The Edinburgh Masker: A clinical analog study

This article will describe the effects of instructions and practice on the vocal intensities of normal speakers and stutterers while reading in the presence of masking moise generated by the Edinburgh Masker. Both the normal speakers and the stutterers reacted in similar ways: They increased vocal intensity with the introduction of the noise, reduced vocal intensity in the presence of the noise, given instructions and practice, but failed to reduce vocal intensity to pre-noise reference levels. While these results are hardly reflective of long-term change in clinical behavior, a recommendation is made for a reexamination of the role of the increased vocal intensity as at least one factor, of perhaps many, responsible for whatever the long-term clinical effectiveness of the Masker.     

Individual differences in sensation seeking and attentional ability

Evidence is provided that high scores on the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale are associated in the normal population with good focused-attention performance and poor distributed-attention performance. Focused-attention performance is assessed as the ability to select relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information, and distributed-attention performance is assessed as the ability to carry out concurrently two independent complex tasks. It is hypothesized that the observed disposition of attentional performance reflects differential patterns of arousal in individuals with high and low Sensation Seeking scores.     

Congressional review of national problems in drug abuse and its control

The addition of a psychologist to its staff provided the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control with an opportunity to add survey technology to its traditional oversight information gathering armamentarium. Surveys of state and local drug abuse program managers, law enforcement and prosecutorial officials, state attorneys general, and members of congress itself provided the Select Committee with information that supplemented that obtained by hearings and congressionally sponsored conferences. Answers to different questions in the different surveys were in general agreement with each other and with information obtained through hearings, providing a rough measure of the reliability and utility of the technique for oversight purposes. Survey results were incorporated in committee reports and are credited with providing information necessary to sustain the Select Committee's recommendations for drug abuse and control to the Congress.     

Memory-enhancing characteristics of client-recalled important events in cognitive and experiential therapy: Integrating cognitive experimental and therapeutic psychology

In an attempt to encourage further integrative theorizing and experimental work across cognitive and therapeutic psychology, characteristics of therapeutic events that might contribute to their ‘memorableness’ were examined. Scales that rate five ‘information processing’ characteristics of therapeutic events were employed to score such characteristics of 55 client-identified important and 55 matched control events taken from actual therapeutic sessions of both cognitive and experiential psychotherapies. Results indicated that scales scoring the ‘depth’, ‘elaborateness’, and ‘conclusion-orientation’ of therapeutic dialogue during the events examined tended to discriminate reliably and as predicted between client-identified important and control events, particularly when ratings of therapist talking turns were examined. Limited support also was found for a second prediction based on Paivio's (1986) dual coding theory of memory concerning different patterns of results for cognitive versus experiential therapeutic events. Suggestions are offered for further research on human memory for specific events in therapeutic and other areas of applied psychology.     

Assessing performance upon abrupt awakening from naps during quasi-continuous operations

Quasi-continuous work settings often involve sleep loss and requirements to perform at unpredictable times. Napping may alleviate some of the sleep-loss problems, but it increases the risk that the person will have difficulty functioning upon abrupt awakening. This paper describes an experimental approach, techniques, and analyses for investigating performance upon abrupt awakening from 2 h naps placed near either the circadian peak (P) or trough (T) in body temperature and preceded by 6, 18, 30, 42, or 54 h of sleep deprivation. Five groups of healthy young adults performed quasi-continuously for 54 h and were permitted a 2-h nap at one of five times. Reaction time (RT) to answer a phone terminating the nap, subjective estimates, and performance of a brief, challenging cognitive task were related to nap-sleep parameters of each group. Sleep deprivation increased the amount of deep sleep in the naps, and this was associated with greater postnap cognitive performance decrements; subjective estimates were unaffected, and RT performance was related simply to stage of sleep prior to awakening. Circadian placement of the naps also modulated the postnap cognitive decrement: T naps produced greater cognitive decrements than P naps, even when the latter involved more prior sleep loss. These findings have both practical and theoretical significance for evaluating the awakening process, and would not have been possible without the approach, techniques, and procedures described.     

A multimodal treatment strategy for behavior problems in toddlers

The article focuses on a multimodal strategy for the treatment of behavior problems commonly associated with toddlers. These problem behaviors, which include temper tantrums, bedtime and sleep difficulties, aggressiveness, not listening, and eating problems, are among the most often presented to mental health professionals who deal with this age group. The treatment approach, which combines clinically pertinent aspects of dynamic, behavioral, and family approaches, includes the following components: data collection (problem clarification, family-of-origin interviews, interactional sessions), formulation of hypotheses, introduction of a behaviorally oriented management program, tracking of problems inherent in the implementation and successful management of the behavioral program, and booster sessions. The treatment strategy is illustrated by a clinical case. Each component of the treatment, along with its inherent clinical problems/difficulties, is discussed.