An overview of malingering and deception in neuropsychiatric cases

Forensic practitioners must shoulder special responsibilities when evaluating over-stated pathology (e.g., malingering) as well as simulated adjustment. Such determinations may modify or even override other clinical findings. As a result, practitioners must be alert to their own misassumptions that may unintentionally bias their conclusions about response styles. Detection strategies for malingering—based on unlikely or markedly amplified presentations—are highlighted in this article. Given page constraints, assessment methods for feigning are succinctly presented with their applications to administrative, civil, and criminal referrals.     

Preference Structure Modelling for Multi-objective Decision Making: A Goal–Programming Approach

We propose a new approach for modelling preference structures in multi-objective decision-making (MODM) problems. The basic idea of the approach is to first develop PROMETHEE-influenced objective functions and then to use these to reformulate the problem as a distance-based goal–programming (GP) model. Three basic functional forms are proposed and explicit expressions are developed for them. Among other things, the expressions allow for the straightforward development of an interactive framework while keeping the information requirements from the decision maker (DM) at a minimum. An ‘automatic’ piecewise linear approximation scheme is proposed for solving the GP model. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Multi-Crit. Decis. Anal. 6 : 150–154 (1997) No. of Figures: 0. No. of Tables: 0. No. of References: 12.     

Individual Goal Orientations,Team Empowerment,and Employee Creative Performance: A Case of Cross‐level Interactions

Intrigued by relationship between team motivational context and individual characteristics in the organizational reality, we developed and tested a cross‐level model to investigate the interactive effects of team empowerment and individual goal orientations on individual creative performance through the mediating mechanism of an individual's creative self‐efficacy. Using multi‐wave multi‐source data from 63 R&D teams in three IT companies, we found that (1) team empowerment, individual learning goal orientation, and individual performance orientation are all positively related to individual creative performance through mediation of creative self‐efficacy; (2) learning orientation and performance approach orientation could both supplement the effects of team empowerment on individual creative self‐efficacy. Our findings point to the importance of individual goal orientation in shaping the effects of team motivation climates and provide insights for both scholars and practitioners. The specific practical implications include but are not limited to (1) individuals with learning and performance approach orientations should be identified during hiring procedures given that they could still thrive in less empowered teams and maintain a relatively high level of creative self‐efficacy and creative outcomes; (2) managers should consider assigning employees who are more learning oriented to more empowering and open‐ended tasks in order to obtain better creative results.     

Parental Attachment and Adjustment to College: The Mediating Role of Avoidant Coping

Many studies have documented an association between parental attachment and college student adjustment. Few studies have explored the mechanisms underlying this association. The authors asked college students nearing the end of their first academic year to complete instruments measuring parental attachment, coping, and adjustment to college. Structural equation modeling was used to model mediation separately for attachment to mother and father. Avoidant coping mechanisms (operationalized as denial, mental disengagement, behavioral disengagement, and substance use) significantly mediated the parental attachment and adjustment to college relationship. Self-sufficient coping mechanisms (operationalized as planning, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, active coping, and suppression) did not mediate the parental attachment and adjustment to college relationship.     

Examining Effects of Self-Efficacy on Research Motivation Among Chinese University Teachers: Moderation of Leader Support and Mediation of Goal Orientations

Utilizing the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as the theoretical framework, this study proposed a moderated mediation model investigating the complex functioning mechanisms of how self-efficacy beliefs and leader support can be related to research motivation among Chinese university teachers. A group of 310 Chinese teachers working in different universities completed an online survey. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed distinct influencing paths from the predictor variables (i.e., self-efficacy and leader support) to the outcome variables (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic research motivation). Specifically, self-efficacy beliefs predicted both mastery and performance goal orientations; mastery goal orientation, in turn, positively affected intrinsic and extrinsic research motivation. In contrast, leader support was non-significant for the both types of goal orientations, but exerted strong direct influences on the both types of research motivation. Bootstrapping methods in SEM showed that it was primarily the mastery goal orientation that mediated the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and research motivation. Furthermore, the results from the SEM and simple slope analysis revealed that leader support moderated the association between self-efficacy and extrinsic research motivation.     

Positive youth development,thriving and social engagement: An analysis of gender differences in Spanish youth

The framework of Positive Youth Development (PYD) arose from a strength‐based conception of the transition to adulthood. Although previous literature has provided evidence for some PYD correlates, little is known about gender differences in PYD and its outcomes in thriving and social engagement, which could improve interventions” effectiveness. Thus, this study aimed to examine gender differences in PYD dimensions (i.e., competence, confidence, connection, caring, and character), individual thriving (i.e., psychological adjustment, academic adjustment, and healthy lifestyles) and social engagement, and to examine the associations between them. Data from the ‘PYD in a Cross‐National Perspective Project” in Spain were collected by administering a paper‐based self‐report to students from high school and university. Results showed greater scores in connection, caring, and character in women, as well as greater social engagement and academic adjustment. Men presented higher competence and confidence, more frequent physical activity and better psychological adjustment. In addition, more PYD was related to greater social engagement, better psychological and academic adjustment, and healthier lifestyles. Some practical implications for program design may be derived, which underscore the need to promote the five PYD dimensions equally in female and male youths in order to improve their individual thriving and social engagement.     

The Moderating Effect of Cognitive Flexibility in the Relationship Between Work Stress and Psychological Symptoms in Korean Air Force Pilots

Stress is closely associated with not only physical illness but also with indices of psychological maladjustment. However, such negative mental health outcomes may vary depending on the individual’s cognitive style, or perception of stress. Air force pilots are particularly vulnerable to experience a high degree of stress as they are required to conduct missions while simultaneously monitoring for safety in complex and uncertain flight situations. It can thus be posited that appropriate use of cognitive stress management strategies is one of the crucial competency requirements for pilots. As such, the present study examined the effects of stress on psychological symptoms of Korean Air Force pilots and further investigated the moderating role of cognitive flexibility in this relationship. A total of 192 air force pilots participated in the present study. The results indicated that degree of stress was positively correlated with indices of psychological maladjustment, while cognitive flexibility was negatively associated with psychological symptoms. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility demonstrated a significant moderating effect on the relationship between stress and psychological symptoms. Such results suggest that cognitive flexibility may serve as a protective factor in the potential effects of stress on psychological adjustment. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

物质主义者自我概念的特点和相关理论

物质主义的经典研究分别从人格、价值观、目标和需要的角度界定和理解物质主义的相关现象。自我概念一直是贯穿物质主义研究的线索, 但直到最近研究者才试图以它为理论基点统摄与整合已有研究。相关研究表明, 物质主义者对自我的评价较低, 表现为低自尊、权变性自尊; 对自我的认识具有不一致性, 表现为自我概念不清晰、外显-内隐自尊分离、以及自我差距(理想自我与现实自我的差距)。最近出现的两个综合理论——物质主义的自我逃离理论与物质主义的认同目标追求理论提出, 物质主义是个体将物质拥有作为逃避自我的方式或满足自我认同动机的手段。这两个理论弥补了现有物质主义研究缺乏整合性理论的不足。未来研究可以通过借鉴有关自我概念的理论, 超越单纯的物质主义者自我匮乏的思路, 从而做出更大的理论贡献。     

儿童社交回避行为：成因、测量方式及适应功能

社会退缩行为是指儿童在社会情境中抑制自己参与同伴互动并表现出独处的行为。根据不同的社交动机,社会退缩行为包含多种亚类型,其中社交回避行为这一亚类型指儿童总是表现出主动避免各种社交场合的行为。总体而言,社交回避是目前研究最少的一种,其形成的主要原因可能是由于儿童本身较高的抑郁感所致,而研究者已开始尝试以间接和直接的方式测量其水平。来自以变量为中心和以个体为中心的研究分别表明,社交回避儿童面临着最高的适应风险。鉴于这一研究领域的广泛前景,未来的研究亟需关注社交回避影响儿童适应的过程机制及其年龄发展特点,测量工具的进一步开发,直接的跨文化比较以及社交回避的干预方案开发。     

Positive and negative mood following imaging-guided core needle breast biopsy and receipt of biopsy results

Positive and negative mood are independent psychological responses to stressful events. Negative mood negatively impacts well-being and co-occurring positive mood leads to improved adjustment. Women undergoing core needle breast biopsies (CNB) experience distress during CNB and awaiting results; however, influences of mood are not well known. This longitudinal study examines psychosocial and biopsy- and spirituality-related factors associated with mood in patients day of CNB and one week after receiving results. Ninety women undergoing CNB completed questionnaires on psychosocial factors (chronic stress, social support), biopsy experiences (pain, radiologist communication), and spirituality (peace, meaning, faith) day of CNB. Measures of positive and negative mood were completed day of CNB and one week after receiving results (benign n = 50; abnormal n = 25). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Greater positive mood correlated with greater peace (β = .25, p = .02) day of CNB. Lower negative mood correlated with greater peace (β = ?.29, p = .004) and there was a trend for a relationship with less pain during CNB (β = .19, p = .07). For patients with benign results, day of CNB positive mood predicted positive mood post-results (β = .31, p = .03) and only chronic stress predicted negative mood (β = .33, p = .03). For women with abnormal results, greater meaning day of CNB predicted lower negative mood post-results (β = ?.45, p = .03). Meaning and peace may be important for women undergoing CNB and receiving abnormal results.