Reconnecting the individual and the social in health psychology

Abstract

Much social psychological research has sought to distinguish itself from more ‘individualistic’ approaches to human cognition and personality. Much of this debate fails to take account of the interactions between social and intrapsychic processes which, it is argued, are vital to the formulation of unifying theoretical principles and to practical applications in the field of health psychology. A general theoretical perspective is outlined, based on notions of connectionist systems operating at both the individual and interpersonal level. A special feature is the assumption that we depend on communication with and from other people to attribute reality to our interpretations of events. The benefits of this perspective for health psychology are then illustrated in the contexts of attitude-behaviour relations, appraisals of risk and uncertainty, person-situation interactions, and group processes and social influence.     

Individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories after preterm birth

Cognitive outcome after preterm birth is heterogeneous, and group level analyses may disguise individual variability in development. Using a person-oriented approach, this study investigated individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories from preschool age to late adolescence. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, 118 adolescents born preterm, with a birth weight < 1,500 g, participated in neuropsychological assessments at age 5½ years and at 18 years. At each age, four cognitive indices, two tapping general ability and two tapping executive functions, were formed to reflect each individual’s cognitive profile. Cluster analyses were performed at each age separately, and individual movements between clusters across time were investigated. At both 5½ and 18 years, six distinct, and similar, cognitive patterns were identified. Executive functions were a weakness for some but not all subgroups, and verbal ability was a strength primarily among those whose overall performance fell within the normal range. Overall, cognitive ability at 5½ years was highly predictive of ability at age 18. Those who performed at low levels at 5½ years did not catch up but rather deteriorated in relative performance. Over half of the individuals who performed above the norm at 5½ years improved their relative performance by age 18. Among those performing around the norm at 5½ years, half improved their relative performance over time, whereas the other half faced increased problems, indicating a need for further developmental monitoring. Perinatal factors were not conclusively related to outcome, stressing the need for cognitive follow-up assessment of the preterm-born child before school entry.     

The relative importance of psychopathy-related traits in predicting impersonal sex and hostile masculinity

This paper reports the relative contributions of several facets of subclinical psychopathy (i.e., callous affect, erratic lifestyle, interpersonal manipulation), subclinical narcissism (i.e., entitlement, exploitation), and trait aggression (i.e., anger) to the prediction of four enduring attitudes towards women and sexual assault (i.e., hostility towards women, negative attitudes regarding women, sexual dominance, impersonal sex) and a behavioral indicator of an impersonal sexual behavior (i.e., number of one-night stands). Survey data were collected from 470 single men living in the Detroit Metropolitan area. The importance of personality traits varied as a function of the outcome with anger most predictive of hostility toward women; erratic lifestyle most predictive of impersonal sexual attitudes and behavior, and entitlement most predictive of sexual dominance and negative attitudes toward women. These outcome-specific findings are interpreted and directions for future research are discussed.     

Reanalysis of Eysenck’s,Gray’s,and Zuckerman’s structural trait models based on a new measure: The Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ)

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships of the dimensions and facets of the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) with other psychobiological personality measures: the EPQ-RS (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised, shortened version), I₇ (Impulsiveness Questionnaire) and SPSRQ-20 (Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, 20-item version). It is intended to test if findings reported with Zuckerman’s previous instrument (ZK-PQ) about the relationships between the three biologic-factorial personality models are replicated, giving evidence about the validity of the ZKA-PQ. The sample analyzed was of 584 subjects (50.3% men and 49.7% women) from the Spanish general population. Correlational and factor analysis supported the expected relationships between similar constructs assessed by the ZKA-PQ and the other questionnaires based on Eysenck’s and Gray’s personality theories. On the other hand, the inclusion of the facets from the ZKA-PQ improved the validity of the questionnaire. Findings were discussed in the framework of the biological personality models, emphasizing the contribution of the ZKA-PQ to the psychobiological personality research.     

FOCUS: European Views on Complexity,Recursion, and Planetary Ethics Preface to the FOCUS Section

Global geographical patterns of repressive, painful, traumatic, and violent patrist behaviors and social institutions, which thwart materal‐infant and male‐female bonds, were correlated and developed through a systematic analysis of anthropological data on 1170 subsistence‐level cultures. When the behavior data were mapped, the hyperarid desert belt encompassing North Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia, which I call Saharasia, was found to possess the greatest areal extent of the most extreme patrist behaviors and social institutions on Earth. Regions farthest removed from Saharasia, in Oceania and the New World, were found to possess the most extreme matrist behaviors, which support and protect maternal‐infant and male‐female bonds. A systematic review of archaeological and historical materials suggests that patrism first developed in Saharasia after c.4000 BCE, the time of a major ecological transition from relatively wet grassland‐forest conditions to arid desert conditions. Settlement and migration patterns of patrist peoples were traced, from their earliest homelands in Saharasia, to explain the later appearance of patrism in regions outside of Saharasia. Prior to the onset of dry conditions in Saharasia, evidence for matrism is widespread, but evidence for patrism is generally nonexistent. It is argued that matrism constitutes the earliest, original, and innate form of human behavior and social organization, while patrism, perpetuated by trauma‐inducing social institutions, first developed among Homo Sapiens in Saharasia, under the pressures of severe desertification, famine, and forced migrations.     

Risk and Protective Factors in Mothers With a History of Incarceration: Do Relationships Buffer the Effects of Trauma Symptoms and Substance Abuse History?

A Sobel analysis reveals that peer relational health and perceived mutuality in partnerships buffer the effects of trauma symptoms on self-esteem, and perceived quality of mother-child relationships buffers the impact of trauma symptoms and history of alcoholism on depression. Statistically and clinically significant results demonstrate the positive impact of a healthy mother-child relationship on depression symptoms, and the influence of healthy peer and partner relationships on raising self-esteem for previously incarcerated mothers. These results indicate that feminist relational theorists of psychological development and trauma are correct in hypothesizing that healthy relationships are essential to recovery from trauma and emotional well-being.     

THE BLACK SISTERHOOD

No abstract available for this article.     

Sex Differences in Women's Mental Health Problems and Their Causes

No abstract available for this article.     

数学学业不良初中生的工作记忆特点：领域普遍性还是特殊性?

研究选取上海111名(男生48名, 女生63名, 平均年龄11.97岁)初中学生(数学学业不良学生55名与数学学业优秀学生56名), 根据国家数学课程标准, 将数学划分为数与代数、空间与几何两部分, 又从空间与几何领域中选取初一数学学业知识点—— 轴对称和中心对称图形, 分析在不同内容知识领域的解答过程中所涉及的工作记忆成分。结果发现：(1)数与代数学习需要中央执行系统、视觉-空间模板、语音环路三个成分的共同作用; 空间与几何学习主要受到视觉-空间模板和中央执行系统的影响, 但不存在语音环路的影响。(2)对轴对称与中心对称图形任务的成绩影响最大的是视觉-空间模板, 其次是中央执行系统, 语音环路对该任务作用不明显。两个研究说明工作记忆在初中不同年级的各类数学学业任务中具有不同的作用, 中央执行系统和视觉-空间模板相对更具有普遍性作用, 语音环路具有特殊性作用, 并且随着年龄增高, 视觉－空间模板对数学学业任务的作用更为突显。