The effect of couples training and partner co-operativeness in the behavioral treatment of obesity

To evaluate the influence of spouse co-operativeness and couples training in the treatment of obesity, 29 obese men and women were assigned to three experimental conditions: (1) Co-operative spouse-couples training: subjects attended all meetings with spouses. Spouses were trained in modeling, monitoring, and reinforcement techniques; (2) Co-operative spouse-subject alone: subjects attended meetings alone even though their partners had agreed to become involved in treatment; (3) Non-cooperative spouse: subjects had spouses refusing to participate in the program, and attended sessions alone. At the 3-month and 6-month maintenance assessments. subjects in the spouse training condition lost significantly more weight than subjects in the other two conditions. Weight losses compared favorably to those of any controlled study with subjects in the couples training group averaging nearly 30 lbs lost after 8$\text{1}\text{2}$ months of treatment. In the absence of spouse training, subjects with co-operative spouses did no better than subjects with non-co-operative spouses. The findings suggest that spouse training may have a potent facilitative effect in weight reduction, and that this effect may promote long-term maintenance of weight loss.     

Effects of counselor's eye contact on student-clients' perceptions

This study investigated the effects of amount and direction of eye contact with the counselor on a student's perceptions. 48 undergraduate and graduate education majors were randomly assigned to one of six conditions in a 2 x 3 factorial design representing two levels of eye direction (eye-to-eye and eye-to-nose/mouth) and three amounts of eye contact (high = 85%, medium = 50%, low = 15%). Subjects had 10-min. standard interviews that differed only according to the six experimental conditions. Interviews were videotaped to assess maintenance of experimental conditons. Following the interview, subjects rated (5-high to 1-low) the interview on seven variables (comfort, attention, interest, ease, helpfulness, eye contact, and willingness to return). Interrater reliability for maintenance of experimental conditions was .87 on amount of eye contact and .03 for direction. Scheffé comparisons showed high and medium eye contact produced significantly higher ratings by student clients on attention, interest, eye contact, and willingness to return than low eye contact. There were no differences for direction of eye contact.     

Sex differences and sex-role stereotyping in clinical psychologists' reports: a research note

This paper presents an empirical study of sex differences and sex-role stereotyping in clinical psychologists' reports. The results of numerous analyses showed no significant evidence at any point of sex differences or sex-role stereotyping in the form or the subject matter of the clinical reports.

     

An information processing system for the psychiatric emergency room

An information processing system for a psychiatric emergency room is described. Several studies are presented that show the utility of the system. In the first study, variables involved in diagnosis are explicated. The second study attempts to determine the characteristics that distinguish recidivists from nonrecidivists at an emergency room. The third study attempts to find patient variables related to success in short-term treatment programs. The final study is aimed at discovering whether there are psychopathological effects related to the use of inhalants. Together, these studies show the potential of a mental health information system for learning more about the nature of mental disorders and their treatment.     

The effect of auditory input on cerebral laterality

Cerebral laterality was examined for third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade deaf and hearing subjects. The experimental task involved the processing of word and picture stimuli presented singly to the right and left visual hemifields. The analyses indicated the deaf children were faster than the hearing children in overall processing efficiency, and that they performed differently in regard to hemispheric lateralization. The deaf children processed the stimuli more efficiently in the right hemisphere, while the hearing children demonstrated a left-hemisphere proficiency. This finding is discussed in terms of the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization is influenced by auditory processing.     

Component analysis of the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern in male and female college students

Two studies investigated the psychological dimensions encompassed by the Rosenman Structured Interview (SI) method of assessing the Type A behavior pattern. In Study 1, female students completed the SI and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Factor analysis of the verbal stylistic and answer content components of the SI yielded a 5-factor solution, with one factor--Clinical Rating--accounting for most nonerror variance in Type A ratings. The remaining factors were derived from answer content and correlated more substantially with JAS Type A ratings than with SI Type A ratings. In Study 2, male and female college students completed the SI and JAS and a battery of questionnaires that tap trait dimensions implied by the conceptual definition of Type A. For both males and females, SI ratings of Type A could almost be completely predicted by scores on the Clinical Rating factor. For both sexes, content dimensions of the SI related to other measures of Type A and to Type A-consistent traits, whereas the Clinical Rating factor was only modestly associated with such traits. Moreover, sex differences were observed in the trait constellations composing SI and JAS definitions of Type A. These results suggest that a discrepancy exists between conceptual and operational definitions of the Type A pattern.