The effects of dichotomous and crossed social categorizations upon intergroup discrimination

The present study explores the effect of crossing social categorizations upon subsequent intergroup discrimination. In the simple categorization conditions, subjects were divided into groups either on an explicitly random basis or on the basis of a very trivial similarity. In the crossed categorization condition, these two categorizations were criss-crossed. After performing a perceptual estimation task, subjects had to evaluate the performance of the different groups in this task. Subsequently they had to evaluate the groups on general characteristics less directly related to task performance. There was significant intergroup discrimination favouring the own group in the two simple categorization conditions, but this discrimination was strongly reduced in the crossed categorization condition. This was true for both kinds of evaluations. Subjects of a no categorization condition exhibited no self-favouritism. The theoretical implications of the data are discussed.     

Soccer,rooms, and the quality of your life: Mood effects on judgments of satisfaction with life in general and with specific domains

Two studies on the impact of temporary moods on judgments of satisfaction with life in general and with specific life-domains are reported. It was hypothesized that individuals simplify the complex task of evaluating their life in general by referring to their mood at the time of judgment, but evaluate specific life-domains on the basis of domain-specific information. In accordance with this hypothesis, both studies demonstrated strong mood effects on judgments of general life-satisfaction but only weak and non-significant effects on judgments of specific domain-satisfactions. The findings are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that affective states serve informative functions.     

Language and hand: The dimension of referential competence1

Kinesic and verbal performance data were collected for two groups of women college seniors chosen to represent extremes in a type of verbal ability termed here referential competence. This ability is conceptualized in terms of degree of integration of symbolic and ikonic representation systems, i.e., the strength of the symbol-referent links in semantic memory. A criterion measure of referential competence was developed using deviation of color naming from word-reading times on the Stroop Color-Word test. Referential competence was shown to be statistically as well as conceptually unrelated to both the standard verbal intelligence and fluency measures, and to cognitive style. During a five-minute videotaped monologue about a personal experience, persons high in referential competence produced verbal material which was specific, vivid, and objective; in contrast to the subjective and general material of the low referential group; and also produced approximately three times as many object-focused hand movements, linked to rhythm and intonation patterns of speech but largely without decipherable content. The results suggest that motor schema have a continuing intrinsic role in mature speech production, related to structure rather than content of language.     

Situational and personality determinants of a victim's identification with a tormentor

The effects of two situational (tormentor legitimacy and tormentor justification) and two personality (victim's belief in the just world and victim's Machiavellianism) factors on several reactions of a victim to his tormentor were explored. Greater conformity by victims to their tormentor's opinions occurred when the victims believed strongly in the just world and when the tormentor was well justified for his behavior; there was a greater conformity towards the tormentor in these conditions than towards a neutral nontormentor. The tormentor received less positive evaluations from the victim when he acquired his role illegitimately or when the victim was Machiavellian; when the tormentor acquired the role legitimately, he was liked no less than the nontormentor. The experimental variables did not affect behavioral imitation of the tormentor or the interpersonal distance maintained by the victim. The results failed to conform to any simple identification process. Several explanations for these results are explored and directions for additional research are discussed.     

Mere repeated exposure and experimental stress as determiners of stimulus evaluations

From Berlyne's theorizing concerning the determinants of hedonic value of a stimulus it was hypothesized that importance of evaluative judgments and frequency of exposure would interact in determining the favorability of affective ratings. This prediction was confirmed by the data. Increasing the importance of the rating task decreased the favorability of the ratings of low-frequency stimuli but enhanced the ratings of high-frequency stimuli.The experiments reported here were conducted at the Laboratorium voor Experimentele Sociale Psychologie at Leuven. This article is based on the author's doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by J. M. Nuttin, Jr. I would also like to thank J. M. Nuttin, Jr., E. Van Avermaet, and J. Hatcher for their helpful comments on a previous draft.     

New findings in the study of schizophrenia]

The paper gives a survey on the results of research on etiology and course of schizophrenia. The results of etiological research have not, as yet, progressed so far as to provide measures of primary prevention, whereas the results of research into the course of schizophrenia have already led to practical consequences for therapy resp. rehabilitation of schizophrenic patients. In future, with a decrease in the number of long-stay hospitalizations, the number of schizophrenic out-patients, resp. of prolonged periods of out-patient treatments will increase accordingly. Thus hitherto known influencing factors and treatment strategies will also be due to change. According to present knowledge, etiology, psychopathology, course and outcome of schizophrenia represent a very complex and variable, multifactorially initiated process, in which illness-related and environment-related factors concur. Drafts of new models and instruments for the assessment of this process and subsequent disabilities as well as methodological difficulties herewith are reported.     

Onkologisch Kranke als Patienten der psychotherapeutischen Praxis

Background

The high prevalence of cancer and the considerable psychological comorbidity is a challenge for psychotherapists. There are, however, relatively few patients in outpatient psychotherapy. Aim of the study was to survey outpatient psychotherapists concerning this issue and their attitudes towards the treatment of cancer patients.

Methods

All outpatient psychotherapists of an East-German city were surveyed using semi-structured interviews.

Methods

There are various reasons for the relatively rare visits of cancer patients in psychotherapeutic practices: For instance the subjective lack of specific competence, the fear of many psychotherapists to treat physically ill people, insufficient fitting of the relatively inflexible organization structure of psychotherapeutic settings with the vicissitudes of life among physically ill people, e.g. long waiting periods until the begin of treatment, furthermore the psychotherapeutic training focuses on psychosomatic and not so much on somatopsychic perspectives. A further problem is the widespread attitude about psychic causation of cancer, which is contradictory to scientific evidence.

Conclusions

Psychotherapists who want to treat cancer patients need specific and in-depth training in psychooncology.     

Sex differences in brain activity related to general and emotional intelligence

The study investigated gender differences in resting EEG (in three individually determined narrow alpha frequency bands) related to the level of general and emotional intelligence. Brain activity of males decreased with the level of general intelligence, whereas an opposite pattern of brain activity was observed in females. This difference was most pronounced in the upper-alpha band which is related to semantic memory processes. It was further found that highly intelligent males displayed greater decoupling of frontal brain areas, whereas highly intelligent females showed more coupling between frontal and parietal/occipital brain areas. Similar, but less significant differences were observed for the two area scores of strategic and experiential emotional intelligence. It appears that males and females have different resting EEG correlates of IQ.     

The role of anxiety and depression in the irritable bowel syndrome

Using a reliable and valid structured diagnostic interview scale (ADIS-R), and patients with careful medical characterization, we found significantly more diagnosable psychopathology, particularly anxiety disorders, among treatment seeking patients with irritable bowel syndrome than among comparable age and sex samples of treatment seeking patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Significant differences were also found on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression between IBS patients and the IBD patients and controls, who did not differ. Comparable levels of psychiatric disorder among parents of probands were found in all three groups. The results are consistent with Latimer's (1983) notion of IBS patients being a subclass of 'neurotics'.