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Prior to 2000, personal practice (PP) for therapists mostly meant personal therapy. Recently a new landscape of PPs has emerged, with meditation-based programs and therapy self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) programs playing an increasing role in training and personal/professional development. The challenge now for practitioners and researchers is to refocus on the role of PPs in training and professional development. Are PPs of value - or not? Do they have a role in therapist development? How might PPs enhance therapist skilfulness? Do different PPs act in similar or different ways? Currently, the PP literature lacks a theoretical framework to guide practitioners in their choice of PPs or researchers in their choice of research questions and measures. The purpose of this article is to provide such a framework, the Personal Practice (PP) model. The PP model proposes primary impacts of PPs in four domains: personal development/wellbeing, self-awareness, interpersonal beliefs/attitudes/skills and reflective skills. The model also suggests a secondary impact on therapists' conceptual/technical skills when therapists use reflection to consider the implications of their PP for their "therapist self". We offer some suggestions to enhance the quality of future research, and conclude that PPs may play an important and perhaps unique role in therapist training.

In this study a method of retrospective case supervision is presented aimed at helping the supervisee to become a better self-supervisor. The method pays special attention to the therapist's self-reflection and has the therapist's inner conversation as a central concept. The starting point of the method is an assignment in which the supervisee reflects on a case using a tape-assisted recall procedure. The method helps trainees to develop experiential expertise to become more flexible and effective therapists. A case example of one training group of novice family therapists illustrates the use of the method., (© 2016 Family Process Institute.)

Personality assessment is a crucial component of clinical practice, and the training and proficiency criteria to develop competence are complex and multifaceted. Like many advanced topics, the field of personality assessment would benefit from early exposure in undergraduate classroom settings. This research evaluates how an undergraduate personality course can be enhanced through 2 enrichment activities (self-assessments and a personality project). Students completed several self-assessments of their personality and wrote a comprehensive and integrative personality assessment about themselves. Results demonstrated that these activities increased interest in personality assessment, deepened understanding of course material, and promoted student growth and self-exploration. We discuss the benefits of these enrichment activities for the student, instructor, and field of personality science.

Only in working conjointly with couples and families do therapists literally witness clients struggling to improve their most intimate relationships. In writing this article, we realized that, in true systemic fashion, not only have many of our clients benefited from working with us, but also we have learned some invaluable lessons from them. Indeed, practicing couple and family therapy gives therapists many opportunities to learn about themselves, especially when it is done thoughtfully. In this article, we reflect on myriad ways in which couples and family therapy has affected each of us personally-as individuals, as partners, as parents, as adult children in our families of origin, and as educators., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: Psychologists from rehabilitation centres were surveyed about their current job situation. Following areas were included: (a) professional self-perception, (b) occupational resources and stress, (c) job satisfaction., Methods: A nationwide survey of psychologists of all rehabilitation centres in Germany was conducted. Overall, 1,461 rehabilitation centres of all specialties were contacted in writing, of which 623 psychologists participated in the survey. Some of the results can be compared with reference data from previous surveys., Results: The professional self-perception has hardly changed over the last 10 years. Counselling and psychotherapy in one-to-one sessions and group interventions still play an essential role. Overall, job satisfaction and resources are high. General job satisfaction can be best predicted by career opportunities and opportunities for qualification., Conclusions: The results of the study indicate which resources should be strengthened in order to enhance job satisfaction of psychologists in medical rehabilitation. Particular thought should be given to improving career opportunities for psychologists in rehabilitation centres., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Psychologists are ethically obligated to ensure their own competence. When problems of professional competence occur, psychologists must take appropriate steps to regain competence while protecting those they serve. Yet conceptualizations of the competence obligation are thoroughly intertwined with Western ideals of individualism and a model of the person as self-contained, self-controlled, and perpetually rational. Research in health care, education, and multicultural and social psychology raise serious doubts about psychologists' capacity for consistently accurate self-assessments of competence. To address this problem, the authors advocate that education, training, professional ethics standards, and credentialing criteria be infused with a robust communitarian ethos and a culturally pervasive ethic of care. The authors propose a shift in discourse about competence to incorporate both competent individuals and competent communities.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe how psychology and medical students assess their own competency and skills before and after training, in which role-play was used to teach interpersonal and communication skills., Method: Interpersonal and communication skills were assessed with a semi-structured questionnaire before and after the training., Results: The students of both medicine and psychology estimated their skill levels to be higher after the course. The psychology students estimated their skills for communication, motivating interviewing, empathy and reflection, and change orientation to be better at the end of the course. Medical students estimated their communication skills, motivating interviewing skills, and change orientation skills to be better at the end of the course., Conclusion: Even a short period of training in interpersonal and communication skills can positively affect the self-assessed skills of the medical students., Practice Implications: In the future, it would be worthwhile to pay attention to reflective teaching practices in the training of both medical and psychology students. The cognitive and emotional components of these practices help students to develop their own communication skills., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In a simulated last-minute test preparation scenario, the authors examined the extent to which practice can influence accuracy of self-assessment, overall test performance, and memory of a familiar knowledge domain. They simulated test preparation by exposing students to practice questions, allegedly from a study guide. The test preparation consisted of either answering questions (retrieval practice) and then checking the correctness of the answers or reviewing questions along with their answers (review-only practice). Immediately after either form of practice, students took a test with questions whose content was conceptually related to the practice test questions. In this study, both forms of practice had a beneficial effect on self-assessment prior to the test and on overall test performance. When the authors examined specific memory responses, they found practice to benefit the frequency of correct responses that students defined as experiences of remembering and knowing. The effect of practice was not modulated by the recency of the acquisition of the domain being tested (at least within the time span of an academic semester).

There is limited information on mental health of psychologists and social workers despite their rendering mental health services, so their subjective perception of mental disorder was explored via a self-evaluation survey in which they self-diagnosed the presence of DSM-IV disorders within themselves. The sample of 128 professionals included 63 psychologists and 65 social workers. The presence of Axis I traits was reported by 81.2%, the three most frequent traits being mood, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorder. Axis II traits were reported by 73.4% of subjects, the three most frequent conditions being narcissistic, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality traits. While a high percentage of subjects reported the presence of either an Axis I or Axis II disorder, the average severity reported was low. More psychologists reported on mood, social phobia, and eating problems than social workers, while the latter reported more on psychotic problems. Psychologists reported more Axis II traits, especially paranoid, narcissistic, and avoidant subtypes. More women than men reported eating problems, while more men reported schizoid and avoidant personality traits. In conclusion, manifestations of subthreshold psychiatric conditions were prominently reported. These findings suggest encouraging mental health care professionals to explore treatment for problems if present.

Background: The authors examined self-perceived health and psychosocial health in 10-15 year old children and the relationship between children's self-perceived health and a set of psychosocial health status measurements., Methods: Data were collected from middle school students (n = 548; age range, 10-15 years of age; mean, 12.2 years; SD, 1.2 years) using randomly selected classes from four schools in different school districts in Szeged, Hungary. The self-administered questionnaires contained items on sociodemographics; school achievement; height and weight (body mass index); self-perceived health and fitness; health behaviors; and anger and psychosomatic health. The self-perceived health variable was dichotomized and expressed with poor/fair or good/excellent perceptions of one's own health., Results: Most of the children evaluated their own health as excellent or good. Logistic regression analyses revealed that poor academic achievement, socioeconomic status self-assessment, smoking, alcohol use, sports activity, self-perceived fitness, and high levels of anger and psychosomatic symptoms were associated with an increased likelihood of reported poor/fair perceptions of health., Conclusions: Findings reflect that psychosocial factors are important influences of self-perceived health in an early adolescent population.

Background: Although self-assessment is widely acknowledged as a vital skill for members of self-regulating professions, a ubiquitous finding in the research literature is that self-ratings are quite poor when compared with externally generated measures of ability. Many researchers have identified this as a serious problem for the concept of self-regulation in the professions. However, we question the sufficiency of the operational definitions of self-assessment on which the previous research is based. This study examines the validity of a new conceptualization of self-assessment in practice and evaluates a series of measures for capturing self-assessment ability as defined by this new conceptualization., Method: Using a computer-delivered free-response test, the authors generated three measures intended to capture situational awareness: (1) response times to questions, (2) the ability to avoid responding to questions for which the respondent is less likely to be correct, and (3) the ability to select questions from content areas in which respondents have greater ability. In addition, the traditional measures of self-assessment (e.g., predictions of how many questions one would answer correctly) were administered., Results: Participants showed behavioral indications of being aware of the limits of their ability. They took longer to respond when their eventual answer was incorrect relative to when it was correct, they were able to avoid answering questions on which they were likely to be incorrect, and they selected content-based domains in an appropriate order given their accuracy., Discussion: These results provide evidence in favor of this new framework that should reorient the way in which self-assessment "skills" are conceptualized, taught, and evaluated in medical school and beyond.

Self-report of cognitive functioning using the Multiple Abilities Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ) was examined in 57 left (LTLE) and 36 right (RTLE) temporal lobe epilepsy patients. The MASQ is a 38-item self-report measure assessing five domains of self-perceived cognitive functioning: Language, Visual-Perceptual Abilities, Verbal Memory, Visual-Spatial Memory, and Attention/Concentration. Overall, LTLE patients self-reported more cognitive difficulties across all domains. Language was the only domain to emerge as a robust indicator of seizure lateralization (LTLE patients reporting more problems). Neuropsychological test performance did not emerge as a significant predictor for any domain, whereas measures of psychosocial and emotional functioning accounted for a significant but modest amount of variance in all of them. The results suggest caution in using such self-report measures as an ecological extension of objective testing, but suggest a role in assessing self-appraisal of deficits.

Background: Oncology professionals still lack the knowledge and skills to provide effective psychosocial care. Continuing education (CE) aimed at addressing this lack may improve the provision of psychosocial care to patients and their families., Methods: The authors conducted a province-wide cross-sectional mail survey of oncology health care professionals [oncologists (MDs), nurses (RNs) and radiation therapists (RTs)] and assessed psychosocial orientation, self-assessed knowledge, and motivation to learn about psychosocial oncology. In addition, they sought factors that might influence professionals' willingness to attend CE programs., Results: In total, 241 surveys were completed and returned. Psychosocial orientation was highest in the RN subgroup. MDs rated their knowledge to deal with specific psychosocial issues higher than did RNs and RTs, while their motivation to learn more about providing psychosocial care was significantly lower. Seventy-three percent of respondents indicated that they would like CE in psychosocial oncology. Self-reported motivation to learn was the most significant factor associated with this interest., Conclusion: These findings raise questions about perceived learning needs and aided in the development of an interprofessional curriculum in psychosocial oncology.

A psychologist interviewing patients referred to the psychiatric service of a health centre rated twice as much morbidity, measured by total PSE score, as a psychiatrist interviewing equivalent patients. Scores on the self-rated GHQ showed no difference between the 2 groups. It is suggested that such differences could be avoided by giving careful attention to training interviewers.

Self-regulatory and metacognitive instruction regarding student conceptions can help students become metacognitively (or more specifically, metaconceptually) aware of their conceptions and self-regulate their intuitive conceptions in scientific contexts when they are not appropriate. Two approaches have been found effective in enhancing conceptual knowledge: (a) self-assessing one’s conceptions and (b) acquiring conditional metaconceptual knowledge about why and in which contexts specific conceptions are appropriate or not. However, it is unclear how these approaches influence other cognitive and affective variables, such as self-efficacy and cognitive load. Nevertheless, it is essential to investigate whether making students aware of their intuitive conceptions affects their self-efficacy and to what extent reflecting on one’s conceptions requires additional (meta-)cognitive resources. Thus, we conducted an experimental intervention study using a 2×2 factorial design with N = 602 upper secondary biology students. Becoming metaconceptually aware of one’s (intuitive) conceptions did not lower students’ self-efficacy but enabled more accurate beliefs about their abilities. However, the self-assessment increased mental load, which partly suppressed the beneficial effect of the self-assessment on conceptual knowledge. In contrast, the instruction on conditional metaconceptual knowledge did not result in higher mental load and, thus, aligned more with students’ cognitive capacities. Furthermore, students with more pronounced general metaconceptual thinking reported lower mental load, implying that regular instruction focusing on metaconceptual thinking may reduce load. Thus, it is suggested to continuously promote students’ metaconceptual thinking and to embed metaconceptual activities (e.g., self-assessments) repeatedly across longer instructional units.

Dimensional comparisons (i.e., comparing own performances across domains) may drive an increasing differentiation in students' math and verbal self-concepts over time, but little longitudinal research has directly tested this assumption. Using cross-sequential data spanning Grades 1-12 (N = 1069, ages 6-18, 92% White, 2% Black, 51% female, collected 1987-1996), this study charted age-related changes in the role of dimensional comparisons in students' ability self-concept formation. It used three types of self-concept measures: peer comparisons, cross-domain comparisons, and no comparisons. Results indicated that the increase in students' use of dimensional comparisons in self-evaluations substantially contributed to the increasing differentiation in students' math and verbal self-concepts over time. Findings highlight the importance of dimensional comparisons in the development of students' ability self-concepts.

Abstract Self-assessment (SA) can provide students with opportunities to self-evaluate, or make judgments about their learning process and products of learning. Regarding the importance of SA, this survey pursued to examine the effects of practicing SA on Saudi Arabian EFL learners’ resilience, creativity, and autonomy in task supported language learning. To fulfill these objectives, 60 intermediate EFL learners were chosen and separated accidentally into two groups of control and experimental. They were then pre-tested using three related questionnaires of resilience, creativity, and autonomy. Next, the treatment was practiced on the two groups. Eight lessons of Touchstone Book 3 were taught to the experimental group using SAvia applying different tasks. On the other hand, the lessons were trained to the control group without using SA and tasks. The aforementioned questionnaires were re-administered as the post-tests following the completion of all lessons. Independent and paired samples t-test findings displayed that the control and experimental groups performed differently on the three post-tests. In essence, the results showed that the experimental group's resilience, creativity, and autonomy were all improved by the treatment. The research's implications and conclusions were then outlined. The implications of the research can allow students to evaluate their own progress and skill development critically.

Autism is a relatively common neurodevelopmental condition that affects social communication and behavior, affecting the overall quality of life. The prevalence of autism is constantly increasing, but timely diagnosis allows for effective treatment. The aim of our research was to construct a Russian version of the RAADS-14, a brief self-report questionnaire originally designed for autism screening, and to perform its initial validation to provide a reference point in developing autism self-assessment tools for the Russian-speaking population. Psychometric properties of the RAADS-14 Rus were evaluated on a sample of 1724 participants, including a general sample of non-psychiatric young adults (n = 794) and adults with clinically established ASD (n = 49); a brief Russian inventory assessing Big Five personality traits (FFQ) was administered to a part of the sample (n = 364) to provide the first assessment of criterion validity. Confirmatory factor analysis of the RAADS-14 Rus confirmed the factor structure of the original Swedish version yielding acceptable fit indices. The discriminating properties were substantially worse than in the original study. The correlations between the RAADS-14 Rus domain scores and the Big Five factors were similar to previously obtained findings. Overall, the results suggest that the RAADS-14 Rus can be used as a screening tool for ASD in adults with proper caution and considering its discriminating properties.

BackgroundData from 2 generations of participants in the San Diego Prospective Study (SDPS) were used to compare cross-sectional and prospective relationships of 5 measures of the low level of response (low LR) to alcohol to 2 key alcohol-related outcomes.MethodsThe analyses used data from 373 SDPS male probands and 158 male and female offspring of these individuals to evaluate relationships of 5 LR measures to the prior 5-year maximum drinks per occasion and the number of 11 DSM-IV alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria experienced. Probands' LR measures included responses to alcohol challenges administered 15 years previously, and ratings for both generations included measures of the number of standard drinks during four periods: the first five times of drinking (SRE-5), the prior three drinking months (SRE-3), the period of heaviest drinking (SRE-H), and a total average across all time frames (SRE-T). Analyses included zero-order correlations, correlations using covariates, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses.ResultsAll 5 LR measures were correlated with aspects of maximum drinks and the number of AUD criteria, but the most robust results were seen for SRE-3 and maximum drinks. Correlations were less consistent for SRE-5, a measure more closely related to outcomes in the offspring. Hierarchical regression analyses supported most of these conclusions and showed that alcohol challenge-based LRs added significant information regarding maximum drinks even when evaluated with SRE values. The close correlation between SRE-H and SRE-T argues against the need for studies to include both measures. The patterns of results were similar irrespective of whether covariates were included.ConclusionsThere were significant correlations of maximum drinks and the number of AUD criteria with findings from prior alcohol challenges and all SRE scores. Challenges and SRE reports are related but not identical LR measures. All SRE scores, including SRE-5, offered useful information regarding subsequent drinking behavior.

Empirical work about love has primarily considered the love of one individual for another. This work uses a novel method to study estimated types of love for self and others based on passionate and companionate theory, and triangular love theory. Two hundred and fifty participants (161 females and 89 males) rated self-estimates and other’s estimates (romantic partners and parents) of global love and several love types. Women self-estimated passionate love, companionate love, intimacy, and commitment more than men did. Gender differences in estimated love types for romantic partners, fathers, and mothers were not evidenced. As regards self-partner differences respondents rated their romantic partners similarly to themselves. Regarding generational differences, children assessed themselves greater in all love types than their parents, except in commitment. Passionate love and commitment significantly predicted global love for self, partners, and parents. Suggestions and limitations are offered.

Objective Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the first-line treatment for insomnia, but half of the patients do not reach remission. This study aimed to explore subjective remission by investigating the characteristics of patients who reported lingering sleep problems after CBT-I.

ObjectiveThis cross-sectional study investigates the characteristics and practices of mental health care services implementing Open Dialogue (OD) globally.MethodsA structured questionnaire including a self-assessment scale to measure teams’ adherence to Open Dialogue principles was developed. Data were collected from OD teams in various countries. Confirmatory Composite Analysis was employed to assess the validity and reliability of the OD self-assessment measurement. Partial Least Square multiple regression analysis was used to explore characteristics and practices which represent facilitating and hindering factors in OD implementation.ResultsThe survey revealed steady growth in the number of OD services worldwide, with 142 teams across 24 countries by 2022, primarily located in Europe. Referrals predominantly came from general practitioners, hospitals, and self-referrals. A wide range of diagnostic profiles was treated with OD, with psychotic disorders being the most common. OD teams comprised professionals from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of OD training. Factors positively associated with OD self-assessment included a high percentage of staff with OD training, periodic supervisions, research capacity, multi-professional teams, self-referrals, outpatient services, younger client groups, and the involvement of experts by experience in periodic supervision.ConclusionThe findings provide valuable insights into the characteristics and practices of OD teams globally, highlighting the need for increased training opportunities, supervision, and research engagement. Future research should follow the development of OD implementation over time, complement self-assessment with rigorous observations and external evaluations, focus on involving different stakeholders in the OD-self-assessment and investigate the long-term outcomes of OD in different contexts.

PurposeConnections between private religion/spirituality and health have not been assessed among US South Asians. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between private religion/spirituality and self-rated and mental health in a community-based sample of US South Asians.MethodsData from the Mediators of atherosclerosis in South Asians living in America (MASALA) study (collected 2010-2013 and 2015-2018) and the attendant study on stress, spirituality, and health (n = 881) were analyzed using OLS regression. Self-rated health measured overall self-assessed health. Emotional functioning was measured using the mental health inventory-3 index (MHI-3) and Spielberger scales assessed trait anxiety and trait anger. Private religion/spirituality variables included prayer, yoga, belief in God, gratitude, theistic and non-theistic spiritual experiences, closeness to God, positive and negative religious coping, divine hope, and religious/spiritual struggles.ResultsYoga, gratitude, non-theistic spiritual experiences, closeness to God, and positive coping were positively associated with self-rated health. Gratitude, non-theistic and theistic spiritual experiences, closeness to God, and positive coping were associated with better emotional functioning; negative coping was associated with poor emotional functioning. Gratitude and non-theistic spiritual experiences were associated with less anxiety; negative coping and religious/spiritual struggles were associated with greater anxiety. Non-theistic spiritual experiences and gratitude were associated with less anger; negative coping and religious/spiritual struggles were associated with greater anger.ConclusionPrivate religion/spirituality is associated with self-rated and mental health. Opportunities may exist for public health and religious care professionals to leverage existing religion/spirituality for well-being among US South Asians.

IntroductionSelf-regulated learning entails psychological processes that elite athletes employ to optimize their practice. Although self-regulated learning provides insights into athlete-led practice, research has been limited to few cultures, and the particularities of how SRL surveys perform in new cultural contexts require attention. Moreover, there exists no measure to assess SRL and its relationship to quality sport practice in Polish. Thus, we examined the Short Form of the Self-Regulated Learning—Sport Practice survey in Polish. Analyses addressed the factorial validity and reliability, the criterion validity (by assessing differences in scores between competition levels), and the concurrent validity (by correlating scores with conceptually related constructs) of a Polish Short Form survey.MethodsAthletes (N = 324, Mage = 21.4, nfemales = 144, nmales = 180) from amateur, regional, national, and international-elite levels completed the survey, along with concurrent subscales (General Self-Efficacy Scale; GSES; Metacognitive-Self Scale; MS-24; Action Control Scale; ACS-90).ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis indicated a two-factor (metacognitive; motivational) model (RMSEA = 0.082, SRMR = 0.057, CFI = 0.89). Between-group tests showed international-elite scoring higher than all other groups on metacognitive and motivational subscales. On both subscales, significant trends indicated that more skilled levels consistently reported higher scores than lesser-skilled levels. The short form scores were associated with certain concurrent variables, including GSES (rmeta = 0.41, rmotiv = 0.48), MS-24 (rmeta = 0.39, rmotiv = 0.24), and ACS-90 (AOF subscale: rmotiv = 0.26).DiscussionOn the basis of strong criterion validity, and moderate evidence for concurrent validity, we conclude that the Polish Short Form of the Self-Regulated Learning—Sport Practice survey is a promising tool for use in Polish sport and we discuss future avenues of work to enhance its validation. Limitations that inform future research include our reliance on a mixed-sport sample, the lack of priming of obstacles/challenge ahead of self-report, and a lack of consideration of sport-specific practice variables in analyses.

ABSTRACTBackground:Low- and middle-income countries such as Vietnam are home to a majority of the world's population with dementia, yet little is known regarding how individuals in these countries perceive memory problems that might be indicative of cognitive impairment. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in Vietnamese adults in Da Nang, Vietnam.MethodsA stratified sample of 600 adults (aged ≥ 55 years) living in Da Nang, Vietnam, and surrounding areas were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study. Students and faculty from the National Technical Medical College Number 2 administered questionnaires in participants' homes regarding socio-demographic characteristics, functional health, social support, cognitive and mental health, and SMCs. Descriptive and stepwise regression analyses examined the prevalence and correlates of SMCs.ResultsApproximately 64% of the sample reported at least poor memory and 39% said that memory interfered with their daily life at least somewhat. Multivariate regression analyses (adjusted for all covariates) showed that depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, self-rated health and pain, and material hardship were associated with SMCs.ConclusionsPrevalence of SMCs as well as depressive symptoms was high in this Vietnamese population. Although future research using more detailed measures of subjective memory and which include longitudinal data are required, the need for physicians to routinely assess Vietnamese patients for depression, SMCs, and cognitive impairment may be warranted.

Although often discussed, there is a lack of empirical research on the role of leadership in the management and delivery of health services. The implementation leadership scale (ILS) assesses the degree to which leaders are knowledgeable, proactive, perseverant, and supportive during evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the ILS for leaders' self-ratings using a sample of mental health clinic supervisors (N = 119). Supervisors (i.e., leaders) completed surveys including self-ratings of their implementation leadership. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability, and validity of the ILS were evaluated. The ILS factor structure was supported in the sample of supervisors. Results demonstrated internal consistency reliability and validity. Cronbach alpha's ranged from 0.92 to 0.96 for the ILS subscales and 0.95 for the ILS overall scale. The factor structure replication and reliability of the ILS in a sample of supervisors demonstrates its applicability with employees across organizational levels.

The article focuses on introducing formative assessment to the educational process of professionally oriented English communication and the impact of assessment on students’ motivation to learn English. In the article, various types of motivation are discussed; high and low levels of formative assessment are presented; the relationship between motivation and assessment in learning English is studied. The model of high and low levels of formative assessment implementation in learning English for professional communication is tested. The levels of students’ motivation to English acquisition in the conditions of low and high levels of formative assessment are compared. Special attention is paid to specific pedagogical conditions under which formative assessment has a greater impact on students’ motivation. Experimental training was conducted among students of the pedagogical university who study English for professional communication. The authors compare and analyze the results of the motivation tests and diagnostic tests of language proficiency at the pre- and post- stages of experimental training. The study supports the idea about the relationship between students’ motivation and their English language proficiency assessment. The results show that a high level of formative assessment can be beneficial for overcoming students’ low motivation if students receive immediate feedback, evaluation of their work, teachers’ recommendations and support. It is observed that the reasonable integration of students’ self-assessment into teachers’ formative assessment plays a vital role in increasing students’ motivation to English acquisition. According to the study, regular practical implementation of high-level formative assessment methods in English acquisition increases the level of students’ motivation and, consequently, the level of students’ achievements in mastering professionally oriented English communication.

Studies report that psychotherapists overestimate their own performance (self-assessment bias). This study aimed to examine if the self-assessment bias in psychotherapists differs between therapeutic orientations and/or between social comparison groups. Psychotherapists gave subjective estimations of their professional performance (0–100 scale from poorest to best performance) compared to two social comparison groups (“all psychotherapists” vs. “psychotherapists with the same therapeutic approach”). They further rated the proportion of their patients recovering, improving, not changing, or deteriorating. In total, N = 229 Austrian psychotherapists (n = 39 psychodynamic, n = 121 humanistic, n = 48 systemic, n = 21 behavioral) participated in the online survey. Psychotherapists rated their own performance on average at M = 79.11 relative to “all psychotherapists” vs. at M = 77.76 relative to “psychotherapists with the same therapeutic approach” (p

We explored the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Positive and Negative Sleep Appraisal Measure (PANSAM) scale using pre-existing sleep-related questionnaires among the general population. Through an online survey, data from 400 South Korean participants were collected from 10 to 18 January 2022. Symptoms were measured with the PANSAM, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the 16-item Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS-16), the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale (GSES), and the discrepancy between desired time in bed and the desired total sleep time (DBST) index. The four PANSAM subscales were reliable and valid tools for measuring individuals' dysfunctional beliefs about sleep. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the full-scale and four-factor model showed a good fit. The full scale and each subscale were significantly correlated with ISI, DBAS-16, and GSES scores. The DBST index was significantly correlated with Subscales 2 and 3. In conclusion, the Korean version of the PANSAM scale and its four subscales can be applied when clinicians measure dysfunctional beliefs regarding sleep among the general population in South Korea. The PANSAM should be explored among other clinical groups to elucidate its applicability as a trans-diagnostic tool while conducting cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement towards the conceptualization, description and evaluation of psychotherapists’ competencies has been widely developed in the last years and has relevant implications for psychotherapy, training, and continuous education. In Italy, this movement has been supported by the Committee for Psychotherapists’ Competencies established in 2010 by FIAP (Italian Federation of Psychotherapy’s Associations) and CNSP (National Association of Psychotherapy’s Training Institutes) and has involved more than 1000 psychotherapists from different approaches, by means of conferences, expert meetings, workshops, and focus groups. One of the outcomes of this process has been the development of a new self-assessment tool for core competencies (i.e., those that are shared by therapists from all modalities): the QACP (Questionario per l’Autovalutazione delle Competenze dello Psicoterapeuta). The present study aims to present the process of development and the preliminary proofs of the validity of this tool. Construct and knowngroup validity of the questionnaire were examined, and reliability was estimated by computing the internal consistency reliability coefficients for both the overall and the subscale scores. Overall, the instrument showed satisfactory psychometric characteristics. The limitations of the study and the results are discussed and directions for further research are proposed.

With the growing need to nurture students’ independent learning, English language teaching (ELT) practices should reflect student-centered assessment approaches, such as self-assessment, an ultimate goal of higher education. It has been pointed out that to conduct effective self-assessment, students need to be taught systematically, and that is where teachers are expected to step in. Prior to implementing such a change in ELT, it is important to conduct research on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes toward, and self-efficacy beliefs about, implementing self-assessment to cultivate capable student self-assessors. Although the strong global endorsement of self-assessment over the past two decades has witnessed its classroom implementation in different disciplines, such studies are scant in relation to EFL writing classrooms. To address this gap, the present qualitative research examined five Chinese tertiary EFL writing teachers’ attitudes toward and self-efficacy beliefs about student self-assessment of writing, as well as possible reasons that discourage them from engaging students in self-assessment practices. Data collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews indicated that self-assessment, a critical element of self-regulated learning, is surprisingly missing from the teachers’ knowledge base and previous practices. Additionally, the findings offer insights into the striking differences in teachers’ understanding of, attitudes toward, and low self-efficacy beliefs about self-assessment of writing. Reasons why teachers choose not to implement self-assessment of writing are also discussed. Findings from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how EFL teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs are enacted in relation to their classroom assessment practices in order to move forward discussions on the feasibility of implementing self-assessment of writing in tertiary EFL classrooms.

As evaluation of practitioners’ competence is largely based on self-report, accuracy in practitioners’ self-assessment is essential for ensuring high quality treatment-delivery. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between independent observers’ ratings and practitioners’ self-reported treatment integrity ratings of Motivational interviewing (MI). Practitioners (N = 134) were randomized to two types of supervision [i.e., regular institutional group supervision, or individual telephone supervision based on the MI Treatment Integrity (MITI) code]. The mean age was 43.2 years (SD = 10.2), and 62.7 percent were females. All sessions were recorded and evaluated with the MITI, and the MI skills were self-assessed with a questionnaire over a period of 12 months. The associations between self-reported and objectively assessed MI skills were overall weak, but increased slightly from baseline to the 12-months assessment. However, the self-ratings from the group that received monthly objective feedback were not more accurate than those participating in regular group supervision. These results expand findings from previous studies and have important implications for assessment of practitioners’ treatment fidelity: Practitioners may learn to improve the accuracy of self-assessment of competence, but to ensure that patients receive intended care, adherence and competence should be assessed objectively.

Peer assessment (PA) is employed as one fundamental practice of classroom-based assessment in terms of its learning-oriented and formative nature. The exercise of peer assessment has multiple and additional benefits for student learning. However, research into the learning processes in peer assessment is scarce both in theory and in practice, making it difficult to evaluate and pinpoint its value as a tool in assessment as learning (AaL). This study focuses both on the learning process and outcome through assessment activities. We set out with three goals in mind: (1) to examine students' assessment performance in context, (2) to evaluate its impact on student progress, and (3) to illuminate teachers on organizing assessment activities. Three specific research questions are answered in this study: (1) How do student raters perform in the process of PA in an advanced English class? (2) To what extent do assessment activities influence the students' speaking ability? (3) What are students' perceptions of PA regarding its benefits and caveats? A total of 29 undergraduate students participated in two assessment activities on argumentative speaking. Many-Facet Rasch Model analysis was conducted to measure the rater effects both at the group level and the individual level. Bias/interaction analyses were performed to diagnose rater behavior in different contexts including the rating session, speaking session, and peer assessment vs. self-assessment. Questionnaire and semi-structured interview data were also collected to explore factors and strategies that could interfere with PA as AaL. Results show that students exhibited stable rating behavior and made progress in argumentative speaking in all dimensions, including delivery, organization, and language use. They are more stringent with themselves than with peers although there is one rare case with a bias against peers. Participants acknowledged the benefits of PA but also shared reasonable concerns in practice. This study validated the feasibility and the effectiveness of PA for student learning. Discussion on findings and guidelines for effective implementation of PA as AaL are provided.

Creativity is an important 21st Century skill that enhances students’ ability to see new opportunities, confront new challenges, and adapt flexibly to the changing study, work and life situations. To nurture students with strong self-efficacy in creative thinking is as important as the contexts and strategies involved in its application. But how to develop sustainable interventions (without generating excessive workload for teachers) to promote students’ self-efficacy in creativity is a long-lasting challenge. This study presents a simple and relatively cost-effective instructional intervention, i.e., self-assessment mind maps, and examines its effect on students’ self-efficacy in creativity, self-efficacy in learning English, and academic performance in English language tests. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent design was adopted for the experimental and control groups of students in a Hong Kong primary school in 2021/22 Spring semester. The results show that students from the experimental group significantly outperformed those from the control group on self-efficacy in creativity after the intervention. However, the intervention did not improve students’ self-efficacy and test performance in English learning. The findings demonstrate the potential of self-assessment mind maps as an effective and sustainable instruction intervention to promote students’ higher-order abilities. This study sheds light on designing sustainable instructional strategies for empowerment in creativity.

This review aimed at investigating the related studies on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ self-assessment and its role in their self-efficacy and self-regulation. Earlier investigations have proved that teacher self-assessment was significantly correlated with self-regulation. Moreover, studies showed that self-assessment and self-regulation enabled teachers to consider their teaching effectiveness, and they were important components of formative assessment. Earlier studies showed that self-assessment raised learner awareness and increased self-efficacy significantly through the improvement of mastery experiences. Furthermore, the study presented the implications and future directions of this line of research for different people, such as EFL teachers, teacher educators, and foreign language scholars. The ideas can improve their awareness of teacher self-assessment, self-regulation, and self-efficacy in educational contexts.

BackgroundMost epidemiologic studies of puberty have only 1 source of pubertal development information (maternal, self or clinical). Interpretation of results across studies requires data on reliability and validity across sources.MethodsThe LEGACY Girls Study, a 5-site prospective study of girls aged 6 to 13 years (n = 1040) collected information on breast and pubic hair development from mothers (for all daughters) and daughters (if ≥10 years) according to Tanner stage (T1-5) drawings. At 2 LEGACY sites, girls (n = 282) were also examined in the clinic by trained professionals. We assessed agreement (κ) and validity (sensitivity and specificity) with the clinical assessment (gold standard) for both the mothers' and daughters' assessment in the subcohort of 282. In the entire cohort, we examined the agreement between mothers and daughters.ResultsCompared with clinical assessment, sensitivity of maternal assessment for breast development was 77.2 and specificity was 94.3. In girls aged ≥11 years, self-assessment had higher sensitivity and specificity than maternal report. Specificity for both mothers and self, but not sensitivity, was significantly lower for overweight girls. In the overall cohort, maternal and daughter agreement for breast development and pubic hair development (T2+ vs T1) were similar (0.66, [95% confidence interval 0.58-0.75] and 0.69 [95% confidence interval 0.61-0.77], respectively), but declined with age. Mothers were more likely to report a lower Tanner stage for both breast and pubic hair compared with self-assessments.ConclusionsThese differences in validity should be considered in studies measuring pubertal changes longitudinally when they do not have access to clinical assessments.

The study integrates the experimental and descriptive approaches to the attitudes. The assumptions that the emotional, cognitive and behavioral components of attitudes toward personality traits, as well as the types of these attitudes mediate the selfand the Other assessments are under consideration. The study involved 314 students aged 18 to 30 years old (M = 20.23; SD = 1.59), of which 79 men (25%) and 235 women (75%). To measure attitudes toward traits, as well as the selfand the Other assessments, a list of 20 antonymic adjectives denoting personality characteristics was used. The objects of perception were young man and woman who answered the questions of the Short Dark Triad Questionnaire as an absolutely “good” or “bad” person. Using cluster analysis, different types of attitudes toward traits were highlighted within each component (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral). These types were determined by the participants’ position in relation to positive and negative traits. The attained results indicate that the subject’s self-esteem depends on the attitudes toward traits and detects different severity depending on the attitudes type. The highest self-esteem is observed in those subjects who: 1) consider that positive traits are more common than negative; 2) give highly contrast emotional ratings to positive and negative traits; 3) believe that positive traits are less controlled than negative ones. The assessment of the Other also reveals a connection with the types of the attitudes toward traits: the “good” Other is rated higher when the emotional attitudes toward traits are highly contrast, while the “bad” Other is rated higher when: 1) the negative traits are treated as more common; 2) the contrast between positive and negative traits is perceived as moderate. The results obtained open up the new perspectives for the correction of the selfand the Other assessments through the formation of attitudes toward traits.

In the present study, the tendency to overestimate performance (illusion of knowing) was examined in college students whose educational past experiences had emphasized verbatim learning. Female students enrolled in core curriculum classes were sampled. Classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to a self-assessment practice condition, where students predicted their test and class performance and were asked to reflect on discrepancies between predictions and actual performance, or to a control condition. At the end of the semester, irrespective of condition, as performance declined on the final test, predictions of final test grades became more inflated, but less confident, indicating that students were aware of their own deficiencies. Overall, students in the practice condition displayed not only greater prediction accuracy, but also greater final test performance than students in the control condition. Practice, however, benefited the most self-assessment accuracy of students whose final test grades were just above the passing grade. Although the responses to self-assessment practice of students with a teacher-centered educational past were largely similar to the responses of students from Western countries reported in the extant literature, differences in impact and meaning could be inferred.

The current study examined whether writing content related to self-enhancing (viz., downward social comparison and situational attributions) and self-improving (viz., upward social comparison and persistence) motivations were differentially related to expressive writing outcomes among 17 Asian American and 17 European American participants. Content analysis of the essays revealed no significant cultural group differences in the likelihood of engaging in self-enhancing versus self-improving reflections on negative personal experiences. However, cultural group differences were apparent in the relation between self-motivation processes and changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms at 3-month follow-up. Among European Americans, writing that reflected downward social comparison predicted positive outcomes, whereas persistence writing themes were related to poorer outcomes. For Asian Americans, writing about persistence was related to positive outcomes, whereas downward social comparison and situational attributions predicted poorer outcomes. Findings provide evidence suggesting culturally distinct mechanisms for the effects of expressive disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record

ObjectiveSelf-assessment deficits, often referred to as impaired insight or unawareness of illness, are well established in people with schizophrenia. There are multiple levels of awareness, including awareness of symptoms, functional deficits, cognitive impairments, and the ability to monitor cognitive and functional performance in an ongoing manner. The present study aimed to evaluate the comparative predictive value of each aspect of awareness on the levels of everyday functioning in people with schizophrenia.MethodWe examined multiple aspects of self-assessment of functioning in 214 people with schizophrenia. We also collected information on everyday functioning rated by high contact clinicians and examined the importance of self-assessment for the prediction of real-world functional outcomes. The relative impact of performance-based measures of cognition, functional capacity, and metacognitive performance on everyday functioning was also examined.ResultsMisestimation of ability emerged as the strongest predictor of real-world functioning and exceeded the influences of cognitive performance, functional capacity performance, and performance-based assessment of metacognitive monitoring. The relative contribution of the factors other than self-assessment varied according to which domain of everyday functioning was being examined, but, in all cases, accounted for less predictive variance.ConclusionThese results underscore the functional impact of misestimating one's current functioning and relative level of ability. These findings are consistent with the use of insight-focused treatments and compensatory strategies designed to increase self-awareness in multiple functional domains.

The current study investigated age differences and longitudinal change in mode effects, wherein individuals report less negative and more positive psychosocial functioning with data collection modes that have greater (vs. less) direct contact with interviewers (e.g., in-person interviews vs. telephone interviews). Using 2 longitudinal datasets, the Later Life Study of Social Exchanges (LLSSE) and Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA), we tested how mode effects may vary with cohort (baseline age differences) and maturational development (longitudinal change). In Study 1, LLSSE participants (65-90 years old) completed in-person and telephone interviews assessing negative and positive aspects of psychosocial functioning across 2 years. The data collection mode with greater direct contact with interviewers (in-person interviews) was associated with reporting less negative and more positive psychosocial functioning compared to the mode with less direct contact (telephone interviews). These mode effects were more pronounced with older baseline age, but only for the negative psychosocial measures. Mode effects also became stronger over time for reports of negative affect. In Study 2, SATSA participants (38-86 years old) completed mailed questionnaires and questionnaires collected in-person that assessed depressive symptoms and positive affect across 18 years. Consistent with Study 1, participants reported fewer depressive symptoms and more positive affect with greater (vs. less) direct contact with interviewers (questionnaires collected in-person vs. mailed questionnaires). For reports of depressive symptoms, but not positive affect, mode effects were more pronounced with age and time. Together, the results underscore how mode effects may contribute to inconsistent findings in the socioemotional aging literature.

BackgroundIt is unclear whether bereaved parents with Complicated Grief (CG) struggle with their grief differently than others with CG. This study addressed this question by comparing CG severity, CG-related symptoms, thoughts and behaviors, and comorbid psychiatric diagnoses of bereaved parents with CG to the diagnoses and symptoms of others with CG.MethodsBaseline data from 345 participants enrolled in the Healing Emotions After Loss (HEAL) study, a multi-site CG treatment study, were used to compare parents with CG (n=75) to others with CG (n=275). Data from the parent group was then used to compare parents with CG who had lost a younger child (n=24) to parents with CG who had lost an older child (n=34). Demographic and loss-related data were also gathered and used to control for confounders between groups.ResultsParents with CG demonstrated slightly higher levels of CG (p=0.025), caregiver self-blame (p=0.007), and suicidality (p=0.025) than non-parents with CG. Parents who had lost younger children were more likely to have had a wish to be dead since the loss than parents who had lost older children (p=0.041).LimitationsAll data were gathered from a treatment research study, limiting the generalizability of these results. No corrections were made for multiple comparisons. The comparison of parents who lost younger children to parents who lost older children was limited by a small sample size.ConclusionsEven in the context of CG, the relationship to the deceased may have a bearing on the degree and severity of grief symptoms and associated features. Bereaved parents with CG reported more intense CG, self-blame, and suicidality than other bereaved groups with CG, though this finding requires confirmation. The heightened levels of suicidal ideation experienced by parents with CG, especially after losing a younger child, suggest the value of routinely screening for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in this group.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are associated with deficits in prospective memory (PM; "remembering to remember"), conferring risk of daily functioning declines. However, self-perceptions of PM functioning are not reliably associated with PM performance in HIV, suggesting a possible deficit in awareness of PM abilities (meta-PM). Our study examined meta-PM in HAND and its correlates using self-predictions of laboratory-based PM performance. Performance-based PM abilities, self-reported prediction of PM performance, and PM complaints in everyday life were assessed in 49 individuals with HAND, 93 HIV+ without HAND (HIV+ noHAND), and 121 seronegative adults (HIV-). After controlling for group-level differences, HAND was associated with a greater number of PM symptoms in everyday life and worse PM performance when compared with both HIV+ noHAND and HIV- samples. Although HAND individuals reported somewhat lower predictions regarding their laboratory PM performance relative to the other study groups, they nevertheless exhibited significantly greater inaccurate overconfidence in time-based PM abilities. Within the HAND group, overconfidence in time-based meta-PM was associated with executive dysfunction and antiretroviral (ARV) nonadherence. HAND individuals evidenced a moderate deficit in awareness of PM functioning characterized by overconfidence in time-based PM abilities. Overconfidence in PM may result in absence of compensatory strategy use, and lead to increased errors in daily functioning (e.g., ARV nonadherence).

While focusing on the moderating effects of initial performance-approach goal orientation and performance-avoidance goal orientation, this study aimed to examine the effects of self- and peer-assessment on the growth of learning goal orientation. We set up a control group and two experimental groups (self-assessment and peer-assessment groups) and conducted experimental lessons. The responses of the 63 subjects (control group: n = 14; self-assessment group: n = 25; peer-assessment group: n = 24) who attended these lessons were analyzed. The following observations were made: (1) the effect of peer-assessment on the growth of learning goal orientation may change depending on the initial performance-approach goal orientation or performance-avoidance goal orientation; (2) to increase learning goal orientation for students who have high performance-approach goal orientation or low performance-avoidance goal orientation, peer-assessment is effective; and (3) to increase learning goal orientation for students who have low performance-approach goal orientation or high performance-avoidance goal orientation, peer-assessment appears to be counterproductive.

Accurate self-awareness is essential for adapting one's tasks and goals to one's actual abilities. Patients with neurodegenerative diseases, particularly those with right frontal involvement, often present with poor self-awareness of their functional limitations that may exacerbate their already jeopardized decision-making and behaviour. We studied the structural neuroanatomical basis for impaired self-awareness among patients with neurodegenerative disease and healthy older adults. One hundred and twenty-four participants (78 patients with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, right-temporal frontotemporal dementia, semantic variant and non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia, and 46 healthy controls) described themselves on the Patient Competency Rating Scale, rating observable functioning across four domains (daily living activities, cognitive, emotional control, interpersonal). All participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Informants also described subjects' functioning on the same scale. Self-awareness was measured by comparing self and informant ratings. Group differences in discrepancy scores were analysed using general linear models, controlling for age, sex and disease severity. Compared with controls, patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia overestimated their functioning in all domains, patients with Alzheimer's disease overestimated cognitive and emotional functioning, patients with right-temporal frontotemporal dementia overestimated interpersonal functioning, and patients with non-fluent aphasia overestimated emotional and interpersonal functioning. Patients with semantic variant aphasia did not overestimate functioning on any domain. To examine the neuroanatomic correlates of impaired self-awareness, discrepancy scores were correlated with brain volume using voxel-based morphometry. To identify the unique neural correlates of overlooking versus exaggerating deficits, overestimation and underestimation scores were analysed separately, controlling for age, sex, total intracranial volume and extent of actual functional decline. Atrophy related to overestimating one's functioning included bilateral, right greater than left frontal and subcortical regions, including dorsal superior and middle frontal gyri, lateral and medial orbitofrontal gyri, right anterior insula, putamen, thalamus, and caudate, and midbrain and pons. Thus, our patients' tendency to under-represent their functional decline was related to degeneration of domain-general dorsal frontal regions involved in attention, as well as orbitofrontal and subcortical regions likely involved in assigning a reward value to self-related processing and maintaining accurate self-knowledge. The anatomic correlates of underestimation (right rostral anterior cingulate cortex, uncorrected significance level) were distinct from overestimation and had a substantially smaller effect size. This suggests that underestimation or 'tarnishing' may be influenced by non-structural neurobiological and sociocultural factors, and should not be considered to be on a continuum with overestimation or 'polishing' of functional capacity, which appears to be more directly mediated by neural circuit dysfunction.

ObjectiveImpaired self-awareness is characteristic of nearly all dementias, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the deficit is most severe in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). The prominence of frontal pathology in bvFTD suggests that failure of online monitoring, the process by which individuals monitor their own cognitive processing in real time, is an important contributor. Metacognitive research offers several approaches to measure self-assessment, some more and others less sensitive to online monitoring. The goal of this study was to assess metacognition in bvFTD using several approaches, and to compare the results with those in AD.MethodWe examined metacognition in 12 patients with bvFTD, 14 with AD, and 35 healthy controls using feeling of knowing (FOK), ease of learning (EOL), judgment of learning (JOL), and retrospective confidence rating (CR) tasks, as well as response to feedback about performance.ResultsBvFTD and AD were both impaired at FOK compared with controls, although AD showed some sparing. Both groups were similarly impaired at CR and neither group was impaired at JOL after accounting for memory performance. Most striking, bvFTD patients failed to appropriately adjust their predictions about future memory performance even after receiving explicit feedback that they had performed worse than they expected.ConclusionsBoth bvFTD and AD show deficits in online monitoring, although the deficit appears more severe in bvFTD. The insensitivity of bvFTD patients to overt feedback may point to unique mechanisms, possibly frontally mediated, that add to their severe lack of self-awareness.

BackgroundNeuroimaging studies examining neural substrates of impaired self-awareness in patients with neurodegenerative diseases have shown divergent results depending on the modality (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) of awareness. Evidence is accumulating to suggest that self-awareness arises from a combination of modality-specific and large-scale supramodal neural networks.MethodsWe investigated the structural substrates of patients' tendency to overestimate or underestimate their own capacity to demonstrate empathic concern for others. Subjects' level of empathic concern was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and subject-informant discrepancy scores were used to predict regional atrophy pattern, using voxel-based morphometry analysis. Of the 102 subjects, 83 were patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) or semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA); the other 19 were healthy older adults.ResultsbvFTD and svPPA patients typically overestimated their level of empathic concern compared to controls, and overestimating one's empathic concern predicted damage to predominantly right-hemispheric anterior infero-lateral temporal regions, whereas underestimating one's empathic concern showed no neuroanatomical basis.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that overestimation and underestimation of one's capacity for empathic concern cannot be interpreted as varying degrees of the same phenomenon, but may arise from different pathophysiological processes. Damage to anterior infero-lateral temporal regions has been associated with semantic self-knowledge, emotion processing, and social perspective taking; neuropsychological functions partly associated with empathic concern itself. These findings support the hypothesis that-at least in the socioemotional domain-neural substrates of self-awareness are partly modality-specific.

Methods and approaches of foreign language teaching being changed considerably of late, the assessment of the language competence should be consistent with clear international standardization requirements. Since the article has a brief informative character, the notion of evaluation as an inducement to a corresponding speech reaction or action through the well-defined communicative tasks is defined. Such types of evaluation as formal and informal, external evaluation and a self-assessment are outlined in the article. Different functions of speech competence assessment were covered, as it is important to understand its purpose. Among them are diagnostics, encouragement, progress recognition, the statement of goals achievement, the setting of rating, grading, comparison, motivation. Since there are two subjective pictures of the objective world where there are two persons: the vision of the situation for those who evaluate and those who are evaluated, the psycho-emotional aspect of the issue under consideration is also taken into account.