1,720,974 research outputs found
The effectiveness of psychodramatic techniques: a meta-analysis
No full textQuestions concerning the scientific basis of the clinical application of psychodramatic techniques have been raised primarily because of the infrequency of research publications that validate the clinical observations. A meta-analysis conducted on the basis of 25 experimentally designed studies showed an overall effect size that points to a large size improvement effect similar to or better than that commonly reported for group psychotherapy in general. The techniques of role reversal and doubling emerged as the most effective interventions. Of the 4 techniques investigated, 3 were significantly different from each other. There was no difference between the techniques' effectiveness when used with clinical versus student populations or between their use in single versus multiple sessions. The meaning of the findings is discussed
Developing and validating the ‘composite measure of problem behaviors'
No full textClinicians frequently encounter problem behaviors such as self-harm, restrictive eating, binge eating, alcohol misuse, drug misuse, smoking, sexual promiscuity, internet addiction, excessive exercise, and aggression. Although these behaviors commonly co-occur, no scale exists to measure them concurrently. Based on data from two opportunity samples (N = 691 and N = 53), this study designed and validated a composite measure of the problem behaviors noted above. The Composite Measure of Problem Behaviors, developed using exploratory factor analysis, demonstrated good psychometric properties. Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis, using both the first (N = 691) and a third sample (N = 740), identified a common higher order factor that accounted for covariance between behaviors. Findings thus suggest that despite the formal dissimilarity of behaviors assessed, a common function may explain their covariatio
Ordering our world: the quest for traces of temporal organization in autobiographical memory
No full textAn experiment examined the idea, derived from the Self Memory System model (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000), that autobiographical events are sometimes tagged in memory with labels reflecting the life era in which an event occurred. The presence of such labels should affect the ease of judgments of the order in which life events occurred. Accordingly, 39 participants judged the order of two autobiographical events. Latency data consistently showed that between-era judgments were faster than within-era judgments, when the eras were defined in terms of either: (a) college versus high school, (b) academic quarter within year, or (c) academic year within school. The accuracy data similarly supported the presence of a between-era judgment effect for the college versus high school dichotomy
Comparing two perceived characteristics of autobiographical memory: Perceptions of memory detail and perceptions of accessibility
No full textFour samples of participants recalled autobiographical memories. While some evidence emerged from regression analyses suggesting that judgements of the amount of detail contained in each memory and judgements of the ease with which events could be recalled were partially independent, the analyses generally showed that these judgements were similarly predicted by various event characteristics (age, typicality, self-importance, emotional intensity at event occurrence, rehearsal types). Co-occurrence frequency data yielded similar conclusions, showing that while ease ratings and detail ratings occasionally diverged, they were more often consistent with each other. Finally, the data also suggested that events that prompted emotional ambivalence were not judged to be more easily recalled, or to contain more detail, than non-ambivalent events
Narcissism distorts the fading affect bias in autobiographical memory
No full textThe Fading Affect Bias (FAB) occurs when the affect associated with personal events fades differentially across time: Positive affect fades slower than negative affect. Three studies examined whether the magnitude of the FAB is moderated by narcissism. Results from Study 1 (diary method, N = 26) showed that low narcissism participants evidenced a large FAB, but high narcissism participants evidenced a reversed FAB. Results from Study 2 (retrospective recall method, N = 110) showed that low narcissism participants evinced a large FAB, and that the FAB diminished or dissipated as narcissism increased. Results from Study 3 (retrospective recall method, N = 83) showed that high narcissists evinced a FAB when they recalled achievement-themed autobiographical events, but evinced a reversed FAB when they recalled communal-themed events. These findings occurred independently of event rehearsal frequency. Results are discussed in terms of the idea that emotion regulation efforts may be disrupted in narcissists
Odyssey’s end: Lay conceptions of nostalgia reflect its original Homeric meaning
Get PDFNostalgia fulfills pivotal functions for individuals, but lacks an empirically-derived and comprehensive definition. We examined lay conceptions of nostalgia using a prototype approach. In Study 1, participants generated open-ended features of nostalgia, which were coded into categories. In Study 2, participants rated the centrality of these categories, which were subsequently classified as central (e.g., memories, relationships, happiness) or peripheral (e.g., daydreaming, regret, loneliness). Central (compared to peripheral) features were more often recalled and falsely recognized (Study 3), were classified more quickly (Study 4), were judged to reflect more nostalgia in a vignette (Study 5), better characterized participants’ own nostalgic (vs. ordinary) experiences (Study 6), and prompted higher levels of actual nostalgia and its intrapersonal benefits when used to trigger a personal memory, regardless of age (Study 7). These findings highlight that lay people view nostalgia as a self-relevant and social blended emotional and cognitive state, featuring a mixture of happiness and loss. The findings also aid understanding of nostalgia’s functions and identify new methods for future research
Self-concept clarity mediates the relation between stress and subjective well-being
No full textThree studies tested the extent to which self-concept clarity mediates the relation between different types of stressful life events and subjective well-being, independently of neuroticism. In Study 1 (N = 292), self-concept clarity fully mediated the relation between stress from various sources (e.g., work, social rejection) and subjective well-being. In Study 2 (N = 127), self-concept clarity partially mediated the relation between meaninglessness (i.e., perceptions of life as meaningless) and subjective well-being. In Study 3 (N = 78), self-concept clarity partially mediated the relation between self-discontinuity (i.e., perceptions of discontinuity between past and present self) and subjective well-being. Across studies, an alternative mediation model was unsupported. The findings provide an impetus for theoretical and empirical advancements in understanding how self-concept clarity may play a role in the impact of stress on subjective well-being
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