Cross-examination of the expert witness: Do hostile tactics affect impressions of a simulated jury?

Ninety-one introductory psychology students viewed a videotape of a simulated personal damage trial in which a psychologist expert witness testified about a plaintiff's psychological problems resulting from trauma. The defense attorney's cross-examination tactics, employed against the expert witness, were varied in the videotape. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used, with leading versus nonleading questions and a hostile versus nonhostile attorney. An interaction effect was obtained, in which a hostile attorney using leading questions and a nonhostile attorney using nonleading questions were perceived as least effective.     

Problems in measuring the success of family therapy in a common clinical setting: impasse and solutions.

Families treated in conjoint therapy in the outpatient clinic of a general community hospital for about a year and other families that refused further contact with the same clinic after no more than two interviews were followed up about four and a half years later. The main difference found was that the treated group reported more new symptoms. The complexities of interpreting the data obtained are used as a basis for discussing problems that confront, and may deter, clinics attempting to evaluate their clinical work by means of controlled, nonfactorial or related designs. Process or correlational studies are suggested as an alternate choice.     

Videotaped simulated families as a tool in family therapy outcome research

Twenty-two therapists who had treated 57 families in brief conjoint family therapy under supervision responded to a videotaped simulated family as if they were treating it. Their responses were audiotaped and coded on a system devised for this study. Positive relationships were found between the ratings of expertise based on the coding system, and independent ratings of the treated families' satisfaction with treatment and the status of the presenting symptoms 6 months after termination. Videotaped simulated families are potentially useful as standardizable methods of revealing individual differences in therapists for family therapy outcome research.     

Relational Entitlement,Early Recollections of Parental Care,and Attachment Orientation

The present study examined whether inadequate parental care has a long-term impact on pathological relational entitlement in romantic relations, and whether this impact is mediated by insecure attachment style. Our cohort of 335 Israeli adults completed Sense of Relational Entitlement (SRE), Experience in Close Relationships (ECR), and Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) questionnaires. The results generally supported our hypotheses. Avoidant attachment style fully and negatively mediated the link between maternal adequate care and SRE total entitlement. Anxious attachment style fully and negatively mediated the link between PBI paternal adequate care and SRE total entitlement. Women were found to report more relational entitlement. These results support the notion that pathological relational entitlement has its roots in recollections of early parental care and attachment experiences. The results of the study are discussed in the context of adult attachment and romantic relationships.     

Does Object Height Affect the Dart Throwing Motion Angle during Seated Activities of Daily Living?

Abstract

Complex wrist motions are needed to complete various daily activities. Analyzing the multidimensional motion of the wrist is crucial for understanding our functional movement. Several studies have shown that numerous activities of daily livings (ADLs) are performed using an oblique plane of wrist motion from radial-extension to ulnar-flexion, named the Dart Throwing Motion (DTM) plane. To the best of our knowledge, the DTM plane angle performed during ADLs has not been compared between different heights (e.g. table, shoulder and head height), as is common when performing day-to-day tasks. In this study, we compared DTM plane angles when performing different ADLs at three different heights and examined the relationship between DTM plane angles and limb position. We found that height had a significant effect on the DTM plane angles - the mean DTM plane angle was greater at the lower level compared to the mid and higher levels. A significant effect of shoulder orientation on mean DTM plane angles was shown in the sagittal and coronal planes. Our findings support the importance of training daily tasks at different heights during rehabilitation following wrist injuries, in order to explore a large range of DTM angles, to accommodate needs of common ADLs.     

Friendsickness in the Transition to College: Precollege Predictors and College Adjustment Correlates

In this study friendsickness (preoccupation with and concern for the loss of or change in precollege friendships) is seen as a significant source of distress for college students, affecting college adjustment. A short‐term longitudinal study of college students (N = 70) examined associations between friendsickness, precollege predictors, and dimensions of college adjustment 10 weeks into the first semester. As hypothesized, friendsickness was associated with precollege social concerns, discrepancy between precollege expectations and college experiences, more precollege friends in the college social network, and loneliness and poor self‐esteem in college. Implications for precollege prevention of and college intervention efforts for friendsickness are discussed.     

Pets as safe havens and secure bases: The moderating role of pet attachment orientations

We examined the extent to which a pet functions as an attachment figure. In Study 1, 165 pet owners performed a goal exploration task, assessing the number of life goals generated and confidence in goal attainment. In Study 2, 120 pet owners performed a distress-eliciting task while assessing blood pressure. In both studies, participants were divided into three conditions: pet physical presence, pet cognitive presence, and no pet presence. As compared to no pet presence, physical or cognitive pet presence increased the number of life goals generated and self-confidence in goal attainment and reduced blood pressure during the distress-eliciting task. The findings confirm the ability of a pet to provide a safe-haven and a secure-base and the moderating role of attachment insecurities.     

Effects of guided imagery with relaxation training on anxiety and quality of life among patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) impacts quality of life (QoL). Psychological factors influence the course of the disease and should be targeted for intervention.

Methods: Our study was a prospective, randomised control trial. Fifty-six outpatients were randomly chosen and allocated to a treatment group or a waiting-list control group. Treatment group patients attended three relaxation-training sessions and received an audio disc for home practice. Evaluations performed pre and post-treatment: state anxiety was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, QoL with the IBD Questionnaire. The Visual Analogue Scale assessed pain, depression, stress and mood. Patients completed a symptom monitoring diary. The control group's symptoms were monitored without study-related treatment.

Results: Thirty-nine subjects completed the study and were included in the data analysis. Following the relaxation-training intervention, the treatment group's (n?=?18) measured results showed a statistically significant improvement as compared to the control group (n?=?21) (time by treatment interaction): anxiety levels decreased (p?<?0.01), QoL and mood improved (p?<?0.05), while levels of pain and stress decreased (p?<?0.01).

Conclusions: Findings indicate IBD patients may benefit from relaxation training in their holistic care. New studies as well as further investigation of the subject are warranted.     

The role of centrality to self-concept in moderating the associations between injury perceptions and outcomes

Abstract

Objectives: To test the centrality of injury to self-concept as a moderator of the associations between injury perceptions and outcomes.

Methods: Two concurrent studies on samples of injured individuals.

Measures: The centrality of injury to one’s self concept was measured by the degree of self-injury separation (PRISM); injury perceptions were measured by the injury perception questionnaire; and outcomes by standard scales of self-assessed health, physical, emotional and social functioning, vitality, depression, anxiety and somatisation. Regression analyses examined the significance of adding the interactions between injury centrality and injury perceptions to explained outcome variance, beyond their separate contributions.

Results: Both injury centrality and injury perceptions significantly explained variance in patients’ functioning and well-being. Injury centrality moderated the associations between various injury perceptions and outcomes, especially pronounced for emotional representations of the injury. As hypothesised, the effects of injury perceptions on outcomes were stronger among patients for whom the injury was central to their self-concept compared to patients who perceived the injury as peripheral to their self-concept.

Conclusions: ‘Centrality to the self’ is a moderator of the impact of perceptions on outcomes of injuries. The findings suggest ways to tailor interventions to sub-groups of injured patients based on injury centrality to their self-concept.