Chapter 9: A Christian Education for the Spiritual Growth of Senior Adults

SUMMARY

Spiritual maturity among older adults is not automatic. The achievement of this most significant and worthy goal is, in part, an individual's choice. However, it is assisted by the deliberate efforts of Christian education, as a church seeks to meet the needs of seniors by appealing to their life concerns. How this is done may vary, but the needs and interests of senior adults dictate that it must be done. This article provides an overview of older adults' needs as they relate to spiritual development, and then offers some general suggestions a church might consider for guiding them toward spiritual maturity.     

Therapists' Emotional Reactions to Patients as a Mediator in Cognitive Behavioural Treatment of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

The aims of this study were to examine whether therapists' emotional reactions to their patients mediate the effect of personality disorders and interpersonal problem behaviours on the outcome of treatment, focusing on an Axis I disorder; and whether therapists' reactions mediate the effect of personality disorders on the course of interpersonal problems. Therapists completed a checklist of emotional reactions to individual patients after the end of residential cognitive or guided mastery therapy for 46 inpatients with panic disorder with agoraphobia. The severity of DSM‐III‐R personality disorder was related to therapists' insecurity feelings, but not to interest and anger. A higher level of therapists' insecurity feelings was related to less reduction in self‐reported agoraphobic avoidance during treatment, whereas therapists' emotions were unrelated to symptomatic course after treatment. Therapists' insecurity feelings appeared partly to mediate the relationship between patients' severity of personality disorder and persistence of patients' interpersonal dominance and nurturance problems.     

人事选拔中的应聘者反应研究述评

应聘者反应是个体在选拔情境下由公平知觉导致的一种针对组织的态度或行为后果.应聘者反应的首个理论模型是Gilliland的选拔公正模型,随后,启发模型、整合模型和信任模型相继建立,极大丰富了应聘者反应的理论内涵.然而,应聘者反应的测量明显滞后于理论的发展,主要表现在测量工具不统一、测量结构混乱、信效度研究匮乏等方面.未来的研究方向有:(1)加强现有模型中论证不充分的环节;(2)进一步丰富跨文化研究;(3)从一般性问题向特定情境的研究进行深入;(4)结合跨领域内容,朝着多元化的方向发展.     

Predicting achievement, distress, and retention among lower-income Latino youth

This study used structural equation modeling to evaluate whether a combination of social cognitive and self-determination theories [Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1024–1037] would effectively predict high school students’ distress, achievement, and retention. Participants were 427 predominately Latino youth from an inner-city low-income high school. Results indicated that students who reported feeling connected to teachers and their school reported higher levels of autonomous motivation for attending school. Students reporting higher levels of autonomous motivation for attending school reported more confidence (i.e., self-efficacy) in their academic ability, and performed better academically. In addition, students who reported higher self-efficacy beliefs reported less physical and psychological distress and reported higher levels of achievement. Retention in school was predicted by a combination of achievement and the absence of physical/psychological distress. Implications for practice and further research on urban high school students’ academic development are described.     

Negative affect and 24-hour ambulatory physiological recordings as predictors of spontaneous improvement of medically unexplained symptoms

The predictive value for spontaneous improvement in individuals suffering from medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) was explored of (1) anxiety and depression obtained from questionnaires, (2) negative affective states obtained from experience-sampling, and (3) ambulatory-assessed real-life physiological recordings. Sixty-seven individuals with MUS and 61 healthy controls were included. Twenty-four hour ambulatory recordings of cardiac autonomic activity, respiration, end-tidal CO(2) and saliva cortisol were combined with experience-sampling of somatic complaints and mood. Complaints were assessed again after one year. Although a reduction in symptoms (25%) was found, this could not be predicted from initial anxiety and depression. Improvement was somewhat related to relatively low diary reports of fatigue, especially in the late-afternoon and evening (3% variance explained). From the physiological measures only relatively high PetCO(2) values in the morning predicted improvement (5% explained). It was concluded that spontaneous recovery from MUS is hard to predict from self-reported distress and ambulatory physiological recordings.     

Designing volunteers’ tasks to maximize motivation,satisfaction and performance: The impact of job characteristics on volunteer engagement

We conducted a field study to test the applicability of the job characteristics model (JCM) in volunteer organizations and examine the impact of job characteristics on volunteer motivation, satisfaction and intent to quit, as well as test a measure of volunteer performance. One hundred and twenty-four volunteers completed measures of job characteristics, motivation, satisfaction, and intent to quit. Supervisors rated volunteer task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Results showed that job characteristics were related to volunteers’ autonomous motivation, satisfaction and performance. Autonomous motivation acted as a mediator in the relationship between job characteristics and satisfaction. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

全球化背景下的文化排斥反应

全球化导致文化价值观的跨国界传播, 也可能因为侵蚀地方(local)传统文化使人感到恐慌。文化排斥现象就是人们对全球化过程的反应之一, 它是指人们为了使传统文化免遭污染而可能对外来文化表现出的排斥。文化排斥反应出现的前提是双文化启动效应, 即在两种或多种文化共同出现的情境中文化的类别属性被凸显出来。其中, 厌恶性情绪是双文化情境激发出文化排斥反应的中介机制。文化排斥反应具有的边界属性：内群体象征性文化被污染、人们感知到外来文化的入侵性、或存在性动机被唤起、具有较高认知需求、受类别化思维启动、对外来文化认同较低或对内群文化认同较高时, 人们更倾向于对外来文化表现出排斥性反应。未来研究将借鉴文化排斥研究范式探讨更广泛的群际关系问题。     

延迟满足：基于未来时间洞察力的自我调节

延迟满足是个体为获得更有价值的奖励结果,坚持目标行为而推迟即时性满足的倾向与行为。其产生机制在很大程度上基于未来取向的自我调节。未来时间洞察力对延迟满足的作用可由期望-价值理论、解释水平理论和自我调节周期模型等多种理论进行解释。除行为层面的机制,未来时间洞察力与延迟满足涉及腹侧额叶-纹状体环路等相似的脑机制。未来研究需深化和丰富延迟满足的理论机制,明确与时间洞察力各维度的复杂关系,探究与时间洞察力相同的生理神经机制,促进其应用于社会实践。     

不同类型美感体验的自主反应特点

不同美感体验类型有何特异的生理反应？美感的生理反应是否类似于积极情绪？本研究以音乐和图片两类材料为刺激,以心率、皮肤电为生理反应指标,测量了不同审美状态下的自主生理反应情况。结果发现：不论是听觉还是视觉通道,优美、壮美、悲剧、喜剧4种审美风格的刺激都使被试心率和皮肤电下降;不同的美感形态所引起的反应不同,喜剧和壮美风格刺激诱发的自主生理反应变化相对于其他两种风格显得更明显,喜剧风格效果尤为突出;不同美感体验类型特异生理反应具有跨通道的一致性;四种美感体验类型的生理反应都不同于消极情绪,而类似积极情绪,从生理反应视角证明了美感体验递属于积极情绪。     

人类性的生理需要及其满足的本质和意义

性活动源于性的需要.人类性的需要包括性的生理、心理和社会需要.性的生理需要是性的心理需要和社会需要的基础.性的生理需要可能是个体优化调节系统功能以维持内环境稳态的基本需要;性的活动能优化人体调节系统功能和人体整体层次的生理功能,从而提高人体对环境变化的适应能力.