On various causes of improper solutions in maximum likelihood factor analysis

In the applications of maximum likelihood factor analysis the occurrence of boundary minima instead of proper minima is no exception at all. In the past the causes of such improper solutions could not be detected. This was impossible because the matrices containing the parameters of the factor analysis model were kept positive definite. By dropping these constraints, it becomes possible to distinguish between the different causes of improper solutions. In this paper some of the most important causes are discussed and illustrated by means of artificial and empirical data.The author is indebted to H. J. Prins for stimulating and encouraging discussions.     

Sequential effects in two-choice reaction time: Subjective expectancy and automatic after- effect at short response-stimulus intervals

Between three serial two-choice reaction-time tasks, the response-stimulus interval (RSI), stimulus-response compatibility, and practice were varied in order to examine two determinants of sequential effects — subjective expectancy and automatic aftereffect. It appears that subjective expectancy is absent when the RSI is below a critical minimum. In an incompatible task, however, this minimum is greater. This is interpreted in support of the single-channel hypothesis: the subject only builds up expectancies when the “central processor” is unoccupied. The automatic aftereffect increases as the RSI decreases. The decay of the aftereffect seems to take place mainly during the RSI and only to a minor degree during the reaction process. Normally, a strong aftereffect operates in a general way, but after extensive practice it becomes stimulus specific. A model is presented, which assumes that only at the initial stages of practice is the unused “neural pathway” inhibited each time the stimulus is an alternation.     

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive patients: The contribution of self-instructional training to the effectiveness of exposure

Fifteen obsessive-compulsive patients were given treatment consisting of ten sessions of gradual exposure in vivo. For half of the patients gradual exposure in vivo was preceded by self-instructional training.Treatment resulted in significant improvement on anxiety and avoidance scales, Leyton Obsessional Inventory, Self-rating Depression Scale and on ratings for anxious mood and depression. Neither the post-test nor the follow-ups 1 month and 6 months later indicated a difference between the effects of the two conditions. Self-instructional training did not enhance the effectiveness of gradual exposure in vivo.     

Training group therapists through the study of countertransferences

This article presents an experiential approach to supervision which evolved over a 15 year period. Through the use of the feelings induced in a group of colleagues, the countertransferential difficulties of the presenter can be ascertained. From there the dynamics of the group under discussion can be sorted out, and interventions can be developed. Various forms of countertrans-ferential reactions are described. Examples are offered to link practice with theory.Address delivered at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapies Conference on Supervision: Theory and Process on November 3, 1979.     

Une contribution Sovietique essentielle au debat sur l'unite de la geographie

Sans résumé     

Figurai vs. configural effects in the filled duration illusion

Patterns varying in form goodness and size were presented for 15, 30, and 45 msec. The experiment included three independent groups of subjects. Half of the first group were presented size variations with good figures, while the other half were shown size variations with poor figures. Half of the second group were presented goodness variations with small figures, while the other half were shown goodness variations with large figures. A third group experienced variations in both goodness and size. The major findings were: (1) poor figures and large figures were judged “longer” than good or small figures when varied within a session; (2) this effect vanished when the different levels of size or goodness were presented to separate groups of subjects; (3) the magnitude of the difference in temporal estimation was the same for size and goodness when each was varied in isolation; (4) when size and form goodness were varied orthogonally in the same session, both dimensions produced reliable changes in temporal estimation. These data are discussed in light of current theoretical explanations of the filled duration illusion.     

The recovery of feelings in a folktale

The purpose of this essay is to explore the symptom of the denial of feelings and the subsequent recovery of feelings in relation to the task of uniting the human self. The spiritual, emotional, and physical implications of an exemplary narrative from the collection edited by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are discussed in relation to the telescoping of the emotion of fear, the sensation of shuddering, and the experience of anxiety about the integrity of the self. The reader is cautioned that the study of folktales enriches our telling of them and is itself justified by that telling.