PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Year:2006 | Volume:8 | Issue:3-4|Papers Count:6

Prejudice is defined as an unjustified negative attitude towards others due to membership in a particular group. The present research studies separate and combining effects of personal, cognitive and motivational factors in prejudice against immigrants. The major question of this research is which factors and to what extent can predict prejudice against Afghan immigrants. The sample consisted of 200 participants allocated to two equal groups of college students and office employees. Half of the office employees were in direct contact with Afghan immigrants and the other half were not. Findings showed that office employees NOT having direct contact with Afghan immigrants were less likely to believe in equal rights for immigrants and where equal rights were concerned, college students were the most sympathizing. In two of the components of prejudice, men showed more prejudice than women. All the scales used for the assessment of the variables were factor analyzed and the resulting components were directly entered into the statistical analysis. Some of the components of individual, cognitive, and motivational variables predicted approximately 30 percent of the variance of personal prejudice (first component of prejudice) and 20 percent of motivational prejudice (third component of prejudice).

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between cognitive styles (field dependent and field independent), cognitive and meta cognitive strategies and academic achievement. A sample of 180 male high school freshmen attending district 6 public high schools during the 2002-2003 school year, were randomly selected (stratified random sampling was used). Results showed a significant difference between field dependent and field independent groups in math achievement, with the independent group fairing better in math. However there was no significant difference in social studies course. Another finding showed that in employing cognitive and meta - cognitive strategies between the two groups of cognitive styles, the significant difference was more frequent among field independent students. These findings revealed that using cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies were positively correlated with math achievement but had no relation with achievement in social studies course.

The main purpose of the present study was to understand the relationship between mental health and the type and extent of irrational thoughts in Shahid Beheshti University students. Previous research has shown that mental health correlates with the extent and type of irrational thoughts. 385 students were selected for the sample group using relative classification random sampling. SCL-90-R and jones' IBT were administered. Pearson's correlation coefficient, t-test for two independent groups, and one way analysis of variance were used to analyze data. Results showed that the overall level of mental health in subjects significantly correlated with overall irrational thoughts. There were also negative correlations between mental health and demand for approval, high self expectation, frustration reaction, emotional irresponsibility, anxious overconcern, problem avoidance, and helplessness for change (P<0.000).A significant positive correlation was found with perfectionism (P<0.000). The main results of the present study are congruent with the findings of previous research.

Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders, to which psychologists have paid special attention. In recent years, many methods have been employed for treating depression. According to research findings, the family has an important role in the development, maintenance and treatment of the depression syndrome. Research findings also reveal that Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of depression. Therefore, family therapy, with an emphasis on the cognitive behavioral approach, is suggested as an effective approach in treating depression. Based on these grounds, the main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of family therapy as an effective treatment for depression. This research was a case study and data were obtained through clinical interviews and psychological tests. In this study, a severely depressed 17 years-old participant was successfully treated by using a combination of cognitive-behavioral techniques, emphasizing on family therapy. Results show the effectiveness of these methods in treating depression. Finally, consistency and inconsistency of the findings with the result of other studies in discussed.

DSM-IV-TR recognized that it is possible for individuals to receive a PTSD diagnosis following experiencing life threatening illness including cancer. This development has raised some questions about the nature of the stressor, and psychiatric symptoms experienced such as memory performance. The current study examines PTSD symptoms and autobiographical memory among survivors of cancer. Participants in this study included 26 cancer survivors, who had a history of cancer, but were no longer subject to treatment and were matched by sex, age, IQ, and economic status with 26 healthy adults. Both groups were administered the Impact of Event Scale (IES-R), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Spielberger's State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), WAIS-R, and the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI). The results indicated higher PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety among cancer survivors the findings also showed that the personal semantic memory scores were lower in childhood and early adult stages among cancer survivors comparing with normal control participants.