The Role of Self-Awareness and Self-Monitoring in Charismatic Relationships

In this paper, a hypothesis from a theory of charismatic relationships is examined that incorporates follower's level of self-monitoring and state of self-awareness. It is argued that changes in the state of self-awareness affect the characteristics of the short-term charismatic relationship between leader and follower, but only for high self-monitoring followers. Providing support for the hypothesis was a repeated-measures study. Participants ( N = 78) viewed video vignettes of charismatic leaders presenting different messages, in either a high or low self-awareness condition. When high in self-awareness, participants with a high self-monitoring orientation were more likely than when in a state of low self-awareness to internalize only those messages congruent with their values and beliefs.     

Gangsta’ Rap and a Murder in Bakersfield1

The present study explores the biasing effects of gangsta’ rap lyrics on subject perceptions of a murder trial defendant's personality. The lyrics were those actually authored by a defendant in a murder trial on which the present author was a psychological consultant for the defense. Results strongly indicate that the defendant was seen as more likely to have committed a murder than had he not been presented as authoring such lyrics. Surprisingly, results also show that the writing of such rap lyrics was more damning in terms of adjudged personality characteristics than was the fact of being charged with murder.     

The Questioning Process in Maudsley Family-Based Treatment. Part 1: Deviation Amplification

Maudsley family based treatment (FBT) continues to demonstrate promising evidence in the treatment of adolescent presentations of anorexia nervosa. In the earlier stages of this treatment modality, the process of empowering families, and in particular, helping parent to follow their natural instincts in making united decisions around re-feeding their child is critical. This paper aims to provide FBT practitioners with structured interviewing guidelines around the amplification of familial interactions around food, drawing on existing familial strengths and therefore empowering parents and families in their process of change. The questioning skills outlined are discussed in light of the theoretical tenets of the Maudsley FBT model.     

Dating Violence Prevention Programming: Directions for Future Interventions

Dating violence among college students is a widespread and destructive problem. The field of dating violence has seen a substantial rise in research over the past several years, which has improved our understanding of factors that increase risk for perpetration. Unfortunately, there has been less attention paid to dating violence prevention programming, and existing programs have been marred with methodological weaknesses and a lack of demonstrated effectiveness in reducing aggression. In hopes of sparking new research on dating violence prevention programs, the current review examines possible new avenues for dating violence prevention programming among college students. We discuss clinical interventions that have shown to be effective in reducing a number of problematic behaviors, including motivational interventions, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, and bystander interventions, and how they could be applied to dating violence prevention. We also discuss methodological issues to consider when implementing dating violence prevention programs.     

Maternal Expressive Style and Children's Emotional Development

Maternal expressive styles, based on a combination of positive and negative expressive patterns, were identified at two points in time and related to multiple aspects of preschool children's emotional development. Mother–child pairs from 260 families participated when the children were 3 years old, and 240 participated again at aged 4 years. Expressive styles were identified at age 3 using cluster analysis, replicated at age 4 and examined in relation to children's emotional understanding, expressiveness and regulation. Three expressive styles were identified: high positive/low negative, very low positive/average negative and average positive/very high negative. Cluster membership was stable in 63% of families from age 3 to 4 years; no systematic patterns of change were evident in the remaining families. Expressive style was related to aspects of children's emotional expression at 3 years and to emotion expression and regulation at 4 years. Children's expressiveness and regulation at age 3 were also related to changes in mothers' expressive styles over 1 year. Identifying mothers' expressive styles provides a unique way to understand the potential role of the emotional climates in which preschool‐aged children learn to express and regulate their own emotions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowing minds, controlling actions: the developmental relations between theory of mind and executive function from 2 to 4 years of age

This longitudinal study examined the concurrent and predictive relations between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 82 preschoolers who were assessed when they were 2, 3, and 4 years old. The results showed that the concurrent relation between EF and ToM, after controlling for age, verbal ability, and sex, was significant at 3 and 4 years of age but not at 2 years of age. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that EF at age 2 significantly predicted ToM at age 3 and that EF at age 3 significantly predicted ToM at age 4, over and above the effects of age, verbal ability, and prior performance on ToM tasks. However, ToM at ages 2 and 3 did not explain a significant amount of variance in EF at age 4. Bootstrap procedures revealed that verbal ability at age 3 fully mediated the relation between ToM at age 2 and EF at age 4.     

Introduction: babies in the consulting room: what happens when analyst, mother, and infant meet?

Analytic work with a pregnant woman may foster the psychological gestation of the self-as-mother. For the mother--as for the infant--the developmental process continues well beyond delivery. It should not surprise us, then, that many mothers continue to bring their babies to sessions after birth. Analytic work in this context can affect a patient's sense of herself, and perhaps her competence, as a mother. Yet the presence of babies in the consulting room is an underacknowledged feature of contemporary practice. For this section of JAPA, we have collected three papers that explore some of the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when a patient brings her baby to treatment. Earlier versions of each paper were first presented at a panel, "Babies in the Consulting Room," at the June 2011 meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association in San Francisco.