Relationship between values, social class, and duration of psychotherapy.

Investigated the relationship between values, social class, and duration of psychotherapy of 249 patients and 104 therapists at a moderate-cost outpatient clinic in New York City. Values were measured by the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, Ways to Live scale, Study of Values, and the Optimal Personality Integration Scale. Lower-class patients tended to be more authoritarian-submissive than upper-class patients. The significant linear relationship indicated that the lower the social class and the higher (more authoritarian-submissive) the patient's score relative to his therapist, the longer the duration of treatment. It is postulated that authoritarian-submissive patients might tend to remain in therapy precisely because of this quality. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social relations variance partitioning of dyadic behavior.

The authors investigate the relative importance of actor and interaction partner as determinants of dyadic behavior. Using the social relations model (D. A. Kenny, 1994a; D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984), the authors estimate the variance attributable to each determinant plus the reciprocity of behavioral responses from 7 studies. The authors find evidence for moderate behavioral consistency in a person's behavior across interaction partners, little or no evidence that people consistently engender the same behavioral response from others, and preliminary evidence of unique responding to particular partners. They also consider several methodological issues concerning behavioral measurement as well as the implications of the results for the study of accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical analysis of dyadic social behavior.

Describes a method for determining the effects of sex (or any other dichotomous characteristic) from the individual correlated behavioral responses observed in dyadic interactional situations. In the illustration used, the dyads are of 3 types: girl–girl, girl–boy, and boy–boy. Main effects of sex of S and of sex of partner and interaction effects are estimated and tested, using a generalization of the matched-pair t-test approach. Intragroup correlations between paired responses are examined separately. Alternative procedures of analysis are discussed and compared. The present method is extended to interacting groups larger than dyads when the S characteristic remains dichotomous (e.g., boys and girls in groups of 3, 4, etc). In these cases there are 3 intragroup correlations of interest for responses within the same interacting groups: boys vs boys, boys vs girls, and girls vs girls. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three-way analysis of dyadic social interactions.

Proposes a method for analyzing data from dyadic social interactions across 3 dichotomous variables. By accounting for the likely interdependency between 2 scores from a dyad, problems incurred with traditional analyses are circumvented. The analysis is demonstrated by an examination of data from 4 groups of 41 parent–child dyads: mother–daughter, mother–son, father–daughter, and father–son. The effects of sex-of-S, sex-of-partner, familial relationship between S and partner, and the interaction of these factors were tested. Results are compared to results derived from a repeated-measures ANOVA. It is shown that the latter analysis may mask important features of the data. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on George Herbert Mead's social psychology.

Attempts to contribute toward the bridging of a communication gap between pychological and sociological approaches to social psychology. Implicitly questioning the dominant view of G. H. Mead's (1922, 1934) work among contemporary sociologists, it outlines the major ideas of this founding father of symbolic interactionist social psychology in behaviorist terms. This interpretation suggests that Mead's theory of human psychology is compatible with and may potentially contribute toward the recent growth of the cognitive approach to social psychology among psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of psychotherapy supervision on therapist orientation and values.

Research has suggested that psychotherapy skills are developed and valued depending in part on the level of trainee experience. Beginning trainees tend to value and benefit from supervisor support, whereas later trainees tend to gravitate toward technical guidance. This cycle may be repeated with continuing experience. We present illustrative data from our own research to suggest that several years after training, early supervisory experiences may still exert an effect on one's theoretical position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The statistical analysis of dyadic social behavior: A multivariate approach.

Extends the logic of the univariate model for studying dyadic social interaction and presents a multivariate model. The more general multivariate model is illustrated using hypothetical data and real data from a study by M. Jacklin et al (see record 1979-25785-001) on girl–girl, boy–boy, and girl–boy interactions among 45 preschoolers. The 8 variables used included passive behavior, frequency of aggression, and frequency of social withdrawal. Some advantages of this model include detection of Type I error rates and generality. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the social perceptions of authoritarians and nonauthoritarians.

104 college students were given a 28-item version of the F scale twice. In the first administration Ss were given the usual instructions, but in the second administration they were asked to give the responses they believed would be given by a typical student at their college. Among the results, it was found that there is a general tendency for Ss to estimate higher F scale scores for the typical student than they themselves possess and that the general tendency of the Ss to estimate F scale scores higher than their own is more marked among the nonauthoritarians than the authoritarians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of psychotherapy: Role playing as a variable in dyadic communication.

42 Ss discussed personal experiences in dyads, with one S controlling conversation over a one-way intercom. All Ss acted as peers in Sessions 1 and 2. Experimental groups were then instructed to assume complementary patient and therapist roles in Sessions 3 and 4. Control Ss continued as peers. In Session 5 all Ss carried out unrestrained conversation. Under peer conditions, Ss distributed time for speaking approximately equally. Under psychotherapy roles, patients were allotted significantly more time, regardless of whether patient or therapist controlled the interaction. The same talk: listen ratio was maintained in Sessions 3 and 4 and continued in Session 5. The results suggest that the Ss perceived psychotherapy as a communication system in which relatively stable speaker roles are assigned to each participant. Implications of these findings were discussed. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strength-Centered Therapy: A social constructionist, virtues-based psychotherapy.

This article describes Strength-Centered Therapy, a new therapeutic model based on the positive psychology of character strengths and virtues as well as social constructionist perspectives on psychotherapy. The contributions of the positive psychology of character strengths and social constructionist conceptualizations of psychotherapy are examined. In addition, the theoretical assumptions, applications, and limitations of Strength-Centered Therapy are discussed. It is argued that Strength- Centered Therapy might contribute to the revival of character strengths and virtues in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocity of self-disclosure at the individual and dyadic levels: A social relations analysis.

Investigated individual and dyadic disclosure reciprocity effects. The individual effects are the extent to which individuals who generally disclose are generally disclosed to. The dyadic effect represents disclosure that is unique to the particular relationship, controlling for the individual effects. 45 female college students in a sorority were asked to indicate how much they disclosed to and received disclosure from all other sorority sisters. Using a social relations analysis on this sorority data set, 3 facets of social perception were examined at both the level of the individual and the level of the relationship: mutuality or reciprocity of disclosure, congruence or perceived reciprocity, and accuracy or the agreement of the pair's perceptions. Results indicate that mutuality, congruence, and accuracy coefficients were clearly significant only at the dyadic level. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humanism and psychotherapy: A personal statement of the therapist's essential values.

Proposes the existence of a set of essential values underlying the therapeutic enterprise. It is suggested that the basic commitment of psychoanalytic therapy is to the dual goal of personal freedom and human relatedness. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A qualitative investigation of eminent therapists' values within psychotherapy: Developing integrative principles for moment-to-moment psychotherapy practice.

Ample empirical research on values has demonstrated that clients' values tend to become increasingly like those of their therapist during therapy. There is little research, however, on how therapists negotiate value conflicts and the role of values in therapy. In order to better understand this process, 14 expert psychotherapists from four major psychotherapy orientations were interviewed about their use of values in the psychotherapeutic change process. A grounded theory analysis was conducted leading to an integrative understanding of how expert therapists from different orientations conceptualize the relationship of values and change in therapy and how they work with values in sessions. Based on this analysis, four transtheoretical principles were generated that can be applied to training and practice and used to inform research on psychotherapy process and integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on time lags in psychotherapy: Are transference interpretations enough?

Time-lags in psychoanalytic psychotherapy are considered in relation to the historical emphasis on reconstruction vs repetition in the transference. Implications for technique in psychoanalytic therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dyadic nature of social information processing in boys' reactive and proactive aggression.

The correlation between boys' social cognitions and their aggressive behavior toward peers was examined as being actor driven, partner driven, or dyadic relationship driven. Eleven groups of 6 familiar boys each (N?=?165 dyads) met for 5 consecutive days to participate in play sessions and social-cognitive interviews. With a variance partitioning procedure, boys' social-cognitive processes were found to vary reliably across their dyadic relationships. Furthermore, mixed models regression analyses indicated that hostile attributional biases toward a particular peer were related to directly observed reactive aggression toward that peer even after controlling for actor and partner effects, suggesting that these phenomena are dyadic or relationship oriented. On the other hand, the relation between outcome expectancies for aggression and the display of proactive aggression appeared to be more actor driven and partner driven that dyadic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Views from a distant shore: A social psychological perspective on group psychotherapy.

A brief commentary is offered on M. McCallum and W. E. Piper's (see record 1999-08068-001) article that describes their research on the effectiveness of a group psychotherapy program for treating patients with personality disorders. One set of comments examines the strengths and weaknesses of that article, whereas another set identifies potential linkages between the article and social psychological work on small groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocal interruptions in dyadic communication as a function of speech and social anxiety.

The relation between a speaker's personality and his/her propensity to interrupt was examined in 30-min unstructured conversations for 36 dyads of undergraduates (12 male, 12 female, and 12 mixed sex). Two predictions were tested: (a) interruptive behavior is inversely related to speech anxiety and positively related to confidence as a speaker, and (b) interruptive behavior is inversely related to social anxiety (avoidance–distress; fear of negative evaluation). A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed, controlling for the systematic effects of sex, the conversational partner's personality and amount of speech, and the speaker's use of back-channel responses. These hypotheses were confirmed for rate of total interruptions and rate of successful interruptions, for percentage of successful interruptions, and for mean duration of interruptions; the results withstood cross-validation analysis. (37 ref) (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 note on the confounding of personality and social class characteristics in research on premature termination.

A recent article by S. L. Stern et al (see record 1975-25807-001) on early termination in psychotherapy is critically evaluated in terms of their appraisal of former studies and also with reference to major methodological issues in this area of research. Particularly stressed are the issues of replication, sample variation, and definitions of terminators and remainers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social network of the psychotherapy patient.

Examined the social networks of psychotherapy patients to find factors that affected the patients' contributions to the therapeutic process and the effectiveness of treatment. 265 outpatients (aged 18–61 yrs) completed measures of their individual ties, their collective networks, and their network support. Ss were neither interpersonally bereft nor socially isolated. Most Ss had close friends, and most had an ongoing romantic relationship. Most had at least 1 confidant with whom they discussed entering therapy, and most experienced nurturing support from their significant others. Ss were embedded in a network of significant and meaningful ties that could potentially influence their participation in the therapeutic process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)