A theoretical framework for evaluation and treatment of the victims of child sexual assault by a nonfamily member

Thirty-seven families whose children were victims of sexual abuse by a nonfamily member were evaluated and treated during a nine-month period. The average age of the children was 5.36 years. The youngest children were boys, and all the adolescents were girls. A theoretical framework adapted from Ferreira's and Byng-Hall's work was developed to assess and treat child victims of sexual molestation and their families. The format consists of three concepts. First, the trauma from sexual abuse, being outside the realm of usual human experience, creates a breach in the family's adaptive and protective shield, including its shared values and beliefs. Second, the trauma has a "derailing" effect on the child's and family's predicted passage through their world. And third, issues that arise as a consequence of disclosure are intimately tied to preexisting family myths and beliefs. Evaluation, treatment, and short-term outcomes are discussed.     

Compound conditioning: Elimination of the blocking effect

Prior conditioning employing one element of a compound stimulus as the CS blocked the acquisition of a Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) to the second element of a simultaneous compound stimulus that was subsequently used as the CS in further conditioning trials. Presentation of a brief “surprise” stimulus 3 or 5 sec after the occurrence of the US during the compound trials eliminated the blocking effect.     

Time perception: effects of introversion/extraversion and task interest.

32 extraverted and 32 introverted college students rated the interest value and estimated the duration of 3-min. intervals filled with reading. There were 3 dull and 3 interesting readings. It was hypothesized that time perceptions of extraverts and introverts would differ when their interest in the task was dissimilar. But no personality differences in time perception and few in interest were found; both extraverts and introverts judged the intervals to be shorter when the reading was interesting.     

Maternal age and male behavior in relation to successful reproduction by female rats (Rattus norvegicus)

This research demonstrated that multiple ejaculatory series may be critically important for successful reproduction by multiparous old females near the end of their active reproductive lives. Multiple series were essential for successful pregnancy, apparently because more than one series was necessary to induce functional luteal activity. Thus, (a) females receiving just one series failed to show the cessation of regular estrous cycles which characteristically follows induction of a functional luteal phase; (b) direct measurement of plasma progestins by radioimmunoassay revealed that only those females receiving more than one series had circulating levels significantly higher than unmated, normally cycling controls; and (c) administration of exogenous progesterone increased significantly the incidence of successful pregnancy among females allowed to mate through only one series. In addition to facilitating the occurrence of pregnancy, multiple series also increased both the number of eggs released at ovulation and the number of embryos present and developing 12 days later. It is concluded that multiple series may function as a behavioral mechanism for prolonging the female's active reproductive life.     

Effects of group response-cost procedures on cash shortages in a small business

The effect of a group response-cost procedure (accompanied by verbal and written instruction) designed to decrease cash shortages in a small business was evaluated with a reversal design. When cash shortages were subtracted from the six employees' salaries on days in which the shortage exceeded 1% of total daily sales, the magnitude of daily shortages sharply decreased. This response-cost contingency was used only three times throughout the study, with a maximum cost of $8.70 per subject over the 41-day period. The efficacy of the procedures may be due to either increased precision in change calculations, a decreased frequency of stealing from the cash register, increased shortchanging of customers, and/or increased incidents of register under-ringing. Ethical questions relative to the utilization of group punishment procedures are raised, and it was concluded that the procedures used were more humane than commonly used alternatives.     

Book reviews

ROBINSON, J. O. The psychology of Visual Illusion. London: Hutchinson University Library. 1972. Pp. 285. £ 3.00.

CARROLL, JOHN B. and FREEDLE, Roy O. (Eds). Language Comprehension and the Acquisition of Knowledge. New York: John Wiley. 1972.

PEARSON, R. The Avian Brain. London: Academic Press. 1972. Pp 624. £ 10.00.

KORNBLUM, S. (Ed.). Attention and Perfomance IV. New York and London: Academic Press. 1973. Pp. xxx+771. $ 18.50.

WASON, P. C. and JOHNSON-LAIRD, P. N. Psychology of Reasoming: Reasosming: Structure and Content. London: B. T. Batsford Limited. 1972. Pp 26.4. £ 3.50.

GILBERT, R. M. and MILLENSON, J. R. (Eds). Reinforcement: Behavioural Analysis. New York: Academic Press. 1972. Pp. xiii+288. £ 6.35.

STRONGMAN, K. T. The Psychology of Emotion. London: Wiley. 1973. Pp. 191. £ 3.50.

MYERS, R. D. (Ed.). Methods in psychobiology. Vol. 2. London and New York: Academic Press. 1972. Pp. xii+398. £ 6.50.

NILSSON, N. J. Problem-Solving Methods in Artificial Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1971. Pp. 255. POund 5.40.

SHEEHAN, P. W. (Ed.). The function and Nature of Imagery. New York: Acadmic Press. 1972. Pp. $ 22.50.

CLARKE, E. and DEWHURST, K. An Illustrated of Brain Furction. Oxford: Sandford Publication. 1972. Pp. 154. £ 5.50.

SCHACHTER, S. Emotion, Obesity and Crime. New York: Academic Press. 1971. Pp. 195. £ 3.50.

MCGUIGAN, F. J. and LUMSDEN, D.B. (Eds). Contemporary Appraches to Conditioning and Learning. Washingotn, D. C.: v. H. Winston and Sons. 1973. Pp. xii+231. £ 6.50.

BECK, J. Surface Colour Perception. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. 1972.Pp. £ 11.50.     

An apparent new instance of stimulus intensity dynamism during discrimination of duration of repeating auditory stimuli

Rats were trained on a VI/EXT discrimination using barpressing in a Skinner box for food reinforcement. The discriminanda consisted of different proportions of noise to silence within a fixed 3^-s noise-plus-silence repeating cycle. These stimuli were easily discriminated by human subjects, but the rats formed the discrimination only poorly and after considerable training. Analysis of response rates during noise and silence separately within the 3^-s noise-plus-silence cycle showed higher response rates during noise, irrespective of whether this was during the positive or during the negative stimulus, or whether relatively long duration of noise or relatively short duration of noise (within the 3^-s cycle) constituted the positive stimulus. These results are seen as providing an instance of the dynamogenic effects of stimulus intensity on response vigour to which the Perkins-Logan generalization of inhibition hypothesis of stimulus intensity dynamism cannot apply.     

Proactive behavioral effects of theta-blocking septal stimulation in the rat

The induction of hippocampal theta rhythm using low-frequency septal stimulation has been shown to proactively (1) facilitate the acquisition and (2) increase resistance to extinction of a food-rewarded fixed-ratio (FR) bar-press response (Holt & Gray, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 35B, 97-118, 1983). Both (1) and (2) are also seen after septal lesions. This suggests that Holt and Gray's (1983) results may have been due either to stimulation-produced theta waves (the "theta" hypothesis), or a small septal lesion produced by the stimulating current (the "lesion" hypothesis). Both hypotheses were tested in the present experiment using high-frequency septal stimulation. In one of two treatment conditions male Sprague-Dawley rats, chronically implanted with a bilateral septal stimulating electrode and a unilateral bipolar hippocampal recording electrode, received (1) trains of continuous pulses at 77 Hz which blocked the hippocampal theta rhythm, or (2) trains of pulses at 100 Hz interrupted by a 30-msec interval at a frequency of 7.7 Hz. Control animals were implanted but not stimulated. Acquisition of a discrete-trial bar-press response on a fixed ratio 5 reinforcement schedule immediately followed the treatment phase. After 15 days' acquisition all animals were extinguished over the subsequent 12 days. Results indicated that both types of septal stimulation reduced resistance to extinction of barpressing; theta-blocking stimulation produced the greater effect. Theta-blocking stimulation retarded the acquisition of bar-pressing in the early stages of training. These overall results are exactly opposite to those produced by low-frequency (7.7 Hz) theta-driving septal stimulation (Holt & Gray, 1983) and contrary to the predictions of the lesion hypothesis. Furthermore, these findings support the idea that long-term changes in behavior may depend on stimulation-produced changes in the hippocampal theta rhythm.