Relations between source amnesia and frontal lobe functioning in older adults

A study is reported in which the relations among normal aging, source amnesia, and frontal lobe functioning were explored. Twenty-four older adults (aged 60-84 years) were tested on their ability to remember where they had acquired new factual information; they were also given the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), a test of verbal fluency, and other psychometric tests. The degree of source amnesia in this normal sample correlated with age, verbal fluency, and some measures from the WCST. Source amnesia was not related to Performance IQ, however, or to a measure of fact recall. The implications for the relations among aging, memory, and frontal lobe functions are discussed.     

Attitudes,Knowledge, and Sexual Behavior of High-Risk Adolescents: Implications for Counseling and Sexuality Education

A survey was conducted to examine high-risk sexual behavior in a large group of adolescents who were involved with the juvenile justice system. The findings showed that these youth are at high risk for unintended pregnancy and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Compared to national norms, the sample reported a very early mean age at first intercourse and a high rate of pregnancy. Those who had been involved in a pregnancy reported having begun sexual activity the earliest of those surveyed. Most participants reported an extremely unreliable use of birth control, with this unreliable use of birth control being strongly associated with espousal of high-risk attitudes but generally unassociated with factual knowledge regarding pregnancy and contraception. These findings support the argument for expanding the scope of traditional sex education and beginning sexuality education programs earlier than they usually are in this country.     

Psychological distress and somatic symptoms after natural disaster: differential vulnerability among older adults

In a panel study, more than 200 older adults were interviewed before and after a severe flood in southeastern Kentucky in 1984. The issue in this study was whether older adult flood victims were differentially vulnerable to increases in psychological and physical symptoms on the basis of their age, sex, marital status, occupational status, education level, and preflood symptom levels. Flood exposure was related to increases in depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms at 18 months postflood. Within this older adult sample, men, those with lower occupational status, and persons aged 55-64 were at significantly greater risk for increases in psychological symptoms. Sociodemographic status did not moderate the impact of flood exposure on physical health. Implications for crisis-intervention services to older adult disaster victims are discussed.     

Empathic interactional sequences and counsellor trainee effectiveness

Consecutive counsellor trainee and client statements from 12 audiotaped assessment interviews were coded to operationalize empathy as a sequential variable. For each two statement sequence the speaking order (counsellor to client, client to counsellor) was also coded, and the resultant matrix analyzed via loglinear statistical procedures for categorical data. For the speaking order client to counsellor, three empathy sequences (empathy enhancing, empathy diverging, empathy commencing) were found to be significantly related to counselling effectiveness. For the speaking order counsellor to client, only one sequence(empathy diverging) was found to be significantly related to counselling effectiveness. Implications for counsellor training and future research are discussed.     

Graphic precision: Controlling stimulus displays on IBM PC-compatible computers

Tachistoscopic presentation of stimuli on IBM PC-compatible computers is limited by a number of factors, including video retrace rates, screen scrolling, and the shape and density of picture elements. A method is presented for overcoming these difficulties through the use of enhanced graphic adapters or video graphic arrays. A C-language program demonstrates (1) synchronous scroll-free displays achieved by writing alternating images to “hidden” pages of video memory, (2) alternative techniques for erasing images, and (3) use of an empirically derived aspect ratio to produce symmetrical figures.     

Abstracts

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science -     

Counsellor verbal response mode usage and client-perceived rapport

The effects of usage of eight verbal response modes by trainee counsellors during an initial interview were determined by reference to client-perceived rapport. Data on rapport were gathered via a standardized client's minute-by-minute ratings of his experience of rapport on a five-point scale during the interview. A total of ten counselling interviews were conducted, and data were examinedfor overall effects (i.e. during the interview as a whole) and minute-by-minute effects. Restatements, Minimal Encouragers and Verbosity were significantly dafferent in occurrence in high versus low rated interviews. Minute-by-minute data revealed that these overall differences were not consistent at all stages of the interviews. Implications for counsellor training are discussed.     

Contributions of survey research to the understanding of memory

This article reviews the results of survey methodological research that illustrate phenomena of potential interest to investigators of memory, and also reviews psychological research designed to explore some of these phenomena under controlled laboratory conditions. We classify the phenomena reviewed into broad categories of remembering what events occurred, remembering when events occurred, and estimation and reconstruction processes used in reporting recurring events. We delineate the contributions of this research for our understanding of memory phenomena and show where this research has revealed gaps in our existing theories and knowledge. These findings present challenges for future collaboration between cognitive psychologists and survey methodologists.     

Supervising the person of the therapist: Issues,challenges and dilemmas

A major critical issue in marriage and family therapy today is the professionalization of the discipline. Thus the focus on training individuals for a career in marriage and family therapy necessitates the revisitation of the debate over personal growth versus skill development. The trend toward training the person of the therapist, however, would suggest that the field is moving toward the integration of self awareness and skill in the therapeutic system. With the popularization of training the person of the therapist comes other issues, challenges, and dilemmas for the field, including the crucial issue of training gender and culturally sensitive therapists. The potential for creating dual relationships when training the person of the therapist is both a dilemma and a challenge.     

Disordered Communication and Grieving in Deaf Member Families

When a deaf child is born to hearing parents, a grieving process is initiated in the parents. Unresolved grieving over their child's deafness often makes it difficult for hearing parents to accept the importance of signing, thus increasing the child's problems — further source of grief for these parents. Clinical illustrations are provided of (1) the reciprocal relationship between disruption of the mourning process and disturbance of communication between family members, and (2) the transmission of the dysfunctional relationship between hearing parents and deaf children to the subsequent relationship between the deaf children, when they reach adulthood, and their hearing children.