Disambiguating conscious and unconscious influences: do exclusion paradigms demonstrate unconscious perception?

Does exclusion failure--responding with previously presented words despite instructions to avoid doing so--demonstrate unconscious influences? This article examines exclusion-based evidence for unconscious perception. I propose an alternative signal detection theory (SDT) framework that can account for exclusion failure and ostensibly convergent qualitative differences without positing additional unconscious perceptual mechanisms. In the proposed SDT model, exclusion failure is a criterion artifact, similar to classic SDT-based critiques of subjective threshold approaches. However, it is suggested that exclusion approaches do demonstrate that response strategies are applied only to above-criterion stimuli and thereby illustrate important qualitative differences between two conscious processes: phenomenal awareness itself and higher-order (i.e., metacognitive) decision processes.     

Psychoanalytic patients in the U.S., CANADA,and Australia: I. DSM-III-R disorders,indications, previous treatment,medications, and length of treatment

To determine the demographics, DSM-III-R disorders diagnosed, indications used in recommending psychoanalysis, previous treatment histories, use of medication, and length of treatment in patients in psychoanalysis in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, a mail survey of practice was sent to every other active member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and every member of the Australian Psychoanalytical Society. This supplemented an earlier survey sent to all Ontario psychoanalysts. The response rates were 40.1 % (n = 342) for the U.S., 67.2% (n = 117) for Canada, and 73.9% (n = 51) for Australia. Respondents supplied data on 1,718 patients. The employment rate for patients increases as analysis progresses (p < .0001). The mean number of concurrent categories of disorders (Axis I, Axis II, and Disorders First Evident in Childhood) per patient at the start of treatment is 5.01 (SD = 3.66; median = 4; mode = 3). There are no statistically significant differences across countries. Mood, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and personality disorders are most common. American Psychiatric Association / American Psychoanalytic Association peer review criteria for indicating psychoanalysis are followed for 86.5% of patients. Over 80% of patients in all three countries had undergone previous treatments prior to analysis. In the U.S., 18.2% of analysands are on concurrent psychoactive medication; in Australia, 9.6%. The mean length of analyses conducted in the U.S. is 5.7 years, in Australia 6.6, and in Canada 4.8. Psychoanalytic patients in all three countries have similar rates of DSM-III-R psychopathology, and many indications of chronicity.     

Suicide and prostitution among street youth: a qualitative analysis

This study presents the results of a qualitative analysis of the narratives of 29 street youth in which they describe their experiences with, and understanding of, suicide. A history of attempted suicide was reported by 76% of the participants and the analysis revealed themes of isolation, rejection/betrayal, lack of control, and most centrally, low self-worth as forming the basis of their experiences concerning suicide. Additionally it was found that trading sex, in which most participants had been or were currently involved, was linked with their suicidal experiences and may account for the high attempt rate. Finally, variables related to suicide were found that have not been examined previously in the literature on street youth, including loss of control, assault during prostituted sex, drug abuse as a "slow suicide," and breakups in intimate relationships.     

Personality characteristics as a function of frequency and type of substance use

Problematic and unhealthy personality characteristics have typically been the focus of researchers interested in the possible causes of substance use/abuse. Recent research has begun to identify differences between individuals based upon frequency of use, with indications that moderate users may have "healthier" characteristics than either abstainers or regular users. The present study was conducted in a rural setting and compared personality structure (based on the California Psychological Inventory) among three groups of college students: abstainers, experimenters, and regular users. The comparisons were conducted as a function of all illicit substance use (excluding alcohol) and for alcohol use only. Minimal support was obtained for the above hypothesis when comparing the three groups on illicit substance use. When comparing the three groups on alcohol use only, support for the theory was identified, with fewer differences found between the experimenters and the abstainers than between the experimenters and the regular users. It is suggested that rural use of psychoactive substances may be more limited to alcohol due to easier availability and less stigma. Data supporting the "healthier" personality structure of moderate users of alcohol would thus be more likely in rural settings even though such use would still be "risky" behavior given its illegality for individuals under age 21. The need for adaptations to current treatment approaches is suggested.     

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and the five-factor model of personality: distinction and overlap with major depressive disorder

Research on individual differences in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has focused largely on analogue models with participants experiencing sub-clinical obsessions and/or compulsions. Few studies have examined the association between normal, dimensional personality traits and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology in a clinical sample. The purpose of this study was to examine personality differences in patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD (n = 98) or major depression (n = 98) using the domains and facets of the five-factor model of personality (FFM). Patients completed the self-report version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). When contrasted with community controls (Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual, Psychological Assessment Resources, Odessa, FL, 1992), participants with OCD were found to differ across the domains (and facets) of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness and the facets of openness and agreeableness. Further, when compared to depressed participants, those with OCD were found to be more extraverted, agreeable, conscientious and less neurotic. With the exception of the conscientiousness domain (and facets), these significant differences were maintained even after controlling for depression severity. These results highlight the unique associations between trait domains and facets of the FFM and OCD.     

Two-year-olds learn novel nouns,verbs, and conventional actions from massed or distributed exposures

Two-year-old children were taught either 6 novel nouns, 6 novel verbs, or 6 novel actions over 1 month. In each condition, children were exposed to some items in massed presentations (on a single day) and some in distributed presentations (over the 2 weeks). Children's comprehension and production was tested at 3 intervals after training. In comprehension, children learned all types of items in all training conditions at all retention intervals. For production, the main findings were that (a) production was better for nonverbal actions than for either word type, (b) children produced more new nouns than verbs, (c) production of words was better following distributed than massed exposure, and (d) time to testing (immediate, 1 day, 1 week) did not affect retention. A follow-up study showed that the most important timing variable was the number of different days of exposure, with more days facilitating production. Results are discussed in terms of 2 key issues: (a) the domain-generality versus domain-specificity of processes of word learning and (b) the relative ease with which children learn nouns versus verbs.     

Anger regulation in disadvantaged preschool boys: strategies, antecedents, and the development of self-control

Emotion regulation strategies observed during an age 3 1/2 frustration task were examined in relation to (a) angry affect during the frustration task, (b) child and maternal characteristics at age 1 1/2, and (c) indices of self-control at age 6 in a sample of low-income boys (Ns varied between 189 and 310, depending on the assessment). Shifting attention away from sources of frustration and seeking information about situational constraints were associated with decreased anger. Secure attachment and positive maternal control correlated positively with effective regulatory strategy use. Individual differences in strategy use predicted self-control at school entry, but in specific rather than general ways: Reliance on attention-shifting strategies corresponded with low externalizing problems and high cooperation; reliance on information gathering corresponded with high assertiveness.     

An evaluation of simultaneous and sequential presentation of preferred and nonpreferred food to treat food selectivity

In the current investigation, we compared two methods of food presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) to increase consumption of nonpreferred food for 3 children with food selectivity. In the simultaneous condition, preferred foods were presented at the same time as nonpreferred food (e.g., a piece of broccoli was presented on a chip). In the sequential condition, acceptance of the nonpreferred food resulted in presentation of the preferred food. Increases in consumption occurred immediately during the simultaneous condition for 2 of the 3 participants. For 1 participant, increases in consumption occurred in the simultaneous condition relative to the sequential condition, but only after physical guidance and re-presentation were added to treatment. Finally, consumption increased for 1 participant in the sequential condition, but only after several sessions. These results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms that may alter preferences for food (i.e., establishing operations, flavor-flavor conditioning).