Child responses to parental conflict and their effect on adjustment: A study of triadic relations.

The purpose of this study was to examine child response patterns to parental conflict and assess their contribution to child functioning. The focus was on 3 potential child responses and their relation to later depressive and aggressive behavior. Direct observations and questionnaire data were collected on 156 2-parent families. Aggressive behavior showed the strongest sequential relation to interparental conflict and the strongest predictive relation to increased aggressive functioning. Gender differences were found in the use of child aggressive response patterns. Results for the relation between child responses and increases in depressive functioning were weaker than those found for aggressive functioning. The results provide support for the examination of child response patterns as a potentially rich area of exploration for understanding the family mechanisms affecting both aggressive and depressive functioning in children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social relations model: A tool for group psychotherapy research.

The social relations model presented in this article provides a solution to some of the problems that plague group psychotherapy research. The model was designed to analyze nonindependent data and can be used to study the ways in which group members interrelate and influence one another. The components of the social relations model are the constant (i.e., group effect), the perceiver effect, the target effect, the relationship effect, and error. By providing estimates of the magnitude of these 5 factors and by examining the relationships among these factors, the social relations model allows investigators to examine a host of research questions that have been inaccessible. Examples of applications of the social relations model to issues of group leadership, interpersonal feedback, and process and outcome research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social relations model test of the interpersonal circle.

Argues that D. J. Kiesler's (see record 1983-30243-001) interpersonal circle theory of structure of relationships does not provide a method to distinguish between the influence of individual differences and relationship specific effects. It is suggested that D. A. Kenny and L. LaVoie's (1984) social relations model separates these effects but lacks a comprehensive guide for which domains of interpersonal behavior to study. The present authors use the social relations model to test Kiesler's proposition that complimentarity on the affiliation dimension results in correspondence, whereas complimentarity on the control dimension results in reciprocity. Round-robin analyses of variance (ANOVAs) of 16 graduate students' ratings of each other in experiential groups revealed clear support for correspondence on the affiliation dimension but inconclusive results for reciprocity on the control dimension. Making a bridge between the interpersonal circle and the social relations model highlights the potential importance of 3 perspectives toward relationships: 2 kinds of individual differences across relationships, 1-sided relationship specific effects, and mutual relationship specific effects. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Probabilistic models for sequential taste effects in triadic choice.

Sequential effects and positional response bias are accounted for in new models for triadic choice. These models were applied to data on distilled water and dilute NaCl solutions by use of the triangular and 3-alternative forced-choice methods with 4 participants. The concept of a "conditional stimulus" is introduced to describe stimuli that are created partially by prior oral environmental effects. The effects of 1 or 2 prior stimuli on triadic choice were evaluated. The triad models used were based on a Thurstonian variant of M. W. Richardson's (1938) method of triads and a Thurstonian model for 1st choice among 3 possibly different stimuli. Maximum likelihood estimates of the scale values for conditional stimuli and bias parameters showed that it was necessary only to consider 1 prior stimulus. It was also shown that salt concentration differences are not the physical analog of the mental representations for the conditional stimuli. The results strongly suggest a water taste to salt taste continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confounding of controllability in the triadic design for demonstrating learned helplessness.

The triadic design for producing learned helplessness was analyzed in 2 experiments and found to be logically deficient for defining the theoretical construct of controllability. Two experiments with 120 university students were performed. In Exp I, the 1st group was preexposed to a noxious tone that could be terminated by a button-press. The 2nd and 3rd groups, which were yoked to the 1st, could not escape the tone. A 4th group received no tone preexposures. A 5th group, yoked to the 1st, was instructed to press the button when the tone terminated. Groups 4 and 5, which had no controllability over tone-offset but which did have a 2nd event immediately following the tone, both showed significantly better performance on a subsequent tone-escape task than Group I. Exp II replicated these findings. Data indicate that controllability may be a sufficient but not a necessary condition in the triadic design for preventing subsequent learned helplessness. It follows logically that uncontrollability is not the appropriate designation of the process(es) involved in producing such effects. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying group dynamics with the social relations model.

Although the interdependence of group members is one of the defining characteristics of group dynamics, most traditional statistical methods require each observation to be independent. D. Kenny's (1994) social relations model (SRM) provides a statistical technique for studying interdependence in groups. The components of the SRM (e.g., actor, partner, relationship) and the ways in which this model can be used to study interpersonal behavior and perception in groups are reviewed. Findings from social relations analyses of leadership and group therapy are discussed to demonstrate the ways in which the SRM can contribute to the study of group dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A search for relations between brain chemistry and behavior.

This report summarizes the results of unpublished and widely scattered published studies on the inter-relationship of acetylcholine (ACh) and cholinesterase (ChE) on the adaptive behavior of rats. 2 early hypotheses, now rejected, generated several findings of considerable interest leading to the development of a 3rd hypothesis which has so far stood the test of empirical verification. A brief summary of current and projected studies are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Central relationship themes in group psychotherapy: A social relations model analysis of transference.

Group members (N = 55) in 11 therapy groups reported central relationship themes (CRTs) (wishes, responses of others, and responses of self) with other group members and with a romantic partner. Social relations model analyses were used to partition the variance in group member CRT ratings with other members into perceiver, target, and relationship plus error variance components. Significant perceiver variance in member CRT ratings was proposed to serve as a proxy for transference. Overall, significant perceiver variance and mostly insignificant target variance was found, and the perceiver effect accounted for substantially more variance than the target effect. As an exploratory question, the authors wondered to what extent relationship variance accounted for the total variance in member ratings of their CRT. Unfortunately, relationship variance could not be separated from error in this study. Relationship plus error variance accounted for, on average, 42% of the variance in scores. In addition, as a test of the social microcosm of the group theory, it was hypothesized that group member CRTs within the group would relate to member CRTs with a romantic partner outside of the group. Contrary to expectation, this hypothesis was not supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental affective style risk and the family system: A social relations model analysis.

Social relations model analysis was used to clarify family dynamics associated with parental affective style, an index of parent-to-child behavior associated with severe psychopathology in the child. Results from 70 families who had sought clinical services for an adolescent family member (39 girls and 31 boys) suggest (1) that adolescents elicit the negative parental affective style that puts them at risk and (2) that elicitation of negative parental affect is strongly tied to adolescents' expression of negative affect toward their parents (i.e., a reciprocity effect). The findings support the views that children contribute to their own risk of psychopathology and that parent–child behavior ought to be interpreted in the broader context of the family system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelatedness of marital relations and parent-child relations: A meta-analytic review.

It is widely assumed that a linkage, crucial to the understanding of child behavior, exists between marital and parent–child relationship quality. A meta-analysis of 68 studies was conducted to determine whether this linkage exists and, if so, whether the linkage is positive (as suggested by the spillover hypothesis) or negative (as suggested by the compensatory hypothesis). Results supported the spillover hypothesis; a positive and nonhomogeneous effect size of moderate magnitude was found (d?=?0.46). This suggests that research in this area can move beyond the question of whether a positive or negative association exists to identifying moderators of the association. Examination of the impact of 13 potential moderators did not support the existence of any of these variables that could be adequately examined. This suggests that the link between marital and parent–child relations functions as a more stable force than previously thought. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of triadic eye gaze information for "mind reading."

Five experiments examined children's use of eye gaze information for "mind-reading" purposes, specifically, for inferring another person's desire. When presented with static displays in the first 3 experiments, only by 4 years of age did children use another person's eye direction to infer desires, although younger children could identify the person's focus of attention. Further, 3-year-olds were capable of inferring desire from other nonverbal cues, such as pointing (Experiment 3). When eye gaze was presented dynamically with several other scaffolding cues (Experiment 4), 2- and 3-year-olds successfully used eye gaze for desire inference. Scaffolding cues were removed in Experiment 5, and 2- and 3-year-olds still performed above chance in using eye gaze. Results suggest that 2-year-olds are capable of using eye gaze alone to infer about another's desire. The authors propose that the acquisition of the ability to use attentional cues to infer another's mental state may involve both an association process and a differentiation process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social relations model of observed family negativity and positivity using a genetically informative sample.

The goal of this study was to investigate individual and relationship influences on expressions of negativity and positivity in families. Parents and adolescents were observed in a round-robin design in a sample of 687 families. Data were analyzed using a multilevel social relations model. In addition, genetic contributions were estimated for actor effects. Children showed higher mean levels of negativity and lower mean levels of positivity as actors than did parents. Mothers were found to express and elicit higher mean levels of positivity and negativity than fathers. Actor effects were much stronger than partner effects, accounting for between 18%–39% of the variance depending on the actor and the outcome. Genetic (35%) and shared environmental (19%) influences explained a substantial proportion of the actor effect variance for negativity. Dyadic reciprocities were lowest in dyads with a high power differential (i.e., parent–child dyads) and highest for dyads with equal power (sibling and marital dyads). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of marital conflict on subsequent triadic family interactions and parenting.

This study examined marital conflict's indirect effects on children through disruptions in family alliances and parenting. Forty married couples were observed interacting with their 6–8-year-old sons after pleasant and conflictual discussions. After conflictual discussion, fathers showed lower support/engagement toward sons, and coparenting styles were less democratic. Couple negativity was correlated with family negativity, regardless of the topic of discussion, which suggests continuity in the affective quality of the two family subsystems. Mothers' marital satisfaction moderated families' responses to the experimental manipulation. The results provide stronger evidence than previously available of a causal link between conflict and disrupted parenting. Further research is needed to identify which conflict-related disruptions in parenting influence the development of children's problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model for inferential accuracy.

Inferential accuracy is distinguished from other forms of accuracy in social perception, including differential and stereotype accuracy, and defined in terms of a person's ability, given limited information about a target person, correctly to judge other pertinent characteristics about that person. A model and accompanying paradigm are proposed for studying this process. Given the observation that judgments about the joint probability of traits tend to be highly stable across groups of judges, it is possible to obtain scale values for a set of personality characteristics for each target. Each judge's ratings of this target may be plotted with respect to these ranked scale values in such a way that the degree to which his own judgments parallel the consensual patterning of trait inferences may be determined. Two parameters, slope and intercept, determine a straight line summarizing this relationship. These parameters are hypothesized to correspond to the judge's sensitivity to trait inferential information, and his threshold for employing more or less remote inferential data. It is hypothesized that these two parameters will account for a major portion of the individual difference variance in tasks involving inferential accuracy. The evidence to date, although limited, suggests that while sensitivity is general across dimensions, threshold is more specific. Whereas sensitivity is potentially linked to accurate knowledge of lay personality theory, threshold may be related to a process similar to assimilative projection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious language in psychotherapy: Dyadic and triadic configurations.

In this article, clinical material from 3 patients with psychotic liabilities who introduced religious cosmologies into the psychotherapeutic situation is examined. These constructions did not occur in the context of an ongoing faith experience or long-standing participation in a religious community. One way of understanding these narratives is through dyadic and triadic configurations. In some cases, the introduction of a God representation is an attempt to withdraw from the therapeutic dyad into one of more omnipotence, promise, and hope. In others, the introduction of the God representation serves the purpose of locating a lawful Third to the regressive forces of the therapeutic dyad. The purpose of the Third is to structure the roles and relationships of the participants and to moderate the effects of regression inherent in a dyadic configuration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negativity in problematic and nonproblematic families: A multigroup social relations model analysis with structured means.

The aim of the study was to determine whether there are differences in patterns of negativity between families with and without an adolescent with externalizing problem behavior. We used a structured means Social Relations Model in order to examine negativity in multiple levels of the family system. The sample consisted of 120 problematic and 153 nonproblematic families (two parents, two children), who rated the level of negativity in the relationship with each family member. Although a simple mean differences test would lead us to believe that differences in negativity between groups of families can be ascribed to the interaction between parent and adolescent, the results of the present study indicate that these differences are actually related to the characteristics of a problematic child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's friendship relations: A meta-analytic review.

Children's friendships represent mutual dyadic relationships that differ from peer relations, which have lesser affective ties. This meta-analytic review fit categorical models (L. V. Hedges, 1982) to examine the behavioral and affective manifestations of children's friendships as evinced by comparisons of friends and nonfriends. Analysis of our broadband categories revealed that friendships, compared with nonfriend relations, are characterized by more intense social activity, more frequent conflict resolution, and more effective task performance. Also, relationships between friends are marked by reciprocal and intimate properties of affiliation. At the level of narrowband categories, friendship relations afford a context for social and emotional growth. These behavioral and affective manifestations of friendship are moderated by the age level of participants, the strength of the relationship, and the methodology of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications of family and peer relations for treatment engagement and follow-up outcomes: An integrative model.

An integrative analytic model was proposed to explain deviance in terms of the family of origin, perceived peer and family relations, psychosocial functioning, motivation for treatment, and treatment engagement. The model was tested by using data from opioid-addicted persons who completed methadone treatment and were interviewed 1 year after discharge. The hypothesized model was shown to fit the data for outcomes at follow-up. A history of poor family relations was related to perceived family dysfunction and peer deviance at treatment entry; these 2 factors in turn predicted poor psychosocial functioning, which was related to higher levels of motivation. Higher motivation was associated with greater treatment engagement, which was associated with reduced opioid use and criminality. The importance of examining associations between family and peer relations and posttreatment outcomes within the context of treatment engagement is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A circumplex model for maternal behavior.

"The purpose… is to demonstrate the generality of a social interaction conceptualization of maternal behavior by ordering the intercorrelation matrices of three sets of data on maternal behavior. When ordered both with factor analysis and with Guttman's circumplex model, similar two-dimensional organizations of maternal behavior concepts were found for the three sets of data." The 2 major dimensions of maternal behavior that can be isolated from all the studies are: love vs. hostility and autonomy vs. control. 16 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)