Effectiveness of an empirically supported treatment for social phobia in the field

This study examined the effectiveness of individual exposure combined with cognitive restructuring for social phobia in a clinical setting as well as the influence of sample restriction criteria on the effect size. Participants were 217 unselected patients with a primary diagnosis of social phobia who were treated by 57 therapists in four outpatient clinics of the Christoph-Dornier-Foundation of Clinical Psychology in Germany. Results 6 weeks after the end of therapy showed highly significant reductions in social phobic fears and avoidance as well as in general anxiety and symptoms of depression. However, patients who dropped out during therapy reported a significantly higher degree of depression. Results did not differ between the four outpatient clinics and are comparable with the average effect-sizes reported by meta-analytic studies of controlled efficacy research, using selected patients. Also, restricting the sample according to the selection criteria often applied in research settings did not result in higher effect sizes for the applied outcome measures. We conclude that individual cognitive behavioural therapy for social phobia can be transported from research settings to the field of mental health.     

Rate-decreasing effects of the atypical neuroleptic risperidone attenuated by conditions of reinforcement in a woman with mental retardation

Effects of two doses of risperidone on the performance of a matching task under tangible reinforcement and nonreinforcement conditions were measured in a woman with mental retardation. In both conditions, time to complete the task increased and response rates decreased under two doses of risperidone. Accuracy was generally unchanged. These changes were much smaller in the tangible reinforcement condition; thus, reinforcement seemed to protect performance from the rate-decreasing effects of risperidone.     

Aging and memory for words and action events: effects of item repetition and list length

We were concerned with the effects of item repetition, list length, and class of item on free recall in elderly as compared with young adults. In Experiment 1, samples of young and elderly adults recalled a list of 27 words and a list of 27 action events (minitasks performed by the subjects). Some items were presented once and some twice. Although the younger subjects showed better recall on both types of lists, the older sample benefited from item repetition as much as did the younger sample. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2. A second finding in Experiment 2 was a significant aging effect in the recall of long but not of short lists of both words and action events. The absence of an Age X Repetition Effect interaction was ascribed to the strength nature of the repetition manipulation. The age effects in the recall of the long lists were attributed to possible deficits in retrieval proficiency.     

The roles of hopeful thinking in preventing problems and enhancing strengths

From its most famous tale, that of Pandora, hope was meant to prevent the emergence and reemergence of life difficulties. A new model defining hope as a combination of agentic pathways and goal-directed thinking is reviewed. Comparisons of the similarities of this theory to other existing theories are made. The beneficial roles of hope in primary (before the appearance of a problem) and secondary (after a problem has appeared) prevention are explored. Primary enhancement is introduced as involving those thoughts and actions that establish optimal functioning and satisfaction. Secondary enhancement is posited to describe those thoughts and actions that are undertaken over time so as to further functioning and satisfaction in order to reach peak levels. Using hope theory as a lens, these primary and secondary enhancement processes are described. The natural synergy between prevention and enhancement activities is discussed, along with the future priorities for using hope in prevention and enhancement efforts.     

“You Can't Eat WHAT?” Managing the Stigma of Celiac Disease

Drawing on modified labeling theory and the concept of symbolic entrapment, the goal of the current research is to examine the perceptions and management of stigma associated with Celiac Disease (CD). Through an assessment of life history narratives from a sample of adults with the disease, we find that the younger subjects who were most recently diagnosed with CD reported the most significant problems with disease-related stigma, social activities, and interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, we find that the subjects utilize a variety of stigma-management strategies to protect their pre-disease identities.     

Emerging issues in developmental eye-tracking research: Insights from the workshop in Hannover,October 2013

This paper provides a summary of the main issues that arose in the final “Discussion” session at the Volkswagen Workshop on Developmental Eye-tracking Research in Reading held in Hannover, Germany, October 2013. The Workshop focused on eye movement research investigating reading development, that is, change in reading performance with age. Development was considered both in relation to children as they changed from novice to more efficient readers, as well as change in reading performance in older adult readers, usually associated with a decline in reading efficiency. The final Discussion session provided an opportunity for attendees to comment on, discuss, and debate any issues that arose in the meeting that they felt were important.     

Belief,Credence, and Pragmatic Encroachment1

This paper compares two alternative explanations of pragmatic encroachment on knowledge (i.e., the claim that whether an agent knows that p can depend on pragmatic factors). After reviewing the evidence for such pragmatic encroachment, we ask how it is best explained, assuming it obtains. Several authors have recently argued that the best explanation is provided by a particular account of belief, which we call pragmatic credal reductivism. On this view, what it is for an agent to believe a proposition is for her credence in this proposition to be above a certain threshold, a threshold that varies depending on pragmatic factors. We show that while this account of belief can provide an elegant explanation of pragmatic encroachment on knowledge, it is not alone in doing so, for an alternative account of belief, which we call the reasoning disposition account, can do so as well. And the latter account, we argue, is far more plausible than pragmatic credal reductivism, since it accords far better with a number of claims about belief that are very hard to deny.     

The Dual Effects of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Relationships to Research Productivity and Career Outcomes in Academe

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been shown to be important for organizational effectiveness, yet less is known about the relationship between OCB and objective outcomes for individuals. We investigate the relationship between OCB and both short-term and longer term outcomes within the context of an outcome-based reward system. We also investigate a type of OCB specific to professional occupations, namely, professional service OCB. Using resource allocation and social exchange theories, we hypothesize that OCB directed internally to the employing organization may have a negative impact on individuals’ productivity and career outcomes while engaging in professional service OCB would be positively related to these outcomes. Results from a survey of 622 faculty members in research universities provide support for these hypotheses. Future research directions are discussed.     

Précis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Slaves of the Passions</Emphasis>

In this paper, I show how a solution to Lewis?? problem of temporary intrinsics is also a response to McTaggart??s argument that the A-series is incoherent. There are three strategies Lewis considers for solving the problem of temporary intrinsics: perdurantism, presentism, and property-indexing. William Lane Craig (Analysis 58(2):122?C127, 1998) has examined how the three strategies fare with respect to McTaggart??s argument. The only viable solution Lewis considers to the problem of temporary intrinsics that also succeeds against McTaggart, Craig claims, is presentism. This gives us prima facie reason to be presentists. But there is a strategy Craig does not consider-indexing, or relativizing, the copula. In this paper, I show that to the degree that indexing the copula solves the problem of temporary intrinsics, it also shows the invalidity of McTaggart??s argument. The upshot: the copula-indexer needn??t affirm the unreality of time, nor need she embrace presentism.