Supervision of psychology trainees in field placements.

Describes some supervision and systems factors that may produce stress for the professional psychology trainee in a part-time field placement outside the training institution. Stress in the supervisor–supervisee relationship can arise from differences between the supervisor and supervisee in theoretical orientation, style of supervision and learning, and perception of the basis of their relationship, as well as from personality differences. Training institutions and service agencies have different goals and roles that can place the supervisor and the supervisee in conflict. The stress can be reduced as the supervisor, who is a field placement agency employee, acts in accordance with training institution goals and as the trainee can act as a junior staff member of the field placement agency. It is suggested that the student who is aware of some of the difficulties that can arise in a supervisor–supervisee relationship and who understands the stresses inherent in the different goals and roles of a field-placement agency and a training institution will be able to avoid some trouble. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the Nagle attitude scale.

Nagle's scale to measure attitude toward supervisor assumed a relationship between an attitude toward the supervisor and a perception of how he behaves. This assumption was rejected by Brayfield and Crockett (1955). Evidence is now presented in support of the assumption and in rebuttal to Brayfield and Crockett. A special scale to measure attitudes toward supervisors was constructed specifically to avoid items referring to overt behavior. The correlation between the 2 scales for 74 research engineering employees was .786, or .835 when corrected for attenuation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction of job autonomy and conflict with supervisor in China and the United States: A qualitative and quantitative comparison.

We examined employees' conflict with their supervisors in cross-cultural work settings. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 332 and 302 university employees in the United States and China, respectively. First, the qualitative data revealed that 54% versus 42% of supervisor conflicts were attributable to low job control in the United States and China, respectively. The quantitative data indicated that job autonomy was negatively related to supervisor conflict in the United States but not in China. Second, both quantitative and qualitative data showed that Chinese employees had more supervisor conflict than their U.S. counterparts. Third, both type of data suggested that supervisor conflict was more strongly related to job strains in China than in the United States. Finally, job autonomy played different roles in these two countries. It buffered supervisor conflict—job strain relations in the United States but exaggerated such relations in China. Therefore, our study provided a possible explanation to the inconsistent findings regarding the buffering effect of job autonomy on job stressors. Employees' cultural background may complicate the process. The qualitative data largely supported the quantitative findings and provided detailed information on employees' job stress experience in the cross-cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactional structure of the supervision interview.

Five supervisors audiotaped Sessions 3, 6, and 9 of their supervision interviews with each of their assigned trainees (N?=?19). A 20-min segment of each of the resulting interviews was coded by trained raters using an adapted version of A. Blumberg's (1970) system for analyzing supervisor–teacher interaction. A quadratic assignment paradigm was used to determine whether the probability that particular behaviors would be emitted by either the supervisor or the trainee, given the behavior emitted previously by the other member of the dyad, was greater or less than the unconditional probability of these particular behaviors being emitted. Results indicate that certain repetitive patterns of verbal behavior occurred in the supervisory interview and that a sequential analysis can effectively describe these interactions. The verbal coding scheme used appeared conceptually relevant to the supervision process. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male and female sexual behavior potential of male rats prenatally exposed to the influence of alcohol, stress, or both factors.

Adult sexual behaviors were characterized in male rats prenatally exposed to ethanol, stress, or ethanol combined with stress; 60% to 75% of each group exhibited female-typical lordosis. A substantial proportion of males subjected to alcohol (44%) or to alcohol with stress (54%) failed to ejaculate. The adult genitalia and testicular size appeared normal in all groups. Either alcohol or stress can suppress fetal plasma testosterone. Thus, exposing pregnant dams to alcohol, particularly in association with stress, may alter the hormonal milieu of their male fetuses sufficiently to block full masculinization and defeminization of sexually dimorphic copulatory behavior potentials, but not anatomy. It appears that certain pharmacological and stressful factors can interact during fetal ontogeny to influence the process of sexual behavior differentiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of differences in subordinate and supervisor age on attitudes and performance.

In a study of the influence of differences in employee age and the age of the employee's immediate supervisor, an age-difference variable was created and used to test 4 competing sets of predictions for performance and attitudinal outcomes within a sample of 292 high school teachers. Analyses revealed that employees who were older than their supervisors (1) reported better working relations with their supervisors, (2) evaluated their supervisors more favorably, and (3) received ratings from their supervisors that were not less favorable than other employees. The results suggest that bias does not necessarily operate against employees who are older than their supervisors and that a relational approach that is based on attribute similarity–dissimilarity offers an additional source of systematic variance that can aid in explaining individual responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervision in relationship: Resolving the teach-treat controversy in psychoanalytic supervision.

Considers whether the effective supervisor must at times address supervisee conflicts and relationship problems that interfere with role functioning. Such a supervisory stance may move beyond teaching into "treating" the supervisee. Explicit acknowledgment that the supervisor is a participant-observer with anxieties and conflicts, rather than an objective expert, is argued to create a new context for supervision. Within this relational context, the teach–treat boundary becomes less problematic. An illustrative vignette is offered, and ideas toward a theory that legitimizes countertransference focus in supervision are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Key factors involved in engaging significant others in the treatment of Vietnam veterans with PTSD.

In an effort to be responsive to the often complicated, multilayered family issues of people living with posttraumatic stress disorder, many well-intentioned therapists create a variety of family-based services--only to be discouraged when participation is very low. In the current project, 10 Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder who were active in a stress recovery program and their live-in female partners completed separate semistructured interviews. Interviews explored each couple's perceptions about family participation in mental health treatment, including potential benefits and barriers. Findings revealed 9 key themes that elucidate many of the important issues in family engagement. The authors make 7 recommendations about how clinicians can overcome some of the possible obstacles to involving families in care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television and the teacher.

"Television is a marvelous electronic device but it has not yet become an educational instrument." "In spite of all that may be said against it, television has a peculiar capacity for intimacy." "It may become the arm of teaching, but not the brain. Teaching and learning are human processes, not electronic processes." "Television teaching is a team job." Studio teacher and classroom teacher function together as a teaching team; curriculum planning and studio production must go hand in hand. TV can provide better in-service teacher training; through TV the teaching supervisor or training director can visit the class room. "Right now educational television needs to have some creative imagination applied to it. The chi squares can come laterp" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of supervisor and supervisee degree level and gender on the supervisory relationship.

86 graduate counseling students and 92 supervisors rated their relationships 3 times during a semester. At the semester's end, supervisees decribed the perceived frequency of performance of supervisor behaviors. Supervisors and supervisees differed in their perceptions of the relationship and how it developed. Supervisees, in contrast to supervisors, saw improvement in their relationships over time. Male supervisees and supervisors both rated their relationships as better than females. Gender matching affected supervisees' perceptions of their relationships but not supervisors' perceptions. Semester-end ratings showed that supervisees discriminated between the quality of the relationship, which was affected by gender matching, supervisor gender, and supervisor behavior, and supervisor competence, which was affected only by supervisor behavior. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex roles and power relationships in supervision.

Discusses the role of the supervisor based on gender issues. Issues in supervision of practitioners with a feminist perspective are explored, as well as how supervisors can assist the practitioner who has managerial aspirations. The role of supervision in dealing with stress and gender is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subordinate satisfaction with male and female managers: Role of perceived supervisory influence.

103 22–35 yr old (38 male and 49 female) semiskilled French-speaking Canadian workers read about 3 critical incidents in the company in which either a male or female supervisor had high or low influence in solving a problem of his/her subordinates. Satisfaction with the supervisor was rated on a 6-point scale. Results show that the degree of influence had a significant impact on S satisfaction, but gender-based variables did not. It is suggested that supervisory gender is a proxy variable that may mask more salient organizationally relevant parameters. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive and reactivity to power stresses.

Conducted an industrial simulation experiment with 80 college males to determine the influence of the power motive and power stresses on activation as measured via the Activation–Deactivation Adjective Check List and R. F. Bales's (1970) interaction category "shows tension." Need for power (n Power) was assessed by means of the TAT. Ss scoring among the top and bottom thirds of those taking the test acted as "supervisor" in the industrial simulation by directing the work of a work crew (which was actually fictitious) in the next room. Comments from members of the supposed work crew of high-school students were play-acted tape recordings. All work output was preprogrammed. A group stress condition presented the supervisor with worker comments that suggested group concern about performance. Supervisors exhibited roughly similar activation scores in response to the nonstress condition, regardless of n-Power scores, but supervisors high in n Power showed greater activation in response to group stress than did those low in n Power. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sharing wisdom: Ethnic minority supervisor perspectives.

We offer this special issue in an effort to fill the gap in the literature regarding ethnic minority supervisor processes. We dedicate this issue to the ethnic minority psychologist pioneers who have brought tremendous life experience to their work as supervisors, who can reflect on their strategies, lessons learned, You will find three types of articles in this issue. The narratives speak to the personal journeys of psychologists and how their stories inform the practice of supervision. The theoretical offerings highlight the need to think creatively and with an integrative mind when applying extant literature to supervision involving supervisors of color. Finally, one qualitative research article demonstrates that although there are more people of color supervisors in the field, there is still a need to educate them on cultural competency in supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NF-κB regulates prenatal stress-induced cognitive impairment in offspring rats.

The study was designed to investigate whether nuclear factor of kappa B (NF-κB) plays regulating role in prenatal stress-induced cognitive impairment and oxidative damage in offspring rats. The authors used a rat model to study plasma levels of corticosterone and oxidative DNA damage (8-OH-dG), protein expression of P65/p50 NF-κB, and cognitive function in female and male offspring rats in middle pregnant stage and later pregnant stage. Prenatal stress affected the capability of learning and memory in the offspring, especially in later stage stressed female offspring. The levels of corticosterone and 8-OH-dG were enhanced in response to stress. Both middle and later stage stresses induced a significant decrease in P65 expression and a significant increase in P50 expression in female offspring. In addition, later stage stress induced a significant decrease in P50 expression in male offspring. These results suggest that NF-κB complex may be acting in a positive regulatory fashion in prenatal stress-induced cognitive impairment and that oxidative DNA damage may exacerbate the activation of NF-κB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment processes in the supervisory relationship: An exploratory investigation.

How do relational characteristics of clinical trainees and supervisors influence the supervisory relationship? Following suggestions that attachment theory might shed light on this question, the authors asked doctoral-level psychology interns (N = 87) to complete an online survey about attachment processes and supervision experiences. Findings indicated that perceived supervisor attachment style was significantly associated with supervision task and bond. Regardless of their own attachment style, participants reporting secure supervisors rated the supervisory bond higher than participants reporting insecure supervisors. Results of path analyses suggested that parental indifference, compulsive self-reliance, and perceived supervisor attachment style may be particularly important in shaping the supervisory alliance. Implications for training and supervision are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterizing nicotine withdrawal in pregnant cigarette smokers.

Maternal smoking is a leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy outcomes and infant morbidity and mortality. Whereas pregnancy has been thought of as a "window of opportunity" when women are more motivated to change health behaviors such as smoking, only 20% of pregnant women quit smoking upon learning they are pregnant and remain abstinent at the end of the pregnancy. Greater understanding of possible obstacles to smoking during pregnancy, such as nicotine withdrawal, is needed. The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal have been well characterized in nonpregnant smokers, but there has been only 1 report conducted during pregnancy, and that was a retrospective study. The aim of the present study was to characterize nicotine withdrawal and craving in pregnant cigarette smokers. These data were collected as part of prospective clinical trials assessing the efficacy of voucher-based incentives to promote abstinence from cigarette smoking during pregnancy and postpartum. The authors examined results from the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (J. R. Hughes & D. K. Hatsukami, 1998) in 27 abstainers (reported no or very low levels of smoking, which was confirmed biochemically) and 21 smokers (smoked at >80% of their baseline smoking level) during the first 5 days of a cessation attempt. Abstainers reported more impatience, anger, and difficulty concentrating than did smokers. The results also suggest that pregnant smokers generally may have elevated baseline levels of withdrawal, which need to be considered in the design and analysis of future studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of observer ratings of the big five personality factors.

Examined the validity of observer (supervisor, coworker, and customer) ratings and self-ratings of personality measures. Results based on a sample of 105 sales representatives supported the 2 hypotheses tested. First, supervisor, coworker, and customer ratings of the 2 job-relevant personality dimensions—conscientiousness and extraversion—were valid predictors of performance ratings, and the magnitude of the validities was at least as large as for self-ratings. Second, supervisor, coworker, and customer ratings accounted for significant variance in the criterion measure beyond self-ratings alone for the relevant dimensions. Overall, the results suggest that validities of personality measures based on self-assessments alone may underestimate the true validity of personality constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)