Pattern and flicker detection examined in terms of the nasal-temporal division of the retina

Contrast thresholds for the detection of flicker and the detection of pattern were measured for nasal and temporal retinae of each eye separately. While confirming that these two types of threholds can differ, depending on the spatial frequency, the results provide no support for hemiretinal or hemispheric asymmetries in the distribution of the putative pattern and movement channels.     

On assessing individual differences in rumination on sadness

The Rumination on Sadness Scale (RSS), an individual-difference measure of rumination on sadness, was developed as an alternative to the Ruminative Responses scale of the Response Styles Questionnaire (RRRSQ; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991). Research has shown the RRRSQ to consist of multiple, not highly intercorrelated factors; only I factor explicitly addresses rumination. In Study 1, a 1-factor solution to a principal components analysis was shown to hold for responses to the RSS. The RSS was also shown to be reliable. In Study 2, convergent and discriminant validity of the RSS were assessed. In Study 3, individuals with high RSS scores exhibited more distress regarding current concerns with the introduction of a delay period (to allow them to ruminate) after a sad mood induction.     

Late adolescent perceptions of parent religiosity and parenting processes

The current investigation examined the relations between adolescent reports of parent religiosity and parenting processes, using both a dimensional and a typological conceptualization of parenting. Self-report data were collected from 357 late adolescents. Partial correlations indicated that parent religiosity was associated with both parenting dimensions and parenting styles in conceptually expected directions. Regression analyses provided evidence that the dimensional conceptualization of parenting explained additional variability in perceived parental religiosity above and beyond parenting style effects. Findings suggest that a dimensional conceptualization of parenting processes extends the literature on parent religiosity because it yields more nuanced information about how parental religiosity may be related to differentiated parenting behaviors. Potential therapeutic implications of the findings are discussed.     

Attempts to control unwanted thoughts in the night: development of the thought control questionnaire-insomnia revised (TCQI-R)

The attempted control of intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts has been implicated in the maintenance of a range of psychological disorders. The current paper describes the refinement of the Thought Control Questionnaire Insomnia (TCQI; Behav. Cogn. Psychoth. 29 (2001)) through its administration to a sample (n=385) including good sleepers and individuals with insomnia. Several items with poor psychometric properties were discarded, resulting in a 35-item revised TCQI. Factor analysis revealed six factors; aggressive suppression, cognitive distraction, reappraisal, social avoidance, behavioural distraction, and worry. The attempted management of unwanted thoughts was compared across individuals with insomnia and good sleepers, and the impact of these strategies on sleep quality, anxiety and depression was investigated. With the exception of cognitive distraction, individuals with insomnia, relative to good sleepers, more frequently used every thought control strategy. The strategies of aggressive suppression and worry, in particular, appeared to be unhelpful, with the use of these strategies predicting sleep impairment, anxiety and depression. The strategy of cognitive distraction appeared to be helpful, with the use of this strategy predicting better sleep quality.     

Valence focus and the perception of facial affect

Individuals differ in the extent to which they emphasize feelings of pleasure or displeasure in their verbal reports of emotional experience, an individual difference termed valence focus (VF). This multimethod study indicates that VF is linked to heightened efficiency in perceptual processing of affective stimuli. Individuals higher in VF (i.e., who emphasized feelings of pleasure/displeasure in reports of emotional experiences) were more sensitive to changes in negative facial expressions than individuals lower in VF. The effect was not accounted for by current affective state or other personality characteristics. Implications for the validity of self-reported experienced emotion are discussed.     

The Relationship of the Self of the Therapist to Therapy Process and Outcome: are Some Questions Better Left Unanswered?

Gurman (1987) has challenged the field of marital and family therapy to answer questions concerning the relationship of the therapist to outcome. An examination of conceptual and empirical literature regarding the relationship of the self of the therapist to process and outcome in marital and family therapy discloses that empirical evidence for such relationship is not persuasive. The author constructs a crucible for the field of marital and family therapy.     

Binocular Rivalry Disrupts Visual Priming

Many results implicate perceptual processing in repetition priming, but little is known of potential mechanisms for priming. A new method was used to help determine the processing stage at which priming occurs. Priming pictures were presented under dominance or suppression generated by binocular rivalry. Although low-level, sensory attributes can be processed under rivalry suppression, there is no evidence that repetition priming can be supported by such low-level processing. Priming was found only for stimuli that were processed sufficiently to be identified in the priming stage. The results demonstrate that repetition priming requires processing of stimulus attributes into relatively high-level representations.