Surface and structural similarity in analogical transfer

Two experiments investigated factors that influence the retrieval and use of analogies in problem solving, Experiment 1 demonstrated substantial spontaneous analogical transfer with a delay of several days between presentation of the source and target analogues. Experiment 2 examined the influence of different types of similarity between the analogues. A mechanism for retrieval of source analogues is proposed, based on summation of activation from features shared with a target problem. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that both structural features, which play a causal role in determining possible problem solutions, and salient surface features, which do not have a causal role, influence spontaneous selection of an analogue. Structural features, however, have a greater impact than do surface features on a problem solver’s ability to use an analogue once its relevance has been pointed out.     

Conflict of interest between therapist-patient confidentiality and the duty to report sexual abuse of children

All 51 jurisdictions in the United States require physicians to report suspected child abuse. In most jurisdictions, reporting requirements override both confidentiality and privilege associated with the physician-patient relationship. The authors review the literature relevant to the conflict between privacy and reporting abuse and report the results of a national survey of therapists at sex offender treatment units. They discuss ethical problems experienced under these statutes by therapists who attempt to provide treatment for sex offenders, and by therapists who are required to report past instances of child abuse even when there is no evidence of ongoing abuse.     

Of beasties and butterflies: Evidence for the stability and domain-specificity of individual differences in categorization

Previous research has failed to demonstrate unambiguously the relative stability across time and consistency across tasks of individual differences in categorization, or categorization breadth The present study of categorizing behavior in college students assesses breadth at each of four points in time over a six-week period Results are consistent with an interpretation of breadth as a highly stable individual difference variable, but one that is constrained by the nature of the stimulus sets employed High stability coefficients were observed for each of two redundant tasks In contrast, cross-task consistency indices were generally low Personality correlates of breadth were similarly weak and inconsistent Several variables are suggested that may attenuate the generality of categorization breadth The existence of multiple styles of categorization is discussed     

Dating age and stage as correlates of adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior

Dating experiences, especially the type or stage of dating, have consistently been found to be related to premarital sexual behavior. Findings regarding the age at 1st date and sexual behavior have been less consistent. This paper examined the age at which dating began and the type of dating relationship as correlates of premarital sexual attitudes and behavior among mid-teen adolescents. The analyses were based on a sample of high school students (n=836), most of whom were between the ages of 15 and 18 when the surveys were conducted. Early dating, especially early steady dating, was related to permissive attitudes and to premarital sexual experience among both males and females. The relationship between early dating and intercourse experience was particulary strong among Mormons, a religious group which has institutionalized age 16 as the legitimate age to begin dating.     

Microfeedback: Biofeedback Monitoring Using Home Computers - a Pilot Study

The increasing focus on information technology has led to widespread growth in the use of microcomputer systems in counselling settings. While many applications depend on expensive and sophisticated equipment, the humble home computer has many facilities to offer. High resolution graphics and versatile control interfacing, designed for games use, enable easy adaptation to tasks such as visual presentation of biofeedback with the facility for data retention and analysis. A pilot system based on the Commodore 64 is described.     

On becoming a school psychologist: A semiautobiographical account

As an example of the development of an early school psychology program in the Southwest, the beginning of Child Study and Consultation Service is described. The unique aspect of this program undoubtedly had to do with its relationship to a demonstration mental health center and a consultation program started in several elementary school districts in the area. Beginning with a consortium of five school districts, it was later expanded to include 16 school districts with a staff of 15 doctoral-level school psychologists. This account also describes the author's involvement with the Division of School Psychology and some of the major issues facing the division in the late 1950s and 1960s. An attempt is made to show how the author's educational and work experiences contributed to the philosophy, policies, and practices of school psychology.     

Selective association learning in the rat: Generality of response system

Three experiments with rats examined the possibility that the cue-consequence specificity effect is not mediated by the conditioning of selective associations, but instead reflects the selective behavioral expression of taste-illness and exteroceptive-shock conditioning. Experiment 1 showed that the selective aversion performance could be obtained despite the use of locomotor withdrawal from the CS as the index of conditioning. Experiment 2 compared the response profiles of animals conditioned with footshock or illness to presentation of a saccharin or noise CS. During the test with the noise CS, lithium-conditioned subjects did not differ from control rats on any of several behavioral categories, but shock-conditioned rats showed high levels of freezing in response to the noise cue. During the saccharin test, lithium-treated rats engaged in behaviors such as chin wiping, head shaking, and gaping; these behaviors were rarely or never seen in shock-conditioned rats or controls, whose behavioral profiles during the saccharin test were almost identical. Experiment 3, using a blocking design, found that a noise-lithium pairing did not attenuate subsequent conditioning of a saline-lithium association, nor did a saccharin-shock pairing interfere with conditioning of a noise-shock association. These results confirm that the cue-consequence specificity effect is mediated by the selective associability of taste with illness and of exteroceptive cues with footshock.