The Relative Influence of Favorable and Unfavorable Evaluations On

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Relative Influence of Favorable and Unfavorable Evaluations On University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 1977 The elr ative influence of favorable and unfavorable evaluations on emotional, behavioral and cognitive reactions and as a function of level of self-esteem and of level of depression. Jean Losco Szpiler University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Szpiler, Jean Losco, "The er lative influence of favorable and unfavorable evaluations on emotional, behavioral and cognitive reactions and as a function of level of self-esteem and of level of depression." (1977). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 2022. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/2022 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UMASS/AMHERST 3iaQt.bQ135bfc.Qlfi THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE EVALUATIONS ON EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE REACTIONS AND AS A FUNCTION OF LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM AND OF LEVEL OF DEPRESSION A Thesis Presented By JEAN LOSCO SZPILER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE August 1977 Psychology 11 THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE EVALUATIONS ON EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE REACTIONS AND AS A FUNCTION OF LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM AND OF LEVEL OF DEPRESSION A Thesis Presented By JEAN LOSCO SZPILER Approved as to style and content by: Seymour' Epstein, Chairperson of Committee James Ave rill, Member. Bonnie Strickland, Member —i/i ^ Norman F. Watt, Department Head Psychology * • • TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi INTRODUCTION 1 Review of the Literature 1 The Relative Influence of Favorable and Unfavorable Evaluations 1 The need for a comprehensive Description of reactions to Favorable and Unfavorable Evaluations 5 Consistency Theories versus Enhancement Theories 5 Other factors which may Influence Reactions to Evaluations 11 Statement of Problem , 27 METHOD 28 Subjects 28 Materials 28 Procedure • 32 Self-report measures 33 Data Analysis 33 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIOH 35 Description of Reactions to Favorable and Unfavorable Evaluations as a Function of Sex of Subject 35 Content of the evaluations 35 Emotional reactions to Favorable and Unfavorable evaluations as a function of sex of the subject 36 Cognitive Reactions to Favorable and Unfavorable evaluations as a function of sex of the subject 48 Behavioral Reactions to being Positively and negatively evaluated as a function of sex of subject 58 Summary and Overview of Reactions to Favorable and unfavorable evaluations as a function of sex of the subject. 63 How subjects Responded to Favorable and Unfavorable 68 evaluations as a Function of Level of Self-esteem . IV Content of the Evaluation 68 Emotional Reactions to positive and Negative evaluations as a Function of Level of Self-esteem... 68 Cognitive Responses to being evaluated as a function of Level of Self-esteem and Sex of the subject 77 Behavioral reactions to being positively and nega- tively evaluated as a function of level of self- esteem 87 Summary and Overview of Reactions to Positive and negative evaluations as a Function of Level of Self- esteem 91 The Relationship between Level of Self-esteem and level of Depression 97 How subjects Responded to Favorable and Unfavorable evaluations as a Function of Level of Depression 98 Emotional reactions to being Evaluated as a Function of Level of Depression 99 Cognitive Reactions to being evaluated as a Function of Level of Depression 104 Behavioral Reactions to being Evaluated as a Function of Level of Depression 105 Summary and Overview of Reactions to Positive and negative evaluations as a Function of Level of De- pression 108 REFERENCES 117 APPENDICES 121 A. Forms for recording reactions to positive and negative evaluations 122 B. Self-report Inventory 144 C. Zung Self-rating Depression Scale 150 D. Between-subject Correlations 152 E. Within-subject Correlations 162 1 i . V LIST OF TABLES 1. Mean emotion ratings before being evaluated as a function of valence of evaluation. 2. Mean emotion ratings after being evaluated as a function of valence of evaluation 3. Mean emotional reactivity ratings as a function of valence of evaluation. 4. Means for behavioral tendencies felt and carried out as a function of valence of evaluations. 5. Mean emotion ratings before being positively and negatively evalua- ted as a function of level of self-esteem. 6. Mean emotional change to being positively and negatively evaluated as a function of level of self-esteem. 7. The degree to which subjects 1 responses should be positive and negative as predicted by consistency and enhancement theories. 1 8. The degree to which subjects responses were found to be positive and negative as a function of valence of evaluation and level of self- esteem. 9. The degree of positive and negative reactivity to positive and nega- tive evaluations for low self-esteem individuals, 10. Mean emotion ratings before being evaluated as a function of level of depression. evaluated 11. Mean emotion ratings after being positively and negatively as a function of level of depression. LIST OF FIGURES Degree to which different attributes were evaluated positively and negatively. Mean ratings of the subjects 1 subjective and objective perceptions of the manner in which they were treated by the evaluator for favorable and unfavorable evaluations. CHAPTER I One of the most common ways a person can learn about himself and his abilities is by being evaluated by another person. The process of being evaluated can be a highly adaptive one for the individual. By responding to the information provided by those around him the individual can learn more efficient and effective ways of dealing with his environ- ment. It is evident, however, that some people do not profit from eval- uations and learn from their experience as well as others. They tend to consistently ignore, deny or distort self -re levent information. One f important task for psychologists is to identify those aspects of the individual and of the evaluation process which determine whether evalua- tions will be a constructive or a destructive experience. Review of the Literature The notion that an individual's self-appraisal is significantly determined by the information he receives from others is a relatively old and a frequently cited idea (Cooley, 1902; Mead, 1934; Sullivan, 1953). Within the last several decades, a considerable amount of researc has been done focusing on the variety of reactions to evaluations from others including behavioral, emotional and cognitive responses. The relative influence of favorable and unfa* arable _eyaluj^t ion^. The relative influence of favorable and unfavorable evaluations empirical investigations on behavioral responses . Most of the early un- (1916-1966) focused on behavioral responses to either tavorable or . favorable feedback. This research was usually conducted in an education- al setting. After over fifty years of research there is today little agreement as to the relative merits of praise or reproof in improving behavioral skills and learning performance. Some examples may suffice to illustrate the current lack of consensus concerning the effects of praise and criticism. According to Biehler (1971) a teacher should "use praise 11 freely, for it motivates pupils to achieve. and should use "blame with caution. In some cases reprimand forces the wrong response and sets off a chain of compulsive repetitions." (p. 344-5). One can also find support for the point of view that praise can be damaging and should be used with caution (Farson, 1971; Ginott, 1972). Prather (1970) sum- marizes some of the damaging effects of praise as follows: There is something about compliments that scares me. Part of the reason may be that I am afraid of getting something that can subsequently be taken away. I put myself in the hands of the other person if I let my emotions lean on his statement. Another reason: I am being put on the spot and now must watch my actions to keep him thinking this way about me. Another: There is a part of me that knows I am not as good as his com- pliment implies. Another: I have often been insincere when saying similar things equal to And finally, Hamachek (1976) concludes that since praise is performance. reproof in its effects either may be used to improve evaluations The relative influence of favorable and unfavorable responses have received a great deal on emotional responses . Behavioral evaluated are also an im- of attention but emotional reactions to beirg Epstein (1973) assumes portant component of reactivity to consider. significance to the individual's that emotions occur when a postulate of assumes thac negative emotions self -system is affected. Epstein further will be aroused when the person experiences a threat to any one of the functions of the self -system: assimilating the data of experience, maintaining self-esteem, and, maintaining a favorable pleasure /pain balance. Positive emotions are assumed to occur when these functions are facilitated. To the extent that evaluations received from others affect important components of the individual's self -system one would expect the extent and quality of emotional reactions to be affected. As with behavioral reactions to evaluations, there is little agreement as to the differential effects of receiving favorable or unfav orable information about one's self on emotions. It has often been assumed that favorable information will produce positive emotions (e.g., happiness) and unfavorable emotions will produce negative emotions (e.g. sadness) (cf . Deutsch, 1961) . However , Ginott (1972) points out that "evaluative praise is often experienced as a threat. It brings discom- fort, not delight; fear, not joy"(p.
Recommended publications
  • Parental Attributions Concerning the Causes and Controllability of Adolescent Depression Joan E
    Eastern Michigan University DigitalCommons@EMU Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations Graduate Capstone Projects 5-2007 Parental attributions concerning the causes and controllability of adolescent depression Joan E. McDowell Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.emich.edu/theses Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons Recommended Citation McDowell, Joan E., "Parental attributions concerning the causes and controllability of adolescent depression" (2007). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 30. http://commons.emich.edu/theses/30 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Graduate Capstone Projects at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PARENTAL ATTRIBUTIONS CONCERNING THE CAUSES AND CONTROLLABILITY OF ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION by Joan E. McDowell Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Psychology Eastern Michigan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dissertation Committee: Carol Freedman-Doan, Ph.D., Chair Michelle Byrd, Ph.D. Renee Lajiness-O’Neill, Ph.D. Marilyn Wedenoja, Ph.D. May 2007 Ypsilanti, Michigan Parental Attributions ii APPROVAL PARENTAL ATTRIBUTIONS CONCERNING THE CAUSES AND CONTROLLABILITY OF ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION Joan McDowell APPROVED:
    [Show full text]
  • EMPATHY and FAMILY EMOTIONAL CLIMATE Master's
    Running head: EMPATHY AND FAMILY EMOTIONAL CLIMATE Master’s Thesis for New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences May, 2010 EMPATHY AND FAMILY EMOTIONAL CLIMATE: Clues to cultivating perspective-taking and emotional competence Stefanie F. Molicki (maiden name) Stefanie F. Frank (married name) Empathy and Family Emotional Climate 2 Empathy and Family Emotional Climate 3 [Submitted September 2010 for New York University Master’s in Psychology Program] There is much effort in educational and psychology research to determine what factors play a role in a child’s success in both academic and social settings. While many studies have focused on the importance of cognitive factors such as memory, verbal ability and reasoning ability as crucial for school success, more recent research has pointed to various social emotional competences as essential not only to a child’s adaptive social functioning but also to school performance (CASEL). The Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning lists the five most important of these factors as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making . Although empathy is not listed as a specific skill among these, it is associated with effortful control and management of emotions, thus preventing overarousal and diminished attentional capacity for learning and adaptive behavior, and is therefore a factor worth exploring in terms of promoting positive academic behavior (Valiente et al., 2004). This study explores various factors related to empathy in the hopes of shedding light on potential avenues for promoting these skills both in the classroom and in therapeutic settings. In addition to promoting school performance by allowing a child to focus on learning rather than on his or her emotional arousal, empathy plays an important role in adaptive social relations, self-esteem and other areas of social competence because of its ability to allow a person to control his or her own emotions while interacting with others (Huang et al., 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Empathic Responsivity and Callous-Unemotional Traits Across Development Julia Elizabeth Clark [email protected]
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 6-24-2019 Empathic Responsivity and Callous-Unemotional Traits Across Development Julia Elizabeth Clark [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons, and the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Clark, Julia Elizabeth, "Empathic Responsivity and Callous-Unemotional Traits Across Development" (2019). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4985. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4985 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. EMPATHIC RESPONSIVITY AND CALLOUS-UNEMOTIONAL TRAITS ACROSS DEVELOPMENT A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Psychology by Julia Elizabeth Clark B.A., Whitman College, 2011 M.S., University of New Orleans, 2015 August 2019 Acknowledgements Throughout the writing of this dissertation, I have received a great deal of support and assistance. First, my advisor, Dr. Paul J. Frick, provided countless hours of discussion, editing, and moral support. His expertise and mentorship were invaluable in completing this work. I could not have completed this dissertation without his brilliance, kindness, humor, and willingness to always lend an ear. Thank you also to his wife, Mrs. Vicki Frick, and to their son Jacob and dog Charlie, for giving me a family in Louisiana.
    [Show full text]
  • Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) & Maternal Depression: a Proposal for the Application of PCIT with Mothers Who Are Depressed and Their Children
    Wright State University CORE Scholar Browse all Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2011 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) & Maternal Depression: A Proposal for the Application of PCIT With Mothers Who Are Depressed and Their Children Seema Jacob Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all Part of the Psychology Commons Repository Citation Jacob, Seema, "Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) & Maternal Depression: A Proposal for the Application of PCIT With Mothers Who Are Depressed and Their Children" (2011). Browse all Theses and Dissertations. 1109. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all/1109 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Browse all Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION THERAPY (PCIT) & MATERNAL DEPRESSION: A PROPOSAL FOR THE APPLICATION OF PCIT WITH MOTHERS WHO ARE DEPRESSED AND THEIR CHILDREN PROFESSIONAL DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY BY SEEMA JACOB, M.A. IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY Dayton, Ohio September, 2011 COMMITTEE CHAIR: Janeece Warfield, Psy.D. Committee Member: Eve M. Wolf, Ph.D. Committee Member: Lane Pullins, Ph.D. WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY June 30, 2011 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE DISSERTATION PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY SEEMA JACOB ENTITLED PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION THERAPY (PCIT) & MATERNAL DEPRESSION: A PROPOSAL FOR THE APPLICATION OF PCIT WITH MOTHERS WHO ARE DEPRESSED AND THEIR CHILDREN BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY.
    [Show full text]
  • An Overview of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Curricula Mindy E
    An Overview of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Curricula Mindy E. Scott and Ilana Huz Overview Healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programming—also called marriage and relationship education or relationship education programming— teaches concepts and skills that promote healthy, safe, and stable relationships among youth and adults.1 When designing and implementing an HMRE program, one of the most important decisions that program providers must make is to choose which curriculum to implement. For example, organizations can use curricula developed by external developers that come with predetermined content, materials, and activities, or they may develop their own curriculum. With either approach, organizations need to consider many MAST CENTER RESEARCH factors when assessing whether a specific curriculum The Marriage Strengthening Research and is appropriate for a given program: For example, does Dissemination Center (MAST Center) conducts the curriculum content align with the goal of that research on marriage and romantic relationships program, and is it designed for the program’s target in the U.S. and healthy marriage and relationship population? education (HMRE) programs designed to strengthen these relationships. This research aims to identify To help HMRE program providers (and the evaluators critical research gaps, generate new knowledge, and who work with them) better understand and help programs more effectively serve the individuals assess various aspects of HMRE curricula, this and families they work with. MAST Center research is brief provides an overview of the design of HMRE concentrated in two areas: curricula implemented in programs that have been • Relationship Patterns & Trends. Population- a formally evaluated. Synthesizing information from based research to better understand trends, 21 HMRE curricula, the brief describes the target predictors, dynamics, and outcomes of marriage population(s) for which each curriculum is designed, and relationships in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Neuroticism and Fear of COVID-19. the Interplay Between Boredom
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 13 October 2020 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.574393 Neuroticism and Fear of COVID-19. The Interplay Between Boredom, Fantasy Engagement, and Perceived Control Over Time Barbara Caci1*, Silvana Miceli1, Fabrizio Scrima2 and Maurizio Cardaci1 1Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy, 2Département de Psychologie, Université de Rouen, Moint Saint-Aignan, France The Italian government adopted measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection from March 9, 2020, to May 4, 2020 and imposed a phase of social Edited by: distancing and self-isolation to all adult citizens. Although justified and necessary, Joanna Sokolowska, University of Social Sciences and psychologists question the impact of this process of COVID-19 isolation on the mental Humanities, Poland health of the population. Hence, this paper investigated the relationship between Reviewed by: neuroticism, boredom, fantasy engagement, perceived control over time, and the fear of Cinzia Guarnaccia, University of Rennes 2 – Upper COVID-19. Specifically, we performed a cross-sectional study aimed at testing an Brittany, France integrative moderated mediation model. Our model assigned the boredom to the mediation Martin Reuter, role and both the fantasy engagement and perceived control of time to the role of University of Bonn, Germany moderators in the relationship between neuroticism and the fear of COVID-19. A sample *Correspondence: Barbara Caci of 301 subjects, mainly women (68.8%), aged between 18 and 57 years (Mage = 22.12 years; [email protected] SD = 6.29), participated in a survey conducted in the 1st-week lockdown phase 2 in Italy from May 7 to 18, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Physical Activity Predicts Emotion-Context-Sensitivity
    PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PREDICTS EMOTION-CONTEXT-SENSITIVITY A thesis submitted to the Kent State University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for University Honors by Morgan Christina Shields May, 2014 Thesis written by Morgan Christina Shields Approved by _______________________________________________________________, Advisor __________________________________________, Chair, Department of Psychology Accepted by ___________________________________________________, Dean, Honors College ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Emotion Regulation ................................................................................................2 Executive Functioning .............................................................................................4 Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Flexibility ....................................................5 Current Investigation ..............................................................................................6 Hypothesis I ....................................................................................................7 Hypothesis II ...................................................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • Strayer, Janet; Chang, Anthony Children's Emotional and Helping
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 406 012 PS 025 229 AUTHOR Strayer, Janet; Chang, Anthony TITLE Children's Emotional and Helping Responses as a Function of Empathy and Affective Cues. PUB DATE Apr 97 NOTE 17p.; Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (62nd, Washington, DC, April 3-6, 1997). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Reports Research /Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Affective Behavior; Altruism; Attribution Theory; Child Behavior; 'Children; *Emotional Response; Empathy; Helping Relationship; Interpersonal Relationship; *Prosocial Behavior; Stimuli; Theories IDENTIFIERS *Affective Response ABSTRACT This study examined the theoretically related constructs of children's empathy, affective responsiveness, and altruistic helping. Subjects were 80 nine-year-olds. Empathy was assessed using interviews with children regarding their understanding of the emotion portrayed in, and their own emotional-cognitive responses to, a set of seven videotaped stimulus vignettes of persons in emotional interaction. Responses were scored along an Empathy Continuum (EC). A median split on EC scores assigned children into high or low empathy groups. Second, emotional responsivity was assessed in the Affect Match (AM) Experiment in which children viewed video episodes of four same-sex peers, each responding to a test-game, in which they were happy or sad about winning or losing. AM scores were the degree of affect match reported by the child. Third, altruistic helping was assessed in the Helping Experiment, in which children viewed a same-sex peer (a confederate) who was completing a test-game in another room, visible to the subject via TV monitor. The subject's helping responses over 10 trials were noted.
    [Show full text]
  • Attentional Control Abnormalities in Posttraumatic
    Attentional control abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder: Functional, behavioral, and structural correlates Negar Fani, Emory University Cherita Clendinen, Emory University Raven A Hardy, Emory University Sindhuja Surapaneni, Emory University Abigail Powers, Emory University Tim D Ely, Emory University Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University Kerry Ressler, Emory University Bekh Bradley-Davino, Emory University Journal Title: Journal of Affective Disorders Volume: Volume 253 Publisher: Elsevier | 2019-06-15, Pages 343-351 Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review Publisher DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.098 Permanent URL: https://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/vh0mc Final published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.098 Copyright information: © 2019 This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Accessed September 23, 2021 10:27 PM EDT HHS Public Access Author manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author J Affect Manuscript Author Disord. Author Manuscript Author manuscript; available in PMC 2019 November 15. Published in final edited form as: J Affect Disord. 2019 June 15; 253: 343–351. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.098. Attentional control abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder: Functional, behavioral, and structural correlates Negar Fania,*, Tricia Z. Kingb, Cherita Clendinena, Raven A. Hardya, Sindhuja Surapanenia, James R. Blairc, Stuart F. Whitec, Abigail Powersa, Tim D. Elya, Tanja Jovanovica, Kerry J. Resslerd, Bekh Bradleya,e aEmory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, United States bGeorgia State University, Department of Psychology, United States cBoystown National Research Hospital, United States dMcLean Hospital, United States eAtlanta VA Medical Center, United States Abstract Background: Attentional disruptions are common in PTSD, but findings across neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have been variable.
    [Show full text]
  • Overwhelmed by Emotion: Pathways from Revictimization to Mothers’ Negative Emotional Responsivity
    Overwhelmed by Emotion: Pathways from Revictimization to Mothers’ Negative Emotional Responsivity CHRISTINA GAMACHE MARTIN*,† HYOUN K. KIM‡,§ JENNIFER J. FREYD* Maternal history of childhood abuse has consistently been linked to increased risk for poor emotional adjustment and parenting as an adult. The aim of this study was to exam- ine a model that may explain the link between maternal history of childhood abuse and mothers’ tendencies to respond negatively to their adolescent children’s negative emotions. A community sample of 66 mothers with adolescent children participated. Path analysis supported associations between mothers with a history of high betrayal trauma revictim- ization (i.e., trauma perpetrated by someone close to the mother during childhood and again as a young adult) and increased difficulty regulating their emotions. In turn, moth- ers who struggled to regulate their own emotions were also more likely to respond nega- tively to their adolescent’s negative emotions. Findings highlight effects of childhood trauma may be particularly problematic for mothers who are revictimized as young adults. These results provide the foundation for future research evaluating clinical interventions targeted at increasing maternal emotion regulation skills. Keywords: Maternal trauma; Emotional responsivity; Emotion dysregulation; Betrayal trauma; Revictimization Fam Proc 57:947–959, 2018 aternal history of childhood abuse has consistently been linked to increased risk for Mpoor parenting as an adult. Mothers with a child abuse history report lower levels of parenting confidence, more parent-related stress, less emotional control during parent– child interactions, decreased responsivity and empathy, and an increased propensity toward punitive and authoritarian parenting styles and discipline practices (Banyard, 1997; Bert, Guner, & Lanzi, 2009; Cole, Woolger, Power, & Smith, 1992; Schuetze & Das Eiden, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Short-Term Dynamic Therapy of Stress Response Syndromes
    Short-Term Dynamic Therapy of Stress Response Syndromes Mardi J. Horowitz from Handbook of Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy e-Book 2015 International Psychotherapy Institute From Handbook of Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy edited by Paul Crits-Christoph & Jacques P. Barber Copyright © 1991 by Basic Books All Rights Reserved Created in the United States of America Contents ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT SELECTION OF PATIENTS AND GOALS OF TREATMENT THEORY OF CHANGE States of Mind Theory TECHNIQUES OF MODERN PHASE-ORIENTED TREATMENT TECHNIQUES SPECIFIC TO SHORT-TERM DYNAMIC THERAPY OF RESPONSE SYNDROMES EMPIRICAL SUPPORT SUMMARY References Short-Term Dynamic Therapy of Stress Response Syndromes The ideas in this chapter were developed for understanding the processes of symptom formation and change in the stress response syndromes. Stress response syndromes were selected because their anchoring in known and meaningful external events facilitated the study of change. Many of the suggested techniques are applicable to other disorders, since in any approach one should take into account the personality configuration of the patient and how he or she can master stress of external or internal origin.[1] ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT Early in the 1970s, my colleagues and I conducted clinical investigations of persons who were struggling to master recent stressful events. At the time, there was no diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the official nomenclature, DSM II. Yet in our clinical observations we found that intrusive and repetitive thought, especially unbidden images, was a distinctive symptomatic response to stress, and often occurred in conjunction with its apparent opposite, phases of ideational denial and emotional numbing related to the potentially traumatic experiences.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cross-Methodological Investigation of Emotional Reactivity in Major Depression Vanessa Panaite University of South Florida, [email protected]
    University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 6-25-2016 A Cross-Methodological Investigation of Emotional Reactivity in Major Depression Vanessa Panaite University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Panaite, Vanessa, "A Cross-Methodological Investigation of Emotional Reactivity in Major Depression" (2016). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6345 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Cross-Methodological Investigation of Emotional Reactivity in Major Depression by Vanessa Panaite A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Psychology with a concentration in Clinical Psychology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D. Mark Goldman, Ph.D. Marina Bornovalova, Ph.D. Kristen Salomon, Ph.D. Eun Sook Kim, Ph.D. Date of Approval: February 11, 2016 Keywords: Major Depressive Disorder, Emotional Reactivity, EMA Copyright © 2016, Vanessa Panaite DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mother, Maria Panica, who has taught me that no challenge is big enough, no obstacle is large enough. I also dedicate this work to my patients who have taught me about the true struggles of depression and have inspired the highest appreciation for the importance of research in this area.
    [Show full text]