Personality variables, psychopathological alterations and personality disorders in alcohol-dependent patients according to Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse

In this paper, an evaluation of Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse in personality, psychopathology and personality disorders is carried out. The sample consisted of 158 alcoholics in treatment (56 Type I alcohol-dependent patients and 102 Type II alcohol-dependent patients). All subjects were assessed with diverse assessment tools related to personality (Impulsiveness Scale, Sensation Seeking Scale and STAI), psychopathology (SCL-90-R, BDI and Inadaptation Scale) and personality disorders (IPDE). The main findings were that Type II alcohol-dependent patients were more impulsive and sensation-seeking and they displayed more hostility and emotional distress than Type I alcohol-dependent patients. Personality disorders were not so prevalent in the case of Type I alcohol-dependent patients. The most specific personality disorders for Type II alcohol-dependent patients were narcissistic and paranoid. The implications of this study for further research are commented on.     

Assessing short summaries with human judgments procedure and latent semantic analysis in narrative and expository texts

In the present study, we tested a computer-based procedure for assessing very concise summaries (50 words long) of two types of text (narrative and expository) using latent semantic analysis (LSA) in comparison with the judgments of four human experts. LSA was used to estimate semantic similarity using six different methods: four holistic (summary-text, summary-summaries, summary-expert summaries, and pregraded-ungraded summary) and two componential (summary-sentence text and summary-main sentence text). A total of 390 Spanish middle and high school students (14–16 years old) and six experts read a narrative or expository text and later summarized it. The results support the viability of developing a computerized assessment tool using human judgments and LSA, although the correlation between human judgments and LSA was higher in the narrative text than in the expository, and LSA correlated more with human content ratings than with human coherence ratings. Finally, the holistic methods were found to be more reliable than the componential methods analyzed in this study.     

Sex-specific finger-length patterns linked to behavioral variables: consistency across various human populations

In humans, as in nonhuman primates, the digits of the hands are similar in length during early fetal development. Subsequently, differentiation leads to a patter of unequal finger lengths, described by George as the finger-length pattern. Recent work by Manning and colleagues suggested that digit length patterns are due to early influences of sex hormones. Most importantly for psychology, such patterns might also relate to cognitive activities that are influenced by early organizing actions of sex hormones. The exciting possibility of having an easily measurable indicator of early action of sex hormones that relates to behavior led us to examine the universality of digit length patterns. With samples from Brazil, Canada, India, Turkey, and Korea, we showed that patterns of distal extent of finger tips are similar across different human populations. Consistent sex differences were found across the samples, showing that the index finger in males extends less far distally relative to the middle finger than is the case for females and that the difference in distal extent between index and ring fingers, relative to the middle finger, is smaller in females than in males.     

Contents to Volume 5

Volume Contents

Contents to Volume 5     

Validity and Reliability of Three Rating Scales to Assess Practitioners’ Skills to Conduct Collaborative,Strength-Based,Systemic Work in Family-Based Services

This study analyzed the reliability and validity of three rating scales designed to assess practitioners’ skills in conducting systemic, collaborative, and strength-based assessments and interventions with multi-challenged families in family-based community services. The three scales, which assess reception and assessment skills, basic skills, and skills to support change, revealed good psychometric properties considering their construct validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater agreement. The results are discussed considering future research and possible applications of the scales in research and practice.     

Interview with Robert R. Holt by Carlo Bonomi

Abstract

Psychoanalysis had its starting point when in clinical work there arose a new form of listening with regard to the origin of the hysterical symptom. The appraisal of clinical observation is therefore fundamental. At times it inaugurates a new hypothesis or knowledge about the functioning of the mind; at other times it sheds light on a link between clinical work and theory, reaffirming or resulting in new associations about already existing knowledge. Our work lies within the latter proposition, since part of the observation attends to and re-examines certain theoretical aspects. We have begun with the observation that when during the analytical process the issues of castration, of the binomial masculine/feminine, and of separation from the analyst arise, they bring with them, more often than not, the theme “fear of death”. The relationship we attempt to establish between “fear of death” and the assumption of sexuality during analysis are founded on Freud's hypothesis regarding the process of childhood psychosexual development.

Concurrently, when we review Freudian hypothesis about the history of the human race and of primordial man we come across a third plane on which we can make further analogies for the understanding of our attitude once faced with sexuality and death. These theoretical concatenations sanction clinical observation and also serve to elucidate what we might term “the end of analysis”.     

Abstract Valuation Semantics

We define and study abstract valuation semantics for logics, an algebraically well-behaved version of valuation semantics. Then, in the context of the behavioral approach to the algebraization of logics, we show, by means of meaningful bridge theorems and application examples, that abstract valuations are suited to play a role similar to the one played by logical matrices in the traditional approach to algebraization.     

Playing with deviance: Typicality assessments of ingroup members as a strategy of outgroup approach

In two experiments, we analyzed the use of intra‐group differentiation between normative and deviant members as an identity mobilization strategy in intergroup negotiations. Because ingroup members sometimes try to obtain the support of outgroup audiences to attain their goals, we propose that in intergroup negotiations, people attempt to minimize the distinction between the parties involved by changing the appraisal of deviance and including deviant members in the ingroup's prototype. In line with this hypothesis, differences in the assessment of typicality between normative and deviant targets were reduced in instrumental intergroup negotiation contexts. Furthermore, we explored a boundary condition for this effect and found that such outgroup approach is disrupted when threats taint the intergroup negotiation context. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transcoding abilities in typical and atypical mathematics achievers: The role of working memory and procedural and lexical competencies

Transcoding between numerical systems is one of the most basic abilities acquired by children during their early school years. One important topic that requires further exploration is how mathematics proficiency can affect number transcoding. The aim of the current study was to investigate transcoding abilities (i.e., reading Arabic numerals and writing dictation) in Brazilian children with and without mathematics difficulties, focusing on different school grades. We observed that children with learning difficulties in mathematics demonstrated lower achievement in number transcoding in both early and middle elementary school. In early elementary school, difficulties were observed in both the basic numerical lexicon and the management of numerical syntax. In middle elementary school, difficulties appeared mainly in the transcoding of more complex numbers. An error analysis revealed that the children with mathematics difficulties struggled mainly with the acquisition of transcoding rules. Although we confirmed the previous evidence on the impact of working memory capacity on number transcoding, we found that it did not fully account for the observed group differences. The results are discussed in the context of a maturational lag in number transcoding ability in children with mathematics difficulties.