Some properties of auditory memory for rapid formant transitions

In the three experiments reported here, subjects indicate whether two sequentially presented syllables, differing in the place of articulation of an initial stop consonant, are phonernically the same or not. The first experiment finds faster |ldsame” responses to acoustically identical pairs than to pairs that are phonemically identical but acoustically distinct. provided that the second syllable is presented within 400 msec of the first. This is interpreted as indicating the persistence of a memory which preserves auditory information about within-category distinctions. The third experiment shows that this advantage remains when a tone is interposed between the two syllables, but is removed when a brief vowel is similarly interposed. The second experiment presents the second syllable of each pair dichotically with a noise burst, and shows that the size of the right-ear advantage for this reaction time task is reduced when the result of comparisons based on this auditory memory is compatible with the required phonemic decision, but that the right-ear advantage is increased when auditory comparisons would contradict the phonemic relationship.     

ANTITHEISM: A REFLECTION

Why is there no sustained tradition of argument concerning the existence of a supreme (omniscient and omnipotent) being who is perfectly evil, as there is about one who is perfectly good? Arguments which are reflections of the ontological, cosmological and teleological arguments, and arguments based on personal experience or the occurrence of antimiracles (harmful events not explicable by science) could have provided at least as good grounds for belief in such a being (ie for antitheism) as their originals in fact provide for theism. An imaginary encyclopedia entry, in which fictional antitheistic arguments and thinkers are presented, illustrates this point. The reason for the nonexistence of a tradition of antitheism seems therefore to be that it is merely emotionally, not that it is rationally, less inviting than theism.     

Models of family functioning and their contribution to patient outcomes in chronic pain

This paper analyzes the relationship between family functioning and chronic pain, and evaluates a model which integrates the role of family variables with the pain-coping process in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Family variables, assessed by subscales of the Family Environment Scale (FES), and different components of the pain-coping process varied significantly in their contribution to pain, psychological functioning, and disability in these two chronic pain disorders. High system maintenance control and low independence contributed significantly to pain in RA and FM, respectively, while low family cohesiveness contributed to psychological disturbances in FM subjects. Lack of promotion of activity and recreation in the family was associated with greater disability in both groups. In addition to family variables, helplessness proved to be a potent predictor of pain and psychological functioning in both groups, and disability in FM subjects. Pain-coping had its predominant influence on pain. As an exploratory test of the model, the data confirm the importance of examining this integrated framework in longitudinal, prospective studies, and its potential utility in clinical assessment and intervention.This research was supported by a Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center grant AR40770 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases at the University of California, San Diego. Portions of this paper were presented at the convention of the American Psychological Association, August 1992, in Washington, DC, and at the meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 1993, in San Francisco.The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa A. Krall, M.A., and Karen Schoenfeld-Smith, M.A. for their valuable assistance in statistical analysis for this article.     

Counselor Sex Role Orientation,Flexibility, and Working Alliance Formation

The authors examined the hypothesized relationship among counselor androgyny, counselor flexibility, and the establishment of client-rated working alliances. In Study 1, 41 counseling students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1981a) and the Counselor Behavior Analysis Inventory (Gabbard, Howard, & Dunfee, 1986). Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no relationship between androgyny and counseling flexibility. In Study 2, 42 counseling students completed the BSRI and videotaped counseling sessions with a recruited client. Analyses revealed a significant relationship between counselor flexibility and client ratings of working alliance, but no relationship between counselor androgyny and counselor flexibility. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

A theory of argumentative understanding: Relationships among position preference,judgments of goodness,memory and reasoning

Data are presented that focus on the nature and development of argumentative reasoning. In particular our study describes how support for or against an issue affects memory for critical parts of an argumentative interaction, judgments of argument goodness, and the content of the reasons given in support of one view versus another. Two other factors were examined: developmental differences in argumentation skill and the conditional nature of supporting one side of an argument across varying contexts. Our results show that even seven year old children can recognize, identify, and use the basic components of an argument to provide evidence for and make judgements about their favored position. Moreover, if position support is held constant across all age groups of students, seven year old children were found to give reasons and explanations that were highly similar in content and principle to college students. The same similarities held across age with respect to biases in memory and judgements of argument goodness. The primary difference between children's and college students' argument behavior lay in the side of an argument the students chose to support. Seven year old children and some eleven yearold children supported positions that impute more value to friendship and social consequences than to the maintenance and advancement of individual rights, as specified in a contract agreement. The similarities and differences across development are discussed with respect to a theory of argumentation that speaks to the importance of understanding the nature of goal conflict and a theory of intentionality in predicting how arguments will be represented and resolved.     

Sexual harassment,male dominated organizations and the role of counselling psychology: The case of medical school

This paper presents evidence of sexual harassment in medical school based on a survey of students (n = 186) and lecturers (n = 100); but while 85.5% of students believe that medical educators should combat this behaviour, only 67.7% of the lecturers do so. it is argued here, that ambivalence towards sexual harassment is a psychological symptom of a male dominated culture, with long term implications for victims, perpetrators and witnesses. It is an issue which needs to be addressed both interpersonally and at an organizational level.     

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability – the effects of a ‘sensible drinking’ group

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability, who were either living, or being prepared to live, in relatively independent conditions in the community, were assessed through a structured interview format. Compared with non-learning-disabled teenagers, adults and a hospitalized patient sample, alcohol-related knowledge in the people with a learning disability was found to be significantly poorer, alcohol was reported as having particularly negative effects and susceptibility to social pressure to drink alcohol was greater. A ‘sensible drinking’ group, taking a social skills and influences approach to alcohol education, was conducted with a subgroup of the individuals with a learning disability. The group format and methods, including in vivo sessions in a public house, are described. Follow-up evaluations suggested some significant positive changes in knowledge, attitudes and sensible drinking skills. It is concluded that this population, which is increasingly living, or being moved into, independent conditions in the community, is at least as vulnerable to social influences on alcohol use and abuse as are young people. As with young people, the usefulness of making available such alcohol-education programmes as described in this study, is discussed.     

Influences of closure,occlusion, and size on the perception of fragmented pictures

Two experiments examined the ability to recognize a repeated figure in stimuli where only fragments of the figures were presented. Fragments were either closed or open regions presented either with or without an occluder that filled the spaces between the fragments (Experiment 1). Recognition performance was significantly better for open fragments, with or without an occluder, contrary to previous assertions that the occluder is the important factor for recognition. When stimulus size was varied, an occluder hindered recognition performance in the smallest size condition relative to unoccluded stimuli, which were equally easy to recognize across all size conditions (Experiment 2). The size results support the idea of size invariance in object naming. The difficulty in the smallest occluded condition is discussed in terms of differences in global and local processing depending on visual angle and sparsity     

Journal Reviews

A ffield -N iemeyer , P. (Berlin). 'Laughter and its shadow: archetypal symbols and their history, exemplified by a discussion of the recognition of the Gestalt in the human face, in smiling, laughing, and the fear of being thought ridiculous'. Analytische Psychologic
E rlenmeyer , A. (Berlin). 'Die Funktion des Religiösen und der Über–Ich–Begriff in C. G. Jungs Theoriebildung. Historische und klinische Aspekte (The function of religion and the concept of the super-ego in the formation of C. G. Jung's theories. Historical and clinical aspects)'. Analytische Psychologic
McG lashan , A. R. (London). 'Symbolization and human development: The use of symbols in religion from the perspective of analytical psychology'. Journal of Religious Studies
O dajnyk , V. W alter (New York). 'Meditation and alchemy'. Psychological Perspectives
S amuels , A. (London). 'Gender and the borderline'. Chiron .
S amuels , A. (London). 'On fathering daughters'. Observer
S amuels , A. (London). 'Dimensioni simboliche dell'eros nella relazione transferale–controtransferale: impieghi clinici della metafora alchemica di Jung' (Symbolic dimensions of Eros in transference and countertransference: some clinical uses of Jung's alchemical metaphor). Analysis
S pringer , A. (Berlin). 'The return of the repressed in the mask of the victim'. Journal of Psychohistory
S auer , G. (Berlin). 'Lehrer traumen von Schule und Schulern (Teachers' dreams about school and pupils)'. Beiträge, Pädagogischer Arbeit
U rban , E. (London). 'Childhood and the child within: views of an analytical psychologist'. Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists
V an E enwyk , J. R. (Evanston) 'Switching tracks in psychotherapy: parallel paradigms in psychology and religion'. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy     

Binaural loudness matches in unilaterally impaired listeners

Binaural loudness matching data using a 2IFC adaptive procedure were obtained in high-frequency, unilateral cochlear-impaired listeners. The matches were obtained at frequencies where both ears had similarly normal thresholds, and also at other frequencies where the impaired ear had various degrees of hearing loss. In these listeners, one presumed difference between the ears is the limited or altered spread of excitation in the impaired ear. In agreement with previous studies using other approaches (Hellman, 1974, 1978; Hellman & Meiselman, 1986; Moore, Glasberg, Hess & Birchall, 1985; Schneider & Parker, 1987), the results of the present study suggest that both the range and the slope of loudness growth function are not dependent on the spread of excitation, but instead are related primarily to the degree of threshold elevation at the test frequency. Following this suggestion, a spread-of-excitation-independent model, based upon a group of neurons with the same characteristic frequency (CF) but different thresholds, is proposed to account for loudness growth in both normal and recruitment cases. In particular, it is shown quantitatively that a compressed distribution of thresholds due to threshold elevation may be responsible for loudness recruitment in sensorineural hearing loss.