Hardiness and the Concept of Courage.

The purpose of the present study was to develop a measure of courage in order to examine the relationship between hardiness and physiological functioning, as hardiness has been proposed to buffer the physical effects of stress on the body. An empirically derived instrument that measures courage was constructed. A pool of potential scale items was administered to 200 college students and reduced to an optimal grouping. Four main factors were identified. An additional sample of 80 college students was administered the reduced Courage Scale, the Personal Views Survey (S. Maddi, 1990), the Courage Scale (N. B. Schmidt & M. Koselka, 2000), and the Seriousness of Illness Survey (A. R. Wyler, M. Masuda, & T. H. Holmes, 1968). Results indicated that there were relationships among these various measures. However, courage did not add to the amount of the variance of physiological health accounted for by hardiness. Possible uses of the Courage Scale developed in the present study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hedgehog and beyond

The authors describe a case of an epidermoidal cyst of the spleen, which they were able to observe in an emergency case, due to suppuration of the cyst. Primary cysts of the spleen represent a rare dysontegenetic pathological condition which is, for this reason, often underestimated. The general clinical summary is related here, with particular reference to supporative complications, which cause problema of differential diagnosis with patients suffering from abscess of the spleen. The diagnosis can be made as a result of standard X-ray procedures and computed tomography and above all, following a simple scan. The treatment recommended in this case is an open splenectomy, in order to check the allarming clinical symptoms of the patient, which can deteriorate. The use of laparoscopical techniques or trans-cutaneous draining is reserved for salected cases.     

Psychoanalysis beyond Freud

Since Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) formulated his first psychoanalytic theories about 100 years ago, there has been a rapid development in psychoanalytic theory and therapy. In this paper, central concepts in the four psychoanalytic "psychologies"--drive/ego psychology, object relations theory, self psychology and interpersonal psychoanalysis--are presented. Basic concepts in psychoanalysis have been under a continuous critical review, and psychoanalytic theories remain versatile. The unconscious and the exploration of subjective experience are central common themes. The role of the psychoanalyst has changed from expert to explorer, working together with the patient. At the same time, the analyst has become more active in the therapy room. The analyst's contribution to what is happening between the analyst and the patient has been increasingly emphasized. The development in psychoanalysis has parallelled both developments in the theory of knowledge as well as the change in cultural trends. Creating meaning is central to the psychoanalytic process, but there are divergent views as to how this happens: by articulating meaning, by uncovering meaning, by constructing or deconstructing meaning. The narrative tradition in which the central point is to tell stories about oneself, is discussed more thoroughly in the paper. The authors challenge the view that psychoanalysis is the work of Freud only.     

Memory beyond the hippocampus

Cultured hepatocytes of silver eel actively secreted only chylomicron-like lipoprotein. The rate of secretion per mg cellular protein per 24 hr was 2.2 times higher compared with that by yellow eel hepatocytes. Silver eel hepatocytes secreted lipids 2.5 times higher through the lipoprotein than yellow eel hepatocytes. Main lipid was triacylglycerol in either secreted lipoprotein and composition of apolipoproteins of both secreted lipoproteins was the same. The incorporation of 3H-leucine into the lipoprotein secreted by silver eel hepatocytes was 2.4 times higher, but that of 14C-acetate was not significantly different. Protein and lipids composition of plasma lipoproteins of silver eel was significantly higher and lower compared with those of yellow eel, respectively. We suggest that the secreted lipoprotein of silver eel hepatocytes transport much more lipids to other tissues than that of yellow eel hepatocytes.     

Attachments beyond infancy.

Attachment theory is extended to pertain to developmental changes in the nature of children's attachments to parents and surrogate figures during the years beyond infancy, and to the nature of other affectional bonds throughout the life cycle. Various types of affectional bonds are examined in terms of the behavioral systems characteristic of each and the ways in which these systems interact. Specifically, the following are discussed: (a) the caregiving system that underlies parents' bonds to their children, and a comparison of these bonds with children's attachments to their parents; (b) sexual pair-bonds and their basic components entailing the reproductive, attachment, and caregiving systems; (c) friendships both in childhood and adulthood, the behavioral systems underlying them, and under what circumstances they may become enduring bonds; and (d) kinship bonds (other than those linking parents and their children) and why they may be especially enduring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking beyond the walls

Once a risk management process limited to hospitals, the practice of practitioner credentialing has expanded to include many other health care organizations, including insurers, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, management services organizations, medical groups, and independent practice associations. Standards set by recognized accreditation bodies, including the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (Joint Commission), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and American Accreditation Health Care Commission/Utilization Review Accreditation Committee mandate a substantial effort to properly evaluate the credentials of health care practitioners. A sector of commerce called the credentials verification organization (CVO) industry has undertaken the mission to make the process of practitioner credentialing more consistent and efficient, faster, and less expensive.     

Cognitive science and science education.

Discusses science education from a cognitive orientation that begins with the idea that to understand something, one must integrate it with already existing knowledge schemata. The paradox of science education is that its goal is to impart new schemata to replace the student's extant ideas that differ from the scientific theories being taught. Studies that illustrate the extent of the mismatch between the student's schemata and the expert's schemata are reviewed, and implications for instruction and for cognitive theories of learning are identified. Several characterizations of the differences between naive and scientific explanations are contrasted: the view from the cognitive science literature on the novice–expert shift, from the history of science on theory change, and from science educators and the works of Piaget. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective science and natural science.

D. B. Wiseman's (see record 2000-08566-004) claim that Kenneth Spence's human learning research program is an example of a subjective science derives from his misconception of the role of subjectivity in natural-science methodology. Natural science is suffused with subjective ideas, but the major consideration is not their subjectivity but whether they are designed to meet the objective standards of natural-science epistemology or some vague knowledge base that has no predictive validity. Within this context, Kenneth Spence, as his entire career reveals, was actively committed to the ideal that psychology should operate within a natural-science orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking beyond the presenting problem

General practitioners tend to manage disease within the context of the patient's total life. They also have to deal with illness in its various forms when no overt 'disease' is evident. Looking at the interplay of these two facets of ill health gives a deeper understanding of what general practice is about and how general practitioners deal with the problems of their practice. Two cases are presented from the author's personal practice which display how general practitioners deal with the whole person rather than isolated problems. Analysis reveals that the ability to listen to the patient and the willingness to take adequate time is crucial to successful general practice.     

Courage in the classroom: Exploring a new framework predicting academic performance and engagement.

In the context of 7,637 high school students, the present study explored an hypothesized formulation of academic courage (defined as perseverance in the face of academic difficulty and fear) and its role in predicting academic performance (literacy and arithmetic) and various academic engagement measures (planning, task management, self-handicapping, disengagement, class participation, enjoyment of school, and positive academic intentions). Cluster analysis of core factors derived a four-group solution comprising courage, confidence, avoidance, and helpless orientations. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that courage and confidence are not significantly different on some academic measures (including performance) but that across the bulk of measures, confidence is more adaptive. However, courage was unambiguously more adaptive than avoidance and helpless orientations across all outcome measures. In summary, although confidence yields the most positive educational outcomes, courage can be considered an educationally effective response in the face or presence of fear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Philosophy of science versus psychology of science.

Comments that B. F. Singer (see record 1972-22035-001) and B. B. Wolman (see record 1972-20015-001) tacitly endorse the assumption that, in some fundamental sense, the philosophy of science may appropriately be displaced by the psychology of science. The distinction between a philosophical and a psychological approach to explanatory adequacy is illustrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)