Covert visual orienting: Hemifield-activation can be mimicked by zoom lens and midlocation placement strategies

How is attention distributed over visual space when an observer expects a target to occur at one of several possible locations? Two experiments sought to understand the source of the conflict between studies leading to the notions of hemifield activation (Hughes and Zimba 1985) and attentional gradients (Downing and Pinker 1985; Shulman et al. 1985, 1986). Subjects were cued to attend one of the 4 corners of an imaginary square centered at fixation, allowing comparison of uncued locations in the cued and uncued hemifields. In one experiment marking of the 4 locations was varied to determine if providing a ‘target’ for attention is necessary to obtain within-hemifield gradients. RT was faster at the cued location than at the three uncued locations which had equivalent latencies, a pattern that was unaffected by marking of the potential target locations. This result, which is consistent with the notion of a gradient around the attended location is a strong disconfirmation of the hemifield activation hypothesis. The second experiment demonstrated that an unusual procedure for presenting the probe stimuli in Hughes and Zimba (1985) is at least partially responsible for their evidence for uniform hemifield activation. It is proposed that visual attention is directed to visuo-spatial channels with fixed structural properties, and that when attention to two locations is desired, the subject may attend a spatial channel located between them.     

Generalised anxiety: A controlled treatment study

The effects of anxiety management training were evaluated by allocating 66 generally anxious clients to either a wait list condition, non-directive counselling, or a combination of relaxation and brief cognitive therapy. Anxiety management was significantly more effective than the wait list condition on a number of relevant measures at post-treatment, but there were relatively few differencs between anxiety management and non-directive counselling, either at post-treatment or at 6 months follow-up. Those differences which were found could plausibly be explained in terms of the demand characteristics of training in relaxation or cognitive therapy. It was concluded that anxiety management is clearly better than a non-treatment control condition, but that its superiority to plausible alternatives which lack the specific components thought to be responsible for improvement has yet to be demonstrated.     

Things are always more complicated than you think: An open systems approach to the organizational effects of computer-automated technology

The effects of computerized office and factory automation are examined. An open systems framework is used to organize this literature. The review suggests that the benefits of technology are derived from theintermediate effects of the technology on organizational processes (the task structure, personnel system, formal structure, and informal organization). Thus, it is misleading to examine thedirect effects of computerized technology on organizational outcomes such as profits and satisfaction. Some of the effects of technology on the organizational processes are inevitable (e.g., changes in informal communication patterns). Others are determined less by the technology than by management decisions. The key to achieving success with computerized technology is matching changes in organizational processes to each other, as well as to the technology and the larger environment of the organization.Ann Majchrzak is currently Associate Professor of Human Factors at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management at the University of Southern California. She has recently written two books on the subject of technological change. Katherine J. Klein is an Assistant Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the Psychology Department of the University of Maryland at College Park.     

Discriminant validity of the General Behavior Inventory: an outpatient study

Recent studies have provided strong support for the convergent validity of the General Behavior Inventory (GBI), a case identification inventory for chronic subsyndromal affective disorders (cyclothymia and dysthymia). Fewer data are available, however, on the ability of the GBI to distinguish chronic subsyndromal affective disorders from other forms of psychopathology. In order to address this issue, outpatients with cyclothymia (n = 9), dysthymia (n = 26), nonchronic major depression (n = 16), and nonaffective psychiatric disorders (n = 30) were compared on the GBI. Diagnoses were derived blind to GBI scores using structured diagnostic interviews and DSM-III criteria. The inventory significantly discriminated cyclothymes and dysthymes from patients with nonchronic major depressions and nonaffective disorders. Using the cutoff score that maximized GBI-diagnosis concordance, the inventory correctly classified 88% of the sample. All of the cyclothymes, 92% of the dysthymes, 87% of the patients with nonaffective psychiatric disorders, and 75% of the nonchronic major depressives were correctly classified by the inventory. These data provide strong support for the discriminant validity of the GBI.     

Social adjustment in the offspring of parents with bipolar affective disorder

The social adjustment of the adolescent offspring of parents with bipolar affective disorder (n=41) was compared to that of the offspring of parents with nonaffective psychiatric disorders (n=22) and the offspring of normal controls (n=26). In addition, the relationship between social adjustment and cyclothymia in offspring was determined. Social adjustment was assessed using the Life Activities Inventory, a new measure developed to assess social functioning in adolescents and young adults. Cyclothymia was assessed with the General Behavior Inventory. As a group, the offspring of bipolar parents did not differ significantly from either control group on social adjustment. However, the cyclothymic offspring of bipolar parents exhibited significantly poorer social adjustment than the noncyclothymic offspring of bipolars and the offspring of psychiatric and normal controls. These findings suggest that poor social functioning in the adolescent offspring of parents with bipolar illness may be associated with the early manifestations of affective disorder. In addition, these data indicate that despite its subsyndromal intensity, cyclothymia can result in significant social impairment.This study was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Grant MH-39782 to Daniel N. Klein and NIMH Grants MH-33083 and MH-37195 to Richard A. Depue.     

Achieving sex education program outcomes: points of view from students and alumni

Several inherent limitations to secondary school sex education program evaluations are: limited generalizability, lack of longitudinal research, and no clear consensus of program outcomes. With a Bureau of Health Education, Center for Disease Control study as the criterion for program outcomes, a study was undertaken to examine the immediate and long-term impact of sex education upon program participants. Two of the 20 schools in the CDC study identified as having exemplary sex education programs provided access to their students and alumni. Inventories which measured perceived achievement of 33 sex education outcomes were piloted for reliability and validity. Each inventory examined participant changes in knowledge, understanding of self, values, interaction skills, self-esteem, and fear of sex-related activities. Students were surveyed in school; alumni were surveyed through the mail. Response rates ranged from 30 to 100 percent for students and alumni at both schools. Overall there was no statistically significant difference between the perceptions of students and alumni as to achievement of investigated outcomes. Alumni responses at one school did, however, indicate some potentially weak areas of their school's program with respect to values and interaction skills outcomes. It appears that program impact may decrease with time. Thus, isolating and addressing the factors involved may be necessary. This would assist program planners and instructors to strengthen curricula and program activities in order to enhance the overall impact of sex education. The present study supports the notion that positive gains are achieved as a result of each school's sex education program, and these gains remained over time.     

Reading-disabled hyperactive children: A distinct subgroup of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity?

Mixed hyperactive/reading-disabled children, selected from a large sample of hyperactive children, were compared to pure hyperactive children on demographic, behavioral, and neuropsychological measures. Children in the Mixed group were reading-disabled relative to age and IQ; those in the Pure group had achievement scores that were average relative to age and IQ. The Mixed group was significantly older than the Pure group; there were no differences in gender, race, or socioeconomic status. Behaviorally, the groups did not differ significantly on teacher ratings or on psychiatric ratings of aggression. The Mixed group had a significantly higher Performance IQ, whereas the Pure group had a significantly higher Verbal IQ and performed better on measures of cognitive impulsivity. Several other measures failed to distinguish the groups. The data give minimal support to the notion that pure hyperactive and mixed hyperative/reading-disabled children constitute distinct subgroups of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity.This research was supported in part by Mental Health Clinical Research Grant MH-30906 and by U. S. Public Health Service Grant MH-18579.     

Emerging independence in nursing graduates: An analysis of traditional-nontraditional value patterns

The study sought to determine whether current nursing graduates value assertiveness, independence, and achievement to a greater degree than had past graduates, and whether selection or socialization might account for such a change. Scores on the Allport Vernon Lindsey Scale of Values for 55 1974 graduates of a private baccalaureate school of nursing were compared with 66 1980 graduates. Only scores on the political scale were significantly higher for the 1980 class. 1980 graduates displayed a traditional value pattern of high social and low political scores upon entering the educational program. Longitudinal comparison of scores for the 1980 class showed a significant rise in scores on the political scale; graduating scores did not differ significantly from college norms. The results suggest a rise in nontraditional values which is the result of the educational socialization process.     

Polydipsia's contribution to temporal discrimination of rats on a fixed interval schedule

This experiment concerned the contribution of polydipsia on the temporal discrimination of rats during a fixed-interval 60-sec. schedule. In this study, the timing accuracy of 12 rats which had access to water during training was compared to that of 12 rats which had no water during training. The rats were trained for 25 sessions on an FI 60-sec. schedule. In early sessions before polydipsia was fully developed, no differences existed between the timing accuracy of the water group and no-water group. As the amount of water drunk by the water group increased as the number of sessions increased, a parallel increase was noted in the timing accuracy of the water group. In the final sessions, a significant difference was found between the timing accuracy of rats in the water group and that of those in the no-water group. It was concluded that polydipsia facilitated the development of the temporal discrimination which is characteristic of a fixed-interval 60-sec. schedule.