The functional independence of response latency and accuracy: Implications for the concept of conceptual tempo

Kagan (1965a) developed the concepts of impulsive and reflective cognitive styles (conceptual tempo) to add a new dimension to the understanding and assessment of human intelligence. Although latency (the principal component of conceptual tempo) is negatively correlated with academic performance, it may not be necessary to modify latency in order to modify accuracy. With 40 disadvantaged preschool children, it was found that reinforcing long latencies in choice tasks did not increase accuracy and vice versa, and that reinforcing both long latencies and accuracy was no more effective than reinforcing accuracy alone. These data were used to question the usefulness of the construct of conceptual tempo.This article is based on a master's thesis prepared by the first author under the supervision of the second author.     

Texture size specificity in the slant aftereffect

Transfer of the median plane slant aftereffect was assessed across changes in stimulus texture size (sine-wave grating frequency). Under binocular viewing, reliable decrements in aftereffect magnitude were observed when texture size was changed, compared with no-change control conditions. Under monocular viewing conditions, no significant aftereffects were found. The results indicate a spatial-frequency-specific component of binocular slant aftereffects.     

Effect of perceptual cohesiveness on pattern recoding in the block design task

In the block design task, one type of intelligence test task, the subject reproduces a square-field pattern by assembling cubes having solid and diagonally divided surfaces. The task requires that the subject recode the perceived stimulus pattern into the alternatives available on the block surface. This experiment examined the effect on response or reproduction time of perceptual cohesiveness of pattern, quantified as the number of adjacent same-colored edges of cubes which abutt to form the pattern. This stimulus variable interacts with the type of design (quantified as total set size for designs constructed of all solid surfaces, all diagonally divided surfaces, or mixtures of the two types of surfaces) and with cuing (presence or absence on stimulus pattern of a superimposed grid congruent with block edges of the constructed design). Cohesiveness increases the difficulty of “mentally slicing” or recoding the pattern into the set of block alternatives. The psychological processes involved in recoding probably are the most important ones underlying the intelligence test task.     

Prevention education and substance abuse treatment

Relapse prevention is influenced by a number of variables including stress and negative mood states, motivation and commitment to abstinence, social support, physiological factors, withdrawal symptoms, and a repertoire of cognitive and behavioral strategies utilized in responding to the relapse process. Diverse theoretical approaches have emphasized conditioning models as well as information processing, cognitive and affective components of treatment, cognitive and behavioral coping responses, and a variety of other procedures. Outcome studies related to treatment have failed to consistently support the effectiveness of several of these components. To overcomes this, the authors advocate a single subject design in the study of these approaches. This article emphasizes the role of relapse prevention, and training and education in facilitating long-term abstinence, particularly with those intervention methods that are based on social learning theory and cognitive-behavioral models.     

On the clarity of expressive and contextual information in the recognition of emotions: A methodological critique

Ekman, Friesen and Ellsworth's (1982b) influential review on emotional expression and context prescribed the current standard criteria for selecting clear and comparable faces and contexts. These recommendations might not pay enough attention to the peculiarities of contextual information. Criteria of clarity for contextual stimuli should be grounded in the process of categorization of social situations (e.g. prototypicality and salience). A set of criteria of contextual clarity were designed according to this line of argument. The resulting contextual stimuli were employed in a replication of Wallbott's (1988) experiment on recognition of emotions through discrepant sources of information. In contrast with previous studies, subjects' judgments were equally predictable from expression and context.     

Sex-role similarities between adults and their parents

Sex-role is a product of interpersonal and intrapersonal cognitive functioning. As a result, parents play an important role in the development of their children's sex-role orientation. The aim of this research was to describe the relationship between the sex-role of adults and those of their parents as measured on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1974). Inventories were completed by 24 men, 41 women, and their parents. Results show the strongest relationship for gender-consonant sex-roles for mother-daughter and father-son dyads. Findings are discussed in terms of sex-role and modeling theories.     

The use of a consultation team to network families with other helping systems

Families, therapists, and other service providers often find themselves uncooperative and at cross purposes when working toward solutions to family problems. Sometimes each professional is involved in one small piece of the problem and may never have encountered other providers and all family members. This paper describes a family-agencies-team consultation model intended to address the above issues. The model uses a consultation team to facilitate better understanding of family needs, helping agency roles, and service provider constraints. The approach has been successful in creating dialogue, generating a wide range of goals, engendering cooperation, empowering families, and affirming agency participation.In addition to the authors, the consultation team included staff members at the Pitt County Mental Health Center working with client families and other agencies in Pitt County, North Carolina.     

Culture and gender in marital therapy with ethiopian immigrants: A conversation in metaphors

Israel is a country which has absorbed more than half of its population during its first 44 years of existence. Recently, the trend has been to move away from the melting-pot ideology and favor the philosophy of unity in diversity. The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the issue of marital therapy in the context of immigration, family loss, and different cultural traditions in the Ethiopian community living in Israel. A story of marital therapy is recounted in which the continuity and expansion of customs is used. This provided a sense of familiarity in therapy to demonstrate culture and gender-sensitive therapy and illustrate possible guidelines for therapeutic collaboration.I would like to thank Yael Kitov, the therapist, for her wonderful job-Amith Ben-David.     

The degree of similarity of differentiation of self between partners in married and dating couples: Preliminary evidence

Bowen's differentiation of self construct is examined through a test in two studies of the hypothesis that people select partners at similar levels of differentiation of self. One study used a sample of married couples and the other a sample of dating and engaged couples. The studies used different instruments for determining differentiation of self. Three data analysis procedures—correlations, t-tests, and the degree of similarity procedure—provided conflicting evidence for the similarity hypothesis. Results are discussed as they pertain to statistical analysis issues using related individuals and to Bowen family systems theory and the use of this theory in clinical practice.     

Psychophysiological Effects of Toxic Chemical Contamination Exposure: A Community Field Study

The present study evaluated the psychophysiological impact of an environmental stressor—potential health threats to residents due to chronic exposure to toxic chemical contamination. Residents of a community exposed to this toxic contamination were compared with residents in a demographically matched community not exposed to such contamination. A battery of self-report. performance, and physiological measures were administered to residents in these two communities. Results demonstrated that residents of the contaminated community exhibited significantly more symptoms of stress (greater self-report indices, poorer task performance, and higher diastolic blood pressure levels) relative to residents in the comparison community. Such findings indicate that these exposure-community residents are being significantly impacted by this environmental stressor.