Comparison of two alternative measures of the boundary construct

'Mental boundaries' is a traditional concept in psychology, although attempts to conceptualize and measure such boundaries empirically have only recently been pursued. Two major efforts in this respect are Hartmann's Boundary Questionnaire and the Revised Transliminality Scale of Lange, Thalbourne, Houran, and Storm. We administered both along with the Briggs-Nebes Handedness Scale to a convenience sample of 268 participants to assess the convergent validity of the two boundary measures and to replicate previous evidence that the boundary construct involves body boundaries as well, such as a tendency toward mixed-handedness. As predicted, scores on the Revised Transliminality Scale correlated .66 positively with total scores on the Boundary Questionnaire, but neither measure was associated with the handedness scale. Each of the 12 domains of the Boundary Questionnaire correlated significantly with total scores on the Transliminality Scale, yet only five domains contributed significantly to the prediction of variance in transliminality scores in a standard multiple regression analysis. Analysis suggests that transliminality is related to specific domains of the Boundary Questionnaire, and we hypothesize that the other domains of the Boundary Questionnaire represent higher levels of the boundary construct than what is measured by the Revised Transliminality Scale. This idea is discussed within the context of Werner's 1948 theory of syncretic versus symbolic cognition.     

Adult age differences in temporal and item memory

Three experiments tested whether the relationship between age differences in temporal and item memory depends on the degree to which the item memory measure relies on memory for context. The authors predicted a stronger relationship of temporal memory to free recall than to recognition memory. Results showed that age differences in temporal memory could be eliminated after controlling for free recall but not recognition memory performance. Under some conditions recognition memory accounted for a significant portion of age-related variance in temporal memory. These results challenge past research that has interpreted age differences in temporal and item memory as independent and suggest that a generalized decline in context memory may underlie reduced performance in older adults on all types of memory tests.     

Accounting for age differences on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: decreased working memory, not inflexibility

Two experiments examined the role of cognitive inflexibility and reduced working memory in age-related declines on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Both standard scoring procedures and newly developed scores were used to measure each construct, and modifications of the test further evaluated the role of working memory. Results indicated that age differences are not due to cognitive inflexibility but that for a subset of older adults errors are associated with a reduction in the amount of information that can be stored or processed in working memory. These age differences disappear, however, when visual cues provide information about the immediately preceding sort. The authors conclude by proposing a decline in updating working memory as the explanation that can best account for the entire pattern of age differences on this test.     

Denominational Variations Across American Jewish Communities

This article explores the Jewish identity of different Jewish denominational identification groups using the Decade 2000 Data Set with its 19,800 interviews of Jewish households in 22 American Jewish communities. We relate the Jewish identity of individuals in each denominational group (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform/Reconstructionist) to the denominational composition of the community. Communities are clustered via k‐means cluster analysis based on their denominational profiles. We examine the extent to which individual Jewish identification varies by the denominational composition of the community in which an individual resides, finding that considerable variation exists in Jewish identity measures depending on the type of denominational profile that exists in the individual's community. That is, Orthodox Jews, for example, behave differently in a community with a significant Orthodox population than in a community with few Orthodox, but many Reform Jews. Implications for Jewish communities, as well as for the broader interreligious community, are considered.     

Anna Freud and the Holocaust: Mourning and survival guilt

This article explores the period of Anna Freud's life after she was informed of the deaths of her aunts in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Understanding of this period may be enhanced by consideration of the role of the Holocaust in her complicated mourning process. A series of her dreams is re‐examined from the point of view of survivor guilt and the complicated mourning of her father in the context of the Holocaust. It is argued that unconscious reproaches against her father led to an identification with him that included his ‘decision’ to leave his sisters in Vienna. Survivor guilt in relation to her aunts’ murders is seen as one of the complicating factors in the mourning process. In addition the article discusses the possible role of this period, particularly her work with child concentration camp survivors, in her post‐war writing. The noted duality in her work between innovation and conservatism is explored in terms of an outcome of the mourning process of this period. It is argued that her views on mourning, trauma, attachment, and the widening scope of indications for psychoanalysis were influenced by the outcome of her mourning process. Finally, an irony is noted in the fact that her attitude about altruism never changed despite the role of the altruism of others in her rescue from the Nazis.