PASTORAL PSYCHOTHERAPY: IS IT UNIQUE?

Proponents and practitioners of pastoral psychotherapy hold to the idea that it is a unique form of psychotherapy. Little empirical or procedural evidence seems to exist to substantiate that viewpoint. Indeed, the data suggest that pastoral psychotherapy is a close kin to secular psychotherapy, not only in practice, but in the opinion of those who seek it out for help. This article takes the viewpoint that pastoral psychotherapy should be unique and attempts to show how it can be. The author stresses that it is ordination that makes pastoral psychotherapy unique, because the ordained pastor is both a theologian and a representative of the church. These two elements provide unique “lenses” for doing psychotherapy. To the extent that these lenses are not being used, the author issues a challenge to pastoral psychotherapists to bring this uniqueness to the forefront.     

Detectability as a function of target location: effects of spatial configuration

Marked differences in detectability as a function of spatial location, a "detectability gradient," are observed when subjects are required to detect a briefly exposed target pattern of uncertain location in the presence of a number of nontarget patterns. Target detectability also is inversely related to the number of nontarget patterns which are present in this search paradigm. These previous findings provide strong evidence for a serial process in which increasing probability of error occurs during a scan of a rapidly degrading neural representation of the visual image following a brief exposure to the stimuli. It is not yet established whether this scan is attentional or perceptual in nature. The present experiments test the hypothesis of an attentional scan by presenting the target and nontarget patterns in spatially segregated groups. If the scan is attentional, then target detectability under these circumstances would be expected to exhibit the characteristic phenomenon of "group processing"--a close clustering of detection performance for targets located within a group and large differences in detectability across groups. As no evidence for group processing was observed, the results fail to support the view that the scan is attentional in nature but are fully consistent with a nonattentional scan.     

Long-term effects of cerebellar pathology on cognitive functions

Twelve patients with circumscribed chronic neocerebellar lesions but without CT-evidence of forebrain damage (other than the effects of shunting) were investigated for deficits of cognitive functions. Two different mechanisms were considered as possible causes of cognitive impairment: (1) Damage to the dentato-thalamo-cortical projection leading to impairments of cortical functions, and (2) prolonged intracranial pressure resulting in diffuse forebrain damage and subcortical dementia. Patients with lesions in the left neocerebellum showed deficits in cognitive operations in three dimensional space, consistent with the right forebrain dominance for spatial functions. Prolonged intracranial pressure, on the other hand, resulted in a mild overall cognitive impairment.     

Serial processing of visual spatial patterns in a search paradigm

Previous experiments in this laboratory employing a search paradigm have found highly significant differences in the detectability of a briefly exposed target pattern as a function of the spatial location of the target when it is presented simultaneously with a number of discriminably different nontarget patterns. These detectability differences, at loci equidistant from the fovea, could not be accounted for by any known variation in retinal spatial resolution or by differential lateral masking effects of the target by nearby nontarget patterns. These observations led to the hypothesis that the target in these experiments was detected by a serial mechanism which "scanned" a persisting but rapidly degrading neural representation of the visual scene with increasing detection failures the later in time the scan processed the location occupied by the target. If this hypothesis is correct, then target detectability should vary inversely with the number of stimuli which must be examined. The present experiment confirmed this expectation. A mathematical model of such a serial scanning process also predicts other, less obvious, effects on target detectability which were observed when the number of nontarget patterns was changed.     

A further validation of the bem sex role inventory: A multitrait-multimethod study

The present study used a multitrait-multimethod technique [D.T. Campbell and D. W. Fiske (1959) “Convergent and Discriminant Validation by the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix,” Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105] to examine Bem's [(1974) “The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 152–162] use of an instrumental-expressive dichotomy to conceptualize the Masculinity and Femininity scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory as statistically orthogonal constructs. Results indicate that while perhaps reliable, masculinity and femininity lack clear convergent and discriminant validity. Therefore, Bem's contention that masculinity and femininity are orthogonal constructs is questioned. Results are discussed in light of trait- vs. method-driven research.     

How far can attraction-caused misalignment account for the Morinaga misalignment effect?

Summary When a line (the pointer) is collinear with a dot, the addition of a second line (the induction line) contiguous with the dot or near it may cause the pointer to appear to be collinear with a point further along or nearer to the induction line. The geometrical relations upon which this effect, which we call attraction-caused misalignment, depends have been studied with the Obonai and Wundt-Loeb (Hotopf, 1981; Hotopf & Brown, 1988) figures. Drawing upon the studies of misalignment in the Morinaga figure carried out by Restle (1976), Day, Bellamy, and Norman (1983), and Day and Kasperczyk (1985), as well as upon two new experiments, we show that misalignment in the Morinaga figure is also attraction-caused misalignment, as previously defined. We conclude with a discussion of a number of theories that aim at accounting for attraction misalignment.     

Gender and health on the kibbutz

Gender differences in health status and illness behavior have been explained in terms of sex roles and gender-related personality traits. It may be hypothesized that in a community that is committed to gender-negating ideology, where men and women alike participate in public life, and housework and child care largely collectivized, gender health differences will disappear. The kibbutz movement is committed to the ideology of the emancipation of women: women fully participate in the labor force and decision making. Nonetheless, women on the kibbutz are responsible for the housework and are concentrated in feminine occupations. The kibbutz, then, allows us to test the relationship between gender ideology and participation in public life vs. gender roles and tasks, and health. The health behavior, health status, and illness behavior of 230 members of two kibbutzim, one religious and one secular, were studied. Men and women report similar health status and illness behavior; parental status is not related to health; and marital status is related to psychological distress only. Similar patterns were observed for the secular kibbutz and the religious one despite the more traditional division of labor in the latter.Medical student, supported by the National Fund for Medical Education, 35 Kneeland Street, Boston, MA 02111.     

Properties of memory for unattended spoken syllables

Whereas previous studies on memory for unattended speech have inadvertently included acoustic interference, the present study examines memory for unattended syllables during a silent period of 1, 5, or 10 s. The primary task was to read silently (Experiments 1-3) or whisper the reading (Experiment 4). Occasionally, when a light cue occurred, the subject was to recall the most recent spoken syllable, as well as the recent reading material. Memory for both the vowels and consonants of the syllables decreased across 10 s, confirming that auditory memory does decay in the absence of acoustic interference. However, the specific patterns of memory decay for vowels versus consonants depended on task demands, including the allocation of attention and the opportunity for subvocal coding. We suggest an account of performance that includes auditory sensory and phonetic memory codes with different properties, used in combination.     

Family rituals: Functions and significance for clergy and psychotherapists

Family rituals express patterned, repeated, symbolic communication that is ordered, evocative, socially meaningful, and directly impacts upon family functioning. Seasonal celebrations, rites of passage, family traditions, and patterned family interactions serve to organize the family, mediate individual expectations, regulate family subsystems, and facilitate change. Clergy and psychotherapists can use an understanding of family rituals to better understand individuals in their family context, promote change through prescribing rituals, and help clients create new, healing rituals.     

Abbreviated measures of sex role egalitarian attitudes

Alternate 25-item short forms of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) were developed and examined for psychometric quality using data from a sample of 608 students. Internal consistency coefficients were .94 and .92 for the two forms, stability coefficients with a three-week test-retest in terval were .88 for each, and the coefficient of equivalence or alternate forms reliability was .87. As expected, females scored significantly more egalitarian than males on both short forms, and results of factor analyses pointed to unidimensional measurement of a single construct for males, females, and the total sample. Additional support for reliability and validity is overviewed. The abbreviated SRES forms appear to provide a psychometrically sound and time-efficient means for assessing egalitarian attitudes.