Editorial

Rorschach aggressive content was examined in 42 children who had been referred for psychological evaluations and 42 children who were considered well-adjusted. The two groups did not differ on two standard, global indices of aggressive content, but they did differ with respect to various specific kinds of aggressive imagery. In particular, the normal children more frequently focused on aggression in the context of direct interactions fights — whereas the problematic children talked as if the figures were at the mercy of unknown or unreal attackers.     

Regulation of Peripheral Catecholamine Responses to Acute Stress in Young Adult and Aged F-344 Rats

Young adult (3-month-old) and aged (24-month-old) Fischer-344 male rats received i.v. infusions of 3H-labeled norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) to examine the effects of aging on the neuronal uptake of NE and sympathoadrenal release of NE and EPI. Spillovers of NE and EPI into plasma and their clearance from the circulation were estimated from plasma concentrations of endogenous and 3H-labeled NE and EPI. The efficiency of neuronal uptake was assessed from changes in plasma clearance of NE and concentrations of its intraneuronal metabolite, dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG), during immobilization stress or neuronal uptake blockade with desipramine. Stress-induced increases in plasma NE and higher plasma NE concentrations in aged compared to young adult rats were due to both decreases in NE clearance and increases in NE spillover. EPI spillover and clearance were reduced in aged compared to young adult rats, so that plasma EPI levels did not differ between groups. Young adult and aged rats had similar desipramine-induced decreases in NE clearance, whereas desipramine-sensitive decreases and stress-induced increases in plasma DHPG were larger in aged rats. This indicates that neuronal uptake is intact and that increased NE spillover at rest and during stress in aged rats reflects increased NE release from sympathetic nerves. The results show that aging is associated with divergent decreases in EPI release from the adrenal medulla and increases in NE release from sympathetic nerves. Increased plasma concentrations of NE in aged compared to young adult rats also result from decreased circulatory clearance of NE, but this does not reflect any age-related impairment of NE reuptake.     

Apparent reversals of a rotating mask: a new demonstration of cognition in perception.

A mask of a face rotated about its vertical axis of symmetry can appear to oscillate rather than rotate. Do stimulus features (e.g., shape) or cognitive factors (e.g., differential familiarity with convex and concave views of faces) explain this new illusion? In Experiment 1, differential familiarity was varied across stimuli by using familiar and unfamiliar objects rotating at 4 rpm and within stimuli by showing the objects upright and inverted. True motion was seen more with unfamiliar objects than with familiar objects and more with an inverted mask than with an upright mask. The results of Experiment 2, which was done with static views, suggest that the upright and inverted masks present similar structure to the visual system. In Experiment 3, the objects were shown rotating at 8 rpm; the results are similar to those of Experiment 1. These experiments favor a differential familiarity account of this illusory motion. Cognitive constraints on perceived motion and perceived rigidity are discussed.     

The use of the Rorschach in brief clinical evaluation

An adaptation of the Rorschach is described that can be used as part of a brief clinical evaluation. Some case illustrations are provided to demonstrate the method.     

Apahe Age Groups

Previous communications have indicated that interpretations of Rorschach protocols resultant from testing the Apaches of the Mescalero Indian Reservation produce information which conforms closely to that obtained by standard anthropological and psychoanalytic investigative techniques.

Anthropologic and psychoanalytic observations demonstrate that the effects of acculturation are less disruptive to the personality organization of old-age than of middle-age and young-age Mescalero and Chiracahua Apaches. In the present communication, a comparison is made of Rorschach protocols derived from testing of those three-age groups. The interpretation of those protocols confirms the assumptions based on the anthropological and psychoanalytic observations.