The Psychophysiology of Sensation Seeking

This article summarizes studies relating the trait of sensation seeking to electrodermal and heart-rate responses and cortical evoked potential arousal. Stimulus factors of novelty, intensity, and stimulus significance are important. High sensation seekers tend to give stronger physiological orienting responses than lows to novel stimuli of moderate intensity, particularly when such stimuli are of specific interest. Lows tend to show defensive responses as defined by heart-rate acceleration. The cortical reaction of the highs tends to be augmented by intense visual or auditory stimuli, while that of the lows tends to be reduced or unresponsive to variations in stimulus intensity. Differences between psychophysiological responses of high and low sensation seekers are interpreted as reflective of different evolved biological strategies for processing novel or intense stimulation.     

SEEING TWO AS ONE:

Abstract -Object tokens are episodic visual representations that mediate the ability to track visual events as they move about and change over time. Multiple tokens also allow the viewer to individuate multiple instances of a single type of object. In the present study, we established a functional link for object tokens in two seemingly disparate visual phenomena: apparent motion and repetition blindness [RB]. In RB, repeated items are more difficult to perceive than unre-peated items. Using displays in which two sets of alphanumeric characters streamed in opposite directions across a computer screen in apparent motion, we found increased RB for targets appearing within a single apparent motion stream, relative to targets in different apparent motion streams. The results are inconsistent with refractory period or memory retrieval accounts of RB and support the role of object tokens in both apparent motion and RB.     

Process characteristics of worry and obsessive intrusive thoughts

One hundred and twenty-five university students were administered a battery of self-report measures to assess worry disposition and content, frequency of obsessive intrusive thoughts, and 10 conceptually derived appraisal dimensions of worry and obsessional intrusions. Process ratings indicated that the worrisome thoughts were considered more disturbing than the ego-dystonic intrusive thoughts. Worry was also distinguished by a focus on the possible consequences of negative events, whereas concern about the personal meaning of the thought was a unique process dimension for obsessive intrusive thoughts. Both content and process variables are important in differentiating worry and obsessive-like intrusive thoughts in a nonclinical population.     

On seeing oneself as “left out”: The chronically complaining patient in psychotherapy

A clinical observation regarding patients who complain about feeling left out and/or second best provides the framework for this paper. What is expressed is a form of separation anxiety coupled with a loser self-concept. It is suggested that these patients represent a milder form of the moral masochism. Early theoretical formulations include Freud and his emphasis on the superego and Reich's emphasis on the masochist's fear of being left alone. Kramer's little man phenomenon is an example of a more current theoretical formulation which takes account of the complexities of the ego, and composite self and identity in the clinical phenomena observed. A case of a latency-aged child is provided.     

Intelligence and the Frontal Lobe: The Organization of Goal-Directed Behavior

Basic to the study of individual differences is the concept of “general intelligence” or Spearman'sg.In this article we suggest thatgis largely a reflection of the control functions of the frontal lobe. A series of experiments investigates a phenomenon we callgoal neglect:disregard of a task requirement even though it has been understood and remembered. Subjectively it is as though the neglected requirement “slips the subject's mind.” Previously described in frontal patients, we show that goal neglect can also be seen in some members of the normal population. In line with conventional distinctions between controlled and automatic processing, eliciting conditions for goal neglect include novelty, weak error feedback, and multiple concurrent task requirements. Under these conditions neglect is linked closely togand extremely common after frontal lesions. Following many other models, we suggest that behavior in any task is structured by a set of action constraints or requirements, derived in part from verbal instructions and specified at multiple levels of abstraction. A frontal process of constraint or requirement activation is fundamental to Spearman'sg.     

Adapting Basic Skills to Counsel Children

The purpose of this article is to help counselors modify basic adult interviewing skills, often the focus of the skill development component in counselor education programs, for more effective application with elementary-age children. In particular, 4 specific areas regarding counseling skills are presented: (a) establishing the appropriate physical environment, (b) building trust, (c) maintaining the counselor's facilitative attitude, and (d) using questions appropriately. Recommendations on how these skills can be modified are also discussed.     

Control across the life span: A model for understanding self-direction

A comprehensive four-factor interactive model on physical, psychological, and environmental processes related to the sense of control is presented for adult development with an emphasis on later life. The four experienced components are (1) control from within oneself, (2) control over oneself, (3) control over the environment, and (4) control from the environment. Control over oneself and over the environment measure self-directed control, while control from within oneself and from the environment measure nonself-directed control. Coping (a bidimensional control scale) measures control from powerlessness and suicide to overcontrolling. Findings confirm a significant loss of coping in an older cohort group from a white, rural sample composed primarily of single subjects with low coping representing a significant drop in self-directed behavior. A discussion of the relationship between self-direction and health in the older cohort group follows.     

Immediate and long-term retention of basic-level categories in 24-month-olds

This study assessed the effect of presenting single versus multiple exemplars of basic-level categories on 24-month-olds' long-term memory for categorical information. Sixty-four infants were tested in a paired-comparison recognition memory paradigm immediately and one week after familiarization with basic-level categories. Infants were randomly assigned to one of two familiarization conditions and one of two test conditions. In one familiarization condition (Varied Exemplar), they briefly viewed four different exemplars of each of 16 basic-level categories. In the other familiarization condition (Single Exemplar), they viewed only one instance of each category on four different trials. Test trials consisted of either an exemplar seen during familiarization (Familiar-Exemplar Test) or novel intracategory exemplar (Unfamiliar-Exemplar Test) paired with a stimulus from a novel category. Both immediately following familiarization and one week later, infants looked longer at test stimuli from the novel category irrespective of familiarization or test condition.     

A technique for converting from intravenous drug self-administration to liquid reinforcement

A rapid inexpensive technique for changing from intravenous drug self-administration (DSA) to liquid reinforcement is described. Utilizing a standard peristaltic-type infusion pump typically used in DSA experiments and a specially designed drinking cup, the changeover from intravenous DSA to liquid reinforcement can be accomplished in a few minutes at a cost of less than $10.