AUTONOMIC INDICES OF HABITUATION TO COMPLEX AND SIMPLE STIMULI

Skin conductance and heart rate were continuously recorded in 8 subjects repeatedly exposed to a perceptual-conflict test and to auditory signals. (1) Both complex and simple stimuli gave rise to a pronounced increase in skin conductance, the magnitude of response decreasing with number of repetitions. For both types of stimuli a linear relationship was obtained when GSR, measured as the change in log conductance, was plotted against the logarithm of the stimulus number. (2) Each presentation of the conflict test increased heart rate, magnitude of change decreasing approximately linearly with number of trials.     

Schizophrenia and indeterminacy: The problem of validity

The paper attempts to account for the confusion over the validity of the concept of schizophrenia in terms of two closely related aspects of conceptual indeterminacy. Firstly, it is identified on the basis of a breakdown in intelligibility, but what constitutes such a breakdown is indeterminate. Secondly, the concept sits between the categories of natural disease or illness on the one hand, and character trait or moral failing or gift on the other. This entails an indeterminacy in attempting to define the role that physiological explanation could have. Light may be thrown on the concept by exploring a distinction between a life story in which the schizophrenic condition emerges as the conclusion of the story and a causal process in which the condition is the end result or final consequence.     

Collusion after a collision: Witnesses' reports of a road accident with and without discussion

In a study of the accuracy of recall of witnesses to a road accident, subjects watched a video recording of a natural scene for a few minutes. Two vehicles collided, and reports from the witnesses were taken using a version of the report form used by officers investigating road accidents in the UK. Witnesses were asked questions about the scene of the accident, about each of the two vehicles, and about the timing of the collision relative to a traffic signal. Does the accuracy of report depend upon the isolation of the witness? The study investigated this question by having some witnesses watch the video recording and complete the questionnaire alone, while other witnesses were encouraged to discuss their perceptions and recollections both while watching the recording and during an interval of a few minutes prior to administration of the questionnaire. All witnesses completed their reports in isolation. As a check on witnesses' expectancies, some of them, both individual and group witnesses, were informed prior to seeing the video recording that they would see a road accident and that they would be asked about it. The ‘uninformed’ witnesses were told to expect questions about the road scene. There was no overall difference between the recall accuracy of individual and group witnesses, but there was an interaction between groups and expectancy. When expecting to see a collision the group witnesses were more accurate than the individuals. Social facilitation in recall was restricted to occasions when the witnesses could anticipate the focus of the questions to be asked.     

Parental assessment of the adjustment of children following abduction by the other parent

We present a multiple regression model that explores post-return adjustment of school-age children who experienced abduction by a parent. The model includes: a) child and family characteristics preceding abduction, b) characteristics of the abduction experience, and c) child and family characteristics following return. Overall, the model accounts for 21% of the variance in post-return adjustment of children (p.05). The most salient finding is that post-return adjustment of children was best explained by characteristics of the child and family before the abduction occurred. Domestic violence perpetrated by one or both parents was the most significant factor.     

Rate variables and automatized naming in developmental dyslexia

The rate variable in rapid automatized naming (RAN) was investigated in 50 adolescent and 40 adult students with developmental dyslexia, in matched normal controls, and in learning-disabled students without reading difficulties. Visual stimuli depicting familiar colors and common objects were presented in isolation at three film speeds and three exposure times. Film speed and exposure time contributed as independent variables to error rate; and dyslexic subjects of both age groups made significantly more naming errors than controls. Dyslexic subjects also responded with longer naming latencies than controls when the same RAN stimuli were presented in a continuous sequential mode as a matrix of rows and columns. Naming latencies in the sequential presentation were highly correlated with naming errors in the film version. The implications of reduced naming rates for nongraphological stimuli in developmental dyslexia are discussed.     

Preparing the Way: A Qualitative Study of High-Achieving African American Males and the Role of the Family

Employed qualitative methods to examine the role of the family in the academic success of very high-achieving African American males. Findings revealed a complex tapestry of family processes and contexts involved in each youth's journey to outstanding academic achievement. Specifically, the combined importance of parental-determined academic engagement, strict discipline, nurturance, and community connectedness appeared to counteract potentially negative contextual influences of neighborhood, peers, schools, and society. The qualitative findings tell a multifaceted, rich, and compelling story of the pathways to academic success for Black males, and highlight the need for culture-specific and ecologically based conceptualization, research, and intervention approaches.