Self-reported attachment, interpersonal aggression, and personality disorder in a prospective community sample of adolescents and adults

Anxious and avoidant attachment were assessed in the Children in the Community (CIC) Study during adolescence and adulthood using self-report scales developed for this prospective study. The convergent and discriminant validity of the new CIC attachment scales were evaluated and their stability was assessed across a 17-year interval. Attachment scales predicted DSM-IV personality disorders in theoretically coherent and clinically meaningful ways, especially when supplemented with a separate measure of interpersonal aggression. Cluster B and C personality disorder symptoms were associated with elevated anxious attachment. Avoidant attachment was positively associated with Cluster A symptoms and inversely associated with Cluster B and C symptoms. Interpersonal aggression was higher in Cluster B symptoms and lower in Cluster C symptoms, thus differentiating between these symptom clusters.     

Coincidence,historical repetition,and self-knowledge: Jung,Vico, and Joyce

Jung develops synchronicity as an a causal principle of connection by recounting various examples of meaningful coincidence from experience and by analysing various systems of divination, notably the I Ching. Philosophical theory of causality has given no significant attention to synchronicity; the events of synchronicity are regarded as chance. The Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) developed a doctrine of historical experience and of self-knowledge that grounds the phenomenon of synchronicity in a metaphysics. James Joyce employed Vico's conception of language and historical cycles as the basis of Joyce's final literary work, Finnegans Wake. Vico's metaphysical sense of synchronicity and Joyce's literary formulation offer a grounding of this principle in non-divinatory sources in modern Western thought, something which Jung's discussion does not provide. These philosophical and literary perspectives complement Jung's to offer an expanded context in which to recognize synchronicity and to make sense of it.     

Attachment, self-esteem, worldviews, and terror management: evidence for a tripartite security system

On the basis of prior work integrating attachment theory and terror management theory, the authors propose a model of a tripartite security system consisting of dynamically interrelated attachment, self-esteem, and worldview processes. Four studies are presented that, combined with existing evidence, support the prediction derived from the model that threats to one component of the security system result in compensatory defensive activation of other components. Further, the authors predicted and found that individual differences in attachment style moderate the defenses. In Studies 1 and 2, attachment threats motivated worldview defense among anxiously attached participants and motivated self-enhancement (especially among avoidant participants), effects similar to those caused by mortality salience. In Studies 3 and 4, a worldview threat and a self-esteem threat caused attachment-related proximity seeking among fearful participants and avoidance of proximity among dismissing participants. The authors' model provides an overarching framework within which to study attachment, self-esteem, and worldviews.     

Models of causation and the semantics of causal verbs

This research examines the relationship between the concept of CAUSE as it is characterized in psychological models of causation and the meaning of causal verbs, such as the verb cause itself. According to focal set models of causation (; ), the concept of CAUSE should be more similar to the concepts of ENABLE and PREVENT than either is to each other. According to a model based on theory of force dynamics, the force dynamic model, the concepts of CAUSE, ENABLE, and PREVENT should be roughly equally similar to one another. The relationship between these predictions and the meaning of causal verbs was examined by having participants sort causal verbs and rate them with respect to the dimensions specified by the two models. The results from five experiments indicated that the force dynamic model provides a better account of the meaning of causal verbs than do focal set models of causation. Implications for causal inference and induction are discussed.     

Navigating the narrative: An eye-tracking study of readers' strategies when Reading comic page layouts

In multimedia stimuli (e.g., comics), the reader must follow a narrative in which text and image both contribute information, and artists may use more irregular layouts which must still be followed correctly. While previous work has found that the external structure (outlines) of panels is a major contributor to navigation decisions in comics, other studies have shown that panel content can affect reading order. The present studies use eye-tracking to investigate these contributions further. In Experiment 1, the reading behaviors on six layout variations were compared. The influence of the external structure was replicated, but an effect of text location was also found for one layout type. Experiment 2 focused on variations of this particular layout, manipulating the location of text within critical panels. Panel content was a consistent effect for all variations. While most navigation decisions are made using the external structure, content becomes key when resolving ambiguous layouts.     

Maintaining social initiations of withdrawn handicapped and nonhandicapped preschoolers through a response-dependent fading tactic

The effects of a teacher-implemented intervention and fading package on the social initiations of three withdrawn preschool children were investigated. Subjects' social initiations and any peer responses were recorded sequentially during free play. Intervention involved teacher prompting and contingent praise of specific social initiations (sharing, assisting, verbally organizing play) by each subject toward an available peer. Results indicated that (a) teacher prompts and praise increased the frequency of subjects' target initiation, (b) target initiations typically received a positive peer response, (c) subjects' extended interactions with peers also increased, (d) abrupt, complete removal of teacher prompting resulted in similarly abrupt reductions in subjects' social initiations, whereas response-dependent fading maintained subjects' initiations and interactions above baseline levels. Follow-up data 2 1/2 months later showed that the social initiations and interactions of two of the children remained above baseline levels.This research was supported in part by Grant No. 007802088, U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, and by Grant No. HD15051 from the National Institute of Child Health and Development. The authors wish to thank John Aiken, Gwen Beegle, Evelyn Parker, and Luis Olivera for their asistance in data collection, and Paula Goodroe, Kathy Green, and the children of the Experimental School for their cooperation in conducting this study.     

Using serial interfaces and the C language for real-time experiments

The use of the serial interface of the IBM PC for timing and stimulus-response signaling is discussed. C language example programs, including two small software utility modules that expedite the programming of real-time experiments using a serial interface, are presented that are compilable with Borland’s Turbo C.     

TIMEX: A simple IBM AT C language timer with extended resolution

The simple timing method of reading the IBM-BIOS tick counter is extended from 55-msec to 54-µsec resolution by reading the 8254 hardware counter. Subroutine timex( ) implements the timer in Borland Turbo C on an IBM AT and on a PC or XT if the 8253 timer chip is replaced with an 8254 chip. A more limited version operates on an unmodified PC or XT.     

Criterion-related validity of self-report measures of female heterosocial functioning

Common measures of female heterosocial functioning, the Survey of Heterosocial Interactions for Females (SHI-F) and dating frequency questions, were validated against the criterion of male liking, i. e., how well men like a woman. The SHI-F was unrelated to the criterion and to the other measures of heterosocial activity. The dating frequency and satisfaction questions were moderately related to the criterion. It was concluded the self-reported ability to initiate contact with men (as measured by the SHI-F) may not be related to female heterosocial functioning. Self-reported dating frequency and satisfaction appear to be a valid measure of female heterosocial functioning.The data were collected while the first author was at Louisiana State University.     

PROMOTING PARENT-PROVIDER INTERACTION DURING YOUNG CHILDREN'S HEALTH-SUPERVISION VISITS

We prompted parents to increase their interactions with health-care providers during their children's health-supervision visits. Before scheduled appointments we asked parents of 32 infants and young children if they had specific child health questions or concerns. Sixteen parents randomly assigned to the prompted group were then prompted to initiate discussions of their concerns. Sixteen control parents discussed unrelated topics before their appointments. Prompted parents initiated significantly more interactions with health-care providers and more health and behavioral topics were discussed during their appointments. Both parent groups reported satisfaction with health-care services. Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of outcomes associated with enhanced parent-provider interaction during children's health-supervision visits. These visits are ideal settings for behavioral research on improving health care for children and their families.