A study explored the extent to which 142 undergraduate students' willingness and perceived capacity to engage in self-directed learning, and ability to think critically, were explained by psychological type. Results indicate extroverted intuition is a strong predictor for self-directed learning; psychological type did not predict critical…

A survey of 1,060 male and 305 female soldiers examined associations of gender-related personality attributes with a history of child maltreatment. Childhood abuse was associated with the presence of negative gender-related attributes; childhood neglect was associated with absence of positive gender-related attributes; childhood sexual abuse was…

New brain research shows that music improves our brain development and even enhances skills in other subjects such as reading and math. Music enhances creativity and promotes social development, personality adjustment, and self-worth. Music making provides the most extensive exercise for brain cells and their synaptic interconnections. (12…

Uses data from the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study to examine relations among scales assessing health-related quality of life (HQL) and well being (WB). Correlations between HQL and WB scales were moderate. Results suggest that HQL is distinct from the older construct of well being. Gerontologists should readily adopt health-related…

Explores life satisfaction and the factors that influence it with very old people (N=105). Specifically, information about life events, personality, and social contact were examined. Results show that health and an emotionally stable personality were, independently of other factors, the most important factors for life satisfaction among the very…

Recounts the author's own experience writing about deeply painful experiences in her own life, and the gift of healing this journey offered. Argues that such writing takes a special kind of courage, and that these books (a volume of poetry about sexual abuse, and the other a novel about a troubled family) hold out a promise of hope and healing.…

Testing with a battery of naturalistic stories found that the 24 subjects with autism were impaired (compared to normal and mentally disabled controls) at providing context-appropriate mental state explanations for the story characters' nonliteral utterances. Even those autistic subjects who performed well on standard Theory of Mind tasks showed…

Forty-five children and adolescents had skin conductance recorded during a presentation of tones and a reaction time test and were assessed for extraversion. Found that extraversion was negatively correlated with skin conductance response magnitudes to all stimuli--somewhat more strongly for reaction-time stimuli--and with reaction time. (HTH)

Discusses Carl Rogers' definitions of congruence, and identifies four specific requirements for the concept and practice of therapeutic congruence. Examines the interface between congruence and the other necessary and sufficient conditions of change, drawing on examples from practice. (JPS)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) validity scales were compared for 20 nonclinical participants, 18 subjects asked to fake injury, 18 head injury patients not seeking compensation, and 30 compensation-seeking head injury patients. Results suggest that MMPI-2 overreporting scales are sensitive to complaint fabrication and…

Analysis suggests pharmacotherapy is superior to cognitive-behavior therapy in the treatment of severely depressed outpatients in the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP). This finding is neither robust across TDCRP sites nor consistent with findings from other studies. Argues that…

Addresses a few of the most important issues raised by N. S. Jacobson and S. D. Hollon and by D. F. Klein about the findings of the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP). Presents conclusions regarding these issues. Makes recommendations for new areas of investigation using the TDCRP…

Psychometric issues pertinent to the application of an item-response-theory-based person-fit (response aberrancy) detection statistic in the personality measurement domain were explored using Monte Carlo methods. Recommendations are made about proper implementation of person-fit statistics in personality measurement. (SLD)

A survey on beliefs about the changeability of conditions was completed by 102 undergraduates, who then participated in an experiment in which they responded to a hypothetical letter from a potential employer. Differences were found between those who had a performance-judgment (belief in fixed traits) and a learning orientation (belief in…

Adolescents faced with frequent school transitions may be vulnerable to a decline in academic achievement and poor participation in school activities, yet these difficulties are not always predictive with children of military personnel. School experiences and transition of 6,382 children of military personnel were reviewed. Findings suggest that…