Romantic Attraction and Happiness

The hypothesis, suggested by both E. Fromm and T. Reik, that level of unhappiness prior to meeting a love partner should be related to current intensity of love experienced was tested for 61 college dating couples. The results showed that current happiness but not retrospective report of prior unhappiness was related to romantic love. </jats:p

Placebo: Análisis conceptual de un constructo en transición

The authors start by declaring that some of the opinions about the �placebo� construct are answers to the present evolution towards the use of more cognitive conceptualizations in psychotherapy. Then they offer a brief historical review of this notion, focusing on the denotative and connotative aspects. Speaking of the first, they review two dominant metaphors that could be found in scientific literature: (a) placebo as inactive ingredients instead of active ones-, and (b), as nonspecific agents, instead of specific. Refering to the connotative aspects, they examine the four origine sources and state that if we distinguish between real placebo effects and measurement instruments, the negative connotations of this construct are not deserved. Then, they speak of the usefulness of the placebo construct in the psychotherapy efficacy evaluation, and respond to the question of present therapies being more effective than unspecific treatment. Finally, it is upheld that, given the crucial role placebo has to play in scientific psychotherapy evaluation, a premature rejection will suppose a methodological and conceptual regression.Los autores comienzan planteando que las opiniones vertidas en algunas revisiones acerca del constructo placebo son respuestas a la evolución actual hacia el empleo de conceptualizaciones más cognitivas en la psicoterapia. Seguidamente ofrecen un breve repaso histórico de esta noción, para centrarse en sus aspectos denotativos y connotativos. Respecto a los primeros, revisan las dos metáforas dominantes que pueden encontrarse en la literatura: (a) los placebos como ingredientes inertes en vez de activos y (b) como agentes no específicos en vez de específicos. En relación con los aspectos connotativos, examinan las cuatro fuentes de donde proceden y afirman que distinguiendo entre los verdaderos efectos placebo y los artefactos de medida las connotaciones negativas de este constructo son inmerecidas. Seguidamente abordan su utilidad en la evaluación de la eficacia de la psicoterapia y responden a la cuestión de si las terapias actuales son más eficaces que el tratamiento inespecífico. Este trabajo concluye que como el placebo ha de jugar un papel crucial en la evaluación científica de la psicoterapia, rechazarlo prematuramente constituiría una regresión conceptual y metodológica

Birth Order: Complementarity vs Homogamy as Determinants of Attraction in Dating Relationships

Toman's duplication and homogamy theorems derive conflicting hypotheses for the relationship between birth order and attraction in dating relationships. The present investigation directly compared these two hypotheses for a sample of 123 dating couples. Members of each couple completed measures of birth order, liking, loving, time-period dating, probability of marrying partner, and satisfaction with relationship; birth orders were classified into five types according to Toman's system. The results did not support either duplication or homogamy. Although evidence exists for the effects of duplication on marital longevity and for homogamy on marital choice, birth order does not appear related to the choice, longevity, or attraction between dating partners. Theoretical implications of these findings were discussed. </jats:p