Effects of the interpersonal interaction on abstract thinking performance in schizophrenics.

Schizophrenics were subjected either to a positive or negative interpersonal situation (a standard interview) between administrations of parallel forms of a proverb scale. The level of abstract verbal performance was shown to be affected by the nature of the intervening interpersonal interaction and changes in level of performance were in the predicted directions for positive, negative, and control groups. No relationship between severity of the schizophrenic disorder and amount of change in level of abstract verbal performance was demonstrated. The proverb scales were cross-validated in this research which further supports their validity as prognostic indicators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mindlessness of ostensibly thoughtful action: The role of "placebic" information in interpersonal interaction.

Conducted 3 field experiments to test the hypothesis that complex social behavior that appears to be enacted mindfully instead may be performed without conscious attention to relevant semantics. 200 Ss in compliance paradigms received communications that either were or were not semantically sensible, were or were not structurally consistent with their previous experience, and did or did not request an effortful response. It was hypothesized that unless the communication occasioned an effortful response or was structurally (rather than semantically) novel, responding that suggests ignorance of relevant information would occur. The predictions were confirmed for both oral (Exp I) and written communications (Exps II and III). Social psychological theories that rely on humans actively processing incoming information are questioned. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The functional relation between depression and problematic interpersonal behavior.

75 depressed patients (mean age 33.9 yrs) were compared with 69 nondepressed high MMPI controls (mean age 25.7 yrs) and 80 normal controls (mean age 29.9 yrs) on self-reported frequency and comfort of various interpersonal events, verbal and nonverbal behavior in group and dyadic interactions, and interpersonal style. Identified as uniquely associated with depression were (a) infrequent engagement, discomfort, and low levels of obtained reinforcement in social activity and in giving and receiving positive responses; (b) discomfort in being assertive and low levels of reinforcement obtained from such behavior; (c) discomfort experienced in conjunction with negative cognitions concerning personal interactions; and (d) self-, peer-, and observer-rated deficiencies in interpersonal style group interactions. On verbal and nonverbal behavior measures, no deficits uniquely associated with depression were identified. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient interpersonal impacts and the early therapeutic alliance in interpersonal therapy for depression.

The therapeutic alliance consistently predicts positive psychotherapy outcomes. Thus, it is important to uncover factors that relate to alliance development. The goal of this study was to examine the association between patient interpersonal characteristics and alliance quality in interpersonal therapy for depression. Data derive from a subsample (n = 74) of a larger naturalistic database of outpatients treated at a mood disorders clinic of a university-affiliated psychiatric hospital. Following Session 3 of treatment, therapists completed the Impact Message Inventory (Kiesler & Schmidt, 1993) to assess patients' interpersonal impacts on them. Also following Session 3, patients completed the Working Alliance Inventory (Horvath & Greenberg, 1989) to assess alliance quality. As predicted, patients' affiliative interpersonal impacts, as perceived by their therapists, were positively associated with alliance quality, controlling for baseline depression severity. Although unrelated to the initial hypotheses, patients concurrently taking psychotropic medications reported better alliances than patients receiving psychotherapy only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational and performance deficits in interpersonal settings: The effect of attributional style.

Tested an attributional model of motivation and performance following failure. 63 college students were preselected on the basis of their attributional styles for interpersonal failures, as measured by the Attributional Style Assessment Test. Ss in the 2 preselected groups (character-style vs behavioral-style attributors) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental manipulations of attributions for failure at an interpersonal persuasion task: (a) no manipulation, (b) ability/trait manipulation (which parallels the character-style), or (c) strategy/effort manipulation (which parallels the behavior style). Subsequently, Ss engaged in a blood drive task over the telephone, trying to persuade other students to donate blood. Success expectancies, motivation, and actual performance were assessed. As predicted, Ss who made strategy-/effort-type attributions, whether by experimental manipulation or by preselection, expected more success, expected more improvement with practice, displayed higher levels of motivation, and performed better at the task than did Ss who made ability-/trait-type attributions. Implications for the treatment of such clinical symptoms as loneliness and depression are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of stigma and set in interpersonal interaction.

This study focuses on 1 condition which seems to influence the role of stigmata in interpersonal relationships. The results indicate that mental illness and the extent to which a person is held responsible for this stigma determine the amount of pain inflicted upon him and how favorably he is evaluated. Responsibility was varied by having a confederate report to the undergraduate Ss either a typical or an atypical and pathogenic childhood. A bad childhood mitigated the harshness of the treatment accorded the mentally ill person, but for the normal individual this experience appears to be as stigmatizing as mental illness itself. The individual perceived as abnormal either because of mental illness or a poor childhood experience is treated in a harsher manner than the normal. He is also described as less adequate in his performance, although there is no objective basis for this, he is less liked, and Ss prefer no further interaction with him. An interesting implication of comparing the evaluation with the behavior displayed is that people can be induced to behave more favorably while retaining all of their dislike and contempt for the stigmatized person. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rumination and interpersonal dependency: Explaining women's vulnerability to depression.

Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from a major depressive episode. Reasons for this gender difference in propensity for depression are not completely understood, although a number of explanations have been articulated. In this article we focus on two constructs that have been linked to gender differences in depression--ruminative cognitive style and interpersonal dependency. Ruminative cognitive style refers to the tendency to respond to depressed or dysphoric mood with repetitive thoughts and behaviours that focus attention on the meaning and consequences of the depressed mood (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). Interpersonal dependency reflects an investment in relationships and communion. We propose a theory of how these constructs interact to increase women's propensity to develop depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway.

The present research suggests that biased interpersonal perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts are mediated by social perceptions, but only when participants are focused on the other person. These effects occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when other-focus is high owing to the decision-making situation (Experiment 2), and when other-focus is dispositionally high (Experiment 3). Experiments 4 and 5 bring additional support for a biased perception account by ruling out an alternative behavior-perception link and showing that other-focus can moderate not only the mediating mechanism of prime-to-behavior effects but also the behavioral effects themselves. The implications of these results for increasing understanding of behavioral priming effects in rich social contexts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-reinforcement: A continuum of external cues.

Investigated the role of external influences in children's self-regulatory behavior under stringent-demand (SD) and lenient-demand (LD) conditions. The abilities of the SD condition (in the form of stringent instructional sets and criterion setting), the LD condition (in which lenient instructions were provided), and a control condition to maintain 33 male and 29 female 3rd and 4th graders' performance on an arithmetic task were examined. Following 5 trials in which Ss self-administered prizes, all Ss in the SD group performed significantly better, during both the incentive and the extinction conditions, on all 3 dependent variables than did Ss in both the LD and control groups. Factors contributing to the differential performances of Ss under the LD and SD conditions are discussed in light of the self-reinforcement literature. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social and interpersonal reactions to depression and disability.

Studied the reactions of 167 undergraduates to a 21-yr-old male actor with a physical disability who behaved in either a depressed or socially appropriate manner in an interview and appeared to be either physically disabled or nondisabled. Consistent with predictions, the actor was rated more favorably when he appeared disabled, and Ss had strong negative reactions to depressive behavior regardless of physical appearance. S attitudes toward persons with disability were affected by the interpersonal behavior of the target: Ss evidenced more open, accepting attitudes toward persons with disability after viewing appropriate behavior by the actor, and Ss in the depressed disabled condition endorsed more stereotypic, negative attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of "kindness norm" behavior and social models of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal treatments for depression in Puerto Rican adolescents.

This study evaluated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) with depressed adolescents in Puerto Rico. Seventy-one adolescents meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) criteria for a diagnosis of depression were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: CBT, IFT, or wait list (WL). Pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up measures of depression symptoms, self-esteem, social adjustment, family emotional involvement and criticism, and behavioral problems were completed. Results suggest that IPT and CBT significantly reduced depressive symptoms when compared with the WL condition. IPT was superior to the WL condition in increasing self-esteem and social adaptation. Clinical significance tests suggested that 82% of adolescents in IPT and 59% of those in CBT were functional after treatment. The results suggest that both IPT and CBT are efficacious treatments for depressed Puerto Rican adolescents. IPT's impact in other levels of outcome is discussed in terms of its consonance with Puerto Rican cultural values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When forgiving enhances psychological well-being: The role of interpersonal commitment.

The present research addresses the question of when and why forgiving might enhance psychological well-being. The authors predict that forgiving is associated with enhanced well-being but that this association should he more pronounced in relationships of strong rather than weak commitment. This hypothesis received good support in Studies 1-3. Studies 2 and 3 addressed the issue of why forgiving might be associated with psychological well-being, revealing that this association was reduced after controlling for psychological tension (i.e., a psychological state of discomfort due to conflicting cognitions and feelings). Study 4 revealed that in the context of marital relationships, tendencies toward forgiving one's spouse exhibited a more pronounced association with psychological well-being than did tendencies to forgive others in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's intuition: The effect of subordinate role on interpersonal sensitivity.

Investigated the thesis that the subordinate status of women in Western society may have led to their development of greater interpersonal sensitivity and intuition. The effects of sex and leader/subordinate role on interpersonal sensitivity were examined in 36 same- or mixed-sex dyads (composed predominantly of undergraduates) that interacted for 1 hr. One member of each dyad was randomly assigned to the leader role. Throughout the interaction, Ss completed rating scales describing their feelings. Results show that subordinates were more sensitive than leaders to the feelings of the other dyad member. Women were not more sensitive than men. However, mixed-sex dyads were more sensitive than same-sex dyads, and the sex of the other person had a greater effect on women than on men. A combination of leader expressiveness and subordinate perceptiveness are posited to underlie this role effect. Results support the subordinate role explanation for female superiority in interpersonal sensitivity. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of passion for teaching in intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of passion in teachers' burnout symptoms, work satisfaction, and perceptions of positive student classroom behaviors. The dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) proposes 2 types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. In previous studies, harmonious passion has been shown to lead to adaptive outcomes (e.g., well-being and satisfaction), whereas obsessive passion has been shown to lead to less adaptive outcomes (e.g., shame and negative affect). In this study, 494 teachers completed measures of passion for teaching and various outcomes associated with the teaching profession twice over a 3-month period. Results of a cross-lag model based on structural equation modeling revealed that increases in harmonious passion for teaching predicted increases in work satisfaction and decreases in burnout symptoms over time, while changes in obsessive passion were unrelated to such outcomes. In addition, increases in both harmonious and obsessive passion predicted increases in teacher-perceived adaptive student behaviors over time. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that passion for teaching is an important concept to consider in education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist competence and patient outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

This article examines whether the therapist's level of competence in conducting interpersonal psychotherapy of depression (IPT) is associated with patient improvement. Data from 35 depressed outpatients treated for up to 16 sessions as part of the IPT training program for the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program were used. Multiple regression analyses were performed to predict outcome from 4th-session ratings of therapist skill while controlling for important pretreatment patient characteristics including level of depression, social adjustment, and expectations of treatment outcome. The results showed that measures of therapist performance contributed significantly to the prediction of patient-rated change and change in the apathy associated with depression but not to measures of social adjustment at 16 weeks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of another person's response style on interpersonal behavior in depression.

30 depressed and 30 nondepressed undergraduate women, assigned to categories on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a short form of the MMPI, interacted with experimental accomplices who played various interpersonal roles during a laboratory procedure involving "cooperative problem-solving." The roles enacted were critical–competitive, supportive–cooperative, and helpless–dependent. Ss' conversational behaviors, written communications, and postencounter evaluations were analyzed as a function of the personal style portrayed by the accomplice. Results indicate that depressed Ss communicated relatively high levels of self-devaluation, sadness, helplessness, and general negative content to all accomplice roles. The critical–competitive role elicited greater extrapunitiveness among depressives than normal Ss and the helpless–dependent role elicited a greater number of negative self-statements among depressives than normal Ss. Findings are discussed in relation to interactional concepts of depressives' social functioning. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of interpersonal trust on work group performance.

This study explored 2 questions: Does the level of trust within a group affect group performance? If so, how does this relationship operate? An experimental method was used to examine 2 roles through which interpersonal trust could affect group performance: a main effect and a moderating effect. The data do not support the main effect that has dominated the literature on interpersonal trust. The data do support the moderating role: Trust seems to influence how motivation is converted into work group processes and performance. On the basis of these findings, it is suggested that trust may be best understood as a construct that influences group performance indirectly by channeling group members' energy toward reaching alternative goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of interpersonal harm in distinguishing regret from guilt.

Regret and guilt are emotions that are produced by negative outcomes for which one is responsible. Both emotions have received ample attention in the psychological literature; however, it is still unclear to what extent regret and guilt represent distinct psychological processes. We examined the extent to which the distinction between interpersonal harm (negative outcomes for others) and intrapersonal harm (negative outcomes for self) is crucial in differentiating these two emotions. In a series of 3 studies we found that guilt is predominantly felt in situations of interpersonal harm, whereas regret is felt in both situations of interpersonal harm and intrapersonal harm. Moreover, the results show that in situations of interpersonal harm the phenomenology of regret shares many, but not all features with the phenomenology of guilt. We conclude that the emotion processes resulting from interpersonal and intrapersonal harm are clearly distinct, but that regret as an emotion label is applied to both types of processes whereas the emotion label guilt is primarily used to refer to experiences of interpersonal harm. Implications for emotion research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital interaction and depression.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 99(4) of Journal of Abnormal Psychology (see record 2008-10491-001). In this article, the measures in Table 1 were incorrectly listed. The third and fourth measures ought to read "Wife DAS" and "Husband DAS," respectively.] In this article, patterns of marital interaction as a function of depression and marital satisfaction are examined. The purpose of the study was to separate dysfunctional marital interaction patterns that were unique to depression from those that were associated with marital distress. The presence or absence of a depressed wife was crossed with level of marital satisfaction (distressed or nondistressed) to produce four groups of subject couples. Couples in which the wife was depressed exhibited more depressive behavior than did nondepressed couples, but only during discussion of a high conflict (as opposed to neutral) topic. Sex&×&Depression Level&×&Marital Satisfaction interactions were found for aggressive behavior: Depressed women in nondistressed relationships exhibited behavior that was characteristic of maritally distressed couples (high rates of aggression). In contrast, the husbands of these women exhibited behavior that one would expect in happily married couples (low rates of aggression). We failed to replicate previous findings that depressive behavior served a coercive function, although distressed couples, regardless of depression status, exhibited all the usual signs of negative dysfunctional interaction. [An erratum for this article will appear in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1990 (Nov), Vol 99(4). The measures in Table 1 were incorrectly listed in the original article.] (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interpersonal structure of family interaction settings: Parent–adolescent relations in dyads and triads.

Observed parental interactive patterns in the presence (a triadic setting) and in the absence (a dyadic setting) of the spouse in 44 families with 16 female and 28 male early adolescents (approximately 13 yrs old). Findings indicate that in accordance with hypotheses, the presence of the father enhanced the quality of mother–son relations, whereas the presence of the mother reduced the quality of father–son relations. The presence of the spouse influenced the extent to which parents treated girls and boys differently: Mothers differentiated more between girls and boys in the presence of the spouse, whereas fathers differentiated more between girls and boys in the absence of the spouse. Relative to the dyad, parental role differentiation increased in the triad but only in families of boys. In demonstrating interdependencies among family relationships and the responsivity of parental behaviors to the interpersonal structure of interaction settings, the results support a systems model of family processes. Implications for the study of family relations and sex typing at early adolescence are discussed. (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)