The role of the psychologist expert witness: Provider of perspective and input

The definition and role of the expert witness is reviewed. Two conceptual systems for viewing the world, the scientific method and the adversarial system, are compared. The reconciliation and integration of these two discrepant systems are discussed in terms of input versus outcome. The rules of evidence, as well as problems of communication between the systems, are reviewed with the aim of providing expert witnesses with a better understanding of effective testimony. Finally, collaboration between the two systems is called for in order to provide guidelines for both neuropsychologists and attorneys.     

The life and times of PSI

This paper describes the essential features of the personalized system of instruction (PSI). Results from outcome research examining the effectiveness of PSI-based courses relative to traditional methods provide unequivocal support for the superiority of PSI. Parametric studies, or component analyses, show that the mastery requirement, immediate performance feedback, and review units are the key features underlying high quality student performances in PSI courses. The use of student proctors as peer-tutors, optional lectures, and selfpacing do not, in and of themselves, appear to be vital to student success in PSI courses. Despite its superiority, PSI has not supplanted traditional methods as the dominant pedagogical system in higher education. Difficulties inherent in overcoming the inertia of the lecture within our established instructional system, the implications of PSI for that system, and the Zeitgeist that permeates educational reform are the major obstacles to widespread adoption of PSI.     

Searching for Positive Aspects of Excessive Reassurance-Seeking

We investigated positive aspects of excessive reassurance-seeking in interpersonal relationships. Previous studies have emphasized that excessive reassurance-seeking leads to interpersonal rejection by significant others. However, Fowler & Gasiorek (2017) suggested that excessive reassurance-seekers tend to make efforts to maintain relationships with their romantic partners, and that these efforts affect their own satisfaction with the relationships. We investigated whether the findings of Fowler and Gasiorek in students could be replicated in general heterosexual couples (N = 437 couples). Data were analyzed using the modified actor–partner interdependence model. Results indicated that excessive reassurance-seeking had no actor or partner effects on the efforts to maintain the relationships, which predicted relational satisfaction. However, the actor and partner effects of excessive reassurance-seeking on relational satisfaction through the efforts to maintain the relationships differed according to the relational duration. These findings, despite certain inconsistencies with Fowler and Gasiorek, suggest that excessive reassurance-seeking might have positive effects on relationships.     

Changing the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: An Empirical Study of a Participatory Action Research Project

In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.     

不同社交媒体使用目的对员工工作绩效的影响机制

基于工作要求-资源理论, 本研究探讨了两种社交媒体使用目的对员工工作绩效影响的内部作用机制, 进而分析两种社交媒体使用目的对员工工作绩效的影响效果。通过369份“领导者-下属”匹配数据, 研究发现：(1)基于工作、社交的社交媒体使用均促进员工工作绩效; (2)基于工作、社交的社交媒体使用均通过工作投入影响工作绩效, 基于社交的社交媒体使用还通过关系冲突影响工作绩效; (3)社交媒体的工作使用和社交使用对员工工作绩效的影响存在相互替代关系。本研究结果不仅从理论上拓展了社交媒体使用的研究视角, 为后续研究提供新的理论框架, 同时通过比较分析为组织管理社交媒体使用提供了新思路。     

父母协同教养与学前儿童社会行为的关系:亲子关系和同胞关系的链式中介作用

以河南省某市四所幼儿园大、中、小班共196名学前儿童及其父母和教师为研究对象,基于家庭系统理论,采用父、母填写的父母感知协同教养量表和亲子关系量表、母亲填写的儿童早期同胞关系质量问卷和幼儿教师报告的儿童行为量表探讨亲子关系、同胞关系在父母感知协同教养与学前儿童社会行为之间的中介作用。结果发现：（1）母子冲突和母子亲密分别在母亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起部分中介作用;父子冲突和父子亲密分别在父亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起完全中介作用;（2）父/母子冲突和同胞冲突在母亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用;父子冲突和同胞冲突在父亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用。     

初中生亲子关系与抑郁:自尊和情绪弹性的中介作用

基于生态系统理论和认知易感性模型,本研究拟探讨初中生亲子关系对抑郁的影响及作用机制,采用问卷法对813名初中生进行调查。结果表明：（1）亲子关系、自尊、情绪弹性与抑郁之间呈两两显著相关,且亲子关系能显著负向预测抑郁;（2）自尊和情绪弹性在亲子关系与抑郁之间起显著的中介作用,具体包括三条路径：一是自尊的单独中介作用;二是情绪弹性的单独中介作用;三是自尊和情绪弹性的序列中介作用。本研究揭示了初中生亲子关系通过内在心理因素对抑郁水平产生影响的作用机制,为进一步提升初中生的心理健康提供了指导性建议。     

Is it acceptable for a physician to break confidentiality in the case of sexually transmitted diseases? A mapping of young Kuwaiti's views

IntroductionConfidentiality is essential for the establishment of trust between physicians and their patients.ObjectivesThe circumstances under which it is acceptable to young Kuwaiti for a physician to break confidentiality to protect the spouse of a patient with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) were examined.MethodA sample of 263 young Kuwaiti indicated the acceptability of breaking confidentiality in 48 scenarios that were all possible combinations of five factors: disease severity, time taken by the physician to discuss with the patient, the patient's intent to inform the spouse about the disease, the patient's intent to adopt protective behaviors, and the decision to seek the advice of an expert in infectious diseases before breaking confidentiality.ResultsThrough cluster analysis, four qualitatively different positions were found: Quite never acceptable (6% of the sample, mostly males), Depends on husband's willingness to inform (3%), Depends on husband's protective behavior (29%, mostly females), and Quite always acceptable (32%). The remaining participants did not express any clear view.ConclusionIn Kuwait, students’ trust in the medical profession is, therefore, not likely to be seriously undermined if, from time to time, and in well-specified cases, individual physicians decide to break confidentiality when facing dilemmas of the kind examined in the current study.     

Cogmic space for narrative-based world representation

Representing a world or a physical/social environment in an agent’s cognitive system is essential for creating human-like artificial intelligence. This study takes a story-centered approach to this issue. In this context, a story refers to an internal representation involving a narrative structure, which is assumed to be a common form of organizing past, present, future, and fictional events and situations. In the artificial intelligence field, a story or narrative is traditionally treated as a symbolic representation. However, a symbolic story representation is limited in its representational power to construct a rich world. For example, a symbolic story representation is unfit to handle the sensory/bodily dimension of a world. In search of a computational theory for narrative-based world representation, this study proposes the conceptual framework of a Cogmic Space for a comic strip-like representation of a world. In the proposed framework, a story is positioned as a mid-level representation, in which the conceptual and sensory/bodily dimensions of a world are unified. The events and their background situations that constitute a story are unified into a sequence of panels. Based on this structure, a representation (i.e., a story) and the represented environment are connected via an isomorphism of their temporal, spatial, and relational structures. Furthermore, the framework of a Cogmic Space is associated with the generative aspect of representations, which is conceptualized in terms of unconscious- and conscious-level processes/representations. Finally, a proof-of-concept implementation is presented to provide a concrete account of the proposed framework.     

Cognitive computing models for estimation of reference evapotranspiration: A review

Irrigation practices can be advanced by the aid of cognitive computing models. Repeated droughts, population expansion and the impact of global warming collectively impose rigorous restrictions over irrigation practices. Reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) is a vital factor to predict the crop water requirements based on climate data. There are many techniques available for the prediction of ET₀. An efficient ET₀ prediction model plays an important role in irrigation system to increase water productivity. In the present study, a review has been carried out over cognitive computing models used for the estimation of ET₀. Review exhibits that artificial neural network (ANN) approach outperforms support vector machine (SVM) and genetic programming (GP). Second order neural network (SONN) is the most promising approach among ANN models.