Psychodynamic formulation, consensual response method, and interpersonal problems.

We describe a new method for aggregating psychodynamic formulations of independent clinicians. 15 patients (10 female and 5 male, aged 23–41) were interviewed before they began brief dynamic psychotherapy. Different panels of 8 formulators (drawn from a pool of 72 psychodynamic clinicians with 10–38 years of clinical experience) observed each videotaped interview and wrote individual formulations. The text of each formulation was divided into thought-units, and thought-units that occurred 3 or more times were combined into a final consensual formulation. (One case was formulated twice to demonstrate the replicability of the method). Other clinical raters then read each consensual formulation and judged, for a list of interpersonal problems, whether each problem was apt to be distressing for that patient. The raters were very successful in predicting which problems were later discussed in treatment. Predictions were best for formulations with a high proportion of interpersonal content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Welcoming them home: Supporting service members and their families in navigating the tasks of reintegration.

To date, more than 1.3 million service members have served in the Global War on Terrorism. These men and women and their families face a range of stressful situations and must navigate many important tasks after a deployment. This article outlines four of the tasks of reintegration: redefining roles, expectations, and division of labor; managing strong emotions; abandoning emotional constriction and creating intimacy in relationships; and creating shared meaning. For each task, potential challenges are discussed and suggestions for how psychologists can support families are described. In addition, potential red flags and indicators that more intensive services may be warranted are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How many do you see? The use of nonspoken representations in first-grade mathematics lessons.

Not all relevant instructional information comes in the form of spoken words. In the present study, the authors examine multiple modalities of nonspoken forms of representation—specifically gestures, pictures, objects, and writing—used by 3 teachers in 3 yrs of 1st-grade math lessons. Teachers frequently used visually based modalities of representation and tended to produce combinations of representational forms rather than isolated representations. There were individual differences in their preference for representation types. Teachers used representations to accompany important spoken terms and to respond to student confusion. With nonspoken representations, teachers conveyed information critical to the explanation of mathematical concepts. Students must attend to the visual as well as vocal means of expressing information to gain access to all of the information presented in mathematics lessons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapeutic alliance: Early indicators, course, and outcome.

Investigated therapeutic alliance (TA) for 32 outpatients (aged 20–57 yrs) in psychotherapy. Ss completed the SCL-90 (Revised) prior to and following 14–71 (median 29) psychotherapy sessions. Sessions were videotaped; a 15-min segment of each session was rated on the Therapeutic Alliance Rating Scale of C. R. Marmar et al (1985). Findings supported hypotheses that (1) Ss' positive and negative contributions to the TA in the 1st session would predict the maintenance of the TA throughout treatment and (2) among Ss who achieve significant change, positive contributions to the TA would be greater in the later phases of therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

7-nitroindazole attenuates 6-hydroxydopamine-induced spatial learning deficits and dopamine neuron loss in a presymptomatic animal model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons (>50%) in the substantia nigra (SN) precedes most of the overt motor symptoms, making early diagnosis and treatment interventions difficult. Because PD has been associated with free radicals generated by nitric oxide, this study tested whether treatments of 7-nitroindazole (7NI), a nitric-oxide-synthase inhibitor, could reduce cognitive deficits that often emerge before overt motor symptoms in a presymptomatic rat model of PD. Rats were given intraperitoneal injections of 50 mg/kg 7NI (or vehicle) just before receiving bilateral, intrastriatal injections of the DA-toxin, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The rats were then given a battery of motor tasks, and their learning ability was assessed using a spatial reversal task in a water-T maze. Results indicate that 7NI treatments attenuate 6-OHDA-induced spatial learning deficits and protect against DA cell loss in the SN, suggesting that 7NI may have potential as an early, presymptomatic pharmacotherapy for PD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial predictors of supervisor-, peer-, subordinate-, and service-provider-targeted aggression.

The authors investigate whether known person predictors (trait anger, trait aggression) and situational predictors (perceived interpersonal mistreatment, perceived organizational sanctions against aggression) of supervisor-targeted aggression also predict employee's aggression toward other workplace targets, namely peers, subordinates, and customers' aggression toward service providers. The authors also investigate the moderating impact of situational factors on the relationship between person factors and aggression. Participants (N = 308) were asked whether they had a conflict with their supervisor, a subordinate, a work peer, and/or a service provider in the past 6 months. Different patterns of main and interaction effects emerged across the 4 targets, suggesting the importance of accounting for the target of aggression in workplace aggression research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of cross-training on team effectiveness.

The authors examined the role of cross-training in developing shared team-interaction mental models, coordination, and performance in a 2-experiment study using computer simulation methodology (for Experiment 1, N=45 teams; for Experiment 2, N=49 teams). Similar findings emerged across the 2 experiments. First, cross-training enhanced the development of shared team-interaction models. Second, coordination mediated the relationship between shared mental models and team performance. However, there was some inconsistency in the findings concerning the depth of cross-training necessary for improving shared mental models. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of different levels of cross-training on team effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of peripheral vision in the directional control of rapid aiming movements.

This study addresses the question of whether peripheral vision is involved in the control of hand trajectory direction during an aiming task performed at high speed. Ten adult subjects were required to aim at targets in various positions by making a punching movement with their hand. The experimental conditions were varied so that different parts of hand trajectory could be seen in the peripheral field. Two movement times were applied: