The Multilevel Conception of Intentionality: Implications for counselor training

Counseling training programs have failed to differentiate between and among behavioral, cognitive, and unconsciousness dimesnsions. This omission has resulted in confusion and competition in many counseling curricula in that valuable programs are competing for space rather than being integrated systematically. This article proposes a multilevel model of intentionality which integrates the several aspects of the counselor-client relationship. In turn, this integration of behavioral, cognitive, and unconscious dimensions will have important applications in counselor daily practice.     

Depressive characteristics of physically abused children

Physically abused and nonabused children were compared on child-completed measures of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and locus of control. Results indicated that, in comparison with nonabused controls, abused children evidenced more depressive symptoms, heightened externality, lower self-esteem, and greater hopelessness about the future. Group differences in depressive symptomatology were not accounted for on the basis of differences in age, sex, race, gender, IQ, or socioeconomic status. Results replicate the results of Kazdin, Moser, Colbus, and Bell (1985) derived from a sample of physically abused psychiatric inpatients and extend the generality of these findings to abused children of nonpatient status. Implications of the findings for clinical interventions, theoretical models of child depression, and future research are discussed.The authors wish to thank Alvin Hadley and the staff of Franklin County Children Services.Appreciation is also extended to Dr. Charles Wenar.     

CLINICAL BEHAVIORAL PHARMACOLOGY: METHODS FOR EVALUATING MEDICATIONS AND CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT

We evaluated methods for comparing the effects of dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), thioridazine (Mellaril), and contingency management in the control of severe behavior problems. A reversal design was used in which medications were systematically titrated and assessed in unstructured as well as structured settings with three clients. Subsequently, behavioral procedures including timeout, differential reinforcement of other behavior, and visual screening, were used in a multiple-baseline design across settings. The assessment and design methods were useful in comparing the interventions. Dextroamphetamine decreased inappropriate behaviors and improved academic behaviors in one client, but no reliable effects were observed in the other two clients. Thioridazine was variable across clients, settings, behaviors, and dosages. Contingency management produced consistent decreases in inappropriate behaviors and small improvements in academic performance.     

Youth suicide

The literature on youth suicide (ages 15-24) is surveyed for the period 1980-1985. Emphasis is placed on general determinants of suicide, predictors in the form of psychological tests, precipitating events (immediate causes), and signs--clues that may signify impending attempts at self-destruction. Suggestions for prevention, and limitations of research on suicide are offered.     

Short-term memory for colors and color names in the absence of vocalization

In a previous experiment, Allen found no release from proactive inhibition using the Brown-Peterson procedure in a group who were shifted from recalling colors to recalling the names of colors. The lack of release suggests that colors and color names are encoded in similar ways. It was argued that the similarity of encoding might have been caused by the procedure of requiring the subjects to say out loud the names of the colors at the time of stimulus presentation and recall. In the present experiment, a procedure was devised that eliminated the need for verbalization of the colors. The same pattern of results was obtained, namely, release from proactive inhibition in the group shifted from recalling color names to colors but not in the group shifted in the opposite direction. It was concluded that if subjects encode colors as a verbal label, then this encoding strategy is not caused by the procedure of requiring the subjects to verbalize the colors.     

The right to a decent minimum of health care

Buchanan examines, and finds inadequate, several philosophical approaches to justifying and specifying the content of a universal right to a decent minimum of health care: utilitarian arguments, Rawlsian ideal contract arguments, and Norman Daniels' equality of opportunity argument. Also rejecting the libertarian hypothesis that there is no right to a decent minimum of care, he contends that the claim that society should guarantee certain health care services can be supported by a pluralistic approach encompassing special right-claims, harm prevention, prudential arguments emphasizing public health benefits, and beneficence.     

Alterations of the phonetic coding of speech sounds during repetition

One aspect of the comprehension of speech is the assignment of a phonetic representation to the sounds being heard. However, if a person listens to a meaningless syllable that is continually repeated, over time he will hear the syllable undergo a variety of changes. These changes are very systematic in character and represent alterations in the phonetic coding assigned to an unchanging sound stimulus. When the restricted nature of the changes that occur is analyzed phonetically, these changes are found to invlove a reorganization of the phones constituting the syllables and changes in a small number of distinctive features.