The validity of verbal protocols

The reactivity of a "think aloud" verbal protocol and the veridicality of different retrospective protocols were tested over four dissimilar tasks. Generating a concurrent protocol altered accuracy in two tasks, simple addition and a choice between two gambles, and generally prolonged response times. Such reactivity partially qualifies the dominant theory of protocol generation (Ericsson & Simon, 1984). Retrospective protocols yielded substantial forgetting or fabrication in all tasks, supporting the consensus on the nonveridicality of these methods. It is concluded that protocol validity should be based on an empirical check rather than on theory-based assurances.     

Functional classes and equivalence relations

Three adult subjects were taught a set of two-choice simultaneous discriminations, with three positive and three negative stimuli; all possible combinations of positive and negative stimuli yielded nine different pairs. The discriminations were repeatedly reversed and rereversed, the former positive stimuli becoming negative and the former negative stimuli becoming positive. With all subjects, a reversal of the contingencies for one pair of stimuli became sufficient to change their responses to all of the other pairs. The reversals had produced functional stimulus classes. Then, all subjects showed conditional discriminations emerging between members of a functional class; given a sample from one class and comparisons from both classes, they selected the comparison that was in the same class as the sample. Next, 2 of the subjects showed that the within-class conditional relations possessed the symmetric and transitive properties of equivalence relations; after having been taught to relate new stimuli to existing class members, the subjects then matched other class members to the new stimuli. Subsequent tests of two-choice discriminations showed that the conditional discriminations had transferred functional class membership to the new stimuli. The 3rd subject, who did not show equivalence relations among functional class members, was also found to have lost the within-class conditional relations after the equivalence tests.     

The escape-to-Israel syndrome: Variations on the geographic cure

The author conceptualizes a pattern of thought and behavior that can be called the escape-to-Israel syndrome. This pattern is a contemporary variety, appearing primarily in the Jewish population, of the geographic cure: that is, one can solve one's personal dilemmas by moving from one place to another. The syndrome is characterized by a tendency to idealize life in Israel. This idealization, and the viewers' fantasy of their own future in Israel, deflect solid confrontation with genuine personal problems. If, in fact, they do move to Israel, they may experience shock and trauma at the gap between expected reality and the discovered one. This may only compound their emotional difficulties.The author wishes to express his gratitude to Professor Shamai Davidson, Clinical Director of the Shalvata Mental Health Center, Hod HaSharon, Israel, for his critical comments during the preparation of this article.     

The perceived support network inventory

The development and psychometric investigation of the Perceived Support Network Inventory (PSNI), a measure of perceived social support, is described. A group of 146 introductory psychology students participated in a test-retest study design that collected reliability, internal consistency, and construct, convergent, and discriminant validity data on the scale. In addition, a contrast group of 28 Counseling Center clients was administered the PSNI. Test-retest reliability of the PSNI total score and subscale scores ranged from .72 to .88. Internal consistency for the PSNI was .77. Construct validity estimates ranged from .21 to .57. Convergent validity estimates varied from -.25 to .20. Discriminant validity estimates varied from -.11 to .19. Sample differences between introductory psychology student mean PSNI total and subscale scores and Counseling Center client mean PSNI total and subscale scores proved significant. Recommendations for subsequent research and future application are offered.     

Temporal pattern of agonist-antagonist EMG activity during rapid limb movements in man

Analysis of elbow-extension movements, executed at maximal velocity, show positive correlations of timing of agonist-antagonist EMG activity with both movement velocity and displacement. Results indirectly support the notion that the antagonist musculature provides a braking force to arrest rapid limb movements.     

Interaction of emotion and cognition in word recall

Summary Previous research has demonstrated that the emotional properties of words and their imaginability affect their recallability and that verbal material is recalled better when it is related to subjects' current concerns. This study investigates the extent to which this effect of emotion on recall varies as a function of cognitively controllable inference processes and examines the relation of the effects of emotion to those of imaginability and concern-relatedness. Forty different words were presented visually under one of six orienting conditions that varied according to what the subject was asked to rate: their length, pronounceability, concreteness, defineability, the strength of emotion elicited by the word, and the relation of the word to personal concerns. Subjects were then asked to write as many words as they could recall. Words that aroused stronger emotion and were easier to represent in imagery were recalled better than emotionally less arousing and imaginally less evocative words, regardless of the nature of the orienting task. The evidence suggests that the emotional properties of words are evaluated automatically in an early processing stage, without requiring subjects to reflect on word content. Emotional arousal appears to mediate the effects of current concerns on recall. It is correlated with but appears to function independently of word imaginability.     

Higher nervous activity in psychiatric patients

A review is presented of studies of higher nervous activity in psychiatric patients. In neuroses and reactive psychoses the basic pathology appears to be centered around the psychogenic complex structures. In addition, neuroses as well as reactive psychoses reveal general disturbances of higher nervous activity. In the schizophrenic and manic depressive psychoses there are indications of disturbances in deep-lying brain structures. Both types of psychoses are heterogeneous groups of clinical conditions. An important task for future experimental studies is to establish the types of disturbances of higher nervous activity in well-defined clinically homogenous groups. The final section deals with prophylactic psychiatry, with special emphasis on Gantt’s suggestions for an international project.     

Hyperactive behavior in english schoolchildren: A questionnaire survey

The differences in apparent prevalence of childhood hyperactivity between England and North America are more than 20-fold. This paper seeks to illuminate the reasons for the difference by applying a standard measure [Conners Teacher Rating Scale] to 437 English schoolchildren, aged 6 to 9 years, and comparing them with published surveys from the United States and Australasia. The rating scale had moderate interrater reliability and stability over time; it distinguished between children referred for psychiatric treatment and normal schoolchildren. Component analysis yielded a factor of hyperactivity-inattentiveness, distinct from conduct disorder. The mean hyperactivity scores of English children were higher than in most U.S. surveys but lower than in New Zealand. The national differences in rates of diagnosed hyperactivity are likely to reflect diagnostic inconsistency rather than true differences in children's behavior.