Teaching Helping Skills Courses: Creative Activities to Reduce Anxiety

Helping skills courses play a vital role in counseling curriculum, but also tend to bring excessive anxiety for students, to the point of impeding their ability to successfully implement skills. This article describes specific creative and experiential activities, aimed at reducing anxiety in a helping skills course for counselors-in-training.     

休闲活动对我国老年人认知功能的影响

本文通过分析中国老年健康影响因素跟踪调查(CLHLS)2011年的数据,研究了参与休闲活动对老年人认知功能的影响。研究发现,参与各项休闲活动比例较高的老年人,其认知功能缺损的比例相对较低。回归分析结果表明,当控制了样本的人口特征(包括年龄、受教育程度、性别、居住地)、社会经济地位、健康状况、以及生活习惯等变量以后,参与社交类、益智类、以及轻度户外活动的程度越高,我国老年人认知功能缺损的可能性就越低。这些发现鼓励我国老年人在晚年积极参与上述几类休闲活动从而降低其认知功能衰退的风险。     

Daily dynamics of personal identity and self‐concept clarity

We examined the daily dynamics among self‐concept clarity and identity processes, and their effects on distress, among a sample of 580 Dutch adolescents. Participants completed measures of identity, self‐concept clarity, anxiety and depression at annual intervals; and daily single‐item measures of self‐concept clarity, identity commitments and reconsideration across three 5‐day weeks. We examined (a) cross‐lagged associations of self‐concept clarity to identity commitment and reconsideration and (b) associations of daily fluctuations in self and identity processes to later anxiety and depression. Results indicated that self‐concept clarity and identity commitments influence one another reciprocally across days, and that day‐to‐day fluctuations in identity predicted later anxiety and depression. Results are discussed in terms of self and identity processes and their effects on distress. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A daily diary investigation of self-reported alcohol-related direct and indirect aggression

Research supports the relationship between alcohol use and direct aggression, however, scant research has examined the association between alcohol use and indirectly aggressive behavior. Further, extant research has relied on retrospective reporting of behaviors, which may be subject to recall bias. The daily diary methodology enables the assessment of both the between- and within-subject variation, as well as reduces the likelihood of biased reporting. Consequently, the current study utilized a daily diary design to examine (a) associations between daily alcohol use and alcohol-related aggressive behaviors (i.e., direct and indirect); and (b) the co-occurrence of alcohol-related direct and indirect aggression. Participants were 105 (80% female) college student drinkers. Students completed baseline questionnaires and up to 14 consecutive, daily surveys regarding their previous day alcohol use, alcohol-related direct aggression, and alcohol-related indirect aggression. Findings revealed that alcohol use was associated with same day alcohol-related direct and indirect aggression, after controlling for baseline alcohol use. Self-reported alcohol-related direct aggression was more likely to occur on days in which self-reported alcohol-related indirect aggression occurred, after controlling for dispositional aggression, trait self-control, and baseline alcohol use. Results of the study suggest that, similar to alcohol-related direct aggression, alcohol use is associated with an increased likelihood of alcohol-related indirect aggression. Further, the co-occurrence of alcohol-related indirect and direct aggression supports that individuals may be engaging in multiple types of aggressive behaviors. Findings extend previous cross-sectional and qualitative research suggesting that indirect aggression may co-occur, perhaps increasing in severity.     

Future Time Perspective and Gratitude in Daily Life: A Micro‐longitudinal Study

Preliminary cross‐sectional evidence suggests that future time perspective (FTP) is associated with dispositional gratitude, but research on daily perceptions of FTP and their relations to daily gratitude is lacking. In this study, we addressed this gap by examining how FTP and gratitude jointly unfold in daily life and how these relations vary within and across individuals. A micro‐longitudinal design (N = 331, adults aged 18–77) with daily assessments over two workweeks was employed to examine the relations between gratitude and two components of FTP (remaining opportunities and time). Three important results from random intercepts cross‐lagged panel models stand out. First, we found evidence for within‐person day‐to‐day carry‐over effects in FTP and gratitude. Second, FTP and gratitude were systematically related within and across individuals. Third, age and dispositional forms of FTP and gratitude predicted between‐person differences in FTP and gratitude in daily life. Finally, exploratory multilevel analyses have shown that the associations between daily FTP and gratitude vary across ages at the between‐person level but not at the within‐person level. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of perceptions of FTP in daily life and their associations with gratitude in adulthood. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

How generative drawing affects the learning process: An eye‐tracking analysis

Generative drawing is a learning strategy in which students draw illustrations while reading a text to depict the content of the lesson. In two experiments, students were asked to generate drawings as they read a scientific text or read the same text on influenza with author‐provided illustrations (Experiment 1) or to generate drawings or write verbal summaries as they read (Experiment 2). An examination of students' eye movements during learning showed that students who engaged in generative drawing displayed more rereadings of words, higher proportion of fixations on the important words, higher rate of transitions between words and workspace, and higher proportion of transitions between important words and workspace than students given a text lesson with author‐generated illustrations (Experiment 1) or students who were asked to write a summary (Experiment 2). These findings contribute new evidence to guide theories for explaining how generative drawing affects learning processes.     

Concurrent operant preference assessment to identify social consequences to decrease task latency for adolescents with dual diagnosis

Identifying effective reinforcers to use to increase desired behaviors is essential to the success of an intervention. Conducting preference assessments is a proven method for identification of effective reinforcers. In the current study, reinforcers were identified to decrease the latency of initiation of daily living skills such as laundry, showering, and chores in five individuals with dual diagnoses. A Concurrent Operant Preference Assessment measuring response allocation to social stimuli was completed with each individual to determine preferred consequence to increase task compliance. Results showed that all five participants decreased latency to initiate daily tasks once treatment was implemented compared with that during the baseline phase. These results were perceived as socially acceptable by staff, and the improvement was maintained 2 weeks beyond the completion of treatment.     

Daily practice of Won-Buddhism: insights from the mind diaries of early childhood teachers in South Korea

This article explores the self-reflection and introspection practised by Korean teachers in early childhood institutions from the perspective of Won-Buddhism. With a phenomenological research methodology, it observes the internalised dialogue experienced by teachers while writing a ‘mind diary’ to reflect on the emotions, thoughts, actions, and relationships they encounter in their daily lives. The findings of data collected and analysed from in-depth interviews and from examining the mind diary writing processes of eight teachers were as follows. First, writing the mind diary enabled teachers to identify their state of mind when they encountered problematic situations. Using the ascetic method of stopping to reflect critically upon the situation and to observe it in context, they recovered their psychological stability and experienced changes in their way of thinking. Second, while writing mind diaries, teachers were able to observe each other’s internalised thoughts and changes in behaviour, which had not been possible for them earlier in their professional lives. On this basis, the processes of practice-oriented teacher education were reconsidered in this study to help teachers develop their abilities to reflect upon and practise these processes in their daily lives.     

Life Satisfaction After Spousal Loss: The Potential Influence of Age,Gender, and Leisure

Life satisfaction is considered an important part of successful aging. The purpose of this study was to examine how age, gender, and participation in leisure activities influence the life satisfaction of widowed older adults. Results suggest that age, gender, and changes in physical activity participation are possible predictors of widowed older adults’ life satisfaction. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

经济活动中的道德理性

经济活动不仅是人们的物质生产活动,也是人们“理性化”的认知活动和实践活动。它既体现了人类主体对技术、工具手段的认知理性,又体现了人类主体“合理性”、“合目的性”的价值理性。而道德价值理性是一切合理有序的经济活动的价值标矢和理性基础。