Event detail and confidence in gambling: The role of counterfactual thought reactions

Differences in people’s reactions to the same events described with full vs. sketchy information are examined. It is hypothesized that differences in counterfactual thought reactions to varying levels of event detail shape confidence in, and willingness to gamble on similar, future events. In three experiments, participants were presented with different types and levels of event detail about their performances on a trivia test, on several games of blackjack, or on gambling on a professional horse race. Upward counterfactual thoughts were observed more frequently in response to losing events containing high levels of detail and specificity. Importantly, counterfactual thought frequency also mediated the relationships between event detail and the level of confidence in and willingness to gamble on similar, future events. Evidence also indicates that this relationship is based on the hindsight bias that results from counterfactual thinking. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive processes and decision making research.     

Homoerotic Countertransference The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name?

Despite the recent interest in erotic countertransference and self-disclosure, little has been written about these phenomena when both analyst and patient are the same gender. Since homoerotic feelings can surface in any treatment, regardless of the participants' sexual orientation, this may well be a phobic avoidance that restricts many treatments, as well as our profession. I propose that the analyst's awareness of homoerotic feelings in the countertransference—including struggling with ways to express them—ultimately can create an atmosphere of safety. I offer an extended case example of one man with whom I colluded to ignore frightening aspects of his sexual fantasies. It was only by using my erotic countertransference, especially at a charged and pivotal moment, that I was able to help the patient begin to integrate split-off aspects of his sexuality.     

A methodological note on ordered Q-Sort ratings

Patterns of ratings using the Q-Sort method and the Likert-type method are compared. Ordering effects are found in Q-Sort ratings that are not present in Likert-type ratings. Specifically, item order is related to both item variance and item placement, such that items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort have less variance and more central placement. This finding is verified across three measures in several datasets spanning nearly 20 years of research. Such item order effects appear to attenuate average absolute relationships (covariances and correlations) between items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort and other measures. Randomization of items may be (in some situations) a viable course of action to minimize these effects at a sample level.     

Differential Attention as a Mechanism of Change in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: Support from Time-Series Analysis

Although many interventions address children’s externalizing behavior problems, negative treatment outcomes remain common. Reasons for success or failure are frequently unclear, due in part to a lack of research identifying treatment change mechanisms. The current study evaluated differential attention as a mechanism of change in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a treatment for children with externalizing problems. Using sequential coding and time-series analysis, we examined parent–child interactions across treatment for three families. Contrary to hypotheses, child prosocial behaviors and parent skill use held steady or decreased across coaching periods, with the exception of one family, where the parent’s skill use increased during coaching. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that parent differential attention would predict child prosocial behavior in the next minute. These results provide support for differential attention as a mechanism of change, but also demonstrate that this factor is not the only such mechanism.     

Social support,social integration,and health-related quality of life over time: Results from the Fitness and Arthritis in Seniors Trial (FAST)

The present study tested whether baseline perceived social support and social integration predicted baseline and follow-up measures of health-related quality of life for 364 older adults with osteoarthritis. The findings are secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial of an exercise intervention. Multiple regression analyses indicate that perceived social support was related to baseline measures of functioning in psychological (depressive symptoms, social functioning, and life satisfaction) and physical domains (self-rated disability, observed physical function, and perceived health), after accounting for demographic and clinical status factors. At 18-month follow-up (additionally controlling for exercise intervention and baseline outcomes), social support significantly predicted changes in psychosocial functioning, but was unrelated to changes in self-reported and observed physical health. The findings indicate that social support is an important predictor of long-term psychosocial outcomes, but is less important than baseline clinical status for physical health endpoints in this cohort of older adults. In contrast, social integration was not a consistent predictor of outcomes.     

Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool Version (BRIEF-P): Test Review and Clinical Guidelines for Use

The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) is a standardized questionnaire that measures executive functioning in preschoolers. This test review provides an overview of the BRIEF-P, including scale structure, administration, norms, score interpretation, current reliability and validity evidence, and provides general guidelines for clinical use.     

Cognitive Performance as a Function of Sex and Handedness: An Evaluation of the Levy Hypothesis

Investigated incidence of left-handedness and non-right-handedness in a sample of 9th-grade students (n=313). In comparison, incidence among undergraduates is underestimated. Gitld were not significantly more right-handed than boys in the 9th grade sample but were significantly (p<01) more right-handed than boys in a sample of math students, grades 9-11 (n = 1097). Handedness did not affect math achievement (Test of Academic Progress), verbal (Quick Word Test) or spatial (Space Relations Test of the Differential Aptitude Test) performance in the 9th (n = 108) or 10th (n = 75) grade students, for 11th grade students (n = 98) a significant sex-by-handedness-by-measures (verbal-spatial) interaction was found (p<05). Results did not support the hypothesis of Levy's that left-handedness decreases spatial performance and benefits verbal performance, nor did the results support the further hypothesis that the cognitive pattern of higher verbal than spatial performance often considered characteristic of females can be attributed to more bilateral cerebral verbal function in females as in left-handers.