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We studied the influence of haptics on visual perception of three-dimensional shape. Observers were shown pictures of an oblate spheroid in two different orientations. A gauge-figure task was used to measure their perception of the global shape. In the first two sessions only vision was used. The results showed that observers made large errors and interpreted the oblate spheroid as a sphere. They also misinterpreted the rotated oblate spheroid for a prolate spheroid. In two subsequent sessions observers were allowed to touch the stimulus while performing the task. The visual input remained unchanged: the observers were looking at the picture and could not see their hands. The results revealed that observers perceived a shape that was different from the vision-only sessions and closer to the veridical shape. Whereas, in general, vision is subject to ambiguities that arise from interpreting the retinal projection, our study shows that haptic input helps to disambiguate and reinterpret the visual input more veridically.

This article examines how perceiving concealment in close relationships influences marital well-being. It suggests that the perception of concealment from a partner signals separateness from one's partner and contributes to feelings of perceived partner exclusion. These feelings of exclusion, in turn, should negatively affect relational quality. These predictions are tested in a prospective study among 199 newlywed couples. Results suggest that perceiving concealment reduced marital adjustment and trust and increased conflict over time. Importantly, change in perceived partner exclusion mediated these effects. This article demonstrates that the perception of concealment (a) has deleterious effects on relational well-being in the long run and (b) is harmful in part because it elicits feelings of exclusion. © 2009 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Extending theory within the justice domain and work on the human alarm system, the current paper argues that the process by which justice judgments are formed may be influenced reliably by the activation of psychological systems that people use to detect and handle alarming situations. Building on this analysis, it is further proposed that if this line of reasoning is true then presenting alarm-related stimuli, such as exclamation points and flashing lights, to people should lead to more extreme judgments about subsequent justice-related events than not presenting these alarming stimuli. Findings collected using different experimental paradigms provide evidence supporting these predictions both inside and outside the psychology lab. Implications for the social psychology of justice and the human alarm system literature are discussed.

Successful aging is an important concept, and one that has been the subject of much research. During the last 15 years, the emphasis of this research has shifted from formulating criteria for successful aging to describing the processes involved in successful aging. The main purpose of the present article is to review psychological models of successful aging. The model of Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC-model) proves to be one of the leading models in this field. Although evidence about its value is accumulating, we argue that this model mainly focuses on how people react to losses and that proactive coping aimed at preventing potential threats to goals may also be a valuable strategy. We propose that proactive coping may be important for successful aging, since it results in a prolonged availability of resources for optimization and compensation processes and a delay in disengagement from important goals.

Most asynchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments can be characterized as functional environments because they focus on functional, task-specific support, often disregarding explicit support for the social (emotional) aspects of learning in groups which are acknowledged by many educational researchers to be essential for effective collaborative learning. In contrast, sociable CSCL environments emphasize the social (emotional) aspects of group learning. We define sociability as the extent to which a CSCL environment is perceived to be able to facilitate the emergence of a sound social space with attributes as trust and belonging, a strong sense of community, and good working relationships. Specific environmental characteristics, which we have designated social affordances, determine sociability. This explorative study deals with the construction and preliminary validation of a self-reporting (Dutch language) Sociability Scale for determining the perceived degree of sociability of CSCL environments. It is one-dimensional Scale consisting of 10 items and has an internal consistency of 0.92. It was further validated on the basis of a well-developed nomological network. The results of the explorative study are promising and show that the sociability scale has the potential to be useful as a measure for perceived sociability.

Although the co-occurrence between adolescent depression and delinquency has been well-studied, the nature of the longitudinal associations is not yet clear. To clarify this we examined whether personality type is a moderator in the longitudinal co-occurrence of depression and delinquency. A total of 338 young and middle adolescents completed questionnaires about depression, delinquency and personality in 3 yearly waves of the CONflict And Management Of RElationships (CONAMORE). We found that the stable overcontrollers showed the highest mean level on depression and that the stable undercontrollers showed the highest mean level on delinquency. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the longitudinal co-occurrence between depression and delinquency was best described by means of a stability model, in which personality type membership proved to be an important moderator. The three personality types differed significantly on the rank-order stability of both depression and delinquency. Copyright#2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: co-occurrence; depression; delinquency; person-centred approach; personality prototypes

Objectives: This article describes the development, content,feasibility andfirst results of a short educational program for preparing for aging, based on the process model of proactive coping [Aspinwall LG, Taylor SE. A stitch in time: self regulation and proactive coping. Psychol Bull 1997; 121: 417‐36]. The aim of the program is to increase proactive competencies and improve proactive orientations and behaviour. The program consists of four-weekly meetings with 8‐10 participants and is given by trainers of about the same age as the participants. Methods: Sixty-eight persons (M = 61.4 years) participated in the program. Feasibility included attendance, participants evaluations of the meetings and the applicability of the used techniques. Proactive coping was measured as proactive orientation, behaviour and competencies. Results: The program received positive evaluations, the attendance rate was very satisfying, and the applicability of the used techniques have been shown. Regarding the technique of mental simulation, improvements were suggested. We found gender differences concerning feasibility: women evaluated the program to be easier and reported to have profited more from mental simulation. Preliminary results of proximal outcome variables showed significant changes in proactive competencies, but no changes in proactive behaviour and proactive orientation. Conclusions: The educational program ‘‘In anticipation of the golden years’’ is a theoretical based minimal intervention which is highly feasible and effective in improving proactive competencies. # 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Troubleshooting in a practice situation requires two types of information, namely for reasoning about the problem-cause and for finding an adequate solution (declarative information) and for manipulating the environment (procedural information). It is hypothesized that presenting this information piece-by-piece during practice (i.e., presentation of declarative and procedural information separately) frees up working memory and facilitates learning. Moreover, this effect is augmented when both information types are presented just-in-time (i.e., declarative information before practice and procedural information during practice). This should yield highest test performance and instructional efficiency, which is defined as higher test performance combined with lower mental effort during practice. Eighty-five students (49 male, 36 female; M = 15.2 years, SD = .59) participated in a 2 · 2 factorial experiment with the factors timing of declarative information and timing of procedural information, both before or during practice. Transfer test scores and transfer efficiency scores support the first hypothesis; the second hypothesis was not supported.

In the Netherlands, about 20% of children do not have any contact with their non-resident parent after parental divorce. There are often many reasons underlying the broken contact, but one might well be the process of parental alienation, when the child denigrates and excludes the non-resident parent. This article presents the results of two studies conducted among divorce experts and divorced, non-resident parents. A total of 138 respondents co-operated in our studies. Of the respondents, 58% thought PAS either does not, or rarely occurs in the Netherlands, and 42% thought it does occur. The extent of parental alienation was classified as mild (33%) or moderate (9%). From our factor analysis, it became clear that Gardner's classification of eight separate symptoms of parental alienation was not evident in our research data. We were able to distinguish four separate aspects: two of them concerning alienation due to the resident parent and two concerning alienation due to the child. Our results underpin th...

Contains fulltext : 64085.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Background: Siblings may support each other, but also reveal fierce rivalry and mutual aggression. Supportive sibling relationships have been linked to the development of psychosocial competence of children. In the present longitudinal study, we will focus on the development of perceived support in sibling dyads and on the influence of sibling support and sibling problem behavior on psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. Method: In a three-wave longitudinal sample of 285 Dutch families with two adolescent children (11 - to 15-year-olds), these two siblings judged the support perceived from each other. In addition, they themselves and their parents judged their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. The relation of sibling support and sibling problem behavior with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors was examined while controlling for support from parents and friends and, over time, controlling for the autoregressive effects of problem behavior. Results: Support perceived from a sibling is mostly negatively related to externalizing problems; sibling problem behavior is strongly related to internalizing problems. Differential developmental trajectories of adolescents' adjustment are associated with siblings' support and problem behavior. Conclusion: The results indicate that adolescents' relationships with both older and younger siblings are characterized by modeling processes.

Distributed learning in groups is usually supported by computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Although these environments have the potential to facilitate working in groups, they often do not fulfill this potential because of their inability to provide a sound social space where social relationships exist and where a sense of cohesiveness and community is achieved. This article reports on the construction and validation of a self-reporting (Dutch-language) Social Space Scale. The raw Social Space Scale was launched in three different distance education courses from the Open Universiteit Nederland using two different computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Factor analysis revealed that the Social Space Scale has two interpretable factors which are identified as the Positive Group Behavior dimension and the Negative Group Behavior dimension. The raw Social Space Scale was refined thereby reducing the number of test items from 44 to 20; each dimension encompasses 10 items. The internal consistency was 81 for the total scale, 92 for the Positive Group Behavior dimension and 87 for the Negative Group Behavior dimension. A nomological network was used for further validation. The findings suggest that the Social Space Scale has potential to be useful as a measure for social space. However, it must be realized that this measure is a first step and further validation research is needed.

The effectiveness of group learning in asynchronous distributed learning groups depends on the social interaction that takes place. This social interaction affects both cognitive and socioemotional processes that take place during learning, group forming, establishment of group structures, and group dynamics. Though now known to be important, this aspect is often ignored, denied or forgotten by educators and researchers who tend to concentrate on cognitive processes and on-task contexts. This "one-sided" educational focus largely determines the set of requirements in the design of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments resulting in functional CSCL environments. In contrast, our research is aimed at the design and implementation of sociable CSCL environments which may increase the likelihood that a sound social space will emerge. We use a theoretical framework that is based upon an ecological approach to social interaction, centering on the concept of social affordances, the concept of the sociability of CSCL environments, and social presence theory. The hypothesis is that the higher the sociability, the more likely that social interaction will take place or will increase, and the more likely that this will result in an emerging sound social space. In the present research, the variables of interest are sociability, social space, and social presence. This study deals with the construction and validation of three instruments to determine sociability, social space, and social presence in (a)synchronous collaborating groups. The findings suggest that the instruments have potential to be useful as measures for the respective variables. However, it must be realized that these measures are "first steps."

Authenticity is an important element of new modes of assessment. The problem is that what authentic assessment really is, is unspecified. In this article, we first review the literature on authenticity of assessments, along with a five-dimensional framework for designing authentic assessments with professional practice as the starting point. Then, we present the results of a qualitative study to determine if the framework is complete, and what the relative importance of the five dimensions is in the perceptions of students and teachers of a vocational college for nursing. We discuss implications for the framework, along with important issues that need to be considered when designing authentic assessments.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the role of optimistic beliefs in adaptation processes of three chronic diseases different in controllability by self-care. It was expected that optimism towards the future would relate to adaptation independently of the controllability of disease. Optimism regarding one's coping ability should be beneficial in controllable diseases. Unrealistic optimism was expected to be beneficial in uncontrollable disease. DESIGN: The cross-sectional design involved 104 patients with type 1 diabetes, 95 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 98 patients with multiple sclerosis, recruited via their physician at the out-patient department of five hospitals. METHOD: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (LISREL) was employed to confirm a three-dimensional approach of optimism: outcome expectancies, efficacy expectancies and unrealistic thinking. Multi-sample analysis by path modelling was used to examine whether the relationship of the three optimistic beliefs with coping (CISS-21), depression and anxiety (HADS), and physical functioning (SF-36) differs with the controllability based on the self-care options of chronic disease. RESULTS: These show that when chronic disease must be controlled by self-care, physical health depends more strongly on positive efficacy expectancies. In contrast, when self-care options for controlling chronic disease are limited, physical health depends more strongly on positive unrealistic thinking and relates negatively to positive efficacy expectancies. The impact of the three optimistic beliefs on mental health is independent of the controllability by self-care. CONCLUSION: Optimistic beliefs are differently beneficial for physical health dependent on the controllability of chronic disease. Unrealistic beliefs are helpful when patients are confronted with moderately to largely uncontrollable disease where self-care options are limited, in contrast to positive efficacy expectancies that are helpful when patients deal with largely controllable disease where self-care is required.

This article focuses on the attitudinal component of patient-centredness. The literature reveals that the relationship between cure- and care-oriented attitudes remains to be clarified. The aim of this study is to gain further insight in the relationship between cure and care attitudes by questioning the bipolar unidimensional structure of the concept. By means of an empirical analysis among Belgian medical students, the cure versus care attitudes regarding the 'ideal physician' are investigated. Traits of the ideal physician are described in a bipolar rating scale reflecting cure-oriented versus care-oriented views of the medical profession. Subjects included 88 medical students of the Limburgs University Centre in Diepenbeek, Belgium. Results indicate that the Belgian sample is less care-oriented than the Dutch sample.Further, a factor-analysis reveals two components which correspond with the instrumental (cure) and the affective dimension (care) of the medical profession. The advantages of a two-dimensional framework as a basis for the development of courses aimed at attitude development in the curriculum of a medical school are discussed.

The stress-coping paradigm of Folkman and Lazarus (1984) was applied to investigate if the communicative reactions of the physician in a bad news transaction are related to the stressfulness of the situation. A standardized video bad news consultation was presented to 88 medical students. To examine their communicative reactions we selected 10 patient cues with different levels of expressed emotion to which the participants responded from the physician’s point of view. A strongly positive relationship between expressed emotion and perceived difficulty of the cues and a gender effect occurred, confirming that handling emotions is stressful for physicians. The reluctance of physicians to address the emotionally laden issues of the consultation can be understood as a lack of a frame of reference. The problem-solving strategies, which they apply in the instrumental domain of the consultation, are ineffective when dealing with psychosocial suffering.

The effects of variables derived from a work stress theory (the effort-reward imbalance theory) on the power in the high frequency (HF_HRV) band of heart rate (0.14-0.40 Hz) throughout a work day, were determined using multilevel analysis. Explanatory variables were analysed at two levels: at the lowest level (within-day level), the effects of positive mood, negative mood, demand, satisfaction, demand-satisfaction ratio, and time of day were assessed. At the highest level (the subject level), the effects of sleep quality, effort, reward, effort-reward imbalance, need for control, type of work (profession), negative affectivity, gender and smoking on HF_HRV were assessed. Need for control has a negative effect on HF_HRV after controlling for time of day effects, i.e. subjects with a high need for control have a lower vagal control of the heart. In the long run, these subjects may be considered to be at increased health risk, because they have less of the health protective effects of vagal tone. The interaction between effort-reward imbalance and time of day has a positive effect on HF_HRV, i.e, the cardiac vagal control of subjects with a high effort-reward imbalance increases as the day progresses. It is discussed that this probably reflects reduced effort allocation, ensuing from disengagement from the work demands. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

This study examines factors differentiating women and men who suffer from fatigue. It is based on diaries kept by Dutch citizens over a 21-day period between 1987–88. The majority of those with persistent fatigue complaints (PFs) were male, middle-aged, lower-educated and unemployed, and they had more psychological and psycho-social problems than the incidental fatigue sufferers (IFs). Factors differentiating the PFs from the IFs are not the same for both sexes. Moreover, on a number of socio-demographic variables PF men and women differed less from each other than IF men and women. Future research should focus on the gender-specificity of the factors that lead to the development of persistent fatigue.

The current methods for two-dimensional sociometric status classification into five categories are based on nominations. Recently, Maassen et al. (1996) showed that such a classification can also be achieved by means of rating-scales. Ratings have been known for some time to be more reliable than nominations, an important consideration in longitudinal research. We report an investigation among school pupils, who were assessed by their classmates by means of nominations at three moments, with an interval of one year between the measurements. The sample consisted of 157 children with a mean age of 7 years and 7 months at the third moment. We demonstrate how status passages assessed by means of nominations can be validated by an extra assessment with ratings. Particular attention is paid to passages from and into the category of rejected children.

Contains fulltext : 28728.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Previous research seems to support the assumption that students need instructional guidance to activate and correct their preconceptions. Such an instructional strategy is the CONTACT strategy, characterised by continuous, computer-assisted activation of the conceptions of individual learners. Our previous study showed that the CONTACT strategy was effective in promoting conceptual change in text processing (domain: physical geography) because students (fifth- and sixth-graders, primary education) constructed more correct conceptions. However, students mainly seemed to focus on the central concepts from the training texts, disregarding other information. Therefore, the strategy was adapted to solve this problem of selective attention and to increase its effectiveness. Subjects (74 fifth- and sixth-graders) were assigned to three instructional conditions (original CONTACT condition, revised CONTACT-2 condition and control condition NO ACTIVATION). A mixed between-within-subjects design was used with 2 between-subjects factors (instructional condition and students' familiarity with the central concepts from the 7 texts used). Dependent variables concerned quality of conceptions and learning performance. Students from the CONTACT-2 condition constructed better conceptions and achieved higher learning performance scores than students from the other two conditions. Moreover, the effectiveness of the CONTACT-2 strategy appeared not to depend on the degree of conceptual resemblance between the performance test questions and the central concepts from the texts and on the moment of testing. Additional research should shed some light on the instructional conditions required to teach students how they themselves can initiate and perform learning activities aimed at conceptual change.

ABSTRAC~ In this study, one particular form of nonverbal behavior--patient-directed gaze--was examined in relation to the general practitioner's performance in psychosocial care. Data were available from a random sample of 337 videotaped consultations and accompanying questionnaires from both general practitioner and patient. The relevance of general practitioners' gaze in psychosocial care was demonstrated in several ways: (1) general practitioners' gaze was associated with affective verbal behavior and with instrumental behavior on psychosocial topics; (2) general practitioners' gaze was related to patients' share Of talking and the number of health problems presented, especially as regards psychological and social health problems; (3) in consultations with a relatively high degree of patient-directed gaze, general practitioners were found to be more aware of patients' psychosocial history and were better at identifying patients suffering mental distress. Patient-directed gaze appears to be a useful technique, both for decoding people's mental problems and for showing interest in the patient's story. This may encourage the patient to talk about worries that would otherwise remain concealed. In medical education, nonverbal techniques should be taught as distinct from verbal communication strategies.

Résmné. La participation dans une enquête comme action raisonnée - Un paradigme comportemental pour la non-réponse d'enquête? La non-réponse d'enquête entame la valeur inférentielle des enquêtes par questionnaire. La non-réponse est d'ores et déjà un problème reconnu aux Etats-Unis et en Europe de l'Ouest. Pour lutter convenablement contre le problème de la non-réponse, une connaissance étendue des répondants et des non-répondants est nécessaire. Dans cet article, les auteurs décrivent une méthode pour réussir à collecter des informations aussi bien des répondants. que des non-répondants. La méthode a été développée et testée par Cialdini aux USA; nous démontrons qu'elle peut être employée avec succès aux Pays-Bas et que les résultats de Cialdini ont une validité transculturelle. D'autre part, nous démontrons que la décision de répondre ou ne pas répondre à un questionnaire d'enquête peut être partialement expliquée par la théorte de l'action raisonnée.

Objective: Several lines of research have shown that the confrontation with attractive food can trigger overeating, especially in restrained eaters. This effect may be driven by a hedonic orientation toward food which temporarily overrules the goal of dieting in the regulation of behavior. The present study was designed to provide an experimental demonstration of this effect in a naturalistic setting, and to show that reactivating the goal of dieting by a subtle prime in the environment can help restrained eaters to regulate their eating behavior in tempting situations. Design: In a local store where the smell of grilled chicken was present, we observed the number of free meat snacks customers sampled from a tray after they had been primed with the dieting goal or not. Main Outcome Measures: Number of snacks consumed. Results: Consistent with hypotheses, restrained eaters ate more than unrestrained eaters in the control condition. However, they reduced their eating behavior when primed with dieting, whereas this manipulation did not affect unrestrained eaters. Conclusion: This study shows that unobtrusively priming the goal of dieting can enhance self-regulation in tempting eating situations. These results are discussed in the context of recent advances in our understanding of nonconscious behavior regulation and their applications to health behavior.

Data from three studies were used to investigate whether the establishment of a no-smoking agreement is related to lower odds of adolescent smoking. The prevalence of a no-smoking agreement was first explored by using a national sample involving 4,501 Dutch adolescents. Second, data from a longitudinal study among 595 early adolescents and their parents were used to test whether establishing a no-smoking agreement prevents adolescents from smoking. Third, the authors tested among 856 early-and mid-adolescents and their parents, whether in addition to the establishment of a no-smoking agreement, the frequency and quality of communication on smoking issues had an effect on adolescent smoking. The findings do not support that establishing a no-smoking agreement is an effective deterrent with regard to adolescent smoking. Parents who want to prevent smoking might consider focusing their efforts on establishing a good quality of communication on smoking issues whereas parents who just talk a lot about smoking issues without considering the quality of their communication might do more harm than good.

Data from three studies were used to investigate whether the establishment of a no-smoking agreement is related to lower odds of adolescent smoking. The prevalence of a no-smoking agreement was first explored by using a national sample involving 4,501 Dutch adolescents. Second, data from a longitudinal study among 595 early adolescents and their parents were used to test whether establishing a no-smoking agreement prevents adolescents from smoking. Third, the authors tested among 856 early- and mid-adolescents and their parents, whether in addition to the establishment of a no-smoking agreement, the frequency and quality of communication on smoking issues had an effect on adolescent smoking. The findings do not support that establishing a no-smoking agreement is an effective deterrent with regard to adolescent smoking. Parents who want to prevent smoking might consider focusing their efforts on establishing a good quality of communication on smoking issues whereas parents who just talk a lot about smoking issues without considering the quality of their communication might do more harm than good.

Conflict is an inevitable feature of social relationships. When people interact, disagreements may arise. Especially in close relationships, people sometimes disagree. Although conflict might jeopardize relationships, conflict is not necessarily detrimental. The way conflicts are handled is important in determining whether conflicts are functional or dysfunctional. Moreover, the way conflicts are handled might reveal information about the nature of relationships and their developmental status. In the current dissertation, the role of conflict resolution in adolescents’ relationships with their parents and friends was investigated in four empirical studies. Data of 323 adolescents and their both parents –that participated in the longitudinal project called CONAMORE (CONflict And Management Of RElationships) – are used. In the first study, we demonstrated the importance of investigating combinations of conflict resolution styles by parents and adolescents. We found that adolescents who used an aggressive conflict resolution style with parents reported higher levels of delinquency, but only when their mothers also used this aggressive conflict resolution style or when their fathers withdrew from conflicts. In the second study, we showed that parents and adolescents change the way they handle conflicts with each other over time towards more positive conflict resolution and less negative conflict resolution, reflecting a realignment of these relationships towards greater egalitarianism. In addition, we found two types of parent-adolescent dyads, one characterized by positive conflict resolution and one characterized by negative conflict resolution by both parents and adolescents. These either positive or negative pathways of conflict resolution were maintained by both parents and adolescents. The third study examined whether transmission of conflict resolution styles from the marital relationship to the adolescent-parent relationship occurred and we indeed found that conflict resolution styles in the marital relationships predicted conflict resolution styles in the adolescent-parent relationship two years later. Finally, in our fourth study, we were able to investigate the daily dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution in adolescent relationships with parents and friends by means of a daily diary method. We demonstrated that perceived relationship satisfaction was highest in a particular relationship on days on which no conflict occurred, second highest on days on which constructive conflict occurred and lowest on days on which unconstructive conflict occurred. Moreover, we demonstrated that whereas unconstructively handled conflict with best friends was related to higher relationship satisfaction the next day, conflict with parents was not related to relationship satisfaction the next day.

Conflict is an inevitable feature of social relationships. When people interact, disagreements may arise. Especially in close relationships, people sometimes disagree. Although conflict might jeopardize relationships, conflict is not necessarily detrimental. The way conflicts are handled is important in determining whether conflicts are functional or dysfunctional. Moreover, the way conflicts are handled might reveal information about the nature of relationships and their developmental status. In the current dissertation, the role of conflict resolution in adolescents’ relationships with their parents and friends was investigated in four empirical studies. Data of 323 adolescents and their both parents –that participated in the longitudinal project called CONAMORE (CONflict And Management Of RElationships) – are used. In the first study, we demonstrated the importance of investigating combinations of conflict resolution styles by parents and adolescents. We found that adolescents who used an aggressive conflict resolution style with parents reported higher levels of delinquency, but only when their mothers also used this aggressive conflict resolution style or when their fathers withdrew from conflicts. In the second study, we showed that parents and adolescents change the way they handle conflicts with each other over time towards more positive conflict resolution and less negative conflict resolution, reflecting a realignment of these relationships towards greater egalitarianism. In addition, we found two types of parent-adolescent dyads, one characterized by positive conflict resolution and one characterized by negative conflict resolution by both parents and adolescents. These either positive or negative pathways of conflict resolution were maintained by both parents and adolescents. The third study examined whether transmission of conflict resolution styles from the marital relationship to the adolescent-parent relationship occurred and we indeed found that conflict resolution styles in the marital relationships predicted conflict resolution styles in the adolescent-parent relationship two years later. Finally, in our fourth study, we were able to investigate the daily dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution in adolescent relationships with parents and friends by means of a daily diary method. We demonstrated that perceived relationship satisfaction was highest in a particular relationship on days on which no conflict occurred, second highest on days on which constructive conflict occurred and lowest on days on which unconstructive conflict occurred. Moreover, we demonstrated that whereas unconstructively handled conflict with best friends was related to higher relationship satisfaction the next day, conflict with parents was not related to relationship satisfaction the next day.

When studying family relationships, researchers often are interested in relational phenomena at an individual level, such as whether an individual child thrives in a particular family context; relational phenomena at the dyadic level, such as whether the mother is more committed than the father to the relationship; and relational phenomena at the familial level, such as whether some families are more satisfied with their relationships than other families. These three levels of relational phenomena, that is, individuals, dyadic relationships, and groups have to be distinguished and are reciprocally related within the family system (Hinde, 1997; Laursen & Bukowski, 1997). However, their theoretical and methodological interdependence represents a challenge for empirical investigation. The family as a group includes the individual family members and relationships, but these parts combine in such a way that new structures emerge which have their own meaning and are more than a collection of its members and relationships and which may affect relationships and the relationship partners (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Both statistical methods and theoretical frameworks are needed that allow us to disentangle the three levels and the influence they exert on each other and to capture the truly social nature of family relationships.

Two studies examined self-regulatory success in dieting. Previous research has indicated that restrained eaters (i.e., chronic dieters) might fail in their attempts at weight control because the perception of attractive food cues triggers hedonic thoughts about food and inhibits their dieting goal. However, recent work suggests that in some dieters, temptation cues activate the relevant goal and thus facilitate self-regulation. The present work extends these findings by showing that self-regulatory success moderates the effect of food cues on restrained eaters such that food cues activate the dieting goal in successful restrained eaters and inhibit the dieting goal in unsuccessful restrained eaters. The specific time course of these effects was examined. Moreover, a correlational study revealed that only successful restrained eaters translate their dieting intentions into action. Results are discussed in the context of nonconscious self-regulation and the role of automatic processes in the link between intention and behavior.

Two classes of spatial relations can be distinguished in between and within object representations. Kosslyn [Kosslyn, S. M. (1987). Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres: A computational approach. Psychological Review, 94, 148–175] suggested that the right hemisphere (RH) is specialized for processing coordinate (metric) spatial information and the left hemisphere (LH) processes categorical (abstract) information more effectively. The present study examined the developmental pattern of spatial relation processing in 6–8-year old, 10–12-year old and adults. Using signal detection analyses we calculated sensitivity and bias scores for all age groups. The results indicated that older children and adults showed a greater response bias than younger children. Also, discrimination sensitivity for spatial relation changes clearly improved with age. For the oldest children (10–12-year old) and adults this improvement was accompanied by a RH specialization. In contrast with Kosslyn's claim, this RH advantage also applied to the processing of categorical spatial information. The results are discussed in terms of a right hemispheric specialization for spatial relation processing which matures with age.

When studying family relationships, researchers often are interested in relational phenomena at an individual level, such as whether an individual child thrives in a particular family context; relational phenomena at the dyadic level, such as whether the mother is more committed than the father to the relationship; and relational phenomena at the familial level, such as whether some families are more satisfied with their relationships than other families. These three levels of relational phenomena, that is, individuals, dyadic relationships, and groups have to be distinguished and are reciprocally related within the family system (Hinde, 1997; Laursen & Bukowski, 1997). However, their theoretical and methodological interdependence represents a challenge for empirical investigation. The family as a group includes the individual family members and relationships, but these parts combine in such a way that new structures emerge which have their own meaning and are more than a collection of its members and relationships and which may affect relationships and the relationship partners (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Both statistical methods and theoretical frameworks are needed that allow us to disentangle the three levels and the influence they exert on each other and to capture the truly social nature of family relationships.

The aim of the present studies was to examine the impact of food cues on restrained eaters’ attention for food. Previous research has shown that restrained eaters spontaneously activate hedonic thoughts in response to palatable food cues, and that such food cues also lead them to inhibit their dieting goal. We argue that as a consequence, restrained eaters’ selective attention will automatically be drawn towards hedonically relevant food items. Consistent with our expectations, the results of two studies revealed that restrained eaters, but not unrestrained eaters, displayed an attentional bias for hedonically rated food items when they had been pre-exposed to food cues. However, this attentional bias did not occur when restrained eaters were primed with the concept of dieting, thereby rendering the regulation of eating behavior more successful. These findings are discussed in the context of implicit processes in self-regulation.

When studying family relationships, researchers often are interested in relational phenomena at an individual level, such as whether an individual child thrives in a particular family context; relational phenomena at the dyadic level, such as whether the mother is more committed than the father to the relationship; and relational phenomena at the familial level, such as whether some families are more satisfied with their relationships than other families. These three levels of relational phenomena, that is, individuals, dyadic relationships, and groups have to be distinguished and are reciprocally related within the family system (Hinde, 1997; Laursen & Bukowski, 1997). However, their theoretical and methodological interdependence represents a challenge for empirical investigation. The family as a group includes the individual family members and relationships, but these parts combine in such a way that new structures emerge which have their own meaning and are more than a collection of its members and relationships and which may affect relationships and the relationship partners (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Both statistical methods and theoretical frameworks are needed that allow us to disentangle the three levels and the influence they exert on each other and to capture the truly social nature of family relationships.

This paper describes the development and first results of a brief self-management course for patients recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. The intervention incorporates elements from proactive coping and self-regulation theory in a five-step plan to help newly diagnosed patients formulate and carry out intentions with regard to their self-management. The theoretical framework and course program are described, patient evaluations are summarized and proximal outcomes of the course will be analyzed, investigating whether the course is able to increase patients’ proactive skills, goal attainment and confidence in dealing with self-management issues. Participants included 180 patients, diagnosed 3–33 months previously during a population screening. Participants were randomized into an intervention (n 5 78) or control group (n 5 102). Course evaluations were very positive, regardless of patients’ demographic or medical background and participants were particularly positive about the five-step plan and potential for peer interaction. Compared with the control group, course participants improved significantly in terms of proactive coping, goal achievement and self-efficacy. An intervention based on proactive coping appears to meet the needs of patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, teaching them new proactive skills, improving their goal achievement and increasing their self-efficacy in dealing with their self-management tasks.

The object of the study was to investigate secrecy in non-anonymous egg donation, to explore some characteristics of this kind of egg donation arrangement and the relationship of the recipient with her non-genetic child. Forty-four egg recipients and 62 IVF patients with a child conceived through egg donation and/or IVF were recruited. A semi-structured questionnaire was sent to all the participants. Chi-square and T-tests were used to examine the differences between the groups. There were no significant differences on the following aspects. The same high proportion of egg donation mothers (77%) and IVF mothers (87%) had the intention of telling their child about the conception but most women thought disclosure at a later time preferable. Two thirds of the recipients and IVF mothers said the way of conception had no influence on the relationship with their child. The two groups differed however in their argumentation about secrecy and named different feelings. Egg donation mothers expressed more denial and showed more defensive reactions, anxieties and uncertainty. It is suggested that recognition of a certain difference between a natural conception and egg donation could be helpful in early disclosure and could help to diminish anxieties in egg donation mothers.

Objective To confront the views of refugee patients and general practitioners in the Netherlands, focusing on medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS). Methods The study is based on in depth interviews with refugees from Afghanistan ( n =36) and Somalia ( n =30). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 general practitioners. Text fragments concerning the relationship between mental worries and health or physical ailments were subject of a secondary analysis, the results of which are presented. Results Medically unexplained physical symptoms were a key issue for both refugees and GPs. The GPs saw MUPS as a significant part of the illness presentation by refugee patients. Refugees felt GPs were often prejudiced, too readily using their difficult background as an explanation for physical symptoms. A ‘general narrative' circulating in the refugee communities undermines trust. The GPs applied different strategies in dealing with MUPS presented by their refugee patients. A ‘human interest strategy' is distinguished from a ‘technical strategy'. The results are discussed in the wider context of the literature on MUPS and patient satisfaction. Conclusion No fundamental difference in paradigms was found between refugees and GPs as to the negative influence worries and bad experiences can have on health. For a fruitful cooperation to develop, based on trust, GPs need to invest in the relationship with individual refugees, and avoid actions based on prejudice. Practice implications The importance of (a lack of) trust is underestimated in medical practice. Phenomena undermining trust are often out of sight for practitioners. Critical reflection is needed on the strategies practitioners employ to deal with MUPS.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims at determining factors related to the intention to participate and actual participation in social support groups for prostate cancer patients, using the framework of the theory of planned behavior. The factors studied are background variables, medical variables, psychosocial variables and attitude, social norms and perceived control. METHODS: From various sources, 238 prostate cancer patients were recruited. The patients filled out a questionnaire, containing standardized instruments on several psychosocial problems and social support, besides questions on demographic and medical characteristics. A specific questionnaire was developed to assess attitude, social norms and perceived control concerning the participation in support groups. From the recruited men, 48 participated in one of the support groups organized by the researchers. RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed that age, lack of social support, a positive attitude and a high perceive control are predictive for the intention to participate in a social support group. Perceived control and the number of prostate-specific problems did predict the factual participation. CONCLUSION: Many prostate cancer patients report psychosocial problems. A more positive attitude towards group participation and the availability of support groups at short travel distance facilitates the interest in and the factual group participation. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Urologist and urological nurses can play a role in creating a more positive attitude towards group participation, especially if the social support system is weak. Groups should be organized close to patients' place of residence.(aut. ref.)

Two experiments examined the impact of exposure to social food cues on the spontaneous activation of hedonic thoughts about food in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Consistent with hypotheses, it was found that restrained eaters, but not unrestrained eaters, spontaneously activate hedonic food thoughts upon reading behavior descriptions that involved a palatable food item. Moreover, it was shown that the activation of hedonic food thoughts in restrained eaters occurred on-line. These findings are discussed in the context of a motivational account of eating-regulation and the possible role of the spontaneous activation of hedonic thoughts about food in the self-regulation of restrained eaters.

In surveys, interviewers serve as the agents of data collection. Their task includes contacting the target persons, gaining their cooperation, and conducting the interviews according to the rules of standardized interviewing. Interviewers are not equally successful at doing their job. They differ both in the quality of the data collected and in the response rate they achieve (Biemer & Lyberg, 2003, pp. 110–11, p. 156ff.). It is often difficult to distinguish to what extent these differences arise from differences among interviewers or from differences between the areas (and the target persons, living in these areas) assigned to the interviewers. Research using interpenetrated sample designs, however, has shown that interviewer effects can remain strong even when area effects are controlled (Campanelli & O’Muircheartaigh, 1999).

Patients diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, show impaired integration of information across different senses. The processing-level from which this impairment originates, however, remains unclear. We investigated low-level integration of auditory and visual stimuli in subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder. High-functioning adult subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as age- and IQ-matched adults were tested using a task that evokes illusory visual stimuli, by presenting sounds concurrently with visual flashes. In both groups the number of sounds presented significantly affected the number of flashes perceived, yet there was no difference between groups. This finding implicates that any problems arising from integrating auditory and visual information must stem from higher processing stages in high-functioning adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aim of this study is to examine the role of parental support and control on young adolescent smoking initiation, increase, continuation, and cessation. Longitudinal data gathered every 6 months over a one-year period were collected in Utrecht, The Netherlands, for 1,012 adolescents in 2000. Logistic regressions demonstrated that low parental control predicted adolescent smoking initiation but neither support nor control predicted adolescent smoking increase or continuation. Parental smoking status was important in adolescent smoking continuation and cessation. Suggestions based on these findings are made for prevention programs. A limitation is that the study only utilized adolescent reports.

In this article, we study how the strength of outcome dependence, defined as the extent to which people's outcomes depend on authority's decisions, influences their reactions to voice or no-voice procedures. We suggest that in situations where people are strongly outcome dependent they assume that the authority may not consider their views, and therefore voice procedures exert less influence on people's procedure judgments than in situations where they are not strongly outcome dependent. Findings of two experiments corroborate this line of reasoning: In strongly outcome dependent situations, recipients' procedure judgments are influenced less strongly by voice versus no-voice procedures than in moderate or weak outcome dependent situations. Furthermore, these effects were found for both pre-decision voice (Experiment 1) and for post-decision voice (Experiment 2). It is concluded that strong outcome dependence decreases the value-expressive function of voice opportunities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

It seems likely that proactive coping is an important mechanism for dealing successfully with threats to personal goals, yet little empirical research has been conducted in relation to this concept. The aim of the present study is to examine to what extent proactive coping is influenced by situation-specific features as well as by personal characteristics. Three vignettes, each representing a potential decline in an important resource (health, social relationships and finance), were presented to 123 adults between 50 and 70 years old. Multilevel analyses show that proactive coping is highly variable within persons and that three situational factors (type of stressor, appraised threat and appraised control) affected the employment of proactive coping strategies. Future temporal orientation was identified as a significant, positive predictor of proactive coping, but none of the other personal factors were found to be relevant.

Five years after launching EACH (European Association for Communication in Healthcare) we look back at what EACH achieved so far and announce new ideas and activities EACH plans to carry out in the near future. During the past five years several scientific, educational as well as societal changes have taken place in the area of communication in healthcare that all underline the need for continued international collaboration in line with the activities employed by EACH so far. Within communication research the focus has shifted from counting communication utterances to unraveling sequences of patient cues and provider responses. In the field of teaching it is becoming more and more common to attend to the training of trainers as well. Within these developments, new areas of interest arise and need attention. To comply with these increasing demands, EACH invites new persons to become a member of one of the recently launched committees in the area of research, teaching and publishing.

The Dutch approach to genomics and society is taken as an example to show that the dream of achieving a symmetrical dialogue between social and bioscientists is not easily realized. Dutch social science and genomics experts aspired to create a bottom-up network for society and genomics that would enable social scientists to bring their own expertise and views into the dialogue with bioscientists. However, in the final stage of founding the network, this aspiration was nipped in the bud. As a result, the genomics and society research agenda has become primarily governed by the desire to adequately implement genomics in society.