Core Mechanisms of Change in Motivational Interviewing: An Attempt to Separate Relational from Technical Element Effects

This experiment used a dismantling approach to examine change mechanisms in motivational interviewing (MI). Seventy-two undergraduate participants who scored in the top 35th percentile on trait anger were randomly assigned to: full MI (FMI), spirit-only MI (SOMI), or psychoeducation. They met individually with an experimenter for one 30- to 45-minute session to discuss their anger. In the FMI condition, the relational and technical elements of MI were both used to elicit change talk. In the SOMI condition, the supportive and relational elements of MI were emphasized. In the psychoeducation condition, the focus was placed on teaching the components of anger episodes. Participants were then asked to launch a daily, online, deep breathing exercise during the following week. Results showed that participants in both MI conditions emitted more change talk than those in the psychoeducation condition. Independent session ratings showed that despite the attempted elimination of technical elements in the SOMI condition, the FMI and SOMI conditions did not differ on the experimenter’s acceptance, empathy, direction, autonomy support, and collaboration. Also, results did not support the main effect on program launches. These results indicate it is challenging to separate relational from technical elements in MI and, thus, to identify core mechanisms of change

Core Mechanisms of Change in Motivational Interviewing: An Attempt to Separate Relational from Technical Element Effects

This experiment used a dismantling approach to examine change mechanisms in motivational interviewing (MI). Seventy-two undergraduate participants who scored in the top 35th percentile on trait anger were randomly assigned to: full MI (FMI), spirit-only MI (SOMI), or psychoeducation. They met individually with an experimenter for one 30- to 45-minute session to discuss their anger. In the FMI condition, the relational and technical elements of MI were both used to elicit change talk. In the SOMI condition, the supportive and relational elements of MI were emphasized. In the psychoeducation condition, the focus was placed on teaching the components of anger episodes. Participants were then asked to launch a daily, online, deep breathing exercise during the following week. Results showed that participants in both MI conditions emitted more change talk than those in the psychoeducation condition. Independent session ratings showed that despite the attempted elimination of technical elements in the SOMI condition, the FMI and SOMI conditions did not differ on the experimenter’s acceptance, empathy, direction, autonomy support, and collaboration. Also, results did not support the main effect on program launches. These results indicate it is challenging to separate relational from technical elements in MI and, thus, to identify core mechanisms of change

Temeljni mehanizmi promjene kod motivacijskoga intervjua: Razlikovanje učinaka relacijskih i tehničkih elemenata

This experiment used a dismantling approach to examine change mechanisms in motivational interviewing (MI). Seventy-two undergraduate participants who scored in the top 35th percentile on trait anger were randomly assigned to: full MI (FMI), spirit-only MI (SOMI), or psychoeducation. They met individually with an experimenter for one 30- to 45-minute session to discuss their anger. In the FMI condition, the relational and technical elements of MI were both used to elicit change talk. In the SOMI condition, the supportive and relational elements of MI were emphasized. In the psychoeducation condition, the focus was placed on teaching the components of anger episodes. Participants were then asked to launch a daily, online, deep breathing exercise during the following week. Results showed that participants in both MI conditions emitted more change talk than those in the psychoeducation condition. Independent session ratings showed that despite the attempted elimination of technical elements in the SOMI condition, the FMI and SOMI conditions did not differ on the experimenter’s acceptance, empathy, direction, autonomy support, and collaboration. Also, results did not support the main effect on program launches. These results indicate it is challenging to separate relational from technical elements in MI and, thus, to identify core mechanisms of change.U ovome je eksperimentu korišten tzv. pristup rastavljanja da bi se ispitali mehanizmi promjene u motivacijskome intervjuu (MI). Sedamdeset i dva studenta preddiplomskoga studija koja su se nalazila u gornjih 35 percentila na osobini ljutnje nasumično su raspoređena u sljedeće skupine: potpuni MI (PMI), relacijski MI (RMI) ili psihoedukacija. Svaki se sudionik individualno sastao s eksperimentatorom (terapeutom) na jednoj seansi u trajanju od 30 do 45 minuta da bi razgovarao o svojoj ljutnji. U uvjetu potpunoga MI-ja korišteni su relacijski i tehnički elementi da bi se potaknuo razgovor o promjeni, dok je u uvjetu relacijskoga MI-ja naglasak bio na relacijskim i suportivnim elementima. U uvjetima psihoedukacije fokus je stavljen na podučavanje o komponentama ljutnje. Sudionici su zatim zamoljeni da tijekom sljedećega tjedna putem interneta koriste dnevnu vježbu dubokoga disanja. Rezultati su pokazali da su sudionici u obama uvjetima motivacijskoga intervjua iskazivali više govora o promjeni (engl. change talk) u odnosu na grupu koja je sudjelovala u psihoedukaciji. Nezavisne procjene seansi pokazale su da se, unatoč pokušaju eliminacije tehničkih elemenata u uvjetu relacijskoga MI-ja, uvjeti PMI-ja i RMI-ja nisu razlikovali u terapeutovu prihvaćanju, empatiji, usmjeravanju, podršci autonomije i suradnji. Također, nije dobiven efekt grupe na pokretanje vježbe dubokoga disanja. Ti rezultati pokazuju da je teško odvojiti relacijske od tehničkih elemenata u MI-ju i prema tome identificirati temeljne mehanizme promjene

Validation of the 8-item Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale (ATGS-8) in a British population survey

Introduction. Public opinions concerning gambling are an important factor in shaping public policy. Little empirical attention has been given to assessing gambling attitudes within the general population. The aim of the present study is to validate the 8-item Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale (ATGS-8) in British individuals and to investigate associations of these attitudes with frequency of gambling and gambling problems. Methods. Data were derived from 7746 individuals participating in the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010, a comprehensive interview-based survey conducted in Great Britain between November 2009 and May 2010. Confirmatory factor analysis and separate regression analyses were applied. Results. The one-dimensional structure of the ATGS-8 was confirmed in the community sample and by gender. Furthermore, more positive attitudes towards gambling were positively related to frequency of gambling and gambling problems. Conclusions. The present study extends the previous evaluations of the scale by providing detailed evidence for the utility and usefulness of the ATGS-8 in a community sample and across gender. The ATGS-8 is a valid instrument to assess public opinion on gambling among the general population

A longitudinal study of factors explaining attitude change towards gambling among adolescents

Background and aims: No previous study has investigated changes in attitudes toward gambling from under legal gambling age to legal gambling age. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate attitudinal changes during this transition and to identify predictors of corresponding attitude change. Methods: In all 1239 adolescents from a national representative sample participated in two survey waves (Wave 1; 17.5 years; Wave 2; 18.5 years). Results: From Wave 1 to Wave 2 the sample became more acceptant toward gambling. A regression analysis showed that when controlling for attitudes toward gambling at Wave 1 males developed more acceptant attitudes than females. Neuroticism was inversely related to development of acceptant attitudes toward gambling from Wave 1 to Wave 2, whereas approval of gambling by close others at Wave 1 was positively associated with development of more acceptant attitudes. Continuous or increased participation in gambling was related to development of more acceptant attitudes from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Conclusions: Attitudes toward gambling became more acceptant when reaching legal gambling age. Male gender, approval of gambling by close others and gambling participation predicted development of positive attitudes toward gambling whereas neuroticism was inversely related to development of positive attitudes toward gambling over time

On hotheads and dirty harries: The primacy of anger in altruistic punishment

Recent research has shown that individuals are prepared to incur costs to punish non-cooperators, even in one-shot interactions. However, why would people punish non-cooperators with no apparent benefits for the punishers themselves? This behavior is also known as altruistic punishment. When defection is discovered, an individual evaluates this act as unfair, which could result in anger. We argue that although unfairness and anger are often intertwined, it is primarily the experience of anger and not the perception of unfairness that produces altruistic punishment. We briefly present recent data in line with the hypothesis that identifies anger as the underlying mechanism of altruistic punishment. Furthermore, additional influences regarding the occurrence of altruistic punishment, e.g., intentionality of the interaction partner, the role of satisfaction, and individual differences, are discussed

Mixed emotions to near-miss outcomes: a psychophysiological study with facial electromyography

Near-misses occur across many forms of gambling and are rated as unpleasant while simultaneously increasing the motivation to continue playing. On slot machines, the icon position relative to the payline moderates the effects of near-misses, with near-misses before the payline increasing motivation, and near-misses after the payline being rated as aversive. Near-misses are also known to increase physiological arousal compared to full-misses, but physiological measures to date have not been able to dissociate positive and negative emotional responses. The present study measured facial electromyography at the corrugator (brow) and zygomaticus (cheek) sites, as well as electrodermal activity (EDA), following gambling outcomes on a two-reel slot machine simulation in 77 novice gamblers. Behavioral data was collected using trial-by-trial ratings of motivation and valence. Wins were rated as more pleasant and increased motivation to continue playing, compared to non-win outcomes. Wins were also accompanied by increased EDA and zygomaticus activity. Near-misses after the payline were rated as more aversive than other non-wins, and this was accompanied by increased EDA and zygomaticus activity. Near-misses before the payline increased motivation to continue playing, and were accompanied by increased EDA. Thus, both subjective and physiological responses to near-misses differ for events falling either side of the payline. The ‘near-miss effect’ is not a unitary phenomenon. Facial EMG has differential sensitivity to positive and negative valence and may be a useful measure for future studies of gambling behavior

Irrational Beliefs in Employees with an Adjustment, a Depressive, or an Anxiety Disorder: a Prospective Cohort Study

It remains unclear if patients with different types of common mental disorders, such as adjustment, anxiety and depressive disorders, have the same irrational ideas. The aim of this prospective cohort study (n = 190) is to investigate differences in level and type of irrational beliefs among these groups and to examine whether a change in irrational beliefs is related to symptom recovery. Irrational beliefs (IBI) and symptoms were measured at four points in time: at baseline, after 3, 6 and 12 months. Results showed that diagnostic groups differed in their level of irrational beliefs and this effect remained over time. Highest levels of irrationality were observed in the double diagnosis group, followed by the anxiety disorder group and the depression group. Participants with adjustment disorders showed the lowest levels of irrationality, comparable to a community sample. We did not find differences in the type of irrational beliefs between diagnostic groups. The level of irrationality declined over time for all diagnostic groups. No differences in decrease were observed between diagnostic groups. The magnitude and direction of change in irrational beliefs were related to the magnitude of recovery of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms over time. These results support the application of general cognitive interventions, especially for patients with a depressive or an anxiety disorder

Is classroom noise always bad for children? The contribution of age and selective attention to creative performance in noise.

Creativity is considered an important skill in learning but little is known about the environmental factors affecting it in classroom settings. Extending adult findings, this study assessed whether moderate multi-talker noise promotes children’s creativity, and whether this is moderated by children’s age, working memory, and selective attention. Forty-four elementary school children between 5 and 11 years of age, divided into younger and older age groups, participated in this within-subjects’ study. The children completed two idea generation tasks; each participant performed the task both in silence and in moderate (64dB) classroom noise. Selective attention skills, verbal and visuospatial working memory were assessed with behavioural tasks. Results showed that there were no conditions in which classroom noise promoted children’s creativity whilst some negative effects of noise were observed. Younger children (between 5 and 8 years of age) with low selective attention skills were especially at risk: they gave fewer ideas in the presence of noise, and these ideas were rated as less original. Children with good selective attention skills were globally protected against the effects of noise, performing similarly in silence and noise. Future studies about children’s specific creative strategies might help shed light on the mechanisms underlying these effects