Quantitative and qualitative analyses of clock drawings in Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease.

Although visuoconstructive impairment has been reported in both Alzheimer's (DAT) and Huntington's (HD) disease, there is little knowledge concerning how this cognitive deficit differs quantitatively and qualitatively in these two progressive dementias. To address this issue, the present study compared performances on the Clock Drawing Test (CDT: command and copy) of 25 DAT patients, 25 equally demented HD patients, and 25 elderly normal controls (NC). In the command condition, both patients groups were significantly impaired compared to the NC group. Although there was no significant difference between DAT and HD patients' total quantitative scores, a qualitative error analysis revealed a number of dissociations between the two patient groups. Graphic difficulties, very common in HD patients, were virtually absent in DAT patients; in contrast, conceptual errors were almost exclusively seen in DAT patients and were related to the severity of their dementia. Perseveration and "stimulus-bound" responses were also more frequent in DAT patients, and both groups made visuospatial errors. In the copy condition, the DAT, but not the HD, patients evidenced a marked improvement in performance. These results indicate that while both DAT and HD patients have significant visuoconstructive difficulties even in the early stages of their disorders, the specific cognitive processes underlying their quantitative impairments are quite different. It is possible that the DAT patients' conceptual errors are yet another indicator of the deterioration of their semantic knowledge.     

Visual evoked potentials related to behavioral asymmetries during foveal attention in the two extrapersonal Hemispaces

In a group of male and female subjects we studied the VEPs related to the solution of a lexical decision task presented in the Left and Right Hemispaces with respect to the Central position in order to explore the electrophysiological correlates of the performance asymmetries obtained when overt spatial attention is directed to the Left or Right Hemispace. When stimuli were presented in the Left Hemispace a significant asymmetry was observed between the two hemispheres of the negative activity around 280 msec in the occipital-parietal areas. Moreover a general increase in the Central and Frontal areas of both the hemispheres was observed. In this paper we discuss why these effects can be considered to be the cause of the costs on accuracy observed in the male subjects. The differences obtained with the female group are discussed in relation to the observed modification on the negative activity around 400 msec with stimuli in the Left Hemispace. These findings give some suggestions about the interaction of structural and attentional mechanisms in the brain during the solution of a lateralized cognitive task.     

On the Relation Between Time Perception and the Timing of Motor Action: Evidence for a Temporal Oscillator Controlling the Timing of Movement

Studies of time estimation have provided evidence that human time perception is determined by an internal clock containing a temporal oscillator and have also provided estimates of the frequency of this oscillator (Treisman, Faulkner, Naish, & Brogan, 1992; Treisman & Brogan, 1992). These estimates were based on the observation that when the intervals to be estimated are accompanied by auditory clicks that recur at certain critical rates, perturbations in time estimation occur. To test the hypothesis that the mechanisms that underlie the perception of time and those that control the timing of motor performance are similar, analogous experiments were performed on motor timing, with the object of seeing whether evidence for a clock would be obtained and if so whether its properties resemble those of the time perception clock. The prediction was made that perturbations in motor timing would be seen at the same or similar critical auditory click rates. The experiments examined choice reaction time and typing. The results support the hypothesis that a temporal oscillator paces motor performance and that this oscillator is similar to the oscillator underlying time perception. They also provide an estimate of the characteristic frequency of the oscillator.     

Computer-Assisted Careers Guidance Systems and Organisational Change

This article describes a study conducted to identify the range of potential influences that a computer-assisted careers guidance system (PROSPECT (HE)) had on the functioning of organisations (careers services in higher education). Data from six institutions indicated that use of PROSPECT (HE) was associated with important and varied change within the organisations. It appears that when a careers service seeks opportunities for change, CACG systems can be an important catalyst for change in two respects: by providing a focal point for achieving previously established goals; or, as a consequence of system use, by making staff aware of the potential for new organisational goals.     

Home,school, and playroom: Training grounds for adult gender roles

Gender differences in children's play activities, preferred school subjects, and occupational goals were examined in relation to such parental variables as toy-giving and chore assignment. Subjects were 245 children in grades K, 3, 6, and 8. Subjects completed questionnaires before and after Christmas asking what gifts they wanted, asked for, received, and liked best. They also were asked to name their friends and play activities, favorite and least-liked school subjects, occupational aspirations, and chores at home. Children generally wanted, asked for, received, and most-liked gender-typical toys. They were less likely to receive requested gender-atypical toys. Children's preferred activities, job aspirations and assigned chores were along gender-typical lines. Girls preferred masculine toys and jobs more than boys preferred feminine ones. With increasing age, both girls and boys increasingly preferred masculine toys and male friends. No gender differences in favorite or least-liked school subjects were found. School subject preference was related to gender-typing of occupational choice for girls but not boys.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Anaheim, California, 1983.     

Dominance,sex, and leader emergence

A 3×2×2 incomplete factorial design was employed to test the effects of sex, dominance, and their interaction on leader emergence. The factors included dominance distribution (high/high, high/low, middle/middle), sex (male-female), and dyad composition (mixed sex-same sex). The subjects were all Caucasians and were pretested on the California Psychological Inventory Dominance Scale. The data revealed that dominance was a predictor of leader emergence in same-sex conditions where high-dominant individuals assumed the role of leader in much greater proportions than their low-dominant partners. In mixed-sex dyads, sex appeared to be a more potent predictor with males becoming leaders at levels greater than would be suspected given dominance levels.     

The use and opposition of rape myths in prime-time television dramas

The act of rape violates two deeply held values of American culture: the right to justice and the right of physical integrity. Despite this fact, thousands of women are raped each year. The victim of rape often becomes the target of blame; in one aspect or another she is held accountable for her victimization. Through the use of rape myths, which are grounded in patriarchal expectations of gender role behavior, our culture unites the apparently dichotomous opposites of the rights to justice and physical integrity. While rape myths have received extensive attention from behaviorists, their communication through the mass media has been ignored. This study focuses on the use of, and opposition to, rape myths in prime-time television dramas, as well as discusses the implications of those depictions.This study was derived from my doctoral dissertation, which was directed by Dr. Pamela Benoit, University of Missouri — Columbia.     

CAUCASIAN LESBIANS' USE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: A Matter of Attitude?

Evidence suggests that a high proportion of lesbians seek psychological counseling. This study represents an empirical investigation of the disproportionate use of mental health services by lesbians, focusing on the hypothesis that lesbians place a greater value on psychotherapy than do nonlesbian women. Participants (100 lesbians and 309 nonlesbian women, 97% Caucasian) completed Surgenor's revision of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Results indicate that the lesbian group had a significantly more positive attitude toward seeking psychological counseling than did the nonlesbian sample, regardless of whether or not they had experienced psychological counseling.