Managing countertransference: what the experts think

The present study attempted to assess the importance of five factors theorized to play a central role in managing countertransference: Self-integration, Anxiety Management, Conceptualizing Skills, Empathy, and Self-insight. 33 experts provided ratings of 50 characteristics of therapists as to the importance of each in managing countertransference. Analysis indicated that each factor is at least somewhat important to management of countertransference, with two of the factors, Self-integration and Self-insight, rated as playing a particularly important role. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Distinguishing between conduct problem and emotionally disturbed students in secondary school: a five-instrument discriminant analysis

Five instruments, the Differential Test of Conduct and Emotional Problems, Louisville Behavior Checklist, Personality Inventory for Children, 16 PF Test, and Tennessee Self-concept Scale, were given to differentiate between 50 conduct problem and 48 emotionally disturbed students assigned in public school to secondary level classes for the severely emotionally handicapped. Discriminant analysis of each test's rate of classification germane to both a pre-assessment categorization as conduct problem vs emotionally disturbed and a post-assessment classification as no problem vs conduct problem vs emotionally disturbed vs combined problem is presented. The analysis indicated that the Differential Test of Conduct and Emotional Problems, Louisville Behavior Checklist, and Personality Inventory for Children can, with variable effectiveness, significantly classify adolescents into groups using such pre- and post-assessment information.     

Differential effects of priming at the encoding and judgment stage

Two experiments investigated whether the direction of priming effects depends on the processing stage at which the individual links the prime to a trait that is applicable to the evaluation of an ambiguously described target person. In line with previous research, it is hypothesized that assimilation effects will emerge when primes are processed in terms of a trait concept that is applicable to the encoding task. However, when the primes are not processed in applicable trait terms, they may still affect subsequent Judgments if the individual recalls the prime when judging the target along a trait dimension. In this case, the primes may serve as an anchor, resulting in contrast effects. Two experiments, in which subjects were primed with names of prototypically nice or hostile famous individuals under instructions that did or did not prompt subjects to process the prime in applicable trait terms, supported these hypotheses. Implications for the emergence of priming effects in everyday social interaction are discussed.     

Influences of semantic and syntactic context on open- and closed-class words

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded as subjects read semantically meaningful, syntactically legal but nonsensical and random word strings. The constraints imposed by formal sentence structure alone did not reduce the amplitude of the N400 component elicited by open-class words, whereas semantic constraints did. Semantic constraints also eliminated the word-frequency effect of a larger N400 for low-frequency words. Responses to closed-class words exhibited reduced N400 amplitudes in syntactic and congruent sentences, indicating that formal sentence structure placed greater restrictions on closed-class words than it did on open-class words. However, unlike the open-class results, the impact of sentence context on closed-class words was stable across word positions, suggesting that these syntactic constraints were applied only locally. A second ERP component, distinct from the N400, was elicited primarily by congruent closed-class words.     

Analysis of the components of disparity in Wilde's dot-row phenomenon

Summary In this study on Wilde's phenomenon (Wilde 1950) the two components of disparity, one of them processing displacement, and the other one apparent rotation, are analysed in terms of dependence on the disparity of the end-lines of the pattern (), and on the percentage of magnification (M) of one of the monocular patterns in relation to the other one. It was found that the component of disparity for displacement ' can be expressed as a linear regression equation '=–a+b.The component of disparity for rotation, expressed as a percentage of magnification effective for rotation (M) can be expressed as M=a–b₁+b₂M.It was concluded that the two components of disparity are processed through independent parallel channels, the processing of the component of disparity for displacement being the faster process, accounting for the larger part of the total disparity.     

Remembering plurals: Unit of coding and form of coding during serial recall

Subjects were required to recall lists of six words which had been presented visually in sequence. One or two of the words might be plural nouns. A substantial number of errors occurred in which the plural form became detached from its original root. This is taken as evidence for a morpheme-based code as opposed to a unitary word code. A significantly high proportion of these errors maintained the form of the plural ( /S/, /Z/ or (ЪZ/) which is considered evidence for a primarily phonological coding of the plural morpheme. There is however a suggestion that on some occasions the plural is coded morphemically—i.e., in a way which does not distinguish between the various plural endings.     

Belief and Values in the Nuclear Debate1

A questionnaire was administered to 47 participants attending a workshop on nuclear energy shortly after publication of a report on a proposed nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Supporters and opponents of the proposed development differed markedly in their estimates of its possible consequences, and of the relative importance of these consequences. They also differed in their endorsement of pro- and anti-nuclear lobbies, and the factors which they felt contributed most to the “quality of life”. Overall, pro-nuclear subjects appear to place emphasis on the economic benefits of nuclear energy, while anti-nuclear subjects appearad more concerned with social and political risks, and regraded alternative energy sources as more viable. It is concluded that an analysis of such attitudinal differences requires a consideration not only of differences in beliefs, but also of differences in belief salience.     

USE OF A SELF-RECORDING AND SUPERVISION PROGRAM TO CHANGE INSTITUTIONAL STAFF BEHAVIOR

The use of a self-recording and supervision program to increase interactions between direct care staff and profoundly retarded persons in a state residential facility was investigated. Following baseline, staff were provided with instructions regarding what to self-record, criteria for how many interactions to record, and a prepared card on which to make the recordings. Throughout the study, the staff supervisor monitored intermittently staff-client interactions. Observations indicated that when the staff recorded their interactions with clients in a loosely structured dayroom setting, the rate of interactions increased noticeably for each staff person. Behavioral ecology measures indicated that other staff responsibilities, such as maintaining the cleanliness of residents and the physical area, were not affected detrimentally when social interactions increased and actually showed small improvements. Additionally, small decreases in resident self-stimulatory and disruptive/aggressive behaviors occurred when the rate of social interactions from staff persons increased. Follow-up measures indicated that the rate of staff self-recording was variable, but when staff did self-record, the increased rate of staff-client interactions maintained.     

Facial myokomias in brain stem tumors]

Four cases of brain-stem tumor were described, in which myokymias were electromyographically derived from the region of several cerebral nerves. An attempt is made to interpret the effects of twitching by reference to the electromyogram. Myokymias are a positive indication of organic brain stem damage. The use subtle techniques of electromyographic examination shows that this muscular hyperkinesis is not so infrequent a symptom as is generally believed.