Age, variability, and speed: between-subjects diversity

Two independent data sets were selected to examine the interrelations among reaction time (RT), between-subject variability or diversity (SD), and age. In both data sets, a strong correlation between RT and SD was obtained. This strong correlation was not affected when age was controlled in a partial correlation analysis. On the other hand, a weaker but significant correlation was obtained between age and SD. This correlation was eliminated when RT was controlled in a partial correlation analysis. Our analyses of the two data sets also indicated that the relation between RT and SD is identical for both young and elderly groups. Thus, the greater diversity often observed in performances of older groups is a direct consequence of slowing, rather than an independent effect of advancing age.     

Effects of age and interpersonal contact on stereotyping of the elderly

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the age of an individual, the type of contact an individual has with the elderly, the amount of knowledge an individual has about the elderly, and the extent that the individual stereotypes the elderly. In accordance with the Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, stereotyping was predicted to be higher among individuals who did not identify with nor have contact with the elderly. Fifty young (18-25 years of age) and fifty elderly (64-79 years of age) participants completed surveys measuring their level of contact with the elderly, knowledge about aging (knowledge score), and tendency to stereotype the elderly (stereotype score). Results of this study indicated that regardless of age, participant knowledge of aging and application of aging stereotypes were affected by the quality of contact experienced. Although the young participants achieved significantly higher knowledge scores than the elderly participants, there was no significant age difference in stereotype scores for the young and elderly groups. However, as predicted, the young and elderly participants who experienced high levels of contact with the elderly achieved higher knowledge scores and lower stereotype scores. These scores were compared to the respective scores of the young and elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly. Moreover, the elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly achieved lower knowledge scores than any of the other groups. Elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with other competent elderly individuals may be more susceptible to the negative effects of aging stereotypes and at risk for not identifying with their own social group.     

Molecular contingencies: reinforcement probability

Pigeons obtained food by responding in a discrete-trials two-choice probability-learning experiment involving temporal stimuli. A given response alternative, a left- or right-key peck, had 11 associated reinforcement probabilities within each session. Reinforcement probability for a choice was an increasing or a decreasing function of the time interval immediately preceding the choice. The 11 equiprobable temporal stimuli ranged from 1 to 11 sec in 1-sec classes. Preference tended to deviate from probability matching in the direction of maximizing; i.e., the percentage of choices of the preferred response alternative tended to exceed the probability of reinforcement for that alternative. This result was qualitatively consistent with probability-learning experiments using visual stimuli. The result is consistent with a molecular analysis of operant behavior and poses a difficulty for molar theories holding that local variations in reinforcement probability may safely be disregarded in the analysis of behavior maintained by operant paradigms.     

The Use of Paradox With Children in an Inpatient Treatment Setting

This paper illustrates with case examples the use of paradoxical procedures in a child inpatient treatment center. Indications and contraindications for this type of intervention are discussed.     

Gameplay Decisions of University Badminton Students

This study used a modified multiple baseline approach across groups to determine the effects of a creative problem-solving intervention series on the game-play decision making of university badminton students. All subjects were videotaped five times (once per week) in five-minute game play sessions with the same partner each time. One group (experimental) underwent creative problem-solving interventions on a weekly basis. Following the interventions and videotaping, each five-minute segment was coded via computer for frequencies of occurring tactical decisions. Results suggest that although certain categories did not generate positive support, the experimental intervention tended to continually improve decision-making in the most strategic categories (running opponents and jamming them) during game play in badminton.     

Eight Levels of Social Interest: Adult Development From an Adlerian Paradigm

In his writings, Alfred Adler (1964) alluded to 8 levels of social interest. These 8 levels of evolution represent a bridge between ego psychology and humanistic theories of adult development. After outlining these levels of social interest, the author concludes that psychotherapists need to address social interest in the therapeutic context.     

Rhetorical theory and family therapy practice

The study found that a connection exists between rhetoric and therapy because both fields are interested in using language as a tool for generating change. Persuasion is viewed as inherent in human communication, even though people do not necessarily intentionally attempt to persuade others. Following a brief (but detailed) explanation of the theoretical stance which informs the implementation of rhetorical techniques in therapy, three pragmatic exemplars are offered to demonstrate the employment of two classical rhetorical concepts, the parastasis catalogue and syncrisis.The authors are grateful to Sandra Kodner, MS for her participation in the development of this project.     

How general is general slowing? Evidence from the lexical domain

Three analyses are reported that are based on data from 19 studies using lexical tasks and a reduced version of the Hale, Myerson, and Wagstaff (1987) nonlexical data set. The results of Analysis 1 revealed that a linear function with a slope of approximately 1.5 described the relationship between the lexical decision latencies of older (65-75 years) and younger (19-29 years) adults. The results of Analysis 2, based on response latencies from 6 lexical tasks other than lexical decision, revealed a virtually identical linear relationship. In Analysis 3, it was found that performance on nonlexical tasks spanning the same range of task difficulty was described by a significantly steeper regression line with a slope of approximately 2.0. These findings suggest that although general cognitive slowing is observed in both domains, the degree of slowing is significantly greater in the nonlexical domain than in the lexical domain. In addition, these analyses demonstrate how the meta-analytic approach may be used to determine the limits to the external validity of experimental findings.