Psychology 137CWeek 9 Lecture 1603-06-12Prevention (Primary and Secondary)Enhancing Relationships and Preventing Distress and DissolutionReminders- Final exam next Thursday- Five additional office hours (Prof. Thomas Bradbury)- Papers have been graded and posted on MyUCLAo Petition process outlined in the paper assignment sheet to request a regrade - Class grading – refer to syllabuso Best to think to think of your total point accumulation -25ppts max from midterm, 35ppts max from paper, and final grade 40ppts max from final exam- Course Evaluation –can be found on MyUCLAo Very important to do this - Textbook Revisiono Please include any suggestions as the textbook will be revised and publishing a second editionMinor Changes in Syllabus- Next Tuesday will be an overview of the second half of the class- Thursday of this week – videos on couples therapy – better to come to class on this day because videos won’t be clear on podcast- Very likely that Ch. 13 won’t be lectured on; however, it will be on the testSecond half of Chapter 12*Relationships are valuable but difficult *4 Theoretical Perspectives for Couples TherapyTherapy- Medicine- Enrichment - Vitamins- Many unhappy people don’t seek therapy because of all kinds of defensive biases - Shouldn’t be the only thing that is donePreventing Relationship Distress- Need to know in general how relationships deteriorate - The models and data to prevent relationship distress is different form the ways to adequate treat relationships in trouble - Basic research is crucial to prevention in terms of relationship distress- The means by which couples start their relationships – start out happy- Need to know the mechanisms – Dependency Regulation Model, Staircase Model, Intimacy Process Modelo The starting values that all of us bring into our relationships and how do they change overtimeo Mechanisms have changed- Important to consider populations at risk – people who are likely to experience distress in relationshipso Intergenerational transmission effect- Basic research allows us to think of relationships preventatively Basic Research Reveals- Mechanisms of change.- Populations at risk- *see aboveWhy Intervene Early- It might be our only chance to help!o Couples wait before seeking therapy.o Few divorcing couples try therapy first. More likely to see a divorce attorney or file for a divorceo Therapy may not work (or last).- Collateral damage can be avoidedo Health, children, work . . . o Early Intervention is beset to eliminate collateral damage- Happy couples might be motivated to keep their relationship strong..o Natural motivations to keep their relationships health and strong- Prevention: ‘easier’ than treatment?o If I tell you how to communicate while your relationship is strong, then are several benefits o Relatively low-cost- Many couples can be reachedo Ex: online interventions‘Enrichment’ Interventions: Some Quick Observations- Goes to a relationship and makes them better; allow the strengths of a relationship to outweigh any hardships they may face Available in many forms: counseling, seminars, questionnaires, books, videotapes, on-line exercises. Content, duration, leaders, and cost vary widely.  Some dig, some build. This idea apparent in the therapy models gets to the root of your personality Looks at your childhood and how you were raised, psychoanalyzes the individual to find out who you are asan individual Couples love these programs.  Low risk couples are more likely to attend.  People who are naturally attracted to seek these enrichment interventions and prevention methods are ones who don’t need it Know this for the test- “… preliminary research shows that marriage education workshops can make a real difference in helping married couples stay together and in encouraging unmarried couples who are living together to form a more lasting bond. Expanding access to such services to low-income couples, perhaps in concert with other services already available, should be something everybody can agree on.” – Barack Obama, Presidento The idea is that there are vulnerable populations that especially need these services Therapy EffectivenessAlbert by Scott Adams (comic strip)- “It feels like everyone in the world is lying to me”- “Congress is lying about the budget, stock analysts are lying about their recommendations, my boss is lying . . . “- “This therapy stuff is scientifically proven to work right?”- “It’s 100% effective.”o Nothing is 100% effective so we know she is lying- There is a diversity or plurality on enrichment based interventions that have not been tested- The vast majority of prevention program are not based on research, nor have they been tested in any systematic way. Is this a problem?o Yes because you cannot necessarily go to one of these interventions and be guaranteed a positive outcome- Ask people about their experiences, if any, in this kind of programSo What Do We Know? “Pre to Post” improvements: Easy. Skills > satisfaction. Easier to change your interpersonal skills than it is to change your satisfaction You can change the way people communicate Durability of effects is unknown. We suspect that these interventions deteriorate overtime Metanalysis studies support that intervention benefits deteriorate overtime Benefits deteriorate.  Uh-oh. Concerning because somehow we haven’t figured out how to make these interventions stick in the daily lives of couples Risk matters. People with different backgrounds respond in different ways. People with greater privileges are not going to respond in the way thatpeople with lesser privileges will respond Primary or Secondary?- Primary intervention – give everyone the same thing because there is the idea that everyone needs the same things and will respond in the same way to the same intervention- Secondary intervention – who you are will determine if the intervention you are receiving is beneficial o Because risk matters, it is crucial that you match up the intervention to the persono Not everyone is the same – not everyone needs the same thingso Secondary intervention is the same Random assignment to two groups: S-PREP: communication training. – you can train people to communicate in a certain way Controls: read a book, talked with a