THE SIMILARITY OF BRAIN ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH TRUE AND FALSE RECOGNITION MEMORY DEPENDS ON TEST FORMAT

Abstract— Event-related potentials (ERPs) were compared for correct recognitions of previously presented words and false recognitions of associatively related, nonpresented words (lures). When the test items were presented blocked by test type (old, new, lure), waveforms for old and lure items were different, especially at frontal and left parietal electrode sites, consistent with previous positron emission tomography (PET) data (Schacter, Reiman, et. al., 1996). When the test format randomly intermixed the types of items, waveforms for old and lure items were more similar. We suggest that test format affects the type of processing subjects engage in, consistent with expectations from the source-monitoring framework (Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993). These results also indicate that brain activity as assessed by neuroimaging designs requiring blocked presentation of trials (e g, PET) do not necessarily reflect the brain activity that occurs in cognitive-behavioral paradigms, in which types of test trials are typically intermixed.     

Apocalyptic Argument and the Anticipation of Catastrophe: the Prediction of Risk and the Risks of Prediction

This essay proposes to extend the model of apocalyptic argument developedin my recent book Arguing the Apocalypse (OLeary, 1994) beyond the study ofreligious discourse, by applying this model to the debate over awell-publicized earthquake prediction that caused a widespread panic in theAmerican midwest in December, 1990. The first section of the essay willsummarize the essential elements of apocalyptic argument as I have earlierdefined them; the second section will apply the model to the case of the NewMadrid, Missouri, earthquake prediction, in order to demonstrate thatcertain patterns of reasoning characteristic of religious apocalyptic arepresent in the discourse over an anticipated local disaster. My ultimatepurpose is to show that predictions of global and local catastrophe mayserve as extreme cases that will illuminate the dynamics of predictiveargument in general. Thus my argument will seek to undercut Daniel Bellsdistinction between prophecy and prediction (Bell, 1973) by establishingthat these discourses share identifiable formal and substantivecharacteristics, and depend for their rhetorical effect on anxiety, hope,far, and excitement as modes of temporal anticipation.     

Imperialism,nationalism and missionaries: Lessons from Sudan for the twenty‐first century

Muslim‐Christian relations in modem Sudanese history involve the tensions created by the transition from imperial rule to independence and by the impact of contemporary processes of globalization. The conflicts between Christian missionaries and the newly‐independent government of Sudan in the early 1960s reflected the tensions between old mission‐station style Christian activities and attempts by a military régime to impose measures of ‘national’ unification. Opportunities for creating institutions for constructive interactions were missed or not even conceived. Lessons from the experiences of the early 1960s emphasize the importance of viewing Muslim‐Christian relations in the 1990s in the context of the actual current conditions rather than imposing out‐of‐date images on existing realities.     

Courteous service: Its assessment and modification in a human service organization

We evaluated strategies to increase behaviors associated with courteous provision of service by 3 staff members of a human service agency. Training included written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. A lottery procedure was introduced to maintain courteous service after training. The results of a multiple baseline design across the 3 participants showed marked increases in courteous behaviors following training. These effects were maintained at 3-, 5-, and 8-month follow-ups. Consumers' satisfaction with service also increased. These findings suggest that simple training and reinforcement procedures can enhance courtesy afforded those who receive service from public and nonprofit organizations.     

The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: Patterns of use and attachment

Hoarding behavior, patterns of use of possessions, and emotional attachment to possessions were examined among a sample of female undergraduates and a sample of community volunteers. Hoarding behavior was associated with a decreased frequency of use of possessions and excessive concern about maintaining control over possessions. Furthermore, high scores on the hoarding scale were associated with higher levels of perceived responsibility for: (1) being prepared; and (2) the well-being of the possession. Hoarding was also associated with greater emotional attachment to possessions and to the reliance on possessions for emotional comfort. The implications of these findings for the definition of hoarding are discussed.     

Self-Deceptive Coping: Adaptive Only in Ambiguous Contexts

ABSTRACT Two experiments investigated claims for the efficacy of self-deceptive coping (e.g., Sackeim, 1983, 1988). In Study I the performance of self-deceivers on solvable anagrams was found to he remarkably poor relative to that of non-self-deceivers after both groups were exposed to unsolvable problems. The starkly unambiguous failure experience may have precluded self-deception. Therefore, in Study 2 participants were exposed to unsolvable problems either with or without an excuse. Self-deceivers who encountered failure with an excuse subsequently performed much better on the solvable tasks than those without an excuse. These findings suggest that the use of self-deception following threat is constrained by the availability of contextual ambiguity (e.g., excuses). The effect of the excuse was not related to participants' mood or attributions for performance.     

The effects of cocaine on behavior maintained by timeout from avoidance.

Rats were trained on concurrent schedules under which responses on one lever postponed shock (avoidance) and responses on the other lever produced brief (2-min) periods of signaled timeout from avoidance. For 6 rats, timeout from avoidance was programmed on a variable-interval 45-s schedule that generally resulted in rates that were lower than those on the avoidance lever. For another 6 rats, timeout was arranged on a variable-ratio 15 schedule that produced higher baseline rates. Cocaine (3 to 40 mg/kg) produced large, dose-dependent increases in behavior maintained by timeout in both groups of rats. Avoidance responding was also generally increased by cocaine, but the increases were of lesser magnitude. Increases in response rates were seen across a broad range of doses on behavior maintained by either interval or ratio schedules, an outcome that was unexpected on the basis of most studies of cocaine on food-maintained behavior. These results were similar to those of previous studies of the effects of amphetamine on behavior maintained by timeout from avoidance and suggest that stimulant drugs affect behavior maintained under a shock-postponement schedule differently than they affect behavior maintained by timeout from avoidance.     

Physicians' values and physician-value neutrality

For years articles have decried the lack of empathy in physicians' relationships with patients. In addition to being empathetic, physicians are called upon to assume the posture of value neutrality, i.e., not imposing one's values when dealing with patients. Empathy is clearly an expression of deeply held values; even the language used to define it is value-laden. Physicians are consistently called upon to exhibit traits which are expressions of their underlying values. However, if proponents of value-neutrality are to be taken literally one must not impose any of one's values on one's patients. But then one wonders how empathy could ever be expressed; further, it is hard to imagine what a truly value neutral physician would be like. It is time we recognize that any relationship between two persons requires the expression of values from both parties. These values help shape that relationship and define its further history. Physicians are not excluded from this process just because they consider themselves professionals. Divulging personal values to patients is both more honest and more in keeping with the concepts of justice, beneficence, non maleficence, and autonomy than to feign value-neutrality. A presentation of some type statement of values is timely and would give patients an idea of where a physician stands on a myriad of issues. Rather than being value-neutral, value non-neutrality seems a more right and reasonable posture for physicians to assume.