Effects of real vs pretend shock on semantic differential judgments and the GSR in some classical conditioning paradigms

In two experiments subjects were shown different color 1-sec lights, one just before the end of a 4-sec UCS and the other coming 10 sec after UCS termination and 25 sec before the next UCS. For some groups the UCS was strong electric shock; for others it was a tone which subjects were instructed to imagine was a strong shock. The primary data were changes in semantic differential ratings of the lights before and after 12 “conditioning” trials. There were no differences among the groups. In a third experiment a 6-sec delay CS was used for GSR conditioning, some subjects receiving actual shock and others pretend shock. Only the former showed conditioning. The results are discussed in terms of a model of experimental demand.     

Perceptual grouping produced by line figures

Two experiments, one with 2 and one with 3-line figures, studied the relative effectiveness of differences in orientation and shape in producing grouping by Similarity. The results showed that changes in shape or orientation which leave the component lines of the figures vertical and horizontal do not facilitate grouping as readily as changes which alter the direction of the component lines to 45° and 135°. These results corroborate and extend the findings of Beck (l966a, 1966b) and are discussed in relation to the problem of specifying the properties of line figures that produce grouping by similarity.     

Notes and shorter communications: Psychoticism and unemployment

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was given to male skilled and semi-skilled workers facing redundancy, in an attempt to ascertain whether any of the factors measured contributed towards a predispositional tendency for unemployment. Psychoticism was found to be a sound predictor of future work status for the school group, whilst no differences of merit were noted for any variable for the redundant group. The results are discussed in relation to other findings with regard to EPQ trait factors, and in particular to Psychoticism.     

Dysfunctional Attitudes and Suicidal Ideation in Psychiatric Outpatients

To determine if specific sets of dysfunctional attitudes were related to suicidal ideation, the 100-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) was administered to 908 psychiatric outpatients along with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Self-Concept Test (BST), and Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI). The SSI was used to classify the outpatients into 97 (10.7%) suicide ideators and 811 (89.3%) nonideators, and the DAS was scored for nine subscales described by Beck, Brown, Steer, and Weissman (1991) . None of the DAS subscales discriminated the ideators and nonideators or was significantly related to SSI total scores of the suicide ideators after controlling for sex, age, diagnosis of a mood or panic disorder, comorbidity, presence of a personality disorder, a history of a past suicide attempt, the BDI, the BHS, and the BST. The contributions of sets of dysfunctional attitudes for identifying and explaining suicidal ideation were overshadowed by a history of a past suicide attempt and hopelessness.