THE INFLUENCE OF ASSESSEE PERFORMANCE VARIATION ON ASSESSORS'JUDGMENTS

Assessors evaluated assessees'performances in one of three performance conditions in an assessment center simulation: a consistent performance condition, a within-assessee performance variation condition, or a between-assessee performance variation condition. Contrast effects influenced ratings of assessees when there was variation in performance within assessees. For each assessee, the low target performance was rated lower when the assessee's prior performance had been dissimilar (high) than when the assessee's prior performance had been similar (low). Contrast effects also infiuenced assessors'ratings of the target assessee when there was variation in performance among assessees. The low performing target assessee was rated significantly lower when he was evaluated with two high performers than when he was evaluated with two low performers. In addition, ratings obtained when there was performance variation among assessees were more accurate than those obtained when there was no performance variation, suggesting that under some circumstances contrast effects may not lead to inferior judgments.     

Understanding and Counseling Narcissistic Clients

This article is intended to provide counselors with an overview of narcissism and its treatment. In the first section, dysfunctional narcissism is described, drawing on the diagnostic indicators presented in the DSM-III and the contemporary object relations theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kernberg. The second section focuses on counseling narcissistic clients.     

Comparing the social support behaviors of violent and nonviolent husbands during discussions of wife personal problems

To compare the social support behaviors of violent and nonviolent husbands, we recruited four groups of couples-violent and distressed (VD); violent/nondistressed (VND); nonviolent/distressed (NVD);and nonviolent/nondistressed (NVND). Two systems were used to code couples’discussions of wives’personal problems. Using the Social Support Interaction Coding System (Bradbury & Pasch, 1994), no violent-nonviolent group differences emerged; however, as listeners, NVND husbands were the most positive and tended to be the least negative. Using a coding system designed for this study (i.e., Social Support Behavior/Affect Rating System), we confirmed the hypothesis that violent husbands would offer less social support than would nonviolent husbands. Relative to nonviolent men, violent husbands were less positive, more belligerent/domineering, more contemptuous/disgusted, and more upset by the wife's problem. Relative to NVND husbands, violent husbands displayed more anger and tension, VND husbands were more critical of their wives’problem, and VD men were more critical of the possible solutions wives offered. We discuss differences in the two coding systems relevant to the detection of violent-nonviolent group differences. Across both systems, few group differences in wife behavior emerged, suggesting that husband behavior better differentiates violent from nonviolent couples when wives are discussing personal problems.     

Jungian Psychology, the Body, and the Future

Impressive reaffirmation of Jung's archetypal hypothesis has come from developments in behavioural biology (Tinbergen 1951; Cosmides 1985), psycholinguistics (Chomsky 1965), structural anthropology (Lévi-Strauss 1967), developmental psychology (Bowlby 1969), dream research (Jouvet 1975). neuroscience (MacLean 1976), sociobiology (Wilson 1978), and evolutionary psychiatry (Gardner 1988; Gilbert 1989). A close correspondence exists between Jungian theories of dreaming in human beings and modern biological theories of dreaming in animals. A paradigm shift is under way in the direction of a growing cross-disciplinary awareness that all human sciences are about archetypal manifestations and that these apply as much to the body as to the mind. Jungian psychology must keep abreast of these developments if it is not to be sidelined and superseded by less humane therapeutic philosophies.     

Behavioral buffers on the effect of negativity on marital satisfaction: A longitudinal study

A 2-year longitudinal study of newlyweds was conducted to explore the connection between negativity and satisfaction as a function of (a) the extent to which spouses create an atmosphere of friendliness (as indexed by the degree to which they are affectionally expressive) and (b) the reported extent to which they try to accommodate to each other's needs and work toward maintaining the quality of their relationship. Data concerning marital behavior (negativity, affectional expression, and maintenance) and marital satisfaction were gathered from 105 pairs of spouses on three occasions spaced approximately a year apart. Hierarchical regressions with the concurrent data revealed that affectional expression and maintenance appear to buffer the impact of husbands' negativity on wives' satisfaction. The buffering hypothesis was not supported, however, when wives' behavior was used to account for husbands' satisfaction. Consistent with the buffering hypothesis, the decline in wives' satisfaction associated with husbands' negativity was less great when husbands exhibited relatively high levels of affectional expression. Declines in husbands' level of satisfaction, in contrast, could not be predicted by wives' initial levels of negativity, considered alone, or in combination with either their level of affectional expression or maintenance behavior.     

The Relation Between Masculine Role Conflict and Psychological Distress in Male University Counseling Center Clients

This is the first study to examine the relations between components of masculine gender role conflict and specific symptoms of psychological distress in a sample of men seeking counseling services. One hundred and thirty male clients from 2 university counseling centers completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Participants reported moderate to high levels of psychological symptoms, which were correlated with components of masculine role conflict. Results of simultaneous multiple regressions supported previous findings in nonclinical samples of relations between masculine role conflict and depression and interpersonal issues. In addition, masculine role conflict significantly predicted paranoia, psychoticism, and obsessive compulsivity. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF VERBAL, ARTICULATIVE, AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION TO EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS IN THE JOB INTERVIEW SETTING

Recruiter ratings of 338 on-campus interviews were used in a discriminant analysis procedure to determine the relative importance of the verbal, articulative, and nonverbal dimensions of communication during the job interview. Correlation of seven variables with the discriminant function indicated that appropriateness of content, fluency of speech, and composure were of greatest importance in contributing to a favorable employment decision. These findings were contrary to the recent literature which has emphasized the importance of nonverbal behavior. Implications for job-interview skills training are discussed, and suggestions for a comprehensive workshop model are presented.     

The Effects of a Job-Interview Skills Workshop on Drug-Abuse Clients

By performing a field experiment, we tested the hypothesis that a job-interview skills workshop would improve the employment status of subjects with drug-abuse problems. Subjects from a drug-abuse treatment program were randomly assigned either to an experimental situation that included a workshop that stressed behavioral interview skills, such as preparing for an interview, application completion, grooming, nonverbal communication, and phrasing of answers to interviewer questions, or to a control group that received no treatment. A 6-months follow-up of subjects showed no significant attitudinal differences between the two groups. All three behavioral measures of employment status showed either significant differences or strong trends in favor of the experimental group, however. Possible alternative explanations of results were discussed and future research suggested.     

Relational peer victimization and psychosocial adjustment: The mediating role of best friendship qualities

With a sample of 414 tenth‐grade students (53% girls) from the Northeastern United States, the unique mediating roles that different dimensions of best friendship quality play in linking relational victimization and psychosocial maladjustment were examined. For both boys and girls, relational victimization was found to predict higher levels of internalizing behaviors directly and through partial mediation by greater conflict and weaker feelings of help within adolescents' best friendships. Increased conflict also partially mediated the association between relational victimization and higher levels of externalizing behaviors. Together, the results provide support for the significance of broader peer group functioning on both dyadic relationships and individual functioning.