Playful defensive responses in adult male rats depend on the status of the unfamiliar opponent

Adult male rats reared as pairmates from weaning were tested in a neutral arena with both members of another pair (one at a time). The unfamiliar pairs were found to engage in play fighting, although they were more likely to escalate the encounter into serious fighting than were pairs of familiar rats. Based on their within‐home pair behavior, each pairmate was designated as a dominant or a subordinate. When the test encounters between unfamiliar males were analyzed with regard to whether the pairings consisted of two dominants, two subordinates, or a mixed pair, the pattern of play fighting was found to be attenuated. Both dominants and subordinates were more likely to initiate playful encounters, to respond defensively during these encounters, and to do so using adult‐typical tactics of defense when paired with an unfamiliar rat that was dominant in its home cage. The mechanisms by which the home status of unfamiliar male rats can be identified by another male are discussed, particularly with regard to the role that play fighting may serve for this function. It is concluded that the data support the hypothesis that play fighting can be used by adult rats for social testing, which in this case seems to involve ascertaining the opponent's fighting capability. Aggr. Behav. 25:141–152, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

自我建构研究的现状与展望

在回顾自我建构理论发展脉络的基础之上, 介绍了特质性自我建构的测量和情境性自我建构的激活方法, 并从自我建构的性别与文化差异以及自我建构与认知风格、社会比较、人际交往、个人自主、自我调控的关系等几方面概述了该领域现状。该领域研究的进一步推进依赖于自我建构理论基本思想的完善、测查工具的改进以及研究者能否用辩证视角看待变量间关系。特质性自我建构对个体稳定的个性心理特征以及适应状况的影响, 特质性自我建构个体差异的影响因素应在未来研究中得到重视。     

高质量中国特色社会心理服务体系建设要贯彻好“六个必须坚持”

建设高质量中国特色社会心理服务体系,既是助力实现“健康中国”的重要路径,也是推进新时代创新社会治理与治理能力现代化的重要举措与手段。党的二十大报告提出的“六个必须坚持”既为建设高质量中国特色社会心理服务体系工作指明了方向,又从方法论的高度深刻阐述了推进理论创新的科学方法和正确路径。本文论述了如何通过贯彻落实“六个必须坚持”开展高质量中国特色社会心理服务体系建设。     

学前儿童在游戏中社交和认知类型发展的研究──中美跨文化比较

采用时间取样观察法,以录像对中美１５０名学前儿童在游戏中的社交和认知类型进行比较研究,结果表明：①学前儿童社会交往发展水平、认知发展水平、游戏难度随年龄的增长而提高;②学前儿童较高水平的认知游戏行为与较高水平的社会技能的发展相关联,社交水平与认知水平的发展相互影响;③中美学前儿童社交和认知能力发展进程具有一致性,游戏行为发展模式具有一致性;④中美学前儿童游戏的方式和内容、社交和认知水平存在显著差异,表明不同文化背景的制约性。     

心理痛苦研究述评 ——聚焦5·12汶川大地震受灾群众心理痛苦

心理痛苦是社会认知心理学和灾难心理学的重要概念之一,目前对心理痛苦的研究已经取得一定成果,主要包括心理痛苦的界定;心理痛苦的测量方法;心理痛苦客观存在的证据、心理痛苦与生理疼痛的关系、心理痛苦与自杀的关系。进一步的研究应注重研究方法趋向多元化、建立消除或缓解心理痛苦的干预机制及对心理痛苦的跨文化研究。关注心理痛苦的研究对个体的生存、适应和发展具有重大意义     

Predictors of Symptom Outcome in Interpretation Bias Modification for Dysphoria

Interpretation Bias Modification (IBM) interventions have been effective in reducing negative interpretation biases theorized to underlie depressive psychopathology. Although these programs have been highlighted as potential short-term interventions for depression, mixed evidence has been found for their effects on depressive symptoms. There is a need to examine attitudes towards training as well as individual difference factors that may impact symptom outcomes for IBM depression interventions. Seventy-two dysphoric young adults were randomly assigned to receive either an IBM targeting negative interpretation bias in personal evaluations or interpersonal situations or a healthy video control (HVC) condition. Compared to those who received HVC, participants in the IBM condition reported lower negative interpretation bias at posttreatment. No differences between conditions were found for symptom outcomes. Greater perceived treatment credibility and expectancy were associated with better treatment outcomes for both the IBM and HVC groups. Within the IBM group, a greater tendency toward assimilation with treatment scenarios was significantly associated with better treatment outcomes for both depressive and anger symptoms. This effect was unique from treatment credibility and expectancy. Pretreatment psychological reactance did not predict treatment response for either condition. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Nature vs. nurture is nonsense: On the necessity of an integrated genetic,social, developmental,and personality psychology

The field of behavioural genetics unambiguously demonstrates that heritable individual differences exist and are important in explaining human behaviour. Despite this, some psychological perspectives ignore this research. If we wish to comprehensively understand the impact of parenting, the environment, or any social factor, however, we must engage with genetics. In this article, I review research that reveals that genes affect not only our personalities, but the way that we understand and react to the social world. Studies further reveal that notable life events are in part explained by genetic variance. I detail how this could be the case through active, evocative, and passive genetic correlations, and go on to argue that all complex psychological traits are likely the result of multifaceted gene by environment interactions. A mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences. The article concludes with practical suggestions for how we can embrace behavioural genetics as our methods struggle to match the divine complexity of human existence.     

(Emotion-centered) problem-solving therapy: An update

Problem-solving therapy (PST) is a psychosocial intervention, typically considered to be a member of the cognitive and behaviour therapies family, and is based on a biopsychosocial, diathesis-stress model of psychopathology. The overarching goal of this approach is to promote the successful adoption of adaptive problem-solving attitudes and the effective implementation of certain behaviours as a means of coping with life stressors in order to attenuate the negative effects of such events on physical and mental well-being. Over the past several decades, in addition to accumulating strong support for its efficacy as a clinical intervention, similar to many other forms of psychotherapy, PST has undergone various evolutionary changes. Developed primarily as a more cognitive-based approach, due to the large body of literature in the field of affective neuroscience that underscores the importance of the impact of affect on problem solving, PST has evolved into emotion-centered problem-solving therapy (EC-PST). This article provides for a brief excursion into the historical roots of PST and why it has evolved into EC-PST, as well as providing support for its characterisation as a transdiagnostic approach. In addition, several meta-analyses that underscore its efficacy are described, as well as the most recent clinical guidelines that comprise EC-PST.     

Social Anxiety Disorder and Perceived Criticism in Intimate Relationships: Comparisons With Normal and Clinical Control Groups

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have difficulties in their romantic relationships, including decreased satisfaction and intimacy, but the reasons for these difficulties are poorly understood. Because fear of negative evaluation is a cardinal feature of SAD, perceived criticism from a romantic partner may play a central role in socially anxious individuals’ relationships. In the present study, we compared levels of perceived, expressed, and observed criticism and reactions to criticism among individuals with SAD and their partners (n = 21), individuals with other anxiety disorders and their partners (n = 35), and couples free of psychopathology (n = 30). Participants rated both global criticism and criticism during a 10-minute problem-solving task, which was also coded for criticism by observers. Individuals with anxiety disorders showed elevated levels of interaction-specific perceived criticism, expressed criticism, and upset and stress due to criticism relative to normal controls; they also reported that the interaction was more stressful. However, there were no group differences on global measures of criticism, and the two anxious groups did not differ on any measures. Findings suggest that the high levels of criticism anxious individuals perceive and their corresponding negative reactions to criticism, though not specific to SAD, may account for some of the relationship difficulties that have been identified in SAD. Results also indicate that anxious individuals may contribute to their relationship difficulties by being highly critical themselves. Overall, our findings point to the need for a clinical focus on decreasing perceived criticism among individuals with anxiety disorders.     

Depressive Symptoms,Criticism, and Counter‐Criticism in Marital Interactions

Although people with depressive symptoms face criticism, hostility, and rejection in their close relationships, we do not know how they respond. Following interpersonal theories of depression, it might be expected that depressive symptoms would be associated with a tendency to receive and also to express criticism toward one's spouse, and that at least some of this criticism would be a contingent response to criticism received (i.e., “counter‐criticism”). However, other research has determined that depressive symptoms/behaviors suppress partner criticism, suggesting that depressed people might respond to partner criticism similarly, by subsequently expressing less criticism. In a sample of 112 married couples, partial correlations, regressions, and Actor‐Partner Interdependence Modeling indicated that lower criticism and counter‐criticism expression during a laboratory marital interaction task was associated with higher depressive symptoms, especially when such individuals were clinically depressed. Furthermore, during a separate and private Five‐Minute Speech Sample, lower criticism by partners was associated with higher depressive symptoms, especially when those who chose the interaction topic were also clinically depressed. All analyses controlled for relationship adjustment. These results suggest that spouses with higher depressive symptoms and clinical depression diagnoses may be suppressing otherwise ordinary criticism expression toward their nondepressed partners; furthermore, nondepressed partners of depressed people are especially likely to display less criticism toward their spouse in a private task.