Positive psychotherapy effectiveness study and quality assurance

Positive Psychotherapy is a form of short-term psychotherapy based on an in-depth psychological approach, resulting from cross-cultural psychotherapy. After a brief introduction to some central elements of the theory of Positive Psychotherapy (PPT), the first results of the effectiveness study will be discussed in this paper. an assessment of alterations in symptoms, as well as changes in the way subjects feel and behave, which occurred in the period of time between the beginning and after the end of therapy will be presented here. In a longitudinal study, patients treated with PPT showed a distinct reduction of symptoms as well as improvement with regard to the way the subjects experience and behave compared to the control group, where no significant changes were observed. an additional cross-section comparison between the post-measures of the prospective assessment of PPT patients and retrospective assessments of PPT patients was carried out. No significant differences between the assessments made directly after finishing PPT and the assessments made within three different time spans after finishing PPT (a) 3-10 months; b) 10 months-4 years; c) 4-5 years) were found. This finding is viewed as an indication of the lasting stability of the therapeutic effects of PPT, which can still be detected up to five years after finishing PPT.     

Accuracy of National Stereotypes in Central Europe: Outgroups Are Not Better than Ingroup in Considering Personality Traits of Real People

In a study on national stereotypes in central Europe—composed of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Slovakia—2241 participants rated their autostereotype (a typical representative of their own country) and heterostereotypes (typical representatives of the other countries) by using National Character Survey (NCS). Existing data from 17377 participants including self‐reports or observer ratings on Revised NEO Personality Inventory and NCS were compared with the national autostereotypes and heterostereotypes. Although national autostereotypes converged with personality traits of real people in Poland and an adult subsample in the Czech Republic, national heterostereotypes did not correspond to personality traits of real people in any of the studied countries. National stereotypes were shared within as well as across countries. In heterostereotypes, raters from similar cultural backgrounds speaking similar languages agreed better as compared with raters from more distant cultures. Target country played a role in agreement of raters from different countries, showed in the highest convergence between autostereotypes and heterostereotypes of a typical German. Sharing of national stereotypes is influenced by political and economic significance of the target country. Although national autostereotypes clearly differentiated between typical representatives of central European countries, the comparison of personality profiles of their inhabitants showed remarkable resemblance. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology.     

Putting mood in context: Using smartphones to examine how people feel in different locations

Does personality predict how people feel in different types of situations? The present research addressed this question using data from several thousand individuals who used a mood tracking smartphone application for several weeks. Results from our analyses indicated that people’s momentary affect was linked to their location, and provided preliminary evidence that the relationship between state affect and location might be moderated by personality. The results highlight the importance of looking at person-situation relationships at both the trait- and state-levels and also demonstrate how smartphones can be used to collect person and situation information as people go about their everyday lives.     

The mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students

The objectives of this study were to examine the correlations between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students, and to explore the mediating role of self-esteem on the correlations. Self-reported questionnaires, including Big Five Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale, and socio-demographic section were distributed to 2000 undergraduate medical students at four medical colleges and universities in Liaoning province, China, in June 2014. 1738 students became the final subjects. After adjustment for age and gender, agreeableness (β = −0.329) and openness (β = −0.096) were negatively related to depressive symptoms, while neuroticism (β = 0.245) was positively related to the symptoms. Self-esteem functioned as a mediator in the relationship between agreeableness (a * b = −0.154, 95% CI: −0.182, −0.127)/openness (a * b = −0.097, 95% CI: −0.124, −0.069)/neuroticism (a * b = 0.031, 95% CI: 0.007, 0.058) and depressive symptoms. Therefore, identifying at-risk students and undertaking appropriate intervention strategies that focus on both personality traits and self-esteem may be effective in preventing and reducing depressive symptoms among Chinese medical students.     

Portuguese adaptation of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS1 and GSS2): Empirical findings

In study 1 (n = 51, M_age = 21.4 years, SD = 5.7), the validity of the Portuguese adaptation of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales ( Pires, 2011) was shown through the comparison of means of the original ( Gudjonsson, 1997) and the translated scales and the analysis of the correlations between the GSS1 and GSS2 scores. The relationships between interrogative suggestibility and the big five were also addressed and the results point to independence between suggestibility and personality, which is in line with Polczyk’s findings (2005). Study 2 (n = 87, M_age = 48.9 years, SD = 20.7) explored the relationships among interrogative suggestibility, the state–trait anxiety and demographic variables (i.e., age and gender). There were no significant relationships between anxiety and suggestibility. These results are in line with other studies that point to a lack of relationship between suggestibility and anxiety in normal samples (  and ). As for the relationships between age and interrogative suggestibility, ANCOVA confirmed that the increased suggestibility in old age was not due to age differences but rather to the limited memory capacity of the older adults group. There were no significant gender differences in the GSS1 subscales.     

感染后咳嗽患儿血微量元素分析与黄芪注射液联合甘草合剂治疗研究

分析儿童感染后咳嗽的临床特点以及与外周血微量元素的关系,观察黄芪注射液联合甘草合剂治疗儿童感染后咳嗽的疗效。对自2006年1月至2008年6月在德州市妇幼保健院儿科门诊治疗的75例感染后咳嗽患儿行外周血微量元素测定,与40例健康小儿微量元素对比,并将75例患儿随机分为两个治疗组进行临床观察：实验组39例,口服黄芪注射液...     

Does the big five predict learning approaches?

The present study examines if the big five personality traits can statistically predict learning approaches. Four hundred and twenty (286 female and 134 male) university students from Shanghai, PR China volunteered to participate in the study. The participants responded to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Study Process Questionnaire. A cross-examination of the results from zero-order correlation, t-tests, multivariate analysis, and multiple-regression procedures indicated that the big five personality traits predict learning approaches to a certain degree. In this prediction, the conscientiousness and openness traits contributed the most in accounting for the differences in students' learning approaches. Conscientiousness is a good predictor for both the deep and the achieving approaches. Openness significantly predicted the deep approach to learning. Neuroticism is a good predictor for the surface approach to learning, whereas the agreeableness trait clearly predicted a learning approach that is not achieving. Finally, no distinct pattern was identified regarding the relationship of extraversion to any of the learning approaches.     

日本人格心理学研究动向及启示

日本人格心理学领域近几年的研究表明,对“大五”和“自我”的研究是其主要关注点,同时还重视对人际关系的研究,强调理论研究的应用化取向与研究方法的多元化和整合。但目前日本人格心理学研究仍然存在一定局限,对此加深认识,具有重要的借鉴意义。     

涧水疗法要义——心理咨询的中国阐释

以周易哲学为基础,采西方咨询理论之精华,建构一套开放的本土心理疗法——涧水疗法。认为每个人都有一个心理调节系统,该系统有六个维度,即时间、意志、身体、爱心、参照和战略,并且每个维度均有阴阳两极。心理咨询可围绕这六个维度展开。咨询的指导思想是“真诚谦卑,镇定安详;以退为进,以柔克刚;因势利导,阴消阳长;惧以终始,笑对无常”。咨询过程分为“望”、“闻”、“问”、“辨”和“导”,五个部分分别与五行的“火”、“水”、“金”、“土”和“木”对应。     

Fatigue: relationships with basic personality and temperament dimensions

This study examined the relationships between the Five-Factor-Model (FFM) personality dimensions (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness/Autonomy), the Pavlovian temperament variables (Strength of Excitation, Strength of Inhibition, Mobility), and fatigue. We expected that all these person characteristics would be negatively associated with fatigue. In a survey among persons working at least 20 h a week (N=765), respondents completed a personality questionnaire (the Five-Factor Personality Inventory), a temperament scale (the Pavlov Temperament Survey), and two fatigue questionnaires (the Checklist Individual Strength-20 and the Emotional Exhaustion scale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory). Results indicated that high scores on Autonomy, and low scores on Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Strength of Excitation were, in various combinations, predictors of higher fatigue scores. Agreeableness, Strength of Inhibition, and Mobility did not play a role in the prediction of any fatigue score. In conclusion, personality and temperament dimensions explained significant proportions of the variance in fatigue. It is stated that there is an urgent need for longitudinal studies in order to examine the predictive value of the personality dimensions over time.