THE INFLUENCE OF HEAT UPON INTELLECTUAL TEST PERFORMANCE AND CARDIAC ACTIVITY OF THREE GROUPS IN THE NEGEV DESERT1

This study was conducted to determine if exposure to heat at 45 ^deg;C, influences mental test performance and heart rates of different ethnic groups living in the same area of a semi-desert zone. Forty-eight adolescent highschool boys of Israeli nationality (but whose fathers were of Bedouin, Moroccan or Eastern European background) were paid for their participation. Each of the boys was individually tested under control or heat conditions by an experimenter from the same ethnic background on a Raven 38 and WISC Coding B task. Mental test performances were unaffected by either one or two hours of heat although heart rates increased. More basic than heat was ethnic membership and test scores corresponded more to assumed experience with tests than to any other factor. Heart rate patterns were also different between the 3 groups suggesting fundamental physiological divergence.     

The Teacher of Reading: The First Twenty-Five Years Are the Most Challenging

This study investigated approaches to reading acquisition used in four first grades of a suburban elementary school. Individual teacher interviews established the differences in program emphases. Group A used the basal reader program; Group B, the basal reader and an additional phonics program; Group C, the basal reader and the language experience approach; Group D, the language experience approach and a wide range of supplementary readers and trade books. All groups participated in supportive language arts activities. Nine randomly selected subjects from each class participated‐‐three from each high, middle, and low reading group. Informal reading inventories were individually administered and scored for levels of word recognition in context and reading comprehension. Results support the use of a language experience approach as a viable alternative to the basal reader approach for teaching reading and writing.     

ABSTRACTS OF LITERATURE

Family care is defined as "the practice of placing mental patients in foster homes, either as an alternative to or as a transition from continued hospitalization." After tracing the development of family care, the authors suggest that patients are faced with the dilemma of returning to their families where they are caught up in a pathological role or remaining in the artificial environment of a hospital with pressures toward regression. A third alternative is family care. Group therapy with after-care patients and similar techniques are said to be appropriate for family care patients with the new environment providing a testing ground for patterns in living and an emotional climate for growth.     

Changes of life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: a latent-class approach

Contradictory positions have been advanced as to whether retirement has negative, positive, or no effects on subjective well-being. The authors investigated changes in life satisfaction in 1,456 German retirees. Using latent growth mixture modeling, the authors found 3 groups of people who experienced retirement differently. In Group 1, satisfaction declined at retirement but continued on a stable or increasing trajectory thereafter. Group 2 demonstrated a large increase in satisfaction at retirement but overall declining satisfaction. In Group 3, satisfaction showed a temporary very small increase at retirement. Groups differed by retirement age, gender, socioeconomic status, marital status, health, unemployment before retiring, and region. Thus, retirement is not a uniform transition, and resource-rich individuals are less likely to experience retirement-related change in satisfaction.     

Form emergence and fixation of head bobbing displays in the green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis): a reptilian model of signal ontogeny

Signal ontogeny was examined in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis). From 1,246 head bob displays given by 114 juveniles, it was found that juveniles possessed all 3 display types (A, B, and C) described for adults and that C displays were present at hatching, but A and B displays appeared to emerge gradually from a common precursor. Durations of the head bobs and pauses that make up juvenile displays tended to be more variable (i.e., less stereotyped) than those of adult displays. However, within the juvenile class, sex, age (or size), social context, and rearing environment (field or lab) had no effect on display structure or stereotypy. Thus, in contrast to typical signal ontogeny in songbirds and mammals, components of the green anole signal repertoire are expressed from early development. Similar to signal ontogeny in altricial species, maturation is nevertheless important for the complete and stereotyped expression of the adult signal repertoire.     

Constructing culture in cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

In past work, the authors produced divergent patterns of courtship and communication in juvenile male cowbirds (Molothrus ater) by providing them with different social experiences during their 1st year. Here the authors determined whether these different social patterns could be transmitted to new generations of juvenile males. In Experiment 1, the authors exposed groups of juveniles to adult males who differed in the amount of male-male competition they produced. In Experiment 2, they gave groups of juveniles either social access to adult males or only visual and acoustic access to those males. In both experiments, juvenile males developed patterns of courtship and competition similar to those expressed by the adult males with whom they had social contact. The juveniles never had the opportunity to observe some of the adults' behaviors that they came to replicate. This suggests that the role of the adults was to establish the social structure in the groups, modifying juveniles' early social interactions. Juveniles were then "cultured" within these different learning environments, constructing social behavior similar to the adult males' behavior in their 1st year.     

Age differences between children and young adults in the dynamics of dual-task prioritization: body (balance) versus mind (memory)

Task prioritization can lead to trade-off patterns in dual-task situations. The authors compared dual-task performances in 9- and 11-year-old children and young adults performing a cognitive task and a motor task concurrently. The motor task required balancing on an ankle-disc board. Two cognitive tasks measured working memory and episodic memory at difficulty levels individually adjusted during the course of extensive training. Adults showed performance decrements in both task domains under dual-task conditions. In contrast, children showed decrements only in the cognitive tasks but actually swayed less under dual-task than under single-task conditions and continued to reduce their body sway even when instructed to focus on the cognitive task. The authors argue that children perform closer to their stability boundaries in the balance task and therefore prioritize protection of their balance under dual-task conditions.     

On blowing trumpets to the tulips: to prove or not to prove the null hypothesis--comment on Bösch, Steinkamp, and Boller (2006)

The H. B?sch, F. Steinkamp, and E. Boller meta-analysis reaches mixed and cautious conclusions about the possibility of psychokinesis. The authors argue that, for both methodological and philosophical reasons, it is nearly impossible to draw any conclusions from this body of research. The authors do not agree that any significant effect at all, no matter how small, is fundamentally important (B?sch et al., 2006, p. 517), and they suggest that psychokinesis researchers focus either on producing larger effects or on specifying the conditions under which they would be willing to accept the null hypothesis.     

Effects of impoverished environmental conditions on working memory performance

This cross-cultural study investigates the impact of background experience on four verbal and visuo-spatial working memory (WM) tasks. A total of 84 children from low-income families were recruited from the following groups: (1) Portuguese immigrant children from Luxembourg impoverished in terms of language experience; (2) Brazilian children deprived in terms of scholastic background; (3) Portuguese children from Portugal with no disadvantage in either scholastic or language background. Children were matched on age, gender, fluid intelligence, and socioeconomic status and completed four simple and complex span tasks of WM and a vocabulary measure. Results indicate that, despite large differences in their backgrounds and language abilities, the groups exhibited comparable performance on the visuo-spatial tasks dot matrix and odd-one-out and on the verbal simple span task digit recall. Group differences emerged on the verbal complex span task counting recall with children from Luxembourg and Portugal outperforming children from disadvantaged schools in Brazil. The study suggests that whereas contributions of prior knowledge to digit span, dot matrix, and odd-one-out are likely to be minimal, background experience can affect performance on counting recall. Implications for testing WM capacity in children growing up in poverty are discussed.     

Religiousness,social support and subjective well‐being: An exploratory study among adolescents in an Asian atheist country

Few studies have focused on the relationships among religiousness, social support and subjective well‐being in Chinese adolescent populations. This study tries to fill this gap. Using cluster sampling, we selected two groups: Group A, which included 738 Tibetan adolescents with a formal religious affiliation and represented adolescents from a religious culture, and Group B, which included 720 Han adolescents without a religious affiliation and represented adolescents from an irreligious culture. Structural equation modelling showed that only in Group A did social support mediate (partially) the relationship between religious experience and subjective well‐being; furthermore, the results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that only in Group A did social support moderate the relationship between religious ideology and subjective well‐being. Possible explanations for the discrepancies between the findings obtained in this study and those obtained in previous studies are discussed.     

Consorting among juvenile Midas cichlids (Cichlasoma citrinellum) in relation to own and to parents' color

Adults of the Midas cichlid, Cichlasoma citrinellum, are either normal (N) colored or gold (G); they mate assortatively by color, and that choice is influenced by prior experience with their parents. Three groups of N and two groups of G juveniles were reared by parents which were either N or G. After some months of separation from their parents, the juveniles were tested to ascertain whether the color of their parents or of their cohorts affected their affiliative responses; they were given a choice between four G and four N juveniles. There was no demonstrable effect of either their parents' or their own color. All groups spent more time with N than with G and directed more behavior toward N. The subjects differed only in that they attacked more (at a higher rate) at N and spread their fins more (at a higher rate) at G, consistent with findings in earlier studies of the effect of gold color on dominance relationships. Thus mate choice does not result from continuous associations during development.     

Occasion setting of timing behavior

Rats were trained on a temporal switching discrimination, with 2 features, A and B, signaling 2 target conditioned stimuli, x and y; feature offset and target onset were separated by a 5-s feature-target interval, and all target stimulus presentations terminated in a food pellet. The target conditioned stimuli were either short or long (6 or 30 s): Specifically, when signaled by A, x was 6 s and y 30 s, but when x and y were signaled by B, x was 30 s and y 6 s. Trials with 6-s and 30-s targets were termed short and long trials, respectively. Probe tests indicated that the animals correctly anticipated when food was to be delivered on these 2 types of trials. In further testing, the interval between feature offset and target onset was lengthened, to investigate the precise mechanism underlying this behavior. This manipulation did not have a substantial effect on discrimination performance. These results are discussed with reference to theories of occasion setting, timing, and configural learning.     

Individual differences in textural segregation.

Dimensional interactions of width and orientation stimuli in early visual processing were assessed in a texture-segregation paradigm. The basis for detecting a discrepant quadrant in 6 x 6 arrays of objects was varied in accordance with Garner's Control, Correlated, and Orthogonal conditions. Individual differences as measured by Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Task differentiated performance patterns on the texture-segregation task. Individuals with high scores on the Embedded Figures Test, termed Field-independent, exhibited redundancy gains in the Correlated condition and no interference in the Orthogonal condition whereas those scoring low, termed Field-dependent, demonstrated no redundancy gains and no interference effects. Results support recent findings that individual differences in field dependence-independence are associated with differences in low-level visual mechanisms and suggest that individual differences in attentional flexibility exist in early visual processing.     

Collaborative testing for key-term definitions under representative conditions: Efficiency costs and no learning benefits

Students are expected to learn key-term definitions across many different grade levels and academic disciplines. Thus, investigating ways to promote understanding of key-term definitions is of critical importance for applied purposes. A recent survey showed that learners report engaging in collaborative practice testing when learning key-term definitions, with outcomes also shedding light on the way in which learners report engaging in collaborative testing in real-world contexts (Wissman & Rawson, 2016, Memory, 24, 223–239). However, no research has directly explored the effectiveness of engaging in collaborative testing under representative conditions. Accordingly, the current research evaluates the costs (with respect to efficiency) and the benefits (with respect to learning) of collaborative testing for key-term definitions under representative conditions. In three experiments (ns = 94, 74, 95), learners individually studied key-term definitions and then completed retrieval practice, which occurred either individually or collaboratively (in dyads). Two days later, all learners completed a final individual test. Results from Experiments 1–2 showed a cost (with respect to efficiency) and no benefit (with respect to learning) of engaging in collaborative testing for key-term definitions. Experiment 3 evaluated a theoretical explanation for why collaborative benefits do not emerge under representative conditions. Collectively, outcomes indicate that collaborative testing versus individual testing is less effective and less efficient when learning key-term definitions under representative conditions.     

Familiarisation of novice and experienced treadmill users during a running session: Group specific evidence,time and individual patterns

The elimination of familiarisation effects is a recurring topic in biomechanical testing during treadmill running among different experience levels. The two aims of this study were (i) to calculate familiarisation times of novice and experienced treadmill runners on a group level and (ii) to examine individual familiarisation patterns in order to classify those with similar characteristics. Twenty runners participated in this study by performing a treadmill running session with 3D motion capture. Familiarisation times for 9 kinematic variables among both groups (novices and experienced treadmill runners) were statistically analysed. Additionally a qualitative clustering process (supported by quantitative criteria) provided individual familiarisation patterns for all participants and variables. Group mean familiarisation times were inconsistent across variables (ranging from 3 to 14 min), with no general tendency for decreased familiarisation time in experienced compared to novice treadmill runners. The analysis of individual familiarisation patterns revealed that 30.5% were not stable after 15 min. Substantial changes compared to the initial state were observed in data sets with detected familiarisation pattern. Treadmill running experience does not affect familiarisation patterns since this process is highly individual and variable-specific. Consequently, no generalised familiarisation time can be provided and the elimination of familiarisation in biomechanical testing a priori does not seem to be possible in the first 15 min for approximately one third of the individual patterns studied. In conclusion, the common practice of collecting data subsequent to a pre-defined generalised familiarisation time ought to be replaced by measurements at several points in time during trials. This required procedure would allow for checking familiarisation patterns and fluctuations in order to exclude inappropriate data sets in future treadmill studies.     

What Makes People Revise Their Beliefs Following Contradictory Anecdotal Evidence?: The Role of Systemic Variability and Direct Experience

The extent to which belief revision is affected by systematic variability and direct experience of a conditional (if A then B) relation was examined in two studies. The first used a computer generated apparatus. This presented two rows of 5 objects. Pressing one of the top objects resulted in one of the bottom objects being lit up. The 139 adult participants were given one of two levels of experience (5 or 15 trials) and one of two types of apparatus. One of these was completely uniform, while the other had an element that randomly alternated in its result. Following the testing of the apparatus, participants were asked to rate their certainty of the action of the middle element, which was always uniform (the AB belief). Then they were told of an observation inconsistent with this belief. Participants were then asked whether they considered the AB belief or the anecdotal observation to be more believable. Results showed that increased experience decreased the tendency to reject the AB belief, when the apparatus did not have any randomness. However, the presence of a single element showing random variation in the system strongly increased rejection of this belief. A second study looked at the effect of a single random element on a mechanical system as well as an electronic system using graphical representations. This confirmed the generality of the effect of randomness on belief revision, and provided support for the effects of embedding a belief into a system of relations. These results provide some insight into the complex factors that determine belief revision.     

Utility of personality measurement of clinic patients with insomnia

An assessment study examining the relationship between sleep quality and personality style in individuals presenting to a sleep clinic with symptoms of insomnia was conducted. The protocol entailed standard clinical interviews conducted by a board certified sleep physician and licensed clinical psychologist. Participants were then assessed using a standard interview and the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory III (MCMI-III) A follow-up appointment was conducted to provide interpretation and treatment recommendations from the interview and testing data. The results from a review of 210 cases are presented in terms of their sleep quality and dominant MCMI-III patterns. Preliminary multivariate analyses indicated two common profiles that correspond to the presentation of insomnia symptomology. These clusters were termed "avoidant" and "anxious" profiles, accordingly. Item content analyses were conducted via the Noteworthy Item classification in the MCMI-III manual to determine the viability of a category determined by the authors called Sleep Behavior Preoccupation. Of this sample 17% fit into the category.     

A life history assessment of early childhood sexual abuse in women

Life history theory provided a framework for examining the relations among child sexual abuse (CSA), childhood adversity, and patterns of reproductive development and behavior. A community survey that assessed CSA, life history variables (e.g., age of menarche), and social and family background was administered to 623 women (mean age=26.9 years). Independent of social and family background, CSA was associated with earlier age of (a) menarche, (b) first sexual relationship, (c) desire to have children, (d) first childbirth, and (e) lower self-evaluated physical attractiveness. Cluster analyses revealed different patterns of experiential correlates of reproductive development within the group of abused women, suggesting CSA may operate in combination with other childhood circumstances to modify the timing and pattern of individual maturation.     

The making of a group psychotherapist: Needs and goals for graduate and postgraduate training

Group therapy is a widely practiced, effective, but underrated specialty. Unfortunately, group therapy seems to be taught more haphazardly, with less attention to quality, than is individual therapy. Group therapy has a technique, history, and literature of its own and should be taught independently from individual psychotherapy. The training of psychiatric residents is particularly crucial for group therapy to prosper and be seen as more prestigious. A common core of experience is vital for training in group therapy, whether the trainee's background is psychiatry, psychology, social work, pastoral counseling, or nursing. This core consists of: 1) clinical experience doing group therapy; 2) supervision; 3) a professional training group experience; 4) observation of experienced group therapists; 5) exposure to current thinking in the field; 6) personal group therapy; and 7) a didactic course in theory and technique. Clinical experiences involving cotherapy and combined individual and group treatments are especially useful, both as training and as treatment modalities.He is on sabbatical leave from John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he is Professor of Psychology and was founding Chairman of the Psychology Department.The authors wish to thank Arnold Rachman, Ph.D., Michael Lapidus, M.D., Fayek Nakhla, M.D., Nyapati R. Rao, M.D., and Dorothy Gartner, Ph.D., for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper, and Ms. Deloris J. Johnson for her typing and editorial assistance.     

Habituation of orienting responses as a function of “instructional set”

Electrodermal and plethysmographic recordings were obtained from three groups of alcoholic patients. The groups differed with respect to instructions given for response to a series of words spoken by the experimenter. Group A was told to report verbally their first associations for each word presented. Group B received instructions to think of an association for each word without reporting it. Group C was to respond to each word by repeating it after it was spoken by the experimenter. The instructions did not have the predicted differing effects upon rate of EDR habituation. However, the over-all amplitude of EDR was lower for Group B than for Group A or C. We observed very little habituation of the plethysmographic OR as measured by per cent of subjects responding to each word. As with the EDR data, Group B shows less responsivity, i.e., this group produced significantly fewer plethysmographic responses over all words than did either of the other two groups. The relative importance of association and of verbal responding to a stimulus word for eliciting autonomic responses was considered.