The impact of stimulants on a clinical measure of attention in children with ADHD

The effect of stimulant medication on the attentional functioning of 23 children (8–12 yrs) with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was investigated. Significant main effects of medication and TEA-Ch subtests were found, however there was no significant interaction. Planned contrasts showed that stimulants improved performance on the sustained attention, but not the selective or divided attention, subtests. Similar to previous studies, the results indicate that stimulants improve sustained attention in children with ADHD. Significant effects of stimulants on selective and divided attention, however, were not as apparent. Therefore, care must be taken when using TEA-Ch subtests to assess performance change subsequent to stimulant administration.     

Analytic Voyages: Surprises at Sea Reply to Commentaries

I elaborate, at the level of unconscious fantasy, the oedipal recognition of “threeness” as a traumatic disruption that can have the quality of a sudden shock and that can be experienced as an assault on (dyadic) “reality.” I then take up the question of the individuality of choice, given the impact of the cultural surround. A relationship is identified between female attire and the regulation of sexual excitement. The focus on maternal sexual subjectivity is extended to include consideration of women as subjects of beauty. I contend that female beauty, including the erotic, is a communication not solely to men but between women, within any given woman, and, at core, between mother and infant.     

Unraveling: Betrayal and the Loss of Goodness in the Analytic Relationship

Reacting to a general distrust of government and authority that many people are feeling these days, this paper follows some developments of trust and of its betrayal in both the normal and clinical situations. It suggests that many are profoundly anxious about betrayal and that adequate parenting helps us learn how to overcome inevitable betrayal traumas and continue without losing hope. It recalls Freud’s own feelings of betrayal when he learned that hysterics lie and later when Dora stopped treatment, and it suggests that these betrayals may have been one factor in his turn from the clinical to the theoretical. It discusses trust in the clinical situation through the lens of the Freud–Ferenczi controversy and with special emphasis on early trauma and the kind of setting that may be necessary for the reestablishment of basic trust.     

Cognitive Reorganization and the development of chess expertise

One current research strategy in the study of expertise is to compare experts and novices. An important aspect of decision making involves looking for similarities among problem types. Little is known about such processes. We used grid technique to examine similarity judgments associated with different levels of chess expertise. Novice, expert, and master chess players evaluated 4 sets of 12 chess boards. Average FIC scores showed a curvilinear relation to expertise, suggesting increasing differentiation followed by integration in cognitive frameworks for construing board positions. Additional cognitive measures based on move generation tended to support and extend this structural model.     

Predictors of the intent to adopt preventive innovations: a meta‐analysis

Because the literature suggests significant differences in the adoption rate of traditional innovations and those innovations classified as preventive, we examine the effectiveness of the constructs of the theory of planned behavior and social cognitive theory in predicting the adoption of preventive innovations. The current study synthesized 89 correlations from 63 studies (n = 31,158). The corrected mean correlation estimates were .51 for attitude, .52 for subjective norms, and .43 for planned behavioral control. The corrected mean correlation estimate for self‐efficacy was .47. By understanding the predictor variables of the intent to adopt a preventive innovation, proponents of specific preventive innovations may be better equipped to select strategies that could accelerate the diffusion process.     

Notes on Measurement of the Magnitude of the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex Response in Normal Preschool Children

This study investigated the magnitude of the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR) response in forty preschool children, grouped by age (3 years and 5 years) and sex. The ATNR response was measured by electrogoniometers at the head and elbows and recorded graphically on an X-Y plotter. Change scores indicating the difference in degrees of elbow flexion before and after head rotation were analyzed. Repetition of the stimulus (head turning) to the left and to the right occurred under two test postures (supine, quadrupedal) with the effect of a blindfold nested within quadruped trials and the effect of added tension nested within supine, totaling 16 trials per child. The magnitude of the ATNR decreased significantly with age, but sex differences were not significant. The quadrupedal test posture produced significantly larger responses than did the supine test posture. Added tension produced significant increases in the supine posture. The blindfold did not produce significant main effects. Electro-goniometric measurement consistently demonstrated the magnitude of the ATNR in normal preschool children, which decreases with age, is dependent upon test posture and can provide numerical guides in clinical tests of central nervous system integration.     

Transfer across Form and Modality in Implicit and Explicit Memory

Three experiments examined transfer across form (words/pictures) and modality (visual/ auditory) in written word, auditory word, and pictorial implicit memory tests, as well as on a free recall task. Experiment 1 showed no significant transfer across form on any of the three implicit memory tests,and an asymmetric pattern of transfer across modality. In contrast, the free recall results revealed a very different picture. Experiment 2 further investigated the asymmetric modality effects obtained for the implicit memory measures by employing articulatory suppression and picture naming to control the generation of phonological codes. Finally, Experiment 3 examined the effects of overt word naming and covert picture labelling on transfer between study and test form. The results of the experiments are discussed in relation to Tulving and Schacter's (1990) Perceptual Representation Systems framework and Roediger's (1990) Transfer Appropriate Processing theory.