Subject Competence and Minimization of the Bystander Effect

While performing a drawing task, either alone or in the presence of an observer, high- and low-competent subjects heard a workman fall off a ladder in an adjoining room. As expected, high-competent subjects (Registered Nurses) who witnessed the emergency with another bystander helped as frequently as subjects who witnessed the emergency alone; low-competent subjects (general students) evidenced the familiar bystander effect. Responses to the post-emergency questionnaire indicated that at the time of the emergency both high- and low-competent subjects felt strongly that they should do something to help the workman. The minimization of the bystander effect for the high-competent subjects was mediated by confidence in their ability to help the workman and in knowing what steps to take to help. Discussion focused on the role of subject competency in bystander intervention, effective debriefing, and the subjects' positive reactions to participating in a bystander experiment.     

Jensen's use of the Hick paradigm: Visual attention and order effects

Longstreth (1984, 1986) and Carroll (1987) have recently raised questions concerning the effects of practice and order and retinal displacement in Jensen's use of the Hick paradigm. The results of this study indicate that the effect of practice and order is nonsignificant. The effect of retinal displacement, although significant, accounts for such a small amount of the variance as to be of little practical or theoretical importance in Jensen's investigations with the Hick paradigm.     

Attentional processing of “unattended” flankers: Evidence for a failure of selective attention

Results from research with the flanker task have been used to argue both that flankers are identified without attention and that flanker identificatin requires attention. In three experiments, we addressed this issue by examining flanker recall. In Experiment 1, we manipulated flanker redundancy, a variable that could influence attention to the flankers, in order to determine whether it affected the magnitude of the flanker effect, the magnitude of flanker recall, or both. Redundancy did not influence the flanker effect, and recall was high in both conditions, suggesting that the flankers were attended. The recall results contradicted those of Miller (1987), the only other study that we could find in which flanker recall was used. In Experiments 2 and 3, we examined differences between Miller’s procedure and ours. Although flanker recall was lower when open-ended rather than forced recall was used and when the flanker task was made more complicated, flanker recall remained well above chance in all conditions. The data strongly suggest that in the typical correlated flanker task there is a failure of selective attention at some point during processing such that flankers receive attentional processing.     

Procrastination in College Students: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Anxiety

In this study, the authors examined the relationships among procrastination, efficacy expectations, anxiety, gender, and age for 141 university students. Participants were asked to think about a major project and to rate their efficacy regarding the skills needed to accomplish the project. Bivariate correlations showed that efficacy expectations and anxiety had significant, individual relationships with procrastination. When these variables were entered into a regression model, only cumulative efficacy strength was a significant predictor of procrastination. Implications for practice and research suggestions are discussed.     

Is valentine still doubtful? A workshop model for children of divorce

We present this eight-session structured workshop format aimed at school-aged children of divorce who are considered psychologically healthy by family and teachers, in which we review the situations most frequently encountered by these families.In the workshop we offer an understanding vision of divorce while providing the children with the experience of working with therapists who are able to deal with highly troublesome issues in a caring atmosphere.Acknowledgements are expressed to Bernardita Cruz, school counselor, and Ilana Meler and Patricia Tahl, child psychologists.     

Limbic networks and associative learning: I. Entorhinal contributions to instrumental conditioning

The hippocampal formation is a highly delineated brain structure that is believed to play a prominent role in learning and memory. The present experiment evaluated the contributions of medial and lateral perforant path input to bar press-conditioning under (a) continuous and (b) differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) schedules, and (c) shuttlebox avoidance conditioning. Bilateral deafferentation of either pathway had no effect on the acquisition of bar press responses or on performance under the DRL schedule. Deafferentation of the medial pathway facilitated acquisition of avoidance responses in a manner much like the effects seen in hippocampectomized animals. It is suggested that the medial perforant path participates in the expression of correlated patterns of neuronal discharge known to develop within the hippocampus and that this “model” serves to modulate the temporal characteristics of simple conditioned reflexes. Loss of the modulatory influence of the model may affect acquisition and extinction rates. Contributions of other hippocampal circuits are discussed in relation to established deficits. Preliminary results of this experiment were presented at the second annual convention of the American Psychological Society, Dallas, Texas, June 1990.     

Risks,choices and behavioral treatment

Recent arguments against the use of intrusive behavioral interventions in the treatment of handicapped people are examined. The anti-aversive position was found to be based on assumptions about the negative impact of aversive procedures, and to consider only a small subset of the variables that should be taken into account when treatment decisions are made. A preliminary application of formal decision-analysis techniques that have been developed in response to other controversial technologies had a number of benefits including: (a) sharpening the distinction between scientific and social criteria; (b) sensitizing decision-makers and scientists to the range of costs, risks, and benefits associated with treatment decisions; and (c) identifying critical areas of research. Decision-analysis techniques were found to be helpful in directing scientists and policy-makers towards more informed decision-making.     

The Biological Findings in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review1

In this paper the authors review the literature on biological and treatment studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and present current unifying hypotheses regarding the pathophysiology. The psychophysiological studies stress overarousal, while endocrine studies suggest a decreased Cortisol production in denial and low symptom states with increases in highly symptomatic states. Suggestive evidence is provided that PTSD is associated with permanent changes in brain mechanisms involving the locus coeruleus, amygdala, and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Drug treatments are promising but not fully satisfactory as yet. Directions for further research are provided.