Verbal transformation: habituation or spreading activation?

Experiment 1 tested the habituation hypothesis of the Verbal Transformation Effect, an auditory illusion in which a repeating verbal stimulus undergoes perceptual transformation, by varying stimulus dimensions which might be expected to retard habituation. Transformations were found to increase as a function of imagery value and word length, failing to support the habituation hypothesis. Experiment 2, in which transformations were found to vary as a function of number of activated semantic representations of a physically invariant homophone stimulus, provided support for a new dual-process explanation of the Transformation effect, based on spreading activation between cognitive representations.     

Dynamic and consequential consistency of choices between paths of decision trees

The generally prescribed procedure for choosing a decision strategy from a decision tree employs a backward induction analysis that entails 3 fundamental consistency principles: dynamic, consequential, and strategic. The first requires the decision maker to follow through on plans to the end, the second requires the decision maker to focus solely on future events and final consequences given the current state of events, and the third is the conjunction of the first 2. Five experiments were reported to test these principles using different subject populations, different procedures for estimating consistency, and different factors for manipulating the attractiveness of the gamble at the final stage of the tree. The main findings were that strategic and dynamic consistency principles were violated at rates that exceeded choice inconsistency.     

A comparative analysis of the validity of several approaches to the scoring of the behavior of the preterm infant

A group of very low birthweight preterm infants (mean WEIGHT = 1193.6 g; mean gestational AGE = 31.1 weeks) were examined with the PREMIE. The PREMIE is a modification of the scoring system of the full term Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment (BNBAS) examination for use with preterm infants. Infants were assessed during the acute phase of cardio-respiratory illness (mean AGE = 7 days) and during the recovery phase (mean AGE = 22 days). Many modifications in procedure were required. Several analyses were performed to assess the redundancy and the comparative validity of the scoring systems of the PREMIE, the BNBAS, and the BNBAS + (the BNBAS plus a set of five additional preterm items). Results indicated that the three scoring systems were highly redundant, that they were equally related to physiologic and clinical variables, and that they were similar in their sensitivity to behavioral change and stability. Overall the results offered little in the way of differentiating among these three scoring systems with this group of infants, raising doubts about the need to use the PREMIE or other scoring systems like it for many research purposes.     

Infant attention to facial expressions and facial motion

Three-month-old infants were shown moving faces and still faces on videotape in a paired-comparison situation. Motion type was clearly specified, and facial expression and motion were separately varied. Infants saw a still face, internal motion on the face (i.e., motion of the internal features), and whole object (i.e., side-to-side) motion, each with happy and neutral expressions. Infants showed preference for expressions when the face was still and when it showed internal motion. Facial expression and facial motion were equally preferred, and both appeared to be salient dimensions of the face for three-month-old infants.     

Repetitive escape nightmares of refugees

Questionnaire responses of 38 Czechoslovak refugees indicated that 84.2% experienced, at least once, a nightmare about being back in their ex-homeland and trying to escape again. The escape nightmares were most frequent within the first 2 years after escape. A significant decrease in frequency was noted 4 years after escape and during the subsequent years.     

Content of waking life events and of nightmare themes

Examined the relationship of incidence of 3 types of nightmare themes to incidence of specific events listed in the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and in the Life Events Inventory. The former list of events was administered to 98 and the latter to 56 part-time college students. Information on nightmares' content was available for both samples. Events and nightmare themes were retrospectively reported for the last 6 mo. No significant relationships were found between specific types of nightmare content and specific events. Persons who experienced more events of the Life Events Inventory also reported more nightmare themes, however, similar relationship was not observed for events listed in the readjustment scale.     

Can Social Supports Be Engineered? An Example from the Army's Unit Manning System1

The purpose of the study was to examine variables which lead to the perception of instrumental social support among military wives. More specifically, we were interested in two factors: (a) the Unit Manning System, a method of deployment which keeps groups of soldiers and their families together for long periods of time; and (b) husbands' ranks. Both factors were found to be significant predictors of support in a previous study. Using a path analytic model, we demonstrated that being an officer's wife was related to perceived social support only indirectly through its influence on degree of participation in wives' group activities. Participation in the Unit Manning System also had only an indirect influence on social support. Reasons for these findings are discussed with reference to theories about coping and coping assistance.