Tools and Techniques for Diagnosis and Evaluation in Marital and Family Therapy

This is a slightly edited version of a chapter to appear in a forthcoming book. ¹ It is a beginning attempt at codification of existing tools and techniques and is therefore nonexhaustive. The authors welcome feedback from readers concerning omissions and information on new techniques, references, and applicability to therapeutic settings.     

The Healing Circle: An Alternative Path to Alcoholism Recovery

Recovery from alcoholism has typically involved the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). However, the values espoused by AA, especially those related to spirituality, can be in conflict with the values of traditional Native Americans. This article discusses healing methods founded in the traditions of Native American culture in general and the Oglala Lakota (also called Oglala Sioux) nation specifically. An understanding of these methods gives non-Native American counselors additional tools for guiding Native American clients to an effective program of recovery.     

The Effects of Program Length and Participant Characteristics on Group Career-Counseling Outcomes

In this study the authors compare two group career decision-making courses with a comparison group on such factors as occupational certainty and satisfaction, appropriateness, and information-seeking behavior. The results were mixed, but generally the 20-session course was favored by study participants.     

A Sense of Home: The Impact of Church Participation on African American College Students

This articles looks at religion to ascertain the social and individual benefits that postsecondary students gain from their involvement. Focusing on public university students, this study examines the influence church participation has on the academic performance, retention, and engagement of African American college students.     

Memory Structures for Relational Escalation A Cognitive Test of the Sequencing of Relational Actions and Stages

On the basis of memory structure research, a series of four studies was conducted in order to determine whether individuals (1) could generate memory structures for escalating relationships, (2) agree on the rank ordering of expected actions, (3) distinguish between the perceived typicality of such actions and how necessary the behaviors were in order for a relationship to develop, and (4) segment prototypical scenes of escalating relationships in a time-ordered linear sequence. A number of hypotheses dealing with the generation and processing of expectations for relationship growth are offered and discussed. Additionally, gender differences are posited in which women generate more escalating actions, process relationship memory structures faster, and rate common actions as being more typical than men do. Results revealed a prototypical escalating memory structure containing 13 behaviors that could be processed and understood in terms of four underlying factors. Gender differences were also observed, and these are discussed in terms of females closely monitoring relational trajectories. Implications of memory structure research for analyzing relational stages are discussed as well.     

EFFECTS OF VERBAL REGULATION AND AGE ON RULE ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER

The ability of 119 children (mean ages 6.2, 8.2, 10.1, and 12.3) to perform rule learning and subsequent transfer tasks was observed utilizing three experimental conditions: overt-verbal, covert-verbal, and control. The performance of the subjects suggests that the child who is forced to verbalize his conceptual strategies will reach criterion faster in the rule acquisition task, and will also be more successful in his attempts to transfer the acquired rule. With regard to the transfer tasks specifically, it was found that overt-verbal learning was significantly more effective than covert-learning, and that the covert-verbal condition yielded significantly higher scores than did the control condition. These results point to the effectiveness of verbal strategies in the acquisition and transfer of learning.     

MECHANISMS LINKING REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS WITH TURNOVER: A META‐ANALYTIC PATH ANALYSIS

A meta‐analytic path analysis with k = 52 studies and sample size of roughly 17,000 showed that enhanced perceptions of organizational honesty is the primary mechanism by which realistic job previews (RJPs) influence voluntary turnover. This suggests revisions to RJP theory to incorporate social exchange and the way RJPs lead individuals to feel about the organization. Results assessing several new potential moderators of relationships between RJPs and turnover found that the most effective RJP design may be an oral or written RJP delivered posthire and designed to signal organizational honesty. We discuss several key theoretical and practical implications of the results based on a novel signaling theory perspective on RJPs.