A family systems approach to conciliation in separation and divorce

This paper argues for a family systems approach to families who are in conflict during the process of divorce, particularly in relation to custody and access for their children. The concept of 'conciliation' as a brief method of intervention is both defined and discussed and principles and skills are identified. The influence of the context within which conciliation is practised and in particular, the power which the conciliator holds, or is perceived by the family to hold, is also discussed. These ideas are illustrated by case examples.     

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.     

Effects of modeling and videotape feedback with knowledge of results on motor performance

On the basis of social learning theory it can be hypothesized that information acquired through model observation can provide as rich a basis for a cognitive representation as that acquired by means of the usual KR procedure. A source of external information similar to that of model observation is videotape feedback (VTFB). Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to test the potency of these two sources of information with KR. The design was a 4 (groups) × 10 (blocks) factorial ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor. Both immediate transfer and 48-hr retention effects were assessed. The immediate transfer analysis indicated a significant main effect for group. This effect appeared to be due to the poor performance of the VTFB group. The same effect approached significance after the 48-hr retention. Subsequent variance analysis indicated significant differences between transfer and retention within all conditions except modeling.     

The meanings of marital surnames

Sex Roles - To assess the meanings attached to marital surnames a younger group of adults (56 unmarried college students) and an older group (209 married and unmarried graduate students, members of...     

Simple and complex mental addition across development

Students in Grades 1, 4, 7, and 10 were timed as they solved simple and complex addition problems, then were presented similar problems in an untimed interview. A manipulation of confusion between addition and multiplication, in which multiplication answers were given to addition problems (3 + 4 = 12), revealed evidence for the hypothesized interrelatedness of these operations in memory only in 10th graders. The overall pattern of results suggests a strong reliance on memory retrieval, even in the first-grade group, with discernible time differences when “procedural” knowledge of carrying is required for problem solution. The results were judged consistent with a fact retrieval model which invokes explicit procedural information when problem difficulty is high or when processes like carrying and estimating magnitudes are required. In agreement with several other reports, the overall slowing of performance to larger problems is best explained in terms of normatively defined problem difficulty or associative strength in memory.     

STAR: A unique embedded performance assessment technique

STAR (The Strategic and Tactical Assessment Record) is a versatile research tool designed to evaluate the effects of sustained performance and other stressors on integrated, complex cognitive functioning. This completely automated task is presented in the form of a highly motivating computer game. However, unlike typical computer games, successful performance of STAR depends on an individual’s ability to rapidly and accurately assess risk/benefit ratios in a variety of situations, and on the skilled use of an array of multipurpose control systems. STAR is unique in that approximately 80 performance measures are unobtrusively embedded in the operations required to “play the game”; no obvious performance assessment interferes with task presentation. STAR provides multiple measures of psychomotor function, attention, memory, information processing, decision making, risk-taking behavior, subjective state, errors, and error paths. In this report, we describe STAR, and summarize two preliminary experiments designed to separately evaluate the effects of task difficulty and task stress level on complex performance.     

Using synthetic speech for remote access to information

The availability of unlimited text-to-speech synthesis systems provides the potential for remote access to databases over existing telephone systems. This paper describes some of the intelligibility and user interface problems associated with such applications and reports work aimed at understanding and solving these problems. In particular, it describes an approach to intelligibility problems based on the understanding and manipulation of listeners’ adaptation to synthetic speech, and user interface work examining use of a simulated travel information system.