Lee A. Becker

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Treatment for Psychologically Traumatized Individuals.

The effects of 3 90-min eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment sessions on traumatic memories of 80 participants were studied. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment or delayed-treatment conditions and to 1 of 5 licensed therapists trained in EMDR. Participants receiving EMDR showed decreases in presenting complaints and in anxiety and increases in positive cognition. Participants in the delayed-treatment condition showed no improvement on any of these measures across the 30 days before treatment, but after treatment participants in the delayed-treatment condition showed similar effects on all measures. The effects were maintained at 90-day follow-up.

Fifteen-month follow-up of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and psychological trauma.

The present study is a 15-month follow-up of the effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy on the functioning of 66 participants, 32 of whom were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prior to treatment, PTSD participants improved as much as those without the diagnosis, with both groups maintaining their gains at 15 months. At 15-month follow-up, the three 90-min sessions of EMDR previously administered (S.A. Wilson, L.A. Becker, & R. H. Tinker, 1995) produced an 84% reduction in PTSD diagnosis and a 68% reduction in PTSD symptoms. The average treatment effect size was 1.59; the average reliable change index was 3.37. Implications of the maintenance of EMDR treatment effects are discussed.

On the Relationship of the Five-Factor Personality Model to Personality Disorders: Four Reservations

McCrae and Costa since 1986 have proferred a five-factor personality model as a lingua franca among different psychometric test users, and they suggest that their operationalization of the five-factor model, the NEO Personality Inventory, may also be useful in the clinical assessment of the abnormal personality. The present study examined the inventory and its relationship to the 11 personality disorders of Axis II of DSM-III—R in a sample of 180 adults. Correlational multivariate analyses appear to indicate a limited usefulness of the five-factor model in the understanding of personality disorders, and four major objections are offered. Further research with clinical samples, other models of personality, and other measures of personality disorders are encouraged.

Stress Management with Law Enforcement Personnel: A Controlled Outcome Study of EMDR Versus a Traditional Stress Management Program

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be effective for treating posttraumatic stress disorder, but its efficacy as a stress management tool for normal individuals in highly stressful occupations has not been demonstrated. Sixty-two police officers were randomly assigned to either EMDR or a standard stress management program (SMP), each consisting of 6 hours of individualized contact. At completion, officers in the EMDR condition provided lower ratings on measures of PTSD symptoms, subjective distress, job stress, and anger; and higher marital satisfaction ratings than those in SMP. The effects of EMDR were maintained at the 6-month follow-up, indicating enduring gains from a relatively brief treatment regimen for this subclinical sample of officers who were experiencing some level of stress from their job.

Distraction Effects on the Perceived Extremity of a Communication and on Cognitive Responses

Participants listened to either a proattitudinal or counterattitudinal communication under varying levels of distraction. A distraction x message position interaction indicated that distraction decreased the perceived extremity of the counterattitudinal communication while increasing the perceived extremity of the proattitudinal message. Distraction decreased the number of counterarguments generated by counterattitudinal speech recipients, but unexpectedly did not significantly affect proargumentation. Proargumentation notwithstanding, the results were consistent with the dominant thought disruption hypothesis.Participants listened to either a proattitudinal or counterattitudinal communication under varying levels of distraction. A distraction x message position interaction indicated that distraction decreased the perceived extremity of the counterattitudinal communication while increasing the perceived extremity of the proattitudinal message. Distraction decreased the number of counterarguments generated by counterattitudinal speech recipients, but unexpectedly did not significantly affect proargumentation. Proargumentation notwithstanding, the results were consistent with the dominant thought disruption hypothesis.

Hyperawareness of Neuropsychological Deficits in Patients with Mild Closed Head Injuries: A Preliminary Investigation

This study investigated awareness in mild closed head injured (CHI) patients by comparing patient and significant other ratings on personality and neuropsychological items. Twenty CHI patients, their significant others, and 20 control participants and their significant others completed the DSM-IV aligned, Coolidge Axis II Inventory. The CHI group rated themselves significantly higher than controls on the neuropsychological dysfunction scale indicative, perhaps, not only of an awareness of deficits, but even a kind of hyperawareness of deficits. The CHI group also rated themselves significantly lower than the controls on the emotional control scale. There were no differences between the two groups in their self-ratings or on the significant other ratings on the executive function (EF) deficits, anxiety, depression, or social interactions scales. Overall, CHI patients more often appeared hyperaware of their neuropsychological deficits and emotional limitations than unaware of these deficits. The discussion explores implications of the findings.

A psychological perspective interpretation of the attitude-behavior relationship

Abstract In two experiments subjects were shown seven items that described uses for photographs taken of them with an opposite-sex black. The uses formed a graded series ranging from a situation in which only other researchers would see the photos to one in which they would be employed in a nationwide campaign for integration. Subjects were either asked to sign releases so that the photographs could actually be taken and used in the ways specified (behavior) or to indicate their hypothetical agreement or disagreement with each release as part of a survey on attitudes (attitude). In both experiments, the attitude subjects agreed to more of the releases than did the behavior subjects. This difference has been termed an attitude-behavior discrepancy by some researchers. However, in both experiments, behavior subjects judged themselves as no less prejudiced than attitude subjects and scaled agreement with each photographic release as reflecting less prejudice than did attitude subjects. These data are consistent with the interpretation that subjects changed their psychological perspectives ( Ostrom & Upshaw, 1968 ) in order to interpret their own behaviors as attitudinally consistent.

On the Proper Interpretation of Residualized Interaction Means in Analysis of Variance: A Reply to Rosnow and Rosenthal

According to Rosnow and Rosenthal the correct interpretation of an interaction in an analysis of variance necessarily involves examining the residual means after removing the lower order effects from the original cell means. They make two errors in their analysis of the residual means. First, they incorrectly interpret the negative residual means as literal negative values. The signs of the residual means actually indicate relative differences between the residual means. Second, since the residual interaction means of a 2 × 2 interaction always form a symmetric, crossed interaction pattern, their interpretation incorrectly suggests that all 2 × 2 interactions are symmetrically crossed. That is not the case. The crossed interaction for the residual means indicates that the change within one level of a factor is relatively less than the change within the other level of that factor. Therefore, the form of the underlying interaction cannot be inferred from the residual interaction means alone. Contrary to Rosnow and Rosenthals suggestion, the residual interaction means have limited usefulness in interpreting interactions.