This article offers explanations as to why good candidates for mathematics or physics degrees might opt to study subjects other than STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects at university. Results come from analysis, informed by psychoanalytic theory and practice, of narrative-style interviews conducted with first-year…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the IT professionals in a Hong Kong public transport company have a general perception of influence of the organisational defensive patterns on learning of ICT; and whether skilled incompetence, organisational defensive routines and fancy footwork are positively associated with each…

The first recommendation Kazdin made for advancing the psychotherapy research knowledge base, improving patient care, and reducing the gulf between research and practice was to study the mechanisms of therapeutic change. He noted, "The study of mechanisms of change has received the least attention even though understanding mechanisms may well be…

Academic cheating and fraud are becoming more prevalent. The Internet removes barriers and opens access to information and increases the opportunities for academic fraud. The incentives to succeed academically also are increasing as higher education continues to grow in importance. A student's rationalization is the last, critical piece needed to…

Despite increasing interest in the interface between emotion and cognition, the role of emotion in cognitive tasks is unclear. According to one hypothesis, negative valence is more relevant for survival and is associated with a general slowdown of the processing of stimuli, due to a defense mechanism that freezes activity in the face of threat.…

This study addresses the phenomenon of inmates voluntarily forgoing parole supervision and opting to remain in prison until the maximum expiration of their sentence. The research was conducted to inform public policy makers about the potential repercussions of this decision-making process and to help guide future policy and legislative proposals…

This study investigated how N = 5,126 adolescents (mean age of 15 years) from 18 countries perceive and cope with future- and school-related stress. The adolescents completed the Problem Questionnaire (PQ), which assesses stress, and the Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ), which assesses three coping styles (reflection/support-seeking,…

This essay is a call for a more psychoanalytically informed approach to educational psychology and teacher formation. To this end, the author gives an overview of a course in psychology that he recommends for inclusion in teacher education. This course is in two parts. The first part is an introduction to some important elements of psychoanalytic…

Denial has been an integral part of the psychological and disability literature for more than 100 years. Yet, denial is an elusive concept and has been associated with mixed, indeed conflicting, theoretical perspectives, clinical strategies, and empirical findings. In this two-part article, the author provides an overview of the existing…

University students in general experience stressful situations once they leave home and begin to adjust to the new life on a college campus with its related academic and social demands. However, students of color often have the additional burden of coping with race-related stress. Data from a focus group interview with 18 alumni of color, found…

Hearing aid devices are worn within people's ears to help them hear the sounds around them. Teachers have to accept the use of hearing aids in the classroom as a device to assist students with hearing loss (Plumley, 2008). Further study is helpful to hearing aid research because it demonstrates the importance of hearing aid benefit awareness in…

Though we do our best to protect children from life's underbelly, bad things happen. Hurricanes, school shootings, divorce, exploding crime rates, economic downturns, child abuse, and acts of terror have become reality for many. Sadly, students are not immune from the chaos that often results. If a child worries that he is not safe or thinks…

Some misunderstandings are remedied easily. But when new information collides with old prejudices--when new truths battle established beliefs for space in people's consciousnesses--they tend to respond with all manner of defense mechanisms. They employ these defenses in response to the psychological stressors that emerge from such inner-battles…

In a sample of young adult Australians, those who had had suicidal ideation but who did not acknowledge ever having had it when asked 4 years later, were experiencing better mental health, as demonstrated by significantly better functioning on a range of psychometric measures, than those who recalled it. These results are consistent with several…

This qualitative study examined messages of everyday communication (small talk and routine interactions). The importance of these messages was highlighted in light of their role in creating structure, safety, and meaning making in the family at the end of life. In addition, family rituals that developed from children's everyday communication were…