Men's adherence to restrictive emotionality, a traditional masculine norm, has frequently been linked to higher rates of psychological distress and other negative mental health outcomes. Masculinity researchers have recently begun to study how the effects associated with restrictive emotionality might be related to how men regulate their emotions. Limited findings suggest that restrictive emotionality may be related to non-acceptance of emotion. However, these studies have not examined how acceptance affects the relationship between restrictive emotionality and distress. Further, no published studies have attempted to manipulate levels of men's emotional acceptance in service of reducing restrictive emotionality and distress. The current study tested whether a brief psychoeducational intervention could promote acceptance in men and thus reduce their restrictive emotionality and distress. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition teaching emotional acceptance, or a control condition teaching time management skills. Both conditions consisted of audio recordings that described how these approaches benefit coping with stressful situations, as well as prompts asking participants to write about how this information could relate to their lives. The study also investigated baseline interrelationships between restrictive emotionality, fear of emotion, emotional acceptance, and distress using pretest self-report data. Moderation analyses were conducted to determine whether emotional acceptance might serve as a buffer against the effects of restrictive emotionality on psychological distress. Self-report measures at pretest and at one-week follow-up assessed acceptance, fear of emotion, restrictive emotionality, emotional non-acceptance, and distress. Performance-based measures, including a semantic decision task and a scrambled sentences test, were also used to assess for differences by condition. Contrary to hypotheses, no effect of condition was evident in analyses of self-report or performance-based measures. Self-report data demonstrated a main effect of time, such that distress, emotional non-acceptance, and fear of emotion decreased across conditions from pretest to follow up, while acceptance increased. Restrictive emotionality scores remained unchanged. As predicted, significant intercorrelations were found among fear of emotion, emotional non-acceptance, distress, and emotional acceptance with the exception of restrictive emotionality, which was associated only with greater distress. Finally, the hypothesis that emotional acceptance would moderate the relationship between restrictive emotionality and psychological distress was not supported. / text

<p>In Sweden we come in contact with the English language almost daily; in television shows, radio commercials and at work. English is also mandatory in the Swedish curriculum; therefore it is important that the students learn as much as possible in school, to be able to use English in their daily life. Teachers use different methods to help students acquire the tools needed to learn English, or any other subject for that matter. One method is oral feedback, which is used to immediately encourage students or correct them when making an error. My aim in this study is therefore to investigate if students find oral feedback in the classroom valuable and if not, how they would like it to be changed. To investigate this I handed out a questionnaire to five classes. The questions were divided up into three categories: if the students had noticed oral feedback being given to them, what their experiences of oral feedback were and how they would like the feedback to be delivered. I also made observations and recorded three classes. The results of this investigation showed that the students were positive to oral feedback in the classroom. Most of the students had noticed oral feedback being given to them, and the teachers had mostly corrected the students’ grammar and pronunciation. These were also the areas where the students felt they had developed the most from oral feedback. In the questionnaire the students pointed out that they wanted the feedback to be delivered privately and that the teachers have to be careful how they give the feedback, they have to always remember to give positive feedback as well as corrective feedback.</p>

<p><strong>Sammanfattning</strong></p><p>Implanterbar defibrillator (ICD) har visat sig förlänga överlevanden hos patienter med livshotande hjärtklappningar. Andelen bärare av implanterbara defibrillatorer förväntas att öka. Flera studier har redan beskrivit de drabbades livssituation och livskvalitet. Trots detta behövs det flera kvalitativa studier angående ICD-bärares erfarenheter i vardagen. Fenomenet att vara bärare av en implanterbar defibrillator beskrivs i föreliggande examensarbete utifrån en fenomenologisk forskningsansats och dess reflekterande livsvärldsperspektiv. Datainsamlingen utgjordes av nio djupintervjuer. Syftet var att beskriva innebörden av att vara bärare av en implanterbar defibrillator. Resultatet, fenomenets generella struktur, beskriver ett tvetydigt accepterande av en trygghet och otrygghet i livssituationen. Den aktiva och oförutsägbara kroppen är utsatt för något unikt, en tvetydig livlina. Fenomenets generella struktur belyses via fem konstituenter; <em>det goda och onda tillslaget, känslan av stöd i omgivning, kunskap - en säkerhet i vardagen, den aktiva och oförutsägbara kroppen samt en utsatt kropp</em>. Slutsatsen ses som ett accepterande av en tvetydig livlina. Att acceptera livlinan framkom i resultatet som ett självklart val.</p><p> </p> / <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) has shown to prolong survival in patients with life threatening tachyarrythmias. The number of implantable cardioverter defibrillators is expected to increase. Several studies have already described ICD-recipents life-situation and quality of life. However, additional qualitative studies concerning ICD-recipients everyday experiences are required. The phenomenon of living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator is described in this paper from a phenomenological approach and its reflecting lifeworld perspective. The data collection was made out of nine in depth interviews. The purpose was to describe the meaning of living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The result, the phenomenon’s general structure, describes an ambiguous acceptance of a security and insecurity in the life-situation. The active and unpredictable body is exposed to something unique, an ambiguous lifeline. The phenomenon’s general structure is highlighted through five constituents; <em>the good and bad shock, the experience of support in those around, knowledge - a safety in the every day life, the active and unpredictable body and the exposed body.</em> The conclusion is seen as an acceptance of an ambiguous lifeline. To accept the lifeline appeared from the result as the obvious choice.</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the relationships among health locus of control, health beliefs and family planning behavior among Middle Eastern women living temporarily in the United States. A correlational descriptive design was used. A convenience sample of 80 Middle Eastern women were chosen as representatives for this study from the University of Arizona Family Housing, Tucson Islamic Center, Saudi Arabian Student Club, and the University of Arizona International Student Center. Four instruments were utilized to collect data: (1) Health Locus of Control Scale, (2) Modified Health Belief Instrument, (3) Demographic/Preferences Data Tool, and (4) Family Planning Survey. Data analysis included use of descriptive statistics to summarize the differences between the two groups (adequate and inadequate contraceptive users) on each set of health belief variables, health locus of control variables and demographic/preferences variables. Significant findings on the health belief and health locus of control instruments, separately and together was followed by stepwise discriminant analysis to identify the variables on which the groups differ and the nature of the dimensions on which they differ. The study findings indicated that adequate contraceptive users perceived the seriousness of pregnancy and benefits of contraception, while inadequate contraceptive users perceived barriers of contraception. On the other hand adequate contraceptive users had self-control over health, belief in provider control over health, had less general health threat, and more health value than inadequate contraceptive users. Four variables in the health belief and health locus of control scales were included in a discriminant function analysis. This indicated that general health, self-control over health, barriers of contraception and seriousness of pregnancy variables fully differentiated the two groups.

This study (1) developed and tested the Socially Supportive Activity Inventory (SSAI) to assess the quantity and quality of socially supportive activities that institutionalized elders receive, and (2) tested the predicted relationships among the variables proposed in the hypothesized causal model, socially supportive activities, self-transcendence, and depression in institutionalized elders. For pilot testing psychometric properties of the SSAI, the content validity was 0.96. Test-retest reliability from a sample of 10 participants yielded stability coefficients of 0.76-1.00, indicating the SSAI is a highly relevant and reliable culturally-based instrument. In the main study, a total of 196 participants were recruited from eight elder care institutions. The results showed an elder's expectation of filial responsibility did not have a moderating effect on the willingness to be/remain institutionalized and on perceived stress. An elder's acceptance of institutionalization was significantly related to perceived stress and indirectly affected depression. The mediator effect of self-transcendence on the relationship between perceived stress and depression was supported. The participation of elderly residents in socially supportive activities demonstrated a moderating effect on the strength of a negative relationship between perceived stress and self-transcendence. In the modified model, an elder's willingness to remain institutionalized, perceived stress, and self-transcendence were significant predictors of depression, accounting for 54.7% of variance. Self-transcendence was the best predictor of depression. These findings contribute to an awareness of importance of culture factors as potential stressors. These findings also help to explain how the psychosocial mechanism of participation in socially supportive activities and the perception of self-transcendence act on depressed elders.

Although humanoid robots are being designed to assist people in various tasks, there remain gaps in our understanding of the perceptions that humanoid faces evoke in the user. Understanding user perceptions would help design robots that are better suited for the target user group. Younger and older adults’ preferences for robot appearance were assessed out of three levels of human-likeness. In general, people perceived a mixed human-robot appearance less favorably compared to highly human and highly robotic appearances. Additionally the nature of task also influenced people’s overall perceptions of robots. Robots were most positively evaluated for assistance with chores and less positively for personal care and decision-making. Moreover, task and robot humanness had an interactive effect on people’s likability, trust, and perceived usefulness toward robots. Age-related differences in preferences of robot humanness were also observed. Older adults showed a higher inclination toward human-looking appearance of robots whereas younger adults’ preferences were more distributed across the levels of humanness. An appearance with mixed human-robot features was more likely to be rejected by older adults than by younger adults, and the difference was most striking for a decision-making task. Besides the humanness of the robot face, perceptions of robot appearances were also influenced by factors such as robot gender, specific facial features/aesthetics, expressiveness, perceived personality, and perceived capability. Future studies should measure the relative weight of these different factors in the formation of perceptions, both at a global level and at a task-specific level.

Šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe atskleidžiama ofertos ir akcepto, kaip asmens valios išraiškos aktų, teisinė prigimtis. Kadangi teisės doktrinoje ir teismų praktikoje oferta ir akceptas yra prilyginami vienašaliams sandoriams, darbe oferta ir akceptas yra analizuojami sandorių ir vienos iš jų rūšies, t. y. vienašalių sandorių, atžvilgiu. Pirmajame darbo skyriuje analizuojama asmens valia ir jos išraiška bei prieinama išvados, jog bendrąja prasme, nevertinant ofertos ir akcepto teisinės prigimties, oferta ir akceptas yra laikytini sąmoninga į konkretų tikslą nukreipta asmens valios išraiška. Be to, yra prieinama išvados, jog sandoriais yra tikslingiau laikyti ne asmens veiksmus, tačiau asmens valios išraišką, kuria yra siekiama sukurti, pakeisti arba panaikinti civilines teises ir pareigas. Antrajame ir trečiajame darbo skyriuose yra tiriama ir analizuojama ofertos ir akcepto samprata, šiems asmens valios išraiškos aktam būdingos savybės bei jų veikimo specifika. Kartu pastarieji aspektai yra vertinami sandoriams būdingų savybių kontekste, o padarytų išvadų pagrindu formuojama pozicija dėl teisinės ofertos ir akcepto prigimties. Atlikto tyrimo pagrindu darbe iškelta hipotezė, remiantis kuria oferta ir akceptas nelaikytini vienašaliais sandoriais, pasitvirtino. Savo teisine prigimtimi oferta ir akceptas – tai išskirtinai su sutarties sudarymu susiję asmens valios išraiškos aktai, tarp jų šalių sukuriantys procedūrinius teisinius santykius, ir savo prigimtimi esantys... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The research object of this paper is the legal nature offer and acceptance, as an expression of will of a person. Since the legal doctrine and judicial practice treat offer and acceptance as an unilateral transaction, offer and acceptance are analyzed with regard to the transactions and one of their kind – unilateral transactions. The first chapter analyses the person's will and its expression, and concludes that in the common sense, regardless of the legal nature of the offer and acceptance, offer and acceptance are to be regarded as a conscious expression of the will aimed at a specific legal consequence. Furthermore, it is concluded that it is not appropriate to treat the transaction as an action of a person. Contrarily transaction should be regarded as the expression of the will, intended to create, modify or repeal civil rights and obligations. The second and third sections analyze the concept of offer and acceptance, their individual characteristics and functional performance. At the same time the latter aspects are assessed with the characteristics inherent to the transactions. On the basis of the analysis made conclusions are used to form position regarding the legal nature of the offer and acceptance. The hypothesis of the master thesis regarding which the offer and acceptance can not be considered as a unilateral transaction, has been confirmed. By its legal nature, the offer and acceptance are unique will expression acts coherent with the contract formation... [to full text]

Elite freestyle snowboarders often expose themselves to large risks while performing their sport. A natural response to risk is fear, and it is the aim of this study to explore how elite freestyle snowboarders experience and cope with emotions of fear in conjunction with performing their sport. When examining these mechanisms, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) will be used as the theoretical framework. The aim is to try to determine if the riders accept or avoid situations, thoughts and emotions of fear. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven elite freestyle snowboarders (six men and one woman). The content of the interviews where processed with theory driven thematic analysis and inductive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed eight themes related to the athletes’ experience of fear: (1) Sources of fear, (2) Fear inducing events and situations, (3) Physiological responses, (4) Cognitive changes, (5) Action tendencies, (6) Fear appraisal, (7) Fear and risk and (8) Fear as a problem. In the analysis of the participants’ coping strategies for fear two themes emerged: Coping strategies not related to ACT and ACT-related coping strategies. It can be concluded from this study that elite freestyle snowboarders at times experience fear when exposed to high risk of injury, and can interpret this experience both as a negative and positive for well-being and performance. Participants use a range of coping strategies for fear; some which are in line with traditional sport psychology with an avoidance approach. Despite no previous ACT training, some participants have developed an accepting approach to relate to fear. The complexity of ACT as a theoretical framework is also demonstrated in this study due to the difficulties in categorizing the distinction between processes and orientations of strategies.

It is widely accepted in the literature that adverse experiences in childhood, such as abuse and emotional invalidation, pose a major risk factor for the development of psychopathology later in life. What is less known, however, is what processes mediate these associations. This study investigated whether psychological inflexibility – that is, cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance - play a role in mediating these relationships. Although abuse and experiential avoidance have featured prominently in the literature, emotional invalidation and cognitive fusion have been comparatively neglected. 518 adults currently experiencing self-reported psychological distress were recruited from online mental health support forums. They completed questionnaires measuring experiences of abuse and maternal/paternal emotional invalidation in childhood and current levels of cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance and psychopathology in an online survey. Given the interpersonal nature of the childhood experiences, and the impact these may have on attachment relationships, participants were also asked to complete a measure of adult attachment. Regression and path analyses indicated that whilst childhood abuse had a direct impact on adult psychopathology, experiences of maternal and paternal emotional invalidation had indirect relationships with psychopathology via cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance. In terms of predicting current levels of psychopathology, cognitive fusion made the most significant contribution, both directly, and indirectly via experiential avoidance. No reliable predictive relationships were observed between adult attachment and any other variable. The results add novel findings to the literature regarding the role of childhood emotional invalidation and cognitive fusion in the development and/or maintenance of distress. They suggest that clinical interventions aimed at cognitive defusion may be of particular benefit to people currently experiencing psychological distress and, perhaps, those with a history of emotional invalidation. However, the cross-sectional nature of this study limits the causal conclusions that can be made and future research should consider the use of longitudinal designs to extend these findings.

Background: In recent years Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has gained increasing status as a promising approach to treating chronic pain physical functioning and psychological well-being. The basic premise of ACT as applied to chronic pain is that while pain hurts, it is the struggle with pain that causes suffering. This approach aims to restore effective and adaptive functioning for an individual within a context of continuing pain so that the individual can live a more vital and meaningful life. There is a growing empirical support for the effectiveness of ACT however research has relied on self-reported quantitative outcomes, focused on addressing changes in pain intensity and the physical and psychological impact of chronic pain. There appears to be a gap in the literature on the exploration of the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain from the patient’s perspective. Aim: This study sought to explore the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain within an outpatient NHS hospital setting. Furthermore the study sought to explore the modulating factors influencing clients learning and understanding of the construct of acceptance from the perspective of the participants. Additionally, the experience of attending a group based ACT intervention was explored. Methodology: A qualitative methodology was chosen for the project. The study used a purposive sample of twelve participants, who had all attended the Luton & Dunstable Hospital ACT 8 week outpatient programme for chronic pain. The participants were interviewed through the use of a semi structured interviews, and the transcripts were transcribed and then analysed using Thematic Analysis. Identified themes were further organised using the tool of Thematic Network Analysis. Results: Three global themes emerged from the analysis of the data. The first global theme encompassed the participant’s pre-programme expectations and this theme highlighted the participant’s feelings of hope and hopelessness prior to attending the programme. The second global theme demonstrated the on-going process of living with chronic pain and highlighted the benefits and barriers to adopting and ACT based approach to chronic pain. Finally the third global theme addressed the experience of a group based intervention and included the positive and negative aspects of this experience for the participants. Clinical Implications & Conclusion: Based on the results of this study a number of clinical implications were highlighted in relation to the future development of ACT programmes for chronic pain. These included suggestions in relation to engaging participants in such programmes. Notably, timing issues, validation of physical symptoms, and consideration of the potential barriers to acceptance and understanding of the benefits of adopting and ACT group based pain management approach were discussed.