A comparison of curative factors in different types of group psychotherapy

The authors have constructed a Dutch version of Yalom's "Questionnaire for Curative Factors." This Dutch version has been administered to 134 participants of 22 psychotherapy groups in various psychiatric services in the Netherlands. Results concerning validity and reliability of the instrument are presented, as well as concerning the homogeneity of the hypothesized "factors." Differences between types of groups and categories of group members were tested by means of techniques of analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple regression analysis was applied in order to detect variables of differential qualities on one or more factors. Only the factor identification, neglected in literature on curative factors, was highly predictable.     

Exact and best confidence intervals for the ability parameter of the Rasch model

A commonly used method to evaluate the accuracy of a measurement is to provide a confidence interval that contains the parameter of interest with a given high probability. Smallest exact confidence intervals for the ability parameter of the Rasch model are derived and compared to the traditional, asymptotically valid intervals based on the Fisher information. Tables of the exact confidence intervals, termed Clopper-Pearson intervals, can be routinely drawn up by applying a computer program designed by and obtainable from the author. These tables are particularly useful for tests of only moderate lengths where the asymptotic method does not provide valid confidence intervals.     

Symptom-positively and -negatively worded items in two popular self-report inventories of anxiety and depression.

Substantially higher mean scores on symptom-negatively versus symptom-positively worded items have consistently been reported in the literature for the balanced State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In this study we aimed to replicate and extend these findings to Dutch trait versions of the inventory and Zung's similarly balanced Self-rating Depression Scale. Analysis indicated significantly higher mean subscale scores for symptom-negative as opposed to symptom-positive items of both measures, across sexes and age groups as well as across different levels of distress in nonclinical (n = 863), subclinical (n = 450), and clinical subject samples (n = 96). Sex and age differences were mainly confirmed to symptom-positive subscales. Scale intercorrelations were lowest between symptom-positively and symptom-negatively worded scales both within and across measures. Factor analyzing the combined measures identified a symptom-negative and a symptom-positive factor, tentatively labeled "absence of positive affect" and "presence of negative affect." Several explanations of the findings among which item-intensity specificity, the response style of social desirability, and the trait model of positive and negative affectivity are discussed.     

A computer-controlled language training system for investigating the language skills of young apes

A computer-controlled language training system was designed and constructed to enhance the objectivity and efficiency of inquiry into the language-relevant behaviors of apes. The system allows the S to gain control over the events of the 24-h day in direct correspondence with its competence in using a keyboard on which each key represents a word. Various incentives can be obtained through the selection and depression of appropriate keys in accordance with rules of sentence structure monitored by a computer. The system is flexible and allows for eventual conversation between man and ape, with the computer as the intermediary. A Teletype records all that transpires. Achievements of the chimpanzee S over the course of the first 8 months of the system’s operation attest to the worth of the system and training methods.     

Aniseikonia. II. The influence of vertical and horizontal aniseikonia on the orientation of longitudinal horopters

In these experiments the influence of vertical and horizontal aniseikonia on the orientation of the longitudinal horopter is investigated. From the results, it is evident that vertical disparity has some influence on the orientation of the horopter formed by equating the primary subjective visual directions of the two eyes. This seems at variance with the hypothesis of a stable system of corresponding retinal elements.     

ON THE PROBLEM OF SELECTION IN ICONIC MEMORY

von W right J. M. On the problem of selection in iconic memory. Scad J. Psychol ., 1972, 1 3 , 159–171.—Conditions determining the selection of items in iconic memory were analysed. The accuracy of partial reports and the strategies adopted by the subjects varied regularly as a function of the mode of report as well as of the subject's uncertainty about the type of response he would be asked to make. By varying these factors, the apparently conflicting results of previous studies could be fairly well replicated. In optimal conditions, selection by simple physical characteristics was efficient whereas selection by class (letterslnumbers) remained difficult. Similar results were obtained when precue and postcue conditions were compared. The role of output interference and of the subjects' encoding and response strategies are discussed.     

Separation crisis in a family with a borderline adolescent

The case discussed illustrates the crisis value of separation strivings in borderline families. Dynamic and interpersonal issues were approached from a focus on (a) patterns of projective identification; (b) parental definitions interfering with the child's ego structure formation; and (c) the deterioration of a borderline personality toward frankly schizophrenic functioning under the double pressure of the developmental task of separation and binding parental maneuvers.