The counselor perspective on the use of directives in counseling in China: Are directives different in China as in the United States?

Eight Chinese counselors were interviewed about their use of directives in counseling. They typically believed that directives can be beneficial in counseling Chinese clients. They used directives to extend the influence of counseling beyond sessions, meet client needs and expectations, and fit their own personality and orientation. In terms of conditions that need to be met for directives to be helpful, they identified client factors such as readiness, communication styles, past experience, and insight; the counselor factor of ability to communicate directives; and the therapeutic relationship. They emphasized the importance of clients acquiring a new perspective as a result of directives. Cultural factors in using directives are discussed.     

Women outperform men in distinguishing between authentic and nonauthentic smiles

Women tend to be more accurate in decoding facial expressions than men. We hypothesized that women’s better performance in decoding facial expressions extends to distinguishing between authentic and nonauthentic smiles. We showed participants portrait photos of persons who smiled because either they saw a pleasant picture (authentic smile) or were instructed to smile by the experimenter (nonauthentic smile) and asked them to identify the smiles. Participants judged single photos of persons depicting either an authentic or a nonauthentic smile, and they judged adjacent photos of the same person depicting an authentic smile and a nonauthentic smile. Women outperformed men in identifying the smiles when judging the adjacent photos. We discuss implications for judging smile authenticity in real life and limitations for the observed sex difference.     

DRD2基因TaqIA多态性与同伴侵害对青少年早期抑郁的交互作用

本研究运用问卷法与DNA分型技术,对1063名青少年(初次测评年龄为12.32±0.47岁,50.3%女生)进行间隔2年的追踪调查,考察DRD2基因TaqIA多态性与同伴身体侵害和关系侵害对青少年早期抑郁的交互作用及其性别差异。结果发现,TaqIA多态性与身体侵害、关系侵害均对男青少年抑郁存在显著的交互作用。在携带A2A2基因型的男生中,身体侵害和关系侵害可以显著正向预测其抑郁水平,而在携带A1等位基因的男生中,同伴侵害对抑郁无预测作用。此外,TaqIA多态性与身体侵害、关系侵害对女生抑郁均无显著交互作用。研究结果提示,同伴侵害是一种重要的候选环境指标,与TaqIA多态性交互影响青少年早期抑郁,并且性别在这一基因×环境交互作用中起到重要的调节效应。