Conditioned placebo responses

Following earlier animal research, we attempt to condition placebo effects in human subjects. Four groups of 8 voluntary subjects were told that the experimenters would test a powerful new analgesic cream over three sessions by assessing its ability to reduce experimentally induced pain. The analgesic cream was, in fact, a placebo. In the first session all subjects were tested with and without the cream to assess their placebo response. In the second session, to condition two groups (with differing stimulation levels) to experience pain relief in response to the placebo, we repeatedly paired a reduction in nocioceptive stimulation with placebo administration. (Subjects were unaware that stimulation levels were manipulated). To condition the other two groups (with different stimulation levels) to experience an exacerbation of the pain, we paired an increase in nocioceptive stimulation with placebo administration. In the third session, all subjects were again tested for placebo response. Results suggested that placebo responses are conditionable in the laboratory in both a positive and negative direction. The clinical implications of a learning theory of placebo behavior are discussed.     

Physical exercise, social background, and the well-being of older adult women

28 older women participating in an exercise program were compared to 30 older women not participating in an exercise program on two behavioral measures. There were no significant main effects for participation-nonparticipation in an exercise program. Significant main effects were found, however, for each of three social variables.     

Parents' teaching strategies with their children: The effects of parental and child status variables

The intent of the study was to examine the effects of parental (mother and father) and child (gender and communicative status) status variables on the teaching strategies used by parents in a paper-folding task. The linguistic and nonverbal strategies of 120 parent-child groupings were analyzed during paper-folding tasks. Parents' strategies were coded according cognitive demand and directiveness. Results indicated that strategies varied as a function of children's communicative status. Parents were less directive and more demanding of nonhandicapped children compared to handicapped children. Parents' strategies seemed to be determined by children's ability to sustain discourse. Results are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development.This research was partially supported by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education, Office of Special Education (Grant No. G007902000) to I. Sigel and A. McGillicuddy-DeLisi at Educational Testing Service, Princeton, and from the Biomedical Research Support Grant Program, Division of Research Resources, N.I.H. (Grant No. BRSG 507RR07025-17) to the first two authors. We acknowledge the helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.     

Gay women,men, and families in rural settings: Toward the development of helping communities

The urban biases of empirical research on gay men, women, and families have resulted in minimal knowledge about gay people in rural settings. The diversity of lives of rural gay women and men and the variety of patterns of meeting the challenges of rural living are described. Processes of help-seeking and help-giving are discussed and the need for a helping community of family, friends, and caring others is affirmed. Collaboration between rural gay people and rural community psychologists is suggested to promote the development of helping communities for gay people and thereby initiate a process of change in rural settings.     

Interventions with care givers of dementia patients: comparison of two approaches

We compared the effect of two approaches, family counseling and support groups, for relieving the stress and burden experienced by care givers of dementia patients. Both treatments are designed to implement features of a stress-management model that have been identified in prior research with this population: providing information about the patient's disease and its effects on behavior, teaching behavioral problem solving for managing difficult behavior, and identifying potential support for care givers. Subjects were primary care givers of dementia patients living in the community; they included husbands, wives, daughters, and other relatives. Although subjects in the treatment groups made significant gains over time, they did not differ from wait-list subjects who showed similar improvements. One-year follow-up interviews indicated that gains made during the treatment period were maintained.     

Automaticity and the capture of attention by a peripheral display change

The proposal that peripheral visual changes (cues) tend to summon attention automatically was tested by studying the effect of peripheral cueing on simple detection latency. Delay between cue onset and target onset, the contingent relationship between cue location and target location, and instructions to subjects were manipulated. Results showed that a peripheral display change could capture attention even when the target was far more likely to appear at an uncued location. When subjects were explicitly informed that targets were likely to appear away from the cued location they were able to suppress this effect, but were unable completely to reverse it by rapidly orienting attention towards the uncued side. Hence the process appears to be automatic in the sense that it occurs unless there are explicit instructions to the contrary. With explicit instructions the processing operation can be suppressed, but not completely reversed. This work was supported by the U.K. Admiralty Research Establishment (Research Agreement No. 53482).     

THE MEETING OF TWO CULTURES: ETHNIC IDENTITY AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF ITALIAN-AUSTRALIAN ADOLESCENTS*

The present study was designed to explore both the predictors of ethnic identity and the relationship between ethnic identity and psychosocial adjustment. Perceptions of ethnicity and ethnic identity and measures of psychosocial adjustment were obtained from 82 Italian-Australian adolescents. Parents' maintenance of cultural ties was associated with a strong sense of ethnic identity, however ethnic identity was relatively unimportant in predicting psychosocial adjustment. Cultural variables such as parents' embeddedness in the Italian community, the desire to assimilate into the Australian culture, and the perception of problems arising from minority group membership were of greater significance.     

Self-reported assessment practices of school psychologists: Implications for training and practice

This study reports the results of an investigation of the assessment views and practices of school psychologists in the United States. Results of the investigation indicated that respondents are predominantly behavioral and cognitive behavioral in orientation; spend most of their professional time in the public schools; and engage in a great deal of assessment. Behavioral assessment and projective testing occupies the greatest amount of their social-emotional assessment time. Behavioral interviewing is the most used behavioral technique, followed by behavioral observation, which is reportedly used by approximately one third of the respondents with from 41% to 100% of clients. Although most of the respondents report a preference for continuing to do approximately the same amount of the various social-emotional assessment activities as they are presently doing, very high percentages of respondents indicate that their use of behavioral assessment strategies would increase with development of published instrumentation, normative standards, and standardized out-of-setting behavioral procedures.     

Performance differences following exposure to predictable and unpredictable noncontingent outcomes in high and low achievers

Two experiments are described in which subjects rated as high or low in achievement motivation were exposed to uncontrollable outcomes on a cognitive task. Effects on subsequent performance on a different cognitive task were shown to depend on level of achievement motivation, on whether the uncontrollable outcomes were predictable or unpredictable, and on whether the uncontrollable outcomes were positive or negative. These findings have important theoretical implications which are discussed.