Training severely and profoundly mentally handicapped nocturnal enuretics

The problem of nocturnal enuresis in the institutionalized mentally handicapped is a major one which reduces independence in many handicapped adults and has major implications for hospital resources. Much work, which has looked at initial success rates, relapse rates, and factors involved in these, has been carried out with non-handicapped populations. However, there have been remarkably few such studies with the mentally handicapped. A study is reported in which five severely and profoundly mentally handicapped adolescents or young adults were successfully trained over periods ranging from 18 to 92 weeks. Several interesting features of the data are discussed.     

A four-year follow-up study of the effects of methylphenidate on the behavior and academic achievement of hyperactive children

Sixty-two children were evaluated 4 years after their initial referral for symptoms of hyperactivity. Behavioral measures included parent and teacher judgments of behavior and social adjustment. Academic achievement was assessed by teachers' reports, number of failed grades, special education services, and two individually administered achievement tests. Data were analyzed for the total group to determine both the extent to which presenting problems diminished over time and the major problems still present. The effects of stimulant drug therapy on outcome were assessed by dividing the children into groups according to the duration of time they had taken stimulants. Total duration of time on stimulants ranged from less than 6 months (group 1) to 4 years (group 5). Results indicated that the symptoms of hyperactivity significantly lessened, but remained higher in these children than in normal peers. Behavioral and social problems were less pervasive than academic underachievement. There were no group differences, indicating that the duration of stimulant intervention did not have a significant effect on outcome. The clinical implication of this study is that the beneficial effects of stimulant drug intervention occur within the first months after initiation of therapy. Long-term treatment does not appear to be of value in producing better outcome.     

Sex-role stereotyping and patterns of self-disclosure

Students enrolled in psychology courses completed a Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a self-disclosure scale. A three way ANOVA (sex by sex role by target of disclosure) was used to determine if androgynous subjects differed from stereotyped by not conforming to standard sex differences in: (a) pattern of targets disclosed to; (b) amount of intimate disclosure. Results indicated: (a) androgynous females reported a peers first profile, typical of males; (b) androgynous males reported more disclosure than stereotyped males, especially on intimate topics; (c) androgynous females reported more nonintimate discussions with their fathers; and (d) androgynous males reported the highest level of intimate disclosures to father. Sex role is a better predictor of reported self-disclosure than is sex.The order of the authors' names was randomly determined: Both contributed equally. Correspondence should be sent to either author at the following address: Department of Psychology, State University of New York, College at Cortland, Cortland, New York 13045.     

Sex-role imitation in children: Effects of sex of child,sex of model,and sex-role appropriateness of modeled behavior

The qualifying influence of the sex-role appropriateness of observed behavior on children's same-sex imitation was investigated. In each of two studies employing a 2×2×2 design, girls and boys observed a live male or female model display appropriate (to the child's sex) or inappropriate behavior. Results that were consistent in both studies indicated an interaction between sex of child and appropriateness. Boys imitated less when exposed to the inappropriate than to the appropriate sequence. An interaction between sex of child and sex of observer was obtained on only one measure in Experiment I (girls responded more quickly to a female than to a male model). In this study, girls also displayed greater opposite-sex imitation than boys; in Experiment II, there were no differences between boys and girls in either same- or opposite-sex imitation. The results are discussed with regard to the same-sex hypothesis and the differential impact of sex-role factors on boys and girls.The authors wish to thank the children, parents, and staff of Forest Park Elementary School for their participation and cooperation in the conduct of this study. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Paul H. Daby, Principal. The contribution of the undergraduate models and experimenters is also acknowledged.     

Developmental trends in free classification: Evidence for a new conceptualization of perceptual development

Two studies are reported to explore the hypothesis that young children perceive integrally some stimuli that older children perceive separably. In both, kinder-garteners, second graders, and fifth graders (approximately 5, 8, and 11 years old) are required to classify sets of stimuli that vary in size and brightness. Triads are used in Experiment 1 and tetrads are used in Experiment 2. Also, in Experiment 2, second classifications, judgments of which classification is “best,” and verbal justifications for classifications are obtained. The general finding is that the kinder-garten data systematically implicate integrality of size and brightness while the fifth-grade data systematically implicate separability of size and brightness. The second-grade data are more ambiguous. Issues related to refining the developmental hypothesis and to extending its supportive data base are considered in a final discussion.     

Sartre, dialectic, and the problem of overcoming bad faith

InBeing and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre affirms a circle of relations between oneself and another. This circle moves between the relations of love and desire and results from the fact that both love and desire are attempts to capture the other who always remains out of reach. Sartre denies that there can be a dialectic of such relations with others: never can there be a motivated movement beyond the frustrations and failures of each of these attempts to relate to the other. The only way out of this circle is, therefore, according to Sartre, a radical conversion.Like the master in Hegel'sPhenomenology of Mind, each individual caught in this circle wants what cannot be attained: the assimilation or the negation of the freedom of the other. He is thus, like Hegel's master, impervious to any reasons that could count against what he is seeking; his failures cannot in any way motivate him to want what can be. From the point of view of such desires, any negative evaluation of these desires must seem arbitrary. Therefore, to the extent that Sartre's earlier writings indicate no other possibilities of human existence except those premised on such impossible demands, Sartre's negative evaluations concerning the bad faith of these individuals must seem arbitrary.My conclusion is not, however, simply negative since I argue that inSaint Genet Sartre presents Genet's life as a dialectical movement beyond failure to triumph. This is not a dialectic of bad faith. Rather it is a dialectic based on a very different desire from the desire for what cannot be. If Sartre thus develops another level, another fundamental desire, from which the level of bad faith can be judged to be wrong, then at least from this level the judgment is not a merely arbitrary one.For their many perceptive and helpful comments and suggestions, I am especially indebted and grateful to Dieter Turck and John Beverslius. A version of this paper is scheduled to be read at a workshop on Sartre during the 1975 meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy.