Peer education: The untapped potential

The purpose of this paper is to provide a rationale for making broader educational use of peer learning principles as explicated in developmental theory and research. The paper argues that peer learning brings with it unique motivational and cognitive benefits for participating peers. Research has shown that peer learning can bolster children's self-esteem, awaken their interest in challenging tasks, enhance scholarly achievement, and foster prosocial behavior. In particular, it is an effective means of enabling children to grasp basic concepts that underlie school curricula.Two different forms of peer learning, “peer tutoring” and “peer collaboration,” are distinguished. Each has its potential use: peer tutoring for transmitting information and drilling special skills; peer collaboration for facilitating intellectual discovery and the acquisition of basic knowledge.Some general guidelines for the integration of peer tutoring and peer collaboration in the classroom are offered. It is recognized that specific curriculum plans implementing these guidelines must be formulated with a view to the overall cultural context of the school system. Such plans must be molded in context to suit the needs of each particular site. It is concluded, however, that the general principles of peer education set forth in this position paper would enhance all varieties of schooling. As explicated in this article, peer education complements rather than supplants adult teaching, freeing up teachers' time and attention and enabling them to focus more directly and effectively on individual children's learning needs.     

Studies of birth rates: social-psychological aspects

This is a general review of world literature and attitudes toward propaganda campaigns aimed at regulating population growth in the USSR. The goals, strategies, and psychological methods used in such campaigns are examined, and social attitudes toward population dynamics and family planning are explored. (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

Rapid error correction during human arm movements: evidence for central monitoring

Studies were made of rapid error correction movements in eight subjects performing a visually guided tracking task involving flexion-extension movements about the elbow. Subjects were required to minimize reaction times in this two-choice task. Errors in initial movement direction occurred in about 3% of the trials. Error correction times (time from initiation to reversal of movement in incorrect direction) ranged from 30-150 ms. The first sing of correction of the error movement was a suppression of the electromyographic (EMG) activity in the muscle producing the error movement. This suppression started as early as 20-40 ms after the initiation of the error-related EMG activity and as much as 50 ms before any overt sign of limb movement. The correction of the error movement was also accompanied by an increase in the drive to the muscle which moved the arm in the correct direction. This increased activity always occurred after the initiation of the error movement. it is concluded that the first step in the error correction, suppression of drive to the muscle producing the error movement, cannot be based on information from the moving limb. It is thus suggested that this earliest response to the error movement is based on central monitoring of the commands for movement.     

WESTERN PSYCHOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES: IMPACT AND RESPONSE*

The history of psychological science in the Philippines is considered as a case of cultural diffusion from the West through the English language and the institutions (educational and legal, business and industry, the media, government and the bureaucracy) which adopted the language. The development of academic and professional psychology and of psychology-related services has been phenomenal, particularly in the last decade. It has however, given rise to problems of (1) standards and validity in testing and research, and (2) applicability of concepts and methods in social psychology the roots of which are from another culture. Current trends and issues, as well the movement for indigenous Philippine social psychology, are briefly described.     

Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer

Attributions for cancer and beliefs about control over cancer were examined for their association with adjustment to breast cancer. Although 95% of the respondents made attributions for their cancer, no particular attribution (e.g., stress, diet) was associated with better adjustment. Analyses of attributions of responsibility for the cancer to the self, environment, another person, or chance yielded only a negative relation between adjustment and blaming another person. In contrast, both the belief that one could now control one's cancer and the belief that others (e.g. the physician) could now control the cancer were significantly associated with good adjustment. Of the different types of control, cognitive control was most strongly associated with adjustment, behavior control was less strongly associated with adjustment, and information control and retrospective control were unassociated with adjustment. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Issues in diagnosing anxiety disorders

Research progress in the anxiety disorders is predicated on a useful classification system. In this paper, we review the reliability and validity data for theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed. (DSM-III) anxiety disorders and discuss the salient issues associated with both the conceptualization of anxiety disorders and the diagnostic criteria offered in the DSM-III. It is concluded that the diagnostic reliability for these disorders is, overall, satisfactory. A dearth of validity data, however, hinders progress in both the diagnosis and the treatment of the anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, the DSM-III work group has proposed several changes in the diagnostic criteria for the anxiety disorders. We find some of these proposed changes helpful in that they clarify current diagnostic criteria; changes in diagnostic criteria that alter the basic classification schema, however, seem to be premature.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by MIMH Research Grant 1368.On sabbatical leave from Indiana State University.     

Variables related to reported learning in brief experiential groups held at professional meetings

Reports of learning from 119 participants of 18 general psychodynamic groups from the 1981 and 1982 annual meetings of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association were investigated. Two main learning factors emerged from a factor analysis of participant ratings, learning about oneself in a small group (factor one) and learning how to be an effective leader with professional skills (factor two). Participants reported moderate to considerable learning for both factors even though the stated task of the groups did not emphasize the learning of professional skills. Relationships between several classes of variables (group, leader, demographic) and reported learning were studied. Results that were consistent with several previous investigations were found. The discovery of a participant, sex-difference finding, i.e., greater reported learning by the women, generated a number of questions that may be addressed in future investigations.This article was derived from a paper presented at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association, October 27, 1983, Banff, Canada.     

Presidential threats and the secret service in a free society

In September 1981, a symposium of distinguished mental health practitioners from various clinical, administrative, research, and legal disciplines was conducted on the topic of “Behavioral Science and the Secret Service,” under the sponsorship of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. The article combines a study of the symposium's written conference summary, the author's experience as legal counsel to a state security hospital, and research into federal cases that have interpreted the so-called “Presidential Threat Statute” (18 USC 871) in order to discuss the role of the Secret Service in protecting elected federal officials from physical harm. The potential for increasing practical cooperation between the Service and state mental health systems is also discussed.     

Follow-up of a full-scale network assembly

The authors conducted two full-scale network assemblies for the family network of a suicidal adolescent. Findings from the clinical follow-up and telephone interviews with 21 of 65 participants revealed benefits for the index family and the network members who participated in the meetings. A ripple effect in which the participants' own personal networks improved was also demonstrated. Benefits included resolution of a suicidal crisis, better understanding of depression and family stress, more adaptive responses to depression and suicidal risk, and improved personal relationships. No casualties from this intervention were discovered. This report is intended to stimulate future, more systematic outcome studies.     

The influence of flavor preexposure and test interval on conditioned taste aversions in the rat

The effects of flavor preexposure and test interval on conditioned taste aversions were examined in four experiments. In the first three experiments, prior experience with a flavor different from that used as a conditioned-stimulus (CS) produced attenuated aversions when testing occurred after a 1-day interval but not after a 21-day interval. Preexposure to the same stimulus used as a CS produced attenuated aversions at both 1- and 21-day intervals. In Experiment 4, a delay interval between flavor preexposure and conditioning eliminated the attenuating effect of preexposure, but only when different stimuli were used for preexposure and conditioning. These data could not be easily accounted for by contemporary interpretations of preexposure as an event that interferes with subsequent acquisition of a conditioned aversion. An alternative retrieval interference hypothesis was outlined.