Relationship of depression and anxiety to cancer patients' medical decision-making

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of depression and anxiety to cancer patients' medical decision-making. Participants were 79 rural and urban cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The four decisional styles of the Decisional Processing Model were the independent variables. Dependent variables were anxiety and depression, measured by Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety and the Center for Disease Control Depression Scale, respectively. Consistent with the Decisional Processing Model, analysis suggested that patients make medical decisions by information seeking, information processing, advice following, or ruminating. Decisional style did not vary according to type or stage of cancer, prognosis, time elapsed since initial diagnosis, or whether cancer was initial or recurrent. Decisional style did not systematically vary with depression and anxiety suggesting how a person makes decisions is a stable personality trait. Thus, decision-making may follow a cognitive schema. It is likely that patients' decisional styles help to manage anxiety and depression when confronted with life-threatening illness. Implications for informed consent and patients' involvement in decision-making are discussed.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the WMS-III in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Five competing models specifying the factor structure underlying the Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (D. Wechsler, 1997b) primary subtest scores were evaluated in a sample of patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (N = 254). Models specifying separate immediate and delayed constructs resulted in inadmissible parameter estimates and model specification error. There were negligible goodness-of-fit differences between a 3-factor model of working memory, auditory memory, and visual memory and a nested--more parsimonious--2-factor model of working memory and general memory. The results suggest that specifying a separate visual memory factor provides little advantage for this sample--an unexpected finding in a population with lateralized dysfunction, for which one might have predicted separate auditory and visual memory dimensions.     

Visual perspective taking for avatars in a Simon task

In modern digital applications, users often interact with virtual representations of themselves or others, called avatars. We examined how these avatars and their perspectives influence stimulus–response compatibility in a Simon task. Participants responded to light/dark blue stimuli with left/right key presses in the presence of a task-irrelevant avatar. Changes in stimulus–response compatibility were used to quantify changes in the mental representation of the task and perspective taking toward this avatar. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that perspective taking for an avatar occurred in orthogonal stimulus–response mappings, causing a compatibility effect from the avatar’s point of view. In the following two experiments we introduced a larger variety of angular disparities between the participant and avatar. In Experiment 3, the Simon effect with lateralized stimulus positions remained largely unaffected by the avatar, pointing toward an absence of perspective taking. In Experiment 4, after avatar hand movements were added in order to strengthen the participants’ sense of agency over the avatar, a spatial compatibility effect from the avatar’s perspective was observed again, and hints of the selective use of perspective taking on a trial-by-trial basis were found. Overall, the results indicate that users can incorporate the perspective of an avatar into their mental representation of a situation, even when this perspective is unnecessary to complete a task, but that certain contextual requirements have to be met.     

Knowledge level learning and the power law: A soar model of skill acquisition in scheduling

Zusammenfassung. Das hier vorgestellte Modell lernt graduell, Planungsaufgaben aus der Klasse der Maschinenbelegungsprobleme (job-shop-scheduling problems) zu lösen. Mit Hilfe des Chunking-Mechanismus von Soar wird episodisches Wissen über die Belegungsreihenfolge von Aufträgen auf Maschinen memoriert. Bei der Entwicklung des Modells wurden zahlreiche qualitative (z. B. Transfereffekte) und quantitative Befunde (z. B. Bearbeitungszeiten) aus einer früheren empirischen Untersuchung berücksichtigt. In einer Validierungsstudie wurden dieselben Aufgaben von 14 Probanden und dem Modell bearbeitet. Die Passung von Simulationsdaten und empirischen Ergebnissen fiel insgesamt gut aus. Allerdings löst das Modell die Aufgaben schneller und zeigt auch einen etwas besseren Lernverlauf als die Probanden. Das Modell liefert eine Erklärung für das Rauschen, das typischerweise bei Bearbeitungszeiten zu beobachten ist: es handelt sich um erworbenes Wissen, das mehr oder weniger gut und auch unterschiedlich häufig auf neue Situationen übertragen wird. Der Lernverlauf der Probanden entspricht nur für aggregierte Daten einer Potenzfunktion (power law). Der vorgestellte Mechanismus zeigt, wie ein symbolisches Modell der Informationsverarbeitung graduelle Verhaltensänderungen generiert und wie der offensichtliche Erwerb allgemeiner Prozeduren ohne explizites Lernen von deklarativen Regeln erfolgen kann. Es wird nahegelegt, daß es sich hier um die Modellierung einer Form impliziten Lernens handelt. Summary. The model presented here gradually learns how to perform a job-shop scheduling task. It uses Soar's chunking mechanism to acquire episodic memories about the order to schedule jobs. The model was based on many qualitative (e.g., transfer effects) and quantitative (e.g., solution time) regularities found in previously collected data. The model was tested with new data where scheduling tasks were given to the model and to 14 subjects. The model generally fit these data with the restrictions that the model performs the task (in simulated time) faster than the subjects, and its performance improves somewhat more quickly than the subjects' performance. The model provides an explanation of the noise typically found in problem solving times - it is the result of learning actual pieces of knowledge that transfer more or less to new situations but rarely by an average amount. Only when the data are averaged (i.e., over subjects) does the smooth power law appear. This mechanism demonstrates how symbolic models can exhibit a gradual change in behavior and how the apparent acquisition of general procedures can be performed without resorting to explicit declarative rule generation. We suggest that this may represent a type of implicit learning.     

The puzzle of language evolution

Linguistics must again concentrate on the evolutionary nature of language, so that language models are more realistic with respect to human natural languages and have a greater explanatory force. Multi-agent systems are proposed as a possible route to develop such evolutionary models and an example is given of a concrete experiment in the origins and evolution of word-meaning based on a multi-agent approach.     

Book notes

Apocalyptic Bodies: The Biblical End of the World in Text and Image Tina Pippin, 1999 London, New York: Routledge 160 pp., £14.99 ISBN 0–415–18248–4

The Picture in Question: Mark Tansey and the Ends of Representation Marc C. Taylor, 1999 Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press 144 pp., US$30.00, £23.95 (hb), US$12.00, £9.50 (pb) ISBN 0–226–79128–9 (hb), ISBN 0–226–79129–7

Religion in the Twenty‐first Century Mary Pat Fisher, 1999 London: Routledge 128 pp., £6.99 (pb) ISBN 0–415–21166–2

Religion im Wandel der Kosmologien Religionswissenschaft Vol. 10 Dieter Zeixer, ed., 1999 Frankfurt a.M., Berlin, Berne, New York, Paris, Vienna: Peter Lang 305 pp., £33.00 (pb) ISBN 3–631–33138‐X

Pluralism and the Religions: The Theological and Political Dimensions John D'Arcy May, ed., 1998 London: Cassell 99 pp., £30 (hb), £9.99 (pb) ISBN 0–304–70258–7 (hb), ISBN 0–304–70259–5 (pb)

Sharing Shalom: A Process for Local Interfaith Dialogue between Christians and Jews Philip A. Cunningham & Arthur F. Starr, eds., 1998 New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press/Stimulus Books 120 pp., US$7.95 (pb) ISBN 0–8091–3835–2

What Price Prejudice? Christian Antisemitism in America Frank E. Eakin, Jr., 1998 New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press/Stimulus Books 208 pp., US$9.95 (pb) ISBN 0–8091–3822–0

Christian Theology: A Brief Introduction Gareth Jones, 1999 Oxford: Polity Press 178 pp., £45.00 (hb), £14.99 (pb) ISBN 0–7456–1062–5 (hb), ISBN 0–7456–1063–3 (pb)

Holy Smoke. Religion and Roots: A Personal Memoir LiBBY PURVES, 1998 London: Hodder & Stoughton 199 pp., £14.99 (pb) ISBN 0–340–72151–0

Animal Gospel: Christian Faith as though Animals Mattered Andrew Linzey, 1998 London: Hodder & Stoughton 212 pp., £6.99 (pb) ISBN 0–340–62150–8

Vocations in Kerala: A Study on the Changes in the Social Determinants of Vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life in the Catholic Community in Kerala Jose Kuriedath, 1998 Thevara, Kochi, India: Sacred Heart College 144 pp., Rs 50/‐ no ISBN indicated

Jim Bakker: Miscarriage of Justice? James A. Albert, 1997 Chicago; La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing 532 pp., £31.95 (hb), £14.50 (pb) ISBN 0–8126–9369–8 (hb), ISBN 0–8126–9370–1 (pb)

Buddhism and the Mythology of Evil: A Study in Theravada Buddhism Trevor Ling, 1997 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 179 pp., £11.99 (pb) ISBN 1–85168–132–9

Jung on Mythology Robert A. Segal, ed., 1998 London: Routledge 275 pp., £15.99 (pb) ISBN 0–415–19944–1

Islam: A Concise Introduction Neal Robinson, 1999 Richmond, Surrey: Curzon 197 pp., £40.00 (hb), £14.99 (pb) ISBN 0–7007–1103–1 (hb), ISBN 0–7007–1100–7 (pb)

Der Koran: Zugänge und Lesarten Hans Zirker, 1999 Darmstadt: Primus Verlag 230 pp., DM 39.80, SFR 37.00, 6S 291.00 (pb) ISBN 3–89678–121–9

On Faith Nathan Rotenstreich/Paul Mendes‐Flohr, 1998 Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press xii +169 pp., £27.95, US$35.00 (hb), £11.95, US$15.00 (pb) ISBN 0–226–72875–7 (hb), ISBN 0–226–72876–5 (pb)

Hegel's Idea of a Phenomenology of Spirit Michael N. Forster, 1998 Chicago: University of Chicago Press 661 pp., £59.95, US$75 (hb), £23.95, US$30.00 (pb) ISBN 0–226–25740–1 (hb), ISBN 0–226–25742–8 (pb)

Cartesian Questions: Method and Metaphysics Jean‐Luc Marion, 1999 Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press 215 pp., US$25.00, £19.95 (pb) ISBN 0–226–50544–8     

Authority,Psychotherapy and the Authority of the Therapist in the Religious Haredi Community

This article considers the meaning and significance of authority, and its relevance to the transference process, within the framework of psychotherapy in the orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community in Israel. In this community, deeply-rooted habits of obedience to the commandments of the Torah and the authority of the Rabbi are integral to maintaining an orthodox way of life. Clinical vignettes with Haredi patients are presented to illustrate the complexities that arise when both patient and therapist belong to the orthodox community, and highlight the authority-related issues that are central to the therapy. This combination of factors requires a sensitive and finely-tuned approach which will enable the therapist to maintain the treatment framework while still accommodating the orthodox way of life.     

Melancholic Response to War Destruction and the Emergence of a Group Assumption of Post-Ness

What psychological response does war and forced displacement evoke in victims? How do survivors of war communicate their experiences to their children? Finally, what culture does the psychological response to loss shape? Using data collected through interviews, psychological consultations, and children’s drawings from two sources—the ongoing Syrian civil war and the Bosnian war of 1992–1995, this paper suggests that the experience of the war generation becomes the organizing axis of their identity and that of their children. It seeks to demonstrate that survivor parents communicate their experience of loss through gesture, act, and object rather than through a coherent narrative. Whereas survivor children use metaphoric and metonymic readings of their parents’ everyday performance in order to construct meaning and form their identities as descendants of a given family. This paper argues that such an identity is characterized by ambivalence towards the self and towards others, melancholic longing for an idealized pre-war past, and the impossibility of letting it go.