Relationships between perceptual defence reactions and subjective tendencies in the phenomenal representation of facial displays of affect

The present study examines if non-veridical reports of a stimulus-motif presented below the threshold for correct recognition are related to subjective tendencies in the ordinary perception of thermatically related stimuli. Sixty-four subjects were tested with the standard picture of Kragh's Defence Mechanism Test (DMT) which reflects a theme of aggression and threat. Stimulus-inadequate report of the picture-motif were related to the subject's phenomenal representation of video-recorded facial displays of anger, fear, sadness, and joy. The results demonstrate a correspondence between the individual's perceptual distortions, eliminations, or additions to the threatening subliminal stimulus and his or her phenomenal representation of the supraliminal affective stimuli.     

Infant responses and the physical environment

A longitudinal study of infants ( n =23) from 6 to 13 months was made to explore infants' responses to objects high on complexity and responsiveness compared to low-scored ones, and whether the high-scored objects were preferred. Further, it was explored to what extent individual differences of the infants represent a source of variation. The results showed that more than 50% of the total variance was accounted for by differences in object qualities, and about 25% by individual differences. High-scored objects were significantly more often preferred compared to low-scored ones irrespective of age.     

The effects of bilateral ECT on primary memory

Sixteen patients treated with bilateral ECT and sixteen students were tested with single-trial free recall. Testing was carried out at both a fast and a slow rate of presentation, and recall was either immediate or delayed for 30 sec. The primary memory component was estimated with five different methods, and it is concluded that this memory component is essentially unaffected by ECT. The results are discussed in relation to other studies showing that individual differences in memory capacity are primarily related to the secondary memory component. It is argued that the results obtained in studies of memory functions in ECT patients and in patients with chronic amnesic syndromes are similar. The normal primary memory component in ECT patients is not considered conclusive evidence of two storage systems.     

Retrograde Amnesia after ECT. An Attempt to Demonstrate Reminder-effects in Humans

In a study of the retrograde amnesic effect of bilateral ECT, twelve patients were subjects in a repeated measures design. Both verbal and nonverbal materials were used and retention was tested with different methods: Yes-no recognition, forced-choice recognition and recall cued by initial letters. The absolute amount of retrograde amnesia was small; there seemed to be no difference between verbal and nonverbal materials, and cueing with initial letters was not found to be an effective method of reducing amnesia.     

An information processing analysis of mental multiplication

The specific model of central or conscious processing system (CPS) is presented. It consists of two part: (1) a number of information carrying registers, and (2) a functional unit controlling the processes performed on the contents of the registers. The capacity limit is explained as a combination of storage capacity and processing capacity. The capacity limit was estimated by an experiment using mental multiplication performed according to a particular algorithm. The results suggested that the capacity was around eight to nine registers when the algorithm was strictly followed; this limit could, however, be exceeded because some problems automatically were coded and remembered by rules rather then by rehearsal. The results further suggested that information processing, i.e. the multiplication, had to take place on a time-sharing basis in competition with rehearsal, thus suggesting the existence of higher-order control system.     

The experiences of remarried stepfathers who pay child support

Abstract Remarried stepfathers' experiences paying child support for nonresidential children were explored using a multiple‐interview phenomenological approach with 11 fathers in the United States. Circumstances that negatively affected satisfaction with paying child support were seldom related to money, per se. Rather, the pervasive phenomenon that emerged was attempts at managing competing interests among themselves, their children, and their new families. Remarriage magnified feelings of disempowerment and introduced additional complexities to existing child support arrangements. Although generally satisfied with their child support obligations at divorce, fairness concerns arose over time and are situated within equity theory. Nonetheless, identity conceptualizations were more salient than exchange principles, and identity theory therefore frames a discussion on the centrality of a provider mentality among these fathers.     

Fides Quaerens Intellectum: Reflections towards an Explorative Theology1

Abstract: The postmodern critique has rendered traditional justifications of the practice of research incredible. Further, the status of theological research, in which ‘the discovery of new facts’ or the like is at best ambiguous as an aim, must be under question. This article argues that the aim of theological research is to discover what life lived as if theological claims were true might look like.