Prior source exposure and persuasion: further evidence for misattributional processes

To assess the persuasive impact of prior source exposure, two studies paired persuasive messages with a source to whom participants had previously been exposed subliminally, explicitly, or not at all. In Experiment 2, participants' attention also was drawn to information that potentially undermined the implications of any reaction to re-exposure. Compared to no exposure, prior subliminal exposure increased the source's persuasiveness, an effect not mediated by source liking. Explicit exposure increased source persuasiveness to the extent that the source was liked more and only absent a recall cue. Results favored misattributional accounts of prior exposure effects.     

Acquired stuttering following right frontal and bilateral pontine lesion: a case study

We report neurological information and experimental data regarding acquired neurogenic stuttering in a 57-year-old male following ischemic lesion to the orbital surface of the right frontal lobe and the pons. The experimental data consist of stuttering frequency measures under various conditions that are well known to enhance fluency in most individuals with developmental stuttering. Specifically, we report data for adaptation, unison reading, delayed auditory feedback (DAF), and frequency altered feedback (FAF). This work is the first published report of such a comprehensive examination of a variety of fluency-enhancing conditions in acquired stuttering. The patient read six 200-word texts under different conditions: Six solo readings (Text 1), five unison readings followed by five solo readings (Text 2), five readings with non-altered auditory feedback (Text 3), five readings with 50 ms delayed auditory feedback (Text 4), five readings with increased FAF (Text 5), and five readings with decreased FAF (Text 6). Results indicate that, unlike the typical situation for developmental stuttering, this individual with acquired neurogenic stuttering did not show increased fluency during an adaptation paradigm or under unison, DAF, and FAF conditions. We discuss possible implications of these findings and emphasize the need for further research on acquired neurogenic stuttering.     

Interventions for Child and Adolescent Depression: Do Professional Therapists Produce Better Results?

We reviewed and analyzed child and adolescent depression treatment studies (1980–2001) through a comprehensive literature search. The outcome data from 19 studies (31 treatments) were extracted and weighted standard mean effect sizes were computed. Outcomes were compared across two levels of therapist training: professional and graduate student. Moreover, age was examined to test for differential effects on treatment outcome. Overall, professionals and graduate student therapists produced impressive yet commensurate outcomes when treating depressed youth. There were no significant differences found when treating children versus adolescents. The implications and limitations are reviewed, as are the suggestions for future research.     

Characterizing the motor execution stage of speech production: consonantal effects on delayed naming latency and onset duration

The research described in this article had 2 aims: to permit greater precision in the conduct of naming experiments and to contribute to a characterization of the motor execution stage of speech production. The authors report an exhaustive inventory of consonantal and postconsonantal influences on delayed naming latency and onset acoustic duration, derived from a hand-labeled corpus of single-syllable consonant-vowel utterances. Five talkers produced 6 repetitions each of a set of 168 prepared monosyllables, a set that comprised each of the consonantal onsets of English in 3 vowel contexts. Strong and significant effects associated with phonetic characteristics of initial and noninitial phonemes were observed on both delayed naming latency and onset acoustic duration. Results are discussed in terms of the biomechanical properties of the articulatory system that may give rise to these effects and in terms of their methodological implications for naming experiments.     

Response-monitoring dysfunction in schizophrenia: an event-related brain potential study

Error-monitoring abnormalities may underlie positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Response-synchronized event-related potentials during picture-word matching yielded error- and correct-response-related negativity (ERN, CRN) and positivity (Pe, Pc) and preresponse lateralized readiness potentials (LRP) from 18 schizophrenic patients and 18 controls. Both groups responded faster to matches than nonmatches, although patients were generally slower and made more errors to nonmatches. Compared with controls, patients, particularly with paranoid subtype, had smaller ERNs and larger CRNs, which were indistinguishable. LRPs showed evidence of more response conflict before errors than before correct responses in controls but not patients. Despite ERN/CRN abnormalities, post-error slowing and Pe were normal in patients, suggesting a dissociation of ERN and error awareness. Anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortical dysfunction in schizophrenia are implicated.     

Cognitions and behavior in asymmetric social dilemmas: a comparison of two cultures

This study investigated whether cognitions and behavior in an asymmetric social dilemma can be predicted by national culture. Results indicated that, as predicted, groups of decision makers from Japan--a collectivist, hierarchical culture-were more cooperative, expected others to be more cooperative, and were more likely to adopt an equal allocation distribution rule to resolve the dilemma than were groups of decision makers from the United States-an individualist, egalitarian culture. An opportunity for communication had a greater impact on expectations of others' behavior in groups of U.S. decision makers than in groups of Japanese decision makers.     

Spatial task performance,sex differences,and motion sickness susceptibility

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a Mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task (p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task (p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire (p<.005). Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In addition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.     

The Assessment of Individual Personality by Projective Tests: Current Problems

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) has been recently developed as an alternative to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and shares some of its psychometric advantages and disadvantages with the MMPI-168, a short form of the MMPI. The current study compared the structure and utility of the MCMI and MMPI-168 for a general hospital inpatient psychiatric population. Overall, the two instruments were highly correlated and found to have conceptually similar factor structures. Empirical comparison of the factor structures indicated that construct validity is greatest for neurotic traits. Both instruments demonstrated a similar utility in predicting discharge diagnosis.     

The Utility of the MAPI in the Assessment of Depression

The relationships between the Millon Adolescent Personality inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982) and depression, as assessed by the Multiscore Depression Inventory (MDI; Berndt, 1968) were examined. Elevations on the MDI subscales were positively related to elevations on MAPI personality style Scale 2 (Inhibited) and Scale 8 (Sensitive) and on six of the eight MAPI expressed concerns scales. MAPI personality style Scale 4 (Sociable) and Scale 5 (Confident) were negatively correlated with the MDI. MAPI code types containing either Scale 2 or 8 were associated with a high MDI full-scale score. The subjects who received a MAPI computer-generated diagnosis of borderline personality disorder also had elevated MDI full-scale scores. The findings of this study appear consistent with the existing body of MAPI research, and the data suggest that the MAPI personality style scales may have both state and trait qualities.     

The Hydraulic Principles Governing the Function of the Cochlea

General equation. Rejecting all fantastic “anatomical” data, that is, not making any anatomical assumptions but those of facts which are clearly visible under the microscope, but, on the other hand, taking conscientiously into account everything that can thus be seen, we derive a general equation describing the hydraulic functions of the mammalian cochlea.

Statement of the chief aim of the theory. Whenever anything occurs on the outside which deserves to be called a sound in the sense of the physicist, and which varies more or less periodically with the time, we want to know first, what length or lengths of the phragma will be involved, because this determines the number of sensitive cells stimulated and thereby the magnitude of the nervous flux (or “the sensation intensity,” loudness); and we want to know second, how frequently per time unit these various lengths of the phragma are shaken, because this determines the nature of the stimulation and accordingly the quality of the chemical process resulting in each of those sensitive cells (or “the sensation quality,” pitch). Thus, our most important aim must be the establishment of a relation between l and t.

Solution of the equation. The equation is solved in special cases for two-fold verificaton: (1) by auditory observation; (2) by experimentation on a large, transparent, hydraulic model.

Thirty years without adverse criticism. The hydraulic theory during its life of thirty years has received some praise by the few who were willing to read it, has been viciously misrepresented by some who would not or could not comprehend it, has been innumerable times dogmatically rejected by those who did not even know what it consists in. We invite serious criticism of its basic assumptions, its mathematical analysis and, last but not least, its agreement with the facts of hearing.

The concept of a “traveling” bulge is not a part of the hydraulic theory. The author requests textbook and magazine writers to cease misquoting him. He has never either enounced or supported any “traveling” bulge theory.