Restrained eaters are rapidly habituating sensation seekers

Several authors have pointed to similarities between eating disorders and addictive behaviors. In earlier studies, addicts were found to score high on the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) and to habituate rapidly to neutral stimuli. In this study, we found experimental support for an addiction model of eating disorders: restrained eaters also scored significantly higher on the Sensation Seeking Scale and also habituated significantly quicker to a series of neutral stimuli than unrestrained eaters. No clear evidence was found for the hypothesis that restrained eaters score lower on measurements of anxiety. It is hypothesized that rapid habituation promotes sensation seeking, which may be manifested in excessive consumption of either drugs or food. Restraint may be a strategy to prevent negative consequences of sensation seeking and excessive consumption. The model is related to earlier experimental findings.     

Research-structured vs clinically flexible versions of social learning-based marital therapy

The purpose of this study was to compare our structured research-based version of marital therapy from a social learning perspective with a clinically flexible version of the same treatment where treatment plans were individually-based and there was no specific number of treatment sessions. Thirty distressed married couples were randomly assigned to one of these two treatments. Assessment of outcome was based on global marital satisfaction, spouse reports of functioning in specific areas, and direct observational measures of communication. At posttest there were no differences in efficacy between structured and flexible treatments, although both treatments led to significant improvements. At a 6-month follow-up couples treated with the structured format were more likely to have deteriorated and flexibly treated couples were more likely to have maintained their treatment gains.     

Interparental conflict and adolescent problem behavior: an examination of mechanisms

The purpose of the present study was to examine several competing hypotheses which have been utilized to explain the negative relationship between interparental conflict and child/adolescent problems. These mechanisms of operation have included modelling, genetic transmission, disrupted parenting, the role of perceptual/appraisal processes of the conflict, and an inhibition hypothesis. One hundred and forty-two young adolescents and their mothers served as subjects. Eighty were from intact families and 62 from recently divorced families. Data were collected from the perspective of the adolescent, mother, behavioral observer, and social studies teacher. The results indicated that intact and divorced samples had to be considered separately as different pathways contributed to adolescent behavior problems in the two samples. For externalizing problems, a direct path between interparental conflict and problem behavior existed for the divorced sample whereas an indirect path through the adolescent's perceptions of the conflict existed for the intact sample. The different context in which the interparental conflict occurred for the two samples was offered as an explanation of this difference. For internalizing problems a significant direct path existed between conflict and problem behavior for both samples; however, the indirect paths through the adolescent's perceptions and through poor parenting skills contributed only for the divorced sample. The results suggest that various mechanisms appear to operate in influencing how interparental conflict influences behavior problems of young adolescents. Both the type of problem examined and the marital status of the parents appear important in determining the relative impact of the mechanisms. Implications for the behavior therapist are noted.     

Infants' perception of rhythm: categorization of auditory sequences by temporal structure

We presented 7- to 9-month-old infants with repetitions of three- or four-tone sequences characterized by a particular rhythmic structure. We then evaluated their detection of changes in rhythmic structure in the context of randomly presented variations in tempo (rate) and frequency. Infants successfully differentiated between three-tones sequences with 1, 2 (X XX) and 2, 1 (XX X) structure as well as four-tone sequences with 2, 2 (XX XX) and 3, 1 (XXX X) structure. In other tasks, they indicated their ability to discriminate between contrasting tempos in the context of frequency variations. We conclude, then, that infants can categorize auditory sequences on the basis of rhythm and also on the basis of tempo.     

Believability and syllogistic reasoning

In this paper we investigate the locus of believability effects in syllogistic reasoning. We identify three points in the reasoning process at which such effects could occur: the initial interpretation of premises, the examination of alternative representations of them (in all of which any valid conclusion must be true), and the "filtering" of putative conclusions. The effect of beliefs at the first of these loci is well established. In this paper we report three experiments that examine whether beliefs have an effect at the other two loci. In experiments 1 and 2 subjects drew their own conclusions from syllogisms that suggested believable or unbelievable ones. In the third experiment they evaluated conclusions that were presented to them. The data show that beliefs both affect the examination of alternative models and act as a filter on putative conclusions. We conclude by showing how some types of problem and some problem contents make the existence of alternative models more obvious than others.     

Testing between the TRACE model and the fuzzy logical model of speech perception

The TRACE model of speech perception (McClelland & Elman, 1986) is contrasted with a fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP) (Oden & Massaro, 1978). The central question is how the models account for the influence of multiple sources of information on perceptual judgment. Although the two models can make somewhat similar predictions, the assumptions underlying the models are fundamentally different. The TRACE model is built around the concept of interactive activation, whereas the FLMP is structured in terms of the integration of independent sources of information. The models are tested against test results of an experiment involving the independent manipulation of bottom-up and top-down sources of information. Using a signal detection framework, sensitivity and bias measures of performance can be computed. The TRACE model predicts that top-down influences from the word level influence sensitivity at the phoneme level, whereas the FLMP does not. The empirical results of a study involving the influence of phonological context and segmental information on the perceptual recognition of a speech segment are best described without any assumed changes in sensitivity. To date, not only is a mechanism of interactive activation not necessary to describe speech perception, it is shown to be wrong when instantiated in the TRACE model.     

Can we imagine how objects look from other viewpoints?

Many psychologists who study cognition believe that perception achieves object-centered representations that make it possible to extract representations of how the object would appear from differing viewpoints. Others believe we can achieve representations of how an object would appear by a process of visualization or mental rotation. We report experiments in which the subject tries to imagine how three-dimensional novel wire objects would appear from positions other than the one they are in. Subjects are unable to perform this task unless they make use of strategies that circumvent the process of visualization. It is suggested that the linear increase in time required to succeed in mental rotation tasks as a function of the angular discrepancy between the figures compared is the result of increasing difficulty rather than of the time required for rotation.     

Patterns of movement in the first 6 months of life: new directions

The field of infant perceptual development has relied heavily on the preferential-looking and habituation paradigms. Despite the obvious advantages of employing standardized methodologies, there is a need to study how perceptual variables give rise to and guide action beginning in the neonatal period. It is argued here that, in the first 5 months of life, it is important to distinguish reflexive patterns of movement from voluntary and cortically controlled patterns. Some criteria are defined. This paper describes three experiments which utilized movement counters to record developmental changes in the frequency and synchrony of limb movements in infants under 5 months. The results show that there is a general increase in frequency of limb movements from 1 to 5 months, but with a plateau or even a decrease in activity from the middle of the third month to the end of the fourth month. It was also demonstrated that synchrony scores (co-activation) for pairs of limbs showed significant increases from 1 month to 5 months. Finally, in all three experiments the presentation of an attractive toy resulted in suppression of activity. The results of the three experiments are interpreted to measure a gradual increase in cortically controlled movement patterns.     

The infant's use of visual and haptic information in the perception and recognition of objects

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between the haptic and visual systems during infant's bimodal interaction with objects. Four general topics are discussed: the role of exploratory activity in perception, the specific ways in which the two systems are related during exploration, developments over age in the relationship between the systems, and the impact of the organism/environment relationship on these developments.     

Defining a family heritage and a new relationship identity: two central tasks in the making of a marriage

The roles of origin family environmental characteristics and couple consensus-building process within the development of marital relationships were examined prospectively in 16 premarital couples. Three important findings emerged. First, significant correlations were found between dimensions of origin family environment and the reported level of satisfaction within the couple's current relationship. Second, measures of the couple's ability to reach consensus concerning important interpersonal relationships appeared to be important mediators of the association between origin family environment and current relationship satisfaction. Third, important gender differences emerged that replicate and extend prior findings that portray women in the role of "relationship specialist" within their marriages. As a group, these findings were best explained by a developmental model of early marriage that envisions the young couple as facing two entwined tasks: to define both their family heritage and their new relationship identity. Overall, the importance of examining family-of-origin characteristics and consensus-building process as critical determinants of the fate of intimate relationships received strong support. The gender differences found in the literature reviewed, as well as the results of this study, have largely been overlooked by the theory and practice of family therapy. Efforts on both the research and theory construction fronts are needed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms whereby prior family experience is brought forward into current intimate relationships.