Implicit synthesis

In this reply to Neal and Hesketh and to the commentators, we argue that implicit knowledge is partly abstract and can be usefully defined by the criteria of both metaknowledge and intentional control. We suggest that the pattern of dissociations supports a claim of separate implicit and explicit learning modes. According to our characterization, implicit learning leads to knowledge that is not automatically represented as knowledge by the learning process; instead, the presence of knowledge has to be inferred by the subject (partial explicitation) if metaknowledge is gained at all. During explicit learning, knowledge is automatically labeled as knowledge by the learning process, so that metaknowledge comes immediately and to the fullest extent. Finally, we suggest that implicit knowledge may to some degree apply regardless of intention.     

Impact of Two Clinical Peer Supervision Models on Practicing School Counselors

Two forms of clinical peer supervision were provided for a sample of 29 practicing school counselors. Pre- and posttest measures were used to assess the counselors' level of job satisfaction, counseling self-efficacy, and counseling effectiveness (including empathic responding, adaptability and flexibility in counselor response, and client behavior change). The sample was divided into 3 groups (2 treatment and 1 control). Each supervision treatment lasted 9 weeks. None of the analyses of covariance examining treatment effects were significant. However, these individually nonsignificant results showed movement in the hypothesized direction in each instance, indicating small but pervasive effects of treatment. Participants' qualitative session evaluations also supported the helpfulness of clinical peer supervision for school counselors. Implications for future research and the practice of school counselor supervision are discussed.     

What creates the dilemma in ethical dilemmas? Examples from psychological practice

Twenty psychologists were interviewed about an ethical dilemma that they had found to be particularly difficult to resolve. In just under half of the cases the dilemma involved a perceived conflict of ethical principles (e.g., the welfare of the consumer vs. the right to privacy). In the other cases, the psychologists were prevented from following an ethically prescribed course of action by some nonethical consideration such as contractual obligation, legal requirement, or the demands of an employer. We discuss the implications of these two sorts of dilemmas for psychological practice and make some suggestions for proactive approaches to ethical problem solving.     

Children and chess expertise: The role of calibration

Summary Three studies of calibration are reported. Calibration refers to the accuracy with which one can predict one's own performance. In the first study child chess players, non-chess playing parents, and statistics students were asked to predict chances of winning chess games against hypothetical opponents. These subjective probabilities were compared to the actual probabilities, based on the Elo rating system. Better players' predictions were better calibrated. Confidence and ratings are negatively correlated, indicating that with lower ratings, players are overconfident. Skilled child players' predictions were better calibrated than any of the adults'. In the second study subjects were asked to estimate chances of winning in conjunctive situations, e. g., winning all the rounds in a tournament. Again, better child players were more accurate in their predictions and more accurate than adults. In the third study, child players were asked to predict their chances of winning in a non-chess domain after hearing a hypothetical win/loss history. Higher-rated players' predictions were again better calibrated, even though the domain was outside their expertise. The motivational and cognitive implications of calibration are discussed.     

Exposure and communications training in the treatment of agoraphobia

Twenty-one agoraphobics participated in a 6-month study designed to (a) compare imaginal flooding under high- (no sedation) and low- (sedation used) anxiety conditions: (b) examine the long-term effects of imaginal flooding in the absence of further exposure treatment; and (c) explore the impact of communications training on chronic anxiety and panic attacks. A reevaluation of the effects of sedation is presented in this report.Imaginal flooding without sedation was, on the whole, superior to the attention control placebo and imaginal flooding with sedation on therapists' and clients' ratings of fear and avoidance. However, the superiority of the non-drug flooding group cannot be attributed (as was concluded in an earlier report) to higher levels of anxiety across flooding sessions. Rather the drug (methohexitone sodium) appears to have impeded across-session habituation, perhaps by interfering with long-term memorial processes.The effects of imaginal flooding without sedation were stable over 4 months without further exposure treatment. These clients did receive training in solving important interpersonal problems through self monitoring and increased expressiveness. Contrary to hypotheses, not only was no further improvement obtained on fear and avoidance with this treatment, but also anxious mood and panic attacks remained unaffected. It is surprising to note that in-vivo treatment was no more effective than imaginal flooding on fear and avoidance. These and other findings suggest imaginal flooding well warrants further study.     

The effects of trait label and order of presentation on observers' ratings of performance anxiety

In two experiments, the effects of different stimulus presentation orders and trait labels on observers' ratings of performance anxiety were examined. In Experiment 1, 60 college students viewed, in one session, ten 3-min videotapes of a man speaking while displaying a variety of the behavioral manifestations of anxiety. The tapes varied linearly in the percentage of time during which anxious behaviors were emitted. Anxiety ratings were made along either a “calm” or an “anxious” dimension. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three orders of presentation conditions (with the frequencies of anxious behaviors ascending, descending, or randomized across tapes) and one of two trait-label conditions, calm or anxious. In Experiment 2, 60 additional subjects viewed these same tapes and a contrasting series designed to display a consistent rate of anxiety behaviors. These tapes were viewed in 10 sessions over a 2- to 5-week period. Results replicated prior studies showing that the order of presentation can significantly affect observers' ratings. Additionally, the results suggested that, under certain conditions, subjects may not perceive a conceptually dichotomous variable (e.g., calm vs. anxious) in the same way. These results are discussed in terms of the complexity of observer behavior and potential problems in comparing outcome studies that use dichotomous traits.     

The pregnant woman's place and where to find it

A two-part study examined attitudes toward pregnancy. The first part — a department store survey — looked at the location of maternity clothes in different status stores. Clothes were located differently, depending on the social class of the store. High status stores located them in or near lingerie and/or loungewear. Lower status stores located them in or near uniforms and/or half sizes. It is suggested that these differences reflect differential attitudes toward pregnancy in the different social classes. The second part of the study examined pregnant women's attitudes toward themselves. In line with the department store findings, there were differences between upper-class women and working-class women in self-report data. These data suggest that pregnancy is viewed differently, depending on social class.     

Gestural development,dual-directional signaling,and the transition to words

This paper describes the emergence and development of three object-related gestures: pointing, extending objects, and open-handed reaching, in four first-born infants from 9 to 18 months during natural interactions with their mothers. It examines the changing characteristics of the gestures and the acquisition of conventional words in accompaniment. Furthermore, it investigates the role that the capacity for dual-directional signaling, sending simultaneously two coordinated but divergently directed nonverbal signals of gesture and gaze, may play in this transition. Analysis revealed that dual-directional signaling appeared concurrently across gestures. In addition, dual-directional signaling was employed in a socially adjusted manner, more with pointing, especially spontaneous pointing when the mothers' attention could not be assumed. Verbal accompaniments appeared with gestures only when the children had mastered dual-directional signaling. Then words emerged approximately simultaneously with more than one kind of gesture.