Ethical and Professional Issues for Psychologists and Counselors Employing Biofeedback in Counseling Settings

Biofeedback training is a relatively new procedure that is being incorporated into the counseling services of psychologists and counselors. If the highest professional standards and the appropriate safeguards for clients' welfare are to be maintained, careful attention should be given to the ethical and professional issues involved. The American Psychological Association's (1977) ethical standards for psychologists are the basis of the discussion. It is hoped that the discussion will stimulate further consideration of ethical and professional issues of the clinical application of biofeedback among practitioners.     

An analysis of aftereffects in the measurement of the correction effect

Ss, under prismatic viewing, aligned a spot of light to the apparent straightahead first in the dark and then under illumination. Ss made these judgments either by controlling the spot themselves or by directing E in moving it. For both types of alignment procedures, judgments were significantly more veridical in the illuminated room (correction effect). Aftereffects, measured after both the spot alignment in the dark and in the light, were found to be significant only when S moved the stimulus. These results contradict the argument that the egocentric localization processes involved in the production of the correction effect itself are the basis of the aftereffects obtained.     

Stereopsis from reversible and irreversible patterns

Eight subjects reported stereoscopic depth as a function of the magnitude and direction of disparity carried by a reversible grid or an irreversible solid surface. The former alternated between a diamond seen against a grating or a uniform rectangular grid pattern with stereoscopic depth reported only when the diamond was perceived. Depth was attenuated for the grid compared to the solid surface patterns. Disparity can be defined by perceptually extracted forms with depth present only when those forms are bounded by visible contours.     

Some new hypotheses on the mediation of loudness judgments 1

A new solution to the problem of relating equal-interval and ratio scales is proposed. It is shown that it is also possible, with the type of theory proposed, to predict results of cross-modality matching experiments.     

Discussion

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Parental interpersonal perceptual style,child adjustment,and parent—Child interactions

This research examined relationships between parental interpersonal perceptual style (IPS)—the extent to which they are biased in their perceptions of children's behaviors—and (a) the adjustment of their own children and (b) parent-child interactions. In two studies, groups of parents first viewed a videotape of a male or female target child interacting with an adult in a playroom and then completed a behavior checklist about the target child that measured their IPS. In Study 1, parents' (especially fathers') IPS was found to be related to interaction between them and their 5-to7-year-old child; for example, the less negatively biased the father was, the more likely the child was to openly display antagonistic behavior toward his or her parents. In Study 2, fathers' (but not mothers') IPS was found to be related to the teacher- and peer-assessed level of psychosocial adjustment of their own third-grade child; fathers of problem children tended to be more negatively biased in their perceptions than were fathers of either adequate or highly adjusted children. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role that person perception processes play in family functioning and child development.This article is an adaptation of a paper presented as part of a symposium held during the 1977 meeting of the American Psychological Association. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. 24250, Adult Perceptions and Child Behavior Dysfunctions.We wish to thank Linda Oiacomo and Phyllis Watts for their help. We also wish to thank the numerous students who provided invaluable assistance by collecting, coding, and scoring the data. The cooperation of the administration and staff of the Lansing, Michigan, School District, especially Eva Evans and Richard Benjamin, and the administration and staff of the East Lansing, Michigan, School District, especially Robert Docking and Warren Starr, is also very gratefully acknowledged.