Dynamics of thematic activation in recognition testing

Two experiments investigated the effects of spreading semantic activation during a recognition test. In Experiment 1, activation spreading during testing from words that were thematic associates of unstudied critical words yielded a linear increase in false alarms to such critical words as the number of tested associates increased, regardless of whether the theme appeared during study or whether any thematic processing occurred during study at all. In Experiment 2, the number of tested associates was held constant, and false alarms to critical words from unstudied themes increased linearly with the strength of association between the critical word and its tested associates, consistent with predictions of spreading-activation theory. For studied themes, however, testing weaker or stronger associates yielded similar rates of such false alarms, contrary to spreading-activation theory. These results suggest that test-induced thematic priming is driven by spreading activation for unstudied themes but by thematic reactivation for studied themes.     

Understanding and Treating Social Phobia

Social phobia, a relatively obscure disorder, is receiving increased attention due to evidence suggesting that it is more prevalent and debilitative than once thought. The purpose of this article is to help counselors better understand the nature of and treatments for this disorder. Effective behavioral and pharmacological approaches are reviewed, and counseling implications are discussed to increase counselors' confidence in providing treatment to people with social phobia.     

A Worksite smoking cessation intervention involving the media and incentives

This study evaluated an attempt at 38 workplaces to help employees stop or reduce their levels of smoking. In past research, worksite support groups, in combination with a media smoking cessation program and self-help manuals, were found to be effective in helping employees quit smoking. Unfortunately, recidivism was found at the follow-up evaluations. The present study replicated the results of the previous worksite smoking cessation program with support groups, a television intervention, and self-help manuals. At this postpoint, 42% of employees provided groups plus incentives were abstinent compared to only 15% who were only provided self-help materials. An important difference in this study was that there were also monthly follow-up support groups and incentives. Work settings can be a source of stress and conflict, which can precipitate relapse. At a 12-month follow-up, 26% of those participants who were provided support and incentives were abstinent compared to 16% who were only provided the self-help materials.     

Hermeneutic listening: An approach to understanding in multicultural conversations

Listening is crucial to reaching multicultural understanding. Borrowing from the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer we develop a hermeneutics of listening. To listen we must risk our prejudices, but these prejudices constitute our very identity. In this paper we attempt to answer the question, “Why Listen?” if listening is such a potentially dangerous activity.     

Efficacy of the Wilbarger Therapressure Program™ to Modulate Arousal in Women with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Pilot Study Using Salivary Cortisol and Behavioral Measures

This pilot study assesses the efficacy of using the Wilbarger Therapressure Program? to modulate the arousal and influence the sensory symptoms seen in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder. Salivary cortisol and behavioral measures were used in this single subject design study of four women with post-traumatic stress disorder. Significant positive changes were seen in three of the four the women. The exception was one woman whose post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from blast injuries.     

The Complexity of Quest in Emerging Adults’ Religiosity,Well‐Being,and Identity

The construct of quest as measured by the Quest Scale raises complexities that this study addressed with online surveys measuring religiosity, ego identity, and well‐being of graduates from two Christian colleges. Intrinsic questers (those above the scale midpoint in intrinsic and quest scores but below the extrinsic midpoint) made up over half of those high in intrinsic religiosity and did not differ in Christian orthodoxy, religious identity, religious coping, or well‐being from the pure intrinsics (those high in intrinsic religiosity). Indiscriminately pro‐religious questing individuals (those high in intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and quest) were less religious and showed poorer coping than intrinsic questers. Quest appears to be a reasonable measure of religious orientation, improving prediction of Christian orthodoxy, religious identity, and religious coping, and was more highly correlated with ego identity exploration than with stress. In association with intrinsic religiosity quest does not appear to indicate weak religiosity or poor well‐being. Instead, intrinsic questers may pursue a distinctive developmental trajectory, a path of existential searching by which emerging adults manage the demands of contemporary culture while maintaining a mature faith.     

Investigations of operant ABA renewal during differential reinforcement

Operant renewal is a form of relapse in which a previously extinguished response recurs due to a change in context. We designed two experiments to examine the impact of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior on ABA renewal in a translational model of relapse with 12 children. We compared levels of renewal in two 3-phase arrangements. In one arrangement, we reinforced target responding in Context A, extinguished responding in Context B, and returned to Context A while continuing to implement extinction. In a second arrangement, an alternative response produced reinforcement in Context B and during the return to Context A. Results across the 2 experiments indicated 3 general findings. First, extinction plus differential reinforcement disrupted target behavior more consistently in Context B relative to extinction alone. Second, renewal tended to be greater and more persistent during extinction alone relative to extinction plus differential reinforcement. Third, the renewal effect appeared to depend on whether the alternative response had a history of extinction in Context A. We discuss methodological implications for the treatment of severe destructive behavior.     

Sequential sampling plans for use in psychological test work

In large-scale psychological testing programs, it happens frequently that a group of items must be checked for accuracy with respect to certain characteristics. In many cases it is not feasible to check each item in the group separately, so that a decision concerning the entire group is usually reached by examining in detail only a small portion of the group. This paper proposes some sequential sampling plans for use in this type of work. A general discussion of the problem is followed by an illustrative example of the method applied to checking scores on groups of psychological test papers.The stimulus for this paper was provided by Dr. S. B. Sells.