Reactive Inhibition Theory and Intertrial Correlations

From certain theoretical properties of Hull’s reactive inhibition and from the known modest reliability of reminiscence measures, it follows that intertrial correlations among psychomotor test scores should be higher under distributed-practice conditions than under massed-practice conditions. This proposition was tested in a conventional practice distribution paradigm involving 168 Caucasian subjects. Bartlett’s test for the homogeneity of covariance matrices confirmed the prediction, and a sign test for matched correlation pairs showed that correlations in the distributed practice mode were significantly more often higher than those in the massed practice mode. These results refute the prevailing view that intertrial correlations are invariant with respect to practice distribution, and they strengthen the credibility of Hull’s principle of reactive inhibition.     

A Note on Change in Creativity by Handedness Over A Maturational Time Period

Thirty left-handed and right-handed Ss (10 each from the second grade, fifth grade, and college) were compared on four subtests of the Torrance creativity test. At each age level, left-handed students had higher creativity scores than right-handers. The greatest differences were found on the Elaboration subtest.     

Evaluating OVal-9, An Instrument for Detecting Experiences of Value in Daily Occupations

The drastic increase of psychosocial ill health may point to the fact that current lifestyles produce longer lives, but with increased chronic disorders rather than greater health. Focus on current lifestyles, that is, on peoples' daily environments, are thereby warranted to develop models and methods for tracing health promoting factors inherent in people's daily participation and experiences. This study tests the content validity of OVal-9, an instrument based on the new concept; Occupational Value, among a sample of experts, students and clients. The result shows a good ability to assess the value that people experience in their daily occupations. We are convinced that measuring Occupational Value might be of importance in developing future strategies for intervention and prevention needed for the increasing incidence of mental ill-health.     

Premarital counseling: Appraisal and status

Abstract

Premarital counseling programs have been proliferating in the United States since their appearance in the 1930s. In order to evaluate the success such programs have had in preparing couples to build successful marriages, reduce the incidence of divorce and prevent unsuccessful marriages from occurring, the authors reviewed those programs which outlined standardized intervention procedures and utilized dependent measures to assess the program's effectiveness. Thirteen programs met these criteria. In general, premarital counseling programs were found to be atheoretical in their approach to intervention, loosely designed and nonspecific as to their goals.     

Family Measurement Techniques

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which a brief, structured couples therapy program based on Imago Relationship Therapy was associated with improvements on the COMPASS scales of individual psychological functioning as well as on a measure of relationship satisfaction, the Marital Satisfaction Inventory. An examination of pre- to post-treatment differences revealed statistically significant differences on three of the four COMPASS scales and all three MSI scales. The rate of improvement in individual distress per couples therapy session was approximately equal to the improvement, found in previous studies, yielded by individual therapy. The results support previous findings that couples therapy may be an effective modality for the treatment of intrapersonal difficulties, and suggest that both relationship and individual distress indices should be utilized in the evaluation of the efficacy of marital therapies.     

Cautionary Remarks on the Use of Clusterwise Regression

Clusterwise linear regression is a multivariate statistical procedure that attempts to cluster objects with the objective of minimizing the sum of the error sums of squares for the within-cluster regression models. In this article, we show that the minimization of this criterion makes no effort to distinguish the error explained by the within-cluster regression models from the error explained by the clustering process. In some cases, most of the variation in the response variable is explained by clustering the objects, with little additional benefit provided by the within-cluster regression models. Accordingly, there is tremendous potential for overfitting with clusterwise regression, which is demonstrated with numerical examples and simulation experiments. To guard against the misuse of clusterwise regression, we recommend a benchmarking procedure that compares the results for the observed empirical data with those obtained across a set of random permutations of the response measures. We also demonstrate the potential for overfitting via an empirical application related to the prediction of reflective judgment using high school and college performance measures.     

Day of a Cat's Death

Omnibus book review Robin Robertson The Place of the Feminine in the World to Come

Quantum Reality. By Nick Herbert. New York: Anchor Press/Double Day, 1985.

Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind. By F. David Peat. New York: Bantam Books. 1987.

Psyche Speaks. By Russell Lockhart. Wilmette, Illinois: Chiron, 1987.

The Scapegoat Complex: Toward a Mythology of Shdow and Guilt. By Sylvia Brinton Perera. Toronto: Inner City Books, 1986.

The Strange Trial of Mr. Hyde: A New Look Into the Nature of Human Evil. By John A. Sanford. San Francisco: Harper &; Row, 1987.

Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World. By Mikhail Gorbachev. New York: Harper &; Row, 1987.

The Jungian Experience: Analysis and Individuation. By James A. Hall, M.D. Toronto: Inner City Books, 1986.

Practical Jung: Nuts and Bolts of Jun-gian Psychotherapy. By Harry A. Wilmer. Wilmette, Illinois: Chiron Publications, 1987.

Psychiatry and the Cinema. By Krin Gabbard and Glen O. Gabbard. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Female Authority: Empowering Women Through Psychotherapy. By P. Young-Eisendrath and F. Wiedemann. New York Guilford Press, 1987.

Dancing Healers: A Docfor's Journey of Healing with Native Americans. By Carl Hammerschlag. San Francisco: Harper &; Row, 1988.

Neuroimmune Interactions: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of Neuroimmunomodulation. Edited by Bronislav D. Jankovic Branislav M. Markovic, and Novera Herbert Spector. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1987.     

One wage of unknowability

This article argues against fallibilist evidentialism on the basis of considerations about knowability.     

EDITORIAL

Applying the thoughts of Tustin, Ogden and Winnicott, this paper describes the sources and the dynamics of the autistic encapsulation, the earliest auto-sensory defence of the personality. Detailed clinical material illustrates the working-through process of the autistic defensive strategy in the analysis of an adult person.     

Work strain and the post-discharge adjustment of patients following a heart attack

Abstract

The role of work characteristics in determining return to work after an acute coronary event was examined. One hundred and forty nine patients were enrolled. One year post-discharge, 74 had returned to work. Work characteristics (decision latitude, and opportunity for social interaction at work), together with age, depression, and medical prognosis, correctly classified work status in 78% of cases. At 12 months post-discharge, patients who had not returned to work recorded significantly poorer levels of adjustment compared to those who had returned to work. A better quality of life is associated with a lower level of depression pre-hospitalization, ownership of a larger home, being male, and having a more positive work environment. The findings suggest that the pre-illness work environment of the patient is a factor influencing return to work, which needs to be considered in rehabilitation programmes.