Applied Psychology
Year:2012 | Volume:6 | Issue:1 (21)|Papers Count:13

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the mediation effect of ego defense mechanisms on the relationship between secure, avoidant, and ambivalent attachment styles with alexithymia. Method: Method of the present study was correlational and the statistical population included about 4 million men and women aged 20 to 55 years living in Tehran. A total of 676 volunteers (314 men, 362 women) were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete Defense Styles Questionnaire (Andrews, Singh, & Bond, 1993), Adult Attachment Inventory (Hazan & Shaver, 1987), and Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994). Data was analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficients and regression analysis. Results: Secure attachment style showed a significant negative association with alexithymia, while avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles showed significant positive associations with alexithymia. Analysis of the data revealed that defense mechanisms mediated the relationship between attachment styles and alexithymia. It was shown that secure and insecure attachment styles can predict changes of alexithymia through mature, neurotic, and immature defense mechanisms in opposite directions. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that mediation effect of ego defense mechanisms on the relationship between attachment styles and alexithymia was partial. Correlation coefficients between attachment styles and alexithymia were reduced by the mediation effect of ego defense mechanisms. However, this effect was partial and the correlation between attachment styles and alexithymia remained significant. In order to reconstruct processes of emotion regulation, it may be useful to try and increase secure attachment characteristics in indivuduals and encourage them to use more mature defense mechanisms.

Aim: Thepurpose of this study was to compare the functions of selective and shifting attention in children and adolescents with developmental stuttering with their normal peers. Method: A comparative-cross/sectional study was designed where 30 school students were selected based on accessibility. These were selected from 11 boys’ and girl’ high schools in the town of Shahriar in Alborz Province, west of Tehran. The population comprised of 10508 students. An expert speech therapist diagnosed students and participants were divided into two groups of developmental stuttering (n=15) and non-developmental stuttering (n=15). The Wisconsin Cards (Grant & Berg, 1948) and the Stroop Test (Macleod, 1996) were administered as neuropsychological assessment. Data was analyzed using t-test. Result: Findings showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in functions of selective and shifting attention. In comparison with the normal group, the stuttering group had deficits in attentional functions. Conclusion: With a better understanding of attentional functions of stuttering individuals as an important cognitive variables, we can take a step toward recognizing cognitive vulnerability of disorder. These findings suggest that intervention programs for children with developmental stuttering should pay attention to cognitive deficits prior to speech interventions. Cognitive deficits should be eliminated using neuropsychological implements. With the advances made in the neurological basis of speech. It is suggested that intervention at this level will be most useful in reducing the severity of speech problems.

Aim: Recent cognitive theories of delusions postulate that patients with schizophrenia develop delusions due to a jumping to conclusion bias. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid task (similarity task) for measuring the jumping to conclusion bias. Methods: The method of the present study was correlational and included a number of test development procedures. The sample consisted of 45 patients with schizophrenia who were selected from about 1500 Razi and Ebnesina Hospitals' inpatients during a 6 month period via convenience sampling method. Measures included similarity (Safarian, 2010) and beads tasks (Garety, 1991) and two scales for assessment of positive and negative symptoms (Andreason, 1984). The similarity task consists of 17 groups of pictures that rotate on a computer monitor with different speeds. In each trial, a picture model and three other pictures similar to picture model are presented and the subjects are asked to select the most similar picture to the picture model. Cronbach's alpha was used to indicate consistency reliability of the task. Concurrent validity was examined by correlating the scores of the new task with the scores of an established task of jumping to conclusion bias (the beads task) (Garety, 1991). Predictive validity was determined by examining the ability of the new task to predict the severity of delusions of patients with schizophrenia. Discriminative validity was determined by examining the ability of the new task to differentiate between patients with and without delusions. Results: The similarity task showed satisfactory internal consistency, concurrent reliability, predictive and discriminative validity. Conclusion: Similarity task is a reliable and valid measure of jumping to conclusion bias and can be used in future research to examine theories on delusions and hallucinations.

Aim: Thepurpose of this study was to determine the relationship between different learning styles and self-efficacy in university students studying humanities, technical-engineering and basic sciences. Method: Comparative and correlational methods were employed. Population included 7060 undergraduate students of Shahid Beheshti University in the academic year 2009-2010.364 individuals were selected using stratified random sampling. Measurement tools were Kolb's Learning Styles Questionnaire (1999) and Sherer's general self-efficacy questionnaire (1982). Results: Results showed that as far as learning style was concerned, students in the humanities group, tended to be “accommodators”, technical-engineering students were “convergent learners” and basic sciences students tended to be “assimilators”. Relationship between self-efficacy, academic subject and gender was also significant. Self-efficacy of students in the technical engineering group was higher than basic sciences and humanities. Selfefficacy of female students was more than male students. There were no differences in learning styles of male and female students. Conclusion: In order to create and/or increase self-efficacy in students, it may be necessary for students to be aware of different learning styles associated with each field and related job prospects so that they can be more successful. Also, it is suggested that academic staff in different departments could adopt teaching styles more suitable to the needs of their students. One criterion for this could be the learning style dominant in a particular group of students. In this way, students would learn the basic principles of their academic field better and would use their acquired knowledge in a more applied manner and regard themselves as more efficient individuals.

Aim: The present study investigated the psychometric characteristics of Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. Method: A descriptive method using survey was used to select 507 students from a population of 92249 3rd, 4th and 5th grade elementary school children in the City of Mashhad during the 2009-2010 academic year. Research tools used included a demographic information questionnaire, the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (Reynolds & Richmond, 1978), Children's Depression Scale (Kovacs, 1977) and Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for children (March, 1997). Results: Data analysis showed that test-retest reliability and internal consistency for the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for children was 0.48 and 0.79 respectively. Also, the relationship between this scale and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Scale were 0.38 and 0.02 respectively which indicates convergent and divergent validity. Confirmatory factor analysis also showed that the four factor model of Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children's in the Iranian community is a good fit. Conclusion: The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale has favorable psychometric properties in the Iranian community and is a useful screening instrument for identifying children with anxiety disorders.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the role of parental attachment in academic achievement based on the mediating effect of self-efficacy. Method: A correlational research method was used and the statistical population consisted of 6530 high school students in the city of Shiraz. Participants were 301 students (147 boys and 154 girls) selected via multistage random cluster sampling. In this model, parental attachment and selfefficacy were considered as exogenous mediators and academic achievement was the endogenous variable. Research instruments were the Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) subscale (Armesden & Greenberg, 1987), and the General Self-efficacy Scale (Schwarzer, 1992). The hypothetical model was tested by simultaneous regression analyses, according to the steps of Baron and Kenny (1989). Results: Results indicated that parental attachment predicted academic achievement positively and self-efficacy predicted academic achievement positively. Conclusion: Overall, results showed that self-efficacy could be regarded as a significant mediator between parental attachment and academic achievement. So by providing secure parental attachment, parents can motivate their children to be achieve more academically.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between academic self-concept, positive (enjoyment, hope) and negative (anxiety, anger and fatigue) academic emotions with self-regulated. Methods: The method of the study was correlational and the population comprised of all male and female high school students of public and private school in Tehran the number 223742 in the 2007-2008 academic year that 840 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and completed measuring academic self-concept by Marsh, 1990, academic emotions questionnaire by Pekrun, Goetz & Frenzel (2005) and measuring learning self-regulation questionnaire by Pintrich & Degroot, 1990. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression. Results: The correlation matrix of variables showed that relationship between academic self-concept and positive emotions and self-regulated learning was negative significant. The variables "boredom", "hope", "enjoyment" and "anxiety" were related with self-regulated learning, and together explained 55% of the variance in self-regulated learning. However, academic self-concept did not predict self-regulated learning. Conclusion: Academic emotions predict self-regulated learning and the strongest predictor seems to be class boredom. Therefore, the environment of the education should be aimed of enhancing positive emotions and reducing negative emotions in students through of improved the quality of teacher education.