Understanding the social emotional practices of therapists

Emotions are central to the therapy process and skilful use by therapists of client emotion is an essential catalyst to client change. However, the contribution of emotion to the therapy process and how therapists’ social emotional skills are incorporated into psychological practice is still unclear. Using a statistical method for mapping psychological constructs, therapists’ social emotional skills were transformed into a “map” with three spatial dimensions, which was supported by comparative reliability checks. The nature of social emotional skills was further investigated by administering a Q-Sort of emotional practice items to 47 therapists. Ten highly applicable clusters of social emotional skills across seven style patterns with therapists were identified. Tentative links were drawn between demographic data and both clusters and therapist styles. These findings suggest therapists’ social emotional skills can be organised into meaningful clusters and that therapists can be styled according to their responses across these clusters. Furthermore, gaps identified in the model suggest possible “blind spots” in the literature. The implications of these findings are significant for training and practice.     

Integrating Positive Psychology Into Counseling: Why and (When Appropriate) How

Counseling psychology has a historical commitment to enhancing human strengths, a focus that has enjoyed broader interest with the recent emergence of positive psychology. However, theory and evidence linking strength enhancement to counseling goals are still relatively nascent. The authors outline rationales and practical strategies for integrating strength promotion into counseling practice. Forgiveness and spirituality are used as examples illustrating the opportunities, limitations, and challenges of making strength promotion practical (and reimbursable) in counseling.     

Seemingly Anomalous WISC-IV Full Scale IQ Scores in the American and Canadian Standardization Samples

The American and Canadian standardization samples for the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used to ascertain the prevalence of “seemingly anomalous” Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores for all possible sums of scaled scores combinations of the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. About 1% of FSIQ scores in both samples were anomalous (that is, fell outside the range of the four indices). Interestingly, the prevalence of anomalous scores was higher at the extremes of the FSIQ distribution. Moreover, anomalous FSIQ scores occurring above or below the mean of the FSIQ distribution (that is, 100) were larger or smaller, respectively, than any of the four indices. Furthermore, if the range of the four indices did contain the FSIQ (the non-anomalous case), when the FSIQ was below or above 100 it tended to be located distally in the half-segment of the range furthest below or above 100, respectively. A non-technical intuitive analogy from Olympic sports and a statistical explanation for the findings are provided. Important implications for practitioners are also presented. Portions of this paper were presented March 17, 2006 at the 20th annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.     

Frames and brains: elicitation and control of response tendencies

Using magnetic resonance imaging, De Martino and colleagues investigated the neural signature that is associated with decisions between small sure amounts of money and large riskier amounts when the framing of the outcomes is varied. We interpret their results within a dual-system framework, in which different frames evoke distinct emotional responses that different individuals can suppress to various degrees. The study advances the integration of brain imaging results into cognitive theory.     

Hinge versus twist: the effects of 'reference surfaces' and discontinuities on stereoscopic slant perception

Stereoscopic slant perception around a vertical axis (horizontal slant) is often found to be strongly attenuated relative to geometric prediction. Stereo slant is much greater, however, when an adjacent surface, stereoscopically in the frontal plane, is added. This slant enhancement is often attributed to the presence of a 'reference surface' or to a spatial change in the disparity gradient (introducing second and higher derivatives of disparity). Gillam, Chambers, and Russo (1988 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 14 163-175) questioned the role of these factors in that placement of the frontal-plane surface in a direction collinear with the slant axis (twist configuration) sharply reduced latency for perceiving slant whereas placing the same surface in a direction orthogonal to the slant axis (hinge configuration) had little effect. We here confirm these findings for slant magnitude, showing a striking advantage for twist over hinge configurations. We also examined contrast slant measured on the frontal-plane surface in the hinge and twist configurations. Under conditions where test and inducer surfaces have centres at the same depth for twist and hinge, we found that twist configurations produced strong negative slant contrast, while hinge configurations produced significant positive contrast or slant assimilation. We conclude that stereo slant and contrast effects for neighbouring surfaces can only be understood from the patterns and gradients of step disparities present. It is not adequate to consider the second surface merely as a reference slant for the first or as having its effect via a spatial change in the disparity gradient.     

A note on ROC analysis and non-parametric estimate of sensitivity

In the signal detection paradigm, the non-parametric index of sensitivity A′, as first introduced by Pollack and Norman (1964), is a popular alternative to the more traditional d′ measure of sensitivity. Smith (1995) clarified a confusion about the interpretation of A′ in relation to the area beneath proper receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and provided a formula (which he called A′′) for this commonly held interpretation. However, he made an error in his calculations. Here, we rectify this error by providing the correct formula (which we call A) and compare the discrepancy that would have resulted. The corresponding measure for bias b is also provided. Since all such calculations apply to “proper” ROC curves with non-decreasing slopes, we also prove, as a separate result, the slope-monotonicity of ROC curves generated by likelihood-ratio criterion.This revised article was published online in August 2005 with the PDF paginated correctly.     

Strength of affective reaction as a signal to think carefully

Analytic processes reduce biases, but it is not known how or when these processes will be deployed. Based on an affective signal hypothesis, relatively strong affective reactions were expected to result in increased analytic processing and reduced bias in judgement. The valence and strength of affective reactions were manipulated through varying outcomes in a game or evaluative conditioning of a stimulus. Relatively strong positive or negative affective reactions resulted in less desirability bias. Bias reduction only occurred if participants had time to deploy analytic processes and indicators of the degree of analytic processing (in the form of attentional control) predicted less bias. Affective processes have long been acknowledged as a source of bias, but these findings suggest affective processes are also integral to bias reduction.