The word without the tachistoscope

In experiments with an unlimited viewing time, we were able to isolate specific stimulus factors that lead to the word-superiority effect. We discovered that advantages of words over nonwords, and words over single letters, are caused by different factors. The word-nonword effect was found in a variety of circumstances, such as with small type, low contrast, or a simultaneously present mask. The advantage of words over single letters occurs only when the stimuli are embedded in a mask making it difficult to find a single letter. In addition, we obtained a word-detection effect without a brief exposure: Subjects were more accurate detecting the presence of words than nonwords. However, this effect only occurred when subjects were required to discriminate letters from nonletters. Thus, the word-superiority (word-nonword difference) and word-detection effects both involve letter discrimination and can be explained by similar mechanisms.     

Behaviorism and mentalism: Is there a third alternative?

Behaviorism and mentalism are commonly considered to be mutually exclusive and conjunctively exhaustive options for the psychological explanation of behavior. Behaviorism and mentalism do differ in their characterization of inner causes of behavior. However, I argue that they are not mutually exclusive on the grounds that they share important foundational assumptions, two of which are the notion of an innerouter split and the notion of control. I go on to argue that mentalism and behaviorism are not conjunctively exhaustive either, on the grounds that dropping these common foundational assumptions results in a distinctively different framework for the explanation of behavior. This third alternative, which is briefly described, is a version of non-individualism.     

The health effects of work and family role characteristics: Gender and race comparisons

Many studies have documented the benefits of work and family roles for both physical and mental health. A number of these studies have suggested that work and family roles are beneficial to the degree that they entail rewarding relationships and activities. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 10633; 17 percent African-American), this paper examines three questions: (a) Are gender and race differences in health explained by gender and race differences in work and family roles? (b) How do characteristics of work and family roles contribute to health? (c) Are there gender and race differences in the effects of work and family role characteristics? Simple occupancy of work and family roles does not explain away gender and race differences in health. Several characteristics of work and family roles have significant health effects, but there are few significant gender and race differences in those effects, and role characteristics do not change the pattern of gender and race differences in health.     

A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Chronic Pain Management

More than one third of Americans suffer from recurring or persistent pain. Because this condition can result in depression, social isolation, disruption of intimate relationships, and prolonged disability, chronic pain sufferers may seek counseling. This article provides counselors with an introduction to the role of psychosocial processes in the experience of pain and offers assessment and intervention recommendations based on a cognitive-behavioral therapy approach to pain management.     

Women, AIDS, and Theatre: Representations and Resistances

The plays written about AIDS in the past dozen years form a radical canon establishing gay men as the locus for public attention. These plays have been all but silent in their representation of women with AIDS. This article examines the marginalized women in early plays such as The Normal Heart and As Is, and the women more central to later plays such as The Baltimore Waltz, Before It Hits Home, and Patient A. It foregrounds some of the most problematic issues surrounding the AIDS virus: the perception of women as vectors of disease for men and unborn children, the insistent representation of women as mothers and caregivers, and the denial of patterns of abuse, sexual exploitation, and poverty which contribute to the marginalization of woman and people of color.     

Aging and Ethnicity: Issues for Clinical Practice

Due to dramatic improvements in life expectancy among Americans from diverse ethnic groups, the graying of America is resulting in a particularly marked increase in ethnic diversity in late life. Clinicians must be prepared to address the problems of older ethnic minority patients, who present with distinct problems during late life and may present these problems in culturally prescribed ways. Cultural variations in views about the nature of mental disorders, issues in assessing and treating depression and dementia, and attention to issues of family caregivers are deserving of special attention.     

Billing and Record-Keeping for Familial Cancer Risk Counseling: A National Survey

We surveyed 111 genetic counselors providing cancer risk counseling (CRC) in order to document their billing and record-keeping practices. Of the 75 respondents, billing was generally done under the supervising physician with a wide variation in charges. Follow-up telephone interviews with 28 counselors who charge patients revealed that billing was usually done using the CPT codes for consultations, and the ICD-9 diagnostic codes for cancer (if applicable), a medical complaint, or a family history of cancer code. Most counselors exclude some clinical information from the patient's medical record. In consultation notes, 81% of counselors document a discussion of genetic testing, but only 37% document the patient's actual testing decision, and only 19% document test results. In anticipation of increased referrals for CRC, data are needed on the components of a CRC visit, the amount of time required to provide CRC, patient outcomes measures, and charges and reimbursement. The feasibility and advisability of keeping results separate from the patient's medical record also needs to be addressed.     

The Black-Sheep Effect: How Positive and Negative Advertisements Affect Voters' Perceptions of the Sponsor of the Advertisement1

Participants read a positive or negative (mock) political advertisement that was sponsored by either an in-group (subject and sponsor were members of the same political party) or an out-group (subject and sponsor were members of different political parties) member. The results found support for a black-sheep effect. An in-group sponsor of a positive advertisement was evaluated more positively than any out-group member, regardless of advertisement type, or an in-group member who sponsored a negative advertisement. However, an in-group sponsor of a negative advertisement was evaluated more negatively than either an in-group sponsor of a positive advertisement. or an out-group sponsor. regardless of advertisement type. The results are discussed in terms of social identity theory.     

TEACHING SOCIAL SKILLS TO STUDENTS WITH AUTISM TO INCREASE PEER INTERACTIONS IN AN INTEGRATED FIRST-GRADE CLASSROOM

We investigated the use of social skills groups to facilitate increased social interactions for students with autism and their nonhandicapped peers in an integrated first-grade classroom. Social skills groups consisted of training students and peers in initiating, responding, and keeping interactions going; greeting others and conversing on a variety of topics; giving and accepting compliments; taking turns and sharing; asking for help and helping others; and including others in activities. Training occurred during the first 10 min of 20-min play groups, four times per week. Using a multiple baseline across subjects design, results demonstrated increases in the frequency of, time engaged in, and duration of social interactions, as well as the responsivity of students and peers to each other. Results were maintained when students were monitored and given feedback on social performance in play groups and during follow-up.     

Evidence for the persistence of visual guidance information

An earlier study from our laboratory provided initial support for the hypothesis that information facilitating visual guidance persists in the absence of retinal stimulation. The present study supports and extends this hypothesis with three experiments in which visually occluded subjects positioned a point of light at the location of a previously viewed target and also walked in the direction of a previously viewed path. In both tasks, performance was possible following occlusion, and in all cases, performance slowly and significantly decreased with longer durations of occlusion. This decay in performance was gradual and had a “half-life” of greater than 15 sec. Absolute performance was correlated across tasks. The effect of occlusion on absolute error in the localization performance was relatively stable within individuals over a 3-week period. The biological utility of guidance information persistence is discussed along with implications for space constancy, illusions of motion, and problems of disorientation.