Of mice and marbles: Novel perspectives on burying behavior as a screening test for psychiatric illness

Burying forms part of the normal behavioral routine of rodents, although its expression is species-specific. However, it has been suggested that aberrant burying behavior, of which marble-burying (MB) is an example, may represent neophobic and/or compulsive-like behavior. In the present investigation, we assessed MB in an established animal model of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD)—namely, spontaneous stereotypy in the deer mouse—to establish whether high (H) stereotypy is associated with neophobia and/or another compulsive endophenotype, i.e. MB, as compared to nonstereotypical (N) controls. A three-trial, one-zone MB test was performed over three consecutive evenings both before and after chronic treatment with high-dose (50 mg/kg/day) oral escitalopram. Neophobia was measured via the number of marbles buried during the first pre- and posttreatment MB trials, and compulsive-like behavior via the number of marbles buried over all pre- and posttreatment MB trials. The data from the present study support earlier findings that burying is a normal behavioral routine (inherent burying behavior, IBB) that is expressed by all deer mice, irrespective of stereotypical cohort, and is not associated with either neophobia or compulsiveness. Indeed, chronic escitalopram treatment, which is similarly effective in treating clinical anxiety and OCD, as well as in attenuating H behavior, failed to influence IBB. Although 11 % of the animals presented with a unique burying endophenotype (high burying behavior), escitalopram also failed to attenuate said behavior, necessitating further investigation as to its relevance. In conclusion, MB cannot be regarded as a measure of anxiety-like or compulsive behavior in the deer mouse model of OCD.     

Emotional Intelligence in the Collection of Debt

Two studies are reported which compare more and less successful account officers (debt collectors) in terms of their emotional intelligence, measured using the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory. The findings support the view that higher levels of emotional intelligence lead to enhanced job performance. Implications for selection are considered in the conclusion.     

Developmental Changes in Content of Movement Responses

This study examines the relationship between Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) measured personality characteristics and marital distress and provides empirical validation for using the MMPI-2 with a marital therapy population. Studied were 150 couples in marital therapy and 841 normal couples who participated in the MMPI-2 restandardization study. The MMPI-2, a biographical form, a partner rating form, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) were administered to all couples. The marital counseling group resembled previous marital counseling samples studied with the MMPI and scored significantly higher than the normative sample on several MMPI-2 scales. Relationships between the DAS and MMPI-2 clinical and content scale scores are reported. The Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) clinical scale and Family Problems (FAM) content scale were the most powerful group discriminators and strongest correlates of the DAS; their use as indices of marital distress is tested. The meaning of Pd as an index in assessing personality factors in marital distress is explored.     

The association between adolescents' attitudes toward suicide and their psychosocial background and suicidal tendencies.

The present study examined the relationship between adolescents' attitudes toward suicide and their psychosocial background. It also evaluated the association between attitudes toward suicide and the subjects' own suicidal tendencies. A questionnaire assessing these issues was administered to 525 Israeli adolescents. Results indicated that significantly more females, nonreligious adolescents, those exposed to suicidal behavior, and those with increased suicidal risk held more accepting attitudes. Ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, and living in intact/nonintact families were not associated with adolescents' attitudes toward suicide.     

When symptom is symbol: some comments on Rosemary Gordon's, ‘Masochism: the shadow side of the archetypal need to venerate and worship’

This paper is a commentary on Rosemary Gordon's paper, ‘Masochism: the shadow side of the archetypal need to venerate and worship’, with a suggestion for an alternative interpretation of masochism as a part of a sado‐masochistic couple. Gordon postulates an archetypal need to venerate and worship that can be hidden in the shadow and distorted in such practices as sexual masochism. Her paper also offers several avenues of exploration for further studies in connection with the phenomenon of masochism, including sexual perversion (‘paraphilia’), chronic psychological victimhood, PTSD and traumatology, religious extremist behaviour such as self‐flagellation, transformation in the individuation process and numinous experience. An extension of her hypothesis to include religious problems of modernity is suggested.     

Psychological individuation and spiritual enlightenment: some comparisons and points of contact

In his writings on individuation Jung often references Eastern religions and philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. This essay discusses differences and similarities between analytical psychology's concept of individuation, especially in its advanced stages, and enlightenment as expressed in such texts as Zen (Chan) Buddhism's Ten Ox‐Herding Pictures. I advance the argument that important common features can be found while cultural differences must also be respected. There is here a convergence between West and East that can foster dialogue and mutuality.     

Mechanisms in Self-Determined Exercise Motivation: Effects of a Theory Informed Pilot Intervention

The purpose was to examine the effects of an exercise pilot intervention informed by Self-determination theory. The 64 participants were randomized into experimental and control group. The main questions were whether the intervention would influence (a) exercise level, (b) motivation quality, and (c) autonomy and competence need satisfaction. We also examined the indirect effects of self-determined motivation on exercise. Significant intervention effects were found regarding exercise level and motivation quality. Also, intervention effect on exercise was found to be mediated by motivation quality and identified regulation. The results provide interesting information about the underlying mechanisms involved in exercise behaviour change.