Experiences with the combination of communication training and dynamic group psychotherapy

Three psychotherapy groups consisting of altogether 37 patients took part in communication training after L. Sch?bisch and M. Sieme in preparation for group-centred dynamic psychotherapy. The results of pretherapy and post-therapy surveys with the MMPI were tested for quantitative changes using Posthoff and H. F. B?ttcher's gnoseologically based test. The findings suggest that this combination of methods has a high standard of efficiency, which is finally discussed.     

Visual memory in a spelling matching task: comparison of good and poor spellers

The role of visual memory in learning to spell words was investigated through a matching task on which one nonsense word was presented, then a second word identical in spelling or differing in one letter was presented. Ten pairs of 9th and 10th-grade students, matched for intelligence and sex but of different spelling ability, were asked to indicate whether word pairs were spelled the same or differently. The two words of a pair were either the same or different in print size or letter case. Significant effects were obtained for spelling ability, print size (same or different), and letter case (same or different), and the interaction of size X case, providing evidence for the use of visual memory by both good and poor spellers in learning to spell words. Good spellers were equally able to identify matched and mismatched pairs, while poor spellers showed greater difficulty in identifying mismatches than matches, supporting Frith's (1980) "partial cues" explanation of poor spelling performance.     

A follow-up study of cross-cultural validity of Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration

A follow-up study with a younger group of mildly handicapped Japanese students was conducted to determine if the correlations between the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration and reading and mathematics achievement would substantiate the previous findings. For 30 mildly handicapped 11- and 12-yr.-old Japanese students, visual-motor integration scores were significantly correlated with both mathematics and reading scores. These results, added to the 1984 Webb and Abe data, further support the test's cross-cultural validity.     

Hyperlexia and a variant of hypergraphia

A patient with hyperlexia and hypergraphia is described. The unusual co-occurrence of these two abilities is discussed. Hyperlexia may provide a useful marker to guide educational programming.     

Microcomputer-assisted relaxation

The present pilot study was designed to test the effectiveness of a microcomputer program developed by the authors to induce relaxation and focused attention, which are common to most clinical stress-reduction and hypnotic procedures. A nonclinical sample of 20 adults used the program on an APPLE IIc computer in two 30-min. sessions in a within-subjects design. Repeated measures analyses of variance showed significant decreases in the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale and on a visual analog anxiety scale. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.     

Laterality and field dependence

The purposes of this study were (1) to replicate a right visual-field advantage for a version of the Embedded Figures Test modified for tachistoscopic presentation and (2) to test for a relationship between field independence and performance on modified Embedded Figures Test items presented to the right visual-field. 34 right-handed subjects were presented Embedded Figures Test items to the left, center, and right visual-fields for 150 msec. The Group Embedded Figures Test was also given. Results showed a right visual-field advantage on the modified embedded-figures test and (2) a negative relationship between Group Embedded Figures Test performance and right visual-field scores. These findings were discussed in terms of the differences between the two versions of the embedded-figures test, memory for simple figures, specificity of judgment, and sustained versus tachistoscopic perception. A tentative conclusion suggests that a better internal representation of the briefly presented complex figures places field-independent subjects at a disadvantage on the modified version of the test.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIX. Impact of atmospheric conditions on occurrences of individual violence among Canadian penitentiary populations

This project studied the effects of weather variables and size of the population on minor and major violence rates within six prisons in the Kingston, Ontario, Canada area from January, 1980 through December, 1983. While weather variables have been studied in relation to mood changes within the general population, this study was the first to analyze the impact of weather variables on rates of violence within the prison setting using forward inclusion multiple regression. Analysis showed that population size consistently appeared positively correlated with assaults on other inmates among the male medium-security prisoners during the summer months. In the summer months, temperature tended to be positively related to some minor kinds of offenses, but in the winter months the relationship was negative. Humidity, rain, sunshine hours, snow, and snow on the ground were not consistently related to incidences of minor and major violence. Indices of geomagnetic disturbances had statistically significant inverse relationships with attempted suicide/self-inflicted injury rates among the male prisoners during the summer months. Over 12 months, wind was generally negatively correlated with incidences of major and minor violence among the male inmates. For 6-mo. periods, wind was generally positively correlated with violence rates during the winter months and negatively correlated during the summer months among the male inmates. The findings relating weather variables to violence rates in the women's prison were consistently in opposition to those found for male prisoners during the 4-yr. period.     

Longitudinal changes in time estimation in affective disorders: a preliminary study

8 patients with hospital diagnoses of major affective disorder were studied by repeated measurements of time estimation using the three different methods of metronome adjustment, verbal estimation and operative estimation (production) of short time intervals. Retrospective estimations of longer intervals were also studied. The diagnoses were evaluated according to DSM III criteria. The degree of mental disturbance was rated with subscales of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale. Earlier findings had indicated that manic patients tend to overestimate short time intervals and that some depressed patients underestimated time, but some investigators have reported different results. A longitudinal study could possibly support the earlier findings if the time estimations should vary with the clinical states of the patients. Such a variation was suggested by the results of 5 of the 8 patients. In several cases there were statistically significant correlations between the results of time estimations and the rating scores. This partly supports earlier findings. Associations between time estimations and changes in clinical state seem to be present in some cases of major affective disorders. Operative estimations were best correlated with ratings in most cases.     

Effects of a paradoxical intervention on a child's anxiety about sleep- and sports-related performance

A paradoxical instruction was used to treat a 10-yr.-old boy's complaint of crying when unable to sleep and the daytime equivalent of fearing the public display of crying when failing at sports performances. The instruction resolved both the sleep disturbance and the public crying. The results suggest that, like adults, children may experience anxiety about sleep difficulties and that paradoxical intention may have promise for the treatment of some children's insomnia.