Interpersonal Dependency Correlates and Locus of Control Orientation Among Obese Adults in Outpatient Treatment for Obesity

Interpersonal dependency and locus of control orientation were studied in obese and nonobese samples. The Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (Hirschfeld, Klerman, Gough, Barrett, & Korchin, 1977) and the I-E Scale (Rotter, 1966) were administered to 106 obese adults in outpatient treatment for obesity. The I-E Scale was also administered to 97 nonobese control subjects. As predicted, the obese subjects were significantly more internally oriented than has been previously identified in obese populations. These findings challenge currently held assumptions about locus of control in obese groups. Although the obese and nonobese subjects maintained similar overall dependency scores, the obese subjects were more likely to show low levels of autonomy in comparison with the nonobese subjects. Interpersonal dependency and locus of control dimensions associated with obese conditions may serve as useful predictor variables influencing obesity treatment approaches and outcome.     

Suppressor effects and age differences in the expression of anxious emotion

This study examined the role of suppressor effects on age differences in anxious emotion. Children and adolescents (n = 1099) ages 7–18 years were assessed for separation anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. Results of zero-order correlations indicated a significant negative association between age and separation anxiety but no association for social anxiety and generalized anxiety. However, semi-partial correlations indicated the presence of a cooperative suppressor effect such that the associations between age and social anxiety as well as age and generalized anxiety symptoms became significant and positive and the association with separation anxiety became larger in a simultaneous regression analysis of each facet with age. Similar effects occurred when controlling for hyperarousal in an ANCOVA across grade levels. Results suggest that attempts to understand developmental differences in anxious emotion in childhood and adolescence will be facilitated by parsing facets of anxious emotion and attention to potential suppressor effects.     

The Evaluation of Psychoanalytical Practice in Stockholm

The authors discuss several surveys that cover the practices of psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in the Stockholm region. They compare these practices with other psychiatrists in both the private and the public sector. In addition, they discuss the results from an attempt towards continuous evaluation of psychoanalytical practices and their treatment standards including an evaluation of the development of individual psychoanalytical processes.     

A methodological note on ordered Q-Sort ratings

Patterns of ratings using the Q-Sort method and the Likert-type method are compared. Ordering effects are found in Q-Sort ratings that are not present in Likert-type ratings. Specifically, item order is related to both item variance and item placement, such that items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort have less variance and more central placement. This finding is verified across three measures in several datasets spanning nearly 20 years of research. Such item order effects appear to attenuate average absolute relationships (covariances and correlations) between items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort and other measures. Randomization of items may be (in some situations) a viable course of action to minimize these effects at a sample level.     

Capital Possession: a comparative approach to 'New Age' and control of the means of possession

This paper reconsiders academic representations of religious phenomena that have been called New Age through contextualised comparison of social practice and discourse. This challenges both the replication of emic models of a New Age in terms that are abstract, classed and racialised, and the way in which the New Age is represented as a social phenomenon unrelated to other contemporary religious forms throughout the world. By identifying spirit possession as a central practice within what is called ‘non-formative religion’, comparisons are drawn with Pentecostalism and Shamanism, documenting their growth under common conditions of neoliberal globalisation across the world. To examine reasons for such resurgence, attention is drawn to what is called the ‘means of possession’: the social contexts in which possession occurs and is controlled. The ambiguity by which control of the means of possession is exercised is explored in terms of a broader social context in which self-authority is both denied and demanded.     

Intraclass Correlation Associated with Therapists: Estimates and Applications in Planning Psychotherapy Research

It is essential that outcome research permit clear conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of interventions. The common practice of nesting therapists within conditions can pose important methodological challenges that affect interpretation, particularly if the study is not powered to account for the nested design. An obstacle to the optimal design of these studies is the lack of data about the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), which measures the statistical dependencies introduced by nesting. To begin the development of a public database of ICC estimates, the authors investigated ICCs for a variety outcomes reported in 20 psychotherapy outcome studies. The magnitude of the 495 ICC estimates varied widely across measures and studies. The authors provide recommendations regarding how to select and aggregate ICC estimates for power calculations and show how researchers can use ICC estimates to choose the number of patients and therapists that will optimize power. Attention to these recommendations will strengthen the validity of inferences drawn from psychotherapy studies that nest therapists within conditions.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: Effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

Dissociative patterns of foreperiod effects in temporal discrimination and reaction time tasks

This study examined whether the process of temporal preparation for a target stimulus is the same regardless of the task required by the target stimulus. To this end, the same variable-foreperiod design was used in a temporal discrimination task (Experiment 1) and a reaction time task (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, both temporal sensitivity and perceived duration increased as a function of foreperiod, whereas in Experiment 2, foreperiod did not influence reaction time. Furthermore, both temporal sensitivity and perceived duration revealed an asymmetric sequential effect of foreperiod, but the pattern of this effect was opposite to the pattern observed in the reaction time task. Together these dissociative patterns of foreperiod effects suggest that the mechanism of temporal preparation depends on the task required by the target stimulus.     

Mars and Venus at Twilight: A Critical Investigation of Moralism, Age Effects, and Sex Differences

Analysts have long sought to understand whether women and men have different ethical orientations. Some researchers have argued that women and men consistently make fundamentally different ethical judgments, especially of corruption; others have found no such disparities. This study considered whether an individual's age may also play a role in determining his or her moral judgment. A statistical investigation of interactive effects between gender and age in a nationally representative data set from Japan shows that this interaction functions better as a predictor of moralism than do education or gender alone. Older individuals of both sexes were found to have similar strict moral perceptions; as women and men age, their ethical judgments converge.     

工作场所排斥与员工心理健康、工作满意度的关系：性别的调节作用

为考察工作场所排斥问卷（WOS）在国内的适用性,以及不同性别员工在遭受工作场所排斥后的心理健康和工作满意度状况,采用中文版WOS对437名员工进行调查,结果表明：（1） 9题版WOS为单维结构,信效度良好;（2）性别在工作场所排斥与心理健康、工作满意度的关系中起调节作用。由此,修订后的中文版WOS可以作为评定工作场所排斥的工具使用;女性受工作场所排斥的负面影响更大。