Laterality differences in sensitivity to line orientation as a function of adaptation duration

Since available evidence indicates that the two cerebral hemispheres are differentially sensitive to different types of stimulus information, and that they also utilize different strategies in processing information, is it possible that the two hemispheres are differentially sensitive to adaptation? Three groups of four subjects each were adapted to black and white gratings using three adapting durations: 500, 1,000, and 5,000 msec. Immediately following adaptation, a test grating was presented in either the left or right visual field. The task of the subject was to determine whether the lines of the adapting and test gratings had the same orientation or not. Analysis showed that in the 5,000-msec and 1,000-msec conditions, more errors occurred with left visual field presentations, responses to left visual field presentations took longer, and a bias-free measure showed that subjects were more sensitive to right visual field presentations. For the 500-msec group, there were no apparent differences between left and right visual fields presentations. The results indicate differential effects of adaptation on the two hemispheres, suggesting sensitivity differences between the two halves of the brain.     

Getting real in analysis

The author uses a detailed clinical example to illustrate how reality testing can create rather than foreclose opportunities for analytic investigation. He proposes that authentic analysis of transference within the treatment relationship requires close and explicit attention to be paid to considerations of reality, but in a way that does not require the patient to defer to the analyst's view. The author reconsiders certain conceptions of a special psychoanalytic reality, of regression in clinical analysis, and of the nature of free association, suggesting that they tend to discourage the realism necessary to effective psychoanalytic work. In this context, he underlines the importance of ongoing reference to therapeutic outcome as an aspect of reality, and reflects upon the impact of the reality of the analytic treatment setting and the question of termination.     

The utility of motion parallax information for the perception and control of heading

Two experiments in which participants were given control over the direction of computer-simulated self-motion were conducted. Environments were designed to evaluate the functionality of simple and multiple motion parallax as well as a separation ratio (sigma; indexing the separation of 2 objects in depth) for the perception and control of heading. Results provide a 1st indication of optimizing performance in the top end of the global optical flow velocity range available during human bipedal self-motion. The introduction of sigma, developed to explain performance improvements with decreasing distance to the target, was able to account for most of the performance differences among all simulated environments. The rate of change in horizontal optical separation between at least 2 discontinuities was identified as a likely candidate for the optical foundation of the perception and control of heading during target approach.     

Increasing Safety Belt Use: Effects of Modeling and Trip Length1

Effects of modeling on car safety belt use were investigated in a field experiment. Modeling, anticipated trip length, and gender of the model were manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Sixty-four female college students were told that they were to participate in an experiment that would take place in another location, requiring a drive either of less than one mile or of several miles. The driver either used or did not use a safety belt. Subjects' belt use was significantly related to the model's behavior. When the driver used a safety belt, 77.4% of the subjects used one; when the driver did not use a safety belt, only 313% of the subjects used one. A significant effect for trip length was also found. In the long trip condition, 71.9% of the subjects used a belt; in the short trip condition, 35.5% used one. Results are interpreted as support for a social learning theory approach to increasing voluntary safety belt use.     

Validation of Self-Report Impairment Measures for Section III Obsessive–Compulsive and Avoidant Personality Disorders

This study examined the validity of newly developed disorder-specific impairment scales (IS), modeled on the Level of Personality Functioning Scale, for obsessive–compulsive (OCPD) and avoidant (AvPD) personality disorders. The IS focused on content validity (items directly reflected the disorder-specific impairments listed in DSM-5 Section III) and severity of impairment. A community sample of 313 adults completed personality inventories indexing the DSM-5 Sections II and III diagnostic criteria for OCPD and AvPD, as well as measures of impairment in the domains of self- and interpersonal functioning. Results indicated that both impairment measures (for AvPD in particular) showed promise in their ability to measure disorder-specific impairment, demonstrating convergent validity with their respective Section II counterparts and discriminant validity with their noncorresponding Section II disorder and with each other. The pattern of relationships between scores on the IS and scores on external measures of personality functioning, however, did not indicate that it is useful to maintain a distinction between impairment in the self- and interpersonal domains, at least for AvPD and OCPD.