A comparison of EMG and SCL in normal and depressed subjects

Skin conductance level (SCL) and electromyograms (EMGs) recorded from three muscle sites were compared for 15 female hospitalized psychiatric patients meeting diagnostic criteria for primary affective disorder and 15 age- and race-matched controls. The depressed subjects had significantly lower SCL and significantly higher resting EMG levels recorded from one muscle site. Electromyogram and SCL were not found to be significantly correlated with each other or with measures of anxiety or depression for the patients with primary affective disorder. Normal controls, however, showed significant correlations between a measure of depression and both EMG and SCL. These results are discussed with suggestions for future research.     

Computation of psychophysical thresholds using the probit technique

Probit analysis is a statistical technique that can be used for the computation of psychophysical thresholds, although it was originally developed for the analysis of pharmacological and toxicological data. Probit analysis may be applied to psychophysical data if the method of constant stimuli has been used for data collection. A computer program written in APPLESOFT BASIC that performs probit analyses on such psychophysical data is presented and explained.     

Streamlining experiment data manipulation with psychology experiment data interchange format (PXDIF)

The use of small computers to automate psychology experiments has raised a number of development and logistical problems that interrupt the smooth flow of work from hypotheses to conclusions and publication. Currently, the outstanding bottleneck is the tedious and error-prone manipulation of raw experiment data in preparation for use in commercial data visualization and statistics packages. This problem is addressed by a self-describing data format PXDIF. Companion software can perform most needed manipulations automatically or with minimal experimenter involvement.     

What happens between an external stimulus and an overt response?

Peripheral components of feedthrough loops were psychophysiologically measured from the brain, both forelimbs, the tongue and the eyes during simple and choice reaction time tasks using linguistic and non-linguistic stimuli. Closing a microswitch with the little finger was the overt response. Covert electromyographic (EMG) responses were computer identified in the following average temporal order: generally, the earliest covert reactions were in the tongue, brain, eyes, and passive arm-hand region. Next were complex EMG events in the active limb. These covert reactions may function in feedthrough loops to generate and transmit codes during internal information processing. The passive armhand responses occurred significantly earlier than the onset of the covert EMG burst for closing the microswitch; perhaps there is an inhibitory response “commanding” the passive arm not to respond, before the other (active) limb can overtly respond. Mean response patterns to linguistic and non-linguistic stimuli were almost identical. Reaction time to the onset of the EMG burst for switch closing was from 40 to 95 milliseconds earlier than the usual overt reaction time measure (that to switch closing), suggesting that reaction time studies might be improved by using the onset of EMG increase as the more sensitive and precise measure.     

Comparisons of behavior transactions between conduct-disordered children and their mothers in the clinic and at home

The effects of various degrees of structure during clinic observations and the location of the observation (home or clinic) on the behaviors of mothers and children were examined. Forty families with conduct-problem children between the ages of 3 and 8 years participated. Correlations indicated little relationship between behavior in structured and in unstructured clinic conditions. There was also a lack of correlation between the structured clinic and the home observations. However, there were high correlations between mothers' and children's behaviors in the unstructured clinic observation and the home observations. ANOVA further indicated that there were significant differences between the actual rates of behaviors observed in the home and clinic locations. Results are discussed in relation to the potential of structured clinic observations to provide more relevant and efficient information about mothers and conduct-problem children.     

Covert behavior as a direct electromyographic measure of mediating responses

Electromyographic (EMG) measures (in addition to eye activity, and electroencephalograms, EEG) were taken from the tongue and arms of children under conditions of verbal oral mediation, non-oral (leg and arm) mediation based on the concepts of right and left, and no-mediation. It was found that amplitude of tongue EMG (a measure of covert oral behavior) significantly increased only for the Verbal Mediation Group, and the increase was significantly greater than for the other two (control) groups. The arms were possible loci of mediational behavior for the Non-oral Mediation Group; arm EMG was relatively large under this non-oral mediation condition, the changes being significant for the left arm. Eye movements, possible indicators of right and left mediational activity, were greater under the non-oral mediation condition, too. These psychophysiological measures of covert behavior during mediation are thus consistent with verbal mediational theory that has been based on the study of overt behavior.     

Parametric and bootstrap approaches to repeated measures designs

Recently, a nonparametric technique called bootstrapping has been recommended over the more well-known analysis of variance (ANOVA) for analyzing repeated measures data. Advocates cite as bootstrap’s advantages over ANOVA the fact that the former uses distributional information and is free of normal theory assumptions. The present study used a computer simulation to compare the two techniques calculated using data sampled from normal and nonnormal distributions. The parametric test had adequate control of Type I error rates; the nonparametric test had overly liberal Type I error rates and therefore is not recommended.     

Andisp: A Turbo pascal program to analyze and display sampled data

ANDISP is a Turbo Pascal program that analyzes, displays, and manipulates sampled data recorded with a PC-compatible data-acquisition system The data analysis routines include “integrate/differentiate a channel”, “rectify,” “smooth,” “filter,” and “add/sub/mult/div a channel by a constant, ” as well as a routine that gives some basic statistics. The data manipulation routines are “copy a channel” or “copy the data buffer to a file.” The versatile display routine can give either oscilloscope-type displays of a data channel or plots of pubUshable quality. Hardware requirements are an IBM-compatible microcomputer and an EGA color monitor.     

An empirical comparison of several interval estimation procedures for coefficient alpha

Following a general introduction to Tukey's Jackknife technique and the construction of approximate confidence intervals, ten variants of the procedure are defined for giving interval estimates for coefficient alpha. A data base of known population characteristics was generated and used to compare the robustness of the ten Jackknife alternatives with Feldt's well-known sampling theory based upon the assumptions of normality. The empirical results indicate that out of the ten variants, defined by five transformations and two methods of data subdivision, only two are justifiable competitors to Feldt's approach.     

A digitally controlled universal second-order filter block for biosignals with CMOS D/A converters

A universal second-order low-pass filter block with a digitally adjustable cutoff frequency is described. The filter section replaces conventional manually adjustable low-pass filters and is suitable for a wide range of biosignals such as EEG, EMG, and the recording of evoked potentials (ERPs). The advantages of digital control of filter parameters are briefly outlined and construction hints are given for a number of applications. The universal state-variable filter section may be programmed by any laboratory computer and does not require a complex installation procedure.     

Data on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale from a British clinic population

Conners Teacher Rating Scales were completed on 124 boys aged between 5 and 11 years who attended the child guidance clinics of a large southeast London psychiatric hospital. Comparisons were made with the data provided by Conners (Am. J. Psychiat., 1969,126, 884–888) in which the factor structure of the scale was first identified. This was in response to a reported failure to replicate the scales factor structure in a clinic population despite a number of confirmatory studies on large numbers of children in general populations. Of the scale's five original factors, three were clearly identified. The other two, labeled Hyperactivity and Inattentive-Passive, comprised a single factor. A fifth weaker factor not identified by Conners (1969) was found, consisting principally of antisocial conduct items. The results are seen as providing further evidence of the scales robustness in this, the only other reported clinic study and one in which British children were used for the first time.     

Sensory Extinction: A procedure for eliminating self-stimulatory behavior in developmentally disabled children

This study was designed to investigate the role of sensory reinforcement in the motivation of self-stimulation. If self-stimulatory behavior is maintained by its sensory consequences, such as the proprioceptive, auditory, or visual stimulation it produces, then such behavior should extinguish when those sensory consequences are not permitted. The present study introduces a new procedure, Sensory Extinction, in which certain sensory consequences are masked or removed, to examine whether self-stimulation is operant behavior maintained by sensory reinforcement. The effectiveness of Sensory Extinction was assessed by a reversal design for each of three autistic children, and the results showed the following. First, self-stimulation reliably extinguished when a certain sensory consequence was removed, then increased when that consequence was permitted. This was replicable within and across children. Second, different Sensory Extinction procedures were required for different self-stimulatory behaviors, since the sensory reinforcers supporting them were idiosyncratic across children. Finally, regarding clinical gains, the data suggest that Sensory Extinction may be a relatively convenient and rapid alternative for the treatment of self-stimulation. The present findings extend the efficacy of extinction as a behavior-modification technique to instances in which the reinforcer is purely sensory. The implications of these results for the treatment of other forms of deviant behavior are discussed.     

Causal Decision Theory and EPR correlations

The paper argues that on three out of eight possible hypotheses about the EPR experiment we can construct novel and realistic decision problems on which (a) Causal Decision Theory and Evidential Decision Theory conflict (b) Causal Decision Theory and the EPR statistics conflict. We infer that anyone who fully accepts any of these three hypotheses has strong reasons to reject Causal Decision Theory. Finally, we extend the original construction to show that anyone who gives any of the three hypotheses any non-zero credence has strong reasons to reject Causal Decision Theory. However, we concede that no version of the Many Worlds Interpretation (Vaidman, in Zalta, E.N. (ed.), Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2014) gives rise to the conflicts that we point out.     

Determinants of subjective contour: Bourdon illusions and “unbending” effects

Wenderoth and O’Connor (1987b) reported that, although matches to the straight edge of two triangles placed apex to apex revealed an apparent bending in the direction of the chevron formed by the hypotenuse pair (the Bourdon effect), no perceptual unbending of the bent chevron occurred. Using subjective contour figures, Walker and Shank (1988b) found large and approximately equal bending and unbending effects, consistent with two theories that they proposed. In Experiment 1, using adjustable chevron matching and subjective contours, we found that Bourdon effects, equivalent in magnitude to those reported by Walker and Shank, were 4–5 times larger than unbending effects. In Experiment 2, we used a variation of Walker and Shank’s measurement technique, in which subjects selected a matching angle from a graded series. We obtained Bourdon effects similar to those in Experiment 1, but much larger unbending effects. Nevertheless, Bourdon effects were significantly larger than unbending effects in one set of data; and in another, Bourdon test means were larger than unbending test means. In both data sets, there was a large and significant pretest bending effect, which enhanced the magnitude of unbending test minus pretest scores. These results were consistent with our theory but not the theories of Walker and Shank. The variance of unbending test matches, 3–4 times that of Bourdon test matches, reflected the task difficulty. We propose that subjective obtuse angle contraction that exceeds real obtuse angle contraction explains the fact that unbending effects are larger in subjective than in real contours.     

Behavioral assessment of eating patterns and blood glucose in diabetes using the Self-Monitoring Analysis System

The Self-Monitoring Analysis System is a set of microcomputer programs that were developed to remove clinical judgment from the task of behavioral assessment using self-monitoring diaries. The program is written in Turbo Pascal and runs on MS-DOS (16-bit) or CP/M (8-bit) microcomputer systems. The program allows the user to custom design data bases with hundreds of binary, categorical, integral, and real variables. Full-screen data-entry forms can be custom designed, and random access files allow for flexible data entry and editing. The program makes extensive utilization of Pascal’s very flexible data structure capabilities. Dynamic allocation of memory allows the program to maximize its use of available RAM. Data from a patient with diabetes is presented as a case study illustrating the system’s utility.     

The influence of gender on the frequency of pain and sedative medication administered to postoperative patients

This study examines whether the frequency of pain and sedative medication administered to postoperative coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients differs according to patient gender. It was hypothesized that nurses medicate patients with pain medication more frequently if they are men than if they are women. It was also hypothesized that nurses medicate female patients with sedative medication more frequently than male patients. The hypotheses in this study were based on a review of the literature indicating that health care professionals hold stereotypic views of women as emotionally labile and more apt to exaggerate complaints of pain than men. The medication records of 30 male and 30 female patients between 44–71 years of age, who had undergone recent CABG surgery, were evaluated in this study. Male and female patients were matched on the basis of age, number of grafts completed in surgery, and location of graft donor sites. All data were obtained through the use of medical records to allow for control of patients' current and past medical history. The frequency of pain and sedative medication administered to these patients from 12 hours postop to 72 hours postop was compared. The results revealed that male patients were administered pain medication significantly more frequently than female patients, and that female patients were administered sedative medication significantly more frequently than male patients. Also, patients 61 years or younger received pain medication significantly more frequently than those patients 62 years and over.     

Automation of learning-set testing: The video-task paradigm

Researchers interested in studying discrimination learning in primates have typically utilized variations in the Wisconsin General Test Apparatus (WGTA). In the present experiment, a new testing apparatus for the study of primate learning is proposed. In the video-task paradigm, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) respond to computer-generated stimuli by manipulating a joystick. Using this apparatus, discrimination learning-set data for 2 monkeys were obtained. Performance on Trial 2 exceeded 80% within 200 discrimination learning problems. These data illustrate the utility of the video-task paradigm in comparative research. Additionally, the efficient learning and rich data that were characteristic of this study suggest several advantages of the present testing paradigm over traditional WGTA testing.     

An evaluation of Unix in the psychology computer laboratory

Psychology users of the Unix operating system responded to questionnaire items concerning the use of Unix, the ease of learning and using Unix, and the value and quality of the system for their research needs. The data suggest that Unix is poor according to human-factors criteria, but good according to programming and systems criteria.     

The relationship between state anxiety and depressed mood: A validity study

The validity of the A-State Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was assessed using data from a general health survey. Depression and anxiety states were found to coexist, however, evidence from a factor analysis, showing items from the two tests loaded on separate factors, demonstrated that these states can be measured independently. Both the A-State and the Zung Scales were found to comprise two factors, and for each scale, one factor consisted of positively phrased items, and the other of negative items. The implications of these findings for the construct validity of the two scales are discussed.     

Autonomic and psychologic correlates in hypertension and duodenal ulcer

Psychophysiologic response patterns of 47 male duodenal-ulcer patients, 50 male hypertensive patients, and a control group of 65 men were compared by recording skin resistance level and responses, finger pulse volume, and surface integrated electromyograms during a series of verbal, acoustic, and color stimuli. Personality characteristics were examined on the basis of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Lüscher Test, Juhász’ Neurosis Scoring Scale, and the Achievement Anxiety Scale of Alpert and Haber. Using stepwise discriminant analysis of these psychophysiologic data for the control and the hypertensive groups and the control and duodenal ulcer groups, errorless postdiction of group membership was obtained, which indicates that the autonomic parameters and psychologic traits selected as characteristics show relationships that are relevant from the diagnostic viewpoint in the groups of patients. The method could be developed into a screening test procedure for use in the early detection of persons potentially at risk.