For better or worse? Coregulation of couples’ cortisol levels and mood states.

Although a majority of adults live with a close relationship partner, little is known about whether and how partners’ momentary affect and physiology covary, or “coregulate.” This study used a dyadic multilevel modeling approach to explore the coregulation of spouses’ mood states and cortisol levels in 30 married couples who sampled saliva and reported on mood states 4 times per day for 3 days. For both husbands and wives, own cortisol level was positively associated with partner’s cortisol level, even after sampling time was controlled. For wives, marital satisfaction weakened the strength of this effect. Partner’s negative mood was positively associated with own negative mood for both husbands and wives. Marital satisfaction fully moderated this effect, reducing the strength of the association between one’s own and one’s partner’s negative mood states. Spouses’ positive moods were not correlated. As expected, within-couple coregulation coefficients were stronger when mood and cortisol were sampled in the early morning and evening, when spouses were together at home, than during the workday. The results suggest that spouses’ fluctuations in negative mood and cortisol levels are linked over several days and that marital satisfaction may buffer spouses from their partners’ negative mood or stress state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trick or treat?: uneven understanding of mind and emotion and executive dysfunction in "hard-to-manage" preschoolers

It is widely recognised that impaired social relations are characteristic of school-aged children with behavioural disorders, and predict a poor long-term outcome (Parker & Asher, 1987). However, little is known about the early antecedents of social impairment in behaviourally disturbed children. The aim of the present study was to explore three areas of potential dysfunction in younger children: theory of mind, emotion understanding, and executive function. Forty preschoolers, rated by their parents on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1994) as "hard to manage" (H2M) were compared with a control group on a set of: (1) theory of mind tasks (including an emotion prediction task involving either a nice or a nasty surprise); (2) emotion understanding stories (that required affective perspective-taking skills as well as situational understanding); and (3) simple executive function tasks (adapted for preschoolers, and tapping inhibitory control, attentional set-shifting, and working memory). Small but significant group differences were found in all three cognitive domains. In particular, hard-to-manage preschoolers showed poor understanding of emotion and executive control, poor prediction or recall of a false belief, and better understanding of the belief-dependency of emotion in the context of a trick than a treat. Moreover, executive function was associated with performance on the theory of mind tasks for the hard-to-manage group alone, suggesting both direct and indirect links between executive dysfunction and disruptive behaviour.     

Perception and acceptance of technological and environmental risks: why are poor countries less concerned?

The research has been aimed at answering two questions: (1) What factors impact perception and acceptance of technological and environmental hazards? (2) Why are rich societies involved more in protecting their environment and health than poor societies? Data has been collected from representative samples of two countries--Poland and Sweden. The results indicate that (1) contrary to earlier findings, the inverse relations between perceived benefits and dangers of hazards has not been observed, (2) acceptance of a risk has been mostly influenced by perceived benefits, (3) rejection of a risk has been mostly influenced by its perceived harmful consequences. Concerning the second question, it has been found that: (1) perceived hazard's danger and benefit is not the only factor that impacts its acceptance, and (2) a broader economic context can impact acceptance (tolerance) of hazards. It has been found that being aware of high dangers and not very high benefits of hazardous activities, Poles still have accepted them. Thus, Poles seem to follow an old proverb: "When one does not have what one likes, one has to like what one has."     

Payment or repayment? The problem of private practice.

"From Freud on, it has been recognized that there is always a 'masochistic element' in neurotic and functionally psychotic individuals… . We need to be very sure that, in the fees which are charged for that otherwise doubtful service known as psychotherapy, we do not fall into the trap of merely gratifying this need for punishment on the part of the patient… . We need to be very certain… that 'therapy' does not become merely a form of expiation, much as electrically induced convulsions or hospitalization (with its overtones of imprisonment) does for others, who cannot afford 'psychotherapy."' The greatest weakness and defect of private practice "lies precisely in the fact that it offers as treatment what, in reality, is the very essence of the disease itself, namely continued privacy and personal withdrawal. Now we are coming to see that the way to feel better is to be better, in the ethical and interpersonal sense of the term." The neurotic's insecurity "stems from real guilt, which can be satisfactorily resolved only by radical openness and restitution." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's experiences of treatment of depression: Medicalization or empowerment?

An interview study was conducted in which women's experiences of diagnosis and treatment for depression were explored. Nine women (aged 19–66 yrs) who had been diagnosed by a physician participated in the study. Topics explored in the interview included how women came to be diagnosed as depressed, how treatment was experienced, how they understood the causes of their depression, and how being diagnosed had affected their view of themselves and their futures. Analysis involved a thematic approach guided by the topics addressed in the interview. The women's accounts also were analyzed with respect to the themes of medicalization and empowerment. All of the participants gave medicalized accounts of their depressive experiences, which were characterized by biomedical explanations and identification of anti-depressant drugs as beneficial in alleviating their distress. Based on this analysis of the women's accounts, it is concluded that a medicalized understanding and treatment of women's depressive experiences cannot readily co-exist with personal empowerment. Suggestions are made for developing strategies for treatment of women's depressive experiences that offer the benefits of medicalization without precluding the possibility of personal empowerment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling and psychotherapy: Split personality or siamese twins?

Psychotherapy is a process "implemented by interview techniques which seeks to alter the client's receptor or response system in such a way that healthy behavior will occur in situations where unhealthy behavior has been typical." An attempt will be made "to describe a kind of nonpathological emotional distress that is clearly the special province of the counseling psychologist." We "see psychotherapy and at least one type of counseling, psychological discordance reduction, as Siamese twins. These processes are two distinct but closely related entities that share some vital concerns. Perhaps one of both of these twins have split personalities, but the distinction between them is not delusional." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Origin of laparoscopy: coincidence or surgical interdisciplinary thought?

The history of laparoscopy illustrates the interaction between the many areas of medicine and technology; in fact, the development of that technique is a cumulative effort of internists, gynecologists, and surgeons. At the beginning of our century, however, neither group was particularly open to the idea of scholarly exchange. In this respect, an early pioneer of laparoscopy, Georg Kelling (1866-1945) of Dresden and the story surrounding the invention of the laparoscopy are interesting exceptions. Although Kelling regarded himself a surgeon, he devoted a great deal of energy to the development of "nonsurgical" methods of treatment. He spent a great part of his life determining stomach capacity, constructing a semiflexible tube endoscope (straightened after the insertion), and attempting to alleviate gastrointestinal bleeding by means of high-pressure pneumoperitoneum (lufttamponade). To observe the effects of insufflation on abdominal organs, Kelling introduced a cystoscope into the abdominal cavity. In fact, the invention of "celioscopy" or laparoscopy (1901) can be called a synthesis of Kelling's work with insufflation and his fascination with endoscopy.     

Narrow view of attachment or broad view of protection? Rejoinder to the commentaries.

The authors address 3 general issues raised by the commentaries on S. Goldberg, J. E. Grusec, and J. M. Jenkins (see record 1999-15264-001) by J. Braungart-Rieker and J. Karrass (see record 1999-15264-003), S. Dickstein (see record 1999-15264-002), R. Isabella (see record 1999-15264-006), K. MacDonald (see record 1999-15264-004), and D. R. Pederson and G. Moran (see record 1999-15264-005). (a) In response to questions regarding the nature of protection, they outline a definition consistent with J. Bowlby's (1969) that extends beyond predation and survival to include protection in times of illness, injury, and emotional distress; (b) they argue that protective needs extend well beyond infancy into adulthood and are relevant to a lifespan perspective on attachment; and (c) the challenges of differentiating aspects of relationships are discussed, and the significance of a narrow definition of attachment in such efforts is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normality is Control of Impulses?: Comment.

Comments on a paper by Schoben (American Psychologist, 1957, 12, 183-189). The author of this comment discusses impulse control, particularly antisocial impulses and its relation to anticipatory capacity. The author feels the considerations he discusses suggest that one does not do justice to the issue of impulse control by primarily stressing anticipatory capacity and suggesting that some form of conformity is avoided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intuitive psychologist or intuitive lawyer? Alternative models of the attribution process.

The notion that humans commonly commit a "fundamental attribution error" by overattributing causality to persons rather than situations rests on the scientific analysis of causality in the attribution process. Based on legal reasoning, the present article contrasts the scientific model, "intuitive psychologizing," with an alternative view of attributions as sanctioning decisions or "intuitive lawyering." It is suggested that sanctioning attributions test whether the actor could have done otherwise. H. Kelley's (1967, 1973) model of the attribution process is fundamentally a scientific analysis, whereas E. Jones and K. Davis's (1965) model is a sanctioning analysis. The supposed error of overattributing to persons is an error only within the 1st type of model and may be perfectly rational within the 2nd. Given that how experimental Ss interpret the situation or the questions they answer is not always known, further exploration of human use of both intuitive models is important for future attribution research. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Share and Share Alike or Winner Take All?: The Influence of Social Value Orientation upon Choice and Recall of Negotiation Heuristics

Two experiments test the hypothesis that social value orientation influences choice and recall of heuristics in individuals preparing for negotiation. Consistent with predictions, Study 1 shows that in the preparation phase, negotiators with a prosocial value orientation choose more cooperative heuristics (e.g., "equal split is fair") than competitive heuristics (e.g., "your gain is my loss") while negotiators with a competitive social value orientation do the reverse. Negotiators with an individualistic social value orientation do not discriminate in their choice between cooperative and competitive heuristics. Study 2 shows that following preparation, prosocial negotiators recall more cooperative than competitive heuristics while individualists and competitors do the reverse. Additional measures suggest that prosocial negotiators prefer cooperative heuristics because these are seen as morally appropriate, whereas individualists and competitors prefer competitive heuristics because these are seen as effective. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.     

MRI appearance of spinal lesions: metastatic tumors or infections?

Three patients with pathologically verified spinal osteomyelitis and another three with metastatic tumors of the spine were investigated. MRI of th spine of four patients showed several unusual findings. The preservation of intervertebral discs and endplates did not predict accurately the diagnosis of either infections or tumors. The "pepper and salt" appearing feature may also occur in a metastatic tumor. Plain radiographs, CT, and radioisotope bone scans were less sensitive than MRI to disclose the lesions. In cases of osteomyelitis, the systemic sources of infections were frequently not found, and the responsible microorganisms could not be identified even from the surgical specimens of two patients. However, mycobacterium tuberculosis was found in the surgical specimen of a patient with cervical spinal lesion whose MRI was indistinguishable from a metastatic tumor. Surgicopathological diagnosis was therefore crucial and mandatory in these instances.     

Recall of interrupted tasks under stress: A phenomenon of memory or of learning?

The study proposed to answer three questions: "1. Is superior recall of successes in an intelligence test situation (S-recall) a function of selective forgetting (repression) of failures or selective learning in favor of successes? 2. Is superior recall of failures in this situation (F-recall) a function of selective remembering or selective learning in favor of failures? 3. Is there a mnemonic reaction to the test as a whole?" Findings indicate that: "1. Both the S- and f-recall tendencies were due to a selective learning rather than a selective remembering mechanism. 2. A repression was demonstrated for S-recallers with regard to the stress situation as a whole. 3. A comparable process of enhanced retention of the total stress situation was not demonstrated for F-recallers; rather the effect here was due to enhanced registration." Implications of results are discussed. It is suggested that "experimental tests of repression… fulfill a criterion of cognitive relevance of test materials." 23 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lodged bullet or bullet penetration? Re-entry of a projectile and pseudo-shot

In an extended suicide an 11-year-old boy was killed by two shots into the back. In spite of corresponding entry and exit points one of the projectiles was found inside the body. By laying open the respective bullet track, examination of the deformations of the bullet, on which a total of three ricochet points were identified, and a second visit to the scene both the order in which the shots were fired and the reason why one of the projectiles was lodged inside the body, although there was an exit point, could be clarified: On firing the second shot the victim had been lying on the wooden threshold of a door, from which the projectile ricochetted. The terms "reentry" and "pseudo exit point" are discussed. The retention of the bullet in the depth of an alleged exit wound emphasizes the importance of post-mortal X-ray examinations.     

Painful muscle spasms of the trunk and upper limbs: tetanus or latrodectism? A case report

A clinical case of a young adult 23-years old is reported. The concomitant presence of tetanic symptoms and the anamnestic finding of a spider bite has made impossible a differential diagnosis of the pathology. The therapeutic approach, consisting in antibiotics and analgesics, is also reported. The administration of "antivenin" has not proven decisive to the resolution of the clinical picture. The diagnostic doubt has however represented a poorly influencing factor for a correct therapy.     

Memories of abuse in borderline patients: true or false?

This review will examine issues related to the validity of memories of child abuse in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A large body of research has shown that all memories are distorted by cognitive schema, and that "recovered memories" may be particularly unreliable. Empirical findings on trauma in BPD will be reviewed, as well as the difficulties in verifying trauma histories. Evidence will be examined suggesting that borderline patients have a distorted perception of interpersonal events. Clinical recommendations will be made for the evaluation of memories of abuse in patients with BPD.     

Attributions in marriage: State or trait? A growth curve analysis.

Research on attributions in marriage rests on 2 assumptions. First, the attributions spouses make for their partners' behaviors have been treated as a style or a trait, reflecting enduring aspects of the perceiver. Second, attributions have been described as a causal factor in the development of the marriage over time. To evaluate the evidence for these assumptions, the authors analyzed 8 waves of longitudinal data from a sample of newlywed couples. Results offered no support for the idea of an enduring attributional style; attributions changed linearly, and changes in attributions were strongly associated with changes in marital satisfaction within each spouse. Nevertheless, controlling for these associations, initial levels of attributions predicted changes in marital satisfaction more than initial satisfaction predicted changes in attributions. Effects of neuroticism and effects on marital dissolution were also examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Ninth Circuit Court's treatment of the history of suicide by Ancient Jews and Christians in Compassion in Dying v. State of Washington: historical naivete or special pleading?

In this article, Prof. Darrel Amundsen critiques Judge Reinhardt's comments regarding "Historical Attitudes Toward Suicide" in his Compassion in Dying opinion. Amundsen demonstrates that the court's characterization of ancient Jewish and Christian practices is inaccurate and misleading because it fails to acknowledge the complexities of the moral issue of suicide. Amundsen discusses martyrdom, suicide in general, suicide by the ill, and euthanasia in ancient Judaism. In contrast to the court's commentary, Amundsen demonstrates that regard for human life is a central feature of Jewish ethical monotheism. Furthermore, the author challenges the court's conclusions about early Christianity, and explains why its treatment of the issue of suicide in early Christianity is misleading and inaccurate. Amundsen's discussion of early Christianity includes suicide, martyrdom, and especially the Augustinian teaching on suicide. He concludes that the court's treatment of the issue of suicide in early Christianity is so historically and conceptually muddled as to be fundamentally inaccurate.