Effects of cognitive and behavioral structure and discussion of corrective feedback outcomes on counseling group development.

Two structure conditions (behavioral and cognitive-behavioral), alone and in combination with a structured discussion of anticipated undesired outcomes of communicating corrective feedback, were compared in terms of their effects on high- and low-risk takers' corrective feedback production and attitudes toward 4-session counseling groups. Low- and high-risk takers who received cognitive and behavioral structure and participated in the discussion activity during Session 1 communicated the higher proportions of corrective feedback during Session 4. The cognitive-behavioral structure and discussion activity treatments enhanced low-risk takers' ratings of attraction to their groups and attraction to feedback after the conclusion of Session 4. The discussion activity was associated with higher group cohesion ratings among low-risk takers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social risk taking propensity and anxiety as predictors of group performance.

32 college student encounter group participants were divided into 4 categories (high social anxiety/high risk taking propensity, high anxiety/low risk, low anxiety/high risk, and low anxiety/low risk) on the basis of Social Risk Taking Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores. Two participants from each category were placed in each of the 4 encounter groups. Results indicate that high, as opposed to low, risk takers were seen by other group members as more verbally active, self-disclosing, and risk taking. High risk takers viewed themselves as being of greater value to the group but were not perceived as more valuable by the other group members. High risk/high anxiety participants' self-observations concerning risk taking, and high anxiety/low risk participants' self observations concerning their value to the group, were discrepant with that of the other group members' evaluation of them. The low risk/high anxiety participant is discussed as having high potential for becoming a group casualty and/or dropout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variable risk preferences and the focus of attention.

Empirical investigations of decision making indicate that the level of individual or organizational risk taking is responsive to a risk taker's changing fortune. Several nonstationary random-walk models of risk taking are developed to describe this phenomenon. Models portray a risk taker's history as the cumulated realizations of a series of independent draws from a normal probability distribution of possible outcomes. This performance distribution is assumed to have an unchanging mean and a variance (risk) that changes. Changes are seen as determined by (1) a focus of attention on 1 of 2 reference points (an adaptive aspiration for resources and the survival point) and (2) the relation between current resources and the focal point. The models are elaborated by examining the impact of adaptive aspirations and attention focus on risk taking over time in a cohort of risk takers and in a renewing population of risk takers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of initial and delayed structure in facilitating group development.

Notes that recent theoretical and empirical developments indicate that the use of structure in initiating group work facilitates group development and client outcome. Three levels of structured learning exercises (initial structure, delayed structure, and no structure) were presented to 43 undergraduates meeting in interpersonal growth groups. The effects of structure on member anxiety, group cohesion, and quality of interpersonal interaction were assessed at 2 points during the life of the groups. Initial structure was associated with increased levels of self-disclosure in early meetings and higher levels of anxiety among members. The effects of levels of structure dissipated over time. Structure did not differentially influence group cohesion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure.

We investigated 2 engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles—autonomy support and structure—and hypothesized that students' engagement would be highest when teachers provided high levels of both. Trained observers rated teachers' instructional styles and students' behavioral engagement in 133 public high school classrooms in the Midwest, and 1,584 students in Grades 9–11 reported their subjective engagement. Correlational and hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed 3 results: (a) Autonomy support and structure were positively correlated, (b) autonomy support and structure both predicted students' behavioral engagement, and (c) only autonomy support was a unique predictor of students' self-reported engagement. We discuss, first, how these findings help illuminate the relations between autonomy support and structure as 2 complementary, rather than antagonistic or curvilinear, engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles and, second, the somewhat different results obtained for the behavioral versus self-report measures of students' classroom engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental enhancement of prosocial television content: Effects on interpersonal behavior, imaginative play, and self-regulation in a natural setting.

Investigated whether (a) prosocial TV can affect the behavior of urban poor children and (b) environmental supports that stimulate rehearsal and labeling of TV content are effective in a field setting. The social, imaginative, and self-regulatory behavior of 141 children aged 2 yrs 4 mo–5 yrs 4 mo in Head Start centers was observed before and during 1 of the following 4 experimental treatments: (a) neutral films, (b) prosocial TV only, (c) prosocial TV plus related play materials, and (d) prosocial TV plus related materials plus teacher training for rehearsal using verbal labeling and role playing. Ss in each condition saw 20 films in 8 wks. Prosocial TV alone produced few behavioral differencs from the control group. When classrooms were otherwise comparable, Ss receiving TV plus related materials had high levels of positive social interaction with peers and adults, of imaginative play, and of assertiveness and aggression. Those whose teachers were trained as well showed high levels of positive social interaction with peers, imaginative play, and assertiveness, but did not increase in aggression. Self-regulatory behavior was unaffected. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking—actively contemplating others' psychological experiences—attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers—a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Treatment Advocacy Program: A randomized controlled trial of a peer-led safer sex intervention for HIV-infected men who have sex with men.

Objective: Primary care may be an effective venue for delivering behavioral interventions for sexual safety among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM); however, few studies show efficacy for such an approach. We tested the efficacy of the Treatment Advocacy Program (TAP), a 4-session, primary-care-based, individual counseling intervention led by HIV-positive MSM “peer advocates” in reducing unprotected sex with HIV-negative or unknown partners (HIV transmission risk). Method: We randomized 313 HIV-positive MSM to TAP or standard care. HIV transmission risk was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months (251 participants completed all study waves). We conducted intent-to-treat analyses using general estimating equations to test the interaction of group (TAP vs. standard care) by follow-up period. Results: At study completion, TAP participants reported greater transmission risk reduction than did those receiving standard care, χ2(2, N = 249) = 6.6, p = .04. Transmission risk among TAP participants decreased from 34% at baseline to about 20% at both 6 and 12 months: Transmission risk ranged from 23% to 25% among comparison participants. Conclusions: TAP reduced transmission risk among HIV-positive MSM, although results are modest. Many participants and peer advocates commented favorably on the computer structure of the program. We feel that the key elements of TAP—computer-based and individually tailored session content, delivered by peers, in the primary care setting—warrant further exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating dispositions, signatures, and the interpersonal domain.

A person's behavior across situations can be characterized in terms of a mean level (disposition), a dispersion within the person around that mean level, and a stable organization to the pattern of dispersion (signature). The authors' goals were to examine the structure and stability of behavior, both at the level of behavioral dispositions and at the level of behavioral signatures. Participants completed event-contingent records of their social interactions over a 20-day period. Participants recorded their own social behavior (dominant, agreeable, submissive, quarrelsome) in 4 situations defined by the perceived social behavior of their primary interaction partners (agreeable-dominant, agreeable-submissive, quarrelsome- submissive, quarrelsome-dominant). Findings suggest that (a) once the normative influences of situations on behavior are removed, the remaining behavioral variation reflects both consistent cross-situational differences between individuals (dispositions) and consistent situational differences within individuals (signatures); (b) both dispositions and signatures display a 2-dimensional structure in adherence to the interpersonal circle; and (c) both dispositions and signatures constitute stable aspects of personality functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived influence of life experiences on clinical psychologists' selection and development of theoretical orientations.

Investigated the types of life experiences perceived by 31 male and 9 female behavioral and psychodynamic (PD) psychologists as influential in the development of their theoretical orientation. Half of the Ss were experienced therapists (aged 31–59 yrs); the other half were clinical psychology graduate students. Ss completed a theoretical orientation survey and a checklist of variables influencing the selection of a theoretical orientation and were also interviewed individually. Results show that therapists in the PD group (1) reported significantly more mental illness in members of their families of origin, (2) offered significantly more personal as opposed to professional reasons for seeking therapy, (3) reported significantly more conflict within their families of origin when compared with therapists in the behavioral group, and (4) reported seeking personal therapy more often (95%) than therapists in the behavioral group (40%). Implications for training of therapists are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of group structure and risk-taking disposition on group behavior, attitudes, and atmosphere.

Prior theoretical formulations have suggested that client exposure to levels of personal risk and responsibility most conducive to optimal group development can be regulated with group structure. The current study employed a randomized, within-S design to determine the effects of (a) risk-taking disposition; (b) group structure; (c) sex; and (d) group tasks on early group behaviors, attitudes, and cohesion. Ss were 48 male and 48 female undergraduates who had extreme high and low scores on the Jackson et al risk-taking inventory. Results indicate that the highest frequency of therapeutically relevant behaviors occurred in the high-structure and high-risk-taking disposition treatment conditions. Additionally, structure was particularly influential at increasing the target behaviors of low-risk-taking Ss. Unexpectedly, group cohesion and evaluative attitudes were the most negative in the treatment conditions associated with the highest level of meaningful interpersonal communication. Results are discussed in terms of problems and advantages of analog research and the current status of knowledge in group work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental comparison of outcomes in insight- and non-insight-oriented therapy groups.

Compared the effectiveness of (a) group therapy stressing interpretive procedures intended to bring about client insight, and (b) a form of group therapy experience encouraging client * client interaction without the intentional development of insight. A total of 24 male psychiatric inpatients (20 diagnosed schizophrenic) were randomly assigned to insight, interaction, insight-interaction, or control groups. Ss were given behavioral, psychometric, and self-rating measures (e.g., the MMPI) before and after treatment. Although there were no significant differences between experimental conditions on any of the outcome measures, the insight-interaction group showed the most consistent indications of improvement on the 21 measures assumed to assess "personal functioning." None of the other group comparisons were statistically significant. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactional structure of interviews conducted by counselors of differing levels of cognitive complexity.

Investigated (a) the probabilistic interactional structure of counseling interviews conducted by 2 groups of counselors of differing levels of cognitive complexity and (b) the consistency of that structure within each group across sequences of 2 interviews. 26 master's level counselor trainees served as Ss. Analysis of the counselor–client interaction patterns between the 2 groups of counselors and across the 2-interview sequences was done using chi-square tests of homogeneity on the sequential verbal response–response transitions of the counseling interviews. The results provide evidence of (a) interactional process differences between counselors of differing levels of cognitive complexity and (b) consistency of interactional response patterns across counseling interviews. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of positive and negative self-disclosure and feedback on early group development.

Conducted a group treatment study on 64 female undergraduates that assessed the effects of 2 content domains of structure on early group development. The 2 dimensions were positive and negative valence, and the pretraining tasks were self-disclosure and interpersonal feedback. Both variables were important determinants of group development. Specifically, feedback exercises were consistently associated with more effective modes of interaction than were self-disclosure exercises. Positive tasks were superior to negative tasks, and intermember communication and cohesiveness were greater in sequences in which positive and negative exercises were mixed than in all-positive or all-negative sequences. Results demonstrate the importance of the level of psychological risk and the quality of the interpersonal orientation of structured group exercises. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk, responsibility, and structure: A conceptual framework for initiating group counseling and psychotherapy.

Presents a developmental framework for initiating group counseling and psychotherapy. On the basis of existing evidence, client risk, responsibility, and group structure are postulated as basic ingredients affecting early group development. The primary thesis is that client exposure to levels of personal risk and responsibility most conducive to group development can be regulated by group structure. The theoretical and practical implications of these observations are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions in marriage: The relationship between standards and attributions.

The current investigation explored the relation between (a) spouses' standards for their marriages and (b) attributions for relationship problems and reported emotional and behavioral responses. Three dimensions of relationship standards were assessed: boundaries, distribution of power between partners, and demonstrated investment in the relationship. Findings indicate it is not the levels of boundaries, power, and investment reflected in spouses' standards that were related to their attributions, emotions, and self-reported behavioral responses to relationship problems. Instead, negative causal attributions; attributions to boundary, power, and investment issues; negative emotional responses to relationship problems; and reported active-destructive behavioral responses to relationship problems were associated with (a) spouses' unmet standards and (b) how upset spouses became when their relationship standards were not met. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of reciprocal peer tutoring on mathematics and school adjustment: A component analysis.

Examined the relative impact of structured peer tutoring and group reward components of the reciprocal peer-tutoring intervention on the mathematics performance of elementary school students at high risk for academic failure. 64 students were selected randomly from a pool of 80 4th- and 5th-grade students. Students were assigned randomly to 4 conditions: structure plus reward; reward only; structure only; and no structure, no reward. Findings indicate that students who received both components showed the highest levels of accurate math computations. Analyses of collateral measures revealed that students in the group-reward conditions received higher classroom conduct reports than students in the nonreward conditions. Students in the structured conditions reported higher levels of scholastic competency and self-control than did students in the nonstructured conditions. Data were reported on treatment integrity and teacher and student satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing inner-city women's AIDS risk activities: A study of single, pregnant women.

Behavioral change reduces risk of HIV infection and development of AIDS. 206 inner-city women who were randomly assigned to a 4-session AIDS-prevention group or to 1 of 2 controls, a health-promotion group or a no-intervention group, were compared. AIDS-prevention and health-promotion groups provided information, behavioral competency training, and social support. Only the AIDS-prevention group focused on AIDS-specific knowledge and skills. The AIDS-prevention group produced moderate, consistent increases in knowledge and safer sex behaviors in comparison with either the health-promotion or no-intervention group. Self-report and objective changes were sustained 6 mo after intervention for both African-American and European-American women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk taking and personality.

Comparisons were made of the personality and social orientations of antisocial risk takers, defined as residents in a long-term drug-treatment facility (N?=?24); adventurous risk takers, defined as rock climbers (N?=?18); and prosocial risk takers, or heroes, defined as policemen and firemen decorated for bravery (N?=?21). Measures included substance abuse proclivity, emotional arousability, conformity, moral reasoning, empathy, psychopathy, and sensation seeking. Discriminant analysis identifed two functions that correctly classified 98.18% of the sample. Drug-unit residents had high scores on an Antisocial function, characterized by emotionality, depression, psychopathy, substance abuse proclivity, and lower scores on moral reasoning. Rock climbers had high scores on an Antistructural function, characterized by sensation seeking and moral reasoning, the latter reflecting the higher education level of the rock climbers. Neither discriminant function characterized the heroes. Thus, drug-unit residents, rock climbers, and heroes appear to represent both different psychological types and different forms of risk taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behavioral inhibition system and the verbal information pathway to children's fears.

The behavioral inhibition system (BIS) is the neurological substrate of trait anxiety and is linked to the development of anxiety disorders. Three experiments are reported that investigate the moderating influence of the BIS on 1 pathway to fear: threat information. In all studies, children were given verbal information about a set of novel animals, and their BIS sensitivity was measured. The results suggest that BIS sensitivity (a) facilitates attentional biases to stimuli associated with threat information and (b) facilitates behavioral avoidance of novel stimuli associated with threat information. This suggests a possible mechanism through which the BIS may promote the acquisition of animal fears. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)