Defense,dreams and rationality

Are some mental activities rational but unconscious? Psychopathological symptoms, it is said, have a sense — they are seen as “compromise-formations” which express the “intentions” of agents even though the agents are totally unaware of “bringing about” such symptoms. Philosophers, who often claim that such a conception is simply contradictory or incoherent, have shed little light on the puzzles and apparent paradoxes that surround the issue. It is argued here that Freud's two models of explanation — the mechanistic and the intentionalistic — each fail to provide a basis for an explanatory account of the phenomenon of unconscious defense. An examination of the problem of dream “composition” helps explain why Freud's dependence upon “rational homunculi” is inappropriate and misleading. Finally, an alternative model which depends neither upon Freud's version of mechanism nor upon his lavish anthropormorphism is suggested. Ladies and Gentlemen, — It was discovered one day that the pathological symptoms of certain neurotic patients have a sense. On this discovery the psychoanalytic method of treatment was founded. It happened in the course of the treament that patients, instead of bringing forward their symptoms, brought forward dreams. A suspicion thus arose that the dreams too had a sense.     

Partial integration of single electrocutaneous pulses

Psychometric functions generated by single eleetroeutaneous stimuli yielded a median coefficient of variation ( σ/μ ) of 0.23. These data are consistent with other psychometric data recently reported by us which yielded σ/μ ratios of this size. The data are discussed and related to conflicting data reported in the recent literature indicating coefficients of variation for this mode of stimulation which are only 1/3 as large. Evidence is presented for partial temporal summation (time-intensity reciprocity) for electrocutaneous stimuli ranging from 175 to 610 microseconds. The data are best fitted by the equation I x t^a = k, where a is approximately 0.57. This equation and exponent also fit summation data reported by the same authors who report finding steep psychometric functions. Clearly, then, the mechanism responsible for the very limited temporal summation found for eleetrocutaneous stimulation and the mechanism responsible for very steep psychometric functions are not identical. The discussion also includes speculation regarding possible mechanisms and suggestions for research.     

Focus of attention,self-esteem,and the attribution of causality

An experiment was conducted to investigate how actors' attributions of causality are affected by their expectancy about the outcome of an action and their observation of the actual outcome while in a state of high or low objective self-awareness. In the presence or absence of a camera, subjects delivered therapeutic instructions which were expected to have a positive or a negative effect and which resulted in a positive or a negative effect on a supposedly phobic patient. Principal findings were that (1) attributions to self were greater under high objective self-awareness for positive relative to negative outcomes, (2) attributions to the patient were relatively great under high objective self-awareness when a positive outcome was expected but a negative outcome actually occurred. The results are discussed in terms of the joint role of focus of attention and self-esteem processes in the attribution of causality and in terms of their relationship to Duval and Wicklund's (1973) “focus of attention” attributional analysis.     

Attentional holism in visual word processing

Summary Decisions about the identity of an entire word are made more quickly than decisions about the identity of a letter within a word. Explanations of this whole-word advantage based on the time-course of the activation of different levels of unit detectors have given way to explanations based on how attention is allocated to the output of the detectors. Three studies were carried out to examine the role of attention in the whole-word advantage. In Experiment 1, cues as to the level of decision (whole-word vs. first-letter) facilitated component processing, a finding that suggests word level information is normally the focus of attention. In Experiment 2, identification of a probe item to the right of a display was longer when subjects prepared for a first-letter rather than a whole-word decision. That is, the spatial extent of attention is wider for whole-word decisions. In Experiment 3, probe latencies were longer when subjects prepared for a whole-word decision than when they prepared for a signalled probe trial. Preparation for a whole-word decision is not automatic in the sense of being free of capacity demands. The overall pattern of results leads to the conclusion that the whole-word advantage is an instance of attentional holism.     

Out-of-Body experiences in the blind

The theoretical significance of out-of-body experiences in blind people is explored. In this context I report results of a survey of a small sample of blind adults. It is concluded that we have yet to locate a case of an out-of-body experience in the blind that has critical implications for the interpretation of the experience among the general population.Acknowledgement hereby is given to the efforts of Margaret Kerr, Coordinator of Field Services for the Royal Blind Society of New South Wales, Australia, in supervising the collection of data reported in this paper.     

The Importance of Contraceptive Attributes Among College Students

This study assessed how ratings of the importance of contraceptive attributes varied with gender, age, relationship status, and contraceptive method usually used. In a classroom setting, 210 male and 217 female university students completed the 55-item Contraceptive Attribute Questionnaire (CAQ). Significant differences on importance ratings were found between women and men, age groups, women using barrier methods and women using the pill, and by relationship status. The underlying dimensions of the CAQ were investigated through factor analysis, and somewhat different factors emerged for men and women. Implications for the provision of family planning services to college students are discussed.