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This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of art therapy for Japanese patients with cancer of the blood and bone marrow, to determine the efficacy on mood and spiritual well-being, and to record comments on the art. The subjects were 7 patients with stable disease who were recruited by a primary physician. In the first session of art therapy, the patients talked about their diseases and then made art to express their emotions. In the second session, they also made art. Drawing, colored pencils, collage, and pastels were used in both sessions and the patients commented on their art. The POMS (Profile of Mood Scale) and FACIT-Sp (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual) were used to measure mood and spiritual well-being, respectively. POMS Depression and Fatigue scores tended to decrease after art therapy, while FACIT-Sp scores did not change and were standard for cancer patients. The explanations of the art reflected expressions of desire in the first session and hopes for the future in the second session. These results suggest that art therapy can decrease depression and fatigue in Japanese cancer patients, and promote expression of emotions, desires, and hopes with understanding of the seriousness of the disease.

This study assessed the extent to which the mere presence of over-the-counter analgesics affected the perception of experimentally-induced pain in healthy adult samples. In Study 1, 68 college undergraduates participating in a cold pressor test (CPT) were randomly assigned to stimulus displays featuring either pain medication cues (i.e. bottles of aspirin and Tylenol) or cues with no obvious relation to pain (i.e. small elephant statue, soda can) and provided ratings of pain severity every 30 seconds for up to four minutes. Contrary to expectations, participants exposed to pain medication cues reported a significantly lower average rating of pain intensity after 30 seconds of exposure to ice water compared to those exposed to pain-irrelevant cues. This effect was relatively short term, as there were no differences between the two conditions on subsequent ratings of pain intensity or overall pain tolerance. These findings were replicated in a second sample ( n = 48) with slightly altered stimulus displays....

Numerous studies have observed a robust correlation between shyness and loneliness but few have attempted to explain why this relationship exists. This study assessed the extent to which variables associated with self-presentation approaches to shyness and social support mediated the association between shyness and loneliness. Two hundred and fifty-five American college students completed self-report measures of shyness, loneliness, expectations of rejection, interpersonal competence and close social support. A path analysis indicated that high levels of shyness were related to features of a protective style of self-presentation (perceived deficits in interpersonal competence, heightened expectations of rejection). In turn, low levels of interpersonal competence predicted reductions in social support. Together, measures indicative of a protective self-presentation style and reductions in social support predicted increases in loneliness. However, shyness and loneliness had a significant association, even after controlling for the influence of self-presentation and social support. Findings suggest that although features of protective self-presentation and social support may partially explain the association between shyness and loneliness, shyness and loneliness are also directly related.