SCRIPTKELL: A tool for measuring cognitive effort and time processing in writing and other complex cognitive activities

We present SCRIPTKELL, a computer-assisted experimental tool that makes it possible to measure the time and cognitive effort allocated to the subprocesses of writing and other cognitive activities. SCRIPTKELL was designed to easily use and modulate Kellogg’s (1986) triple-task procedure, which consists of a combination of three tasks: a writing task (or another task), a reaction time task (auditory signal detection), and a directed retrospection task (after each signal detection during writing). We demonstrate how this tool can be used to address several novel empirical and theoretical issues. In sum, SCRIPTKELL should facilitate the flexible realization of experimental designs and the investigation of critical issues concerning the functional characteristics of complex cognitive activities.     

Psychoanalysis: a dysfunctional family?

The discussion opens with an account of the author's mother's bizarre family in which a strong, charismatic grandmother maintained absolute control over her large family by encouraging a neurotic dependence in them through daily reports of their complaints.
Getting interested in psychoanalysis in an effort to understand the dynamics of this dysfunctional family, the author, a biographer, turned to the study of Melanie Klein, becoming entranced by her ideas. Her research also revealed how Klein had discouraged her followers from developing ideas that diverged in any way from her own. Her portrait of the pioneer analyst provoked intense indignation. A similar pattern of absolute loyalty to his person and theories was to be found in Freud's Secret Committee, formed primarily as a means of getting rid of Jung who had been showing disturbing signs of independence. When Ferenczi and Rank began to pursue independent lines of enquiry in their work, they too were thought to be undermining the foundations of classical psychoanalysis.
Finally, the author concludes that though there have been sorry incidents in psychoanalysis, we should be mature enough to accept both the contributions of the early pioneers and the realizations that new ideas must be permitted to evolve.     

A Twin and Family Study of the Association Between Immune System Dysfunction and Dyslexia Using Blood Serum Immunoassay and Survey Data

We conducted a study of the association between developmental reading disability (DRD) and immune disorders (ID) using both survey and immunoassay data in two separate samples of families. One sample was made up of twins and their parents and was ascertained through a population-based sampling scheme. The other sample was a set of extended pedigrees selected for apparent autosomal dominant transmission of DRD. We failed to find an association between DRD and ID in either sample, regardless of the method used to assess immune system function. Even though our twin sample provided evidence that both DRD and immune conditions were significantly heritable, there was no evidence for a genetic correlation between ID and DRD nor was there any clear indication that a special subgroup of individuals may be comorbid for these conditions because of genetic reasons. How these negative findings can be reconciled with the developmental hypothesis of Geschwind, Behan, Galaburda, and colleagues, and how they may relate to the gene locus influencing DRD that has been recently located in the HLA region of the short arm of chromosome 6 is discussed.     

Gender attitudes in children

This study investigated children's gender attitudes as a function of the sex, age, and race of the child as well as a geographical SES factor. Two attitudes were measured: gender pride (attributing positive characteristics to a child of the same sex) and gender prejudice (attributing negative characteristics to a child of the other sex). Results indicated that all children tended to select children of the same sex for the positive attributes, but that both boys and girls selected boys for the negative attributes. Although all sex pride scores decreased with age, this effect was most pronounced for girls from an upper-lower-class urban environment.The write-up of this article was supported by our current National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. 1R01MH29417-01, Principal Investigator, Dr. Phyllis A. Katz.     

Achievers and underachievers: A comparative study of fear of success,education and career goals,and conception of woman's role among high school senior girls

Two groups of 16 high school senior girls, achievers and underachievers, were compared on the following variables: educational and career goals, conception of woman's role, and fear of success (FOS). Chi-square analyses showed significant differences between groups with regard to their goals. Achievers aspired significantly higher than underachievers in their educational goals. In addition, they were significantly more contemporary in their career goals and more committed to these goals than the underachievers. In contrast to underachievers, achievers also had a more contemporary view of the roles women should assume in society and, on the other hand, showed more FOS in fantasies about women succeeding in contemporary roles, but these differences did not reach statistical significance.     

COMPLIANCE TRAINING AND BEHAVIORAL COVARIATION IN THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

The present study investigated the use of a compliance-training procedure and its effect on untreated deviant child behaviors. Three children, each generally noncompliant to adult requests and with several additional problems, such as crying, aggression, and self-injurious behavior, were trained in the compliance procedure under a multiple-baséline design across therapists. Compliance was defined as the correct response to prespecified requests. Other classes of deviant child behavior were measured continuously throughout the study but not directly reinforced. The results of the study showed that (a) increases in compliance to requests were directly related to the contingencies employed; (b) decreases in untreated deviant behaviors occurred when compliance increased, even though no direct contingencies had been placed on these behaviors; and (c) the relationship between untreated deviant behaviors and compliance appeared to be maintained by a different set of events in each of the three children. The results are discussed in terms of behavioral covariation and generalization.     

MAINTENANCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE VOCABULARY AND THE SPACING EFFECT

Abstract— In a 9-year longitudinal investigation, 4 subjects learned and relearned 300 English-foreign language word pairs. Either 13 or 26 relearning sessions were administered at intervals of 14, 28, or 56 days. Retention was tested for 1, 2, 3, or 5 years after training terminated. The longer intersession intervals slowed down acquisition slightly, but this disadvantage during training was offset by substantially higher retention. Thirteen retraining sessions spaced at 56 days yielded retention comparable to 26 sessions spaced at 14 days. The retention benefit due to additional sessions was independent of the benefit due to spacing, and both variables facilitated retention of words regardless of difficulty level and of the consistency of retrieval during training. The benefits of spaced retrieval practice to long-term maintenance of access to academic knowledge areas are discussed.     

The use of a consultation team to network families with other helping systems

Families, therapists, and other service providers often find themselves uncooperative and at cross purposes when working toward solutions to family problems. Sometimes each professional is involved in one small piece of the problem and may never have encountered other providers and all family members. This paper describes a family-agencies-team consultation model intended to address the above issues. The model uses a consultation team to facilitate better understanding of family needs, helping agency roles, and service provider constraints. The approach has been successful in creating dialogue, generating a wide range of goals, engendering cooperation, empowering families, and affirming agency participation.In addition to the authors, the consultation team included staff members at the Pitt County Mental Health Center working with client families and other agencies in Pitt County, North Carolina.