Stigmatization of Non-Normative Family Size Status

Prior person perception studies exposednormative expectations about family size such thatvoluntary childfree and single-child women werestigmatized and large-family mothers were glorified. Incontrast, self-reports find no differences in subjectivewell-being among these non-normative and 2 to 3 child,normative women. To explore mostly white,college-educated, employed women's experiences withtheir real-life family size choices, interviews wereconducted with 15 voluntary childfree, 15 one-child, and15 supernormative mothers of 4+ children, and 15normative mothers completed a comparison survey. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealedpatterns of universal satisfaction, yet stigmatizationacross the three non-normative groups, such as pressurefrom outsiders (including medical professionals) to stay within normative parameters persisted.One-child and supernormative mothers reported thatothers are critical of their child's well-being,intimating selfishness and neglect, respectively. These findings help coalesce the conclusions ofearlier studies.     

Comparing visual perception on conventional cabinet tachistoscopes and computer monitor tachistoscopes

Computer monitor-based tachistoscopes (using a cathode ray tube, CRT) and conventional tachistoscopes differ in experimental control over stimulus continuity, duration, and timing accuracy. This study evaluated the perception of visual stimuli presented with the two different types of devices. An experiment was conducted to compare recognition of visuospatial stimuli (random shapes) presented laterally and centrally in the visual fields for short exposure durations (14, 29, and 43 msec), first with one device and then with another. Results indicated that the subjects’ error rates and laterality patterns were similar on both types of tachistoscopes. It was concluded that perception of visual stimuli presented as continuous images on a conventional tachistoscope may be equivalent to perception of visual stimuli presented as pulsating images on a CRT. Further studies are needed using other types of visual materials to determine the range of visual stimuli for which both types of tachistoscopes measure equivalent perceptual processes.     

A Review of the TFA Counseling System: From Theory Construction to Application

The purpose of this article is to provide counseling practitioners and researchers with an integrative review of the TFA (thinking-feeling-acting) counseling system, Tracing the 12-year evolution of the model from theory construction and instrument development to practical application provides in one place a comprehensive synthesis of published work on the TFA system. The theoretical principle guiding the model was the systematic combination of the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains of human functioning. The Hutchins Behavior Inventory (HBI) was developed to assess the interaction of thoughts, feelings, and actions that led to applications of the TFA system in counseling and related areas.     

Immediate and final recall of pictures and words with written or oral tests

Immediate and delayed recall of pictures and words was examined as a function of semantic or nonsemantic orienting tasks and the type of test (written or oral). As expected, semantic tasks generally led to greater final recall than nonsemantic tasks, with semantic tasks even producing positive recency on the delayed test. The evidence for a picture-word difference was largely restricted to the final recall of items involved in negative decisions; for such items the advantage of semantic tasks was apparent only for pictures. This suggests that "congruity" may be an important factor in picture-word differences, with such differences more apparent for the weaker items from negative judgments. Type of test did not seem to be a major factor in determining level of recall, suggesting that reinspecting the recall protocol during a written immediate test does not contribute substantially to final recall performance.     

Film-facilitated arousal and prosocial behavior

The present investigation sought to test the applicability of the excitation transfer model (P. Tannenbaum & D. Zillmann. In L. Berkowitz, Ed., Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 8, New York: Academic Press 1975) to prosocial behavior. This model predicts that for individuals predisposed to act prosocially, arousal transferred from an unrelated source will facilitate such behavior. Two studies were conducted in which male college students, treated in either a positive or neutral manner and shown an arousing erotic or nonarousing control film, ostensibly rewarded and punished a confederate for performance on a memory task. Contrary to predictions, the first experiment found the arousing film increased reward regardless of treatment. In the second experiment, where the neutral treatment was given a more negative tone, the predicted interaction was found. Specifically, subjects treated in a positive manner and shown an arousing film were significantly more rewarding than were similarly treated subjects shown the nonarousing film. While type of film had no effect on neutral subjects' reward behavior, the arousing film did increase their punitive behavior. These results, coupled with physiological and self-report data, strongly support the excitation transfer model.     

Can Temperament Identify Affectively Ill Patients Who Engage in Lethal or Near‐Lethal Suicidal Behavior? A 14‐Year Prospective Study

Among affectively ill patients followed naturalistically for up to 14 years, 36 committed suicide, 120 attempted suicide, and 373 had no recorded suicide attempt. Comparing these three groups on clinical and intake personality revealed that suicide completed within 12 months was predicted by clinical but not personality variables, and suicide beyond 12 months was predicted by newly derived temperament factors, not clinical variables. Attempters and completers shared core characteristics: previous attempts, impulsivity, substance abuse, and psychic turmoil within a cycling/mixed bipolar disorder. Such temperament attributes as impulsivity and assertiveness were the best prospective predictors of completed suicides beyond 12 months with a sensitivity level of 74% and specificity level of 82%.     

Validity of Treatment Target Progress Ratings as Indicators of Youth Improvement

We examined whether clinical progress ratings on the Monthly Treatment and Progress Summary form (MTPS), an idiographic treatment progress measure, were meaningfully related to changes measured by two separate standardized instruments; the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) and the Child and Adolescent Level of Care Utilization System (CALOCUS). Validity coefficients were examined at intake and three-, six-, and nine-month follow-up periods. Samples were selected for each measure and follow-up period from the population of youth receiving services through the Hawaii Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division’s (CAMHD) system of care. Significant youth improvement was evident on all three measures across all follow-up intervals. The type of changes measured by the MTPS and CAFAS were more alike over longer follow-up intervals than changes measured by the CALOCUS. The MTPS captures distinct aspects of client change that overlaps somewhat with CAFAS and CALOCUS measures. The MTPS is a brief client-tailored measure that seems to provide valid, sensitive, and nonredundant client specific treatment outcome information that can be collected on a frequent basis within a complex system of care.     

Does perceived unfairness exacerbate or mitigate interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors related to envy?

The authors examined how the interaction between perceived unfairness and episodic envy predicts interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors toward the envied other. In 2 studies using different samples and methods to elicit envy, predictions were compared based on the social exchange and attribution models of fairness. The results support the social exchange model of fairness, showing that higher levels of envy and perceived unfairness result in higher levels of interpersonal counterproductive work behavior (Study 1), especially among high self-esteem individuals (Study 2).