Deprivation and satiation: The interrelations between food and wheel running

Two experiments were designed to assess whether depriving rats of food would increase the reinforcement effectiveness of wheel running (Experiment 1) and whether satiation for wheel running would decrease the reinforcement effectiveness of food (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, a progressive-ratio schedule was used to measure the reinforcement effectiveness of wheel running when rats were deprived or not deprived of food. Completion of a fixed number of lever presses released a brake on a running wheel for 60 s, and the response requirement was systematically increased until the rat stopped pressing or until 8 hr had elapsed. The ratio value reached (and the total number of lever presses) was an inverted-U function of food deprivation (percentage body weight). In Experiment 2, when wheel running preceded test sessions, fewer food-reinforced lever presses were maintained by the progressive-ratio schedule, and responding occurred at a lower rate on a variable-interval schedule. An interpretation of these results is that deprivation or satiation with respect to one event (such as food) alters the reinforcement effectiveness of a different event (such as access to wheel running).     

Syntactic decoding times of learning disabled children

Syntactic decoding reaction times of 20 learning disabled children comprising two groups of subjects (mean age of 8 and 13 yr., respectively) were compared to the responses of normal controls matched for age and sex. An analysis of variance procedure showed that the learning disabled children and their normal peers did not differ significantly in responses to the experimental stimuli. This held true regardless of linguistic complexity, suggesting that delays in processing elementary syntactic constructions are not a concomitant of learning disabilities.     

Relationship of left-right reversals to academic achievement

The study was designed to investigate the relationship of reversal of letters and numbers to academic achievement to decide if the tendency to reversal might be used to predict achievement. Two groups of 45 predominantly white third-grade students whose chronological ages were 9.0 yr. or above were administered the California Achievement Tests and the Jordan Left-Right Reversal Test. A statistical comparison was made using scaled scores on the California Achievement Tests and raw errors on the Jordan Left-Right Reversal Test. Reversal was significantly correlated with academic achievement. Children who exhibit reversals at 9 yr. of age or older may be expected to perform less well academically than children who do not reverse letters.     

VALIDITY GENERALIZATION RESULTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OCCUPATIONS

The Schmidt-Hunter interactive validity generalization procedure was applied to validity data for cognitive abilities tests for law enforcement occupations. Both assumed artifact distributions, and distributions of artifacts constructed from information contained in the current sample of studies were used to test the hypothesis of situational specificity and to estimate validity generalizability. Results for studies using a criterion of performance in training programs showed that validities ranged from .41 to .71, and for four test types the hypothesis of situational specificity could be rejected using the 75% decision rule. For the remaining test types, validity was generalizable, based on 90% credibility values ranging from .37 to .71. Results for studies using a criterion of performance on the job indicated that the hypothesis of situational specificity was not tenable for three test types, which had validities between .17 and .31. For the remaining test types, estimated mean true validities ranged from .10 to .26 and were generalizable to a majority of situations. Results for both groups of studies were essentially identical for the two types of artifact distribution. Possible reasons for the apparently lower validities and lesser generalizability for job performance criteria are discussed, including possible low validity of the criterion (due to lack of opportunity by supervisors to observe behavior) and the potential role of noncognitive factors in the determination of law enforcement job success. Suggestions for specifically targeted additional research are made.     

Arthur Kronfeld (1886-1941)--a psychiatrist in the service of psychotherapy

The psychotherapeutic life-work of psychiatrist Arthur Kronfeld has almost fallen into oblivion. Against the background of the 100th anniversary of his birth the author traces Kronfeld's psychotherapeutic career, pointing out his activity at the Berliner "Institute of Sexual Research" under Magnus Hirschfeld, and his psychotherapeutic concept--the psychagogic guidance of the patient--and its connection with the individual psychology of Alfred Adler. Kronfeld translated his theoretical positions into activities directed towards socialization and the teachability of psychotherapy which are still worthy of note by those engaged in the field.     

Stomatologic studies in schizophrenic patients--contributions to the problem of medical and social integration of psychiatric patients

Stomatological examination was carried out on 173 patients with schizophrenia (IKK-Nr. 295). It was observed that this group of patients showed a diminished dental and oral care in comparison to the average population of the same region. The close cooperation of dentists with the institutions for chronic patients will be as prophylactic measure in favour of the patients encouraged.     

Results of neurophysiologic studies in ophthalmic migraine

The influence in 8 of our patients with ophthalmic migraine of photic driving with sine-like flashing lights on EEG background activity was checked and the visually evoked potentials following the application of diffused simple light stimuli were analyzed using the recovery cycle technique. The results indicate a slightly increased tonic activity of the structures of the mesencephalic formatio reticularis, such as may be produced by slight functional disturbances. Some vegetative secondary symptoms of migraine attacks and some of the changes in EEG observed in patients with ophthalmic migraine are explicable by such an abnormality.     

Treatment of atypical and neurotic depression

Hitherto it has not been usual to talk in the German language about the therapy-oriented concept of two forms of the progress of atypical depression (Type A and Type V). The characteristic symptom of Type A is angst, together with phobias, physical complaints, etc. In Type V there are vegetative symptoms, often towards evening (Hypersomnia, difficulty in getting to sleep, increased appetite, increased weight, increased libido), accompanied by hysterical extrovert personality traits, and of intermittent occurrence. These clinical pictures are amenable to psychopharmalogical therapy. In conformity with the assumption of "somatic accommodation" treatment with antidepressives is recommended in the case neurotic depression, too, at least in the initial stages of treatment.     

Narcissism and the personal myth

Kris (1956) described the concept of the personal myth as an autobiographical story built around a family romance fantasy seen specifically in obsessive characters and serving a defensive function. In this paper the concept of the personal myth was expanded to include similar defensive constellations originating from within the grandiose self, built around omnipotent and omniscient fantasies and occurring in character formations with pregenital, narcissistic pathology. The case of a known author and poet, Nikos Kazantzakis, was used to illustrate the thesis of the paper. The available biographical material and the work of the author offer evidence to support the claim that the author's personal myth was a protective shield against anxiety originating in early narcissistic traumata.