Instructed versus pharmacological effects of alcohol in alcoholics and social drinkers

Twelve alcoholics and 12 social drinkers were studied in an experiment where instructions about alcohol or placebo were orthogonally crossed with administration of alcohol or placebo in a Balanced Placebo Design. Three subjects were simultaneously observed while watching soccer games on the TV together and having free access to a mixed drink, which in the alcohol conditions contained 150ml of 80% proof vodka. The assessment procedure included several aspects of drinking behavior, behavioral observations during the session, psychiatric ratings and nurse observations before and after each session, ratings for craving, self-reported state anxiety and physiological changes (heart rate and blood pressure). In general, the results showed the alcoholic's behavior to be controlled by instruction-induced expectancies rather than by the actual beverage given, whereas the social drinkers showed tendencies in the opposite direction. The implications of these results for the traditional disease conception of alcoholism and for learning theory approaches are discussed.     

Depression and engagement in a residential home for the elderly

Traditional residential care environments for the elderly have been criticized because of the observed low levels of residents' engagement. Behavioural models of depression suggest an inverse relationship between engagement in pleasant activities and depression. The present study examined the relationship between depression and engagement in the residents of a home for the elderly. Correlational analyses indicated no relationship between level of depression and level of engagement but an association was found between level of depression and engagement in activities subjectively most enjoyed. There was considerable variation in the residents' perception of their behaviour; some residents viewed active engagement negatively whilst clearly enjoying behaviour that is technically disengaged. It is suggested that the results of the study emphasize the importance both of individual differences in behaviour and of covert behaviour. Implications for the engagement concept are discussed. In particular it is suggested that programmes in care environments aimed at increasing engagement in order to enhance the quality of life should focus more on the individual and on his perception of his behaviour.     

Ethical issues and the family doctor

Issues recognized as having ethical or moral components are becoming increasingly common, for society in general, the health care system and for general practitioner/family physicians in particular. Some of the peculiar problems for GP's relate to the provision of continuing, comprehensive, primary medical care to large numbers of individuals who provide extensive potential for conflict between all the involved elements: patients, physicians, families, consultants and societal attitudes. There is a need for more formal education programs.     

The use of a double-blind drug trial in family therapy to demedicalize a problem

A family therapy approach to a problem that had led previous clinicians to diagnose and treat a child as 'hyperkinetic', is described. The resistance to change that the preceding diagnosis had inculcated, is described. A method of overcoming this resistance by active involvement of the family in a double-blind trial of the drug treatment, was devised and used concurrently with a structural form of family therapy.     

Reliability, homogeneity and the construct validity of Cattell's 16PF

This paper reviews criticisms of the psychometric properties of Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and examines Cattell's claims that 16PF scale reliabilities and factor validities are seriously underestimated by conventional internal consistency approaches to reliability estimation.On large samples of British adults and undergraduates no evidence was found to support the claim that the 16PF is deliberately heterogeneous in item content. No presence of suppressor effects or balancing of specifics were found in the 16PF scales, most of which were reasonably homogenous by conventional standards. Conventional internal-consistency reliability estimates in fact give very similar results to alternate form reliability coefficients and Cattell's factorial validities. 16PF scales which were particularly poor in terms of scale consistency were L, M and N with C, O and Q4 emerging as measures of essentially the same trait of anxiety.     

Affect as a mediator of attributional egotism

A three-stage model of the relationships among achievement outcomes, outcome-related affect, attribution, and emotion is tested in two studies. It is suggested that success and failure elicit positive and negative affective states due to prior conditioning. These affective states then lead to an attribution process that serves to defend and enhance self-esteem. Next, emotional labels are chosen that are consistent with the affective states and the attributions. Two studies were designed to test the proposed relationships among achievement outcomes, affective states, and attributions. In the first study, subjects received information indicating that they were strongly or mildly aroused as a result of receiving outcome feedback on an achievement task. The results indicated that low arousal reduced egotistical attributions to internal factors. In the second study, subjects either succeeded or failed on an achievement task. Half of the subjects were provided with an opportunity to misattribute the arousal elicited by their outcomes to an irrelevant source. Subjects in the misattribution condition made less egotistical attributions to external factors than subjects who were given no opportunity to misattribute their arousal. The results of both studies suggest that outcome-related affect mediates the relationship between outcomes and attributions in achievement situations.     

Social Class and Reported Changes in Behavior After Job Loss

Reports were obtained from middle-class and working-class unemployed British men about change or lack of change since job loss in 37 different behaviors. The behaviors were grouped into Domestic Work, Domestic Pastimes, Other Pastimes, Book Reading, Recreations, Entertainment Through Money, and Social Contacts. Contrary to findings from 1930s research, significant increases in social contact and book reading were reported since job loss. Other significant increases were reported within all categories except Entertainment Through Money, where a significant decline was recorded. A number of social class differences were found. For instance, middleclass unemploycd men were significantly more likely than their working-class counterparts to report increased book reading for study and more visits to the public library. Working-class respondents were significantly more likely to report increased looking around shops without buying and reduced visits to the pub. Several significant associations between reported behavior changes and aspects of psychological and general health were observed.