Comments on Gould, PAIN, 74 (1998) 341-343

Journal policies and requirements of funding agencies on financial disclosure of authors and grant applicants have divided editors and scientists who disagree on whether such policies can improve the integrity of science or manage conflicts of interest. Those opposed to such disclosure policies argue that financial interest is one of many interests held by scientists, is the least scientifically dangerous, and should not be singled out. Those who favor open reporting of financial interests argue that full disclosure removes the suspicion that something of relevance to objectivity is being hidden and allows readers to form their own opinions on whether a conflict of interest exists and what relevance that has to the study. The authors believe that the scientific community and the public will be best served by open publication of financial disclosures for readers and reviewers to evaluate.     

Effects of intervention mode and conflict of interest on dispute resolution.

Hypothesized that disputants would move toward agreement more quickly when a third party was expected to intervene in a small rather than a large conflict of interest. Conversely, under conditions of actual rather than anticipated intervention, movement toward agreement was expected to be greater in large than in small conflict conditions. 240 undergraduates participated in a modified version of the bilateral-monopoly bargaining paradigm under conditions of large vs small conflict of interest, actual vs anticipated third-party intervention, and 3 levels of third-party "directiveness" (mediation/arbitration vs mediation vs bargaining). Support was obtained for the hypothesized interaction between conflict of interest and actual or anticipated intervention. Mediation/arbitration and mediation did not differ in their effects, although both were more effective than bargaining alone. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Going for the gold: the redistributive agenda behind market-based health care reform

Political conflict over the respective roles of the state and the market in health care has a long history. Current interest in market approaches represents the resurgence of ideas and arguments that have been promoted with varying intensity throughout this century. (In practice, advocates have never wanted a truly competitive market, but rather one managed by and for particular private interests). Yet international experience over the last forty years has demonstrated that greater reliance on the market is associated with inferior system performance--inequity, inefficiency, high cost, and public dissatisfaction. The United States is the leading example. So why is this issue back again? Because market mechanisms yield distributional advantages for particular influential groups. (1) A more costly health care system yields higher prices and incomes for suppliers--physicians, drug companies, and private insurers. (2) Private payment distributes overall system costs according to use (or expected use) of services, costing wealthier and healthier people less than finance from (income-related) taxation. (3) Wealthy and unhealthy people can purchase (real or perceived) better access or quality for themselves, without having to support a similar standard for others. Thus there is, and always has been, a natural alliance of economic interest between service providers and upper-income citizens to support shifting health financing from public to private sources. Analytic arguments for the potential superiority of hypothetical competitive markets are simply one of the rhetorical forms through which this permanent conflict of economic interest is expressed in political debate.     

Avoidance–approach: The fifth basic conflict.

The basic conflicts are usually listed as approach–approach, approach–avoidance, avoidance–avoidance, and double approach–avoidance conflict. The possibility of avoidance–approach conflict, in which a steeper gradient of approach intersects a gradient of avoidance, has been ignored because it is assumed that approach gradients cannot be steeper than avoidance gradients and that even if avoidance–approach conflict could exist, it would be of no interest, as the individual would simply stay away from the conflicting goal. The present article shows that approach gradients can often be steeper than avoidance gradients. It is further noted that individuals can be placed in situations not of their choosing. It is suggested that if an individual with an avoidance–approach conflict is placed on the goal side of the intersection of the gradients, the person may enthusiastically approach a goal that had previously been avoided. Thus, avoidance–approach conflict may account for ego-alien behavior, such as when a shy, inhibited "model" boy commits a violent crime of passion. Implications and causes of avoidance–approach conflict in everyday life are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confrontation with aggressive peers at school: Students' reluctance to seek help from the teacher .

Asking for assistance from a teacher is generally viewed by elementary school students as a way of avoiding rather than resolving peer conflict. However, there are situations when it is appropriate and perhaps necessary to seek help. This study investigated such situations. Vignettes that portrayed aggressive peer conflict at school were presented to 128 3rd and 4th graders, who were asked what they would do and why. Students' self-perceptions of peer relations also were measured. At Grade 3, boys and girls were equally likely to go to the teacher for help, whereas at Grade 4, girls were more likely than boys to do so. At Grade 4, girls showed greater interest than boys in resolving conflict and "getting things back to normal." At Grade 3, students interested in revenge tended to go to the teacher. At both grades, boys were more concerned than girls that help seeking might lead to hassles with the teacher or reprisals from classmates. Boys who perceived themselves as popular and girls who perceived themselves as unpopular were relatively likely to seek help. Relations between help seeking and children's grade level, gender, and self-perceptions are discussed in terms of goal and strategy components in a social-information-processing model of conflict resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Program evaluation in the public interest: a new research methodology

For every social welfare or social control service program there are several parties, each with different interests: patients, clients, staff, management, and sponsors. Evaluation of such a program in the public interest must take the interests of these parties into account. To do so requires an untraditional methodology, that of a second-person, or communal, science, which is not above the conflict of parties and their interests in specifying the variables, staffing the research, balancing considerations of intrusion against those of bias, considering the action implications of the data, sequentially staging the research, or even publishing findings. This all makes evaluation in the public interest a highly political process often unlikely to be logically decisive about intervariable relationships, to yield generalizable results, or even to be completed.     

Review of Conflict and Mood.

Reviews the book "Conflict and mood," by Patricia Kendall (see record 1955-02101-000). The studies reported in this small, lithoprinted volume are devoted to identifying factors leading to shift in responses to repeated attitude survey questionnaires and interviews. Conflict and mood were hypothesized as prime factors specifically related to response instability. From a methodological viewpoint, these studies are important in giving specification to factors that should be controlled in questionnaire construction. Respondent conflict and mood were the major variables studied. This reviewer however, would seriously question if one of the other factors was not indeed affecting the experimental responses analyzed in terms of conflict and mood. This other factor is the degree of respondent interest and concern. The author points out that this is a dimension of increasingly recognizable importance in surveys and that lack of interest leads to perfunctory, unstable responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shock without awe.

In January 2011, the American Psychologist ran a special issue on “Comprehensive Soldier Fitness,” edited by Martin Seligman and Michael Matthews. Thirteen articles described a collaborative effort by the U.S. Army and positive psychologists to “improve our force’s resilience” (Casey, 2011, p. 1). If successful, one assumes, these efforts will make military engagements shorter (though not less frequent) and more victorious, while reducing human suffering on all sides. How can one object? Yet, the contributors themselves anticipated criticism. To justify their engagement with the military, they argued that psychological science has been relevant throughout its history, most notably during the world wars (Seligman & Fowler, 2011). They further noted that although the deployment of psychology may seem rushed, the exigency of the situation in the field demands it. Like other groups in conflict, the Army has an interest in standardizing the behavior of its members. To achieve this, the Army can threaten and deliver punishment. From the group’s perspective, this interest is necessary and legitimate. It is, in the author's view, not legitimate for psychologists to obfuscate the conflict of interest between Army and soldier and to act as though they care, above all, about the well-being of the soldier. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drivers of Conflict in Developing Country Infrastructure Projects: Experience from the Water and Pipeline Sectors

Despite the considerable scholarship focused on infrastructure investment in the developing world and the substantial sums of money spent each year on developing-country infrastructure, little attention has been given to understanding the drivers of conflict that shape the trajectory and cost structures of these massive investments. The manifestation of conflict among stakeholders in infrastructure projects ranges from the renegotiation of contract terms by project partners to popular protests among consumers of privatized services. The principal objective of this research is to identify combinations of country, project, and stakeholder factors that are associated with the emergence of legal and political conflict within natural gas and oil pipeline projects and water supply concessions and leases. The analysis includes data from 26 infrastructure projects spanning 31 countries and uses an analytical approach derived from Boolean algebra. Country-level characteristics, such as extent of democracy and rate of international NGO membership, are found to be important elements in the recipes for conflict among water supply projects but not for pipeline projects. Local impacts such as service price increases (water supply) and limited provision of oil and gas to the project host country (pipelines) are also important drivers of conflict for both subsectors. The involvement of one or more international financial institutions is also associated with the emergence of conflict in projects. Contrary to expectations, public consultation is associated with conflict in both subsectors. Overall, the study findings suggest that several factors associated with conflict in infrastructure projects can be minimized with careful project design.     

Bartering for psychological services.

The negative economic impact from managed health care has led some clients to request and, consequently, their psychologists to explore unique financial arrangements, such as bartering. Bartering is not precluded by ethics or law, but in this article, the author opposes bartering by exploring the ethical and legal considerations involved and the dual relationships that occur. Clinical considerations and the potential for exploitation in the relationship are examined, and caveats about bartering are offered. For the psychologist who accepts bartering, guidelines for keeping a bartering arrangement are provided. Even if carefully monitored for clinical contradictions or exploitation, bartering imposes a high risk of allegations of misconduct (e.g., impropriety or a conflict of interest) and should be avoided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Me versus just us versus us all" categorization and cooperation in nested social dilemmas.

In its generic form, a social dilemma poses a conflict between private and collective interests. People are often faced, however, with a conflict between private, (sub)group, and collective interests. This study examines participants simultaneous weighing of these 3 nested interests. The results show that increasing the salience of social categorization of any level of the hierarchy (i.e., 6 individuals, 2 subgroups, 1 collective) increases participants' concern for and contributions to the corresponding levels of interest (Experiment 1). One can promote concern for and contributions to the collective interest, which are lowest under categorization as 2 subgroups, by individuating the members of the individuals' own subgroup and/or the opposing subgroup (Experiment 2) and by cross-categorization with the opposing subgroup (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological dynamics of intractable ethnonational conflicts: The Israeli–Palestinian case.

In this article, the authors use the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as an example of ostensibly intractable ethnonational conflict and examine the psychological dynamics that contribute to its intractability. They review the unique characteristics of this conflict and the clash of narratives. They argue that some ethnonational conflicts have characteristics that increase their resistance to change and that societies in such conflicts form societal beliefs that, on the one hand, help them cope with the stressful conditions of the conflicts but, on the other hand, perpetuate the conflicts. Finally, they discuss some social psychological contributions to changing societal beliefs as a way of intervening in such conflicts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

LGB allies and Christian identity: A qualitative exploration of resolving conflicts and integrating identities.

A phenomenological method of qualitative inquiry was used to understand the process by which individuals who hold identities of being both a Christian and an ally of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals make meaning of and integrate these 2 identities. Interviews were conducted with 11 doctoral-level psychologists who self-identified as being LGB allies, as holding Christian-based beliefs, and as living in the midwestern United States. Data analysis revealed that integration of Christian and LGB-ally identities involves increasing awareness of conflict among one’s identities or values, experiencing confusion and dissonance, engaging in questioning and exploration processes, challenging and redefining the self, and identifying integration as a goal toward which one is moving as a way to manage and honor one’s identities. Questioning and exploration processes involved self-exploration and self-acceptance and exploration of Christian-based beliefs and beliefs about sexual orientation. The processes revealed that the Christian LGB allies exemplified personal qualities such as having a questioning mind and valuing integrity, spirituality, and congruence between beliefs and behavior. Experiences influencing conflict resolution and integration of identities were described. These included relationships, education and training, specific emotional experiences, and cultural factors such as experiences of oppression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Annual report of the Policy and Planning Board: 1989.

This article consists of the annual report for the Policy and Planning Board, 1989. It includes an introduction to the board, ongoing policy issues such as awards, committee information, conflict of interest guidelines, CEO qualifications and plans for restructure. It also addresses information on long-range planning for directorates, convention programs and goals for 1990. It concludes with a list of members of the 1989 Policy and Planning Board. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict, receiver bias and the evolution of signal form

In a model, conflicts of interest between communicating individuals are shown to have an important influence on the cost and form of signals that evolve. Two types of conflict are considered: competition between senders to obtain a response from the receiver, and conflict between the sender and the receiver. The receiver system is modelled as an artificial neural network whose 'resistance' to signals is represented as a motivational factor that varies independently of the signal. Biases in the receiver system act as the selective force on signals, causing them to become more costly and conspicuous as the intensity of conflict increases. There is some evidence that competition between senders and sender-receiver conflict may have qualitatively different outcomes. We give examples of some situations to which the model might be applied and point out some predictions that could be tested empirically.     

Reconsidering changes in parent-child conflict across adolescence: a meta-analysis

A series of meta-analyses addresses whether and how parent-child conflict changes during adolescence and factors that moderate patterns of change. The meta-analyses summarize results from studies of change in parent-child conflict as a function of either adolescent age or pubertal maturation. Three types of parent-adolescent conflict are examined: conflict rate, conflict affect, and total conflict (rate and affect combined). The results provide little support for the commonly held view that parent-child conflict rises and then falls across adolescence, although conclusions regarding pubertal change as well as conflict affect are qualified by the limited number of studies available. Two diverging sets of linear effects emerged, one indicating a decline in conflict rate and total conflict with age and the other indicating an increase in conflict affect with both age and pubertal maturation. In age meta-analyses, conflict rate and total conflict decline from early adolescence to mid-adolescence and from mid-adolescence to late adolescence; conflict affect increases from early adolescence to mid-adolescence. Puberty meta-analyses revealed only a positive linear association between conflict affect and pubertal maturation. Effect-size patterns varied little in follow-up analyses of potential moderating variables, implying similarities in the direction (although not the magnitude) of conflict across parent-adolescent dyads, reporters, and measurement procedures.     

Sex differences in the expression of adoption ideas: observations of adoptees from birth through latency

Longitudinal observations of 21 children, 19 of whom are adopted, reveal two consistent patterns---girls manifest greater interest and conflict in relation to adoption than do boys, and interest and conflict are greatest for both sexes during latency. Implications of the findings for the counseling of adoptees and of other children are discussed, and directions for further research suggested.     

Telecommuting's differential impact on work-family conflict: Is there no place like home?

The literature on the impact of telecommuting on work-family conflict has been equivocal, asserting that telecommuting enhances work-life balance and reduces conflict, or countering that it increases conflict as more time and emotional energy are allocated to family. Surveying 454 professional-level employees who split their work time between an office and home, the authors examined how extensively working in this mode impacts work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, as well as the contextual impact of job autonomy, scheduling flexibility, and household size. As hypothesized, the findings suggest that telecommuting has a differential impact on work-family conflict, such that the more extensively individuals work in this mode, the lower their work-to-family conflict, but the higher their family-to-work conflict. Additionally, job autonomy and scheduling flexibility were found to positively moderate telecommuting's impact on work-to-family conflict, but household size was found to negatively moderate telecommuting's impact on family-to-work conflict, suggesting that contextual factors may be domain specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spurious consensus and opinion revision: Why might people be more confident in their less accurate judgments?

In the interest of improving their decision making, individuals revise their opinions on the basis of samples of opinions obtained from others. However, such a revision process may lead decision makers to experience greater confidence in their less accurate judgments. The authors theorize that people tend to underestimate the informative value of independently drawn opinions, if these appear to conflict with one another, yet place some confidence even in the spurious consensus, which may arise when opinions are sampled interdependently. The experimental task involved people's revision of their opinions (caloric estimates of foods) on the basis of advice. The method of sampling the advisory opinions (independent or interdependent) was the main factor. The results reveal a dissociation between confidence and accuracy. A theoretical underlying mechanism is suggested whereby people attend to consensus (consistency) cues at the expense of information on interdependence. Implications for belief updating and for individual and group decisions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)