Effects of goodness and other properties of patterns on discriminative performance of monkeys

Subsequent to prism adaptation, subjects may be readaptedto their original visual-motor coordination using procedures similar to those occurring during adaptation. It has been argued that such procedures will be moreeffective than allowing for a decay of the aftereffect if normal visual-motor behavior is itself a state of adaptation. In the present study, two readaptation procedures were compared for their effectiveness to four decay and/or controf conditions. Although all groups, except for one decay condition, showed significant reductions in prism aftereffects, only the two readaptation groups showed final aftereffects that were not significantly different from zero.It is argued that readaptation is distinguishable from decay and, further, that the necessary conditions for readaptation can be elucidated with reference to the information discordance hypothesis of prism adaptation. These arguments are primarily based on an extensive analysis inwhich discrepant informationabout the adapted arm’s position is supplied by a nonvisual search task using the two arms.     

Reactions of Participants and Observers to Modes of Adjudication1

An important aspect of conflict resolution by judgment of a third party is the extent to which participants and observers are satisfied that both the procedure and the outcome are fair and impartial. Male undergraduates participated in a business simulation, which resulted in a controversy placing them in the position of defendants in a trial. An examination was then made of the effects of adversary and nonadversary procedures, prior belief about guilt, and favorableness of the judgment on participant subjects’perceptions of the adjudication. Another group of subjects who had no prior information about the guilt or innocence of the defendent served as observers. Participant subjects viewed the adversary procedure as most fair and satisfying. They were also most satisfied with judgments resulting from the adversary procedure, independently of pretrial belief or favorableness of verdict. Participants also preferred innocent to guilty verdicts, regardless of their pretrial belief. Subjects who held a pretrial belief of innocence were particularly dissatisfied with guilty verdicts and with the nonadversary trial procedure. Observers also found the adversary procedure to be most fair, and expressed a preference for innocent verdicts.     

A family systems approach to grief

This article blends two important viewpoints on grief: a stage theory on the individual's grief and the family systems literature on grief. A case study is examined from both the individual and systemic viewpoints. Pastoral implications for intervention with the case study family as a system are noted. The theological questions which the family and pastor face are also discussed.     

Professionalism in career guidance and counselling – how professional do trainee career practitioners feel at the end of a postgraduate programme of study?

This paper explores the extent to which students on a vocational postgraduate programme identify with characteristics and competences that define a professional career guidance and counselling practitioner. Literature suggests professionalism in careers work is characterised by a focus on the needs of the client with the practitioner in a facilitative role. Competences are often couched in developmental terms, with practitioners moving from inexperienced to experienced. Students identified the most valued characteristics as adherence to professional values and ethical standards with an emphasis on person-centred practice. They recognised that competence was a developmental process, characterising themselves as at an early stage on completion of their course. Supporting the client took precedence over issues such as advocating for the profession, supporting employers and social responsibility. Generally, students saw completing a programme of study either as a beginning to a process of development of professionalism or as part of their professional development.     

Examining the Panic Attack Specifier in Social Anxiety Disorder

Panic attacks (PAs) are characterized by overwhelming surges of fear and discomfort and are one of the most frequently occurring symptoms in psychiatric populations. The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e. DSM-5) allows for a panic attack (PA) specifier for all disorders, including social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, there is little research examining differences between individuals diagnosed with SAD with the PA specifier versus individuals diagnosed with SAD without the PA specifier. The current study examined social anxiety, mood, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity social concerns, a risk factor for social anxiety in SAD-diagnosed individuals without (N = 52) and with (N = 14) the PA specifier. The groups differed only in somatic symptoms of anxiety. Result of the current study provides preliminary evidence that the presence of the PA specifier in social anxiety does not result in elevated levels of comorbidity or a more severe presentation of social anxiety.     

A Spirit in Need of Rest: Luther's Melancholia,Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,and Religiosity

Male melancholia, rooted in early childhood experiences of perceived mother-loss, is intrinsically linked to religiosity. The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther suffered from melancholia that was related to, and exacerbated by, a corresponding obsessive-compulsive disorder. This essay makes a case for Luther's melancholia being grounded in both childhood beatings (at least one of which was carried out by his mother) and his subsequent search for an identity. Luther's melancholia also gave rise to life-long struggles with obsessive-compulsive anxieties. His religion, in which he believed he had discovered both an identity and a means for relief from his inner struggles, actually exacerbated his melancholia. He realized as an older man that religion had indeed become his substitute obsession and that a major part of his self had died. An argument for how Luther's melancholia and obsessive-compulsive disorder could have been alleviated is offered.     

Evaluating an innovative counselling service for children of divorce

An evaluation of the first counselling service in Britain for children of divorce is reported. In a previous article, the quantitative outcomes of counselling were outlined, which included such data as the children's self-esteem and perceptions of divorce. Here the focus is on the qualitative outcomes of the counselling evaluation: namely, the children's and mother's satisfaction with the counselling, and the counsellor's opinion of its success. The conclusions of the study and their implications for practice are discussed.     

Emotional arousal and memory: a test of the poststimulus processing hypothesis

Emotional arousal is believed to enhance memory for details central to an episode but impair memory for peripheral details. However, new research suggests that arousal induced thematically (i.e., through involvement with an unfolding event) produces only memory enhancements. This article examines whether consciously controlled elaborative processing in the aftermath of an arousing experience is responsible. A dual task manipulation was used to prevent participants from ruminating over a video that depicted an abduction and attack. Several indices of recall showed greater memory for emotional event details than for details from a neutral control video, which remained the case when the opportunity for post-stimulus elaboration was prevented. Thus, superior retention of the content of emotional experiences may arise from the way in which arousal is induced rather than through immediate postevent cognitions.