María Dolores Avia

The meaning of psychological symptoms: effectiveness of a group intervention with hypochondriacal patients

A group treatment for hypochondriasis was administered to 14 subjects. It was based on Barsky, Geringer and Wool (1988) [General Hospital Psychiatry, 10, 322-327] cognitive-behavioral formulation and presented as an educational course to explain the origins of an enhanced perception of somatic symptoms. Initially, one experimental group (N = 9) and a waiting list control (N = 8) were formed. Experimental subjects showed significant reductions in illness fears and attitudes, reported somatic symptoms and dysfunctional beliefs. Waiting-list controls also changed some illness attitudes, but showed no change in somatic symptoms and increased the number of visits to doctors. Experimental and control subjects differed on several change measures. Afterwards, part of the waiting list subjects (N = 5) received treatment. Overall, treatment was effective for the target measures and produced long-term positive effects on other fears, dysphoric mood and well-being. After treatment, subjects were significantly more extroverted, open and warm. The clinical impression was that treatment was not limited to less severe cases.

The five-factor model—II. Relations of the NEO-PI with other personality variables☆

Abstract Trait psychology is entering into a newly flourishing time. The five-factor model has become a robust alternative in the search for the ‘basic’ personality structure. The present paper is intended to explore the nomological network of the dimensions contained in Costa and McCraes NEO-PI, which has become the most widely used operationalization of the five-factor model in the questionnaire domain. The Spanish version of the NEO-PI was related, in three different broad samples, to socially desirable responding measures, to the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), to several commonly-used clinical scales, and to indexes of risk-related behaviors and unhealthy attitudes. Results support the convergent and discriminant validity of the NEO-PI traits and of most of its facets, and offer implications for defenders of three-factor vs five-factor models of personality. The role of ‘response sets’ in the NEO-PI is also discussed.

Coping with aversive stimulation: The effects of training in a self-management context

The cognitive control of pain has received increasing attention in the recent literature (Chaves & Barber, 1974; Meichenbaum & Turk, 1976; Scott & Barber, 1977a,b). But the interpretation o f the role of cognitive strategies in the control of pain has been difficult, due to such methodological problems as the diversity of pain indicants and stressors, and the presence of strong demand characteristics in m a n y studies. The cold-pressor task has been used by Kanfer and his associates (Kanfer & Goldfoot , 1966; Kanfer & Seidner, 1973; Kanfer, Cox, Greiner, & Karoly, 1974) as an experimental vehicle to study self-control processes in pain. A recent study by Gr imm and Kanfer (1976) showed that the use of a covert-symbolic response (imagining pleasant events) was most effective in increasing tolerance duration and reducing discomfort , compared to a relaxation group, a suggestion control group that was induced to expect decreased discomfort , and a no-contact control group. Two hypotheses can be offered to explain these results. First, the subjects s instructed imaginations could have functioned as competing responses with the reactions to pain. This explanation assumes a direct

Replicable types and subtypes of personality: Spanish NEO-PI samples.

Three major personality prototypes were derived on the basis of a Big Five instrument (NEO‐PI) by means of replicated cluster analysis in two Spanish samples (a sample from the general population and a student sample). The replicability of the three prototypes within and their consistency between the two samples were evaluated. In addition, subtypes were analysed in a similar way. Finally, the relation between prototype assignment and level of education was examined in the sample from the general population. Within‐study replicability was satisfactory only for the student sample. Comparison with the results for a similar instrument (NEO‐PI‐R) applied to a German sample showed satisfactory consistency only for the student sample. Discussion centres on the strong sample dependency of the results. Copyright

Personality and positive emotions

This paper is intended to appeal to personality psychologists and direct their attention towards the broad topic of ‘positive emotions’, an area that, in spite of its relevance, has been scarcely developed in recent literature. Some of the reasons for the imbalance between the study of negative emotions and the lack of interest in positive ones are presented, and the types of positive affect that have been studied are briefly reviewed. After mentioning five reasons why personality psychologists should seriously consider the study of positive emotions, the paper focuses on both the causes and the consequences which positive affect has on several psychological processes. Since affect has been explicitly included in factorial models, the description and some of the explanations for individual differences in average levels of mood are presented. Links between affect and personality are examined through top‐down, bottom‐up, and interactive models. Finally, while considerations about the adaptive functions of emotions have made authors predict a generally negative quality of life for most people (Frijda, 1988), many data show that feelings of well‐being are prevalent. A final discussion includes a reference to Taylors argument (Taylor, 1989; Taylor and Brown, 1988) which asserts that positive ‘illusions’ are related to mental health.

The importance of “importance”: a longitudinal confirmation of the attributional-stress model of depression measuring the importance of the attributions and the impact of the stressor

Abstract In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the interaction between a negative attributional style for achievement-related events and a related stressor (i.e. failing a mid-term exam) predicted depression only in a small subset of the cognitive vulnerable subjects from the total sample (n=241). In line with the theoretical proposals of the hopelessness theory, the highest depression scores were observed in those subjects who not only had a negative attributional style for hypothetical achievement-related events, but had also judged such events as personally important, failed a mid-term exam, and judged that failing the exam was of major importance. Following on from these findings, we discuss the necessity of more adequate tests of diathesis-stress models of depression by considering the motivational factors in the models which have often been neglected.

Openness to Experience and Depression* * The original data upon which this paper is based are available at www.hhpub.com/journals/ejpa

Summary: The present study examines, in the context of the Five Factor Model, the contradictory role played by the Openness to Fantasy and Openness to Actions facets (of the Openness to Experience ...

Educating the ‘Worried Well’: Description of a Structured Programme and Implications for Treatment and Prevention

This paper describes the contents of a cognitive-behavioural treatment for hypochondriasis and health anxiety based on Barsky et al.s (1988) proposal. Five types of factors that may account for the enhanced experience of physical symptoms—selective and inadequate attention, muscle tension and bad breathing, environmental factors, stress and dysphoric mood and misinterpretation of somatic symptoms—were presented in the form of a group of educational training. Special emphasis was given to the form in which psychological information should be provided to initially resistant patients and to the contexts in which training should occur. The evidence obtained with an heterogeneous group of 14 subjects supports the utility of the programme, not only for target behaviours, but also for other related areas. Finally, the implications of this type of intervention for treatment and prevention are discussed.

Appreciation of beauty training: A web-based intervention

This study presents qualitative findings from a three-week web-based intervention of appreciation of beauty. The intervention consisted of exercises aimed at (i) increasing the awareness of beauty and of how it affects our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, (ii) cultivating an esthetic attitude in front of beauty, and (iii) encouraging participants to expose themselves to beauty. The website included a personal beauty journal, a personal multimedia-based beauty portfolio, a forum to share beauty experiences, and didactic information in audio and video sessions. Most participants reported that the intervention improved some aspects of appreciation of beauty and well-being, and, to a lesser extent, an increased perceptive awakening and self-transcendence.

El enigma de los big five: ¿Realidad o representación?

ResumenA partir de la revision de Sanchez Bernardos sobre el enfoque lexico y los cinco grandes factores de personalidad se hacen algunos comentarios y especulaciones. Se aborda la polemica cuestion de si los cinco grandes son estructuras cognitivo-semanticas o reflejan realidades empiricas.