Inductive countersupport

The basic idea by means of which Popper and Miller proved the non-existence of inductive probabilistic support in 1983/1985/1987, is used to prove that inductive probabilistic countersupport does exist. So it seems that after falsification has won over verification on the deductive side of science, countersupport wins over support on the inductive side.     

Interactive effects of subjective memory complaints and hypertension on learning and memory performance in the elderly

This study evaluated whether the relation between subjective memory complaints and cognitive performance is influenced by the presence of hypertension in the elderly. One hundred and five healthy older adults, 70–89 years of age, with and without hypertension treatment or diagnosis, completed a scale of subjective memory complaints. Participants were divided into those with mild memory concerns and those with minimal or no complaints. All participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests including measures of verbal and nonverbal memory. After controlling for differences in age, gender, education, and overall intellectual ability, there were significant main effects for memory concerns and significant interactions for memory complaints and hypertension on several measures of memory performance. There were no main effects for hypertension on memory performance. Simple effects analyses of the interactions showed that the hypertensive complainers demonstrated poorer performance on measures of long-term memory and greater reliance on short-term recall than the hypertensive non-complainers. There were no differences in memory performance for the non-hypertensive groups. Among healthy elderly community-dwelling adults, those with mild subjective memory complaints in the context of hypertension demonstrated greater objective cognitive difficulties than those without hypertension as well as a greater reliance on a less efficient learning strategy. These findings suggest that memory concerns in the presence of hypertension may be important when evaluating treatment efficacy in these individuals and for identifying differences in cognitive aging.     

Emotional pictures predominate in binocular rivalry

This study used binocular rivalry to examine whether emotionally relevant pictures are processed preferentially in the visual system. Binocular rivalry occurs when two incompatible pictures are presented to both eyes. If the pictures cannot be merged to a single unambiguous percept, binocular rivalry results in an alternation of the two percepts. However, it has been controversial whether emotional picture content can influence a picture's relative predominance. Twenty pairs of emotional and neutral pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) were presented to 45 healthy participants. As hypothesised, emotional pictures significantly predominated over neutral pictures, both with respect to the first percept and the total viewing time across each trial. We conclude that the relative predominance of emotional pictures in binocular rivalry provides further support for the preferential processing of emotional stimuli in the visual system.     

Automatic behavioural responses to valence: Evidence that facial action is facilitated by evaluative processing

Are motor schemata of facial action spontaneously activated upon the processing of evaluative information? In this case, the processing of positive evaluative information should immediately trigger the motor schema of smiling, and the processing of negative information should trigger frowning. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments in which participants were required to respond to positive and negative words by either smiling or frowning. Electromyogram (EMG) activity was recorded over the brow muscle region (corrugator supercilii) and over the cheek muscle region (zygomaticus major) in order to quantify the latency of muscular response as a dependent measure. In Experiment 1 we found that participants were faster at contracting their zygomaticus muscle (which is involved in smiling) when evaluating positive words, and faster at contracting their corrugator muscle (which is involved in frowning) when evaluating negative words. In Experiment 2, participants were required to respond with the contraction of one of the two muscles whenever a word appeared on the computer screen. Again, we found that responses were faster to congruent response valence combinations than to incongruent response valence combinations. These findings support the hypothesis that evaluative processing is directly linked to motor schemata of facial muscles.     

Internationaler Vergleich von Psychotherapiehonoraren als Orientierungshilfe

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: A Critical Evaluation of its Theoretical-Empirical Bases and Therapeutic Efficacy

This paper presents a summarizing overview of the present conceptual, empirical, and practical status of the recent “cognitive trend” in behaviour therapy. The theoretical and practical similarities and differences of the three most influential cognitive-behavioural approaches are presented and some empirical evidence of their theoretical bases is critically examined. Finally, the therapeutic efficacy of these approaches is briefly reviewed.     

Book reviews

Evans, J. St. B. Thinking and reasoning: Psychological approaches. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1983. Pp. 256. ISBN 0-7100-9460-4. £12.95.

Anderson, J. R. and Kosslyn, S. M. (Eds.). Tutorials in learning and memory: Essays in honor of Gordon Bower. San Francisco: Freeman. 1984. Pp. xiii+264. ISBN 0-7167-1571-6. £12.95.

Tighe, T. J. and Shepp, B. E. (Eds.). Perception, cognition, and develop-ment. Interactional analyses. Hillsdale, N.J., and London: lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1983. Pp. 383. ISBN 0-89859-254-2. £41.65.

Rock, I. The logic of perception. Cambride, Mass.: The MIT Press. 1983. Pp. 13+365. ISBN 0-262-18109-6.