Nest and home

A nest as a rather loose construction of plant material, as it is used by most birds and some of the lowest primates, never serves as a goal of flight, very rarely as a sleeping place but mainly as a support for the offspring. A home, however, as used by many nonprimate mammals and other vertebrates, is a solid construction or an excavation in a solid material (tree hole, burrow, etc.) which serves principally as a goal of flight in case of danger, also as a sleeping place and temporarily as a nest, that is a fix-point for raising the young. In the phylogeny of primates the nest has been given up very early. The sleeping nest of pongids has nothing to do with it. Whereas the most primitive primates using nests transport their young with the mouth, in all other primates the young has to grasp actively the mother's (parent's) hair to be tranported. When the hair disappeared phylogenetically, technical devices came into use.     

Healing the psyche through music, myth, and ritual.

According to Carl Jung, a person's symptoms occur as a result of the psyche's creative attempt to self-regulate. These symptoms are viewed as the symbol-making function of the psyche. Music therapy as a therapeutic tool is also viewed as having a symbol-making function in that the physical act of making music involves conceptualizing one's symptoms into sounds. The sound serves as a musical symbol of the symptom. The myth of Orpheus is offered as an example of how early man amplified the creative potential contained in music to heal from life's woes. The Orphic archetype illustrates that music serves as a medium for healing and as an expression of Self. That psyche can be healed by music is a reminder of the connection between music therapy and the myth of Orpheus. In using the therapeutic tool of music one can transcend, through the symbol making process inherent in music therapy, the tension of opposites that are created at the crossroads of disease and wellness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimuli related to stress, neuroticism, excitation, and anxiety response patterns: Illustrating a new multivariate experimental design.

The present study serves both as a vehicle for the demonstration of a new research design which combines analysis of variance and factor analytic techniques, as well as to experimentally demonstrate that an affect assumed to be characteristic of a stimulus, e.g., anxiety, may be distinguished from the affect as experienced by a person. Moreover, anxiety is seen as a multivariate, not univariate, complex. The present findings are related to previous research by Cattell and his associates as well as what meaning this bears on other research, e.g., the Taylor Anxiety Scale. 23 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of social desirability in personality testing for personnel selection: The red herring.

Response bias continues to be the most frequently cited criticism of personality testing for personnel selection. The authors meta-analyzed the social desirability literature, examining whether social desirability functions as a predictor for a variety of criteria, as a suppressor, or as a mediator. Social desirability scales were found not to predict school success, task performance, counterproductive behaviors, and job performance. Correlations with the Big Five personality dimensions, cognitive ability, and years of education are presented along with empirical evidence that (a) social desirability is not as pervasive a problem as has been anticipated by industrial-organizational psychologists, (b) social desirability is in fact related to real individual differences in emotional stability and conscientiousness, and (c) social desirability does not function as a predictor, as a practically useful suppressor, or as a mediator variable for the criterion of job performance. Removing the effects of social desirability from the Big Five dimensions of personality leaves the criterion-related validity of personality constructs for predicting job performance intact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Harry Sands (1917-2007).

To everyone who knew and had worked with him, the death of Harry Sands on January 3, 2007, three days before his 90th birthday, resounded as though a mighty oak had fallen. Harry was a giant of a man, both as a human being and as a psychologist. Harry was born January 6, 1917, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Russian immigrant parents who ran a laundry. His bachelor's degree in psychology (1941) and his doctoral degree (1952) were both earned at New York University. Harry became a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1943. With his breadth of experience and knowledge, as well as his firm foundation in management and finance, he eventually became a financial advisor to the APA Practice Directorate as well as to the American Psychological Foundation. As the executive director of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, Harry made creative strides to improve both the public awareness of the organization as well as its fiscal health. Harry was an active writer and researcher, with a particular interest in epilepsy and various psychoanalytic topics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AOTA and managed care

The process of becoming a medical doctor in the Russian Federation is detailed in this paper. There has been a decline in the number of students entering the medical profession, as well as a marked decrease in the faculty members at the medical institutes since perestroika. This is secondary to a marked decrease in financial support as well as falling morale.     

Romantic jealousy: Five perspectives and an integrative approach.

Discusses the psychodynamic, systems, behavioral, social psychological, and sociobiological perspectives on romantic jealousy. The psychodynamic approach views jealousy as the result of unresolved childhood experiences and as best treated by individual psychotherapy. The systems approach views jealousy as the result of the dynamic in a particular relationship and as best treated by couple therapy. The behavioral approach views jealousy as a learned response that can be unlearned. The social psychological approach views jealousy as determined by the social environment and as best treated by shifting from a dispositional to a situational attribution. The sociobiological perspective views jealousy as innate and its treatment application involves breaking couples' fallacy of uniqueness regarding jealousy. An integrative approach using contributions of all 5 perspectives is suggested and a case example is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decreased oral colonization of Streptococcus mutans during aging of Sprague-Dawley rats

The colonization by streptomycin-resistant Streptococcus mutans strains of the teeth of conventional and ex-germfree Sprague-Dawley rats of various ages fed either a high-sucrose or a high-glucose diet was studied. Bacterial colonization occurred with increasingly greater difficulty as the rats became older. This was observed in studies of the implantation of the test organism after oral inoculation with different cell numbers as well as its transmission between infected and uninfected rats. With rat fed sucrose diet, the effect of age could not be demonstrated until they were age 3 months or older; the results from rats fed a glucose diet suggest that changes may already have occurred early after weaning. Changes in susceptibility to colonization during aging manifested themselves as a decrease in the proportions of rats which became infected as well as lower population levels in infected rats. The possible mechanism(s) involved as well as the possible significance of the findings was discussed.     

Canadian counselling psychology: From defining moments to ways forward.

Counselling psychology in Canada is a distinct and vibrant professional area representing the contributions of many people and events within a unique context. This article elaborates a number of defining moments or actions that reveal the distinct nature of this professional area through a recursive and interactive process with the social context. A number of ways forward are proposed as specific professional developments, as well as the resolution of a number of substantive issues identified within the recently adopted definition of counselling psychology. Moving forward as a discipline and a practice will actualize the potential of counselling psychology as both world and life enhancing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent developments in antipsychotic medication

The development of new neuroleptics aims to reduce unwanted extrapyramidal motor side effects as well as the non-response rate, and to achieve a greater effect on negative symptoms. Preferential binding of neuroleptics to D2-receptors in the limbic system, as well as the combination of dopamine D2- and serotonin S2-antagonism proved to be effective. A potent D2-S2-antagonism as was realized with positive results in risperidone serves as a model for a whole class of new neuroleptics.     

Learning as a change in world-view.

Argues that the hegemony of natural science conceptions of learning has led to a tendency to neglect the role of the human inner life in the learning process. Approaching learning as a change in world view is presented as an alternative to natural scientific orthodoxy. Some examples are given of the way learning as a change in world view emerges from common patterns of human existence. Some commonly observed correlates of a change in world view may be described as changes in attitude and patterns of behavior. Such a change could be described in terms of increased receptivity to new experiences. Mainstream Western psychology's relationship with broader perspectives on human learning, such as in gestalt psychology, cognitive psychology, systems theory, and behavioral ecology, is discussed. The interactive relation between perception and learning is considered, and a number of current psychological theories and ideas are presented as examples of how learning can be conceptualized as a change in world view. Such a perspective on learning is offered as a complement to other approaches to learning rather than a replacement. (French abstract) (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptom formation: An integrative self psychological perspective.

Proposes self psychology as a relational model of psychopathology that can be incorporated into a biopsychosocial paradigm of symptom formation for Axis I disorders. Four specific pathways to symptom formation are outlined: (1) a self-state of impending fragmentation that is warded off through involvement with a substance or activity, as in addictive disorders; (2) a state of fragmentation without a behavioral means of self-restitution other than avoidance, as in anxiety disorders; (3) the use of a symptom as a compromise formation among conflicting impulses as a result of psychological trauma, as in dissociative and somatoform disorders; and (4) an internalized conflict between maintaining needed relationships and pursuing self-differentiation, resulting in symptoms such as depressive states and work inhibitions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flow-through amperometric immunosensor: fast 'sandwich' scheme immunoassay

A flow-through immunosensor based on a high-surface-area carbon immunoelectrode has been developed. Dispersed carbon material serves as a carrier for immobilized antibodies and at the same time as an electrode material. The 'sandwich' scheme of immunoassay has been used. Iodine formed as a result of the enzymatic oxidation of iodide by a peroxidase label has been detected amperometrically. The immunosensor consists of a disposable sensing element (immunocolumn) containing dispersed carbon material with immobilized antibodies which also acts as a working electrode. A current collector connects the working electrode to the measuring device. The electrochemical detection time of the peroxidase-labeled immuno-complex does not exceed several minutes. The overall time of analysis including flowing of analyte, flowing of antigen, washing and detection stages is as low as 22 min. This technique allows fast determination of rabbit IgG (used as a model analyte) with a low detection limit in the picomolar range and also the determination of human IgM in blood plasma with a low detection limit in the nanomolar range.     

Family theory and therapy.

Whereas psychologists have traditionally focused on individuals, particularly what goes on inside people, family system theory largely deals with what happens between people, especially closely related ones. Family system theory emphasizes contexts, particularly the intimate context of the family as a powerful motivating and organizing force in human behavior. Ths psychology of intimate relationships provides a bridge between the personal and the social. Family and marital therapy are clinical applications of the system viewpoint that is creating a revolution in clinical practice. Psychopathology is viewed as a consequence of relationship struggles between intimates. Symptoms, which can balance family as well as intrapsychic forces, are looked upon as relationship events rather than as a manifestation of a central illness process. The focus in treatment is on changing the context or the interlocking system as well as the individuals. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity to onset and rhyme does predict young Children's reading: a comment on Muter, Hulme, Snowling, and Taylor (1997)

Muter, Hulme, Snowling, and Taylor (1997) claimed that measures of phoneme segmentation, and not measures of rhyme, predict young children's reading. They base this claim on the relative predictive success of two rhyme and two phoneme segmentation tasks. However, there is a problem with one of their two rhyme measures, the Rhyme Detection measure. The children were asked to select a choice word which "rhymes with or sounds like" a target word, but the authors only scored rhyme choices ("boat"-"coat") as correct. Choices of words with the same onset as the target ("train"-"tractor") were counted as mistakes, even though these latter choices also shared a common sound with the target. A better way to score the task is to count onset as well as rhyme choices as correct. The new score predicts reading and spelling as well as the phoneme tasks. This result is consistent with the hypothesis of Goswami and Bryant (1990) that sensitivity to onset and rhyme, as well as awareness of phonemes, plays a part in children's success in reading and to spelling.     

Examining symptom expression as a function of symptom severity: Item performance on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.

Despite widespread use of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, M. Hamilton, 1960), questions have been raised concerning its psychometric properties. A nonparametric item response model was used to examine how the probability of observing a specific symptom of depression changes with increases in depressive severity in a sample of depressed adults. Results showed that options from a number of items on the HRSD did not vary as a function of severity and therefore should not be viewed as indicators of depressive severity. The extent to which symptoms are expressed as a function of depressive severity carries important implications for the use of the HRSD as a measure of severity and for the debate concerning construction of depression as a continuum. Results argue against viewing depression as a simple continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental emergence and functionality of Sehnsucht (life longings): The sample case of involuntary childlessness in middle-aged women.

Sehnsucht (life longings), the intense desire for optimal (utopian) states of life that are remote or unattainable, was recently introduced into life-span psychology as a concept of self-regulation (P. B. Baltes, 2008; S. Scheibe, A. M. Freund, & P. B. Baltes, 2007). The authors propose that as a compensatory strategy to deal with nonrealizability and loss, life longings may develop out of blocked goals. Individuals would cease to invest behavioral effort into its attainment and instead maintain the goal target in imagination. In a sample of 168 middle-aged childless women, the present study investigated the circumstances under which the wish for children emerges as a goal or life longing and whether the representation of the wish for children as a life longing is beneficial for well-being. The wish for children was expressed as a goal when participants rated this wish as currently intense and attainable. In contrast, it was expressed as a life longing when participants rated it as highly intense and long-standing. The pursuit of the wish for children as a life longing was positively related to well-being only when participants had high control over the experience of this life longing and when other self-regulation strategies (goal adjustment) failed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)