The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities

Søndenaa, E., Rasmussen, K., Palmstierna, T. & Nøttestad, J. A. (2010). The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 434–438. This present study explored the relationship of interrogative suggestibility (n = 133) and compliance (n = 118) to intellectual functioning among prison inmates. The Norwegian versions of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) and the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) were used. The results supported previous findings of a negative correlation between the Gudjonsson scales and IQ, and the scales were found useful throughout the IQ range. The impact of a memory artifact was discussed in the light of recent studies and criticism of the scales.     

Perceiving concealment in relationships between parents and adolescents: Links with parental behavior

Although concealment in relationships is commonplace, little is known about its implications for the target of concealment. Two large‐scale studies among adolescents and their parents tested the central hypothesis that parents’ perception of child concealment predicts poorer parenting behaviors toward their child. Further, we investigated whether actual child concealment adds to the prediction of parenting behaviors through an interaction with parental perception of concealment. Study 1 yielded evidence for the hypothesized link, which was independent of actual concealment. Study 2 largely replicated these results for perceptions of both concealment and lying while controlling for perceptions of disclosure. Overall, these results suggest that parents’ perception of child concealment coincides with poorer parenting behaviors, regardless of actual child concealment.     

A REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE JOB DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY

Empirical research is reviewed to evaluate the test-retest reliability, internal consistency, scale discrimination, factorial validity, convergent validity across raters and methods, and methods bias of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) of Hackman and Oldham (1975, 1980). The review shows that the JDS has important psychometric limitations, but is able–when used properly–to provide useful information about perceived job properties. Suggestions are made for improving the JDS and for developing additional instruments that assess a broader array of job dimensions and that assess them more objectively than current measures. Job characteristics researchers need a diverse portfolio of measures to accomplish different purposes.     

Exclusivist or Universalist? Origen the ‘Wise Steward of the Word’ (CommRom. V.1.7) and the Issue of Genre

Abstract: This article explores the issue of Origen's universalism. It identifies the two seemingly self‐contradictory strands in the Origen corpus which have led to dual pictures of Origen as either an arch‐universalist or an exclusivist. To make sense of this, the hermeneutical key of CommRom. V.1.7 (in which Origen states Paul covers over his universalism to be a ‘wise steward of the word’) is applied to Origen's own texts. Identifying the different genres in Origen's works, it is clear that different stances on universalism are taken dependent upon the genre of his work. The question is posed as to whether such a move in theology is justifiable and biblical.     

The Sociology of Complex Systems: An Overview of Actor-System-Dynamics Theory

This article illustrates the important scientific role that a systems approach might play within the social sciences and humanities, above all through its contribution to a common language, shared conceptualizations, and theoretical integration in the face of the extreme (and growing) fragmentation among the social sciences (and between the social sciences and the natural sciences). The article outlines a systems theoretic approach, actor-system-dynamics (ASD), whose authors have strived to re-establish systems theorizing in the social sciences (after a period of marginalization since the late 1960s). This is done, in part, by showing how key social science concepts are readily incorporated and applied in social system analysis.     

An Object-Relations Approach to Psychotherapy with Marital Couples,Families, and Children

AN APPROACH to object relations is presented here that conceptualizes the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to provide a thorough review of the object-relations school of thought, the concepts introduced here have direct clinical implications for understanding and influencing the dynamics of the patient-therapist dyad, of the marital pair, and of the family unit. Included are the following concepts: (a) Couples in conflict are viewed as more similar than dissimilar despite apparent differences; (b) The therapist's countertransference reactions are seen as not irrational but a valid reflection of the patient's struggle; (c) The adult or child who is the identified patient is often a carrier or container of the split-off, unacceptable impulses of the other(s); (d) The individual is perceived as part of a unit in which even the more obvious pathological traits have an inherent healthy reparative function.     

Resolutions of Aloneliness

“Aloneliness” is the author's term for the phenomenon that has given rise to such states-of-being as aloneness, loneliness, solitude, alienation, isolation, and aloneliness anxiety. Most studies into this phenomenon have focused on the theoretical dimensions, with little or no attention given to resolution strategies. This article develops such resolution strategies and offers guidelines for counselors.