose was to analyze the influence of winning the first ball possession on the partial and final score in male and female water polo. The 288 matches disputed by the teams participating in the 2003, 2005, and 2007 Water Polo World Championship were recorded. The results reflect statistically significant differences for the influence of gaining the first ball possession on the partial and final scoreboard of each period and for the influence between the total number of first possessions obtained and the final result.     

Weathering the great recession: Psychological and behavioral trajectories in the transition from school to work

Studies of career development highlight the importance of finding a good "fit" between individual values, needs, and abilities and the experiences and rewards to be found in particular occupations. Rapid economic change and labor market turbulence make career choice and development life-long processes. Still, early careers are particularly unstable, as young workers move from "survival jobs" to "career jobs" in their quest for a good person-job fit. Little is known, however, about the psychological orientations and behaviors in the postadolescent period that foster longer term success in the world of work. The maintenance of high aspirations, crystallization of career goals, and intensive job search may be particularly important. Using multilevel latent class analysis applied to longitudinal data obtained from 1,010 youth surveyed by the ongoing Youth Development Study (YDS), we examine the interrelations of psychological orientations and behaviors indicative of agentic striving from age 18 to 31 years. In addition, we assess how these trajectories influence adaptation to declining labor market conditions during the severe economic recession that began in 2007. We find that those who maintain high aspiration and certainty over career goals were better insulated against unemployment between 2007 and 2009 (ages 33-35), even when educational and self-identified career attainments, adolescent achievement orientations, and social background variables indicative of advantage are controlled. They also had higher hourly wages in 2009. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Validation study of the Questionnaire on School Maladjustment Problems (QSMP)

The aim of this study was to analyze the exploratory and confirmatory structure, as well as other psychometric properties, of the Cuestionario de Problemas de Convivencia Escolar (CPCE; in Spanish, the Questionnaire on School Maladjustment Problems [QSMP]), using a sample of Spanish adolescents. The instrument was administered to 60 secondary education teachers (53.4% females and 46.6% males) between the ages of 28 and 54 years (M= 41.2, SD= 11.5), who evaluated a total of 857 adolescent students. The first-order exploratory factor analysis identified 7 factors, explaining a total variance of 62%. A second-order factor analysis yielded three dimensions that explain 84% of the variance. A confirmatory factor analysis was subsequently performed in order to reduce the number of factors obtained in the exploratory analysis as well as the number of items. Lastly, we present the results of reliability, internal consistency, and validity indices. These results and their implications for future research and for the practice of educational guidance and intervention are discussed in the conclusions.     

Differential effects of m1 and m2 receptor antagonists in perirhinal cortex on visual recognition memory in monkeys

Microinfusions of the nonselective muscarinic antagonist scopolamine into perirhinal cortex impairs performance on visual recognition tasks, indicating that muscarinic receptors in this region play a pivotal role in recognition memory. To assess the mnemonic effects of selective blockade in perirhinal cortex of muscarinic receptor subtypes, we locally infused either the m1-selective antagonist pirenzepine or the m2-selective antagonist methoctramine in animals performing one-trial visual recognition, and compared these scores with those following infusions of equivalent volumes of saline. Compared to these control infusions, injections of pirenzepine, but not of methoctramine, significantly impaired recognition accuracy. Further, similar doses of scopolamine and pirenzepine yielded similar deficits, suggesting that the deficits obtained earlier with scopolamine were due mainly, if not exclusively, to blockade of m1 receptors. The present findings indicate that m1 and m2 receptors have functionally dissociable roles, and that the formation of new visual memories is critically dependent on the cholinergic activation of m1 receptors located on perirhinal cells.     

Assessment of perceptual discrepancy: utility of the Primary Communication Inventory

The Primary Communication Inventory was factor-analyzed in order to validate the subscales of this instrument. These subscales were derived by Navran (20) on the basis of face validity and were labeled verbal and nonverbal communication subscales. The analysis yielded two factors. However, they could not be labeled verbal and nonverbal. Instead, the factors were interpreted as: (a) the individual's perceptions of own communication ability, and (b) the spouse's perceptions of the individual's communication ability. The scoring of the Primary Communication Inventory was revised and used as a measure of perceptual discrepancy between husbands and wives. Interestingly, discrepancy within the marital dyad was greater for the nondistressed participants than for the distressed participants. The results illustrate the potentially adaptive nature of positive perceptual distortion within the marital dyad and the potential utility for future research of calculating perceptual discrepancy scores for each spouse using the Primary Communication Inventory.