Evidence for a visuo-spatial scratch-pad in working memory

Experiments are reported which address the nature of the working memory system. Articulatory suppression (continuous recital of the digits 1 to 4) disrupted concurrent performance of a verbal reasoning task, but had no effect upon performance of a spatial reasoning task. In contrast, spatial suppression (continuous sequential tapping) produced reliable interference only with spatial reasoning. These findings are taken as consistent with Baddeley's argument for two slave systems in working memory: the articulatory loop and the more controversial visuo-spatial scratch-pad.     

Comparison for aphasic and control subjects of eye movements hypothesized in neurolinguistic programming

Neurolinguistic programming's hypothesized eye movements were measured independently using videotapes of 10 nonfluent aphasic and 10 control subjects matched for age and sex. Chi-squared analysis indicated that eye-position responses were significantly different for the groups. Although earlier research has not supported the hypothesized eye positions for normal subjects, the present findings support the contention that eye-position responses may differ between neurologically normal and aphasic individuals.     

Dyslexia and a temporal processing deficit: A reply to the commentaries

A number of points and criticisms were raised in the commentaries on our review paper (Farmer & Klein, 1995), and in this reply we address the most pertinent and major of those points. First, we clarify and expand upon what we mean by a temporal processing deficit. We then address Studdert-Kennedy and Mody’s (1995) major claims, which are confined to the auditory modality, that (1) a discriminative deficit underlies what they see as a rate of processing deficit, and (2) discriminative/rate deficits for speech and nonspeech materials are independent. We explain why we believe the first proposal is unlikely to provide an explanation of the temporal processing deficits that we reviewed, and we present a simple framework within which speech and nonspeech perceptual codes are viewed as higher level isolable subsystems that depend on a common, lower level, auditory input system. The speech and nonspeech systems may be influenced similarly by damage to, or impairments of, their common input system, but they can be selectively influenced by insults after the pathways diverge. Then we address some of the issues raised by Rayner, Pollatsek, and Bilsky (1995), relating to visual deficits and oculomotor behavior, and we point to the rapidly growing evidence to diminish skepticism about the occurrence of a transient system deficit in dyslexia. Next, while agreeing that case studies are valuable, we dispute Martin’s (1995) endorsement of the case study as the preferred methodology for studying a heterogeneous deficit such as developmental dyslexia. Finally, we affirm our original conclusion that more research aimed at revealing the nature and generality of the visual and auditory temporal processing deficits is warranted, and we reiterate some of our suggestions for the types of study that might help elucidate if and how these deficits might be causally related to the dyslexia with which they are frequently associated.     

Behavioral assessment of personality disorders

This article examines the definition of personality disorders (PDs) from a functional analytical framework and discusses the potential utility of such a framework to account for behavioral tendencies associated with PD pathology. Also reviewed are specific behavioral assessment methods that can be employed in the assessment of PDs, and how information derived from these assessments may be linked to specific intervention strategies.     

Insurance Coverage and Mental Health Service Use by Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance

This paper examines the relationships between insurance coverage, need, and mental health services in a community-based sample of 1,015 youths who were 9, 11, and 13 years old at the beginning of the study. They were followed over a two-year period. A strong measure of need based on a standardized diagnostic interview was available and repeated over three annual waves. Data on service use was collected quarterly across two years. Major findings included: (a) high need (serious emotional disturbance [SED]) was strongly related to use of any mental health services; (b) services use was much more likely to occur with public (Medicaid) insurance coverage than either private or no insurance; (c) considerable unmet need was observed even for youths with SED; (d) school-based mental health services potentially substituted for professional mental health services; and (e) there was little unnecessary use of mental health services in the low need group. The major policy implication of these findings is that the regulation of insurance benefits should be based on level of need, rather than on arbitrary limits which are likely to either reduce the probability of or appropriate amount of care for youths who most need mental health services.     

Inter-reinforcement times for the bar-pressing response of white rats on two DRL schedules,

A knowledge of inter-reinforcement times (IS^RT) seems of interest because, among other reasons, they bear on the variable of “reinforcement density” in behavior theory. IS^RT data were here recorded for bar-pressing responses by two white rats working on DRL 10 sec and DRL 40 sec. Sample inter-response time (IRT) distributions and cumulative records were taken simultaneously for comparison purposes. IS^RT sequences and distributions have certain characteristics that urge further investigation.     

Social status and aggressive and disruptive behavior in girls: Individual, group, and classroom influences

Recent studies have found distinct subtypes of aggressive youth, marked by either high social status or social marginalization, and that various measures of status differentially associate with aggression. The majority of these studies, however, focused on boys, adolescents, and/or relational aggression in girls. The current research examined how the kind of status measured and the social ecology affect the association between overt aggression and social status in a sample of 187 3rd grade girls. Cluster analysis uncovered aggressive-popular, aggressive-unpopular, and prosocial-popular configurations. Although likeability was related solely to prosocial behavior, other measures of status co-occurred with both prosocial and aggressive behavior. Peer-group behavior complemented that of individuals, though peer-group and classroom acceptance of aggression were not related to cluster prevalence.     

A psychometric evaluation of the revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) and the TCI-140

The psychometric properties of the newest version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (the TCI-R) were evaluated in a large (n = 727) community sample, as was the TCI-140, a short inventory derivative. Facets-to-scale confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses of the TCI-R did not support the organization of temperament and character facet scales within their superordinate domains. Five of the 29 facet scales also displayed relatively low internal consistency (a < .70). Factor analyses of the TCI-140 item set yielded only limited support for hypothesized item-to-scale memberships. Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, and Self-Directedness items, in particular, were not well differentiated. Although psychometrically comparable, the TCI-R and the TCI-140 demonstrate many of the limitations of earlier inventory versions. Implications associated with the use of the TCI-R and TCI-140 and C. R. Cloninger's theory of personality are discussed.