Reply to the Commentaries: Of Course,We Do Not Yet Know What it is All About,But Functional Contextualism is a Good Place to Start

In this reply to the commentaries, we note several points of disagreement with Johnson and Greenman on theoretical and empirical grounds. We are particularly surprised by their assumption that attachment has already been established as the key mechanism of change in couple therapy, as our present findings do not support this idea. We also elaborate on Gurman's functional contextualist views and describe why IBCT may be a particularly helpful model for training new couple therapists in a contextualist way.     

Academic economists behaving badly? A survey on three areas of unethical behavior

This article measures the degree to which academic economists have engaged in unethical behavior and the degree to which academic economists believe the profession as a whole engages in unethical behavior. Three main types of unethical behavior are examined: (1) falsification of research; (2) expropriation of graduate student research or including an undeserving co-author on a research paper; and (3) exchange of grades for gifts, money, or sex. Using a unique data set gathered at the 1998 American Economic Association (AEA) meetings, we find that there is a significant amount of misconduct, particularly in the second category.     

The industrial athlete?

Many similarities can be drawn between the athletic and industrial population. It is time for a shift in the approach toward injured workers utilizing a sports medicine perspective. We must think of workers as industrial athletes and recognize that the sports medicine model can be appropriately adapted to the injured worker. This model includes prevention, early intervention/identification, training and conditioning, and progressive treatment. Sports medicine rehabilitation concepts include treating the entire kinetic chain that is associated with a specific injury and the SAID principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands).     

The Impact of Behavioral Couple Therapy on Attachment in Distressed Couples

Emotion‐focused therapy (EFT; Greenberg & Johnson, 1988 Emotionally focused therapy for couples. New York: Guilford Press) is anchored in attachment theory (Johnson, 2003 Attachment processes in couples and families. New York: Guilford) and considers change in attachment schemas essential in the process of improving satisfaction in relationships (Johnson, 1999, Research and couples therapy: Where do we go from here? American Family Therapy Academy Newsletter). However, there are little data on how measures of attachment change over the course of EFT or any other couple therapy. The current study examines whether increases in attachment security predict improvements in marital satisfaction during behavioral couple therapy, which would suggest that change in attachment style is a key process variable even for a non‐attachment‐focused treatment. Multilevel models of data from 134 couples participating in a randomized clinical trial of integrative behavioral couple therapy and traditional behavioral couple therapy (Christensen et al. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 2004, 176) indicate that although there is a trend for early change in attachment‐related anxiety and avoidance to predict later change in marital satisfaction, early change in marital satisfaction strongly predicts change in attachment‐related anxiety through the end of treatment and 2‐year follow‐up. These findings suggest that changes in satisfaction may lead to changes in attachment rather than the reverse and that change in attachment may not be the mechanism of change in all efficacious couple therapy.     

Innovative approach for the treatment of cumulative trauma disorders

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) is the latest four-letter word for employees and employers. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of ASTM, previously executed with Division I college athletes, in a work-related population. ASTM uses specially designed instruments to assist clinicians in rapid localization and effective treatment of soft tissue fibrosis/scar tissue. The protocol includes a flexibility and functional program that helps the worker adapt to the demands of the job. Physical and occupational therapists in both an outpatient clinic, and an industrial on-site setting, utilized ASTM. ASTM was considered successful, with symptoms resolved in over 70 percent of the patients. ASTM demonstrated impressive results in both settings and decreased medical and non-medical expenditures.     

Up and Down or Down and Up? The Process of Change in Constructive Couple Behavior during Traditional and Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy

Observed positive and negative spouse behavior during sessions of Traditional (TBCT) and Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT) were compared for couples with successful outcomes and their unsuccessful counterparts. One hundred and thirty‐four married chronically and seriously distressed couples (on average in their forties and 80% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to TBCT or IBCT. Trained observers made ratings of 1224 segments from approximately 956 sessions sampled from the course of up to 26 sessions. Multilevel modeling was used to examine change over time. TBCT treatment responders demonstrated a boost‐drop pattern, increasing in constructive behaviors early (more positive behaviors and less negative behaviors) but decreasing later. IBCT responders demonstrated an opposite, drop‐boost pattern, decreasing in constructive behaviors early and increasing later. Patterns were significant for positive behaviors (p < .05) and approached significance for negative behaviors (p = .05). In both treatments, nonresponders showed a significant pattern of decline in positive and increase in negative behaviors over time, although a trend (p = .05) indicates that TBCT nonresponders initially declined in negative behaviors. This study helps clarify the different process of change in two behavioral couple therapies, which may assist in treatment development and provide a guide for therapists in considering behavioral markers of change during treatment.     

Team effects on compensation: an application to salary determination in the National Hockey League

Studies of salary determination largely model pay as a function of the attributes of the individual and the workplace (i.e., employer size, job characteristics, and so forth). This article empirically investigates an additional factor that may influence individual pay, specifically coworker productivity. Data from professional sports are used to evaluate this question because both salary and teammate performance measures are readily available. We find that team attributes have both direct effects on an individual's pay, and indirect effects through altering the rates at which individual player productive characteristics are valued.     

Clinical trends on tendinitis

Tendinitis has dramatically risen over the last few years. Some instances of tendinitis are resistant to traditional management aimed at decreasing the inflammatory process leaving clinicians to wonder whether or not they are truly dealing with an inflammatory condition. An understanding is essential for the appropriate clinical management of tendon disorders. The focus of this article will be to review tendon injuries, their healing, and to present an illustrative case treated successfully with an innovative form of treatment.