A tether system for psychophysiological studies in the dog

A system for monitoring blood pressure or other physiological variables in the unanesthetized and chronically instrumented dog is described. An indwelling catheter attaches to a pressure transducer affixed to the underside of a leather shield, which snaps onto a custom-fitted leather vest worn by the dog. The transducer cable ascends vertically through a hollow, flexible, stainless steel tether, which is attached at the lower end to the leather shield and at the upper end to a fluid and electrical swivel. The swivel is attached to an overhead counterbalanced boom assembly, which moves in concert with the dog, maintaining a constant minimal tension on the tether. The boom assembly is attached to a wall plate via a universal joint approximately 7 ft above floor level. Dogs can be maintained comfortably in this system 24 h/day over periods of months, with freedom of posture and movement, including rotational behavior. The system is economical to construct and provides versatile stimulation and record-ing capability and reliable long-term performance.     

Time-series analysis of long-term cardiovascular response

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the use of time-series analysis with long-term cardiovascular responding. Analyses of two successive 1000-minute mean blood pressure and heart-rate series in five chronically instrumented dogs showed that the autocorrelation function of the original series appeared highly nonstationary and that differencing the data produced a simple autocorrelation pattern which could be successfully modeled with stepwise autoregression. Evidence for reliable individual differences as well as change over sessions is presented and discussed.     

Locus of control and self-esteem as correlates of role orientation in traditional and nontraditional women

This research attempted to establish relationships between locus of control, self-esteem, and traditional-nontraditional behavior. It was hypothesized that (1) women tending toward internality and high self-esteem should be more likely to manifest nontraditional behaviors, as evidenced through career-oriented roles, and to rank these roles as their primary source of satisfaction; and (2) women tending toward externality and low self-esteem should be more likely to manifest traditional behavior, as evidenced through family-oriented roles, and to rank these roles as their primary source of satisfaction. The sample consisted of 91 White females in a southern metropolitan area. The data were collected using a survey design. As expected, high self-esteem internals were more likely to manifest nontraditional behavior. Contrary to expectation, low self-esteem externals were more nontraditional in role orientation.     

You must leave before you can cleave: A family systems approach to premarital pastoral work

We advocate the use of a family systems approach to premarital pastoral work, involving exploration of the families of origin of the intended spouses. Family systems theory argues that a marriage is like a merger of two corporations, each having its own stockholders; thus, adequate preparation for marriage involves coming to terms with the realities of one's family of origin and that of one's intended spouse. Exploratory techniques include genograms, house tours, family photo albums, and discussions of the rules and rituals in the respective families. Leaving father and mother is the central prerequisite to marriage.Dr. Mitchell is Professor of Pastoral Care and Theology, Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, Missouri 63119. Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary, 333 Wartburg Place, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.     

The use of family myths as an aid to strategic therapy

The concept of family myth can be used by the therapist to help organize the wealth of information provided by a family in therapy. Rituals, symbols and metaphors can be viewed as structurally related components within the family myth system which enable the therapist to interpret non-literal, analogic communications as a coherent yet primarily symbolic, narrative about the family's shared perceptions of its functioning. The concept of myth is explored in relation to mythology, the family therapy literature, and a case study. Several strategic intervention strategies are proposed which utilize the family's own metaphors, symbols and rituals to re-edit the family myth. Re-editing the myth on a symbolic level should be associated with improved system functioning, including more concrete areas of the family's life.     

Gender differences in health-related quality of life

In 1986 the life expectancy at birth was 71.3 years for males and 78.3 years for females--providing a 7-year advantage for women. Although women live longer, it has been reported that they paradoxically experience more physical and psychological illnesses. In this article, we estimate the expected well-years or quality-adjusted life years for men and women in the general population. The data were obtained in a random sample of 1,034 residents of San Diego. The well-life expectancy uses standard life expectancies with adjustments for quality of life. The well-life expectancy for men was 59.8 years; for women, it was 62.7 years. Thus, the quality adjustment had significantly more impact on women (15.6 years) than on men (11.5 years). Age-specific estimates of health-related quality of life suggested a male advantage before age 45 and a female advantage after age 45. The benefits of well-years of life as a public health statistic are discussed.     

Analogical transfer and expertise in legal reasoning

Analogical transfer and its relation to expertise is examined in a legal context. Three experiments were conducted comparing the performance of novices (introductory tax students) and of experts (experienced tax practitioners from multinational public accounting firms) on tasks involving the application of tax laws. In Experiment 1 subjects completed a target problem after reading a decided case that was either analogous or not analogous to a target problem. A limited amount of transfer was observed, with no differential rate of transfer across experience levels. In Experiments 2 and 3 attempts were made to facilitate transfer of knowledge by inducing transfer-appropriate processing of the source analog and by providing multiple source analogs. The results of both experiments indicate an interaction between treatment and expertise. Unexpectedly, the facilitating treatments reduced the transfer of knowledge for experts while increasing the transfer for novices. Subsequent analysis of the responses of the expert subjects indicates that for the more experienced expert subjects a highly proceduralized rule interfered with the knowledge transfer when that rule was made salient by the facilitating treatments. The less experienced expert subjects behaved in a manner consistent with the hypotheses. This poor performance of the more experienced experts results from the inflexibility in expert problem solving due to the proceduralization of information processing. Frensch and Sternberg (1989) demonstrate that this type of inflexibility is one of the costs of expertise and results from the development of a large and highly complex knowledge base containing numerous well developed strategies.     

Speech imagery is not always faster than visual imagery

One approach to the study of mental imagery is to examine the performance characteristics of different forms of mental imagery when used in various tasks. To demonstrate the utility of this functional approach, the use of speech and visual imagery processes in the serial mental rehearsal of common verbal sequences le.g., letters of the alphabet and familiar object arrays (objects found in familiar rooms) was examined in the present experiments. Rehearsal rates and self-reporte were consistent with the hypothesis that mental rehearsal efficiency is a function of the compatibility of characteristics of the rehearsal materials and rehearsal mode. While verbal sequences were rehearsed faster under speech than under visual imagery conditions, object arrays were rehearsed as fast under visual as under speech imagery conditions. In addition, evidence was found that covert verbal rehearsal is faster than overt verbal rehearsal under some circumstances.