Response–reinforcer dependency and resistance to change

The effects of the response–reinforcer dependency on resistance to change were studied in three experiments with rats. In Experiment 1, lever pressing produced reinforcers at similar rates after variable interreinforcer intervals in each component of a two‐component multiple schedule. Across conditions, in the fixed component, all reinforcers were response‐dependent; in the alternative component, the percentage of response‐dependent reinforcers was 100, 50 (i.e., 50% response‐dependent and 50% response‐independent) or 10% (i.e., 10% response‐dependent and 90% response‐independent). Resistance to extinction was greater in the alternative than in the fixed component when the dependency in the former was 10%, but was similar between components when this dependency was 100 or 50%. In Experiment 2, a three‐component multiple schedule was used. The dependency was 100% in one component and 10% in the other two. The 10% components differed on how reinforcers were programmed. In one component, as in Experiment 1, a reinforcer had to be collected before the scheduling of other response‐dependent or independent reinforcers. In the other component, response‐dependent and ‐independent reinforcers were programmed by superimposing a variable‐time schedule on an independent variable‐interval schedule. Regardless of the procedure used to program the dependency, resistance to extinction was greater in the 10% components than in the 100% component. These results were replicated in Experiment 3 in which, instead of extinction, VT schedules replaced the baseline schedules in each multiple‐schedule component during the test. We argue that the relative change in dependency from Baseline to Test, which is greater when baseline dependencies are high rather than low, could account for the differential resistance to change in the present experiments. The inconsistencies in results across the present and previous experiments suggest that the effects of dependency on resistance to change are not well understood. Additional systematic analyses are important to further understand the effects of the response–reinforcer relation on resistance to change and to the development of a more comprehensive theory of behavioral persistence.     

The development of distance estimation in optic flow

In three experiments we tested the ability of children aged 8 to 12 years and adults to locate a target in an optic texture flow projected onto the ground. During the exposure phase, a static target (diode) was lit up at 6 m or 8 m on the ground in front of the subject. During the pointing phase, the subject was asked to indicate the perceived location of the target with a laser pointer as soon as the target was switched off. In the first experiment, during both phases the optic texture (environment) was either motionless or approaching the subject. Results showed that target locations were significantly more underestimated within the moving texture than within the still texture. In the second experiment, a detailed error analysis showed that the differences of performance between children and adults were not due to differences in eye height. Errors can be described by a linear fit with the retinal speed of the optic flow surrounding the targets. Distance judgments improved from the age of 8 years onwards. In the last experiment we found the same kind of results with a receding texture and without stimulation in central vision. Results are discussed in terms of subject's capacity to compensate for the effect of linear vection produced by the optic flow.     

Short-term effects of postnatal manipulation on central beta-adrenoceptor transmission

Neonatal handling is known to induce long-lasting changes in behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. Since the central noradrenergic system participates in the adaptive responses to stressful conditions we have analyzed the effects of postnatal handling on beta-adrenoceptor binding sites and isoprenaline- and forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of rats at 1 and 3 months of age. Handled animals showed reduced emotional reactivity and lower ACTH and corticosterone secretion after stress. Binding studies using [(3) H]CGP12-177 revealed increased beta-adrenoceptor binding sites in handled rats in cerebellum and cerebral cortex with no changes in hippocampus, and decreased affinity in all cerebral regions. Handling reduced basal levels of cyclic AMP in hippocampus and cerebellum but not in cerebral cortex. The concentration-response curves of cyclic AMP to isoprenaline were displaced to the right in cerebellum of handled rats without differences in Emax; however, Emax was significantly reduced in cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Direct stimulation of the catalytic subunit of adenylyl cyclase by forskolin reduced the efficiency in hippocampus and cerebellum, but not in cerebral cortex of handled animals. It is concluded that neonatal handling reduces the binding properties of beta-adrenoceptor and its primary biochemical responses in the young rat brain, which may account for the reduced responsiveness to stress attained in the handled rats, and may explain the persistence of the effect. The present study emphasizes the role of the central noradrenergic system in modulating the behavioral and neurendocrine responses to neonatal handling.     

Book reviews

Wertewandel und Religiose Umbruche [Religionen im Gesprach, 4]. Reinhard Kirste, Paul Schwarzenau, Udo Tworuschka (Eds), 1996. Balve, Zimmermann Druck und Verlag 671 pp., ISBN 3 89053 061 3

Jesus and the Other Names: Christian mission and global responsibility. Paul F. Knitter, 1996. Oxford, Oneworld. 193 pp., pb. £14.99, ISBN 1 85168 125 6

Marcion, Muhammad and the Mahatma. Heikki RAis Anen, 1997. London, SCM Press. xi + 293 pp., pb. £14.95, ISBN 0 334 02693

Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam. John Victor Tolan (Ed.), 1996. New York and London, Garland Publishing. xxi + 414pp., hb., ISBN 0 8153 1426 4

Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and their fatwas. Muhammad K. Masud, Brinkley Messick & David S. Powers (Eds), 1996. Cambridge, M, and London, Harvard University Press. 431 pp., hb. £29.95, ISBN 0 674 46870 8

The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning. Heinz Halm, 1997. London, I.B. Tauris. xv + 112 pp., hb. £25.00, ISBN 1 85043 920 6.

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Fatima Mernissi, 1994. Reading, MA, Addison‐Wesley. 242 pp., pb. ISBN 0 201 62649 7

Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World. Ibrahim M. Abu‐Rabi, 1996. Albany, NY, State University of New York Press. 370 pp., pb. $19.95, ISBN 0 7914 2664 5

The Islamic Middle East: an historical anthropology. Charles Lindholm, 1996. Oxford, Blackwell. 324 pp. pb. £14.99, ISBN 1 55786 421 7

Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: the politics of the Western hostage crisis. Magnus Ranstorp, 1997. London, Macmillan. xvi + 257pp., pb. £15.99, ISBN 0 333 68401 X

Hezbollah: born with a vengeance. Hala Jaber, 1997. London, Fourth Estate. xvi + 240pp., hb. £16.99, ISBN 1 85702 381 1.

Lebanon on Hold: implications for Middle East peace. Rosemary Hoixis & Nadim Shehadi (Eds), 1996. London, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. 94 pp. pb, ISBN 1 86203 020 0

African Muslims in Antebellum America: transatlantic stories and spiritual struggles.. Aixan D. Austin, 1997. New York/London, Routledge. 194 pp., pb. £13.99, ISBN 0 415 91270 9

The Crown and the Turban: Muslims and West African pluralism. Lamin Sanneh, 1997. Boulder, CO, Westview Press. 290 pp., pb. np, ISBN 0 8133 3059 9

Legacy of a Divided Nation: India's Muslims since Independence. Mushirul Hasan, 1997. London, C. Hurst. xv+ 383 pp., hb, £35, ISBN 1 85065 234 1; pb. £14.95, ISBN 1 85065 304 6

A Dictionary of Indonesian Islam. Howard M. Federspiel, 1995. Athens, OH, Ohio University. 297 pp. pb. $25.00, ISBN 0 89680 182 9     

Application of the rubber hand illusion paradigm: comparison between upper and lower limbs

The “rubber hand illusion (RHI)” is a perceptual illusion, which allows the integration of artificial limbs into the body representation of a person by means of combined visual and tactile stimulation. The illusion has been frequently replicated but always concerning the upper limbs. The present study verified an analog illusion that can be called the “rubber foot illusion” (RFI). In a conjoint experiment using both a rubber hand and a rubber foot, brushstrokes were applied to the respective real and rubber limb placed alongside the real one. However, only the artificial limb’s handling was visible. The brushstrokes were given either synchronously, with a delay of ±0.5 s, or without tactile stimulation of the real limb. Questionnaire data and the proprioceptive drift towards the rubber limb (determined by calling on the subjects to show where they locate their unseen limb) defined the illusion strength. Results revealed that the illusion was induced in both limbs with comparable strength, but only in the synchronous condition.     

How central is the alliance in psychotherapy? A multilevel longitudinal meta-analysis

Prior meta-analyses have found a moderate but robust relationship between alliance and outcome across a broad spectrum of treatments, presenting concerns, contexts, and measurements. However, there continues to be a lively debate about the therapeutic role of the alliance, particularly in treatments that are tested using randomized clinical trial (RCT) designs. The purpose of this present study was to examine whether research design, type of treatment, or author's allegiance variables, alone or in combination, moderate the relationship between alliance and outcome. Multilevel longitudinal analysis was used to investigate the following moderators of the alliance-outcome correlation: (a) research design (RCT or other), (b) use of disorder-specific manuals, (c) specificity of outcomes, (d) cognitive and/or behavioral therapy (CBT) or other types of treatments, (e) researcher allegiance, and (f) time of alliance assessment. RCT, disorder-specific manual use, specificity of primary and secondary outcomes, and CBT did not moderate the alliance-outcome correlation. Early alliance-outcome correlations were slightly higher in studies conducted by investigators with specific interest in alliance than were those in studies conducted by researchers without such an allegiance. Over the course of therapy, these initial differences disappeared. Apart from this trend, none of the variables previously proposed as potential moderators or mediators of the alliance-outcome relation, alone or in combination, were found to have a mediating impact.     

Valuing clients' perspective and the effects on the therapeutic alliance: a randomized controlled study of an adjunctive instruction

The patterns of growth and development of the therapeutic alliance over the course of therapy have been of continued interest to psychotherapy researchers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a simple institutional metacommunication intervention with clients had an effect on the development of the alliance. This adjunctive instruction involved inviting therapy clients to take a proactive role in their treatment by encouraging feedback to their therapist about various aspects of the therapy process. In this randomized controlled study (N = 94), clients were assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) an institutional adjunctive instruction condition in which patients were contacted by clinic personnel at the beginning of the remediation phase (Session 5) and encouraged to take a proactive role in their treatment and (b) a control condition that contained no institutional adjunctive instruction. Between-condition differences in the alliance were tested, controlling for baseline influences and the early therapeutic alliance. Clients' postsession reports from Sessions 1 to 24 indicated that the adjunctive instruction increased the alliance over the course of therapy vis-à-vis the control condition. The adjunctive instruction appeared to have fostered clients' evaluation of their therapists' interest in their welfare. The results indicate that interventions, even brief or subtle, can produce lasting benefits in the alliance when targeted at specific psychological processes. Systematic metacommunication from the institutional level appeared to reinforce clients' therapeutic alliance with their therapists in individual treatment.     

Culture and the distinctiveness motive: constructing identity in individualistic and collectivistic contexts

The motive to attain a distinctive identity is sometimes thought to be stronger in, or even specific to, those socialized into individualistic cultures. Using data from 4,751 participants in 21 cultural groups (18 nations and 3 regions), we tested this prediction against our alternative view that culture would moderate the ways in which people achieve feelings of distinctiveness, rather than influence the strength of their motivation to do so. We measured the distinctiveness motive using an indirect technique to avoid cultural response biases. Analyses showed that the distinctiveness motive was not weaker-and, if anything, was stronger-in more collectivistic nations. However, individualism-collectivism was found to moderate the ways in which feelings of distinctiveness were constructed: Distinctiveness was associated more closely with difference and separateness in more individualistic cultures and was associated more closely with social position in more collectivistic cultures. Multilevel analysis confirmed that it is the prevailing beliefs and values in an individual's context, rather than the individual's own beliefs and values, that account for these differences.