Transitional Dynamics of Three Supervisory Styles Using Markov Chain Analysis

Counseling supervision is a critically important process that depends on the establishment of a supportive, collaborative, and developmentally enhancing working relationship. However, the actual verbal exchanges within the supervisory dyads are infrequently examined in the literature. In this study, we used Markov chain analysis to explore supervision dynamics of 34 supervisory dyads and how these dynamics varied within three supervisory styles (i.e., attractive, interpersonally sensitive, and task oriented). Among the three styles, the interpersonally sensitive supervisory style was the only discriminant variable based on which supervisory dyads exhibited statistically different state-transitional patterns (i.e., movement patterns across six supervision events). The results of this study provide implications for clinical supervisors, counselor educators, counselors-in-training, and researchers who are interested in studying process features at the microlevel.     

The electroencephalogram and childhood aggression

Available evidence reveals that, although the incidence of abnormal electroencephalograms (EEGs) varies between 10% and 15% in the general adult population, abnormal EEGs occur in 48–70% of aggressive psychopaths. The fact that the EEGs of aggressive, adult psychopaths show a high degree of similarity to the EEGs of normal young children has suggested that aggression may somehow result from a failure in the normal development of the central nervous system. This “maturational-retardation” hypothesis of aggression was investigated in the present study, the purpose of which was to discover whether behavior-problem children who are severely aggressive have immature EEGs, or EEGs characteristic of chronologically younger children. Six severely aggressive boys, aged 8.7–13.6 years, had their EEGs recorded while performing a simple reaction task. For each subject, an interval histogram consisting of measurements of the duration of 780 half wavelengths in the EEG was generated by the computer using the tracing from the left parietal-occipital (P₃ -0₂ ) derivation. The resulting histograms were subjected to a central moments analysis and age of each subject was estimated from the moments by means of a multiple regression equation. This equation, which relates an individual's age to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th central moments of his EEG interval histogram, had been derived by Surwillo [1975a] on a group of normal boys. In every case, age predicted from the EEG of a severely aggressive subject was less than the subjecťs actual age. This finding was statistically significant, as the probability of the outcome occurring by chance was only 0.016. The results of the experiment supported the maturational-retardation hypothesis of aggressive behavior.     

Differential age effects in load-dependent memory processing

This study examined differential age effects in a young and a middle-aged sample by means of a sequential n-back task with increasing memory load. Participants processed two streams of stimuli either separately as a single task, or simultaneously as a dual task. We investigated age effects as a function of memory load in both the single and the dual-task version. In accuracy, we observed differential age effects as a function of load, which were more prominent in the dual-compared to the single-task versions. That is, middle-aged participants performed poorer than young adults in the dual-task conditions, suggesting that early age-related changes become especially apparent in conditions where task coordination and resource sharing come into play. Regarding latencies, we observed no differential age effect, which we believe is due to characteristics of the sequential n-back task.     

Neural Responses to Partner Rejection Cues

ABSTRACT— Little is known about neural responses in the early automatic-stage processing of rejection cues from a partner. Event-related potentials (ERPs) offer a window to study processes that may be difficult to detect via behavioral methods. We focused on the N400 ERP component, which reflects the amount of semantic processing prompted by a target. When participants were primed by attachment-related contexts ("If I need help from my partner, my partner will be …"), rejection-related words (e.g., dismissing ) elicited greater N400 amplitudes than acceptance-related words (e.g., supporting ). Analyses of results for nonattachment primes suggest that these findings were not simply caused by target valence; the brain responds differentially to cues of partner rejection (vs. acceptance) in under 300 ms. Moreover, these early-stage neurophysiological responses were heightened or dampened as a function of individuals' adult attachment; women characterized by high anxiety and low avoidance showed the greatest N400 responses to cues of partner rejection (vs. acceptance).     

Aging and Information Technology Use: Potential and Barriers

ABSTRACT— Why are older adults reluctant to adopt new technology, such as the Internet, given its potential to improve the quality of their lives? We review evidence indicating that attitudes and abilities are among the most powerful predictors of technology use. We conclude that normative age-related changes in ability must be taken into account when designing products and training programs for aging adults, and we discuss new tools to support designers. The most promising emerging technologies likely lie in training cognitive abilities and augmenting or substituting for impaired abilities. We discuss reasons to expect that the lag in technology adoption between younger and older adults may lessen but will not disappear in future generations.     

Need for Cognition and Conscientiousness as Predictors of Political Interest and Voting Strategy1

Participants (N = 251) used an Internet‐based information board to learn about fictional U.S. presidential candidates in a voting simulation task. Need for cognition and conscientiousness interacted to predict political interest. Participants high in need for cognition and participants high in conscientiousness, regardless of the magnitude of the other construct, exhibited high political interest. Participants low in need for cognition and conscientiousness exhibited low political interest. Additionally, participants high in need for cognition or low in conscientiousness preferred an issue‐based voting strategy, whereas those low in need for cognition or high in conscientiousness preferred a candidate‐based voting strategy. These findings have important implications for how political information should be disseminated to voters through Internet means, such as political websites.     

What Can Causal Claims Mean?

How can Hume account for the meaning of causal claims? The causal realist, I argue, is, on Hume's view, saying something nonsensical. I argue that both realist and agnostic interpretations of Hume are inconsistent with his view of language and intentionality. But what then accounts for this illusion of meaning? And even when we use causal terms in accordance with Hume’s definitions, we seem merely to be making disguised self-reports. I argue that Hume’s view is not as implausible as it sounds by exploring his conception of language.     

Decomposing intuitive components in a conceptual problem solving task

Research into intuitive problem solving has shown that objective closeness of participants' hypotheses were closer to the accurate solution than their subjective ratings of closeness. After separating conceptually intuitive problem solving from the solutions of rational incremental tasks and of sudden insight tasks, we replicated this finding by using more precise measures in a conceptual problem-solving task. In a second study, we distinguished performance level, processing style, implicit knowledge and subjective feeling of closeness to the solution within the problem-solving task and examined the relationships of these different components with measures of intelligence and personality. Verbal intelligence correlated with performance level in problem solving, but not with processing style and implicit knowledge. Faith in intuition, openness to experience, and conscientiousness correlated with processing style, but not with implicit knowledge. These findings suggest that one needs to decompose processing style and intuitive components in problem solving to make predictions on effects of intelligence and personality measures.     

The relationship of body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders to obsessive-compulsive disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and eating disorders are body image disorders that have long been hypothesized to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Available data suggest that BDD and eating disorders are often comorbid with OCD. Data from a variety of domains suggest that both BDD and eating disorders have many similarities with OCD and seem related to OCD. However, these disorders also differ from OCD in some ways. Additional research is needed on the relationship of BDD and eating disorders to OCD, including studies that directly compare them to OCD in a variety of domains, including phenomenology, family history, neurobiology, and etiology.     

The Use of the Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model to Understand a Vietnamese American: A Research Case Study

This article presents the sociohistorical experiences of Vietnamese Americans that contextualize the therapeutic relationship. Using a case study approach, researchers illustrate the use of the Racial/Cultural Identity Development model (D. W. Sue & D. Sue, 2003) in the analysis of an interview with a young, adult, Vietnamese immigrant. Este artículo muestra las experiencias histórico‐sociales de Americanos Vietnamitas que contextualizan la relación terapéutica. Empleando la aproximación de un estudio de caso, investigadores ilustran el uso del modelo de Desarrollo de Identidad Racial/Cultural por sus siglas en inglés, de D.W. Sue & D. Sue, 2003, en el análisis de una entrevista con un inmigrante Vietnamita adulto y joven.