The Relationship Between Performance on the Gordon Diagnostic System and Other Measures of Attention

Tests purporting to measure attention were administered to college students to examine their relationship to three relatively new tests of attention from the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS). All subjects received the Standard Delay, Vigilance, and Distractibility Tests of the GDS. In addition, 69 of 136 subjects received the Digit Span, Arithmetic, and Digit Symbol subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), and Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test. After the GDS, the other 67 subjects received the Visual Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), and the Stroop. Replication (across two studies) and gender influences were not evident on GDS performance. Performance data on this test for these 136 college students, collapsed across replication and gender, are presented. Although within-test correlations were strong, correlations between tests were weak. A ceiling effect on the Vigilance task may have effected its correlations with other tests. Results suggest that the GDS tasks are not substitutes for commonly used tests of attention, but may be useful as an additional source of information in the assessment of attention.     

Personality,time of day and delayed memory for tv news

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of time of day on delayed memory for televised news stories. Three groups received the same sequence of 6 news stories at 09.30, 13.30 and 16.30, respectively. Unexpected tests of free recall, cued recall and recognition were given about 2 hr after news presentation. Results showed that memory performance improved slightly across the day on tests of recall, and significantly so on recognition. Personality differences were also examined. In general, introverts remembered more than extraverts and differences between them were most marked during the late-afternoon session especially on free recall and when minimal cuing was provided. The results support previous time-of-day findings for delayed retention of complex learning materials. Personality differences observed here are consistent with predicted introvert-extravert differences in memory performance predicted by Eysenck's modified action-decrement hypothesis.     

A microcomputer system for temperature biotelemetry

A microcomputer (Apple II) system for recording body temperature measured by a commercially made, implantable biotelemetry device (Mini-Mitter) is described. The system includes an inexpensive radio receiver interface circuit and software written in BASIC and 6502 assembly language. The utility of the system is illustrated in a study that shows that various handling procedures (including that normally involved in rectal temperature measurement) elevate body temperature in rats.     

Experimental evidence for aggressive antipredator behavior in black skimmers (rynchops niger)

We experimentally studied the aggressive antipredator behavior of black skimmers Rynchops niger nesting in a salt marsh and sandy beach with the use of a live herring gull Larus argentatus. Although there were no significant habitat differences in vegetation cover, distance from the edge of the colony, or nesting density, skimmers nesting in salt marshes were more aggressive toward the herring gull than were those nesting on the beach. Aggression increased during the first three minutes of the test, and decreased slightly thereafter. Aggression levels were highest when the gull moved compared to when it was stationary. Skimmers made few responses when a person was present with the gull, but aggression increased dramatically when only the gull remained. Our results suggest skimmers may engage in more aggressive behavior in defense of their nests than previously thought, particularly when exposed to a predator that actually takes eggs and chicks. Further, we suggest that conclusions about antipredator behavior drawn only from studies of interactions with people may need further amplification. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Vaginal Aesthetics

Based on the premise that ugliness looms large in both cultural and women's consciousness of vaginas, I create a representation of the vagina's beauty as rich and sweet. Smell, taste, and touch play predominant roles as I use scholarly analysis and my own autobiographical narratives and poems and poetic language in order to redress the vagina's culturally inherited ugliness.     

Methodological Overview of the Parents Matter! Program

We present an overview of the methodology employed in the Parents Matter! Program. Information on the following aspects of the program is presented: participant eligibility and recruitment; consenting procedures and administration of assessments; development and utilization of measures in the assessments; study design; intervention procedures; facilitator characteristics and training; procedures to assess treatment fidelity assessment; and procedures utilized to enhance retention of study participants.     

It is More than Thought that Counts: the Role of Readiness for Aggression in the Relationship Between Ostracism and Displaced Aggression

Research has shown that ostracism results in aggressive behavior towards the ostracising other, but also causes displaced aggression—aggression directed towards an innocent person. Our study investigated whether displaced aggressive responses to ostracism were increased by three types of aggression proneness (readiness for aggression) based on different mechanisms: emotional-impulsive, habitual-cognitive or personality-immanent. Participants (n = 118) played a Cyberball game in which they were either excluded or included, next prepared a hot sauce sample for another person as an indicator of aggression and completed the Readiness for Interpersonal Aggression Inventory. Results showed that ostracism evoked more aggression in participants with high rather than with low emotional-impulsive readiness for aggression. Only this type of readiness moderated the ostracism-aggression relationship indicating that mostly affective mechanisms induce displaced aggressive responses to exclusion.     

Changes in Late Adolescents and Young Adults’ Attachment,Separation, and Mental Health During Wilderness Therapy

The study explored changes in young adults’ mental health, attachment, and separation from parents during a seven-week wilderness therapy program. Utilizing a longitudinal one-group design, the study examined outcomes of 157 young adults in one wilderness therapy program. From pre to post treatment, participants reported significant improvement in mental health symptoms and interpersonal relationships, as well as increases in the belief that others can be depended upon. Participants reported less resentment and anger towards mothers from pre to post treatment, but an increase in their needs for approval from fathers. The study details a link between young adults’ attachment, independence from parents, and improvement in mental health, suggesting that treatment which targets these links may provide more effective intervention.