Are community studies of psychological trauma's impact accurate? A study among Jews and Palestinians

We evaluated the accuracy of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MD) diagnoses using brief assessment instruments conducted by phone. PTSD and MD were assessed by telephone interview in a randomly selected sample of Jewish and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem (N = 150) during a period of marked threat of terrorism and war. We utilized the PTSD Symptom Scale Interview Format (Foa, Riggs, Dancu, & Rothbaum, 1993) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). We then conducted in-depth, in-person interviews within 2 weeks, assessing PTSD and MD using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; Kessler et al., 2004). The prevalence of PTSD and MD diagnosis ascertained by the 2 assessment modalities was similar. Indices of classification accuracy for the phone interview, using the in-person interview as the standard, ranged from modest to high. Brief phone and in-depth in-person measures of PTSD and MD also correlated similarly with other demographic, stress, and coping factors, suggesting convergent validity. Brief phone interviews appear useful for estimating the prevalence of psychological disorders in mass casualty contexts and may have a critical role in both epidemiologic work and guiding public health interventions.     

Integrating work and basic values into the Spherical Model of Interests

Two prominent models of values, one in work and the other in life, were examined as they each related to the dimensions underlying the Spherical Model of Interests (Tracey & Rounds, 1996) as measured by the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI; Tracey, 2002). The technique of external property vector fitting was utilized to plot the value constructs onto two- and three-dimensional interest structures in a sample of 206 college students. Results, when compared across both theoretical and empirical definitions of interest space, indicated that all work values and fewer basic values related to two dimensions, but that only the work value of Achievement and the life value of Power related to the Prestige dimension. Implications for research and for assessment that involves integrating the results of values and interest inventories are discussed.     

An Axiomatic Theory of Law

This paper presents in outline Luigi Ferrajoli’s axiomatic and general theory of law, as developed in his lifelong work Principia Iuris. The first section focuses on the three main aspects of the theory: the methodological, the theoretical and the pragmatic, which respectively represent the theory’s syntax, semantics and its pragmatics. Ferrajoli identifies three deontic gaps of norms: firstly, the one between their validity and efficacy; secondly, the one between their justice and validity; and finally, and most importantly, the one between validity and existence (i.e. normative force). The presence of such gaps is, according to Ferrajoli, the extraordinary innovation that entrenched constitutions have brought into modern legal systems, by establishing norms that are superior to statutes and case law. In this sense, all normative phenomena (except for the constitution itself) can be conceived both as norms and as facts. In the second section the role of juridical science is briefly discussed.     

Intergroup conflict, out-group derogation, and self-directed negative affect among Italian South Tyroleans

In South Tyrol, a multiethnic Italian province, the authors examined the self-directed negative affect that members of an Italian group experienced after they evaluated members of the German and Albanian groups. The authors examined the affect as a function of out-group derogation. The authors argued that to the extent that out-group derogation may run counter to norms toward intergroup fairness, such normative nonconformity will elicit negative affect directed at the self as a function of perceived intergroup conflict. The findings support the authors' line of reasoning: among Italian South Tyroleans, those who expressed greater out-group derogation were led to experience stronger negative self-directed affect when they rated a low-conflict out-group, but not when they rated a high-conflict out-group, compared to participants whose out-group derogation was less.     

An investigation of the psychological effects of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York City: developing and implementing research in the acute postdisaster period

The September 11, 2001, attack on New York City was the largest human-made disaster in United States history. In the first few days after the attack, it became clear that the scope of the attacks (including loss of life, property damage, and financial strain) was unprecedented and that the attacks could result in substantial psychological sequelae in the city population. Researchers at the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies at the New York Academy of Medicine designed and implemented an assessment of the mental health of New Yorkers 5-8 weeks after the attacks. To implement this research in the immediate postdisaster period, researchers at the center had to develop, in a compressed time interval, new academic collaborations, links with potential funders, and unique safeguards for study respondents who may have been suffering from acute psychological distress. Results of the assessment contributed to a New York state mental health needs assessment that secured Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for mental health programs in New York City. This experience suggests that mechanisms should be in place for rapid implementation of mental health assessments after disasters.     

Backward recognition failure: A case of retrieval success

Tulving and Wiseman (1975) have demonstrated that a systematic relationship exists between the recognition probability of recallable words and the overall level of recognition. However, this relationship has only been shown in the paradigms examining “forward” recognition failure, as defined by Rabinowitz, Mandler and Barsalou (1977). A reanalysis of their data shows that just such a systematic relationship exists in “backward” recognition failure experiments, and a model developed from the tenets of Fragmentation Theory is shown to predict this. A critical experiment which falsifies the dual-coding, dual-access model used by Rabinowitz et al. (1977) is also reported, thereby extending the generality of the Fragmentation Model.     

Kurt Wolff’s Interpretation of Mannheim’s Late Political Writings

This article deals with Kurt Wolff’s interpretation of Karl Mannheim, with reference to his writings on social planning. Wolff’s interpretation is presented and discussed in the context provided by other interpreters of Mannheim. They have, generally speaking, given scant attention to the late works by Mannheim, and rather focused on Ideology and Utopia, Mannheim’s most celebrated work. Interpreters who have considered these writings on planning have been mostly or entirely critical of them, objecting to their vagueness and inadequacy as a project of social reform, and the unsatisfactory conceptualization of the élites. These objections have been raised by several interpreters of different ideological persuasions, from the Marxist thinkers Adorno and Lukacs to the conservative T.S. Eliot. Wolff’s interpretation stands out in that it pays less attention to the social and political contents of Mannheim’s reform project, but brings into light its psychological background; namely, the deep anguish Mannheim experienced because of the widespread tendencies to the formation of a mass society, prone to the forces of irrationalism and authoritarianism. A perusal of Mannheim’s works on planning bears out Wolff’s interpretation.     

Computerized procedure for analyzing hand kinematics with a peg-moving task (Sarah-Pegworks)

This article describes Sarah-Pegworks, a computerized procedure for analyzing hand kinematics based on the peg-moving task. The procedure, developed in Visual Basic 6 programming language, includes (1) processing raw data from an infrared motion-tracking system, (2) identifying movement components, and (3) analyzing and presenting hand kinematic information in numerical and graphic outputs. Fifty-five normal adults set the parameters relative to filtering and movement identification. A case was presented to illustrate the clinical value of this procedure.     

Becoming More Conscientious or More Open to Experience? Effects of a Two-Week Smartphone-Based Intervention for Personality Change

Research indicates that it might be possible to change personality traits through intervention, but this clinical research has primarily focused on changing neuroticism. To date, there are no established, proven techniques for changing other domains of personality, such as conscientiousness and openness. This research examined the effects of a two-week smartphone-based intervention to either change one facet of conscientiousness (i.e. self-discipline) or one facet of openness to experience (i.e. openness to action). Two intervention studies (total N = 255) with two active intervention groups for mutual comparisons were conducted. Results of self-reports and observer reports showed that people who wanted to become more self-disciplined were less self-disciplined at pretest. Similarly, people who wanted to become more open to action were less open to action at pretest. The results showed that people who chose the self-discipline intervention showed greater increases in self-discipline, and people who chose the openness to action intervention showed greater increases in openness to action compared with the other group. Changes were maintained until follow-up two and six weeks after the end of the intervention. Future work is needed to examine whether these personality changes are enduring or reflect temporary accentuation as a result of participation in the intervention. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Clues for dominance in female chamois: Age,weight, or horn size?

A study of social interactions among female Apennine chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata was made in Abruzzo National Park, central Italy, between 1981 and 1982. A linear hierarchy among females was observed, rank order being highly correlated with age, weight, and horn size. An analysis of which physical clues are used by females to assess dominance suggests that body weight may be the most important attribute. The percentages of threats and dominance displays decrease beyond 7–8 years of age when females usually start to lose weight, whereas horns keep growing throughout life. Furthermore, the greater effect of weight compared to that of horn size on the rank/age correlation supports our conclusion.