Frequency of neurologic-psychiatric findings in the late phase following minor and medium severe blunt craniocerebral injuries

The authors present a short review of the pertinent literature and report on their own neuropsychiatric findings following internal craniocerebral injuries, at the same time drawing attention to the necessity of psychological examination. Statistical comparisons with the international literature are complicated owing to the different classifications used for craniocerebral injuries.     

Self-labeling by educably mentally retarded high school students in their mainstream and special education classes

Educably mentally retarded (EMR) students and nonhandicapped students from their mainstream classes completed semantic differential ratings of a stereotypic popular teen-ager, juvenile delinquent, and special education student. Subjects also rated their global self-concepts and situation-specific self-concepts within the mainstream and the special class settings. Ratings were done at the beginning (Time 1) and the end (Time 2) of a semester. Results showed that mainstream classes did not "de-label" EMR students. Within the mainstream class, the number of EMR students who saw themselves as similar to a special education student significantly increased over time. Moreover, at Time 2, EMR students were more likely to think of themselves as similar to a special education student in their mainstream class than in their special education class. However, EMR subjects' global self-concepts did not change. Implications for mainstreaming are discussed.     

Physical self-efficacy and actualization

In his theorizing about self-actualization, Maslow speculated that physical ability and physical self-confidence were two aspects of cooperative dominance which were associated positively with actualization. These aspects of dominance bear close resemblance to the Perceived Physical Ability (PPA) and the Physical Self-Presentation Confidence (PSPC) dimensions of the Physical Self-Efficacy (PSE) Inventory. Accordingly, the PPA and PSPC scores of undergraduate men and women were correlated with their scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a popular measure of actualization, to test Maslow's hypotheses. The results showed that, contrary to Maslow's claims, PPA is not a positive correlate of self-actualization. However, strong support was found for Maslow's contention that high-PSPC individuals are more likely to be actualizing than low-PSPC people. Also, Maslow's hypothesis that actualizers are high in global sensation seeking (SS) was tested. The data indicated that only male actualizers were high in various aspects of SS, but female actualizers were not. Multiple regression analyses revealed further that both SS and PSPC are primary contributors to POI for men, but only PSPC contributes significantly to POI for women. Discussion focused on the reasons why research findings showing that increases in physical fitness lead to increases in self-esteem cannot be used to support the view that physical fitness and actualization are linked positively.     

Primary-school stutterers: Have attitudes changed?

How concerned are primary-school-aged stuttering children about their communication problem? What are the clinical implications of this concern?Fifteen years ago, Silverman (1970) suggested that primary-school-aged children who stuttered were not concerned about their disfluencies. A clinical implication of that report was that the interpreted lack of concern might negatively affect the children's motivation and desire for change in therapy. Scant research exists to support or refute this implication. While research is available on reactions to stuttering, pretherapeutic attitudes—especially those of children—have not been systematically reported. Guitar (1976) measured the pre-treatment attitudes of 38 adult stutterers and reported that, “those stutterers with more negative attitudes measured just prior to treatment, were most likely to have high levels of stuttering a year later, even though all subjects left therapy entirely fluent.” In related areas, research by Kolb, Winter, and Berlen (1968), McFall (1970), and McFall and Hammen (1971) has indicated that clients who are more motivated do better in behavior modification programs.Whether or not these findings may be generalized to children, in the midst of a developmental process, is purely speculative.     

The Social Psychology of Caregiving: Physical and Psychological Costs of Providing Support to the Disabled1

The emphasis of much of the existing research on social support-health relationships has been on the availability and impact of support on the recipient, but social psychologists have paid little attention to the costs to the caregiver of providing that support. In an earlier study (Schulz & Decker, 1985), we found that the long-term coping of individuals experiencing chronic disability as a result of spinal-cord injury was facilitated by the availability of a primary support person, or caregiver. In this study we examined the determinants of well-being of the primary caregiver of the middle-aged and elderly spinal-cord-injured persons. Psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and depression were the dependent measures. The availability of social support, social contact, and feelings of control over one's life were important determinants of caregiver well-being, even after controlling for health and income. In addition, the amount of time spent each day assisting the disabled person was a strong independent correlate of depression, and the extent to which the caregiver felt burdened by the victim was significantly and negatively related to life satisfaction. These results are discussed in the context of a comprehensive stress-coping model. Since data were available from both disabled individuals and their primary support persons, we had the unique opportunity to compare the perspectives of both those giving and receiving daily care. We found no relationship in levels of psychological well-being and depression reported by the disabled person and caregiver; however, caregivers attributed to the victims affective levels similar to their own.     

Stability and Change in Type A Components and Cardiovascular Reactivity in Medical Students During Periods of Academic Stress1

This study examined the effects of academic stress upon components of Type A behavior and cardiovascular reactivity. In a longitudinal design, heart rate and blood pressure responses to the Type A Structured Interview (SI) and additional laboratory challenges were measured in medical students at three points during an academic semester. Sessions 1 and 3 were scheduled during vacation periods; Session 2 took place during an intensive examination week. Results indicated that three “stylistic” components of Pattern A derived from the SI—loud and explosive speech, short response latency, and potential for hostility—increased significantly during the exam period. Similar increases achieved marginal significance for another stylistic component, rapid and accelerated speech. By contrast, global Type A assessments did not increase with academic demands. Cardiovascular reactivity was significantly but only moderately stable across the three sessions, showing less consistency than has been reported in previous research. In addition, there was little evidence in this study that cardiovascular reactivity was potentiated by academic stress or by Type A behavior. These results demonstrate the influence of naturalistic environmental factors on overt behavioral components that have recently been suggested as coronary risk factors. Therefore, it is advisable for future experimental and epidemiological research to examine the social and environmental context in which these behaviors occur.     

The Effects of Clothing and Dyad Sex Composition on Perceptions of Sexual Intent: Do Women and Men Evaluate These Cues Differently1

The effects of clothing revealingness and dyad-sex composition on perceptions of male- and female-stimulus persons' sexuality were examined. Based on Abbey's (1982) findings, we hypothesized that men would attribute more sexuality to both male and female targets than women would. Furthermore, we predicted that the difference between men's and women's sexuality ratings would be most divergent when a male-female dyad was presented and when the female stimulus person wore revealing clothing. A laboratory study was conducted in which subjects viewed a photograph of two students in a classroom. As predicted, male subjects rated female targets as more sexy and seductive than did female subjects. Also as predicted, female targets who wore revealing clothing were rated as more sexy and seductive than those wearing nonrevealing clothing. Female targets were rated higher on sexual traits regardless of the gender of their partner. Men did not consistently perceive male stimulus persons more sexually than women did. Finally, both female and male targets were perceived as more kind and warm when they wore nonrevealing clothing. The implications of these findings for person perception and date rape research are described.     

A NEUROBIOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE PERCEPTUAL REINFORCEMENT HYPOTHESIS OF STEREOTYPED BEHAVIOR: A COMMENTARY ON “SELF-STIMULATORY BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTUAL REINFORCEMENT”

A perceptual reinforcement theory of stereotyped movements is advanced by Lovaas, Newsom, and Hickman (1987) in an effort to integrate a number of diverse observations about the origins and maintenance of this behavior. We, in turn, argue that the theory, as presented, is logically flawed and fails to take into account important biological findings and theory concerning pathological stereotyped acts. An alternative theory, derived primarily from neurological concepts, is briefly described.