Effects of post-operative environment on recovery from dorsal hippocampal lesions in young rats: Tests of spatial memory and motor transfer

Young rats (30 days old) were given dorsal hippocampal lesions and then housed in different conditions to assess the contribution of the environment to recovery from the effects of the lesion. They were subsequently tested on a spatial memory task and on a task requiring complex motor movements and transfer ability. Animals with lesions were inferior to sham-operates on both these tasks. Social housing and environmental enrichment improved performance on both tests, but there was no evidence for an interaction between lesion and environmental effects. The validity of using the term “recovery” in these circumstances is discussed, and called into question.     

Clustering by aphasics in free recall

Aphasic performance was compared to normal and left hemiplegic controls in the use of clustering to aid recall of a list of words in a multitrial free recall experiment. Use of clustering correlated with increased recall scores. Left hemiplegic performance was superior to aphasic and inferior to normal suggesting that the presence of brain damage decreased clustering but that this decrease was greater in the presence of aphasia. A second experiment examined the possibility of remediating aphasic clustering behavior by providing cues as a training device. Cues, which aided normals, did not benefit the majority of aphasics. Results are interpreted in terms of their relationship to cognitive functioning.     

Simplified formulas for item selection and construction

The formula for the Pearson correlation coefficient of a dichotomous variable with a multiple-categoried variable is simplified for computational purposes by effecting in the multiple-categoried variable two types of arbitrary distributions: (1) rectangular and (2) proportional to binomial expansion coefficients. The formulas which result are convenient for the selection of test items and are applicable to the objective estimation of the comparative merits of the alternatives in multiple-choice test items. It is shown that the authoritative answer should have a high positive criterion coefficient, while the omissions and several wrong-answer alternatives should each have low (algebraic) negative criterion coefficients.     

EM algorithms for ML factor analysis

The details of EM algorithms for maximum likelihood factor analysis are presented for both the exploratory and confirmatory models. The algorithm is essentially the same for both cases and involves only simple least squares regression operations; the largest matrix inversion required is for aq ×q symmetric matrix whereq is the matrix of factors. The example that is used demonstrates that the likelihood for the factor analysis model may have multiple modes that are not simply rotations of each other; such behavior should concern users of maximum likelihood factor analysis and certainly should cast doubt on the general utility of second derivatives of the log likelihood as measures of precision of estimation.     

Talking about unemployment with school-leavers

Research is reported concerning the views of a variety of professionals as to appropriate ways of talking about unemployment with 16-year-old school-leavers. Preparation in schools for the possibility of unemployment is discussed, as well as issues for those in contact with young people without a job after they leave school. The ways in which professionals talk to young people about unemployment appear to vary substantially. The findings suggest that in adopting a particular approach a professional will be influenced by his beliefs about the labour economy, by his perceptions of young people's wants and needs, and by his own capacity to cope with the feelings involved in re-examining his role in relation to unemployed young people.     

Change and stability in sexism among college students: A three-year panel study

Results are reported of a 3-year panel study of sex-role attitude changes among Ball State University students. Two questions were posed: (1) To what extent do students change their sex-role attitudes? (2) What types of students are more likely to change their attitudes? Contrary to expectations, students did not become progressively less sexist each year they were in college. Apparently, changes in student sex-role attitudes were more reflective of changes in local public opinion rather than following the Bennington College pattern. An important finding of the study is that those who were initially the most sexist displayed the greatest degree of change in their attitudes. A mixed pattern prevails with regard to relationships between changes in attitudes and background characteristics, personal orientations, and political orientations.     

Talk About School Between Mothers and Children With or Without ADHD

Twenty mother-child dyads including a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 20 mother-child dyads containing a child without ADHD recorded a conversation about the children's school experiences. Mothers' ratings of their children's school-related performance were also assessed. Mothers of children with ADHD rated their children's behavioral conduct lower than did other mothers, and dyads including children with ADHD discussed behavioral conduct more and academics and interpersonal relationships less than did the other group of dyads. For ADHD dyads, less elaboration about children's interpersonal relationships was related to lower maternal ratings about children's school-related performance. The results are discussed in relation to potentially poorer developmental outcomes for many children with ADHD.     

Pharmacological and Behavioral Strategies for Smoking Cessation

After over two decades of intensive research, a variety of smoking cessation strategies, both behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic, have been developed and clinically validated. In this review, pharmacological products available for smoking cessation are profiled and examined for efficacy. Results of a recent comprehensive review and meta-analysis by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research on the effects of behavior therapy on smoking cessation are also discussed. Further, meta-analyses and studies exploring the important interaction between pharmacological and behavioral therapies are considered. Applications of the growing wealth of smoking cessation strategies are discussed with respect to the needs of some special subpopulations of smokers including highly nicotine-dependent smokers and smokers with comorbid psychiatric diagnoses.     

Provider gender and moral reasoning: The politics of an “ethics of care”

Women constitute 35% of providers in genetics at the doctoral level. A survey of 682 geneticists in 19 nations showed that gender was the single most important determinant of ethical decision making. Women were less directive and more observant of patient autonomy than men. In the United States, women were twice as likely as men to accede to patient requests for prenatal diagnosis for sex selection. Women now constitute 30% of all medical students, about half of all obstetrical residents, and 94% of master's-level genetic counselors. Evidence that women providers respond differently to some ethical problems suggests that in the future, as more women enter the field, provider-patient relationships may become more egalitarian.