Do drives drive the train of thought?—Effects of hunger and sexual arousal on mind-wandering behavior

Physiological needs that are currently unfulfilled are known to affect human cognition and behavior. The present study investigates whether and how the temporary activation of two primary physiological needs, namely hunger and sexual arousal, influence both the frequency and the contents of mind-wandering episodes. To induce hunger, one group of participants fasted for a minimum of five hours whereas another group of participants was exposed to audio material with explicit sexual content to provoke sexual arousal. Both groups as well as an additional control group, which had not received hunger instructions and had not been exposed to arousing material of any kind beforehand, performed a reading task during which mind wandering was assessed using a standard experience-sampling method. Results showed that acute hunger but not elevated sexual arousal renders the occurrence of mind-wandering episodes more likely. Induction of both hunger and sexual arousal rendered the occurrence of need-related off-task thoughts more likely and changed time orientations of mind wandering. The present findings are well in line with the assumption that unfulfilled needs regularly achieve cognitive priority and extend the cognitive-priority idea to self-generated thoughts.     

论伊斯兰信仰与现代人的精神需求

长期以来,人类无情地向自然宣战。之所以如此是因为现代人觉得人们赖以生活的财富的匮乏,是因为现代人觉得人的幸福生活就在于丰富的物质财富。本文认为,伊斯兰教信仰有助于改变现代人类对人生追求的片面性,确立一种更加合理的、更符合人性的发展观和幸福观。     

Predictors of successful discharge from out-of-home care among children with complex needs

We examined the predictors for successful discharge from out-of-home care of children with complex needs placed in a novel comprehensive service intervention (Manatee Model) and compared their discharge experiences to their out-of-home counterparts from the same county. The study design consisted of a longitudinal two-year comparison of these two groups. A total of 147 cases were included in the analysis, and the propensity scoring technique was used to equate the groups. Among children admitted to the Manatee Model, boys, White children, younger children, those who came from a single-parent family, those who were abused, and those who had a disability (physical or emotional disability or medical condition) were found less likely to successfully exit within the two years when these predictors were examined separately. Multivariate analyses indicated that only age at the time of removal and health status were significantly associated with successful discharge. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

怀旧与亲社会行为的关系:一个有中介的调节模型

本研究考察了怀旧影响亲社会行为的心理机制及其边界条件。研究1对500名大学生进行问卷调查。研究2以127名大学生为研究对象,使用实验法操纵怀旧（VS.非怀旧）,两个分研究得到了一致的结果：（1）生命意义在怀旧与亲社会行为之间起部分中介作用;（2）心理需要满足调节了怀旧对亲社会行为的影响。该研究丰富了怀旧和亲社会行为的文献,并对心理咨询行业具有一定实践指导意义。     

Predictors and consequences of sudden gains in transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders

Sudden gains—substantial stable symptom improvements between consecutive therapy sessions—are a common phenomenon. As condensed points of change, examination of sudden gains can provide insight into mechanisms of therapeutic change. This study investigated the association between sudden gains and cognitive change, therapeutic alliance, and/or client engagement in transdiagnostic group cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders. Of 58 treatment initiators, 21% (n = 12) exhibited a sudden gain. Consistent with previous research, sudden gainers demonstrated significantly greater pre- to post-treatment symptom improvement than non-sudden gainers. Observational coding of therapy sessions found that sudden gains were associated with elevated levels of cognitive change and client engagement in the pre-gain session, and elevated levels of cognitive change and therapeutic alliance in the post-gain session. However, these results varied by use of within- and between-subject control comparisons, highlighting the value using a dual control methodology. In context of previous research, the results on cognitive change replicate previous findings in depressive populations, and clarify mixed findings in anxiety populations. The results on therapeutic alliance replicate previous findings for the first time in an anxiety sample, although the between-subject control comparisons revealed complexity previously undetected. This study was also the first to investigate and thus establish the relation between client engagement and sudden gains.     

社会规范的动态过程

社会心理学的经典研究将社会规范区分为描述性规范与指令性规范。近年来, 研究者从以往对社会规范的静态区分, 开始深入研究社会规范“如何发展变化”的动态过程, 即探究社会规范的习得、传播与转变过程, 以及社会规范发挥作用的影响因素。社会规范的习得可以追溯至童年早期的社会互动, 描述性规范的形成是个体在社会网络中学习社会范畴典型范例的过程, 对现状的合理化催生了描述性规范向指令性规范的转化。社会规范发挥作用也呈现动态性, 不仅与社会规范的心理功能相关, 即遵守或违反社会规范能满足个体的安全感、归属感、独特感需要等, 还与外部环境如权力位置、惩罚机制相关。未来研究可对社会规范形成过程、作用过程做进一步分析; 结合社会规范强度研究, 深入探讨规范性影响的作用过程; 开展文化情境下的社会规范研究等。     

How Does the Relationship Facilitate Productive Client Thinking?

My thesis is: a) that the primary client activity that facilitates change is their productive thinking, b) that one key way the therapeutic relationship is helpful is that it facilitates this kind of activity, and c) that if we look at the therapist–client dyad as a group, then we can further understand how the therapy dialogue facilitates productive client thinking through recent ideas about socially shared cognition.