判断与决策中的证实性偏差

证实性偏差是指个体在决策时, 倾向于有意或无意地寻找支持已有信念、预期或假设的信息和解释, 忽视可能与之不一致的信息和解释。目前, 研究者主要从肯定检验策略、认知失调理论以及错误规避三个方面解释证实性偏差的心理机制。证实性偏差还受到条件性参考框架、任务的抽象性、个体经验以及认知闭合的需要等因素的影响。虽然证实性偏差不能完全消除, 但是可以通过竞争性假设分析法和考虑对立面的方法降低其程度。未来的研究可以从证实性偏差的产生根源、研究范式、群体决策中的证实性偏差以及拓展应用研究这四个方面进行探讨。     

道德虚伪：一种机会主义的适应策略

道德虚伪在个体层面是指人们言行不一, 在人际层面是指人们持有双重标准。心理学家通常从道德动机、认知失调以及精神分析的角度考察道德虚伪。诱发道德虚伪通常会促使个体做出跟他们公开承诺相一致的行为。作为一种机会主义的适应策略, 道德虚伪可能起源于群体适应情境下的自我谋利需要, 带有欺骗他人和自欺的特点。除了情绪、权力等因素之外, 未来研究需要考察自恋、羞耻、社会操纵能力、情商、文化因素对道德虚伪的影响。     

Attachment and Family Processes in Children's Psychological Adjustment in Middle Childhood

This study examined the links between parent–child attachment, whole family interaction patterns, and child emotional adjustment and adaptability in a sample of 86 community families with children between the ages of 8 and 11 years. Family interactions were observed and coded with the System for Coding Interactions and Family Functioning (SCIFF; Lindahl, 2001). Both parents and each target child completed the appropriate form of the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐2nd Edition (BASC‐2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Target children also completed the Children's Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CCSQ; Yunger, Corby, & Perry, 2005). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that Secure mother–child attachment was a robust predictor of children's emotional symptoms, but father–child attachment strategies were not significant independent predictors. Positive Affect in family interactions significantly increased the amount of variance accounted for in children's emotional symptoms. In addition, Family Cohesion and Positive Affect moderated the relationship between father–child attachment and children's emotional symptoms. When data from all BASC‐2 informants (mother, father, child) were considered simultaneously and multidimensional constructs were modeled, mother–child security directly predicted children's adjustment and adaptive skills, but the influence of father–child security was fully mediated through positive family functioning. Results of the current study support the utility of considering dyadic attachment and family interaction patterns conjointly when conceptualizing and fostering positive emotional and behavioral outcomes in children.     

The Meaning of the Sperm Donor for Heterosexual Couples: Confirming the Position of the Father

In the literature, relatively little attention has been paid to the meaning of donor involvement in the intimate couple dyad. The current study aimed to enrich our understanding of couples' meaning‐making regarding the anonymous sperm donor and how they dealt with the donor involvement. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with nine couples, who had at least one child conceived through sperm donation. Our thematic analysis showed that the donor conception was seen as a different path to create a normal family. Once the family was formed, most couples avoided talking about the donor because it was perceived as disrupting men's growing confidence in their position as father. Participants tried to confirm the position of the father to protect the family relationships. Uncertainties about how they were perceived as parents showed the continuing dominance of genetic ties within our social discourse. Participants also dealt with reminders of the donor in their daily life. Overall, they tried to manage the space taken up by the donor and to protect the position of the father. We relate our findings to literature on topic avoidance and shared obliviousness in families. For counseling practice, it could be useful to explore couples' meaning‐making about the donor as this seemed to serve family functioning.     

Silence and Memories of War: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Family Secrecy

A personal journey and a scientific challenge, this is an autoethnographic study about my own family's secrecy. I knew my grandfather had been a German prisoner of war during World War II. We all knew. But nobody talked about it. Then one day I decided I wanted to do systematic research on the issue of family secrecy around my grandfather's war experiences. Researching one's own family can be called autoethnography. It could be said that autoethnography is an approach to research that aims to describe and systemically analyze (graphy) personal experience (auto) to understand social and cultural phenomena (ethno). This scientific approach is quite new in the field of family therapy. This study has been an important personal quest, but it also led to important reflections on silences in families, on my own professional development, and on methodological issues concerning autoethnographical research. For one thing, it highlights some of the positive aspects of family secrecy and silences, and invites us—when confronted with family secrecy in clinical practice—to carefully consider the potential destructive and life‐giving aspects of the silence.     

Worried About us: Evaluating an Intervention for Relationship‐Based Anxiety

Although romantic relationships are commonly a source of pleasure and comfort, for some individuals they can be a source of persistent anxiety. The aim of the current investigation was to explore the construct of relationship‐based anxiety and to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief couple‐based psychoeducational session for this issue. Common behavioral patterns and cognitive tendencies seen among individuals with relationship‐based anxiety were examined, including excessive reassurance‐seeking, self‐silencing, and partner accommodation. In the current investigation, a single psychoeducational session was developed to address these maladaptive interactive patterns of behavior specifically. The session was administered to a sample of 21 couples and was found to decrease levels of reassurance‐seeking and self‐silencing significantly among individuals with relationship anxiety, and to decrease levels of maladaptive accommodation behaviors significantly in their partners.