Patient Perspectives on Co-Therapists’ Behaviors in Group CBT

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - Therapist behaviour influences group cohesion and the outcome of group psychotherapy. The group members make first hand observations of the therapists in...     

Predicting proactive behaviour at work: Exploring the role of personality as an antecedent of whistleblowing behaviour

This paper reports on the role of personality as an antecedent of proactive behaviour at work in the form of whistleblowing. In the interest of triangulation, two studies were used, along with two personality measures. The results of Study 1, conducted among 503 municipality employees, show that the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory dimensions of extraversion and agreeableness are significantly associated with whistleblowing, with odds ratios of 1.13 and 0.91, respectively. The result from Study 2, conducted among a representative sample of employees, shows that the circumplex of interpersonal problems dimension domineering was significantly associated with whistleblowing, with an odds ratio of 1.66. The results suggest that personality, in the form of high extraversion and dominance and low agreeableness, do play a role as antecedents of whistleblowing.     

Social network as a moderator in the relation between trauma exposure and trauma reaction: a survey among UN soldiers and relief workers

Social network as a moderator between trauma exposure and post-trauma symptomatology was studied. Two samples--relief workers and UN soldiers--were assessed on trauma exposure, social network and three dependent measures related to post-trauma reactions. Regression analysis and interaction plots were used to determine the presence of interaction effects between trauma exposure and social network. All four network variables moderated the relationship between trauma exposure and post-trauma reactions among relief workers, while among UN soldiers only two such buffer effects were found. Furthermore, among UN soldiers one of these interaction effects was reversed, indicating social support to be important for those low on trauma exposure, while among relief workers support was important in the high-exposure condition. The results indicate a difference with respect to the importance of social network as a moderator between groups exposed to different kinds of war trauma. Differences in motivational systems may also exist. However, further research will have to establish this.     

Identification of Matrices in Science and Engineering

Engineering science is a scientific discipline that from the point of view of epistemology and the philosophy of science has been somewhat neglected. When engineering science was under philosophical scrutiny it often just involved the question of whether engineering is a spin-off of pure and applied science and their methods. We, however, hold that engineering is a science governed by its own epistemology, methodology and ontology. This point is systematically argued by comparing the different sciences with respect to a particular set of characterization criteria. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

MMPI-2 configurations among victims of bullying at work

Bullying at work, the systematic exposure to psychological violence and harassment in the workplace, places a serious strain on many employees. The aim of this study was to investigate psychological correlates of bullying among former and current victims using the MMPI-2. A total of 85 individuals, recruited among members of two Norwegian associations of bullying victims, participated in the study. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) Bullied victims have an elevated personality profile on the MMPI-2, although different kinds of personality profiles may be distinguished; (2) the personality profiles of the victims are related to the type of behaviour and the intensity of the behaviours experienced by the victim. Both hypotheses were confirmed. The study demonstrated, using cluster analysis, that the sample of bullied victims can be divided into three personality groups (“The seriously affected”, “The disappointed and depressed”, and “The common”.) The elevated 3-2-1 personality profile was most typical. Surprisingly, the victims of the common cluster reported the highest level of exposure to bullying, suggesting a vulnerability factor among the other victims. The scores on the new MMPI-2 Content scales were also analysed. The seriously affected group reported a high level of generalized anxiety, fear of specific incidences, and many health concern worries.     

Metaphysical Nihilism and Cosmological Arguments: Some Tractarian Comments

Abstract: This paper explores the relevance of themes from Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico‐Philosophicus to the ongoing discussion of metaphysical nihilism. I set out by showing how metaphysical nihilism is of paramount importance for cosmological arguments. Metaphysical nihilism is the position that there might have been nothing. Two conflicting intuitions emerge from a survey of discussions of metaphysical nihilism: Firstly, that metaphysical nihilism is true, and secondly, that formulations of the position are somehow unclear or nonsensical. By considering formalizations of philosophical language, the second intuition is sharpened, while the first intuition is given expression through the Tractarian distinction between what is said and what is shown by our symbolism. I conclude by exploring and rejecting objections to making metaphysical nihilism a scientific, rather than a philosophical question.