This paper considers the meaning, reference and clinical relevance of Winnicott's concept of "riddance". Taking its starting point from the infant's behaviour in letting go the spatula, as described in his paper, "The observation of infants in a set situation", it explores his explanation of riddance activity in the context of…

This study focused on the predictive contributions of infants' temperamental negative emotionality (proneness to fear, anger), sex, maternal responsivity, and their interaction on toddlers' empathy-related responding to distress in 3 contexts. Ninety-eight infants and their mothers participated in a longitudinal study. When the infants were 10…

Behavioral couples' therapy has a long history of success with couples and is an empirically validated treatment for marital discord (Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures, 1995). However, only about 50% of all couples in treatment experience long-term change (2 years). One of the founders of behavioral couples'…

A qualitative investigation examined aspirations of youth experiencing significant educational, legal, or emotional difficulty. A research panel of five professional school counselors analyzed transcripts from interviews of 15 youth having multiple risk factors. Data revealed that, despite considerable obstacles, these young people typically held…

This study compared the long-term predictive validity of person-centered personality types and variable-centered personality dimensions assessed between ages 4-6 years in a population sample of 154 children. Results indicated that the predictive power of both approaches was remarkably robust between age 17 and 22, and even increased in the case of…

A theoretical model linking achievement goals to discrete achievement emotions is proposed. The model posits relations between the goals of the trichotomous achievement goal framework and 8 commonly experienced achievement emotions organized in a 2 (activity/outcome focus) x 2 (positive/negative valence) taxonomy. Two prospective studies tested…

Sixteen married couples volunteered to participate in a 6-week empathy training program. Ten of the 16 couples observed and made comments about their taped interaction at the end of the program. Individuals watched the tape of their own interaction at the follow-up and were asked several qualitative questions, including what they noticed about…

In three studies, we investigated to what extent a geometrical representation in a psychological space succeeds in predicting typicality in animal, natural food and artifact concepts and whether contrast categories contribute to the prediction. In Study 1, we compared the predictive value of a family resemblance-based prototype model with a…

The present study examined changes in primary and secondary appraisal, and coping strategies utilized in the final weeks leading to dissertation submission. Sixty volunteer Sports Studies dissertation students (male: n = 29; female: n = 31) completed an adapted Cognitive Appraisal of Health Scale (CAHS: Kessler, 1998), and Brief COPE (Carver,…

Many researchers have speculated over the nature of the divorce recovery process. Is the process similar to Kubler-Ross's stages of grief or does divorce recovery follow a unique process? This paper examines the current body of empirical research in an attempt to answer these questions. From the 91 sources analyzed, it was discovered that most of…

Grief is a natural response to loss. Bereavement is a universal biopsychosocial phenomenon, yet each individual has unique ways of expressing their loss. This recognition raises the question as to when the range of symptoms are typical and require no therapeutic intervention and when psychotherapeutic intervention is indicated. At present no…

The importance of ascertaining and effectively treating psychological problems in children is difficult to overstate. Since compliance is particularly important, the psychological factors associated with caretakers' compliance regarding children's psychotherapy were examined here. Data were collected on the 85 primary caretakers of 85 children who…

This book assembles and synthesizes some of the latest available information, research findings, and informed opinions regarding the parameters of homicide by youths and concerning the nature of young killers themselves. It provides a framework for understanding youths who kill, for moving forward with treatment, and for reducing violence in…

What differentiates nonviolent individuals from violent individuals? This paper addresses the question by linking current psychological literature on human values with literature on nonviolence. Recent contributions to values theory have begun to establish a universal structure of human values. The theoretical case is made that nonviolent…

Compulsivity and obsessiveness are vaguely defined terms which include a broad range of behaviors and cognitions that have been elusive to quantify. To introduce the 22-item Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (OCS) and to perform preliminary validation studies, 114 (46 male, 68 female) college students and 57 counseling clients completed the OCS on two…