Therapists' positive emotions in‐session: Why they happen and what they are good for

Aim: The therapist's feelings play a remarkable role in contemporary models of psychotherapy. However, these models are biased towards negative feelings. The present study explores therapists' personal experience with positive emotion in‐session. Method: A grounded theory analysis was conducted of interviews with 26 Brazilian psychotherapists. Results: Clinicians derive positive affect from the client's input in treatment, from their own input, and from the personal relationship with the client. Therapist positive emotion adds to the material that can be worked on in‐session by providing interpersonal events in the relationship with the client. It can improve therapist input in treatment by increasing in‐session awareness, resourcefulness and daring and by cuing efforts for professional development. It enhances involvement in the relationship with the client by prompting compassion and closeness in the dyad. Its effects may spill over and contribute to the therapist's personal thriving. Discussion: These results are discussed in light of what positive psychology can add to current work on therapist effects in the treatment process.     

An electroluminescent lamp device for critical flicker fusion and apparent motion

A circuit that uses electroluminescent lamps as light sources for the study of critical flicker fusion (CFF) and apparent motion phenomena is described. The technique involves the modulation of a 2- KH z exciting current with a multivibrator-formed pulse adjustable over a suitable range of frequencies. Components are readily available from commercial sources.     

Intensive quantities: Why they matter to developmental research

A distinction can be drawn between extensive and intensive quantities. Extensive quantities (e.g., volume, distance), which have been the focus of developmental research, depend upon additive combination. Intensive quantities (e.g., density, speed), which have been relatively neglected, derive from proportional relations between variables. Thus, while proportional relations can be expressed with extensive quantities, these relations are constitutive with intensive quantities. One consequence is that factors, which are theorized as marginal with extensive quantities, are conceptually central in intensive contexts, and may need to be recognized in developmental models. Two such factors, termed variable salience and relational focus, are examined here, via a study where 963 Scottish children aged 7–12 years were asked to solve 42 intensive quantity problems in comparison and missing value format. Reasoning improved with age, but at all ages it was strongly influenced by variable salience and relational focus. Moreover, the manner in which these two factors interacted with other factors differed from what might be expected from models of proportional reasoning with extensive quantities. Based upon these results, it is argued that the distinction between extensive and intensive quantities is theoretically significant, and intensive quantities need to be granted more attention in the future.     

Why anamorphoses look as they do: an experimental study

The aim of this research was to understand why anamorphic images break up until they are unrecognizable when the observer's eye moves away from the regularization point. An experimental device was set up allowing the anamorphic deformation of images, consisting of a rotating screen on which figures were projected. The point from which subjects observed the screen was far from the projecting point. The projected figures lengthened equally when the screen rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise. On the other hand, the perceptual result was the opposite: in the former case, a rigid figure was seen rotating around its own vertical axis; in the latter case, the same figure was seen elongating or shortening in a non-rigid manner, without rotating. Since we were in a projective condition, the invariance of the cross-ratio was maintained. Therefore, we were in a situation of non-rigidity, in spite of the invariance of the cross-ratio. Three stimuli, white on a black background, were used in experiment 1. They were a segment, three aligned points, and four aligned points. Subjects had to rotate the screen at will and stop it at the point when they saw the transformation of movement from rigid rotation to non-rigid elongation. The results showed that: (i) in spite of being a projective invariant, the cross-ratio is not always a perceptual invariant too; (ii) the threshold screen position between the two motions was located at the position where the modifications of the solid angle subtended to the stimulus assumed a different trend from that of a sinusoid. Two stimuli were used in experiment 2: a continuous segment and one intersected by four vertical lines. The aim was the same as for experiment 1, but subjects had to repeat it from five different points of observation. The results showed that: (1) there was no significant difference depending on type of stimulus, indicating that the computability of the cross-ratio is not a necessary condition for the execution of the task; (2) the more the observer moved away from the projection axis, the more evident the distortion of the stimulus appeared, in accordance with what happens when observing an anamorphosis; (3) when the metamorphosis from rigid motion to elastic motion was seen the visual angle subtended to the stimulus was constant for all distances from the projection axis, in accordance with the hypothesis of rigidity.     

The two-flash threshold: An evaluation of critical-duration and visual-persistence hypotheses

The two-flash threshold is reduced by increasing the duration of both pulses of light or light adapting the eye. Increasing the duration of the first pulse also decreases the two-flash threshold, contrary to what a critical-duration explanation of the threshold would predict. Decreasing the duration of the second pulse increases the threshold when the second pulse is very brief. Light adapting the eye under such conditions serves to increase the two-flash threshold, unlike the effect adaptation has when a long second pulse is used.     

Sociability/impulsivity and attenuated dopaminergic arousal: critical flicker/fusion frequency and procedural learning

Two experiments examined the interaction of sociability (Soc) and impulsivity (Imp) components of extraversion and reduced dopamine activity (by haloperidol) on critical flicker/fusion frequency change scores (ACFFT) and procedural learning. In double-blind designs, subjects received either haloperidol (5 mg) or placebo; Soc and Imp were randomly sampled. In Experiment 1, Drug × Imp, and Drug × Imp × Soc interactions were found on ΔCFFT; in Experiment 2, a drug × Soc interaction was found on procedural learning. In both experiments, introverts seemed over-aroused under placebo (putatively due to the medical context), more optimally aroused under haloperidol; for procedural learning, extraverts seemed more optimally aroused under placebo, less optimally aroused under haloperidol. These data indicate that both Soc and Imp mediate the effects of arousal; Drug × Imp effects my conceal joint effects of Soc × Imp; and that Soc shows more consistent effects than Imp. These data complement a previous study of Soc/Imp and caffeine-induced arousal (Corr, Pickering & Gray, 1995), and lend support to H. J. Eysenck's (1967) arousal model of Extraversion.     

Associative changes in excitors and inhibitors differ when they are conditioned in compound

When an AB stimulus compound is reinforced or nonreinforced, there are associative changes in both A and B elements. In many contemporary theories those changes are viewed as governed by a common error term, computed as the discrepancy between the total associative strength of the AB compound and that supported by the trial consequence. This implies that if A and B are equally salient, then the magnitude of their associative change should be the same, whatever their strengths prior to the AB trial. This implication was explored for a compound consisting of an excitatory A and an inhibitory B. A novel assessment procedure avoided the difficulty of making comparisons at different locations on the performance scale. Three experiments using a magazine approach preparation in rats and 3 using autoshaping in pigeons found evidence contradicting this implication. The excitatory A changed less than the inhibitory B when the compound was reinforced but more than B when the compound was nonreinforced.     

The Three Rs of Animal Research: What they Mean for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and Why

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is entrusted with assessing the ethics of proposed projects prior to approval of animal research. The role of the IACUC is detailed in legislation and binding rules, which are in turn inspired by the Three Rs: the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. However, these principles are poorly defined. Although this provides the IACUC leeway in assessing a proposed project, it also affords little guidance. Our goal is to provide procedural and philosophical clarity to the IACUC without mandating a particular outcome. To do this, we analyze the underlying logic of the Three Rs and conclude that the Three Rs accord animals moral standing, though not necessarily “rights” in the philosophical sense. We suggest that the Rs are hierarchical, such that Replacement, which can totally eliminate harm, should be considered prior to Reduction, which decreases the number of animals harmed, with Refinement being considered last. We also identify the need for a hitherto implicit fourth R: Reject, which allows the IACUC to refuse permission for a project which does not promise sufficient benefit to offset the pain and distress likely to be caused by the proposed research.     

Why they reminisce: Caregiver reports of the functions of joint reminiscence in early childhood

Theorists have long suggested that joint caregiver–child reminiscence is functional, in that it is useful, adaptive, and can be utilised to achieve a variety of goals in everyday life. In the present study we investigated caregiver reports of the functions of joint reminiscence across early childhood. Participants were 203 parents or other guardians of 2–6-year-old children. Caregivers completed the Caregiver–child Reminiscence Scale (CRS) designed to tap functions of joint reminiscence. Our results indicated that caregivers reported frequently talking about past experiences with their children. Exploratory factor analysis revealed seven functions of joint reminiscence: Emotion Regulation, Directive, Positive Emotionality, Individual Self in Relation to Others, Conversation, Cognitive Skills, and Peer Relationships. Although some of these functions map directly onto adult-like functions outlined in the theoretical literature, others are unique to the context of joint reminiscence and reflect developmental goals of the early childhood period.