Predicting attention shifting abilities from self-reported media multitasking

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Media multitasking is an increasingly prominent behavior in affluent societies. However, it still needs to be established if simultaneous use of several modes of...     

Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is among the most frequently used instruments for the assessment of psychopathic traits. In the scope of the German adaptation of the PCL-R, normative data were collected from a sample of adult male offenders. Based on these data the factor structure and reliability of the German language version of the PCL-R are discussed in the first section of the article. The assessment of a model with four facets and two superordinate factors showed a very good agreement with the empirical data. In addition, examination of interrater agreement and internal consistency indicated that the PCL-R is a reliable measure. In the second part of the paper recommendations are provided for the correct application of the PCL-R. The focus lies on the correct performance, evaluation and interpretation of PCL-R test results with respect to key indices and the dimensional structure of the psychopathy construct.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy

This article presents acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a spiritually integrated therapeutic modality. ACT is a value‐driven therapy that involves facilitating transcendence of physical, mental, and emotional experience to alleviate human suffering; as such, ACT shares common ground with the domain of spirituality. Approached as a spiritually integrated therapy, ACT can help clients to access spiritual resources and create life meaning as well as aid in the resolution or transformation of spiritual struggles. Given that spiritual struggles, in particular, can have a significant impact on mental health and well‐being, this article provides guidance in how ACT can address such struggles.     

Infant Mental Health assessment: the use of DC 0-3 in an outpatient child psychiatric clinic in Scandinavia

The study focuses on Infant Mental Health data from an outpatient psychiatric clinic using the "Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood" (DC 0-3) and parental questionnaires, CBCL and ITSC. In total, 138 infants (aged 0-3) went through the diagnostic procedure. Sixty-eight per cent were diagnosed within Axis I, with regulatory disorder, disorder of affect and traumatic stress disorder being the most frequent diagnoses. In addition, 48% were classified as having a relationship disorder according to Axis II, with an additional 40% being considered to be at risk of developing a relationship disorder. The mothers' and fathers' ratings of their children's externalized and sensitivity problems were in agreement with the clinicians, but the ratings of internalized problems as well as relationship problems presented a more complex pattern.     

Inner speech and bilingual autobiographical memory: a Polish-Danish cross-cultural study.

Thirty years after fleeing from Poland to Denmark, 20 immigrants were enlisted in a study of bilingual autobiographical memory. Ten "early immigrators" averaged 24 years old at the time of immigration, and ten "late immigrators" averaged 34 years old at immigration. Although all 20 had spent 30 years in Denmark, early immigrators reported more current inner speech behaviours in Danish, whereas late immigrators showed more use of Polish. Both groups displayed proportionally more numerous autobiographical retrievals that were reported as coming to them internally in Polish (vs Danish) for the decades prior to immigration and more in Danish (vs Polish) after immigration. We propose a culture- and language-specific shaping of semantic and conceptual stores that underpins autobiographical and world knowledge.     

Psychotherapeutic work at the Maternity and Child Health centers in Stockholm,Sweden

Preventive mental health work has for many years been a cornerstone in child psychiatric work in Sweden. Psykologverksamheten, a program at Psykiska Barn och Ungdomsvarden (PBU), is the out-patient child psychiatry unit in Stockholm County. The aim of the program is to promote infant mental health and to prevent children from becoming future patients at the psychiatric child and adolescent clinics. Located in the residential areas, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centers reach almost 100% of infant families and are the platform for the preventive work. The pediatric staff at the MCH centers have been encouraged to apply a psycho-social working model in which not only the pediatric but also the psychological needs of the families are considered. In regular case-consultations child psychologist have offered training and support to the medical staff. This has been bases on the theoretical assumption that if the MCH staff are better equipped in dealing with mental health issues, the support they give to infant families will improve and the referrals to the psychologist at the Psykologverksamheten will decrease. However, through the working alliance established between the MCH staff and the psychologist, the latter has become a professional “secure base,” making the MCH staff more sensitive and observant than earlier. Because the Swedish welfare system is at present undergoing changes due to Government economic restraints, the stress put on families has increased. The referrals to the psychologists have almost doubled. The paper discusses the qualitative development of the relationship between the Psykologverksamheten and the MCH staff, and, with reference to a clinical vignette, discusses the importance of not only supporting general preventive work but also of specifying early dyadic therapeutic interventions. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

SOCIAL RESEARCH ON SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN NORDIC COUNTRIES

This article presents a review of the literature on science and religion in Nordic countries. Seventy-seven articles, books, and chapters on the topic were collected from five major scholarly databases between 1997 and 2018. We scrutinized how research in this data set was engaged with social scientific research. Most of the research was not social scientific. It was primarily philosophical, theological, and historical research; very little presented empirical and theoretical social scientific research. The studies reflected societal discussions, bringing out some cultural dimensions and social issues, but not specifically in the Nordic context. Some societal aspects were highlighted, such as ethics and climate change, but these were not necessarily tied to the Nordic societies. We propose that in the Nordic context there seems to be a need for social scientific research on science and religion. This research could use theoretical perspectives from, for instance, sociology, science and technology studies, higher education studies, and anthropological research.     

Coping with a Paraphrenic World in Late Life

This study deals with late paraphrenia from a psychological coping perspective. Analyses of coping behavior in relation to paraphrenic delusions and hallucinations revealed rational choices of coping efforts and generally consistent emotional reactions to the subjectively perceived problem. The majority of the patients did not display evidence of premorbid abnormal personalities or life courses. The creation and sustainment of psychotic thoughts are discussed in relation to lack of correcting social feedback due to social isolation and weakened cognitive source monitoring. The implications of a psychological coping perspective for intervention are indicated.     

Too special to be duped: Need for uniqueness motivates conspiracy beliefs

Adding to the growing literature on the antecedents of conspiracy beliefs, this paper argues that a small part in motivating the endorsement of such seemingly irrational beliefs is the desire to stick out from the crowd, the need for uniqueness. Across three studies, we establish a modest but robust association between the self‐attributed need for uniqueness and a general conspirational mindset (conspiracy mentality) as well as the endorsement of specific conspiracy beliefs. Following up on previous findings that people high in need for uniqueness resist majority and yield to minority influence, Study 3 experimentally shows that a fictitious conspiracy theory received more support by people high in conspiracy mentality when this theory was said to be supported by only a minority (vs. majority) of survey respondents. Together, these findings support the notion that conspiracy beliefs can be adopted as a means to attain a sense of uniqueness.