L'étude de la colère au sein des relations conjugales

A number of studies have investigated marital violence, its definition, expression, and treatment outcome. Few studies, however, have studied anger in marital relationships. The current study evaluates the link between anger and dyadic adjustment. The sample consists of 220 couples from normal and clinical populations. Results suggest that both spouses' anger is closely linked. Measures of anger intensity, the personality traits it reflects, and the anger expressed by a partner explained an important part of his or her marital distress and, to a lesser extent, the distress of the other partner. Theoretical and clinical implications based on these results are discussed.     

Tachistoscopic software for the Macintosh

The emulation of a tachistoscope with a Macintosh microcomputer and Pascal language is presented here. The software described is a complete program for the presentation of textual stimuli on the Macintosh screen and includes the recording of reaction times. The stimulus coordinates on the screen are user defined and variable from trial to trial for specific visual angles. The position of a fixation point on the screen and the distance between the subject and the plane of the screen, as well as the particular screen resolution, are taken into account in computing the visual angle.     

The Beck Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric Properties with Older Adults

The assessment of anxiety disorders in late life is often hindered by the lack of measures specifically validated with older adults. Because anxiety manifestations may vary across age groups, it is important to design new instruments or validate existing measures with older adults. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in a sample of 281 older adults who were community-dwelling (82.6%) or living in residential care facilities (17.4%). The mean total BAI score was 6.5 (SD = 7.2), indicating minimal anxiety symptomatology in this older sample. There was a trend for older subjects to score higher. Females scored higher than males, and subjects living in a residential facility scored higher than did community dwellers. Item-total correlations were in the moderate range and the internal consistency of the BAI was adequate (alpha = 0.89). A factor analysis yielded a six-factor structure accounting for 64.6% of the variance, with a somatic factor accounting for the largest portion of the variance (32.2%). Because somatic symptoms are more prevalent with aging, such symptoms should not be weighed as heavily in the total BAI score as cognitive or behavioral symptoms. The findings indicate that the BAI is a useful self-report scale for assessing anxiety symptomatology among older adults.     

Expectancies for social contingency in 2-month-olds

In a classic report, Murray and Trevarthen (Emotional regulation of interaction between two-month-olds and their mothers. In T. Field & N. Fox (Eds), Social perception in infants (pp. 101–125). Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1985) suggested that 6- to 12-week-olds were sensitive to contingency in maternal stimulation because they became upset during the replay of their mothers’ behavior during an initial period of live interaction over closed circuit TV. However, a number of concerns were raised about the procedure and it was argued that infants may simply have become increasingly fussy over time. To clarify this very important issue, we adopted a three-condition design (live–replay–live) and modified Murray and Trevarthen’s procedure by inserting a seamless shift from the initially live interaction period to a replay period of good maternal behavior. This was followed by a seamless shift back to a subsequent live interaction. Two-month-old smiling and gaze decreased while frowning and mouth closures increased during the replay period relative to the initial live interaction period, replicating Murray and Trevarthen’s results. Fussiness over time did not account for these results because seven of the ten babies increased their positive behaviors and decreased negative behaviors during the second live interaction period, and there was a significant increase in their visual attention to their mothers, thus suggesting a renewed interest in the previously noncontingent partner.     

Global Change: New Challenges for Psychology

Perception of environmental degradation and awareness of environmental hazards came gradually, and was followed by collective action. Global change is different because of its specific features, which raise new issues for action-oriented psychological research. The lack of consensus among scientists, the global nature of the change, and the type of risk are analysed in order to develop an agenda for research. Priority should be given to acquiring a better knowledge of the cognitive process in the face of serious danger with a high margin of uncertainty.     

An improved respiratory system for curarized rats

A respiratory system is described in which peak expired CO₂ is continuously monitored from curarized rats. Another alteration from previous systems is that an endotracheal tube is used to minimize dead air space. The adequacy of the system was tested by maintaining curarized rats at one level of peak expired CO₂ for varying periods of time and by keeping rats at different peak expired CO₂ levels for a fixed period of time. Results of blood gas analyses indicated that values obtained with this system are similar to values in noncurarized rats, and that manipulation of expired CO₂ is an effective means of altering blood gas values.     

Interactions between spatial and kinetic dimensions in movement aftereffect

In some conditions, the surface of the test figure on which one sees an aftereffect of movement does not fit with that part of the visual field previously adapted to a movement. Such an effect, called kinetic-figural effect, may be conceived of as resulting from an interaction between two perceptual systems, each one giving specific information: one for the kinetic aspects which are spatially defined, the other for the spatial relationship inside the visual field. Experiments are presented which indicated the validity of a “law of location” for a movement aftereffect, together with some effects of the spatial relationships between adapting and test fields upon the movement aftereffect.