The Two Faces of Codependent Relating: A Research-Based Perspective

Using an overview of the controversial concept of codependency as a backdrop, the paper summarizes outcomes of a project devoted to developing and applying a technique for assessing codependent relating. Results support the clinically based contention that there is a pattern of relating in dysfunctional relationships that warrants the label codependent, and that some (but not all) cases of such relating stem from a distinctive codependency personality syndrome. These results gave rise to a perspective that combines a relational process with a dispositional view of codependent relating, and proposes that codependency may be either endogenous (chronic) or exogenous (reactive).     

How much is ‘quite a bit’? Mapping between numerical values and vague quantifiers

Vague quantifiers, terms like “quite a bit” and “hardly ever”, are often used in the response scales of psychology and social science questionnaires to measure the frequency of certain behaviours. However, responses to such questions arc confounded because people differ in their interpretations of vague quantifiers. We propose that people interpret vague quantifiers by constructing a notion of how most people behave. Examining a critical topic for media researchers–estimating the amount of television walched–we conducted two split-ballot experiments in national surveys. Our first study (n = 1028) demonstrates that the amount people think other people watch varies according to how much television they watch themselves and the behaviour of their social group. Our second experiment (n = 1106) extends this result to the interpretation of vague quantifiers. These findings shed light on the psychological processes involved when interpreting vague quantifiers, and bring into question the validity of many survey results.     

Cognitive Ability Tests and the Situational Interview: A Test of Incremental Validity

This study investigated the validity and incremental validity of a situational interview beyond that of a composite measure of cognitive ability. Forty-seven factory service technicians underwent an interview and took four cognitive ability tests. Supervisors rated the performance of these subjects in a concurrent validation study. The interview was found to be a valid predictor of a supervisor rating of performance (r = 0.32, p < 0.05 uncorrected), however, was unable to show incremental validity over ability tests (Incremental R²= 0.05, n.s.). Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are discussed.     

Temperamental consequences of infant difficultness

Two central issues pertaining to the construct of infant temperamental “difficultness” were investigated in this longitudinal project. First, the cross-time convergent validity of two parent-report measures of temperament was examined. Second, the temperamental consequences of difficultness during infancy were studied by prospectively following children from infancy to adolescence. Additionally, using MANOVA and structural equation modeling, gender comparisons were conducted to determine whether or not the construct of difficultness was similar for males and females. Analyses were based on parent reports (Ns=96−110) of infant difficultness on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) when children were 18 months of age. The nine temperament dimensions of the New York Longitudinal Study model were also assessed by parent report inventories when children were 2, 3, 3.5, 5, 8, 10, and 12 years old. Results showed no pervasive evidence of gender differences in infant difficultness. Convergent validity between the ICQ and subsequent temperament measures was evidenced by significant cross-time canonical correlations reaching to moderate magnitude and significant bivariate correlations between infant difficultness and specific temperament dimensions. Temperamental difficultness during infancy predicted subsequent adverse temperamental qualities such as unadaptability and negative mood at every age from 2 through 12 years.     

Developmental trends in the interaction between auditory and linguistic processing

The developmental course of multidimensional speech processing was examined in 80 children between 3 and 6 years of age and in 60 adults between 20 and 86 years of age. Processing interactions were assessed with a speeded classification task (Garner, 1974a), which required the subjects to attend selectively to the voice dimension while ignoring the linguistic dimension, and vice versa. The children and adults exhibited both similarities and differences in the patterns of processing dependencies. For all ages, performance for each dimension was slower in the presence of variation in the irrelevant dimension; irrelevant variation in the voice dimension disrupted performance more than irrelevant variation in the linguistic dimension. Trends in the degree of interference, on the other hand, showed significant differences between dimensions as a function of age. Whereas the degree of interference for the voice-dimension-relevant did not show significant age-related change, the degree of interference for the word-dimension-relevant declined significantly with age in a linear as well as a quadratic manner. A major age-related change in the relation between dimensions was that word processing, relative to voice-gender processing, required significantly more time in the children than in the adults. Overall, the developmental course characterizing multidimensional speech processing evidenced more-pronounced change when the linguistic dimension, rather than the voice dimension, was relevant.     

Task demand and cardiovascular response magnitude: further evidence of the mediating role of success importance

The interactive effects of success importance and task demand upon cardiovascular reactivity were investigated in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, Ss learned that success on an easy or difficult memory task would allow them to avoid a mild or severe noise. As expected, pretask and task elevations in heart rate and systolic blood pressure increased with difficulty only when the noise was to be severe. In Experiment 2, Ss listened to a victim, attending either to how she must feel or to technical features of the presentation. Then they were given the chance to earn a donation by succeeding on an easy or difficult memory task. Pretask cardiovascular data accorded with predictions predicated on the assumption that the need to help would be greater among victim perspective Ss. For them, systolic elevations increased with difficulty, whereas for technical perspective Ss systolic elevations were low regardless of task demand.     

Introduction

I would also like to extend my special thanks to my co-editor for this special section, Dr. Nancy Edwards. Her sensible editorial judgment, emotional support, and intellectual lucidity were crucial in bringing this project to fruition.     

ATTRIBUTIONS,COMPLEXITÉ ATTRIBUTIONNELLE ET SATISFACTION CONJUGALE*

The present study investigates the relation among attributions, attributional complexity, and marital satisfaction. More specifically, we examine the value of attributional complexity as a possible moderator in the relationship between attributions and marital satisfaction. Seventy-four French Canadian couples completed the Marital Attributional Style Questionnaire, the Conflict Rating Scale, the Attributional Complexity Scale, and the Dyadic Adjustement Scale. The results corroborate the existence of a relationship between attributions and marital satisfaction. Against predictions, attributional complexity does not seem to moderate the relation between attributional style and marital satisfaction. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The role of intertask and intratask processing in acquisition and retention of motor skills

This study examined the role of intratask and intertask processing on retention of three motor skills acquired in a practice condition invoking low contextual interference. Forty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. All conditions experienced blocked practice, which was supplemented with either intertask processing, additional intratask processing, or no additional processing. Acquisition consisted of 18 trials on each of three barrier knock-down tasks. Retention performance was assessed after a 10-min filled retention interval. Results indicated that providing the opportunity to engage in intertask processing not afforded by the acquisition practice schedule enhanced access, implementation, and memorability of movement action plans. In contrast, whereas supplemental intratask processing did not appear to interfere with acquisition performance achieved when experiencing blocked practice, it did little to enhance subsequent retention performance.     

Codependency: Addictive love,adjustive relating,or both?

The concept of codependency constitutes a controversial but, in our view, eminently researchable area of clinical concern. Following a perspective on the evolution of the concept, we summarize the currently dominant view that codependency is a personality syndrome closely akin to addictive love. We then present an alternative point of view that focuses on the characteristics of codependent relating rather than the characteristics of the codependent person, arguing that codependency may be either endogynous or exogynous. Recent efforts to develop valid measures of codependency as a personality predisposition and as a set of relationship characteristics are discussed, followed by the conclusion that the two assessment approaches are complementary rather than contradictory.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mike Dewald, Karin Parker, and Pam Quinn of the United Recovery Center, Grand Forks, ND, in some of the data collection.