On-Line Updating of Spatial Information Druing Locomotion Without Vision

Two experiments are reported in which the control of locomotion without vision was investigated. In Experiment 1, subjects (N = 10) made similar, although less functional, locomotor adjustments when walking without vision to a target than they did when walking with vision. That result suggests that while walking without vision, the subjects updated their positions on-line with respect to a representation of the target rather than operating from a preformulated action plan. In Experiment 2, there was a significant weakening and loss of functionality of the locomotor adjustments when subjects (N = 10) had to walk without vision the correct distance to the target but in a direction opposite to its true location, as compared with when they walked without vision directly to the target. That finding suggests that the subjects were nonvisually updating their positions not with respect to an abstract representation of the target's distance but with respect to a representation of its relative location within the task environment.     

Space perception and William James's metaphysical presuppositions

William James's overtly philosophical work may be more continuous with his psychological work than is sometimes thought. His Essays in Radical Empiricism can be understood as an explicit statement of the absolute presupposition that formed the basis of Jamesian psychology: that direct experience is primary and has to be taken at face value. An examination of James's theory of space perception suggests that, even in his early work, he presupposed the primacy of direct experience, and that later changes in his account of space perception can be understood as making his view more consistent with this presupposition. In his earlier view of space perception, James argued that sensations were directly experienced as spatial, though he accepted that spatial relations between sensations may be constructed by higher order thought. In his later view, however, James argued that spatial relations were just as directly experienced as sensations. The work of T. H. Green may have prompted James to recognize the full consequence of his ideas and to realize that taking experience at face value required that spatial relations be thought of as intrinsic to experience rather than the result of intellectual construction.     

Evaluation of the Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) Seventh Grade Violence Prevention Curriculum

We evaluated the impact of RIPP-7, a seventh grade violence prevention curriculum designed to strengthen and extend the effects of the sixth grade RIPP-6 curriculum. Classes of seventh graders at two urban middle schools serving predominantly African-American youth where RIPP-6 had been implemented the preceding school year were randomized to intervention (N = 239) and control groups (N = 237). Compared to students in the control group, students who participated in RIPP-7 had fewer disciplinary code violations for violent offenses during the following school year. A limited number of main effects were found on self-report outcome measures and measures of attitudes. Although significant main effects were not found on self-report measures of physical aggression, drug use, or anxiety, analyses of interactions with pretest scores indicated that intervention effects were significantly moderated by pretest scores for several outcome measures. Students most likely to benefit from the intervention were those who reported higher pretest rates of problem behaviors including violent behavior, nonphysical aggression, and delinquent behavior.     

No evidence for binding of items to task-irrelevant backgrounds in visual working memory

When representing visual features such as color and shape in visual working memory (VWM), participants also represent the locations of those features as a spatial configuration of the locations of those features in the display. In everyday life, we encounter objects against some background, yet it is unclear whether the configural representation in memory obligatorily constitutes the entire display, including that (often task-irrelevant) background information. In three experiments, participants completed a change detection task on color and shape; the memoranda were presented in front of uniform gray backgrounds, a textured background (Exp. 1), or a background containing location placeholders (Exps. 2 and 3). When whole-display probes were presented, changes to the objects’ locations or feature bindings impacted memory performance—implying that the spatial configuration of the probes influenced participants’ change decisions. Furthermore, when only a single item was probed, the effect of changing its location or feature bindings was either diminished or completely extinguished, implying that single probes do not necessarily elicit the entire spatial configuration. Critically, when task-irrelevant backgrounds were also presented that may have provided a spatial configuration for the single probes, the effect of location or bindings was not moderated. These findings suggest that although the spatial configuration of a display guides VWM-based recognition, this information does not necessarily always influence the decision process during change detection.     

Godly play: an intervention for improving physical, emotional, and spiritual responses of chronically ill hospitalized children

An experimental two-group comparison pilot study of forty chronically ill hospitalized children was carried out at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Three Godly Play interventions were given to participants in the experimental group. Children in the control group did not participate but received a fairy tale book as a control. The sample was evenly distributed with twenty (20) males and twenty (20) females. Ages ranged from six (6) to fifteen (15) years and all participants were chronically ill. Five (5) variables were studied. Of the five (5), three (3) showed significant differences before and after Godly Play: the Staic-Trait Anxiety Scale (p = .049), the Children's Depression Inventory (p = .011), and the McBride Spirituality Assessment (p = .033). A marginal difference in parent satisfaction with hospital care of children in the experimental and control groups was also determined (p = .058). Findings suggest that Godly Play had a significant effect on anxiety, depression, and spirituality of children and support the idea that the parents of children who participated in Godly Play were more satisfied with hospital care than those parents whose children did not engage in Godly Play.     

The Effect of Disruptions During Counseling on Recall of Genetic Risk Information: The Case of Cystic Fibrosis

Genetic counseling is a communication process with two main functions: information provision and supportive counseling. The information transmission function may be compromised by disruptions that occur during counseling. At least two mediators are possible: (a) disruptions may interfere with memory by creating distractions and divided attention during encoding or (b) disruptions may degrade the flow of interaction which requires that participants engage in conversation repair rather than the task at hand. This study examined both alternatives in a group of parents (N=20 families, 40 individual parents) whose infant had received a newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF). Upon arrival at the hospital, each parent completed a questionnaire designed to assess his or her knowledge of CF. Their interaction with the genetic counselor was videotaped and coded for the presence of disruptions. Six weeks after the counseling, parents again completed the knowledge measure. The data showed a direct negative effect for disruptions during counseling on memory for CF-related risk information six weeks later. Disruptions also produced the anticipated effect on conversation, but counter to expectations, interruptions of conversation flow was positively associated with knowledge at time 2.     

Improving multiple behaviors for colorectal cancer prevention among african american church members.

The WATCH (Wellness for African Americans Through Churches) Project was a randomized trial comparing the effectiveness of 2 strategies to promote colorectal cancer preventive behaviors among 587 African American members of 12 rural North Carolina churches. Using a 2 X 2 factorial research design, the authors compared a tailored print and video (TPV) intervention, consisting of 4 individually tailored newsletters and targeted videotapes, with a lay health advisor (LHA) intervention. Results showed that the TPV intervention significantly improved (p <.05) fruit and vegetable consumption (0.6 servings) and recreational physical activity (2.5 metabolic task equivalents per hour) and, among those 50 and older (n = 287), achieved a 15% increase in fecal occult blood testing screening (p =.08). The LHA intervention did not prove effective, possibly because of suboptimal reach and diffusion.     

Psychopharmacological treatment of unipolar depression within the elderly: A discussion paper

Depressive disorders are known to affect all aspects of a person's functioning and are often associated with significant psychosocial impairment. What is unclear is whether these psychosocial issues are consequences or causes of depression; what is known is that these problems do not disappear when the biological symptoms resolve. Existing data on the treatment course and outcome of depression are not generally considered as representative of the older depressed person. Discussion will take place as to whether later life depression should be conceptualized not as a categorical disorder, but as a geriatric syndrome, with multiple aetiologies requiring a combination of treatment interventions. There is general consensus that when intensive psychotherapy is directed towards appropriate patients, geriatric clientele are as able to deal with the viscitudes of intensive therapy as well as any age group. An examination will be undertaken regarding the utilization of psychotherapeutic interventions, namely psychodynamic, interpersonal and cognitive behavioural. Comparative studies have demonstrated all three to be effective, particularly in the treatment of depression. There is a great need for further understanding and research into the appropriateness and efficacy of an integration of psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic intervention in the treatment of depression, particularly within the elderly. A tantalizing array of research possibilities emerge. If we accept that unipolar depression is a bio-psychosocial phenomena, then we need to understand more about which psychopharmacological treatment paradigms need to be employed, and that perhaps the way forward inclines towards pragmatic integrationism rather than puritanist intervention.     

Simulating night visual conditions during the day with light attenuating filters

This paper describes a research technique used to simulate night visual conditions during the day with light-attenuating filters. Some of the considerations in choosing light-attenuating techniques such as attenuation of infrared and ultraviolet illumination, neutrality, and clarity are discussed. A dual density filter with less attenuation in the lower field was chosen for aviation applications so that the major instruments would be available. This dual density concept was found to be more successful for piloting than for navigation. A density of 5.1 was shown to simulate a bright clear night with a full moon; a density of 5.5 simulated a much darker night with no moon.     

Book reviews

GEOGRAPHY, R. L. and GOMBRICH, E. H. (Eds). Illusion in Nature and Art. Gerald Duckworth and Co Ltd. 1973. Pp. 288. £7.50/£3.25.

HARTMANN, E. L. The Functions of Sleep. London: Yale University Press. 1974. Pp. 198. £ 3.50.

RADFORD, J. and BURNTON, A. Thinking: its Nture and Devolopment. London: Wiley. 1974. Pp. 440. £ 6.95. Soft cover £ 3.25.

MACE, C. A. Selected Paper. London: Methuen and Co Ltd. 1973. Pp. 420. £ 6.50.

WOLFF, J. G. Language, Brain and Hearing. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd. 1973 Pp. 237. £ 3050.

BATTRO, A. M. Piaget: Dictionary of Terms. Oxford: Pergamon Press Ltd. 1973. Pp. 186. £ 5.75.

MUSSEN, P. H. and ROZENSWEIG, M. R. Annual Review of Psychology. Annual Reviews Inc: Palo Alto, Califonia. Pp. 551. 12.50.