The creative potential of play and regression in analytical training: a personal reflection

The seminar group can serve as a framework in which to meet the fear generated during training. The group can become a maddening environment, but on occasions when it is experienced by the trainee as good enough, it can act like a playgroup which facilitates development. Experiences in the group can be viewed from the perspectives of group dynamics or of transference phenomena which embody regression. When this regression enables scope for play it can serve in the interests of ego development in the process of discovering the sort of analyst the trainee is becoming as the training unfolds. During play aspects of oneself can merge, then differentiate again. They can have different meanings at the same time. The rational and emotional, the adult and the childlike are all given a place in play.     

EFFECTS OF HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUESTS ON THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF YOUNG CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES

High-probability requests were used to increase social interactions in 3 young boys with severe disabilities who had been identified as severely socially withdrawn. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of high-probability request intervention on (a) social initiations, (b) social responses, (c) continued interactions, and (d) performance of high- and low-probability requests. The students were observed in a second setting to examine generalization effects across peers who did not participate in the training sequence and settings. The results demonstrated that the high-probability requests increased the students' responsiveness to low-probability requests to initiate social behavior. Increases were also found in (a) unprompted initiations and extended interactions to the training peers, (b) unprompted initiations and extended interactions to peers who were not involved in the training procedure, and (c) generalized unprompted initiations and interactions in a second nontraining setting. The students maintained increased levels of initiations and interactions after all prompts were removed from both the training and nontraining settings.     

A course in hypnosis for chaplains

Understanding the mental processes involved in suffering has always been the best basis for communication between patients and caretakers. In this paper we are concerned first with acknowledgment of the existence, generally unknown, and the effects, generally unrecognized, of the hypnotic processes that occur in many forms of suffering, and second with developing our thesis that the understanding and use of hypnotic principles can greatly enrich the chaplain's capacity to alleviate suffering. In this brief presentation we will confine our discussion to the teaching of hypnosis as a virtual necessity in modern clinical training for chaplains. Comments and considerations will precede and follow an outline of the course presently offered at Lenox Hill Hospital [but we cannot here attempt to discuss or explain the fundamentals of hypnotic process or any other aspects of the course content itself]. A basic bibliography is appended for those who wish to know more about hypnosis itself.     

Assessing mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence

Clinicians are commonly asked to participate in the determination of an individual's mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence. Vague statutory definitions and lack of operational criteria for both determinations have contributed to inconsistency in the quality and usefulness of expert input to these determinations. Questionnaire responses of 119 probate judges from the U.S. indicate that this input is quite influential despite the problems mentioned above. This paper presents and discusses the judges' views on selected procedural and conceptual aspects of expert evaluation and testimony.     

Ethnic and Gender Variations in the Sources of Information Used to Evaluate Performance in the Exercise Setting1

The purpose of this study was to identify ethnic and gender differences in the types of information Anglo and Hispanic exercisers use in self-evaluation. University students in exercise classes rated the importance of norm-referenced and self-referenced sources used in self-evaluation of performance. Results showed that males rated norm-referenced sources as more important to self-evaluation, while females rated self-referenced sources as most important. A gender by ethnicity interaction showed that Anglos, especially Anglo males, preferred norm-referenced sources, while Hispanics preferred self-referenced sources. Provided with this information, instructors could more effectively motivate exercise participants.     

Evaluating the Impact of a National AIDS Prevention Radio Campaign in St. Vincent and the Grenadines1

Based on extensive formative research in the three Eastern Caribbean countries of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada (Fishbein, Middlestadt, & Trafimow, 1993; Fishbein, Trafimow, et al., 1993), a three-nation, mass media, condom use campaign was developed. In order to assess the impact of the campaign, a follow-up survey was conducted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This paper examines the effectiveness of the campaign by comparing responses on this survey by respondents who were or were not exposed to the campaign. A statistically significant impact of exposure to the campaign was obtained, indicating that a well-designed, empirically based, mass media campaign can be an effective tool in the battle to prevent the spread of AIDS.     

The Contributions of Appearance to Occupational Outcomes in Civilian and Military Settings1

Two archival studies examined the impact of people's appearance on the status and type of civilian and military jobs they hold. Study 1 found that, although appearance was not related to job status, taller men had higher incomes. Additionally, appearance was significantly related to the type of jobs people held. Attractive women and tall men held jobs requiring traits more consistent with the attractiveness halo, while babyfaced women and short men held jobs more consistent with the babyface stereotype. These effects remained after controlling for job-relevant personality and educational variables, suggesting an unjustified bias toward people with certain appearances. Study 2 found that heavier men had lower job status, as reflected in military rank attainment. However, this relationship was eliminated when controlling for intelligence and dependability. Also, babyfaced men achieved higher status through being marginally more likely to win a military award. This unexpected effect was attributed to the contrast between heroic actions and the babyface stereotype. Finally, appearance affected the type of military experience men had. Heavier men were more likely to be in situations involving gunfire or casualties. These studies make an important contribution by extending laboratory findings to the real world, exploring the effects of appearance on job type as well as status, and providing evidence that appearance effects are not solely due to covariation with bona fide job qualifications.     

Determinants of Condom Use Among High-Risk Heterosexual Adults: A Test of the Theory of Reasoned Action1

The research presents tests of traditional and augmented versions of Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), applied to condom use among adult clients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic. In a longitudinal survey, predictor variables suggested by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), plus gender and condom use self-efficacy, were measured at Time 1. Condom use at Time 2, 3 months later, was regressed onto these variables. The traditional TRA worked well to predict condom use intentions and behavior. Support was also found for inclusion of gender and self-efficacy in the prediction of intention to use condoms, but not behavior. Implications for interventions to increase condom use among those at high risk for AIDS and other STDs are discussed.