The effects of induced affective states on letter discrimination in disadvantaged preschool children

The relationship between affective state and academic performance was examined using 30 4- to 6- year old economically disadvantaged black children. Children were assigned to one of three affective induction groups: positive, negative, or neutral affect. Changes from pre- to posttest administrations of a letter discrimination task suggest that negative and positive affect inductions produce different changes in both errors and response latency. These findings suggest that further research on the possibility that negative affect may be responsible in part for the academic difficulties of disadvantaged children and other children under stress is warranted.     

Changes in Moods and Activation Levels During the Menstrual Cycle in Experimentally Naive Subjects

Two experiments providing additional validity data on the Profile of Mood States and the Thayer Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List were per-formed. In the third and main experiment, seven normally menstruating women filled out both questionnaires at the same time every day for 90 days. They were not aware that they were participating in a study of menstruation. Analysis of the time series records of individual women revealed relatively few significant fluctuations in moods and activation levels. Analysis of the group data showed that Fatigue, Confusion, Deactivation/Sleep, and Depression/Dejection were significantly lower in the premenstrual phase than in the periovulatory phase of the cycle, while General Activation was higher. Anger/Hostility and Confusion were both lower in the menstrual phase than in the periovulatory phase. On a retrospective menstrual distress questionnaire, these same subjects say that they experience increases in anxiety, irritability, depression, and tension in the premenstrual phase of the cycle. The differences between individual and group data and the apparent discrepancy between daily self-reports and retrospective questionnaires are discussed.     

Clinical validation of a sleep assessment device

We have previously reported on the use of a sleep assessment device (SAD) with non-insomniac subjects. The SAD works by generating a brief, soft tone about every 10 min throughout the night and tape recording verbal responses to these cues. The sleep patterns reconstructed from the night's tape recordings proved highly concordant with EEG records. The present study tested the SAD against the EEG standard in 20 nights of monitoring chronic insomniacs. No significant differences were found between the SAD and EEG records with respect to sleep latency, duration of awakenings during the night, total sleep time and sleep efficiency percentage. The EEG detected many more very brief awakenings during the night than did the SAD due to the continuous monitoring by the former. The SAD proved to be a non-intrusive measure of sleep according to three independent measures. The usefulness of the SAD as a measure of sleep in the natural environment was discussed.     

Monaural recall and the right-ear advantage

Lists of eight nonsense syllables were monaurally presented to right-handed men and women for free recall, half to each ear on each trial. Results showed a right-ear advantage (REA) in the recall of recency items, but not primacy items and for males only. Among males only that subgroup without familial sinistrality demonstrated the REA. Results offer support for the following: (A) the language mechanisms involved in short-term “echoic” memory are particularly well-lateralized; (B) mechanisms underlying monaural REAs may be similar to those responsible for the asymmetries found in other paradigms; (C) processing demands and strategies inherent to the monaural technique may account in part for its limited reliability in yielding REA and for the present absence of REA among females.     

Reviews

Jung , C. G. General bibliography of C. G. Jung's writings Jung , C. G. General index to the Collected works Wiener , Aharon . The Prophet Elijah in the development of Judaism. A depth-psychological study Copans , S. and Singer , T. Who's the patient here? Portraits of the young psychotherapist Minuchin , S., Rosman , B. L. and Baker , L. Psychosomatic families: anorexia nervosa in context Bryant , C. The river within: the search for God in the depth     

Reviews

E vans , R ichard I. Jung on elementary psychology
F ranz , M arie -L ouise von . Die Visionen des Niklaus von Flüe
B olen , J. The Tao of psychology: synchronicity and the self
S andner , D. Navaho symbols of healing
C raighead , M einrad . The sign of the tree: meditations in images and words