The recovering female alcoholic: A family affair

Supported by a review of relevant literature and a case study, the author argues that family therapy intervention enhances the likelihood of a female alcoholic's positive prognosis. With a basis in systems theory, family therapy views the family as a system and, hence, perceives the alcoholism as a symptom of that family. A profile of the female alcoholic, how her drinking affects her family, and the role that family therapy plays in the recovery process are examined.     

Psychologists and alcoholic women

Alcoholism among women often has been treated using a model based on research with alcoholic men. Women react differently to alcohol than men both physiologically and psychologically and their drinking patterns are different from men's. Treatment facilities for alcoholism have not been as available for women as for men and treatment must be individualized for the differences between men and women problem drinkers and for the differences among alcoholic women.     

Reciprocal depression in recovering alcoholic couples: The efficacy of psychodynamic group treatment

This single case study describes an outpatient psychodynamic therapy group for recovering alcoholic couples established in the Family Studies Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Studies, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. While depression in the recovering alcoholic is widely recognized, the authors stress their observation of recurrent depression in the well spouse and note a tendency for depression to alternate between members of a couple. The authors suggest clinicians need sensitivity to this issue and that a psychodynamic therapy group is an effective treatment modality for married alcoholics and their spouses.     

Patterns of sex-role identification in alcoholic women

Thirty alcoholic women were compared with their nonalcoholic biological sisters on several measures of sex-role identification. Contrary to an earlier finding that alcoholic women are more masculine than nonalcoholic women in unconscious identification (Wilsnack, 1973), the present study found no significant differences between alcoholics and sister controls on any of the measures utilized. Both groups were more masculine in unconscious identification than the female norm, but control subjects evidenced more internal consistency between actual behavior and expressed attitudes than did alcoholic subjects. It was concluded that an unconscious masculine identification is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition of alcoholism in women. While it is possible that alcoholic women may have experienced more conflict about their masculine identification, this question awaits further study.The present research is part of a larger study of women and alcohol funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA380). This paper is based on one portion of a doctoral thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Social Work, Rutgers University. The author is grateful to Harriet Fink and Drs. Eileen M. Corrigan, Elaine Norman, and Sharon C. Wilsnack for their generous assistance in all phases of this research.     

The cognitive functions of language

This paper explores a variety of different versions of the thesis that natural language is involved in human thinking. It distinguishes amongst strong and weak forms of this thesis, dismissing some as implausibly strong and others as uninterestingly weak. Strong forms dismissed include the view that language is conceptually necessary for thought (endorsed by many philosophers) and the view that language is de facto the medium of all human conceptual thinking (endorsed by many philosophers and social scientists). Weak forms include the view that language is necessary for the acquisition of many human concepts and the view that language can serve to scaffold human thought processes. The paper also discusses the thesis that language may be the medium of conscious propositional thinking, but argues that this cannot be its most fundamental cognitive role. The idea is then proposed that natural language is the medium for nondomain-specific thinking, serving to integrate the outputs of a variety of domain-specific conceptual faculties (or central-cognitive "quasimodules"). Recent experimental evidence in support of this idea is reviewed and the implications of the idea are discussed, especially for our conception of the architecture of human cognition. Finally, some further kinds of evidence which might serve to corroborate or refute the hypothesis are mentioned. The overall goal of the paper is to review a wide variety of accounts of the cognitive function of natural language, integrating a number of different kinds of evidence and theoretical consideration in order to propose and elaborate the most plausible candidate.     

Neuronal models of cognitive functions

Understanding the neural bases of cognition has become a scientifically tractable problem, and neurally plausible models are proposed to establish a causal link between biological structure and cognitive function. To this end, levels of organization have to be defined within the functional architecture of neuronal systems. Transitions from any one of these interacting levels to the next are viewed in an evolutionary perspective. They are assumed to involve: (1) the production of multiple transient variations and (2) the selection of some of them by higher levels via the interaction with the outside world. The time-scale of these "evolutions" is expected to differ from one level to the other. In the course of development and in the adult this internal evolution is epigenetic and does not require alteration of the structure of the genome. A selective stabilization (and elimination) of synaptic connections by spontaneous and/or evoked activity in developing neuronal networks is postulated to contribute to the shaping of the adult connectivity within an envelope of genetically encoded forms. At a higher level, models of mental representations, as states of activity of defined populations of neurons, are discussed in terms of statistical physics, and their storage is viewed as a process of selection among variable and transient pre-representations. Theoretical models illustrate that cognitive functions such as short-term memory and handling of temporal sequences may be constrained by "microscopic" physical parameters. Finally, speculations are offered about plausible neuronal models and selectionist implementations of intentions.     

Differential engagement of self-reactive influences in cognitive motivation

The present research tested the hypothesis that self-reactive influences exert differential impact on motivation as a function of the level and direction of discrepancy between a comparative standard and attainments. Subjects pursued a challenging standard in a strenuous activity and received preselected feedback that their effort fell either markedly, moderately, or minimally short of the standard, or that it exceeded the standard. They then recorded their perceived self-efficacy, self-evaluation, and self-set goals, whereupon their motivational level was measured. In accord with prediction, perceived self-efficacy contributes to motivation across a wide range of discrepancy conditions. Self-evaluation operates as an influential motivator only when attainments fall markedly or moderately short of a comparative standard. Self-set goals contribute to motivation at all discrepancy levels except when attainments are markedly discrepant from the standard. The relevant self-influences operating in concert at particular discrepancy levels explain a substantial amount of the variance in motivaion.     

Developmental functions for speeds of cognitive processes

In Experiment 1, 8- to 21-year-olds were tested on a visual search task in which they determined whether a target digit was present in a set of one to five digits and a memory search task in which they determined whether a target digit was a member of a previously presented set of one to five digits. Increases with age in speeds of visual and memory search were both described well by exponential functions, and the rate of developmental change was similar for the two processes. In Experiment 2, 8- to 22-year-olds were tested on a memory search task, a mental rotation task in which they judged whether a stimulus presented in various orientations was a letter or a mirror image of a letter, an analogical reasoning task in which they judged whether sets of pictures were related to one another according to the same rule, and a mental addition task in which they judged the accuracy of problems such as 2 + 3 = 6. Here, too, for three of the four tasks developmental change was described well by exponential functions with a common rate of change. Results are interpreted in terms of a central mechanism that limits speeded performance and that changes with age.     

Differential cerebral involvement in the cognitive functioning of bilinguals

The cognitive processing strategies of two groups of French-English bilinguals were studied by means of an auditory Stroop test designed to evaluate cerebral hemispheric involvement. An “early bilingual” group were bilingual before the age of 5, and a “late bilingual” group were bilingual after the age of 10. Stimuli were words uttered in pitches that were related to word meanings either congruently (as in the word “high” uttered in a high pitch) or incongruently (the word “haute” uttered in a low pitch). In one condition, subjects were to differentiate low from high pitches, disregarding meaning, while in a second condition, they were to disregard pitch and respond to word meanings. Measures of field independence were also taken. Results of data analyses suggest that male early bilinguals—the most field independent subgroup—process meaning efficiently in both cerebral hemispheres, but process pitch better in the right hemisphere. However, male late bilinguals and female bilinguals, both early and late, process meaning more rapidly in the right cerebral hemisphere and pitch equally rapidly in both hemispheres. The findings are interpreted as reflecting hemisphere-based strategy and sex differences in information-processing by the two bilingual groups.     

Treating jealousy as a system dynamic in recovering alcoholic families: An application of the social network model of recovery

Jealousy often interferes with the recovery process for alcoholic families. Recovery for such families requires that external boundaries shift from rigid and closed to open and more permeable. Jealousy often erupts as families struggle with shifting boundaries. When jealousy is recognized as a system dynamic, necessary to the process of recovery, it is manageable. The key to the treatment of jealousy in recovering families is recognizing the crucial role of boundaries in both the development and recovery processes.     

社会交往对老年人认知功能的影响

社会交往是影响老年人认知功能的重要因素。社会交往主要包括社会网络, 社会支持和社会参与三方面。研究发现, 社会交往对老年人的认知功能具有积极的影响, 但是网络类型比网络规模更有利于揭示社会网络与认知功能的关系, 而且社会支持并非越多越好, 对于易感性人群而言, 适度的支持才能避免造成认知损伤。此外, 尽管社会参与能够对认知功能产生持续的保护作用, 但不同活动类型作用于不同的认知领域。未来研究应该继续深化社会网络类型的作用, 进一步考察社会支持与认知功能的中介和调节变量, 并同时关注社会活动对认知功能的干预研究。     

Long-term effects of cerebellar pathology on cognitive functions

Twelve patients with circumscribed chronic neocerebellar lesions but without CT-evidence of forebrain damage (other than the effects of shunting) were investigated for deficits of cognitive functions. Two different mechanisms were considered as possible causes of cognitive impairment: (1) Damage to the dentato-thalamo-cortical projection leading to impairments of cortical functions, and (2) prolonged intracranial pressure resulting in diffuse forebrain damage and subcortical dementia. Patients with lesions in the left neocerebellum showed deficits in cognitive operations in three dimensional space, consistent with the right forebrain dominance for spatial functions. Prolonged intracranial pressure, on the other hand, resulted in a mild overall cognitive impairment.     

Marijuana's effects on human cognitive functions, psychomotor functions, and personality

Marijuana is complex chemically and not yet fully understood, but it is not a narcotic. Like alcohol, marijuana acts as both stimulant and depressant, but it lingers in body organs longer than alcohol. Smoking marijuana can injure mucosal tissue and may have more carcinogenic potential than tobacco. Research has indicated that marijuana intoxication definitely hinders attention, long-term memory storage, and psychomotor skills involved in driving a car or flying a plane. Expectations and past experience with marijuana have often influenced results more than pharmacological aspects have. Marijuana has triggered psychotic episodes in those more vulnerable. Psychological and some instances of physiological dependence on marijuana have been demonstrated. As a psychoactive drug, marijuana surely alters mental functioning. Although it is possible that chronic use of marijuana produces irreversible damage to mind or brain areas, this has not been determined by research.     

Lifelong estrogen exposure and cognitive performance in elderly women

Fluctuating endogenous and exogenous estrogens influence cognition in women. In this study, cognitive functioning in elderly women was examined by applying methodology used in understanding the effects of chronic estrogen exposure on hormone-sensitive tissue other than the brain. An index, combining menstrual, reproductive, and physical markers associated with estrogen levels, was developed for elderly, nondemented, predominantly Caucasian women (n = 87). This index related to better performance on two verbal factors, one attentional and one global in nature. Findings suggest that estrogen exposure across the life span plays a role in brain aging. Possible physiological mechanisms for this effect are discussed.     

Relation of neuroleptic and anticholinergic medication to cognitive functions in schizophrenia

In this article, we review research designed to examine the influence of neuroleptic and anticholinergic drugs on cognitive processes in schizophrenia. The review is motivated by the recognition that pharmacotherapy is an important factor in psychological research on schizophrenia, given that the great majority of patients studied in investigations of cognition receive both of these drugs. We find that neuroleptic treatment is associated with limited normalization on many psychological measures, whereas anticholinergics appear to disrupt some aspects of memory. Subject selection criteria, research designs, and drug measurement methods important in the evaluation of possible drug effects in psychological studies are discussed.     

Differential experiences of men and women in computerized offices

This study presents data from a multiple-instrument, multisite, two-wave study of the implementation of computerized procedures in offices in order to examine whether this technological innovation differentially affects men and women employees. It explores the possibility that men in offices are benefiting more in terms of career enhancement than are women. Preliminary analyses provide some support for the hypothesis: Men in computerized offices bring more relevant skills to the workplace, are in more influential positions there, and make more computer-related decisions. However, analyses that control for job category show that women are generally satisfied with the training they received and report fewer problems of access to needed computer equipment, software, applications, and help. Women are also somewhat more optimistic than men about the benefits of computer technology for white-collar workers.