A structural comparison between state and trait self-regulation models

State and trait-regulation models were compared in 315 eleventh-graders using simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis. Each of the first-, second-, and third-order factor models was found to describe the data from both state and trait measures well. In both state and trait self-regulation models, the third-order factor, self-regulation, is composed of metacognition and effort, and the second-order factor, metacognition, is composed of awareness, cognitive strategy, planning, and self-checking. Findings of invariant factor loadings and factor correlations across state and trait measures indicate that the state and trait self-regulatory factor structures are similar. Unlike the state-trait distinctions found in affective personality domain, clear state-trait distinction was not found in this cognitive domain. In both measures, students who engaged more frequently in metacognitive activities and effort use in their mathematical problem solving performed better than those who did not.     

The self-narrative and acute psychosis

The aim of this study was to apply the narrative approach in analyzing family therapy meetings in cases of acute psychosis. The self-narrative is essential in acute psychosis since it is either collapsed or not coherent enough. The results indicate that it is important to create concrete practices that produce stories concerning the patient in relation to others. The self-narrative must be re-authored by the patient even though it is socially constructed. This is achieved by creating multiple perspectives of self-narratives in so-called therapy meetings with the patient, family members, and staff members representing different professionals.     

Misalignment effects in 3-D versions of Poggendorff displays

Strong misalignment effects are found in three-dimensional (3-D) versions of Poggendorff displays viewed binocularly. The components of the standard 2-D Poggendorff figure—the parallels and the oblique segments—were presented in 3-D depth as a flat rectangular object with occluding edges and an oblique line situated behind the object. Three experiments investigated the misalignment effects under three different observation instructions: Subjects were told to look at the oblique (Experiment 1), at the rectangle (Experiment 2), or at the background (Experiment 3). Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects on judgments of alignment of varying the distance in depth that separates the oblique from the rectangle. Experiment 3 examined the effects of varying the distance between the fixated background and the 3-D Poggendorff figure. Both standard and reversed misalignment effects were obtained. When the viewing condition produces crossed disparity for the oblique, perceived misalignment occurs in the usual Poggendorff direction, but it is reversed with uncrossed disparity. Moreover, the amount of misalignment is related to the amount of disparity, and it can be much stronger than is usual in the 2-D versions of the Poggendorff. The misalignment effects can be explained by binocular integration to produce a single cyclopean image.     

Involving the family in the evaluation and treatment of the child patient: A psychodynamic approach

The purpose of this article is to provide psychotherapists with a tool for family evaluation using the basic principles of psychodynamic work; and to introduce a transitional format for therapists who have practiced family evaluations in their training institutions and now need to adapt this model to the private practitioner's office. A case example illustrates: (1) Use of the therapist's unconscious for diagnosis of the child and its family, (2) joining the family's intersubjective space, and (3) use of play and therapist's neutrality as ways that the psychodynamically oriented clinician involves the family in the evaluation and treatment of the child.     

Gender,psychological well-being and somatic cardiovascular risk factors

The purpose of this study is to determine associations between cardiovascular risk factors and subjective experience of psychological general well-being with special reference to gender-related differences. One hundred fifty white-collar workers in a car manufacturing plant in Sweden participated in a health care screening program. Subjective experience of psychological well-being was significantly correlated with cardiovascular risk factors among both men and women. There were, however, marked differences between the genders. For men, the following specific psychological variables were significantly correlated with cardiovascular risk factors: estimation of general health, anxiety, self-control and vitality. For women, more complex significant relationships between the two sets of variables were found. Moreover, the direction of the correlations differed between the genders. For example, men with cardiovascular risk factors, such as increased blood pressure, blood lipids and body mass index, reported significantly morepositive estimation of their general health. For women the relation was the opposite with a significantly positive correlation (p-0.004) between experience of good health and a low risk factor profile indicating the concordance between physiological and psychological parameters. Possible reasons for these sex differences are discussed.     

Requiem for “schizophrenia”

In this article a brief overview of the treatment of chronic psychosis for the last two centuries is covered, with particular emphasis on many scientifically demonstrated causes of chronic organic psychosis and their medically successful treatment, including recent neurotransmitter manipulations. With respect for the important contributions of Bleuler, the term “schizophrenic” is considered as an unscientific and unprovable nosological construct, which has hampered the successful resolution of chronic psychosis and has outlived its usefulness in the lexicon of modern psychiatry.     

A comparison between the development of the appearance-reality distinction in the People's Republic of China and the United States

A study of the appearance-reality distinction in American 3- to 5-year-olds was replicated with Chinese 3- to 5-year-olds. The error patterns, age changes, and absolute levels of performance were similar in the two samples. It was speculated that the acquisition of this distinction may be a universal, possibly age-linked development that is probably fueled by experiences with appearance-reality discrepancies that are available in all cultures.