Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature.

Contends, on the basis of posited social-role theory of gender and helping, that the male gender role fosters helping that is heroic and chivalrous, whereas the female gender role fosters helping that is nurturant and caring. In social psychological studies, helping behavior has mainly been examined in the context of short-term encounters with strangers. This focus has tended to exclude from the research literature those helping behaviors prescribed by the female gender role, because they are displayed primarily in long-term, close relationships. In contrast, the helping behaviors prescribed by the male gender role have been generously represented in research findings because they are displayed in relationships with strangers as well as in close relationships. Results from a meta-analytic review of sex differences in 172 studies (appended) in helping behavior indicate that in general men helped more than women and women received more help than men. Nevertheless, sex differences in helping were inconsistent across studies and were successfully predicted by various attributes of the studies and the helping behaviors. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature.

Reviewed sex differences in aggressive behavior, using 63 studies (appended) reported in the social psychological literature, and found that although men were somewhat more aggressive than women on the average, sex differences were inconsistent across studies. The magnitude of the sex differences was significantly related to various attributes of the studies. In particular, the tendency for men to aggress more than women was more pronounced for aggression that produced pain or physical injury than for aggression that produced psychological or social harm. In addition, sex differences in aggressive behavior were larger to the extent that women, more than men, perceived that enacting a behavior would produce harm to the target, guilt and anxiety in oneself, as well as danger to oneself. It is suggested that aggression sex differences are a function of perceived consequences of aggression that are learned as aspects of gender roles and other social roles. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bulimia: A review of the literature.

This overview of bulimia research reports findings concerning demographic variables, psychopathology, and treatment outcome effects. While both bulimics and sufferers of anorexia nervosa are abnormally concerned with body weight, the bulimics tend to fluctuate between weight loss and weight gain. The incidence of bulimia in the general population is generally unknown; however, it is more prevalent in women than men. Bulimic individuals are obsessed with thoughts of food and weight; they also experience depression and anxiety. While treatment approaches have included anticonvulsive medication and other drugs, group experiential-behavioral treatment, a cognitive behavioral approach, and behavior therapy, it appears that interventions based on behavior therapy generate the best evidence for successful outcome in treating this eating disorder. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-disclosure: A literature review.

Reviews the literature concerning the role of verbal disclosure of information about oneself as a personality attribute, in interpersonal relationships and in therapist-client relationships. The relationship between self-disclosure and nonverbal communication is considered. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pharmacotherapy for postacute traumatic brain injury: A literature review for guidance in psychological practice.

Objectives: The purpose of this review is to educate and guide the actions of rehabilitation psychologists by providing a summary of the current literature on pharmacotherapies and treatment effectiveness for the chronic sequelae associated with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). A number of medications are reviewed for use in treating deficits in arousal, cognition, function, and other problems associated with TBI. Findings for their use in this population are summarized. Cautions, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Conclusions: Pharmacological management of chronic symptoms of TBI is commonplace in rehabilitation practice. Clear clinical guidelines for the use of pharmacotherapy in TBI are lacking, however, because of the few conclusive findings regarding the effectiveness of any particular agent. Rehabilitation psychologists frequently encounter patients treated with numerous medications and, therefore, need to be aware of potential effects on cognitive and functional abilities. Additionally, rehabilitation psychologists should be aware of available and empirically supported pharmacotherapies as they are in a position to comprehensively assess the patient and provide requested consultation to the treating physician concerning the patient's need for and likelihood of benefiting from various pharmacological agents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compulsive neurosis: A review of the literature.

Examines the literature relating to obsessions and compulsions from the early identification of the syndrome to contemporary theorizing. The essential characteristic of compulsion is subjective resistance and stereotypy alone is insufficient to delineate the disorder. There is a distinction to be made between symptoms and traits, and the use of the term obsessional personality to describe a careful, thorough, and punctual person is misleading. Compulsive disorders (both cognitive and motor) are dependent on anxiety in the acute stages, and overt symptoms (whether active or passive) serve to reduce anxiety. Existing learning theory models are inadequate, but recent approaches using decision theory concepts are more promising and can incorporate those instances in which conditioning principles apply as special cases. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The child-abusing parent: A psychological review.

Review of professional opinions in the literature reveals that (a) the abusing parent was himself raised with some degree of deprivation, (b) the abusing parent brings to his role as parent mistaken notions of child rearing, (c) there is present in the parent a general defect in character structure allowing aggressive impulses to be expressed too freely, and (d) while socioeconomic factors might place added stresses on basic personality weakness, these stresses are not of themselves sufficient or necessary causes of abuse. A recent demographic survey is criticized in light of the foregoing data. (88 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and immunocompetence: A review of the literature.

Recent evidence suggests that there is a relationship between depression and immunity. On the basis of these studies, it has been argued that depressed mood may increase susceptibility to disease by means of aberrations occurring within the immune system. Empirical research investigating the relationship between depression and immunity is reviewed here. Studies examining both clinical and nonclinical manifestations of depression are discussed and evaluated. This review reveals that indexes of immunocompetence are lower among people exhibiting depressive symptomology and suggests that immune alterations may be more related to dysphoric mood than to specific situations or events. Alternative hypotheses accounting for links between depressed affect and altered immune states are provided, and suggestions for future research are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature.

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meditation as psychotherapy: A review of the literature.

It has been widely argued that meditation has psychotherapeutic potential. Research on meditation has yielded 3 sets of findings: (a) experienced meditators who are willing to participate without pay in meditation research appear happier and healthier than nonmeditators; (b) beginning meditators who practice meditation for 4-10 wks show more improvement on a variety of tests than nonmeditators tested at the same time; and (c) persons who are randomly assigned to learn and practice meditation show more improvement over 4-10 wks than control Ss assigned to some form of alternate treatment. However, this is not conclusive evidence that meditation is therapeutic. The therapeutic benefits found could be the result of expectation of relief or of simply sitting on a regular basis. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 60(1) of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research (see record 2009-06606-001). The author would like to indicate that unfortunately, Peterson’s (1993) dissertation on executive coaching outcomes was excluded from the original literature review conducted by Kampa-Kokesch and Anderson (2001). Later, Kampa and White (2002) stated that Peterson’s (1993) dissertation was excluded due to the programmatic nature of the coaching conducted in the study. Specifically, it was written, “this research did not investigate executive coaching as practiced by consultants in the field,” (p. 145). However, all of the coaches in Peterson’s study were field-based PDI consultants and the individuals being coached did receive individual coaching from those consultants. In the future, Peterson’s research, which was a well-designed long-term outcome study of 370 coaching participants, should be reviewed when considering executive coaching outcomes.] Executive coaching as a consultation intervention has received increased attention in the literature within the past decade. Executive coaching has been proposed as an intervention aimed toward helping executives improve their performance and consequently the performance of the overall organization (R. R. Kilburg, 1996c). Whether or not it does what it proposes, however, remains largely unknown because of the lack of empirical studies. Some also question whether executive coaching is just another fad in the long list of fads that have occurred in consultation and business. To explore these issues and the place of executive coaching in consulting practice, this article critically examines the literature on executive coaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brief early psychological interventions following trauma: a systematic review of the literature

A systematic literature search/review was undertaken of brief early psychological interventions following trauma. Only six randomized controlled trials were found, and none of these included group interventions. Of the six trials, two studies associated the intervention with a positive outcome, two demonstrated no difference on outcome between intervention and non-intervention groups, and two showed some negative outcomes in the intervention group. This review suggests that early optimism for brief early psychological interventions including debriefing was misplaced and that there is an urgent need for randomized controlled trials of group debriefing and other early interventions.     

The window on psychology's literature: A history of psychological abstracts.

With the rapid expansion of scientific information at the end of the 19th century, disciplines sought ways to keep their members abreast of the relevant research. Those pressures were felt in the science of psychology in the United States, where psychologists developed a bibliographic aid, The Psychological Index, in 1895 only a little more than a decade after G. Stanley Hall opened America's first psychology laboratory. The Index was useful but was only a listing of titles. More information was needed, which led to the development of a journal of abstracts, first published in 1927. This article traces the history of Psychological Abstracts from its origins in the Index to the evolution of the American Psychological Association's electronic information system known as PsycINFO, of which Psychological Abstracts has become an outmoded part. Nevertheless, for most of its 80 years, Psychological Abstracts was psychology's window on the world of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socioeconomic status and obesity: A review of the literature.

A review of 144 published studies of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity reveals a strong inverse relationship among women in developed societies. The relationship is inconsistent for men and children in developed societies. In developing societies, however, a strong direct relationship exists between SES and obesity among men, women, and children. A review of social attitudes toward obesity and thinness reveals values congruent with the distribution of obesity by SES in different societies. Several variables may mediate the influence of attitudes toward obesity and thinness among women in developed societies that result in the inverse relationship between SES and obesity. They include dietary restraint, physical activity, social mobility, and inheritance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult crying: A model and review of the literature.

Crying is one of the most powerfully compelling forms of human emotional expression, and yet, until recently, crying has received little attention from behavioral scientists. In this article, a model of adult crying is presented that describes the situations and emotions that elicit crying and characterizes the possible moderating effects of environmental, personal, and cultural factors on crying. Empirical data relevant to the model are summarized, and areas in need of further investigation are identified. In addition, the question of whether and how crying may affect mood and health is considered. It is concluded that the literature is full of ungrounded speculation and that research until now has been rather unsystematic and not sufficiently theory driven. Recently available data, however, pave the way for formulating a more comprehensive theoretical framework for generating testable hypotheses about crying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opinions about mental illness: A review of the literature.

Describes the major measures and studies of attitudes about mental illness, mental hospitals, and mental patients. Historical trends in such attitudes are delineated, and studies of attitudes of different groups are summarized, including those of the general public, mental health professionals, college students, and mental patients. Analysis of the susceptibility of such attitudes to modification through academic or practical experience is followed by observations regarding the relation between attitudes and behavior toward mental patients. Implications for future work in this field are considered. (78 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychological causality implicit in verbs: A review.

The authors comprehensively review research and theory on the verb causality effect. The effect involves the finding that different types of verbs used to describe interpersonal events give rise to different assumptions about the causes of the respective event. The authors analyze and conceptualize the linguistic categories that serve as independent variables in the pertinent studies, describe the research methods used, conduct reanalyses on the published data, and summarize the results. They conclude that the verb causality effect constitutes a robust and strong finding that has been documented by several independent researchers across different verb samples, cultures, languages, and age groups. Furthermore, they present and discuss the theoretical explanations for the phenomenon and argue that it can be explained parsimoniously by basic attribution mechanisms (i.e., perceived covariation information). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)