The canonical relationship between the Differential Ability Scales Upper Preschool Verbal and Nonverbal clusters

The canonical relationship of the Verbal and Nonverbal clusters of the Differential Ability Scales Upper Preschool Level was studied. The two clusters share 45% of their variance. Independent interpretation of the Verbal and Nonverbal scales was supported.     

Adolescent verbal behavior

This investigation assessed the relationship of race and delinquent status with the noncontent verbal behavior of adolescent males. A standardized videotape interview was used to ensure consistent stimulus presentation. Sixteen white and sixteen black delinquents were compared with equal numbers of nondelinquents on the noncontent verbal measures of total time (performance time), units (frequency), and latency. It was predicted that nondelinquents would be more verbal than delinquents and whites would be more verbal than blacks. No racial differences were found. Delinquents, however, were found to talk significantly less than nondelinquents and to have significantly longer verbal latencies. Discussion of these results centered on the verbal demand characteristics of certain settings, such as classrooms and court hearings.     

Auditory discrimination: a three-variable analysis of intensity effects

The acquisition of auditory intensity discriminations in rats trained on multiple variable-interval extinction schedules was studied as a function of some of the variables that contribute to the speed of development of differential responding and the final level attained. The effects of three variables were isolated and studied in detail: (1) the decibel difference between the discriminative stimuli (intensity difference); (2) the intensity relationship between the stimuli (relative intensity); and (3) the position of the stimuli on the intensity continuum (absolute intensity). Each of the three variables generated orderly relationships and interacted with one another to produce complex effects upon differential responding.     

The stability of binocular rivalry during spaced and massed viewing

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - The purpose of the study was consideration of the stability of binocular rivalry rates during extended periods of spaced and massed viewing by untrained...     

Retroactive raising of a sensory threshold by a contralateral stimulus

In an experiment designed to extend Howarth and Treisman's recent observations on the lowering of the visual and auditory threshold produced by a warning stimulus, it has been found that the threshold to electrical stimulation of one forearm is raised by a similar stimulus on the other forearm. As in the earlier experiments the “warning” was effective if it came 100 millisec. before or after the threshold stimulus. The effect increased with increasing warning strength over the range of five near-threshold strengths used.

These results appear to be inconsistent with the explanation previously proposed to account for the retroactive lowering of threshold. This suggested that the warning was acting simply as a marker, reducing the subject's uncertainty as to when the stimulus was coming. The fact that the rise in threshold was also induced retroactively shows that some interaction must be occurring in the central processes concerned in perception, and that it cannot be explained in terms of attenuation of the afferent volley.     

“The unbearable embeddedness of being”: Self psychology,intersubjectivity and large group experiences

Studying the large group from a self psychological perspective is a new area of exploration. The purpose of this work is to consider an expansion of the selfobject concept to include experiences in group. The groupobject is conceived as a function which addresses the inherent group needs of the individual. Just as the selfobject serves to fill in missing aspects of the self, the groupobject fills in missing aspects of the group self. The development of this concept emerged from an ongoing large group experience. It has its roots in the idea that effective group treatment can result from the recognition and support of groupobject as well as selfobject needs.This phrase, first coined by Stolorow and Atwood (1993) represents their attempt to clarify the fallacy of the isolated mind.Contexts of Being. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1993.     

Dudman and the Plans of Mice and Men

V.H. Dudman has argued that a better semantic account of the conditional emerges from placing grammar 'in the driver's seat'. His account of their grammar identifies two main categories, which differ from those postulated by traditional theorists, and which he claims correspond to two very different and deep-rooted styles of thought. I show that it is unlikely that a perfect match exists between styles of thought and grammatical categories in the way that Dudman postulates. I consider arguments by Dale and Edgington in this context. More importantly, however, I also show that even if there were a perfect match, Dudman's account would still obscure semantic similarities between 'if'-sentences which are arguably of greater importance than the ones he highlights. This, I suggest, has implications extending far beyond Dudman's work.     

A family therapy workshop: a review of a two-year experiment in a Social Services Department

As family therapy ceases to be regarded as a passing fashion, and becomes recognized as a real therapeutic force, the need for new forms of support and supervision is becoming ever more apparent. This paper describes and evaluates the supervisory system for family therapy set up by an Area Group in a Local Authority Social Services Department and plans to do so in a way which has practical application for workers in a variety of settings.