The Relation of Distressful Childhood Experiences and Empathy in College Undergraduates

We assessed the relation between the empathic responsiveness of young adults and the relative frequency and intensity of distressful events they experienced as children. Undergraduate subjects (N = 111; 56 men and 55 women) were led to believe that they were participating in two separate studies. In the first study, students completed the Distress Experiences in Childhood questionnaire, a filler task, and a slightly abbreviated version of the Mehrabian and Epstein (1972) empathy measure. In the second study, students watched an emotion-laden videotape of a patient (actually an actress) in a therapy session and subsequently completed an emotional-response questionnaire adapted from Batson, O'Quin, Fultz, Vanderplas, and Isen (1983). Students who rated their distressful childhood experiences as highly distressing scored higher on both measures of empathy than did students who rated their experiences as relatively less distressing. In contrast, the number of distressful childhood experiences reported was generally unrelated to empathy scores.     

Affective Expression in Children's Fantasy Play,Primary Process Thinking on the Rorschach,and Divergent Thinking

The relationships among expression of primary process thinking on the Rorschach, affective expression in fantasy play, and divergent thinking were investigated in first and second grade children. Sixty children received the Rorschach (Holt's scoring system), a play task (Affect in Play Scale), and the Alternate Uses Test. Major hypotheses were supported because the amount of primary process thinking on the Rorschach (frequency and percent) was significantly, positively related to amount of affective expression and primary process expression in play. Also, expression of affect in play (frequency, variety, integration, and comfort) was significantly, positively related to divergent thinking, independent of IQ for both boys and girls. On the Rorschach, percent of primary process was significantly related to divergent thinking for boys. The results suggest that the ability to think imaginatively in a free-association style and the ability to have access to affect-laden material are related processes.     

Transperformative education: Toward a new educational paradigm based on transdisciplinarity and artistic performativity

The study we are presenting in this article is based on an analysis of the critical observations of the state of the art of the prevailing educational systems today through evaluations by institutions like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and the logical demand for reform that they call for. As a consequence, we posit an approach to the construction of an educational paradigm based on performative education that draws from performance art, transdisciplinary methodology, and a survey of the specialized literature that frames the epistemological and methodological field of education in complex, ever-changing settings. The methodology used is a heuristic comparison in a pedagogical sense that, based on our analysis of state of the art publications from the educational system, outlines the transfer of the characteristics of performance art and transdisciplinary methodology to the model we call Transperformative Education. As a result of this model, we came up with a proposal for a deep-seated paradigmatic shift that entails everything from the modification of institutional educational policies to the ways of teaching and learning, including, of course, a major challenge: a shift in the direction of educational research.     

The deliberate control of emotional experience through control of expressions

Recent research suggests that deliberate manipulation of expressive behaviours might self-regulate emotional experiences. Eighty people were first induced to adopt emotional expressions in a successfully disguised procedure that identified whether their feelings were affected by their expressive behaviour when they were unaware of the nature and purpose of that behaviour. They then deliberately attempted to change emotional feelings by adopting or inhibiting emotional behaviours, or by focusing on or being distracted from situational cues for emotion. Participants more responsive to their own behaviour in the disguised procedure felt more intensely when they adopted emotional behaviours, and less intensely when they inhibited those behaviours. In contrast, people identified as unresponsive to their own emotional behaviour were most affected by deliberate focus on or distraction from emotional thoughts. The effectiveness of techniques for emotional self-regulation depends on a match with characteristics of the person.     

The Relationships among Reported Strategy Use,Metacognitive Awareness,and Reading Achievement of High School Students

The metacognitive awareness and reading strategy use of high school students enrolled in two high schools were investigated. The correlations between reading scores and strategy use were examined as well as the variation in strategy use by self-rated reading proficiency and academic grades. The factor analysis revealed four factors on the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory: Metacognitive Awareness Strategies, Text-Based Strategies, Reading Process Strategies, and Predicting Strategies. Reading Process Strategies were most preferred by participants, whereas Text-Based Strategies were least preferred. A statistically significant difference in strategy use was found for reading achievement, self-rated reading proficiency, and grade level.     

Finding a New Voice

This article describes a clinical moment in the analysis of a traumatized woman, in which specifically identified, subjectively felt pressures and analytic considerations, informed by the maturation process of analytic training, resulted in a change in my theoretical orientation. It may be surmised that this changing of theories is a process that applies not only to candidates but also to mature analysts, as new theories continue to emerge and develop in the psychoanalytic field.     

Fromm's Spirited Values and Analytic Neutrality

The analyst and the patient must feel enough hope to sustain their active effort. A significant aspect of the analyst's role is inspiring hope. This seems to require that the analyst take a life-affirming position that violates traditional notions of analytic neutrality. Yet, in facilitating the patient's full self-expression, we do not want to lose the benefits of neutrality. Fromm's work can inspire us to try to integrate an attitude of spirited hope with interpretations whose content neutrally encourages the patient to reveal his whole self.     

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated With Suicides of Army Soldiers 2001–2009

Prevalence and risk factors associated with soldiers' suicides 2001–2009 (N = 874) were examined. Army suicide rates increased from 9 per 100,000 in 2001 to 22 per 100,000 in 2009. Soldier suicides were lower than civilians from 2001 to 2007, but higher than civilians after 2007. Army suicides were disproportionately higher for men, deployment experience, and a history of a mental health diagnosis/treatment; and lower for African Americans. Many involved planning (38%), communication (21%), alcohol (19%), or drugs (8%). Many had legal problems (31%), high stress loads (90%), a history of self-injury (10%), and other contributing factors prior to entry into the Army (31%). Implications for understanding suicide among military personnel are discussed.     

Detecting Misspecified Multilevel Structural Equation Models with Common Fit Indices: A Monte Carlo Study

This study investigated the sensitivity of common fit indices (i.e., RMSEA, CFI, TLI, SRMR-W, and SRMR-B) for detecting misspecified multilevel SEMs. The design factors for the Monte Carlo study were numbers of groups in between-group models (100, 150, and 300), group size (10, 20, 30, and 60), intra-class correlation (low, medium, and high), and the types of model misspecification (Simple and Complex). The simulation results showed that CFI, TLI, and RMSEA could only identify the misspecification in the within-group model. Additionally, CFI, TLI, and RMSEA were more sensitive to misspecification in pattern coefficients while SRMR-W was more sensitive to misspecification in factor covariance. Moreover, TLI outperformed both CFI and RMSEA in terms of the hit rates of detecting the within-group misspecification in factor covariance. On the other hand, SRMR-B was the only fit index sensitive to misspecification in the between-group model and more sensitive to misspecification in factor covariance than misspecification in pattern coefficients. Finally, we found that the influence of ICC on the performance of targeted fit indices was trivial.