Reduction of interindividual-intergroup discontinuity: the role of leader accountability and proneness to guilt

Two experiments contrasted interactions between group leaders with interactions between individuals in a mixed-motive setting. Consistent with the idea that being accountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to benefit the in-group, Experiment 1 found that accountable leaders were more competitive than individuals. Consistent with the idea that being unaccountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to be cooperative and that high guilt proneness provides motivation to be moral, Experiment 2 found that when guilt proneness was high, unaccountable leaders were less competitive than accountable leaders and did not differ significantly from individuals. In other words, the robust interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect was eliminated when groups had unaccountable leaders who were high in guilt proneness.     

Detection of malingering of psychiatric disorder with the personality assessment inventory: an investigation of criminal defendants

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) Validity scales for the detection of malingered psychiatric disorders, we divided a sample of criminal defendants referred for forensic evaluation by the federal courts into malingering and not malingering groups based on their performance on the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (Rogers, Gillis, & Bagby, 1990). Logistic regression analyses (LGAs) revealed that there were no differences between the malingering and not malingering groups with respect to age, race, years of education, history of drug abuse, or number of previous felony convictions. LGA with malingering versus not malingering as the criterion revealed that the PAI Negative Impression Management (NIM) scale but not the Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF; Rogers, Sewell, Morey & Ustad, 1996) nor the Malingering index (MAL; Morey, 1996) significantly differentiated the malingering from the not malingering group. Receiver operating characteristics analyses demonstrated acceptable sensitivity and specificity for the NIM scale but not the RDF scale or the MAL index. We discuss the results in terms of the suggested cutoff scores for the PAI Validity scales in detecting criminal defendants who are attempting to feign psychiatric disorder.     

The Varieties of Forgiveness Experience: Working toward a Comprehensive Definition of Forgiveness

The definition of forgiveness was explored in a group of 270 young adults, and the underlying dimensions of their definitions compared with those of philosophers, theologians and psychological researchers. Three dimensions were identified: orientation (self, other), direction (passive letting go of negative experiences, active enhancement of positive experiences) and form (emotion, cognition and behavior). Definitions employing a passive letting go of negative experiences were associated with more state forgiveness. Gender differences were found in state forgiveness and in the employment of passive vs. active dimensions of forgiveness. Dr. Kathleen A. Lawler-Row is Professor of Psychology at East Carolina University. Her work focuses on the physiological and health correlates of forgiveness. Correspondence to Dr. K. A. Lawler-Row, e-mail: rowk@ecu.edu. Cynthia Scott and Meirav Edlis-Matityahou are graduate students in the Experimental and Counseling (respectively) programs at the University of Tennessee. Rachel Raines and Erin Moore are undergraduate students working with Dr. Lawler-Row in the department of psychology.     

Multimodal intervention program to improve attention deficits

Is it possible to learn to attend? The purpose of this article is to provide information about the development, administration, and contrast of an intervention program to improve selective and sustained attention in students from 5 to 19 years of age, all attending school, and with difficulties to learn the academic materials corresponding to their age. Two groups participated in the study: one with difficulties in selective attention and the other with difficulties in sustained attention. The group with selective attention difficulties was made up of 102 students, of whom 59 made up the experimental group and 43 the control group. The group of students with difficulties in sustained attention was made up of 106 students, of whom 58 participated as the experimental group and 48 as the control group. The results indicate that this kind of intervention (which combines visual therapy, cortical activation, and training with activity banks) is effective to improve attentional deficits, both at the level of selective attention and of sustained attention.