This study proposal seeks to examine the relationship between actual birth order, psychological birth order and adjustment in adolescence from post-divorced homes. Both actual birth and psychological orders are included in this particular study to investigate correlations, commonalities, and trends associated with each order and its affect on adjustment. The targeted group consists of freshmen attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Participants who identify their parents as currently divorced from each other within the past five years will be eligible to complete the research process. Participants will be administered both the Campbell-White Psychological Birth Inventory and Adult Behavior Checklist online to determine their psychological birth order and level of adjustment following their parents’ divorce. Actual birth order will be ascertained through a demographic questionnaire. This study proposal seeks to investigate relationships between birth order and external and internal adjustment to identify information that will be beneficial to mental health counselors.

Previous investigators have found evidence to support the hypothesis that the genders show differential reactions to emotional and sexual jealousy. Evolutionary psychology provides heuristic support by noting that the genders have faced divergent selection pressures in the past that jealousy could adaptively address. While these studies have given sound proof in this regard, criticism has arisen because of the dearth of support for the actual neurological process of jealousy. This study was designed to record subjects experiencing two separate conditions designed to elicit emotional and sexual jealousy. The electrophysiological results did not demonstrate evidence of domain-specificity of jealousy, and produced mixed results by showing gender differences but in directions not envisioned by a priori predictions.

This study examines the efficacy of a recently developed methodology of spatial-specific neurofeedback training in the cognitive division of the anterior cingulate gyrus and describes its relationship with cortical regions known to be involved in executive functions and attentional processes. This study was conducted with eight non-clinical students, four male and four female, with a mean age of twenty-two. Exclusion criteria consisted of prior head trauma, neurological or psychiatric disorders, medications and recent drug or alcohol use. Learning occurred in the ACcd at significant levels over sessions and in the anterior regions that receive projections from the AC. There appears to be a multi-dimensional executive circuit that increases in the same frequency in apparent synchrony with the AC and it may be possible to activate this circuit by training one cortical region using LNFB.

Insufficient response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR), or pleasure obtained through interaction with the environment that increases the likelihood of rewarding behavior, has been hypothesized to directly contribute to the onset and persistence of depression symptoms (Lewinsohn, 1974; Lewinsohn, Sullivan, & Grosscup, 1980). The present study examined the utility of RCPR in predicting the presence and severity of depression symptoms relative to other well-established risk factors that included gender, stressful life events, traumatic life events, childhood maltreatment, and cognitive vulnerability. Based on bivariate and hierarchical regression analyses, all variables except gender were significantly associated with the severity of depression symptoms, with RCPR most strongly related to depression symptom severity. The incremental validity of RCPR in predicting depression symptom severity also was established, with RCPR accounting for an additional 12% of the variance when added to a regression equation. Implications for the conceptualization and treatment of depression are discussed.

According to P-E fit theory from a vocational psychology perspective (see Holland, 1985), individuals differ in their attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors, which in turn affect their career choices and their satisfaction with those choices. These differences, collectively termed "personality," influence both work and life outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and career satisfaction in a sample of sales professionals. An archival dataset was examined that included the "Big Five" and other work-related, narrow personality traits, as well as career satisfaction variables. All traits were significantly and positively related to career satisfaction except for Image Management, which was significantly, but negatively related to career satisfaction. The highest correlations were found between the measure of career satisfaction and emotional stability, optimism, and work drive. Implications for career planning and development, and personnel recruitment, selection, and training are discussed, along with future research recommendations.

Limited research has explored relationships between specific Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) and depression, with equivocal findings. This study examined the incremental validity of EMS domains in accounting for depression severity among college undergraduates (N = 82) after controlling for gender, cognitive vulnerability, rumination, experiential avoidance, social problem-solving ability, and trait anxiety. Based on the Beck Depression Inventory—II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), self-reported depression among students ranged from 0-47 (no depression to severely depressed). Based on hierarchical regression analyses, gender, rumination, and EMS Domains I (Disconnection and Rejection) and II (Impaired Autonomy and Performance) significantly predicted self-reported depression severity, with the latter two variables accounting for the most variance. Post hoc analyses indicated the Abandonment/Instability, Social Isolation/Alienation, Defectiveness/Shame (Domain I) and Failure, Dependence/Incompetence, and Vulnerability to Harm schemas (Domain II) were most predictive of depression severity. Results strongly support the incremental validity of EMS Domains in that these domains accounted for significant additive variance in predicting depression severity (Domain I: 7%, Domain II: 8%, combined Domains I and II: 10%). Implications for the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of depression are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, School of Social Work, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-241). Also available in electronic format on the World Wide Web. Access restricted to users affiliated with the licensed institutions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, School of Social Work, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-161). Also available in electronic format on the World Wide Web. Access restricted to users affiliated with the licensed institutions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, School of Social Work, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-138). Also available in electronic format on the World Wide Web. Access restricted to users affiliated with the licensed institutions.

Ausgehend von einer Kritik der vorherrschenden attributionstheoretischen Forschungspraxis werden drei methodologische Probleme der Erfassung von Kausalattributionen als laienpsychologische Erklärungskonzepte diskutiert: — Die Angemessenheit experimenteller Methoden zur Aktualisierung der motivationalen Voraussetzungen von Attributionsprozessen — Die Untersuchung der personalen und situativen Auslösebedingungen von Kausalinterpretationen — Die Erfassung und Systematisierung der Inhaltskategorien, die zur Kausalerklärung sozialer Ereignisse herangezogen werden. Auf der Basis weniger bisher vorliegender Untersuchungen werden theoretische und empirische Lösungsansätze zusammengetragen, die zu einer methodologischen Neuorientierung der Attributionsforschung im Sinne einer stärkeren Annäherung an die alltagspsychologische Erfahrungswelt führen können. / Starting from a critical evaluation of current attributional methods, three methodological problems are discussed, concerning the analysis of causal attributions as lay people's ordinary explanations: — The adequacy of experimental methods for creating the motivational basis of attributional search — The exploration of necessary and sufficient conditions for instigating attribution processes — The systematic analysis of causal categories and causal distinctions used by naive psychologists to explain social events. On the basis of the scarce evidence available, theoretical and empirical starting points are suggested for a re-orientation of attributional methodology in terms of a closer approximation of scientific research to lay people's reality.