Arousal,positive and negative affect,and preference for Renaissance and 20th-century paintings

Treatments expected to raise the level of arousal and induce different degrees of positive and negative affect were paired on some trials with Renaissance or 20th-century paintings, whereas no paintings were shown on other trials. The design was within-subjects (24 females); the dependent measures were skin conductance (SC) and the preference for paintings. All treatments, including the paintings/no paintings factor, raised SC over the base-line, and the pattern was essentially additive. The perceived failure to attain control over aversive auditory stimulation (resulting in negative affect) raised SC to a higher level than did the unavoidable aversive stimulation (minimal affect) or monetary gains (positive affect). Paintings paired with affect (positiveor negative) were rated as more pleasing than were those paired with no affect. The Renaissance works were preferred to the 20th-century works when negative affect was induced, whereas the opposite was true in the case of positive affect. The collative-motivation model could not account for the fact that pleasingness of paintings was not related to SC by an inverted-U function. The contiguity model could not explain the considerable rated pleasingness of paintings paired with negative affect. In contrast, there was considerable support for a more comprehensive hypothesis (distraction/soothingness) based on attentional and affective considerations, and the differential cognitive labeling of fluctuations of arousal.This research was supported by Grant GS-42802 from the National Science Foundation to VJK. Some of the findings were presented at the 6th International Colloquium of Empirical Aesthetics, and the 21st International Congress of Psychology, both held during July 1976 in Paris, France.     

Evaluative and skin-conductance responses to Renaissance and 20th-century paintings

Normative data on paintings from two periods are reported. Subjects rated the pleasingness and interestingness of 60 Renaissance and 60 20th-century (abstract) works, and indicated how much they wished to own a reproduction of each painting. Skin-conductance changes elicited by the paintings were also assessed. The data may facilitate the inclusion of real works of art in future experiments involving visual aesthetic materials (on either the independent- or the dependent-variable side) and are relevant for the research on some motivational and cognitive issues of current interest in the psychology of art.     

Interoceptive conditioning through repeated suppression of morphine-abstinence

Experimental evaluation of Wikler’s interoceptive conditioning hypothesis of relapse to opioid use in ex-addicts requires a preliminary study of the degree of physical dependence produced by two methods of drug administration. Wistar rats were made physically dependent on morphine by single daily intravenous injections or by a continuous i.v. infusion. Rats received the same total daily dose regardless of administration schedule. The initial daily morphine dose was 20 mg/kg, and was increased every fourth day by 20 mg/kg, until a dose of 200 mg/kg per day was reached. The rats were maintained at the highest dose level for 18 days, at which time morphine was discontinued. Body weight and water intake were the primary variables measured during addiction, maintenance, and abstinence phases of the study. Equivalent and parallel changes in mean weight and water intake in injection and infusion rats indicate equivalent degrees of physical dependence were developed. This finding allows separation of the contribution of conditioning factors and of protracted abstinence in facilitating opioid self-administration in formerly-dependent organisms.     

An Analyst’s Experience Working In A Skilled Nursing Facility: A Case Study

With the closing of long-term psychiatric facilities, no alternative social institution has arisen to treat those persons whose chronic mental illness makes self-care impossible. This paper explores the typical paths to placement in a skilled nursing facility or nursing home and the author’s experience in working with this population using the principles and techniques of interpersonal psychoanalysis. She presents several case examples and explicates both the analyst’s and the patient’s transference. The author discusses the difficulties inherent in creating an analytic space in such a setting and working outside of the usual psychoanalytic frame.     

Prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys: a five-year longitudinal study

This study investigated prospective risk factors for increases in body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys in the Eating Among Teens Project. At the time of first assessment (Time 1), participants were a cohort of early adolescent girls (N=440) and boys (N=366) and a cohort of middle adolescent girls (N=946) and boys (N=764). Participants were followed up 5 years later (Time 2). Potential prospective risk factors examined included body mass index, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, parent dieting environment, peer environment, and psychological factors. Predictors of Time 2 body dissatisfaction were Time 1 body dissatisfaction, body mass index, socioeconomic status, being African American, friend dieting and teasing, self-esteem, and depression. However, the profile of predictors differed across the samples.     

Genetic influences on language impairment and phonological short-term memory

It has been known for some years that specific language impairment (SLI), an unexpected failure to acquire age-appropriate language skills, is highly heritable. However, molecular genetic studies have been hampered by the heterogeneity of the disorder and the predominant lack of clear genotype-phenotype relationships. We review recent studies suggesting that a better understanding of the genetics of SLI might emerge if we move away from clinical criteria for diagnosis to look instead at a theoretically based quantitative and cognitive measure of the phenotype: a test of phonological short-term memory (STM). Deficient phonological STM has been linked to specific genetic loci, and might play a role in determining some types of reading impairment as well as SLI. Identifying those cognitive deficits that work best as indices of heritable phenotypes will help us to uncover the aetiology of developmental disorders.     

A prospective study of factors that lead to body dissatisfaction during pregnancy

This study examined changes in body image and predictors of body dissatisfaction during pregnancy. It was expected that higher levels of depression, social comparison tendencies, teasing, societal pressure to be thin and public self-consciousness would predict body dissatisfaction prospectively. Healthy pregnant women (n = 128) completed questionnaires on three occasions during their pregnancies reporting on a total of four time points: 3 months prior to pregnancy (retrospectively reported), in the early to mid-second trimester, the late-second/early-third trimester, and the latter part of the third trimester. For the most part women reported adapting to the changes that occurred in their body; however, women were most likely to experience higher levels of body dissatisfaction in early to mid-second trimester. Findings related to predictors of body dissatisfaction revealed that both social and psychological factors contributed to body image changes in pregnancy. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Dimensions of driver anger, aggressive and highway code violations and their mediation by safety orientation in UK drivers

Aggressive behaviour on the roads is reported to be on the increase. This study administered Driving Anger Scale (Deffenbacher et al. (1994). Development of a driving anger scale. Psychological Reports, 74, 83–91.), the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, and the Driving Skill Inventory to a sample of 270 British drivers. Factor analysis of the Driving Anger Scale items yielded three factors measuring anger generated by the reckless driving, direct hostility and impeded progress by others—contrary to the six subscales found with the original US sample. Younger drivers and low mileage drivers were more likely to exhibit all three types of driving anger, but no differences between male and female drivers were found. In addition, a driver’s safety orientation predicted (negatively) anger evoked by impeded progress and direct hostility whereas self-assessed perceptual-motor skills were positively related to anger generated by impeded progress. Both Highway Code and aggressive violations were significantly related to the anger factors, and, using the procedure by Baron and Kenny (Baron & Kenny (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.), the prediction of violating behaviour (Driver Behaviour Questionnaire) by reported anger was shown to be mediated by the self-assessed safety skill scale but not the perceptual-motor skill scale (Driver Skill Inventory), and moderated by neither. Implications for driver education countermeasures are noted.     

Mentoring and participation: An application of the Vroom-Yetton model

Participative decision making is considered an important tool to develop subordinates. To explore how managers use PDM in mentoring relationships, we modified the Vroom-Yetton (1973) scenarios to include a protege/non-protege variable. One hundred and five managers completed the survey, and 68 of these completed a follow-up questionnaire concerning their own mentoring history. Contrary to our hypotheses, managers were neither more participative nor better decision makers with protege versus non-protege scenarios. Some differences in participation with certain situational attributes were found between protege and non-protege conditions suggesting that managers use PDM in different circumstances when dealing with proteges versus non-proteges. Mentoring history interacted with the protege variable in the scenarios. Unlike managers without mentors, managers who had been mentored showed significant differences when dealing with proteges versus non-proteges: they were both better decision makers (p=.001) and more participative with proteges (p=.004) than were managers who had not had mentors. Managers with mentors were alsoless participative in non-protege conditions (p<.05). Implications for mentoring as a developmental tool are discussed.We would like to express our appreciation to the anonymous reviewers who provided excellent guidance.