Attentive fields are related to focal and contextual features: A study of Müller-Lyer distortions

The mathematical model associated with integrative field theory was used to infer the size of attentive fields in a task involving judgments of size. A compounded Müller-Lyer task was employed in which fins between or outside the standard shafts were systematically removed. Performance on this task was simulated by a computer that generated families of theoretical functions varying in the parameter of attentive field size. Individual theoretical functions were then correlated with an empirical function obtained from real observers. The value of attentive field size that provided the best fit between functions was then selected. The results showed that, in almost all cases, the optimum size of the attentive field was smaller for the shrinkage form than for the expansion form of the Müller-Lyer pattern, that the attentive field changed more dramatically with changes in stimulus variables in the expansion form than in the shrinkage form, and that changes in viewing distance had little effect on the optimum size of the attentive field. It was concluded that the attention was involved both in figure-ground segregation and in maintaining object constancy. The similarity of these results to data obtained in recognition and detection tasks was noted.     

When Dreams Become Reality

In three experiments, we found that after a subtle suggestion, subjects falsely recognized words from their own dreams and thought they had been presented during the waking state. The procedure used in these studies involved three phases. Subjects studied a list of words on Day 1. On Day 2, they received a false suggestion that some words from their previously reported dreams had been presented on the list. On Day 3, they tried to recall only what had occurred on the initial list. Subjects falsely recognized their dream words at a very high rate—sometimes as often as they accurately recognized true words. They reported that they genuinely “remembered” the dream words, as opposed to simply “knowing” that they had been previously presented. These findings, which suggest that dreams can sometimes be mistaken for reality, have significant implications for the practice of psychotherapy.     

TESTAN: An integrated modular system for personality assessment and test development on MS-DOS personal computers

TESTAN (TEST and ANalysis) is an authoring shell and integrated psychometric package for development of computerized multiple-choice questionnaires, tests, and personality scales on personal computers that use MS-DOS. TESTAN allows (1) writing and editing items, interpretation messages, keys, norms, a bank of profiles, and so on, (2) collecting data in on-line or paper-and-pencil modes, (3) selecting the most discriminating items by means of correlation and factor analysis for practical use, (4) validating test scales and items according to external criteria and expert ratings, and (5) making multifactor assessment decisions after testing. TESTAN can be used to test student conceptual knowledge in any area in the form of multiple-choice questions. This report describes essential functional properties and facilities of TESTAN for psychometrists and applied psychologists.     

Bien-ětre et contraintes d'adolescents: Une comparaison entre adolescents de familles monoparentales et de families biparentales

Dans ce travail nous analysons les relations entre deux types de famille (monoparentales et biparentales), les contraintes familiales et extra-familiales, les stratégies de résolution de problèmes et le bien-ětre d'adolescents. L'enquěte est composée de 418 adolescents âgés de 12 à 18 ans (367 adolescents de familles biparentales; 51 de familles monoparentales). Les adolescents de familles monoparentales ressentent plus de contraintes familiales que les adolescents de familles biparentales; les deux groupes d'adolescents ont les měmes stratégies de résolution de problèmes et ressentent le měme degré de bien-ětre. Seuls les adolescents de familles monoparentales profitent d'une stratégie active de résolution de problèmes, car seul leur bien-ětre est rehaussé quand ils choisissent une telle stratégie. Par contre, une stratégie émotionnelle de résolution de problèmes n'affecte que le bien-ětre des adolescents de familles biparentales.     

Absolute and Relative Biases in Estimations of Personal Risk1

Two studies examined the accuracy of personal risk estimates, as determined by comparing mean estimates made by college students with population statistics for college-educated individuals. Study 1 suggested that optimistic biases (the tendency for people to think they are less at risk than the average person) arise more because people overestimating the average person's risk than because they underestimate their own risk. In Study 2, subjects rated their risk after being presented with risk statistics that were 150%, 100%, or 50% of the true values. Subjects' estimates decreased with decreases in the comparison statistics, as if subjects attempted to preserve their “below-average” status, but they changed less than did the statistics and were actually pessimistic in comparison to the 50% values. Implications for interventions designed to influence risk perceptions are discussed.     

Womanist Identity and Mental Health

The authors explored the relationship between Helms's “womanist identity” attitudes and the mental health of Black and White women. Results showed that Black and White women have different patterns of responses to both womanist and mental health scales. For White women in the sample, Immersion-Emersion and, to a lesser extent, Encounter attitudes were related to 7 types of psychological symptomatology. For Black women, no such relationship between womanist attitudes and mental health was found.     

Awareness of Death Among Children: Does a Life-Threatening Illness Alter the Process of Discovery?

The authors review studies on death awareness among children who are healthy, chronically ill, and terminally ill. The review suggests that children with life-threatening diseases demonstrate increased understanding of death compared with children who are either healthy or chronically ill. In particular, children with terminal illness, especially during the end stage of their disease, show an advanced understanding of the death concepts of irreversibility and finality. In contrast, healthy and chronically ill children appear to require certain age, cognitive developmental level, or intelligence thresholds to understand these concepts. Possible explanations for the findings in this literature are discussed. The implications of death awareness research for counselors are used as a base for suggesting counseling strategies.     

Physiological,affective, and behavioral responses to interpersonal conflict among males from families with different levels of cohesion and adaptability

To examine the relation between characteristics of a person's family of origin and cardiovascular, behavioral, cognitive, and affective response to interpersonal conflict, responses of 15 young males from families rated as extreme (EXT) on scales of cohesion (enmeshed or disengaged) or adaptability (chaotic or rigid) were compared to those of 25 young males from families rated as balanced (BAL) on measures of cohesion and adaptability. Subjects participated in two interpersonal role-play conflict situations, one with a male confederate and the other with a female confederate. Measures of heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and indices of both positive and negative verbal and nonverbal behaviors were obtained during each scenario and self-reported measures of positive and negative cognitive self-statements and affective response were obtained following each conflict scene. Results showed that, in contrast to BAL males, EXT males exhibited more negative verbal and nonverbal behavior, less positive nonverbal behavior, higher ratings of state anxiousness during conflict, and higher HR responses during the interaction with the male confederate than the female confederate. These findings suggest that exposure to a family environment with extreme levels of cohesion and adaptability impacts how an individual responds to interpersonal conflict in young adulthood.     

Thyroid hormones,psychophysiological reactivity,and anxiety

Thirty-eight adults were assigned to three groups: posttreatment hyperthyroid (n=13), low euthyroid (n=12), and high euthyroid (n=13). Physiological and subjective responses to three anxiety-induction procedures—public speaking, personally distressing imagery, and threat of shock—were compared across groups. Although there were differences across stressors for physiological and subjective measures, group differences were not detected. Results are discussed with regard to the risk for residual anxiety following treatment for hyperthyroidism and the possible influence of thyroid function on the etiology or maintenance of anxiety.     

The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Research Program at the National Human Genome Research Institute

Organizers of the Human Genome Project (HGP) understood from the beginning that the scientific activities of mapping and sequencing the human genome would raise ethical, legal, and social issues that would require careful attention by scientists, health care professionals, government officials, and the public. The establishment of the ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) programs at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) was thought to be vital to the success of the HGP in the United States. It also provided a novel approach to the simultaneous study of ethical, legal, and social issues and basic scientific issues. Eric Juengst, the first director of the ELSI program, described its origins in a previous issue of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (Juengst 1991). Now in its seventh year, the ELSI program has accomplished much. This article summarizes the evolution and goals of the ELSI program at NHGRI, outlines the program's current research priorities with examples of activities within each priority area, and provides a look to the future, including the initiation of a strategic planning process.