MOVEMENT AND DISTORTION IN VISUAL PATTERNS DURING PROLONGED FIXATION

H onisett , J., and O ldfield , R. C. Movement and distortion in visual patterns during prolonged fixation. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1960, 2 , 49–55.—Observations are reported from which it appears that if fixation upon a single point in a complex visual field is maintained for periods of half a minute or more a proportion of normal individuals experience movement of the whole field or of parts of it. Changing distortions of form and pattern can result. Some types of this movement are, it is thought, improbably due to intrinsic or extrinsic ocular changes, and more resemble the autokinetic phenomenon. It is suggested that eye-movements and their visual consequences are indispensable to the maintenance of a stable coordinate system in the visual world.     

Psychosocial Predictors of Young Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: A Sixteen-Month,Three-Wave Longitudinal Study1

Understanding the psychosocial factors that predict cigarette smoking onset in young people is of crucial importance for prevention efforts. The present study examined prospective psychosocial predictors of smoking in a three-wave longitudinal data set. Similar in design to an earlier study by Chassin, Presson, Sherman, Corty, and Olshavsky (1984), the present study replicated their work, and extended it by (a) using composite predictors derived from exploratory factor analysis, (b) including prior behavior as a predictor, (c) using a design extended over three waves of data collection, and (d) using a sample composed primarily of urban teenagers. Subjects were 3295 7th-grade students at the beginning of the study. The subjects completed a questionnaire containing items tapping cigarette smoking behavior and psychosocial items that have previously been shown to predict smoking behavior. Forty-one psychosocial items on the Wave 1 (initial) questionnaire were factor analyzed, and five factors were retained. Subscale scores were constructed based on these factors and were used as predictors. Regression analyses were performed using the subscales and pretest smoking frequency to predict a continuous measure of smoking, and discriminant analyses were performed to predict transitions between qualitative levels of smoking. Prior smoking behavior was the most important predictor of future smoking. Four of the subscales, Social Disapproval, Risk Taking/Rebelliousness, Perceived Smoking Prevalence, and Motivation to Comply, were significant predictors. One subscale, Physical Consequences from Smoking, was not predictive of smoking in any of the analyses. The effect sizes cross-validated well. It is suggested that an integrative model of smoking initiation developed by Flay, d'Avernas, Best, Kersell, and Ryan (1983) best summarizes the results of the present study.     

Perceived Risk of AIDS: Assessing the Behavioral and Psychosocial Consequences in a Cohort of Gay Men1

Longitudinal analyses reported here explored the relationship between a perceived sense of being at risk for AIDS and a variety of behavioral, social, and psychological consequences. Data were obtained from a cohort of 637 homosexual men living in Chicago, who are participating in a psychosocial study and have completed two waves of data collection. Their perceptions of risk were quantified using both an absolute and a comparative measure; these were combined into a risk index, scored from one to nine (x?= 3.91; SD= 1.64). Univariate analyses demonstrated that level of risk was related to several measures of subsequent behavioral risk reduction. However, after adjustment for sociodemographic variables, initial behavior, and other components of a model predicting behavior change, this was no longer true. Of the 12 behavioral outcomes assessed, only one was related to risk after appropriate adjustment, and this relationship was negative. Other longitudinal analyses examined the impact of a sense of risk on measures of psychosocial functioning which have been theoretically linked to health behaviors and to measures of psychological/ social distress. These demonstrated a range of potentially adverse consequences for those who perceived themselves to be at greater risk for AIDS, including increased barriers to behavioral change, obsessive/compulsive behavior, social role impairment, and more intrusive worries and concerns about AIDS. Taken together, these results suggest that there is little or no observable benefit to an increased sense of risk, but that such a sense subsequently leads to distress and dysfunction in a variety of realms. The implications of these findings for development of policy concerning antibody testing of at-risk populations is discussed.     

可卡因对6-羟基多巴胺所致大脑单侧黑质纹状体系统损伤的大白鼠的旋转行为的影响

本实验观察了Holtzman种系雌性大白鼠34只。以6-OHDA制备单侧大脑黑质纹状体系统损伤的旋转行为模式。在特殊的和自动的球形旋转仪中共进行3次行为观察。以伤侧多巴胺的耗竭率在85％以上,以及具有优势地同侧性的旋转行为的实验动物的实验数据作为分析和讨论的依据。34只雌性大白鼠均符合上述条件。本实验所观察到的盐酸可卡因对动物的旋转行为的影响,其主要结果如下: 可卡因可使实验动物引起刻板的同侧性的旋转行为,其作用迅速。不同剂量的可卡因对动物的旋转行为有不同的影响。 单冷注射可卡因对动物的旋转行为能明显地引起长的至少持续一个星期的促进作用。这就提示,对脑和行为具有持久作用的心理运动的兴奋药,没有必要反复给药。     

The meanings of marital surnames

Sex Roles - To assess the meanings attached to marital surnames a younger group of adults (56 unmarried college students) and an older group (209 married and unmarried graduate students, members of...     

WOMEN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT FOLLOWING EMERGENCY CESAREAN VERSUS VAGINAL DELIVERY

The present study was designed to investigate possible differences in psychological adjustment and satisfaction between women delivering vaginally and those delivering by emergency cesarean section. Women's satisfaction with the birth experience was distinguished from postpartum psychological adjustment, as measured by depression, anxiety, and confidence in mothering ability. Twenty-two women who delivered vaginally and twenty-two women who delivered by emergency cesarean section were selected according to stringent criteria, to control for factors known to be associated with positive cesarean outcomes. Significant differences were found in level of satisfaction, with cesarean mothers reporting less satisfaction with the delivery than vaginal mothers. However, no differences were found between the groups on the three measures of psychological adjustment. Under optimal conditions, cesarean deliveries are not associated with adverse early postpartum psychological adjustment.     

Development of a Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Mind Reading interactive computer software to remediate emotion recognition deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Six unmedicated children with ASD and 11 unmedicated non-clinical control subjects participated in the study. The clinical sample used the software for five sessions. The control sample was evaluated only on pre- and post-test performance to assess practice effects. Results showed that participants with ASD scored significantly higher on the posttest than on the pretest. As level of emotion difficulty increased, mean scores on the pretest decreased, indicating that difficulty level had a valid effect. The Mind Reading computer software appears to significantly improve the emotion recognition abilities in children with ASD.