Changed subject or wrong subject?

Abstract

In a provocative and an interesting article, Ogden (1995) argues that the focus of health psychology has changed. Early in the century, theorists regarded the individual as a passive responder to external events. Later, emphasis on the environment, made the individual a passive recipient of external events. Current theories emphasize individual control over the environment in an “intra-active” modality. Thus, as Ogden argues, theory has historical significance and the theory is data that describes thought at a particular point in time. Further, data are the product of methodology and the selection of methods must also be considered another piece of data.     

Characterization of Memory Impairment Following Closed-Head Injury in Children Using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT)

Memory impairment following closed-head injury (CHI) in children is well documented. Characterization of the memory deficits of children with CHI could contribute to the prediction of academic performance and rehabilitation of these children. Twenty-five children who sustained closed-head injury and 25 matched controls were administered the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). The advantage of this memory test is that a number of memory components are measured simultaneously, thus enabling us to study the relations between different aspects of memory within the same patient sample. The findings indicate that the Rey AVLT is a good test for characterization of impaired verbal memory in children following CHI. Transformation of scores derived from the Rey AVLT to Z-scores enables us to determine the relative effect of CHI in children on different memory scores. Raw scores were more vulnerable than relational ones, derived as the difference between two raw scores (e.g., learning, Trial 5?1), to closed-head injury in children, and scores reflecting word span were the least vulnerable. The results are discussed in terms of the possible contribution of the frontal lobes, which are frequently affected in closed-head injuries, to memory performance.     

Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients display enhanced latent inhibition on a visual search task

Latent inhibition (LI) is a phenomenon that reflects the ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli. LI is attenuated in some schizophrenic patient groups and in high schizotypal normal participants. One study has found enhanced LI in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD [Swerdlow, N. R., Hartston, H. J., & Hartman, P. L., 1999. Enhanced visual latent inhibition in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 45, 482-488]). The present experiment replicated this finding using a within-subject visual search LI task, with OCD patients displaying more LI than healthy controls. The contrasting LI effects in schizophrenia and OCD are discussed in terms of how these groups differentially process relevant and irrelevant stimuli, and how that outcome affects subsequent behavior.     

School related stress in early adolescence and academic performance three years later: the conditional influence of self expectations

The hypothesis was tested that educational expectations of junior high school students in interaction with school-related stress during early adolescence would adversely affect grades during high school. Multiple regression analyses of data from home interviews of 1034 students during junior high school and 3 years later during high school supported the hypothesis that early adolescent school-related stress both independently and in interaction with high academic expectations negatively affected academic performance 3 years later. These results suggest that for students in high stress school environments, an increase in academic expectations may serve to increase their school-related stress and impede their academic performance.     

Multiracial recruitment in the field of family therapy: an innovative training program for people of color

This article describes the creation of a training program designed to increase the number of family therapists of color in the family therapy field. In 1992, a partnership between New York City schools of social work, community agencies, and the Ackerman Institute for the Family created the Diversity and Social Work Training Program. Elements critical to the program's success were recruitment strategies, mentorships, partnerships with outside organizations, provision of a long-term institutional commitment, biracial collaborations, and institutional change. This article describes the design, structure, and process of this program's evolution and its impact 12 years later.     

Genetic approaches to the study of synaptic plasticity and memory storage

Long-term memory is believed to depend on long-lasting changes in the strength of synaptic transmission known as synaptic plasticity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of long-term synaptic plasticity is one of the principle goals of neuroscience. Among the most powerful tools being brought to bear on this question are genetically modified mice with changes in the expression or biological activity of genes thought to contribute to these processes. This article reviews how strains of mice with alterations in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A/cyclic adenosine monophosphate-response element-binding protein signaling pathway have advanced our understanding of the biological basis of learning and memory.     

Arithmetic fact mastery in young children: a longitudinal investigation

Children with poor arithmetic fact mastery (n=45) at the end of third grade were compared to grade-level peers with good arithmetic fact mastery (n=60) in competencies related to reading and mathematics. Children were assessed longitudinally across second and third grades. When predictor variables such as IQ were held constant, the poor fact mastery and good fact mastery groups performed at about the same level and progressed at a comparable rate on math story problems and on broad reading achievement. The groups also progressed at a comparable rate on broad math achievement, although children with poor fact mastery performed at a significantly lower level. Children with poor fact mastery showed remarkably little growth on timed number facts during the study period, despite normal growth in other areas of mathematics. Deficits in fact mastery are highly persistent and appear to be independent of reading and language abilities.     

The impact of conventional versus robust norming on cognitive characterization and clinical classification of MCI and dementia

We examined the impact of conventional versus robust normative approaches on cognitive characterization and clinical classification of MCI versus dementia. The sample included participants from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. Separate demographically adjusted z-scores for cognitive tests were derived from conventional (n = 4273) and robust (n = 602) normative groups. To assess the impact of deriving scores from a conventional versus robust normative group on cognitive characterization, we examined likelihood of having a low score on each neuropsychological test. Next, we created receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the ability of normed scores derived from each normative group to differentiate between MCI (n = 3570) and dementia (n = 1564). We examined the impact of choice of normative group on classification accuracy by comparing sensitivity and specificity values and areas under the curves (AUC). Compared with using a conventional normative group, using a robust normative group resulted in a higher likelihood of low cognitive scores for individuals classified with MCI and dementia. Comparison of the classification accuracy for distinguishing MCI from dementia did not suggest a statistically significant advantage for either normative approach (Z = −0.29, p = .77; AUC = 0.86 for conventional and AUC = 0.86 for robust). In summary, these results indicate that using a robust normative group increases the likelihood of characterizing cognitive performance as low. However, there is not a clear advantage of using a robust over a conventional normative group when differentiating between MCI and dementia.     

Sex role orientation, level of cognitive development and mathematics performance in late adolescence

Sex differences in mathematics performance are found in late adolescence. This study investigates the effects of psychological sex role orientation (BSRI: masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, androgynous) and level of cognitive development (concrete, formal) on performance in mathematics. ANOVA analysis (N = 69; 18 males, 51 females) revealed significant effects for level of cognitive development and for masculine by feminine sex role orientation interaction. Subjects whose BSRI masculine and feminine scores were either both low or both high scored significantly lower on the mathematics test than subjects whose scores on either masculine or feminine scales were high. This indicates lower mathematics performance for androgynous and undifferentiated subjects. This result is hypothesized to be a function of the particular age level of these subjects and their concomitant overconcern with appropriate sex role development.