Needs and Cognition/Behavior Patterns at Work and the Big Five: An assessment of the Personality and Preference Inventory‐Normative (PAPI‐N) from the perspective of the five‐factor model

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs and cognition/behavior patterns at work as measured by the Personality and Preference Inventory – Normative (PAPI‐N) and the five‐factor model of personality as measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) in a sample of 91 working adults and 71 psychology undergraduates who worked or had some work experience. Our results showed significant and theoretically congruent correlations between the PAPI‐N scales and the measures of the five‐factor model. These correlations were similar to those found using alternative instruments to measure Murray's needs. Despite the differences in the conceptual origins of the PAPI‐N and the NEO‐FFI and divergences in the aspects of personality measured by the two inventories, joint and interbattery factor analyses showed that most of the needs and cognition/behavior patterns measured by the PAPI‐N can be meaningfully organized within the framework of the five‐factor model. These results provide further empirical evidence for the validity of the five‐factor model and the PAPI‐N, although they also point out personality aspects that are not encompassed by the five‐factor model.     

Morningness-eveningness, use of stimulants, and minor psychiatric disorders among undergraduate students

Morningness–eveningness dimension in humans have been indicated to influence social behavior and individual health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of the morningness–eveningness dimension with behavioral and health aspects in a sample of undergraduate students. We assessed demographic data; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to evaluate sleep quality; the Morningness/Eveningness Questionnaire to determine morningness–eveningness, and the Self‐Reporting Questionnaire to assess minor psychiatric disorders. A total of 372 students (66.7% females), on average 21.6 years old, participated in this study. Among them, 92.2% did not smoke, 58.9% engaged in physical activities, and 19.7% were night‐shift workers. In regard to morningness–eveningness, 55.9% of the participants were intermediate between evening (39.5%) and morning (4.6%) types. Poor sleep quality (OR = 1.89), minor psychiatric disorders (OR = 1.92), and tobacco consumption (OR = 3.65) predominated among evening types. Evening types were predominantly males (OR = 1.72). This study suggests that evening types are more vulnerable to sleep and psychiatric disturbances, and tend to smoke more than morning types.     

Association of daytime sleepiness and the morningness/eveningness dimension in young adult subjects in Brazil

Sleepiness is a major public health problem associated with motor vehicle crashes, occupational accidents, decreased productivity, and interpersonal problems. It can be influenced by many factors, including the individual's circadian rhythm. The objective of this study is to assess the correlation between the morningness/eveningness dimension and daytime sleepiness in medical school students. This is a cross-sectional study; 310 subjects (123 women and 187 men, M age 20.5 +/- 1.9 yr.) completed a questionnaire on use of drugs, diagnostic diseases, sleeping habits, the Morningness/Eveningness Questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The only variable related to daytime sleepiness was the morningness/eveningness dimension (r = -.18, p=.002). Questions with higher coefficients of discrimination between the morning and the evening chronotype were "Lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit" (.61), "Sitting and reading" (.53), and "As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break" (.53). The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Cohesion and adaptability among individuals under treatment for infertility

The objective of this study was to evaluate cohesion and adaptability as relationship patterns of individuals in the presence or absence of infertility. Infertile subjects (20 men and 26 women, age 29.9 yr., SD = 3.8), and 100 fertile individuals (52 men and 48 women, age 29.5 yr., SD = 3.6) were included in this cross-sectional study conducted in Brazil. Subjects were married for the first time and had no children. The pattern of relationship (cohesion and adaptability) was assessed on the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES III). Subjects were also interviewed and the interviews tape-recorded and analyzed by independent and blinded senior psychiatrists. The concepts of cohesion and adaptability did not differentiate infertile couples from fertile ones. Further, the recorded interviews also resulted in heterogeneous. nonconcordant judgments. These results lead to two conclusions: that awareness of infertility is not present in the population studied or that it is present but the magnitude of its effect is quite small and that FACES III and the interview focus on adaptability and cohesion are not sensitive enough to measure the difficulties in these couples' relationships. This leads us to reflect on the type of psychiatric support available to infertile couples.     

Dissociative Collusion: Reconnecting Clients with Histories of Trauma in Couple Therapy

This paper introduces the concept of “dissociative collusion” as a helpful theoretical and clinical tool for understanding and working with clients with histories of trauma in couple therapy. The paper describes ways to diagnose and treat dissociative collusion based on the integration of an object relations approach, a relational approach, and a narrative approach. Dissociative collusion, a unique version of the well‐documented “couple collusion,” describes relational unconscious dynamics where split‐off aspects of one or both partners are mutually dissociated in a complementary fashion that becomes a part of the shared unconscious and is reenacted in destructive ways. The dissociative collusion concept is especially relevant to couple therapists who work with clients with histories of trauma, who frequently use dissociation as a primary defense mechanism. We suggest that the challenge and goal for couple therapy with this population are to help them reconnect and better oscillate between dissociated self‐other configurations. A case of couple therapy of a wife who had been a victim of childhood sexual abuse and her husband who displayed frequent use of dissociative defenses is presented.     

Poincaré’s Classification of Hypotheses and Their Role in Natural Science

In the introduction to his famous book, La Science et l’hypothèse, Poincaré remarks on the necessary role and legitimacy of hypotheses. He establishes a triple classification of hypotheses, dividing them into verifiable, useful, and apparent. However, in chapter 9, entitled ‘Les hypothèses en physique’, he gives a slightly different triadic classification: natural hypotheses, indifferent hypotheses, and real generalizations. The origin of this second classification is a lecture given at the International Congress of Physics, Paris, 1900. What are the similarities and differences between these two classifications? My main purpose is to provide a possible equivalence between the two classifications in order to clarify the role of hypotheses in Poincaré’s epistemology of natural science. The discussion will be based on the two fundamental texts mentioned above and on the contrast between Poincaré’s use of the notion of hypothesis and that of some of his contemporaries.