Sleep-related improvements in motor learning following mental practice

A wide range of experimental studies have provided evidence that a night of sleep may enhance motor performance following physical practice (PP), but little is known, however, about its effect after motor imagery (MI). Using an explicitly learned pointing task paradigm, thirty participants were assigned to one of three groups that differed in the training method (PP, MI, and control groups). The physical performance was measured before training (pre-test), as well as before (post-test 1) and after a night of sleep (post-test 2). The time taken to complete the pointing tasks, the number of errors and the kinematic trajectories were the dependent variables. As expected, both the PP and the MI groups improved their performance during the post-test 1. The MI group was further found to enhance motor performance after sleep, hence suggesting that sleep-related effects are effective following mental practice. Such findings highlight the reliability of MI in learning process, which is thought consolidated when associated with sleep.     

Thawing the 'frozen accidents': the archetypal view in countertransference

Jung's concepts of psyche and psychic energy are relevant in countertransference. Working with Jung's archetypes as 'transconscious' dynamic fields of probabilities helps the analyst, as a clinician and teacher with limited human consciousness, to confront and recognize the unconscious cross-purposes of 'anomalous' countertransference, and to convert it to insightful 'participatory' countertransference-Jung's archetypes will be juxtaposed with William James's fields, Gerald Edelman's qualia, and most particularly with Murray Gell-Mann's 'frozen accidents'. Two vignettes – from A clinical and a training setting – suggest chat from a Jungian perspective, countertransference may be seen at the psychic juncture where ego, the personal shadow, the interpersonal other and the archerype of the collective unconscious meet in the determining images of a life, fantasy, dream, analysis, and seminar. So-called 'parallel process' will be seen as enclosure in the circles of reference emanating from the patient's experiences in those arenas deemed archetypal, i.e., structurally significant. The relativity of unconscious time will be mentioned. Jung's notion that, called or uncalled, the archetypes are present, informs the thesis that we must name archetypal images if we are to know them, and we must know them to be free.     

The weak Borda effect is an unsatisfactory index of plurality/majority disagreement

As an index of the propensity of the plurality voting procedure to produce an outcome which conflicts with the wishes of the majority, the likelihood of the weak Borda effect is flawed and misleading. It is recommended that researchers discontinue using the quantity for this purpose, since it is possible to obtain directly the likelihood of plurality/majority disagreement.     

A FORTRAN 77 program for sample-size determination in replication attempts when effect size is uncertain

A method of sample-size determination for use in attempts to replicate experiments is described. It is appropriate in situations where there is uncertainty about the magnitude of the effect under investigation. The procedure uses information supplied by the original experiment to establish a distribution of probable effect sizes. The sample size to be used in a replication study is that which provides an expected power of the desired amount over the distribution of probable effect sizes A FORTRAN 77 program is presented that permits rapid calculation of sample size in replication attempts employing comparisons of means, correlation coefficients, or proportions.     

Stop-consonant recognition: Release bursts and formant transitions as functionally equivalent,context-dependent cues

Three experiments assessed the roles of release bursts and formant transitions as acoustic cues to place of articulation in syllable-initial voiced stop consonants by systematically removing them from American English /b,d,g/, spoken before nine different vowels by two speakers, and by transposing the bursts across all vowels for each class of stop consonant. The results showed that bursts were largely invariant in their effect, but carried significant perceptual weight in only one syllable out of 27 for Speaker 1, in only 13 syllables out of 27 for Speaker 2. Furthermore, bursts and transitions tended to be reciprocally related: Where the perceptual weight of one increased, the weight of the other declined. They were thus shown to be functionally equivalent, context-dependent cues, each contributing to the rapid spectral changes that follow consonantal release. The results are interpreted as pointing to the possible role of the front-cavity resonance in signaling place of articulation.     

Better than me or better than thee? Reactions to intrapersonal and interpersonal performance feedback

When people compare their own performance across domains, the comparison may be based on differences in their absolute (objective) performance and/or on diffrences in their performance relative to others Differential sensitivity to the interpersonal (relative) and intrapersonal (absolute) comparison information was examined as a function of the closeness of the social comparison target and individual differences in self-esteem Subjects (162) worked on two tasks with a partner, receiving item-by-item feedback, the partner was either a friend or a stranger The feedback was designed such that subjects' objective performance was better on one task (Task A) than on the other task (Task B), but their performance relative to that of the partner was better on Task B than on Task A High self-esteem subjects and subjects in the friend condition were more satisfied and evaluated the test more positively on the task associated with better relative performance (despite the fact that their objective performance was worse on that task) Low self-esteem subjects and subjects in the stranger condition expressed more positive reactions on the task associated with better objective performance (despite the fact that their relative performance was worse on that task) Results are discussed in terms of the informational and affective consequences of engaging in social comparison     

The Observation of Intimacy in Groups

An instrument for the analysis of verbal statements along a continuum from most intimate to least intimate is the Levels of Verbal Intimacy Technique (LOVIT). It enables an observer to place all verbal statements in one of ten categories along this intimacy continuum. The technique has been used in research on small groups and also can be used to provide feedback in groups, for example, to couples in marriage counseling.     

Self-Help Books: Some Ethical Questions

Self-help books may be a useful resource to counselors in their work with counselees. They may contribute, however, to the development of psychological problems or prevent people from seeking help when needed. The Utopia promised by self-help books may be a pathology in its own right as marketing experts “hype” a book beyond any reasonable evidence of its efficacy. Ethical questions are raised as well as action suggestions for authors, professional counselors, and professional organizations.     

Responsible technoscience: The haunting reality of Auschwitz and Hiroshima

Auschwitz and Hiroshima stand out as two realities whose uniqueness must be reconciled with their inevitability as outcomes of highly rationalized processes of technoscientific progress. Contrary to Michael Walzer’s notion of “double effect”, whereby unintended consequences and the particular uses to which warfare may lead remain outside the moral purview of scientists, this paper endorses the commitment of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science to argue that members of the technoscientific community are always responsible for their work and the eventual uses made of it. In what follows four related views are outlined pertaining to modern situations within which the technoscientific community operates, so as to highlight the urgency of infusing a sense of responsibility for the products of their activities into this community. A provisional “code” is suggested that may serve as a guide for increased personal responsibility of individual technoscientists (academic scientists and industrial engineers).