Sleep in Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders

It is estimated that up to 10% of the elderly population have clinically significant cognitive deficits. The neuronal pathologies that underlie the dementing disorders cause both cognitive dysfunction and disturbances in normal sleep/wake patterns. Here we report the changes in sleep/wake patterns seen with increasing severity of Alzheimer's disease, probably the most common dementing disorder. In addition, studies examining sleep/wake patterns in a number of other dementing disorders are reviewed.     

What children can tell us about living in danger

Developmental challenges faced by children growing up in situations of chronic danger linked to community violence and communal conflict are reviewed. The concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is expanded to include situations of chronic and on-going traumatic stress associated with dangerous environments--war zones and inner city neighborhoods plagued by violence and crime. Of particular importance is the impact of chronic stress and danger on the child's world view, the child's social map, and the child's moral development. On the basis of field work in 5 war zones, the article points to the importance of adult-led "processing" of the young child's experience to his or her psychological coping and moral development. Some of the contradictions operating in such environments are explored--for example, that "fanatical" ideology may provide short-term support for adults and children but also may serve to prolong communal conflict, impede the necessary processing of experience, and increase vulnerability in the long run.     

A Social Learning Approach to Increasing Blood Donations1

A field experiment conducted in high schools throughout the country was aimed at increasing the number of high school students who donate blood. Special interventions that emphasized psychological or educational approaches to heightening motivation to donate, as well as a combined intervention, were compared with the usual approach taken at blood drives. Psychological interventions in which social learning principles (modeling, perceptions of social norms) played important roles either alone or in combination with an educational (informational) approach were more successful in stimulating blood donations than either an educational approach alone or the approaches traditionally followed by the participating local blood centers. The results demonstrated that use of social learning principles in designing interventions to strengthen socially relevant altruistic behavior could be valuable both practically and theoretically.     

The Predictors of Post-Sterilization Regret in Married Women1

We interviewed a sample of 317 married women prior to a tubal sterilization (195) or a husband's vasectomy (122) and then reinterviewed them yearly for 5 years. Using these women's responses to six questions about their feelings and desires following sterilization, we fitted a latent-variable model of post-sterilization regret to the data by means of a linear structural equation analysis. The results confirmed our view that post-sterilization regret was not a simple psychological state but rather was a complex process with different, causally linked manifestations. This process began with a renewed interest in having a baby, proceeded to the development of negative feeling about the three decisions that lead to sterilization, and concluded with a desire to reverse the surgery. This sequence was affected by the negative, post-sterilization effects of the sterilization and by the Occurrence of divorce. Next, we identified the pre-sterilization predictors of six regret variables from our model by means of a series of linear regression analyses. The major pre-sterilization predictors of the regret process included being relatively young, ambivalence about future childbearing, negative attitudes toward sterilization, dominance of the decision making by the woman's husband, and conflict with her husband during decision making. Finally, we divided the sample into quintiles on the basis of their scores on a Pre-Sterilization Predictor Scale and assessed the performance of our predictor variables as indicators of risk of regret by determining the level of negative feelings toward sterilization in each quintile. The results confirm the discriminatory power of our predictors. The overall findings indicate a number of psychological and marital issues, the exploration of which might help counselors provide anticipatory and preventative services to couples seeking sterilization.     

Does object modeling elicit imitative-like gestures from young infants?

One interpretation of the evidence for early imitative-like matching of facial gestures is that the acts are elicited by stimulus properties, rather than constructed by the infant. Verification of this possibility requires presentation of object models to determine whether infants reliably respond to them with movement-matching gestures. Two object models, one simulating tongue movements and the other mouth opening/closing, were presented to younger infants (median age = 5 weeks) and to older ones (median age = 12 weeks) under systematically varied movement conditions. Additionally, a live model presented tongue protrusion and mouth opening gestures to the same infants. Findings of two studies were similar. At neither age was there reliable elicitation of facial gestures by either object model, which suggests that most infants were not imitating the object movements or responding to them in a way that verifies elicitation of facial matches by object presentation. Live modeling of tongue extensions, however, did increase the incidence of partial tongue protrusions among infants at 5 weeks, which supports previous research.     

The effects of therapist-client age similarity on pretherapy expectations

The present study investigated the effects of similarity between psychotherapist age and client age on client's preference for a therapist, willingness to disclose, expected therapeutic climate, and perceptions of therapist competence. Similarity theory provided a rationale for the hypothesis that prospective clients would perceive a psychotherapist similar in age more favorably than a therapist dissimilar in age. Support for the hypothesis was obtained on the dimensions of client preference, willingness to disclose, and therapist competence. Also, consistent with previous research, high experienced therapists were viewed more favorably than low experienced therapists.This research is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted by Kathleen M. Tall under the direction of Michael J. Ross to Saint Louis University.     

A multidimensional analysis of internal health locus of control beliefs: separating the wheat from the chaff?

The current study examined the hypotheses that internal health locus of control comprises multiple dimensions and that these dimensions are differentially associated with physical health status. As expected, using covariance structure modeling of data derived from 181 medical outpatients, internal health locus of control was found to be multidimensional. Predicted dimensions included recognition that illness prevention is contingent on successful execution of potential health actions, recognition that illness management is contingent on successful execution of potential health actions, and self-mastery over health outcomes (i.e., the perceived capacity to achieve desired health outcomes). A 4th dimension (i.e., self-blame for negative health outcomes) also emerged. Moreover, as predicted, only perceptions of self-mastery were independently associated with indexes of physical health and well-being.     

Social relationships, personality, and anxiety during a major stressful event

Although it is commonly believed that social relationships buffer the effects of stress on mental health, these apparent buffering effects may be spurious reflections of personality or prior mental health. This possibility was investigated in a prospective study of a medical school entrance examination. Five weeks before the examination, Ss (N = 56) rated their personality (extraversion and neuroticism) and social relationships (number of social contacts and perceived support). They then rated their anxiety for 35 days surrounding the examination. Controlling for personality and prior anxiety, social contacts buffered against increases in anxiety, whereas perceived support did not. Further analyses revealed that discretionary social contacts were beneficial whereas obligatory contacts were not.     

Confusing one person with another: what errors reveal about the elementary forms of social relations

Seven studies investigated the cognitive structure of social relationships exhibited in the patterns of substitutions that occur when people confuse a person with another. The studies investigated natural errors in which people called a familiar person by the wrong name, misremembered with whom they had interacted, or mistakenly directed an action at an inappropriate person. These studies tested the relational-models theory of A. P. Fiske (1990b, 1991) that people use 4 basic models for social relationships. All 7 studies provide support for the theory; Ss tend to confuse people with whom they interact in the same basic relationship mode. In addition, Ss confuse people of the same gender. Other factors (age, race, role term, similarity of names) generally have smaller, less reliable effects, indicating that the 4 elementary modes of relationships are among the most salient schemata in everyday social cognition.