vol. 14 núm. 23 (2018)

Introduction: This paper presents a case study of a behavior diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Method: The case is analyzed and treated by a method arising from the inter-behavioral approach called “contingency analysis.” The application of the method is illustrated by the analysis of two basic dimensions for this purpose: micro-contingency dimension and macro-contingency dimension. Some important aspects of the genesis of this behavior, as well as the analysis of the selected solutions, are described. The intervention objectives and the techniques used are also explained. Results: Because of the intervention, changes were obtained in the behavior of the user of the service (who was the mother of the person diagnosed with the disorder and her child so diagnosed). Conclusions: The article concludes by detailing the advantages of approaching a case study with the contingency analysis method.

Introduction: There are several instruments to evaluate behavioural addictions. Furthermore, several specific scales have been developed to assess various aspects of exercise dependence. Nevertheless, in Spain there is a lack of specific instruments designed to assess exercise dependence. Objective: This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised. Method: 175 university students who were regular exercisers (M=59.11, SD=15.89) took part in the study. They were requested to complete the EDS-R, as well as the General Addiction Scale. The requirement to take part in the study was to exercise a minimum of four times per week. Results: Findings provide initial support for the psychometric properties of the scale as its internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.907), and construct and convergent validity with the EAG-RC (r=.559; p<.001) are adequate. In addition, its structure did not need to be modified, as it kept the 21 original items from the American version. Factor analysis yielded a five-factor structure (tolerance, loss of control, continuity, intensity, and withdrawal symptoms) which differ from the ones obtained in the original (American) and French versions where seven factors were obtained. This correlated five-factor model explains 50% of the variance. Conclusion: This Spanish EDS-R, which presents adequate psychometric properties, will provide researchers and clinicians with specific data on this screening tool for assessing exercise dependence. Further research is needed to confirm the current results and check its validity both in research and clinical practice.  

Introduction: Positive parenting requires the balanced combination of various essential factors, such as attachment, affection, communication, discipline and autonomy granted to children. Objective: This study explored the impact of a parental strengthening program based on the assessment of participating mothers and their children. Method: The program was implemented in groups through expository-participative meetings at a school in a socially vulnerable context. After its application, semi-structured interviews with the mothers were conducted; in addition, the attachment and parental style perceived by their respective children before and after the program were evaluated and compared with a control group. Results: We found that the workshops, as reported by the participants, provided novel information that contributed to their personal growth and parental sensitivity; produced a change in beliefs regarding parenting and an improvement in the expression of affection, verbal communication and discipline; was an important source of social support; and activated their interest in the school situation of their children, which improved—in some cases—communication between mothers and the school. Moreover, the children’sperception of attachment and parenting style was better after the intervention with the mothers and better than that observed in the control group. Conclusions: It is concluded that the intervention program had a favorable impact on different maternal aspects that encourage the exercise of positive parenthood.

Objective: To explore the extent to which perfectionism and self-esteem are related to Argentine university students. Method: Three hundred and forty-one subjects answered the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: The results showed a significant, robust, negative relationship between self-esteem and perfectionist discrepancy (r = -0,53; p < 0,001), and a weak but significant relationship between selfesteem and high standards (r = 0,19; p <0,001). Also, significant differences were observed (F (2,145) = 11,89; p < 0,001, η2p = 0.14) in the self-esteem of adaptive perfectionists, compared to that of maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists; adaptive perfectionists scored higher than the other two groups. Conclusions: It was established that, in line with the findings of previous studies, the dimensions of perfectionism are differentially related to self-esteem so that discrepancy is the characteristic that induces the greatest amount of variance explained. The practical importance of the results obtained justifies the incorporation of psychoeducational strategies to reduce dysfunctional perfectionism and foster adaptive perfectionism in any program whose aim is to promote self-esteem in Argentine university students.

Introduction: Self-referential, post-qualitative research was proposed to consider the current situation of researching professors at university, within the global context of cognitive capitalism and emphasizing the stands taken by a group of critical psychologists that would have been researching professors in schools of psychology in Colombia. Objective: To recognize ambivalent or contradictory senses and propose new meanings or emerging senses about critical psychology in Colombia, as well as the emerging role of the researching professor at current university through a post-qualitative methodology. Method: Through two concepts (différance and dissemination), reflecting on a set of autobiographies of four participants focused on their personal development as critical psychologists and researching professors. Result: Between the materials and the theorization conducted, we found that today critical psychology is more a transdiscipline than a branch or an approach of psychology. The participants’ affiliation to critical psychology is discontinuous; that is, when it occurs, it is more strongly associated with academic rhetoric, with a more institutional and work interest than with a purely epistemological or theoretical one. The repercussion of academic capitalism both in the schools of psychology and the current roles of teaching and research seems to be more detrimental in terms of academic quality and to the well-being of professors; however, researching professors also seem to tolerate and be silent about these repercussions.

Purpose: To reflect on two ways of adopting democracy, as a form of government and as a way of life, in order to establish its relationship with biopolitics from social psychology—as a psychology that is political—based on a particular case that occurred in Colombia known as “false positives.” Theme: The possibility of thinking about a life that is politically controlled from the perspective of social psychology, for which it is assumed from the discourse of biopolitics. Elaboration: A contextualization is provided for recognizing that social psychology is political given the use of the knowledge it produces, so that problems that emerge in the construction of democracy cannot be alien to it and, thus, it is plausible to approach its expression as a lifestyle in relation to what it is as a form of government. From this, biopolitical devices for life control are established, and the extrajudicial executions implemented in Colombia, known as “false positives,” are an example of this. Conclusions: It is still visible how psychology, particularly social psychology, is political because of the way knowledge is used. Therefore, if thought in terms of popular majorities, knowledge may contribute to the construction of a democratic society, in which it is not only a structural governmental process but also deployed as a cultural ethos in daily life. Perhaps this is how processes of resistance to biopolitics are generated and a psychopolitics emerges.

Introduction: In the last decades there has been a substantial change in the position of women in the labor market, although it cannot yet be said that there is an equal share of jobs between men and women. On the one hand, there are still clear indications of employment discrimination against women and, on the other hand, the participation of men in domestic work has not grown at the same rate as that of women in paid work. Objective: To reflect on the ideological bases supporting this inequality by analyzing the weight that traditional gender stereotypes, especially those built around motherhood, have on the career of young women. Method: Data come from a qualitative study in which a sample of young people with different positions within the labor market was interviewed. Results: Generally, the discourses on maternity and upbringing are characterized by a marked biological and psychological essentialism that attributes a greater natural capacity for the care of children to women. Conclusions: Gender stereotypes that are built around motherhood are one of the main ideological factors that maintain discrimination against women in the labor market.