Relapse as a nonlinear dynamic system: Application to patients with alcohol use disorders.

Understanding the relapse process is one of the most important issues in addictive behaviors research. To date, most studies have taken a linear approach toward predicting relapse based on risk factors. Nonlinear dynamical systems theory can be used to describe processes that are not adequately modeled using a linear approach. In particular, the authors propose that catastrophe theory, a subset of nonlinear dynamical systems theory, can be used to describe the relapse process in addictive behaviors. Two small prospective studies using 6-month follow-ups of patients with alcohol use disorders (inpatient, n=51; outpatient, n=43) illustrate how cusp catastrophe theory may be used to predict relapse. Results from these preliminary studies indicate that a cusp catastrophe model has more predictive utility than traditional linear models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transactive memory systems.

The literature on transactive memory (TM) continues to grow in several interrelated scholarly fields. Although this increased interest in TM systems has been beneficial, it has also led to a plurality and confusing interpretation of TM theory. To identify gaps and ambiguities in TM literature, this article provides a comprehensive overview of TM theory, distinguishes TM systems from related cognitive concepts, and reviews theory extensions and research in dyads, groups, and teams. Suggested areas for future research and theory extensions are face-to-face communication influencing TM systems, social interaction processes related to expert inferences, task context and levels of analysis, and extension of research to work teams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time scales in motor learning and development.

A theoretical framework based on the concepts and tools of nonlinear dynamical systems is advanced to account for both the persistent and transitory changes traditionally shown for the learning and development of motor skills. The multiple time scales of change in task outcome over time are interpreted as originating from the system's trajectory on an evolving attractor landscape. Different bifurcations between attractor organizations and transient phenomena can lead to exponential, power law, or S-shaped learning curves. This unified dynamical account of the functions and time scales in motor learning and development offers several new hypotheses for future research on the nature of change in learning theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rethinking intractable conflict: The perspective of dynamical systems.

Intractable conflicts are demoralizing. Beyond destabilizing the families, communities, or international regions in which they occur, they tend to perpetuate the very conditions of misery and hate that contributed to them in the first place. Although the common factors and processes associated with intractable conflicts have been identified through research, they represent an embarrassment of riches for theory construction. Thus, the current task in this area is integrating these diverse factors into an account that provides a coherent perspective yet allows for prediction and a basis for conflict resolution in specific conflict settings. We suggest that the perspective of dynamical systems provides such an account. This article outlines the key concepts and hypotheses associated with this approach. It is organized around a set of basic questions concerning intractable conflict for which the dynamical perspective offers fresh insight and testable propositions. The questions and answers are intended to provide readers with basic concepts and principles of complexity and dynamical systems that are useful for rethinking the nature of intractable conflict and the means by which such conflict can be transformed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of attachment and systems-centered group psychotherapy.

In this article, links are made between 2 theoretical paradigms, 1 that primarily describes the dynamics of dyads (attachment theory) and another that primarily although not exclusively describes the dynamics of groups (the theory of living human systems). The ideas presented are based on research into empathic attunement in adult psychotherapy, clinical material from a group psychotherapy session, and research in the field of attachment. It is suggested that systems-centered group psychotherapy provides the environment for changing members' attachment status through its attention to emotional resonance, authentic affect, and empathic attunement. These ideas are presented with a view toward encouraging research into the links between attachment theory, affect attunement, and group psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chaos theory, sensitive dependence, and the logistic equation.

Comments on S. Barton's (see record 1994-27839-001) discussion of nonlinear dynamical systems theory (chaos theory) and argues that it is premature to claim that chaos theory offers a new paradigm for psychology. For most psychologists, who lack the mathematical sophistication to fully apply chaos theory to problems in psychology, this theory will only offer some new conceptual insights. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theories of pain and congenital universal insensitivity to pain.

Reviews the literature on congenital insensitivity to pain with attention on the clinical entity called congenital universal insensitivity to pain (CUIP). Specificity, pattern, and gate control theories of pain are considered with reference to their ability to subsume research findings on CUIP. These data seem best explained by gate control theory which has the additional advantage of providing a processing model for pain closer to the models being developed in other perceptual systems. Guidelines for research on CUIP based on implications derived from gate control theory are suggested. (French summary) (31/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

阵列动力系统广义同步的新理论及计算机模拟

提出了两个定理,据此可构造通过线性变换达到广义同步的阵列动力系统,在定理的基础上,引入了两个达到广义同步的阵列动力系统,数值模拟结果表明,这两个系统分别展示了复杂极限环广义同步和混沌广义同步。     

Antidepressants and biochemical theories of depression.

Reviews recent biochemical and neurophysiological findings on depression. Early interest in amine uptake systems, notably serotonin and norepinephrine, which dominated the literature for many years, has now shifted to research on more complex amine receptor systems and the importance of amine receptor changes in depression. It is concluded that although much important work has been done, a singular or comprehensive theory of depression from the biological perspective has not yet been developed. There may be multiple biochemical and psychological pathways to depression. (101 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamical evolutionary psychology: Individual decision rules and emergent social norms.

A new theory integrating evolutionary and dynamical approaches is proposed. Following evolutionary models, psychological mechanisms are conceived as conditional decision rules designed to address fundamental problems confronted by human ancestors, with qualitatively different decision rules serving different problem domains and individual differences in decision rules as a function of adaptive and random variation. Following dynamical models, decision mechanisms within individuals are assumed to unfold in dynamic interplay with decision mechanisms of others in social networks. Decision mechanisms in different domains have different dynamic outcomes and lead to different sociospatial geometries. Three series of simulations examining trade-offs in cooperation and mating decisions illustrate how individual decision mechanisms and group dynamics mutually constrain one another, and offer insights about gene-culture interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A theoretical approach to studying work empowerment in nursing: a review of studies testing Kanter's theory of structural power in organizations

Although work empowerment is a common theme in the current nursing systems literature, few systematic programs of research have studies the phenomenon from an explicitly theoretical framework. The author summarizes the results of a series of studies in a program of research designed to test Rosabeth Moss Kanter's Structural Theory of Organizational Behavior in the nursing population. Future directions for theory and research are proposed.     

Toward a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching.

A review of the literature on coaching reveals that very little empirical research has focused on the executive coaching methods used by consultants with managers and leaders in organizations. Within the framework of a 17-dimensional model of systems and psychodynamic theory, the author provides an overview of a conceptual approach to coaching activities that incorporates 5 identifiable components plus an emphasis on goal setting, intervention methods, and hypothesized factors in negative consulting outcomes. A definition of executive coaching is offered as a way of summarizing the literature and differentiating these consulting activities from others for the purpose of improving conceptual clarity and encouraging specific research on the concepts, methods, and outcomes of such activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The referential dynamics of cognition and action.

Referential behavior theory (RBT), a general dynamical approach to psychological and related systems that operate through a control or referencing process, is introduced. A review of existing evidence shows that this approach can apply to a variety of human and animal systems and tasks, whether the framing language is that of homeostasis, error correction, coupled biological oscillators, motor control, adaptive change, cognitive goal-setting, evaluation and refinement, or neural network learning. Thus, RBT provides a path for reconciliation of dynamical and information-processing accounts of action and cognition. RBT generates a class of mathematical equations, one of which, the discrete control equation (DCE), forms the basis for more detailed investigation. The primary focus here is on the application of the DCE to the temporal structure of regular human movement. Given certain conditions, the equation produces various standard (and new, more general) forms of the circle map class that governs relative phase in motor coordination and, hence, generates well-documented nonlinear "dynamical" motor phenomena such as behavioral attractors, phase transitions, critical slowing, and so on. Under certain other conditions, the DCE produces the linear stochastic timing models… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Etiology, personality and alcoholism.

Personality is a necessary component of an adequate theory of problem drinking/alcoholism. The role of personality in the etiology of alcoholism is examined in terms of prediction, explanation, and causal inference. Issues are reviewed that support multivariate conceptions of alcohol abuse, and the necessity of a multivariate theoretical framework for personality research is emphasized. In the development of theory, it is important to recognize that alcohol abuse is both unique and consistent with other phenomena. Despite conceptual and methodological inadequacies, the literature supports the relevance, in alcohol problems, of dependency, defensive denial, depression, sex-role identity confusion, inadequate impulse control, and subjective dissatisfaction. Reciprocal interaction systems of personality, environment, and behavior are needed for an understanding of the temporally dynamic process of alcohol abuse. (French abstract) (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of reading.

Reviews the book, The psychology of reading by Insup Taylor and M. Martin Taylor (1983). This book is organized in three parts. The first, on writing systems, is an extremely comprehensive review of a number of Oriental writing systems in addition to the English system. The second part presents the basic experimental literature and outlines the authors' theory (the bilateral cooperative model). In the third section, on learning to read, there are chapters on early reading, reading instruction and reading disabilities. My overall impression is that the book makes a positive contribution to the literature on reading. An enormous amount of literature is reviewed, making the book valuable from that standpoint alone. Many readers won't agree with all of the authors' conclusions regarding this literature; however, they do make for interesting reading. In addition, I welcome the attempt the authors have made to tie together research on reading and research on brain functioning. Work of this sort can only benefit researchers in both areas. All and all, while the book is probably not a good selection for an undergraduate text, its breadth should make it appealing to a wide selection of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The community response to rape: victims' experiences with the legal, medical, and mental health systems

This research examined how the legal, medical, and mental health systems respond to the needs of rape victims. A national random sample of rape victim advocates (N = 168) participated in a phone interview that assessed the resources available to victims in their communities, as well as the specific experiences of the most recent rape victim with which they had completed work. Results from hierarchical and iterative cluster analysis revealed three patterns in victims' experiences with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. One group of victims had relatively positive experiences with all three systems, a second group had beneficial outcomes with only the medical systems, and the final group had difficult encounters with all three systems. Multinominal logistic regression was then used to evaluate an ecological model predicting cluster membership. Community-level factors as well as features of the assault and characteristics of the victims predicted unique variance in victims' outcomes with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. These findings provide empirical support for a basic tenet of ecological theory: environmental structures and practices influence individual outcomes. Implications for ecological theory and interventions to improve the community response to rape victims' needs are discussed.     

Transformations in cognitive science: Implications and issues posed.

Cognitive science currently offers models of cognition that depart substantively from those of information processing models and classical artificial intelligence, while it embraces methods of inquiry that include case-based, ethnographic, and philosophical methods. To illustrate, five overlapping approaches that constitute departures from classical representational cognitive science are briefly discussed in this paper: dynamical cognition, situated cognition, embodied cognition, extended mind theory, and integrative cognition. Critical responses to these efforts from members of the self-proclaimed cognitive science orthodoxy are also summarized. The paper then discusses ethical and epistemological implications arising from the “new” cognitive science and from critical responses to it and considers the broader importance of this literature for theoretical and philosophical psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychobiological theory of temperament and character: Comment on Farmer and Goldberg (2008).

This article is a comment on an article by R. F. Farmer and Goldberg (see record 2008-12234-009). The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) is the third stage of development of a widely used multiscale personality inventory that began with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and then the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The author describes the third stage of the psychobiological theory of temperament and character; empirical tests of its predictions from genetics, neurobiology, psychosocial development, and clinical studies; and empirical findings that stimulated incremental changes in theory and test construction. Linear factor analysis is an inadequate method for evaluating the nonlinear and dynamical nature of the intrapsychic processes that influence human personality. Traits derived by factor analysis under the doubtful assumption of linearity are actually heterogeneous composites of rational and emotional processes that differ fundamentally in their underlying brain processes. The predictions of the psychobiological theory are strongly validated by extensive data from genetics, neurobiology, longitudinal studies of development, and clinical assessment. The distinction between temperament and character allows the TCI and TCI-R to outperform other popular personality inventories in distinguishing individuals with personality disorders from others and in describing the developmental path to well-being in terms of dynamical processes within the individual that are useful for both research and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A perspective on the history of process and outcome research in counseling psychology.

Traces the development of process and outcome research from before the foundation of counseling psychology in 1946 to the present time. First, theoretical contributions are focused on, with particular attention to the influence of C. Rogers's theory, behavior theory, psychoanalytic theory, systems theory, interpersonal theory, and social influence theory. Next, H. J. Eysenck's challenge to the efficacy of psychotherapy; the uniformity myth that process and outcome are similar across diverse clients, therapists, and contexts; and changes in research methods over the years are covered. The article concludes with recommendations for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)