A randomized study of the impact of a sensitizing intervention on the child‐rearing attitudes of parents of low birth weight preterm infants

Nordhov, S. M., Kaaresen, P. I., Rønning, J. A., Ulvund, S. E. & Dahl, L. B. (2010). A randomized study of the impact of a sensitizing intervention on the child‐rearing attitudes of parents of low birth weight preterm infants. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 385–391. The background for this study was that nurturant child‐rearing attitudes are associated with positive development in low birth weight (LBW) infants. The objective was to study child‐rearing attitudes and early intervention (EI) in parents of LBW infants from 12–36 months corrected age. LBW infants (BW < 2000 g) were randomized to an intervention (IG) or a control group (CG). The EI consisted of seven in‐hospital sessions prior to discharge, then four home visits. A Child Rearing Practices Report was administered at 12 (mothers only), 24 and 36 months. A total of 146 infants were randomized. The mean BW in IG was 1396 (SD 429) g and 1381 (436) g in CG. The mean GA was 30.2 (3.1) weeks in IG and 29.9 (3.5) weeks in CG. Mothers in IG reported significantly more nurturant child‐rearing attitudes at 12 and 24 months. There was a significant change in restrictive and nurturant attitudes over time. It was concluded that EI may lead to more nurturant child‐rearing attitudes in mothers of preterms.     

The AMQ: A Four‐Factor Inventory of Absentmindedness and Memory

The Absentmindedness and Memory Questionnaire (AMQ) is a new self‐rating scale designed to evaluate everyday memory problems related to absentmindedness. It includes 24 items and is based on studies of different samples (N= 623). Its test‐retest reliability is high and it has consistently shown similar factor structure. The AMQ thus measures four weakly correlated factors: Absentmindedness, Persons, Locations and Codes/Addresses. Factor analysis further indicates that Absentmindedness may include two subfactors: momentary attention deficit and prospective forgetfulness or impaired agenda memory. Gender differences were found in Persons (Female+) and Locations (Male+) but not in Absentmindedness or Codes/Addresses. The current version of AMQ has seven interindividually comparable response alternatives for each item in the questionnaire. This makes it useful as a measure of subjective absentmindedness or forgetfulness as well as a complementary measure of subjective memory for persons, locations, and codes/addresses/stories, especially at follow‐up examinations.     

Acquisition of locational information about reference points during locomotion with and without a concurrent task: Effects of number of reference points

Maintenance of orientation relative to reference points along a locomotion path and acquisition of locational information about these reference points were investigated by requiring subjects with and without a concurrent backwards counting task to walk in alleys and estimate direction and distance to the reference points when stopped. One or three reference points were presented on each trial in different groups of subjects. Acquisition of locational information was indicated by decreased latencies and variable errors with repeated exposure to the same locomotion path. Neither the larger number of reference points nor the concurrent task seemed to affect acquisition, but both lead to increased latencies indicating that the subjects under these conditions were unable to keep track of the locations of the reference points whilst walking. However, they may still have been able to infer these locations after the locomotion path had been traversed.     

Effect of task, selection set, and dispersion of attention on visual identification time

Schioldborg, P., Paus, E. & Myhre, G. Effect of task, selection set, and dispersion of attention on visual identification time. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 195–198. Letters and digits were presented in rows of one, two, or three, and the time required for identifying their position, colour, class, or names recorded for three subjects. The identification tasks were performed under three different conditions of preparatory set, making use of position, colour, and class as selecting attributes. (1) Under each selection set, only the identification of letters and digits as such required more time with increasing number of items, indicating limiting conditions for a "constancy" model of attention. (2) For all identification tasks, selection procured by class yielded longer identification time than selection by position or colour, suggesting different levels of complexity in information processing. (3) Identification of class under a position set, or position under a class set, required less time than the corresponding combinations with colour in place of position, suggesting that analysis of form and position relate basically to the same processes.     

The rate of internal speech in paced rehearsal

Hollnagel, E. The rate of internal speech in paced rehearsal. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 241–243.-The purpose of the experiment was to measure the rate of internal speech in rehearsal. The method used was paced rehearsal, i. e. the subjects should synchronize their internal speech with an external signal. The known rate of the external signal, the pace rate, was used as an ndication of the rate of internal speech. For each subject the maximum pace rate was found, and the corresponding maximum rate of internal speech was calculated. The mean of the maximum rates of internal speech for 17 subjects was 126 ms/syllable. This is considerably faster than the results obtained from experimental studies up to now.     

Human information processing capacity in counting several things simultaneously

Abstract.— In the area of human information processing an important concept is that of a limited capacity central processing system (CPS). Posner (1970) emphasized the distinction between a short-term memory (STM) and an operational memory (OM). To evaluate this distinction, as well as to obtain data on the capacity limit of the CPS, and experiment was carried out, in which 14 subjects had to keep a running count of the number of occurrences of two or more predetermined items in a series of stimuli. Based on the experimental data a register model of the CPS was suggested which emphasized the distinction between the STM and the OM as one of two different memory functions carried out by a common memory system. The model also suggested that the capacity limit of the CPS was around eight items of verbally coded information.     

Personality disorders and psychosocial changes after intensive psychotherapy: A prospective follow-up study of an outpatient psychotherapy project, 5 years after end of treatment*

This report presents the results of a 7-year prospective outcome study designed to examine the psychosocial changes during and after therapy among 25 outpatients suffering from personality disorders and psychoses. The therapeutic approach was based mainly on object relations theory and psychodynamic self-psychology, and focused in particular on affect consciousness, parental images, self-image and interpersonal relations. Twenty patients completed the form which measured psychosocial changes during therapy, and 21 persons participated at follow-up. The data show statistically significant changes in the capacity to tolerate intimate relationships and actually establish such relationships, improved quality of contact in relationships with friends, a general raising of socioeconomic status and reduced use of ordinary health and social services. Both the global psychosocial outcome at follow-up as measured by HSRS and the general level of symptoms measured by SCL-90 suggest that 76% of the sample had reached a level of psychosocial functioning and adaptation that can be defined as “no-caseness”.     

The Issue of Motivating Entre(Intra)Preneurial Behavior

ABSTRACT The issue of motivating entre(intra)preneurial behavior is one of great importance to any society. The problem is that motivating human behavior is really not possible. Human behavior is motivated all the time; the real issue is to structure a business climate that fosters and rewards the excitement, enthusiasm and experimentation that accompanies entre(intra)preneurial behavior. A basic understanding of organizational climate, behavioral modification and the “deviant” behavior that makeup entre(intra) preneurial behavior can develop and nurture the joy and passion necessary for economics and human growth. The issue of restrictive environments and the role of staff groups in restricting creative, innovative entre(intra)preneurial behavior is one a leader-manager must be aware. The need for a more nearly accurate definition of entre(intra)preneur is one of the first hurdles to overcome in researching the issue of guiding entre(intra)preneurial behavior. There is a paradox in speaking or writing about motivating any kind of behavior, but especially, motivating entrepreneurial behavior. At the very outset, it should be very clear that academicians and practitioners who speak of “motivating” anyone are purely and simply dead wrong in the use of the term. Living human beings are motivated all the time. A much more comfortable way of discussing the issue is to speak about guiding or shaping motivated behavior. Then it is possible to research, comment and discuss the ways in which entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial behavior can be fostered, encouraged, guided or shaped. The issues and themes of many presentations on entrepreneurial and/or intrapreneurial behavior that are presented in textbooks, articles and symposia frequently begin with some discussion of the personality characteristics or the motivation of entre(intra)-preneurs, implying that these characteristics are narrowly distributed in the general population. Elsewhere (Winslow, 1984) I have speculated that innovation and creativity are widely distributed in the normal population, not narrowly, and further I would argue that non-innovative and non-creative behaviors are a maladjustment in humans brought on by the healthy ability of most of us to adapt and adjust to our environment. Herzberg (1982) has commented that … “all human behavior is adjusted behavior, therefore, all human behavior adjusts away from what is naturally healthy behavior.” In effect, all of us have adjusted away from normality, therefore, none of us are normal. An extension of this idea leads to the conclusion that all cultures choose the pathology, or the abnormal behavior, that will be defined as normal for that society. I believe that one of the fundamental motivations of human beings is to pursue their own growth in competence, skill and creativity; to act upon the world rather than to react to the world; and to shape the environment as well as be shaped by their surroundings. The human being operates always within this dilemma — “human behavior is influenced (shaped) by the environment, but it is an environment created and developed by human beings,” (Skinner, 1971). The above could lead to a discussion of whether the natural, normal, pristine human being is good or evil, a discussion of the importance of nature over nurture, or more directly to the more mundane central topic of this paper. One of the most creative current observers of organizational behavior, Peter Vaill (1985), has pointed out, that “behavioral scientists have a common trait, that is, they believe the art of applied behavioral sciences is the art of making lists.” I frequently define myself as an applied behavioral scientist, therefore, I will present my list of observations on Motivating (Shaping) Entre(Intra)preneurial Behavior.

• 1 The climate, atmosphere or environment must be created to allow the expression of entre(intra)preneurial activity.
• 2 The drive, motivation or spirit of entre(intra)-preneurship is broadly distributed in the general population.
• 3 Behavior is a function of its consequences (Skinner, 1971).
• 4 Entre(intra)preneurial environments have an aura of excitement, suspended belief and an impertenence toward conventional wisdom.
• 5 The entre(intra)preneurial activity, tested against “standard” behavior or conventional organizational policy frequently appears as deviant behavior.
• 6 The terms entre(intra)preneur are used very loosely and are becoming useless in discussing innovation, behavior, economic and/or organizational activity.