Space-time behavior of single and bimanual rhythmical movements: data and limit cycle model

How do space and time relate in rhythmical tasks that require the limbs to move singly or together in various modes of coordination? And what kind of minimal theoretical model could account for the observed data? Earlier findings for human cyclical movements were consistent with a nonlinear, limit cycle oscillator model (Kelso, Holt, Rubin, & Kugler, 1981) although no detailed modeling was performed at that time. In the present study, kinematic data were sampled at 200 samples/second, and a detailed analysis of movement amplitude, frequency, peak velocity, and relative phase (for the bimanual modes, in phase and antiphase) was performed. As frequency was scaled from 1 to 6 Hz (in steps of 1 Hz) using a pacing metronome, amplitude dropped inversely and peak velocity increased. Within a frequency condition, the movement's amplitude scaled directly with its peak velocity. These diverse kinematic behaviors were modeled explicitly in terms of low-dimensional (nonlinear) dissipative dynamics, with linear stiffness as the only control parameter. Data and model are shown to compare favorably. The abstract, dynamical model offers a unified treatment of a number of fundamental aspects of movement coordination and control.     

TRAINING COUNSELING SKILLS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

A community development perspective suggests the value of using local resources to solve local problems. Two low-income staff of a community service center served as nonprofessional counselors after receiving a training program consisting of written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. The effects of the 40-hour training program were positive for both counseling and problem-solving skills. There was also evidence of generalization of counseling performance across clients, problems, and time. In addition, expert judges' ratings of performance were obtained as a measure of social validity. These findings suggest that the training procedures are effective in enhancing the counseling and problem-solving skills of low-income nonprofessionals.     

KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF VALIDATION STUDIES WITH THE DEFINING ISSUES TEST

This paper evaluates studies that have used the Defining Issues Test for validating Kohlberg's theory of moral stage development. Although this test was introduced to overcome inadequacies with Kohlberg's procedure, it too encounters serious methodological and conceptual difficulties. Its limitations include truncation of the stages and age range assessed. The validation studies, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, have used a correlational design and confounded age with other variables. Threats to internal and external validity obviate support claimed for Kohlberg; moral reasoning thus measured seems a function of education, IQ, direct moral training, and cultural values rather than maturation. Nor is the stage model upheld by longitudinal data, which fail to reveal sequential stepwise change and belie occasional regression. Attempted redefinition of the stage concept to salvage these data has not rescued Kohlberg's proposal, which remains to be validated empirically.     

The development of a child assessment interview for research and clinical use

The Child Assessment Schedule (CAS) was developed to address the need for a standardized child interview that could be used for research and clinical purposes. The CAS has several distinguishing characteristics: (1) Questions and responses are standardized, (2) the format was designed to enhance rapport with the child, and (3) information necessary for DSM III childhood diagnoses is explicitly solicited. The CAS was administered to 32 child outpatients, 18 inpatients, and 37 normal controls. Derived scores were obtained for total psychopathology, 11 content areas, and 9 symptom complexes. Interrater reliability for the total CAS score was quite high. The CAS was able to discriminate among the three groups in total score indicating degree of psychopathology, on 9 of the 11 content areas, and on 8 of the 9 symptom complexes. Significant correlations were found between the CAS and maternal report of child behavior and between the CAS and child selfreport of internal affects. It was concluded that the CAS has adequate reliability and validity, although further research is indicated.     

Assessment of identity status in college women using Outer Space and Inner Space interviews

Ego identity status was assessed using two interviews, one based on Outer Space issues and the other based on Inner Space issues, as described by Erikson. Sixty-nine college women were classified in one of four identity statuses for each interview. Additional data were obtained on age, level of ego development, and cognitive style. As predicted, subjects in the high identity statuses (Moratorium and Achievement) showed higher levels of ego development and a more mature cognitive style than subjects in the low statuses (Diffusion and Foreclosure). Outer Space statuses showed a positive relationship to age, but Inner Space statuses did not. Factor analysis showed that the interviews measure separate aspects of identity. Consideration of these results led to the suggestion that Outer Space as well as Inner Space issues are central to female identity status.This article is based on a dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Temple University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.     

Learning of a serial task by different age groups

In a serial learning task given to subjects whose ages ranged from twenty to seventy, a decline in performance showed itself as a loss of speed in the thirties, a loss of accuracy in the forties, and a marked loss of both speed and accuracy in the fifties and sixties. Experiments on recall and reorganization of material verified that older subjects were forgetting more quickly than younger, but that one of their main difficulties was an inability to substitute new reponses in an already mentally formed sequence.

Older subjects were not introducing new learning features but accentuating normal tendencies, such as the repetition of the same error at the same serial position. In so far as subjects learned their repeated errors, final learning involved unlearning, with the often observable phenomenon of the previously learned error serving as the cue for the more recently learned correct response. In terms of schematic concepts of mental functions, serial learning difficulty was not so much the formation of a general “scheme” but its subsequent amendment. Preformed habits influenced both the learning procedure and its results, particularly in the constraints and expectancies which the making of one serial response had upon another.     

Different thresholds for recognition—further experiments on interpolated recall and recognition

Three experiments are described which have attempted to identify some of the difficulties in recognition after interpolated recall. In the first, complex picture material was used, and, though subjects were able to recognize the original after interpolated recall, they did in fact recognize fewer items. This posed the query, why should the recall of some items depress the recognition of other unrecalled items? The second experiment showed that in recognition the stronger (correct) memory has an inhibitory effect on a weaker (also correct) memory. The third experiment therefore examined the hypothesis that the juxtaposition of better and worse known items raises the threshold of recognition of the worse known, and confirmed that the threshold of recognition for an item varies according to its context. The theoretical significance of this finding is briefly indicated.     

Cognitive problem-solving and life event correlates of depressive symptoms in children

This study examined the relationship between a number of cognitive problem-solving and life event variables and depressive symptoms in a sample of non-referred grade school children. The results indicated that higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with an external locus of control, increased levels of objective and subjective life stress, and lower performance levels on an impersonal problem-solving task. Level of depressive symptoms was also found to be inversely related to socioeconomic status as measured by father's occupation. Contrary to prediction, no consistent relationship was found between depression and interpersonal problem-solving ability.This research is based on the first author's master's thesis submitted under the supervision of the second author to the Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia.     

The effects of special reading time in Spanish on the reading abilities and attitudes of Hispanic junior high school students

The purpose of this study is to determine whether providing special reading time with a wide variety of reading materials in Spanish affects the reading abilities, reading attitudes and academic self-concepts of Hispanic junior high school students. Common reading measures in both English and Spanish, and related attitude tests, were given to 400 experimentally accessible Hispanic students. On most of the measures, the difference between the E and C groups was not statistically significant. On the 4 measures for which significance (=0.10) was attained (and on the other tests not achieving statistical significance) there was a trend for the E group to perform better on the Spanish reading tests and the C group to do better on the English reading tests. Differences on the reading attitude and academic self-concept tests did not approach statistical significance. The pattern of results was consistent for both sexes, and for students who were, and who were not, taking a Spanish language course, and for students whose teachers taught in both the E and C situations. E teachers who were conscientious in implementing the treatment tended to have significantly greater gains in both English and Spanish reading achievement. Within the E group gains in English and Spanish reading abilities were positively correlated.The authors wish to acknowledge and express gratitude to the administrators and teachers in the Tempe Elementary School District, Tempe, Arizona, who contributed much time and effort to this study; to the Division of Bilingual Education, Arizona Department of Education; and to the Department of Educational Technology and Library Science, Arizona State University, which made this study possible.     

Serving the mental health needs of families with children under three: A comprehensive program

This paper describes a pregnancy and infant/parent program that was developed to provide comprehensive mental health services to families with children under 3 years of age. Because either the infant or parent can be the identified patient, we are able to treat families who define their problems in a variety of ways. The program has four basic premises: (1) the mental health of all family members should be addressed, (2) treatment of family members should be provided with minimum fragmentation of services, (3) the treatment plan must be individualized for each family, and (4) modes of therapy must be changed as the needs of the family change over time. This paper presents the rationale and techniques necessary for integrated services to families with children under 3 years of age. Two cases are presented: one with the infant as the identified patient, and one with the mother as the identified patient.