Psychological defense styles, childhood adversities and psychopathology in adulthood

OBJECTIVE: The present study explores the link between reported sexual and/or physical abuse and psychological defense styles, as well as the association of both with psychological distress in adulthood. In two patient samples that differ in psychological distress and somatization, we examine whether the adversities reported and immature defense styles are associated with psychopathological symptoms. METHOD: We examined 266 consecutive inpatients in the psychosomatic department and 109 consecutive inpatients who had been treated for low-back pain in the orthopedic department of a German university hospital. Psychological defense styles were assessed by a two-factor solution of the German modified adaptation of the Defense Mechanism Inventory (DMI), childhood adversities by a structured interview, psychological distress by the SCL-90-R, and somatization by the Screening for Somatoform Disorders (SOMS). RESULTS: Both samples demonstrated a significant link between immature defense styles and the extent of overall psychological distress as well as somatization. Reported sexual and/or physical abuse of patients in both patient samples was directly associated with somatization. CONCLUSION: Recollections of sexual and/or physical abuse in childhood and immature defense styles have an association with psychopathology in adulthood. This finding suggests that immature defense styles may act, in part, as mediators between the adversities investigated and adult psychopathology.     

Preferred teaching styles and modes of thinking among university students in mainland China

The present study had three purposes. The first was to further explore the psychometric properties of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Zhang, L. F. (2003). The preferred thinking styles in teaching inventory. Unpublished test. The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong]. The second was to test the hypothesis that the preferred teaching styles of mainland Chinese university students in the present investigation are similar to those of students in Hong Kong and the United States in previous studies. The final and most important purpose was to examine the incremental validity of modes of thinking beyond students’ self-rated abilities in predicting students’ preferred teaching styles. Two hundred and fifty-six (109 male and 147 female) university students from Beijing, the People's Republic of China, participated in the research.After the reliability and validity of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory were ascertained, the following findings were obtained. First, like university students in Hong Kong and the United States in previous studies, mainland Chinese students in the present study also expressed a strong like for teaching styles that are creativity-generating and that allow collaborative work. Similarly, they indicated a strong dislike for teaching styles that are norm-conforming, that require multi-tasking but without communicating a sense of priority, and that restrict students to working individually, without collaboration with others. Going beyond the previous studies, the present study found that an integrative mode of thinking positively contributed to students’ preference for teaching styles that are creativity-generating and that encourage group work, but negatively contributed to students’ preference for teaching styles that are norm-favoring and that discourage collaborative work. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to teaching that accommodates diverse thinking styles and teaching that generates creative thinking.     

Preferences for teaching styles matter in academic achievement: scientific and practical implications

The two primary objectives of this study were: to identify the preferred teaching styles of secondary‐school students and to compare these preferences with those of university students from past research; and to examine the contributions of students’ preferred teaching styles to their academic achievement. A sample of 298 students from a Catholic boys’ school completed the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and the Self‐rated Ability Scale. Participants’ achievements in 12 school subjects were obtained. Results indicated great similarities between the preferred teaching styles of the present sample and those of university students in previous studies. Achievement scores in all 12 subjects were predicted by students’ preferred teaching styles beyond their self‐rated abilities. Some of these predictive relationships were domain‐specific, while others were not. The findings’ scientific and practical implications are discussed.     

Revisiting thinking styles' contributions to the knowledge and use of and attitudes towards computing and information technology

This study examines the role of students' thinking styles in their knowledge and use of as well as in their attitudes towards the use of computing and information technology (CIT) in education. One hundred and five students from a large university in Texas responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and to a brief measure of their attitudes towards the use of CIT in education. Between the present study and a previous study of Hong Kong students, the following common findings have been obtained. First, the more creativity-generating thinking styles positively predicted knowledge and use of CIT as well as a favorable attitude towards the use of CIT in education, whereas the more norm-conforming thinking styles negatively did so. Second, female students reported less knowledge and use of CIT. Minor differences were also identified between the U.S. and Hong Kong groups. These findings have implications for teachers, staff development personnel, and for CIT program designers.     

Organisational commitments and teaching styles among academics in mainland China

This research pioneered the investigation of the predictive power of organisational commitments for academics’ teaching styles. Participants were 370 faculty members from 15 higher educational institutions in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China. Results showed that academics’ organisational commitments as measured by the Organisational Commitment Inventory statistically significantly predicted their teaching styles as assessed by the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory over and above their gender, age, taught academic discipline and academic rank. Practical implications of the findings are proposed for academics and for university senior managers.     

Thinking Styles and the Big Five Personality Traits

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between thinking styles and the big five personality traits. One-hundred-and-fifty-four (mean age 20 years) second-year university students from Hong Kong participated in the study. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI, Costa & McCare, 1992). Although significant relationships were identified between particular thinking styles and certain personality traits, it was concluded that it is premature to claim that a personality measure, such as the NEO-FFI can be used to measure thinking styles.     

Are Thinking Styles and Personality Types Related?

The relationship between thinking styles and personality types is investigated within the contexts of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and Holland's theory of personality types. A total of 600 university students from Hong Kong responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI) and the Short-version Self-directed Search (SVSDS) that was specially designed for the present study. A major finding of this study is that thinking styles and personality types overlap to a degree. A secondary finding is that the SVSDS is sufficiently reliable and valid for assessing Holland's personality types. Implications of both findings are discussed.     

Changes in BSc Business Administration and Psychology students’ learning styles over one,two and three years of study

Knowledge on general or discipline-specific changes in the learning styles of university students can be utilised in the design and execution of courses, but little is known of such changes. The study examined the changes in the learning styles of three year groups of BSc Business Administration and Psychology students from admittance to one, two and three years later for the three year groups respectively. Learning styles were measured using the Danish Self-Assessment Learning Styles Inventory, which is an adaptation of Sternberg's MSG Thinking Styles Inventory within the theory of mental self-government. The Hierarchic and Oligarchic learning styles decreased significantly for all three year groups. The Judicial learning style increased significantly for the year groups who had studied for two and three years. The Global learning style increased significantly for the year group who had studied for one year. The findings are discussed in relation to comparable research.     

Teaching Styles and Occupational Stress among Chinese University Faculty Members

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the predictive power of occupational stress for teaching style among university faculty members. A sample of 144 faculty members from a large university in the People’s Republic of China rated themselves on three ability scales and responded to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and to four scales from the Occupational Stress Inventory‐Revised (role overload, role insufficiency, psychological strain, and rational/cognitive coping). Satisfactory reliability and validity data were obtained for the Chinese version of the four occupational stress scales. After self‐rated abilities were taken into account, occupational stress remained a significant predictor of teaching style. A stronger feeling of role overload and more frequent use of a rational/cognitive coping strategy were conducive to employing both creativity‐generating and conservative teaching styles; a stronger feeling of role insufficiency and psychological strain had a negative impact on the use of creative‐generating teaching styles. The implications of this research for both university faculty members and university administrators are discussed.     

安娜·弗洛伊德对精神分析的贡献

安娜·弗洛伊德是西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的女儿,她对精神分析的贡献具有独立性与原创性。《自我与防御机制》一书扩展和深化了防御机制的概念与功能,为自我心理学的发展奠定了基础,开创了儿童精神分析学领域,提出了精神分析的儿童发展观与教育观以及诊断图、发展线索等理论,并将儿童精神分析思想应用于教育、法律、儿科学等领域,为儿童精神分析的理论建构与应用实践作出了巨大贡献。     

Do thinking styles contribute to metacognition beyond self‐rated abilities?

The principal objective of this study was to explore the predictive power of thinking styles for metacognition when self‐rated abilities were taken into account. As a preliminary step, the study examined the psychometric properties of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). Four hundred and twenty‐four university students from mainland China responded to the MAI, the Thinking Styles Inventory‐Revised II, and the Self‐Rated Ability Scale. The study ascertained the reliability and validity of the MAI. More importantly, results suggested that three creativity‐generating styles (hierarchical, liberal and legislative) and the executive style predicted metacognition beyond self‐rated abilities. Practical significance of the main research finding was discussed for university faculty members, students and university senior managers.     

Thinking Styles: Their relationships with modes of thinking and academic performance

This study aimed at investigating the nature of thinking styles as described in the theory of mental self-government. Two-hundred-and-twelve US university students responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and the Styles of Learning and Thinking. Results from convergent statistical analysis procedures indicated that thinking styles and modes of thinking share certain common variance in the data. It was evident that the more creativity-generating and more complex thinking styles are significantly related to a holistic mode of thinking, and that the more norm-conforming and more simplistic thinking styles are significantly related to an analytic mode of thinking. Furthermore, multiple-regression analyses showed that both thinking styles and modes of thinking statistically contributed to students' self-reported grade point averages beyond what was explained by their self-rated ability scores. These findings are discussed in terms of practical implications for educators.     

Are achievement motivation and thinking styles related? A visit among Chinese university students

The present study examined the relationships between thinking styles and achievement motivation among Chinese university students. The Thinking Styles Inventory — Revised (TSI-R; Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2003) and the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS; Gjesme & Nygard, 1970; Ye & Hagtvet, 1988) were administered to 238 Chinese university students from Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Results largely supported the hypothesis that the more creativity-generating and complex thinking styles (Type I styles) were positively correlated with achievement motivation to approach success (MS), and negatively correlated with achievement motivation to avoid failure (MF). Results partially supported the hypothesis that the more norm-favoring and simplistic thinking styles (Type II styles) had negative correlation with MS, and positive correlation with MF. The study also found that the situation-/task-dependent thinking styles (Type III styles) were positively correlated with MS, and negatively correlated with MF. Implications for educational practice were discussed.     

Cognitive distortions and autonomy among Chinese university students

The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of university students' cognitive distortions in their sense of autonomy. One hundred and three third-year university students from Shanghai, The People's Republic of China, responded to the Cognitive Distortion Scales [Briere, J. (2000). Cognitive Distortion Scales: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.] and to the Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory [Jackson, L. M., Hood, A. B. (1985). The Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory. In A. B. Hood (Ed., 1997), The Iowa student development inventories (2nd Ed), (pp. 32–43). Iowa City, IA: HITECH Press]. Results suggested that in general, cognitive distortions have a significantly negative impact on Chinese students' sense of autonomy. However, there was also an indication that cognitive distortions could play the roles of psychological defense mechanisms, which provided some support to Bowins' [Bowins, B. (2004). Psychological defense mechanisms: A new perspective. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 64 (1), 1–26] recent argument that cognitive distortions may not always be dysfunctional. Implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to students, faculty members, and university counselors.     

From conceptions of effective teachers to styles of teaching: Implications for higher education

The present study investigates the predictive power of conceptions of effective teachers for teaching styles. Ninety-three academic staff from two large comprehensive universities in the People's Republic of China responded to The Effective Teacher Inventory [Zhang, L.F. (2003). The effective teacher inventory. Unpublished test, The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong.] and to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Grigorenko, E.L., & Sternberg, R.J. (1993). Thinking styles in teaching inventory. Unpublished test, Yale University.]. Results suggested that teachers who considered being superior in research-related activities as a more important attribute of an effective university teacher reported that they taught more conservatively, whereas teachers who perceived teaching-related activities as being more critical functions of an effective teacher reported that they taught more creatively. Implications of this finding for university teachers and administrators are discussed.     

Thinking styles and conceptions of creativity among university students

This research aims to understand university students’ thinking styles and the relationship with their views of creativity. The Thinking Styles Inventory‐Revised II was used to measure 13 thinking styles as defined in Sternberg’s theory of mental self‐government and the Conceptions of Creativity Scales was used to inquire students’ views about the conditions for evaluating creativity from six aspects: intelligence, knowledge, style of thinking, personality, motivation and learning environment. Significant relationships were identified between thinking styles and conceptions of creativity. This research contributes to the understanding about the relationship between conceptions of creativity and thinking styles, and brings insights for educators about educational innovations, as one of the key objectives of educational innovations is to develop creativity of the younger generation.     

The role of learning environments in thinking styles

The present study examined the association between students’ perceived general learning environment and their thinking styles (a specific term for ‘intellectual styles’). Seven hundred and fifty-two undergraduates in Shanghai responded to the Thinking Style Inventory-Revised II and the Inventory of Students’ Perceived Learning Environment. Results indicated that students’ perceived learning environment statistically predicted their thinking styles beyond gender, grade, major, and socio-economic status. Specifically, constructivist-oriented teaching, as well as peer morale and identities, were mainly associated with thinking styles that are characterised by cognitive complexity, nonconformity, autonomy and low degrees of structure (known as Type I styles), while clear goals and coherence of curricula mainly statistically predicted thinking styles that are characterised by cognitive simplicity, conformity, authority, and high degrees of structure (known as Type II styles). Student–student cooperation, the nature of assessment and assignments and learning facilities also statistically contributed to thinking styles to varying extents. The implications and limitations of the present findings are discussed.     

高校国防教育工作现状及发展方向探析

分析我国高校国防教育的意义和现状，通过对比目前国防教育的现状与现代化战争的要求之间的差距，结合我国国家安全状况特点，提出高校国防教育应实现的目标和实现途径，对高校国防教育的发展趋势进行了展望。     

Conceptions of learning and quality of university life among deaf,hard of hearing,and hearing university students

ABSTRACT

This study explores how conceptions of learning relate to quality of university life among deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) and hearing university students in mainland China. The Conceptions of Learning Inventory III and the Quality of University Life Measure were administered to 200 DHH and 240 hearing students. Results showed that deep-level conceptions of learning (learning as duty) significantly and positively predicted quality of university life among DHH and hearing students, while surface-level conceptions of learning (learning as gaining information) significantly negatively predicted quality of university life among DHH students. The significance, limitations, and implications of the present research for university administrators, teachers, and students are discussed.     

刑事辩护权的六大发展规律

辩护权作为受刑事追诉者所有诉讼权利的核心,具有普适的价值.辩护权在现代刑事诉讼中从不同维度得到发展.辩护权的发展具有六大规律:辩护权成为基本权利,国家时辩护权积极保障义务的履行,辩护权国际标准的形成,辩护权范围的扩大,程序性辩护的出现,有效辩护得到强调.