Short-Term Stability of Task-Generated,Interactional Patterns in Families of Schizophrenic Patients

Both researchers and therapists who study schizophrenia make inferences about enduring family roles from observed patterns of interactional talking behavior within families. Evidence regarding the stability of these patterns is rarely investigated. The present study examined the short-term stability of intrafamilial speech patterns (who talks to whom) across two consecutive discussions. The sample was composed of families containing a recent-onset, adult schizophrenic patient. All discussions involved two biological parents and a young adult patient (N = 28 ). Families were classified into one of three interactional role-structure categories based on the intrafamilial speech patterns in two 10-minute discussions obtained in the same session. In addition, the affective style ( 4 ) of the content of the discussions was coded. The results indicated that intrafamilial speech patterns were relatively stable across two discussions despite variations in the focus of the problem discussed. Further, when one parent was predominant in the discussion, a higher rate of negative affective statements was observed than when both parents were equal participants. The results provide further support for the use of discussion tasks in generating meaningful family interaction data.     

Adoption is Not Abortion‐Lite

It is standardly taken for granted in the literature on the morality of abortion that adoption is almost always an available and morally preferable alternative to abortion — one that does the same thing so far as parenthood is concerned. This assumption pushes proponents of a woman's right to choose into giving arguments that are based almost exclusively around the physicality of pregnancy and childbirth. On the other side of the debate, the assumption that adoption is a real alternative seems to strengthen the contention that a woman who wishes to abort is morally deficient, whatever the status of the foetus: that she is selfish or short‐sighted in her refusal to bear the temporary physical burden of pregnancy. In this article, I will argue that adoption is not a genuine alternative to abortion. It does not ‘do the same thing’, even setting aside the physicality of pregnancy. I will show that on the most successful model of parental obligation — a causal account that formalises the distinction between parent: progenitor, and parent: carer — birth mothers and fathers remain obliged, life‐long, to their birth children even when the child is adopted out.     

Not all ideals are equal: Intrinsic and extrinsic ideals in relationships

The ideal standards model suggests that greater consistency between ideal standards and actual perceptions of one's relationship predicts positive relationship evaluations; however, no research has evaluated whether this differs across types of ideals. A self‐determination theory perspective was derived to test whether satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffers the importance of extrinsic ideals. Participants (N = 195) in committed relationships directly and indirectly reported the extent to which their partner met their ideal on two dimensions: intrinsic (e.g., warm, intimate) and extrinsic (e.g., attractive, successful). Relationship need fulfillment and relationship quality were also assessed. Hypotheses were largely supported, such that satisfaction of intrinsic ideals more strongly predicted relationship functioning, and satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffered the relevance of extrinsic ideals for outcomes.     

Memory Representations of Compliance-Gaining Strategies and Tactics

An important step in the development of cognitive theories of message processing is to detail the manner in which information relevant to this task is represented in memory. Given this, the present research sought to examine memory for various features of compliance-gaining messages. The results of these five studies indicate that people are generally proficient at remembering the tactical instantiations in a message but that memory for strategies (i.e., sequences of tactical acts) is generally poor. The effects of warned versus incidental memory tests and duration of retention interval were also examined. The results of these studies are explained by recourse to an associative network model of long-term memory.     

Communication with former romantic partners and current relationship outcomes among college students

This research investigates individual and contextual differences underlying postdissolution friendships by considering communication with former romantic partners among individuals in new romantic relationships. Two studies demonstrate the prevalence, determinants, and implications of former partner communication for the current relationship. Study 1 showed that approximately 40% of individuals in relationships communicate with a former partner and highlighted differences between those who communicate and those who do not. Study 2 factor analyzed reasons why people communicate with former partners and examined how the reasons are differentially associated with current relationship functioning. In general, results support the notion that under certain circumstances and for certain individuals, communication with former partners can have deleterious influences on one's current relationship.     

Mother, Father, and Self: Sources of Young Adults' God Concepts

Following developmental attachment theory, we predicted a path in which nurturing parents affect young adults' self-concepts and self-esteem, which in turn predicts the image of a nurturing God. To ascertain how images of parents and images of self predict God images, 132 young adults aged 18–22 (M = 19) completed the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and a six-item measure of God's perceived involvement in their lives (religiosity scale). In a follow-up interview, they rated their parents, God, and selves on scales of closeness, nurturing, power, and punishing/judging. For men, mothers were responsible, more than fathers, for creating a climate for sons' self-esteem through nurturance and discipline, which in turn contributed to seeing God as nurturing, feeling close to God, and being more religious. For women, mothers and fathers created a model of nurturance and power, which contributed to seeing God as nurturing and powerful. Punishing/judging parents directly affected punishing/judging God images in these young adults. Men perceived God to be more punishing/judging than did women, while women perceived God to be more nurturing. Even in adulthood, parents, especially mothers, continue to exert influences on young adults' faith and images of God.     

Encoding Processes in the Production of Multiple-Goal Messages

It is commonly recognized that interpersonal messages function in the service of multiple social goals. Despite this, relatively little is known of the encoding processes underlying the production of such messages. One possible account of these encoding processes is found in action assembly theory. This article explicates the production of multiple-goal messages from the perspective of action assembly theory and reports an experimental investigation of this account. In this study, the speech of participants assigned the task of pursuing multiple social goals was contrasted with that of people assigned a single task. Consistent with the theory, the results revealed that participants pursuing multiple goals had longer onset latencies than their counterparts given a single goal. Similarly, multiple goals were associated with greater pause/phonation ratios after the onset of speech. The effects of opportunity for advance message preparation were also examined. As expected, participants given the opportunity for advance planning exhibited shorter response latencies than those who spoke spontaneously. In keeping with previous research in this area, filled-pause rate was not significantly affected by either number of goals or the opportunity for advance preparation.     

The attraction–similarity model and dating couples: Projection,perceived similarity,and psychological benefits

According to the attraction–similarity model, relationship quality leads to perceptions of partner–self similarity. Relationship quality and perceived similarity then provide psychological benefits for the perceiver. Across 3 studies, relationship quality positively predicted perceptions of similarity. Study 1 indicated that for moderate, but not low, relationship‐relevant traits, individuals projected the self onto the dating partner as a way of perceiving similarities. In Study 2, priming high, as opposed to low, relationship quality led to greater perceived similarity on the moderately relevant traits. Study 3 indicated greater perceived similarity between self and dating partner than between self and average same‐gender student on the moderately relevant traits. Relationship quality and perceived similarity with the dating partner on the moderately relevant traits also predicted psychological benefits.