Self‐esteem and anxious responses to partner feedback: Parsing anticipatory and consummatory anxiety

We hypothesized that people with lower self‐esteem (SE) may perceive feedback from romantic partners in threatening ways and display maladaptive reactions during these events. Although prior research suggests that SE is mostly unrelated to emotional reactions to partner feedback, we predicted that differences in anxious emotion exist, but emerge before the feedback is delivered, at anticipation. We evaluated these predictions through a series of studies in which participants received feedback from ongoing and ostensible dating partners. As in prior research, SE was unrelated to anxiety at feedback delivery. In contrast, and consistent with predictions, participants with lower SE anticipated feeling more anxious when receiving positive and negative feedback. These results are discussed in the context of broader relationship dynamics.     

Self‐criticism and self‐reassurance as mediators between mental health attitudes and symptoms: Attitudes toward mental health problems in Japanese workers

Japanese workers suffer high rates of mental health symptoms, recognised recently by the Japanese government, which has enacted workplace well‐being initiatives. One reason for poor mental health concerns negative attitudes about mental health problems such as shame, which may be mediated by self‐reassurance and self‐criticism. This study aimed to evaluate shame‐based attitudes toward mental health problems and explore the relationship between mental health attitudes, self‐criticism, self‐reassurance, and mental health symptoms. Japanese workers (n = 131) completed three measures: attitudes toward mental health problems, mental health symptoms, and self‐criticism/reassurance. A high proportion of workers reported negative attitudes about mental health problems. There were strong relationships between mental health attitudes, mental health symptoms, self‐criticism, and self‐reassurance. Path analyses revealed that the total and indirect effects (through self‐criticism and self‐reassurance) of mental health attitudes on mental health were larger than the direct effect alone. Hated‐self and family reflected shame were identified as predictors for mental health symptoms. The findings suggest the importance of self‐criticism and self‐reassurance in mental health and mental health attitudes. Implications for help‐seeking behaviours also are discussed. Interventions aimed at reducing self‐criticism and enhancing self‐reassurance are recommended to improve mental health attitudes and increase help‐seeking in Japanese workers.     

Putting the “We” Into Well‐being: Using Collectivism‐Themed Measures of Well‐Being Attenuates Well‐being's Association With Individualism

Studies repeatedly have documented that societal well‐being is associated with individualism. Most of these studies, however, have conceptualized/measured well‐being as individual life satisfaction—a type of well‐being that originates in Western research traditions. Drawing from the latest research on interdependent happiness and on family well‐being, we posit that people across cultures pursue different types of well‐being, and test whether more collectivism‐themed types of well‐being that originate in Confucian traditions also are associated with individualism. Based on data collected from 2,036 participants across 12 countries, we find support for the association between individual life satisfaction and individualism at the societal level, but show that well‐being's association with individualism is attenuated when some collectivism‐themed measures of well‐being are considered. Our article advances knowledge on the flourishing of societies by suggesting that individualism may not always be strongly linked with societal well‐being. Implications for public policies are signaled.     

Professional Counselors’ Interest in Counseling Older Adults

The authors surveyed professional counselors (N = 956) to examine self‐efficacy in counseling older adults, contact with older adults, and ageism as related to their interest in working with older adults. Higher self‐efficacy, contact, and positive ageism predicted increased interest. These results and implications for counseling older adults are discussed.     

Trauma,resilience and healthy and unhealthy forms of dissociation

This paper outlines the difference between healthy and unhealthy forms of dissociation following, and in response to, traumatic experience, in particular the experience of refugees, calling on 30 years’ experience in working with refugees in voluntary and public sectors, including 20 years at the Refugee Therapy Centre, London. It differentiates dissociation from repression, and looks at some of the specific traumatic experiences associated with refugees’ displacement and situation, particularly relating to loss. Four key characteristics of resilience are described: ‘psychic space’, ‘sense of self’, and the use of a ‘listening other’ and ‘healthy dissociation/resiliency’. Two vignettes are given to illustrate the difference between healthy and unhealthy dissociation.     

Differentiation of self and trait anxiety: A cross‐cultural perspective

Cultural differences are likely to affect the ability to deal with anxiety. We investigated this issue among four cultural groups—Germans and Italians (Europeans living in South Tyrol, Italy), Jews and Arabs (Israelis)—in terms of their levels of differentiation of self, trait anxiety and somatic symptoms. We also examined the relationship of differentiation of self to trait anxiety and somatic symptoms. The sample consisted of 824 students: 387 Israelis (mean age 23.6) and 437 Europeans (mean age 22.3). Israeli participants reported lower levels of trait anxiety than European students. Jewish students reported lower trait anxiety than Arab students (mean difference = ?.14, p < .009), while there was no difference between German and Italian students (mean difference = .03, p > .99). Jews reported a significantly lower level of emotional cutoff than Arabs (mean difference = ?.45, p < .001), and Germans reported a significantly lower level of emotional reactivity than Italians (mean difference = .29, p < .001). Emotional reactivity and I‐position predicted all participants' trait anxiety. On the whole, results point to the importance of examining differentiation of self when trying to reduce trait anxiety, as well as some important cultural differences.     

A review of environmental enrichment as treatment for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement

We reviewed studies that used environmental enrichment as treatment for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. A search of behavior analytic journals produced 71 publications with a total of 265 applications of environmental enrichment used alone or in conjunction with alternative behavior manipulations (e.g., prompting, reinforcement) and problem behavior manipulations (e.g., blocking, restraint). Environmental enrichment, as a sole intervention, was efficacious in 41% of the sample. Alternative behavior manipulations, problem behavior manipulations, and a combination of both improved the overall efficacy of environmental enrichment. We discuss factors that may influence the efficacy of environmental enrichment, current trends in research on this topic, and implications for both practitioners and researchers.     

Exploring the Effects of Creativity Training on Creative Performance and Creative Self‐Efficacy: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study

In organizations and educational institutions, creativity trainings are the preferred approach to enhancing individual creative abilities. However, three issues regarding these trainings still remain largely unsolved. First, the question of how long‐lasting creativity training effects are has not been sufficiently answered so far. Second, the question arises whether all participants benefit from such trainings equally in terms of their creative performance (CP). Third, an increasing number of studies have shown that creativity trainings may also be able to increase participants' creative self‐efficacy (CSE), that is, the confidence in one's own creativity. Other studies, however, did not find evidence for this effect. Therefore, this article aims to address these issues by analyzing data from three measurement waves. Results reveal that participants' CP increased during the training and decreased only slightly 4 weeks after the training. Additionally, we found an effect of diminishing training returns in that the higher a participant's CP before the training the lower the training effect was. In contrast to most prior literature, we found no support for an effect of creativity training on participants' CSE. We discuss these findings and offer implications for both theory and practice. Finally, we state this study's limitations and derive avenues for further research.