A method for rating counselor social reinforcement and persuasion.

Describes (a) a counselor social reinforcement scale, based on the verbal conditioning model and the assumption that approval is a basic interpersonal reinforcer; and (b) a counselor persuasion scale, based on the the assumption that counselor conviction and client agreement with the couselor are the central aspects of counselor persuasiveness. The scales require the client to respond as if he has been reinforced or persuaded. To assess the immediate effect upon the client, 3-min segments from counseling interviews were divided into client-counselor-client statement units. Using the scales and their supplementary rules, a sample of 900 such units from 35 counselors of a variety of theoretical orientations were reliably rated and rerated by 6 experienced raters. Statistical and substantive characteristics of the scales are given and implications discussed. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The current status of measures of spirituality: A critical review of scale development.

Despite spirituality's growing popularity within psychology, measurement of the construct remains challenging. The difficulty largely arises from disagreement regarding the nature of spirituality per se and its relationship to religiousness. The present paper provides a critical review of scale development practices for 24 measures of spirituality including information pertaining to conceptualization, item generation and revision practices, format, sample characteristics, and psychometric properties. Findings raise theological and methodological concerns, which inform several recommendations for future development and validation of spirituality measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effectiveness of six counselor verbal responses.

Examined the effect of 6 counselor verbal responses on clients' verbal behavior and on their perceptions of counselors. The verbal responses were affect, coontent, influencing, advice, open question, and closed question responses. 90 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of the 6 treatments. Each participant played the role of client in a simulated helping interaction, and afterwards, they completed the Counselor Rating Form. Affect responses were found to be the most desirable from both the counselors' and clients' perspectives, and closed questions were least desirable. Content responses and open questions were also highly effective in eliciting desirable client behavior. Advice responses were rated highly by clients but were not effective in eliciting desirable client behavior. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bruxism: A critical review.

Bruxism, the nonfunctional gnashing and grinding of the teeth, has been primarily viewed as a dental phenomenon. The literature reviewed in this paper, however, demonstrates that bruxism may be viewed as a psychophysiological disorder. A brief discussion of the relevant literature on the incidence and effects of bruxism indicates that the behavior may have significant symptomatic effects for a substantial proportion of the population. The contribution of dental, psychological/behavioral, and systematic/neurophysiological factors to the development and maintenance of the disorder are extensively reviewed. Treatments derived from these models are also evaluated. Finally, methodological problems intrinsic to the study of this behavior are presented, and suggestions for future research are made. (139 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of dreaming: A factored scale for rating dream reports.

127 dream reports of 24 Ss were assessed on 20 psychological characteristics. Nearly all characteristics were assessed by 2 raters, and some by S as well, creating a total of 43 variables. These were subjected to principal component analysis and analytic orthogonal rotation. About 63% of the total variance is accounted for by 8 dimensions: vivid fantasy, active control, pleasantness, verbal aggression, physical aggression, heterosexuality, perception (vs. conception), and reference to past experience. In a resulting condensed scale, each dimension is indexed by a single characteristic. These 8 characteristics are essentially uncorrelated. The last 2 are assessed by S alone; rater agreement in assessing the 1st 6 is .63, .71, .62, .74, .44, and .66. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavior rating scale for the preschool child.

Attempted to provide a tool that could be used by preschool teachers and child-care workers to identify children who show symptoms that may suggest emotional disturbance. A modification of Rutter's Children's Behaviour Questionnaire was standardized on a sample of 496 normal and 102 emotionally disturbed preschool children. The modified questionnaire (renamed the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire) was found to possess criterion validity and high interrater and test-retest reliabilities. 3 factors were extracted and were labeled Hostile-Aggressive, Anxious-Fearful, and Hyperactive-Distractible. Data indicate that the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire may be valuable in either clinical or research settings for the first step in early detection of emotional problems. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating the effectiveness of family therapies: An integrative review and analysis.

A number of previous reviews of studies evaluating the effectiveness of family therapy have varied in their conclusions. This review is the first attempt at an integrated statistical analysis of family therapy effectiveness research. Family therapy was found to have positive effects compared with both no-treatment and alternative treatment controls, as measured by family interactions and behavior ratings. Follow-up data demonstrated that family therapy continued to show positive effects over time, but the effects were diminished and more variable than at posttreatment assessment. Future research should concentrate on comparative outcome studies with specific populations and with both legitimate alternative treatments and placebo controls. In addition, researchers need to describe in greater detail the family therapy procedures that are used. Outcome measures should represent multiple vantage points and should include measures of family interactions, preferably using both self-report and observational methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Custody evaluations: A critical review.

Discusses the role of evaluators in child custody litigations, current methods of custody evaluation, and the content of such evaluations. The value of clinical impressions and standardized assessment instruments is considered, and ways of eliciting the child's preference are examined. Ethical dilemmas associated with the performance of custody evaluations are discussed, and it is argued that mental health professionals should serve as strictly impartial evaluators. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural priming: A critical review.

Repetition is a central phenomenon of behavior, and researchers have made extensive use of it to illuminate psychological functioning. In the language sciences, a ubiquitous form of such repetition is structural priming, a tendency to repeat or better process a current sentence because of its structural similarity to a previously experienced ("prime") sentence (J. K. Bock, 1986). The recent explosion of research in structural priming has made it the dominant means of investigating the processes involved in the production (and increasingly, comprehension) of complex expressions such as sentences. This review considers its implications for the representation of syntax and the mechanisms of production and comprehension and their relationship. It then addresses the potential functions of structural priming, before turning to its implications for first language acquisition, bilingualism, and aphasia. The authors close with theoretical and empirical recommendations for future investigations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postpartum depression: A critical review.

A review of the literature suggests that there are 3 types of postpartum dysphoric mood states: the maternity blues (a fairly common, transient disorder), postpartum affective psychosis (relatively rare), and postpartum depression (as many as 20% of postpartum women may develop mild to moderate depression). The etiology of postpartum depression remains unclear, although numerous biological, psychological, and sociopsychological factors have been proposed as etiologically relevant. There is some empirical support for these notions, but methodological and conceptual problems hinder the development of a coherent theoretical framework for understanding the etiology, course, and treatment of the disorder. Recent data indicate a relation between stress and depression; future research into postpartum depression is needed to determine the contribution of psychosocial factors (e.g., life events and social support). Medical complications during pregnancy, infant variables, and the effect on the infant–mother relationship also need to be studied. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autokinetic phenomenon: A critical review.

Reviews studies grouped under the areas of response problems, dynamic determinants, individual differences, clinical studies, reduction of movement, and theories of autokinesis (AK). Much of the work to date is concerned with the demonstration of various "suggestion effects" without regard to the basis of residual AK. Determinants of AK are many and varied but little can be said about their relative potencies. Although a modified version of the Gregory-Zangwill model may serve well, there is presently no single theory of AK which accounts for all the data. Further developments in the theory and control of AK hinge upon the sedulous development of improved techniques for measuring AK. 3 criteria for measuring AK are offered. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-control in children: Development of a rating scale.

Conducted 2 studies to develop a Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS) for children. The 33-item SCRS showed high internal consistency (0.98) and test–retest reliability (0.84). In a validational study of 110 normal 3rd–6th graders, the SCRS correlated significantly with latency and error scores from the Matching Familiar Figures Test, the Q score from the Porteus mazes, and behavioral observations. These correlations remained significant when both MA and CA were partialed out. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by a very low and nonsignificant correlation with IQ and MA. An orthogonal factor analysis resulted in 1 major factor, which was labeled Cognitive-Behavioral Self-Control. The relationship of SCRS scores to age, the differences across grade levels, and the differences between boys and girls were also examined. The 2nd study compared 32 children referred for self-control training with 32 nonreferred children matched on age (127.13 and 126.73 mo, respectively), sex, and IQ. Significant differences were found on the SCRS, Matching Familiar Figures Test latencies, and behavioral observations. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling effectiveness as a function of counselor social interest.

Examined the relationship between counselor social interest and 3 dimensions of counseling effectiveness. 99 students and 8 counselors at a university counseling center participated, and data were analyzed using a multivariate trend analysis. Measures included the Early Recollection Questionnaire, the Rating Scale of Social Interest Characteristics, and the Counseling Evaluation Inventory. Results show that the counselor's social interest score was significantly related to the client's scores on satisfaction, self-acceptance, and sociability. Experimental support was obtained for one of the major contributions of Adlerian theory, the concept of social interest. Implications of the findings for successful counseling outcomes are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fibromyalgia. A critical review

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome, more common in women. Its prevalence is estimated around 2% in the general population, and up to 20% among rheumatology outpatients. Besides musculoskeletal pain, symptoms as fatigue and sleep disturbance are considered characteristic. Research criteria have been set up, but their seemingly preciseness is unable to distinguish clearly between fibromyalgia and other functional somatic syndromes (chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome) and psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety), with which a striking comorbidity is documented. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia does not theoretically require the exclusion of muscle, joint, or metabolic diseases, but in clinical practice this problem proves to be of crucial importance. There are numbers of pathophysiological hypothesis for fibromyalgia, but none of them is fully satisfying: muscle is probably innocent; sleep disturbance, although sometimes considered a landmark of the syndrome, is unspecific; stress response studies show subtle anomaly; psychiatric disorders may represent factors of vulnerability and perpetuation rather than causes. We propose to include some of these etiological contributors in vicious circles leading to a "final common pathway" characterized by generalized hyperalgesia. Treatments of fibromyalgia, whether pharmacological (antidepressants) or psychological (cognitive-behavioral therapies) are of little efficacy, and the global prognosis of fibromyalgia is poor. However, the outcome might prove better outside the specialized clinics in which studies of chronic sufferers with severe abnormal illness behaviors are done. The social consequences of the popularization of the diagnosis of fibromyalgia should not be neglected.     

Development of the forced-choice rating scale technique.

Forced-choice (FC) rating scales came about because of dissatisfaction with conventional scales. Reliabilities and validities of FC methods compare favorably with other methods. Studies on the FC method show this scale is more resistant than other scales to effects of bias. Formats using 4 favorable items, from which the rater chooses the items most characteristic of the person rated, prove superior to other formats. This superiority appears in validities, reliabilities, and preferences of raters using the form. Conditions under which statement indices are obtained should be as similar as possible to conditions under which the final scale will be administered. Combining FC scores with other scale scores yields better results than using either instrument alone. Ample evidence exists that more research can fruitfully be done in the area. (54 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The open-field test: A critical review.

Examines the use in the literature of the open-field test, especially with regard to the development of a standard form. The various procedures and their shortcomings are discussed, with particular reference to the seemingly inconsequential details which have been shown to modulate open-field performance per se. Dependent parameters are considered both with regard to their reliability and their validity for the measurement of such underlying constructs as emotionality. (92 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dropping out of treatment: A critical review.

After a discussion of methodological issues, literature on dropping out of treatment is critically reviewed in 6 areas: hospital treatment of general psychiatric and tubercular patients, outpatient treatment of internal medical conditions, alcoholism, heroin addiction, general psychiatric outpatient psychotherapy, and double-blind drug studies. 15 factors were found to predict dropping out in 100%, 83-88%, and 60-75% of the relevant studies: (a) social isolation and/or unaffiliation, therapist attitudes and behavior, discrepancies between patient and therapist treatment expectations; (b) passive-aggressive behavior, family attitudes and behavior, motivation, behavioral and/or perceptual dependence, psychological mindedness and/or denial, symptom levels and symptom relief, socioeconomic status, sociopathic features, alcoholism and/or drug dependence; and (c) age, sex, and social stability. (101/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The neuropharmacology of aggression: A critical review.

A review of the literature on aggression from a multidisciplinary standpoint reveals evidence for differentiating several kinds of aggression. This differentiation can be seen in the psychopharmacological literature, where some compounds have been effective in altering some forms of aggressive behaviors but ineffective in altering others. Differences in endogenous levels of neurotransmitters have also been reported, but there was little correlation between changes in neurotransmitter systems and effectiveness of compounds supposedly altering these systems. A tentative hypothesis is offered which attempts to explain the behavioral effects of these drugs in terms of their action on several neurotransmitter systems. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)