Importance of Therapist Use of Social Reinforcement with Parents as a Model for Parent-Child Relationships: An Example with Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses attention on the therapeutic relationship in parent-child therapy by using social reinforcement with parents and children as it relates to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). As in other therapy contexts, it is argued that having the therapist serve as a mediator of social reinforcement facilitates client change, After discussing different aspects of PCIT, we discuss the therapeutic relationship as viewed through other theoretical frameworks. This is followed by a discussion of the role of social reinforcement in the parent-child relationship. We then discuss at methodological and applied levels, the importance of therapist accuracy and consistency in the delivery of reinforcement as a means of changing the parent-child relationship. Next, this is followed by a discussion of the therapist-to-parent-to-child sequential chain of behaviors involved in PCIT. Finally, suggestions for future empirical studies are considered.     

Emotional context, maternal behavior and emotion regulation

This study investigated the importance of emotion-eliciting context (positive and negative) and mother's behaviors (constrained and involved) on toddlers’ emotion regulation behavioral strategies, emotional expressiveness and intensity, during three episodes eliciting fear, frustration/anger and positive affect. Fifty-five children between 18 and 26 months of age and their mothers participated in the study. Toddlers’ regulatory strategies varied as function of emotion-eliciting context (children exhibited behavioral strategies more frequently during positive affect and frustration/anger episodes and less frequently during fear episodes) and maternal involvement. Toddlers’ expression of emotion varied as function of emotion-eliciting context (children exhibited more emotional expressions, both negative and positive during fear and frustration/anger episodes compared to positive affect episodes). Toddlers’ expression of emotion was not strongly related to maternal involvement, however, the intensity of emotional expression was related to the interaction of context and maternal involvement.     

Experimental Task and Speaker Effects on Parent-Child Interactions of Aggressive and Depressed/Anxious Children

Parent-child interactions of aggressive and depressed/anxious clinic-referred children were observed during two different tasks: planning a vacation and discussing a conflict. Marked group differences were found as a function of the type of task, who was speaking (parent vs. child), and type of child psychopathology. Negative behaviors (e.g., Belittling and Blaming) were especially pronounced in the conflict task, whereas positive behaviors (e.g., Nurturing and Protecting) were more common in the planning task. Parents displayed other-directed behavior (e.g., Watching and Controlling), whereas children showed more self-directed behavior (e.g., Walling Off and Distancing), and patterns of child psychopathology interacted with task and speaker in theoretically important ways; for example, parents of aggressive children showed more Belittling and Blaming than their children in the conflict task, but not in the planning task. The findings highlight key factors that may need to be incorporated into models of parent-child interaction and child psychopathology.     

On the Varieties of National Attachment: Blind Versus Constructive Patriotism

Two studies explored a theoretical distinction between "blind" and "constructive" patriotism. Blind patriotism is defined as an attachment to country characterized by unquestioning positive evaluation, staunch allegiance, and intolerance of criticism. Constructive patriotism is defined as an attachment to country characterized by support for questioning and criticism of current group practices that are intended to result in positive change. Items designed to investigate these dimensions of national attachment were administered to two groups of undergraduates in separate surveys. Measures of the two constructs derived from factor analysis of the responses proved to be reliable and valid. Blind patriotism was positively associated with political disengagement, nationalism, perceptions of foreign threat, perceived importance of symbolic behaviors, and selective exposure to pro-U.S. information. In contrast, constructive patriotism was positively associated with multiple indicators of political involvement, including political efficacy, interest, knowledge, and behavior. The implications of this distinction for theory and research on patriotism are discussed.     

中学生亲子依恋的特点及其对社会适应的影响:父母亲密的调节作用

以六城市2630名中学生为被试,用问卷法考察中学生亲子依恋、父母亲密和社会适应的状况,发现:(1)中学生母子依恋质量高于父子依恋质量;男生的父子沟通、母子疏离和父子疏离的得分显著高于女生;随年级升高,亲子依恋质量显著下降;(2)亲子依恋各维度与社会适应各维度存在显著相关.积极社会适应四维度上的得分,存在双亲安全依恋型>一方安全依恋型(父子安全-母子不安全型和父子不安全-母子安全型)>双亲不安全依恋型的情况,消极社会适应的得分则恰好相反;(3)父母亲密能够调节亲子依恋对社会适应的预测作用.     

网络广告的心理传播效果及其理论探讨

网络广告现已得到众多商家的重视与青睐。研究发现, 网络广告的心理传播效果明显受到广告自身特点(如网络广告的形式、互动性、情感元素、产品类型)、受众状态(如受众的期待、卷入度、先前经验、性别)、以及网络环境等因素的影响。学者们利用修正的精细加工可能性模型、互动广告模型、网络广告心理效果模型等对该类广告效应进行理论解释。但现有研究也依然存在一些问题, 如影响因素有待拓展、研究方法有待创新、因变量指标有待规范、理论总结不力等。