Women Inmate Substance Abusers’ Reactivity to Visual Alcohol, Cigarette, Marijuana, and Crack-Cocaine Cues: Approach and Avoidance as Separate Dimensions of Reactivity

Despite the growing recognition for multidimensional assessments of cue-elicited craving, few studies have attempted to measure multiple response domains associated with craving. The present study evaluated the Ambivalence Model of Craving (Breiner et al. Alcohol Research and Health 23:197–206, 1999; Stritzke et al. 2007) using a unique cue reactivity methodology designed to capture both the desire to use (approach inclination) and desire to not consume (avoidance inclination) in a clinical sample of incarcerated female substance abusers. Participants were 155 incarcerated women who were participating in or waiting to begin participation in a nine-month drug treatment program. Results indicated that all four substance cue-types (alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and crack cocaine) had good reliability and showed high specificity. Also, the validity of measuring approach and avoidance as separate dimensions was supported, as demonstrated by meaningful clinical distinctions between groups evincing different reactivity patterns and incremental prediction of avoidance inclinations on measures of stages of change readiness. Taken together, results continue to highlight the importance of measuring both approach and avoidance inclinations in the study of cue-elicited craving.     

Work Meaning Patterns in Early Career

Abstract

Work meaning patterns combine dimensions such as work centrality, expressive versus economic work goals, and entitlement versus obligation societal norms into a holistic picture of the evolution over time of the meaning of work. Data from a longitudinal study in eight countries are used to establish major work meaning patterns and to study their stability during early career paths. Further, some potential determinants of these work meaning patterns are analysed and their consequences for later careers are considered. Statistical analyses include: cluster analysis, multiple discriminant analysis, analysis of covariance combined with multiple classification analysis, analysis of variance, and chi-square analysis. Five cross-national work meaning patterns are identified for machine operators in their third year in the labour market. One-third of the sample had remained in the same work meaning pattern for 2 years, while two-thirds had changed their work pattern. Respondents' age, country, prior work environment, and prior work socialization behaviours and outcomes have an impact on work meanings held 2 years later. In addition the respondent's work meaning pattern allows subsequent career enhancing strategies and effort expenditure at the job to be predicted.     

In Praise of Austerity: A Reply to Forrest

This is an invited response to Peter Forrest’s review of my trilogy on the philosophy of religion, which appeared in a previous issue of this journal.     

Exploring the edges: boundaries and breaks

In this article, we examine conceptual and practical issues pertaining to relationship boundaries within the helping profession. Although our focus is primarily on relationships between mental health professionals and clients, there are considerable implications for a new approach to ethically structuring and understanding the construct of "required distance" in many human-interactive professions, such as teaching, religious leadership, public administration, and others. We define the concept of boundary as applied to human relationships, provide examples of boundary breaks, and raise questions regarding how to evaluate the significance and morality issues raised by specific boundary breaks. Questions and dilemmas are presented regarding boundary setting and accidental or deliberate boundary breaking. Representative dangers present in boundary breaks are identified, and examples are provided. Possible beneficial outcomes are also discussed. Finally, a suggested protocol for assessing a proposed boundary break is provided, much of which is drawn from the work and thinking of Laura Brown, applied more generally in this article, with additions from our perspectives.     

Small-group effectiveness on an administrative task as influenced by knowledge of results and sex composition of the group

Two experiments were designed to investigate some possible extensions to Locke's theory of task motivation and incentives. In experiment 1 (192 Ss) the effect of KR on small-group effectiveness (SGE) was analyzed. The SGE-measurements (productivity and group atmosphere) were based on a subjective operationalization of the concept ?small-group effectiveness'. Five one-way analyses of variance revealed no significant influence of KR on SGE thus supporting Locke's findings. In experiment 2 (64 Ss) homogeneous male groups were compared to homogeneous female groups to find out whether sex composition of the group would have a significant influence on SGE. Five Fisher t-tests revealed no differences between the means of male and female groups. In this case, too, Locke's theory was supported. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed.     

Phenomenal evidence and factive evidence

Perceptions guide our actions and provide us with evidence of the world around us. Illusions and hallucinations can mislead us: they may prompt as to act in ways that do not mesh with the world around us and they may lead us to form false beliefs about that world. The capacity view provides an account of evidence that does justice to these two facts. It shows in virtue of what illusions and hallucinations mislead us and prompt us to act. Moreover, it shows in virtue of what we are in a better epistemic position when we perceive than when we hallucination. In this paper, I develop the capacity view, that is, the view that perceptual experience has epistemic force in virtue of the epistemic and metaphysical primacy of the perceptual capacities employed in perception. By grounding the epistemic force of experience in facts about the metaphysical structure of experience, the capacity view is not only an externalist view, but moreover a naturalistic view of the epistemology of perceptual experience. So it is an externalist and naturalistic alternative to reliabilism. I discuss the repercussions of this view for the justification of beliefs and the epistemic transparency of mental states, as well as, familiar problem cases.     

The two roads of passionate goal pursuit: links with appraisal,coping, and academic achievement

Background and Objectives: In this research, we tested the role of cognitive appraisals in explaining why harmonious and obsessive passion dimensions are related to distinct forms of coping and explored if performance was impacted by these appraisal and coping processes. Design: Undergraduate students (N = 489) participated in a longitudinal study and completed three surveys throughout the course of an academic year. Methods: Participants completed assessments of both passion dimensions (Time 1), reported how they were appraising and coping with the mid-year examination period (Time 2), and provided consent to obtain their final grade in Introductory Psychology (Time 3). The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results: Harmonious and obsessive passion dimensions were linked with approach and avoidant coping responses, respectively. Cognitive appraisals, particularly appraisals of challenge and uncontrollability, played an indirect role in these relationships. In addition, both appraisals and coping responses had an indirect effect in the relationship between passion dimensions and final grade. Conclusions: These results identify cognitive appraisal as a reason why passion dimensions are linked with distinct coping tendencies and demonstrate the role of appraisal and coping processes in the journey to passionate goal attainment.     

Sexual harassment law: It’s not what you think

Companies and colleges often react strongly to allegations of sexual harassment, even firing men on first offenses, because of their fear of lawsuits. A review of sixty-two federal Courts of Appeals decisions in sexual harassment cases indicates that sexual harassment law is not as broad as suggested by these strong reactions.     

Comprehensive community-based education and neurorehabilitation for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury

Children and adolescents who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically have sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and functional skill challenges that must be addressed in acute and post-acute rehabilitation settings. This article describes a community-based school that combines educational, medical, nursing, family, residential-living, and psychological services in a comprehensive program of pediatric neurorehabilitation. The operational, administrative, and clinical features of these service components are presented. A critical aspect of the program is an emphasis on applied behavior analysis procedures for purposes of assessment, treatment formulation, and evaluation. Data are reviewed to demonstrate demographics, patterns of service delivery, and outcome. The school program represents an educational alternative for students with TBI who are discharged from acute-care settings and require comprehensive support services to facilitate their transition and re-entry to public school and community living. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aging and the intrusion superiority effect in visuo-spatial working memory

This study investigated the active component of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) in younger and older adults testing the hypotheses that elderly individuals have a poorer performance than younger ones and that errors in active VSWM tasks depend, at least partially, on difficulties in avoiding intrusions (i.e., avoiding already activated information). In two experiments, participants were presented with sequences of matrices on which three positions were pointed out sequentially: their task was to process all the positions but indicate only the final position of each sequence. Results showed a poorer performance in the elderly compared to the younger group and a higher number of intrusion (errors due to activated but irrelevant positions) rather than invention (errors consisting of pointing out a position never indicated by the experiementer) errors. The number of errors increased when a concurrent task was introduced (Experiment 1) and it was affected by different patterns of matrices (Experiment 2). In general, results show that elderly people have an impaired VSWM and produce a large number of errors due to inhibition failures. However, both the younger and the older adults' visuo-spatial working memory was affected by the presence of activated irrelevant information, the reduction of the available resources, and task constraints.