What harvesters really think about in commons dilemma simulations: A grounded theory analysis.

Verbal protocols and structured interviews were conducted with 16 Ss (11 undergraduates, 3 graduate students, 1 computer technician, and 1 high school student) to investigate decision making in a simulated commons dilemma. Grounded theory was used to identify motivational and cognitive mediators of harvest choices. The core category that emerged from the analysis was labeled goal satisficing. Most Ss adopted or formulated specific harvest goals prior to and during the simulation. These goals guided decision-making, influencing strategies, and ultimately how many points were harvested. Five action strategies used to pursue goals were identified: developing initial harvest plans, monitoring pool size and others' harvests, developing expectancies about others, simulating possible outcomes, and strategic influence. Results suggest that defection (resource overuse) occurs in commons dilemmas for 2 main reasons: a failure to adopt cooperative goals, or a failure to implement effective action strategies after such goals are adopted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging, emotion, and health-related decision strategies: Motivational manipulations can reduce age differences.

According to socioemotional selectivity theory, age-related constraints on time horizons are associated with motivational changes that increasingly favor goals related to emotional well-being. Such changes have implications for emotionally taxing tasks such as making decisions, especially when decisions require consideration of unpleasant information. This study examined age differences in information acquisition and recall in the health care realm. Using computer-based decision scenarios, 60 older and 60 young adults reviewed choice criteria that contained positive, negative, and neutral information about different physicians and health care plans. As predicted, older adults reviewed and recalled a greater proportion of positive than of negative information compared with young adults. Age differences were eliminated when motivational manipulations elicited information-gathering goals or when time perspective was controlled statistically. Implications for improving decision strategies in older adults are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the unconscious smart or dumb?

How sophisticated is unconscious cognition? This is one of the most fundamental questions about the unconscious that has been posed by research psychologists over the past century. A. G. Greenwald (see record 1992-33868-001) takes a contemporary look at this classical problem and concludes that unconscious cognition is severely limited in its analytic capability. In response, other leading scholars agree that the reality of unconscious processes is no longer questionable. Although there is some disagreement about just how sophisticated these processes are, the consensus is that exciting times are ahead for both research and theory concerning the mental processes involved in unconscious cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and psychoanalytic perspectives at therapeutic choice points.

Suggests that recent trends in behavior therapy and psychoanalytic therapy indicate some confluence of attitudes even though each type of therapy retains its own distinctive form. Differences and emerging similarities in the conception and practice of these 2 therapies were clarified during the author's supervision of a behavior therapist conducting psychoanalytic therapy with a male college student concerned about homosexual feelings. Possible behavioral and psychoanalytic interventions at choice points in therapy are compared, and the rationale for each is discussed, along with proposed intersecting directions, in the following areas: (a) goal setting (Are goals determined by the client or therapist?); (b) promoting action vs exploring mental content; (c) challenging vs understanding irrational cognitions; (d) modifying cognitive schemata vs elaborating unconscious fantasies; (e) dissipating vs releasing emotions; and (f) the therapeutic relationship (Is it actual or projected?). Suggestions are made for the psychoanalytic therapist and the behavior therapist who is inclined to incorporate perspectives or attitudes of the other. (107 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hope and academic success in college.

A cognitive, motivational theory is introduced to the educational research community. Hope theory integrates the conceptualization of goals, along with the strategies to achieve those goals (pathways), and the motivation to pursue those goals (agency). In a 6-year longitudinal study, individual differences in hope, as measured by the Hope Scale (C. R. Snyder et al., 1991) scores of entering college freshmen, predicted better overall grade point averages even after controlling for variance related to entrance examination scores. High- relative to the low-hope students also were more likely to have graduated and not to have been dismissed over this 6-year period. Hopeful thinking in college academics is discussed, along with the contributions of hope theory for educational research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How the patient's sense of danger and safety influence the analytic process.

Discusses J. Weiss's (see record 1990-17877-001) proposition that a person may exercise unconscious control over repressions based on unconscious appraisals of danger and safety. This hypothesis derives from Freud's (1926) theory that repression is instituted due to anticipation that certain inner feelings or intentions would bring about a dangerous situation. Anticipation of danger evokes anxiety and leads to defense. The hypothesis implies that anticipation of danger (along with underlying pathogenic belief) is the linchpin that holds pathological formations in place. Clinical observations show that a patient's unconscious appraisals of danger and safety regulate analytic progress. These observations also change intuitions about how powerful unconscious contents may become conscious during analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals.

Unfulfilled goals persist in the mind, as asserted by ample theory and evidence (e.g., the Zeigarnik effect). The standard assumption has been that such cognitive activation persists until the goal is fulfilled. However, we predicted that contributing to goal pursuit through plan making could satisfy the various cognitive processes that usually promote goal pursuit. In several studies, we activated unfulfilled goals and demonstrated persistent goal activation over time. Unfinished goals caused intrusive thoughts during an unrelated reading task (Studies 1 and 5B), high mental accessibility of goal-related words (Studies 2 and 3), and poor performance on an unrelated anagram task (Study 4). Allowing participants to formulate specific plans for their unfulfilled goals eliminated the various activation and interference effects. Reduction of the effects was mediated by the earnestness of participants' plans: Those who ultimately executed their plans were those who also exhibited no more intrusions (Study 4). Moreover, changes in goal-related emotions did not appear to be a necessary component of the observed cognitive effects (Studies 5A and 5B). Committing to a specific plan for a goal may therefore not only facilitate attainment of the goal but may also free cognitive resources for other pursuits. Once a plan is made, the drive to attain a goal is suspended—allowing goal-related cognitive activity to cease—and is resumed at the specified later time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Control-Mastery perspective: A clinical formulation of David’s plan.

The Control-Mastery theory is reviewed, focusing particular attention on the concept of the patient’s plan for therapy. A formulation of David’s plan is then presented. The formulation includes David’s early childhood traumas, his goals (conscious as well as unconscious) for therapy, the pathogenic beliefs (schemas) that have obstructed him, the tests that he is likely to present in therapy in order to disconfirm his pathogenic beliefs, and the insights that would be helpful to him. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in the patient's level of insight in brief psychotherapy: Two pilot studies.

Describes 2 studies of the level of insight obtained in 16 sessions of brief time-limited psychotherapy. Four patients (aged 34–58 yrs) were examined using the Pro-plan Insight Rating Scale (PIRS) in Study 1, and 1 patient (aged 34 yrs) was examined using the PIRS—Revised in Study 2. All Ss initially demonstrated insight, but during the course of therapy their insight decreased. Toward the end of therapy their insight again increased. The average level of insight across each therapy was found to be related to outcome. Based on control mastery theory, the results reflect Ss' unconscious plans for working in therapy by testing their pathogenic beliefs in order to change them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The centrality of the system Ucs in the theory of psychoanalysis: The nonrepressed unconscious.

After Freud discovered an unconscious system (Ucs) between 1894 and 1896, a window opened for him to formulate a comprehensive theory of the human psyche, which he called psychoanalysis. The Ucs was its foundation. The object relations theories, ego psychology, self-psychology, and their offshoots managed to erode that concept from the theory in different ways and tried to replace psychoanalysis. The reason is that Freud, for a long time, associated the unconscious with the repressed. It was possible by reviewing his work in the field of repression, defense, and the unconscious to uncover the nature of the system Ucs. It is not possible for a school of psychology within psychoanalysis to ignore the systemic unconscious and replace it with a dynamic unconscious and still claim that it is psychoanalytic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical examination of the antecedents of commitment to difficult goals.

Goal commitment has been given a critical role in goal-setting theory, yet the factors associated with commitment to difficult goals have not often been studied. This study examined possible antecedents of commitment to difficult goals. Two sets of such variables were examined: situational (goal publicness and goal origin) and personal (need for achievement and locus of control) factors. Both sets of variables accounted for significant amounts of variance in goal commitment among 190 college students with academic goals. A Person?×?Situation interaction also accounted for a significant increment of variance. Specifically, commitment to difficult goals was higher when (a) goals were made public rather than private, (b) when locus of control was internal, and (c) when subjects were high in need for achievement, especially when goals were self-set as opposed to assigned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spread in response to imagined loss: An empirical analogue.

Developed a research model as an analog of reactions to loss and demonstrated the model with 48 college students (aged 18–47 yrs). Each S identified 4 important life goals. After rating these for relatedness, the Ss rated the value or importance of each goal and of everything else in life. They then imagined that their goals became impossible, one at a time, from most to least important. After each imagined loss, they rerated all other goals. After all goals were imagined lost, they rated everything else in life, both immediately and after the imagined passage of 1 yr. The resulting data were consistent with the theory that 1 loss can adversely affect the values of other goals (spread), although containment and compensation or displacement were also found to occur. Spread was found to be bimodally distributed and negatively related to later recovery. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vicissitudes of the impetus for growth and change among emerging adults.

The aim of this study was to understand why some emerging adults pursue their goals in effective ways while others become involved in projects or set goals that collapse after a period of time. In order to examine the inner processes which may explain this phenomenon, in-depth interviews were conducted with 70 emerging adults aged 21 to 26. The interviews revealed two main modes in the pursuit of goals among emerging adults. In the "doing-oriented" mode, individuals were extensively invested in a constant pursuit for its own sake, hardly thinking about what they do, and why. In contrast, in the "reflective-oriented" mode, emerging adults were highly reflective about their behaviors, motivations, and future projected plans. Integrating developmental and psychoanalytic thinking, our data propose new understandings of the inner processes through which emerging adults may experience and direct their lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Event perception: A mind-brain perspective.

People perceive and conceive of activity in terms of discrete events. Here the authors propose a theory according to which the perception of boundaries between events arises from ongoing perceptual processing and regulates attention and memory. Perceptual systems continuously make predictions about what will happen next. When transient errors in predictions arise, an event boundary is perceived. According to the theory, the perception of events depends on both sensory cues and knowledge structures that represent previously learned information about event parts and inferences about actors' goals and plans. Neurological and neurophysiological data suggest that representations of events may be implemented by structures in the lateral prefrontal cortex and that perceptual prediction error is calculated and evaluated by a processing pathway, including the anterior cingulate cortex and subcortical neuromodulatory systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived congruence among premarital couples as a function of neuroticism.

To test 2 theories concerning the marital choices of neurotics, 13 neurotic and 37 nonneurotic "engaged" couples in a college setting were selected from scores on the MMPI. The traditional psychoanalytic position favors unconscious perception in the choice of marital partner, which leads to the conclusion that neurotics choose each other in marriage. However, stimulus-value-role theory states that neurotics "settle" for each other because of their limited rewarding power for others. It was hypothesized therefore that (a) neurotics would be less satisfied with a neurotic partner than would normals with a normal partner, and (b) perceptual congruence would be greater for nonneurotics than neurotic couples. Administration of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule produced conflicting evidence for the 1st hypothesis, but the 2nd was clearly supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The subliminal psychodynamic activation method: A critical review.

Research on subliminal psychodynamic activation has generated considerable interest and controversy because of researchers' claims that psychoanalytic hypotheses have been successfully tested experimentally with the use of specially constructed subliminal stimuli. The present review of Silverman's studies in this field reveals internally inconsistent results and few attempts at exact replication; instead, Silverman expanded the applications of the method without carefully establishing the conditions under which results could be reliably obtained. These problems are discussed in the light of methodological weakness present in the entire research program and theoretical concerns regarding (a) the assumption that subliminal generic messages are consistent with psychoanalytic theory about the nature of unconscious conflict and (b) the assumption that subliminal stimuli can activate unconscious conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud's legacy--is it still with us?

Unconscious processes of mind are a fact of life, both as phenomenon and as explanatory concept and were recognized before Freud. But it was Freud who not only put "the unconscious" on the map but also operationalized it in a new way--as a dynamic unconscious, laying down the foundation of a science of the unconscious, his Copernican revolution. The new science first provided a dual purpose method: investigating the emotional and ideational manifestations of disordered human behavior and psychological conflict and healing those disorders. In becoming a general psychoanalytic psychology, it played an important role in unraveling the dynamics of sexuality in the individual and society, literature and the arts, and in group dynamics in peace and war. The author emphasizes hitherto unacknowledged aspects: (1) The distinction between a theory of method and a theory of disorder; and (2) The role of interpersonal, or dyadic, dynamics in Freud's method, completing the largely monadic or intrapersonal focus in Freud. The author also discusses critiques of Freud's method both within and without psychonalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring Coordination Goals of Construction Projects

Effective coordination has been regarded in both theory and practice as a critical factor of success in construction projects. Previous coordination studies have focused on the time spent on coordination, its frequency, and its relationship with performance. However, coordination goals have received less attention, and their relationships with coordination methods and performance are not known. This paper studies coordination methods and goals for construction projects to identify what coordination goals are adopted and to what extent goals are achieved. In the research process, eight coordination methods and six goals were derived. A questionnaire was designed accordingly and sent to seven contractors for survey. Follow-up interviews were conducted with three or four managers and engineers from each contractor. The analysis results indicate that most coordination methods have multiple goals; written coordination methods such as plans, schedules, reports, and contract documents tend to have appropriate goals; and projects performed well by using coordination methods effectively to achieve the coordination goals.     

A longitudinal examination of the social-cognitive model applied to high school girls' choices of nontraditional college majors and aspirations.

This study tested a partial version of R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett's (1994) social-cognitive career theory model. Among 204 high school girls who attended science, math, and engineering (SME) career conferences, the authors used a 4-year longitudinal design to predict the choice of an SME college major and SME self-efficacy and outcome expectations in college. In addition, among students who had declared SME majors, variables assessed in high school and college were used to predict aspirations to become leaders in SME fields. The results generally provided empirical validation of the model. Regression analyses revealed that college SME outcome expectations were associated with plans to become a leader in an SME field. Implications for research and interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)