Behavioral and neural analyses of connotative meaning: Word classes and rating scales

Behavioral (semantic differential) and neural (Evoked Potentials, EPs) responses were related to connotative meaning. The approach was based on Osgood's semantic analyses and dimensions of Evaluation (E), Potency (P), and Activity (A). The experimental variables were (1) the semantic class of the stimulus word (E+, E-, P+, P-, A+, A-) and (2) the dimension of the semantic scale (E, P, A) which the subject used to rate the stimulus words. These variables were experimentally combined such that on each trial the subject used a designated semantic scale to judge a specified stimulus word while brain activity was recorded. Using multivariate analyses, the effects on the EPs of stimulus word class, scale dimension, and their interaction were analyzed. The EP effects of stimulus word class were similar whether the subjects were merely saying the words or rating the words on a variety of semantic scales. Different EPs were found for six word classes, three semantic scale dimensions, and the 18 groups formed by their combination. The success rates in EP identification of (1) word class and (2) scale dimension did not depend on whether these two kinds of semantic variables involved the same or different semantic dimensions. The two kinds of semantic effects in EPs were largely independent. The behavioral data supported Osgood's results and showed that our subjects were appropriately processing the semantic information. The common analyses of data from all subjects suggest the universality of the connotative EP effects across individuals. This parallels, at the neural level, the universality of the connotative dimensions found at the behavioral level by semantic differential ratings. The EP effects imply that the neural representation of meaning is similar in different individuals.     

The role of arousal in memory for conversation

In the first experimental study of memory for natural conversation, Keenan, MacWhinney, and Mayhew (1977) found that, even after 30 h, subjects had extremely good recognition memory for the exact wording of statements that contained information about a speaker’s “intentions, beliefs, and his relations with the listener.” Such sentences were said to be high in “interactionai content.” One possible interpretation of the results of Keenan et al. is that it is the immediate affective response to an utterance, rather than its interactional content, that increases its memorability. In the present study, the strong relationship between interactional content and memory found by Keenan et al. was replicated. Subjects showed excellent recognition memory for high interactional content statements from a conversation, even after a 72-h interval. However, there was very little relationship between arousal, as determined by subjects’ electrodermal response (EDR), and subsequent memory. Moreover, involvement had its greatest effect not on memory, but on subjects’ arousal as measured by EDR.     

Informed consent and the disclosure of risks of treatment: The Supreme Court of Canada Decides

The requirement for disclosure of risks of treatment as part of informed consent came before the Supreme Court of Canada in two 1980 cases. The Court found the duty of disclosure of risks to be based in negligence and not battery. The scope of the duty is not to be determined by medical evidence alone and requires the physician to disclose the nature of the proposed treatment, its gravity, any material risks and any special or unusual risks as well as answering in a reasonable way all specific questions asked by the patient. Whether the patient would have decided differently if all the information were known is an objective test, based on what the reasonable person in the patient's particular circumstance would do.     

A study of vocational maturity during adolescence and Locus of Control

Theoretical considerations of behavioral characteristics associated with the dimensions of vocational maturity during adolescence identified by Super and with the internal/external personality dimension gave rise to the main hypothesis tested in this study. Over 700 male and female students from two grade levels in five Canadian high schools completed the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale and Super's Career Development Inventory (CDI). As hypothesized, Internals scored higher than Externals on the various vocational maturity aspects measured by the CDI, both jointly and separately. Developmental aspects of Super's theory of adolescent vocational behavior were also largely substantiated by the results.     

An examination of the relationship between visual capture and prism adaptation

The phenomena of prismatically induced “visual capture” and adaptation of the hand were compared. In Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that when the subject’s hand was transported for him by the experimenter (passive movement) immediately preceding the measure of visual capture, the magnitude of the immediate shift in felt limb position (visual capture) was enhanced relative to when the subject moved the hand himself (active movement). In Experiment 2, where the dependent measure was adaptation of the prism-exposed hand, the opposite effect was produced by the active/passive manipulation. It appears, then, that different processes operate to produce visual capture and adaptation. It was speculated that visual capture represents an immediate weighting of visual over proprioceptive input as a result of the greater precision of vision and/or the subject’s tendency to direct his attention more heavily to this modality. In contrast, prism adaptation is probably a recalibration of felt limb position in the direction of vision, induced by the presence of a registered discordance between visual and proprioceptive inputs.     

Counselling and the social construction of self

The specific and Comparatively narrow nature of selfhood which counselling suggests is examined. It is argued that the discourse of counselling is directly and powerfully related to the social construction of self. The social consequences of two central notions of this constructed self—authenticity and autonomy—are debated. It is proposed that, far from being necessarily socially desirable, the propagation of these notions within selfhood may have some derogative consequences to social relations, within communities and within society. It is suggested that counsellors need to develop much more awareness of the sociological perspective of their profession before enthusiastically propagating the authentic, autonomous self.     

Gender-Emotion Stereotypes Are Context Specific

Previous research has documented that specificemotions are differentially associated with women andmen. For example, sadness and happiness arestereotypically associated with girls and women, whereas anger and pride are stereotypically associatedwith men. The present research qualifies these previousfindings by establishing that gender-emotion stereotypesare context specific. Twenty-four scenarios were developed that depicted a target personover-or underreacting to happy, sad, or angry events ineither an interpersonal or an achievement context.Thirty-three female and 44 male Caucasian undergraduates judged how characteristic these reactions werefor women and men. The results demonstrated thatoverreactions to happyand sad events were morecharacteristic of women in the interpersonal context,but were more characteristic of men in the achievementcontext. Overreactions to angry scenarios, however, weremore characteristic of men, regardless of context. Theimplications of the context-dependent nature of gender-emotion stereotypes for men and womenare discussed.     

Supervision for Counselors Working With Eating Disorders Groups: Countertransference Issues Related to Body Image,Food, and Weight

Because of similarities in age, education, and background, group counselors and members of eating disorders groups may easily identify and connect with each other. Although it can be positive, such overidentification may also create countertransference issues and demand attention in supervision. A model of supervision based on parallel process is presented to address these issues. The article describes (a) societal values related to eating disorders and countertransference; (b) specific themes in eating disorder groups and their impact on group process; (c) examples of countertransference related to body image, food, and weight; and (d) guidelines for supervision of female counselors working with eating disorders groups.     

Molecular carrier testing for the fragile X syndrome: Issues for genetic counselors

Molecular analysis of the fragile X (FMR-1) gene identifies female fragile X carriers, but appropriate genetic counseling can only be provided if the limitations of the testing methods are understood. Molecular analysis of this gene is achieved with both the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot techniques. PCR is faster and can determine the actual number of CGG repeats, which modifies genetic counseling substantially. However, for a sizeable percentage of women, PCR alone is not conclusive, and Southern analysis is necessary to complete the study. While this procedure takes longer, it is usually conclusive. Women who present for genetic counseling and carrier testing in the second trimester of pregnancy need this information quickly, and for them the turn-around time is paramount. It is critical that genetic counselors understand these methods so that they can educate their clients and facilitate appropriate follow-up.     

Mediational use of internal representations of food and no-food events by pigeons

Two experiments were conducted with pigeons to determine whether internal representations of food and no-food events can act as mediators in the formation of new associations. Specifically we asked if the representation of an anticipated event can replace the event itself in an established conditional discrimination. In Phase 1 of both experiments pigeons were differentially autoshaped to peck hue stimuli, only one of which was followed by access to food. In Phase 2 they were trained on a symbolic 0-delay matching-to-sample (DMTS) task with food and no-food samples and line-orientation comparisons. In Phase 3 the birds were tested on a symbolic DMTS task in which the hue stimuli from Phase 1 were substituted for the Phase 2 food-event samples. For the Pos group, the hue followed by food in Phase 1 was substituted for the food sample and the hue associated with no-food was substituted for the no-food sample so that the resulting sample/comparison pairings were consistent with the food-event mediator. For the Neg group the pairings were reversed so that the sample/comparison pairings were inconsistent with the food-event mediators. In Experiment 1, when the no-food event was the absence of an event, acquisition of the transfer task was significantly more rapid in the Pos than in the Neg condition. In Experiment 2, when the no-food event was the presentation of an empty food hopper, the Pos group transferred at a significantly higher level than the Neg group. The two experiments provide evidence that in pigeons, representations involving event anticipations can be substituted for, and are thus similar to, the events themselves.