Military Influence Tactics: Lessons Learned in Iraq and Afghanistan

When deployed U.S. soldiers attempt to influence the attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors of civilians, success can save lives and failure can be deadly. Survey data from 228 military personnel with deployment experience to Iraq and Afghanistan revealed that in a challenging wartime environment, empathy, respect, prior relationships, and familiarity with influence targets predicted success in cross-cultural influence attempts. Influence techniques involving resources and positive feelings were used more commonly in relatively successful influence attempts; negative tactics were used more commonly in unsuccessful attempts.     

Is Established Knowledge About Cross-Cultural Differences in Individualism–Collectivism Not Applicable to the Military? A Multi-Method Study of Cross-Cultural Differences in Behavior

Preparing for international military collaboration includes raising knowledge about cultural differences. The differences in individualism–collectivism between countries are among the most central aspects likely to impact collaboration. However, are the differences in individualism–collectivism between countries as documented in a significant amount of civilian research (e.g., Hofstede, 2001a Hofstede, G. (2001a). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]) generalizable to a military context? Or are the differences not the same in a military context, as suggested by Soeters (1997) Soeters, J. L. (1997). Value orientations in military academies: A thirteen country study. Armed Forces and Society, 24, 7–32. 10.1177/0095327X9702400101[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] on the bases of a values survey? Quasi-experiments were conducted in a distributed collaborative computer game environment. The study is multimethod, employing self-reporting, observer ratings and direct behavioral measures, and it is the first study of cross-cultural differences in individualism–collectivism in behavior in a military context. By studying differences in collectivist-type behaviors in a sample of military officers (N = 154) in 4 different countries (the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway), this study seeks to determine whether the cross-cultural differences in values found by Soeters from a military context are reflected in behavior. The study also includes a values survey using Hofstede’s (2007) Hofstede, G. (2007). Values survey module 1994 (VSM-94). Retrieved from www.geerthofstede.com [Google Scholar] measurement tool, the Values Survey Module (VSM), consistent with Soeters’ study. The study is considered exploratory because of a somewhat limited sample. The results from the 6 different measures of collectivist behaviors provide no support for the suggestion that cross-cultural differences in individualism–collectivism are not the same in military organizations as in civilian organizations. Although not conclusive, the results raise doubt concerning the appropriateness of using the VSM in military samples. The implications are discussed.     

How does knowledge bring one to the state of immortality in early Upaniṣadic philosophy? A new perspective on the ‘Magical’ way of cognition

ABSTRACT

The Upani?adic philosophers believed that acquiring certain knowledge would lead them toward a state of immortality. Merely by obtaining that knowledge, they thought people could surmount the various causes of death of the natural body. How and why did they develop and maintain this belief? To understand this, this article analyzes the difference between our views as modern humans and those of early Upani?adic philosophers, regarding the concepts of knowledge and death. They seem to have believed that knowing a concept meant actualizing that concept in the real world. Therefore, possessing the concept or knowledge of death guaranteed the actualized occurrence of death. This article argues that early Upani?adic philosophers must have thought that replacing the knowledge of death with the true knowledge of immortality would really make people immortal. In other words, to know that one is immortal truly makes one immortal. I also propose a new method of analyzing ancient thoughts.     

To be in touch

This study examined the constellation of interaction structures – repetitive patterns of interactions between patient and therapist over the course of treatment – that emerged in the psychodynamic therapy (PDT) of a child diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and treated by two doctoral student therapists. Identification of these interaction structures can inform therapists of what might be expected from patients with particular symptom or behaviour patterns and how interactions change over time. This study also examined each session’s adherence to three session prototypes: PDT, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and reflective functioning (RF) process. The Child Psychotherapy Q-Set (CPQ) is a 100-item instrument that assesses the processes within a single psychotherapy session. Items reflect a wide range of therapist attitudes and behaviours, patient attitudes and behaviours and interactions between therapist and patient. Experts used the CPQ to define PDT, CBT and RF process session prototypes. The results suggested that four distinct interaction structures could be identified and that their constellations differed between the two therapists and also differed over time within each treatment. Therapists were more structured and accommodating early on in their treatments and more interpretive later. Prototypical PDT process was more prominent in the sessions than RF process, which in turn was more prominent than CBT process. Unique therapeutic processes are at work in every dyad, despite holding the patient and theoretical orientation constant. An effective treatment in one dyad might not work in another due to therapist-specific and dyad-specific effects.     

‘Between the woods and frozen lake’: a child psychotherapist’s experiences of developing a grant application for an RCT feasibility study

Drawing on the six stages identified by Henton and Midgley (2012) in the narratives of five child psychotherapists involved in the IMPACT study on their evolving attitudes towards participation in outcome research, this paper explores another child psychotherapist’s internal and external world experiences of writing a National Institute of Health Research grant application for a randomised controlled trial feasibility study. It makes use of the key associations that came to mind on first reading Henton and Midgley’s article, outlines the practical and emotional stages of developing the grant proposal and briefly considers some of the wider implications of this kind of work on a personal, organisational and professional level.     

Do as you’re told! Facets of agreeableness and early adult outcomes for inner-city boys

With data from the middle cohort of the Pittsburgh Youth Study, a prospective longitudinal study of inner-city boys, we examined whether Big Five agreeableness facets could be reliably recovered in this sample, and whether facets predicted educational, occupational, social, and antisocial life outcomes assessed a decade later. Caregivers described their adolescent boys’ personalities using the Common California Q-Set; twelve years later, participants were interviewed and court records were obtained. Factor analyses recovered two facets: compliance and compassion. Compliance predicted more schooling and lower risk of unemployment, teenage fatherhood, and crime; compassion related to longer committed relationships. Findings highlight the value of studying personality at the facet level.     

Predictors of Smoking Status After Eight Years: The Interaction of Stages of Change and Addiction Variables

Abstract

With a smoking rate of 30% of the population Switzerland has one of the highest rates of all industrialised countries. Changes in smoking status over eight years are examined by analysing the course of non-smokers, former smokers and current smokers between 1987 and 1995. Stages of change and addiction variables, as well as their interaction, are analysed for 1987 as predictors of smoking status in 1995.A sample of 953 non-smokers and former and current smokers was interviewed in 1987 and followed up in 1995. Between 1987 and 1995 every fifth non-smoker (20.9%) began smoking. The higher one is in the stage hierarchy the higher the probability of forward than of backward movement. Within the stages of change the likelihood of cessation is moderated by addiction variables. Thus, in the case of contemplating smokers in 1987, the more cigarettes they smoked daily at that time the less likely they were to be former smokers by 1995, but for preparating smokers who had already made an attempt to quit the converse holds - the more they smoked in 1987, the more likely they were to be non-smokers eight years later. The same holds for former smokers in 1987: former moderate smokers then were more likely to relapse than former heavy smokers. The implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Are fear-avoidance beliefs related to the inception of an episode of back pain? A prospective study

Abstract

Fear-avoidance beliefs and catastrophizing have been implicated in chronic pain and theoretical models have been developed that feature these factor in the transition from acute to chronic pain. However, little has been done to determine whether these factors occur in the general population or whether they arc associated with the inception of an episode of neck or back pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate prospectively the effects of fear-avoidance beliefs and catastrophizing on the development of an episode of self-reported pain and associated physical functioning. To achieve this, we selected a sample of 415 people from the general population who reported no spinal pain during the past year. At the pretest a battery of questionnaires was administered to assess beliefs about pain and activity and it featured the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and a modified version of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire. One year later outcome was evaluated by self-reports of the occurrence of a pain episode as well as a self-administered physical function test. The results showed that scores on both fear-avoidme and cabstrophizing were quite low. During the one year follow-up, 19% of the sample suffered an episode of back pain. Those with scores above the median on fear-avoidance beliefs at the pretest had twice the risk of suffering an episode of back pain and a 1.7 times higher risk of lowered physical function at the follow-up. Catastrophizing was somewhat less salient, increasing the risk of pain or lowered function by 1.5. but with confidence intervals falling below unity. These data indicate that fear-avoidance beliefs may be involved at a very early pint in the development of pain and associated activity problems in people with back pain. Theoretically. our results support the idea that fear-avoidance beliefs may develop in an interaction with the experience of pain. Clinically, the results suggest that catastrophizing and particularly fear-avoidance beliefs are important in the development of a pain problem and might be of use in screening procedures.     

Temporal dimensions of the self-concept: Entrapped and possible selves in chronic pain

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore temporal aspects of chronic pain patients' conceptions of their selves; what they were in the past, how they were functioning at the present and what they thought about their potential and future. In-depth interviews with 21 chronic pain patients were performed and analysed. The main results of the analysis included four higher-order conceptual patterns: “the body and I”, “maintaining the consistency of past self”, the “entrapped self”, and “projected selves, defined by others”. These results are presented in a systems-oriented model illustrating the temporal dynamic between the perceived functioning self, the body and others, such as health care personnel and significant others. The mechanisms of the process of how selves are developing in the chronisation or healing process of pain are finally discussed. A clinical implication of these findings might be that with an enlarged insight of the temporal dynamic and the importance of interactive and social factors in shaping positive possible selves, health care personnel can contribute more effectively in stew-arding the chronic pain patient toward health-promotive ends and a concomitantly higher quality of life.     

A longitudinal study of psychosocial distress in breast cancer: Prevalence and risk factors

This longitudinal study was conducted among 102 women with non-metastasic breast cancer to identify the time evolution and prevalence of distress at specific times through diagnosis and treatment of disease: preliminary diagnosis, surgery, definitive diagnosis and chemotherapy. Additionally, the study aimed to examine the role of demographic, medical and psychosocial factors on distress. The results indicated that prevalence of distress was higher at initial diagnosis (25%) than the following time points (approximately 17%). The differences inter-individuals in the levels of distress were observed over the four assessments. No relation between distress and demographic and medical factors was found. However, psychosocial aspects were significant risk factors. Patterns of emotional suppression and specific coping responses like helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, cognitive avoidance and fatalism were positively related to distress, whereas fighting spirit and perceived social support showed a protective role. Moreover, helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation jointly predicted 75% of cases and 98% non-cases of distress. Finally, a mediational model between emotional suppression and distress through helplessness/hopelessness was tested. Results support the necessity of routine distress screening all through the illness. Implications of data for psychosocial interventions with breast cancer patients are highlighted.