Statistical properties of staircase estimates

The bias and variability of staircase estimators were studied by means of repeated computer simulations of staircase runs. Both forced-choice and yes-no staircases were simulated. The influence of the shape of the psychometric function, the location and spacing of the stimuli, the number of trials in a run, and the method of deriving the estimate from the data are discussed. The forced-choice staircase is compared to the yes-no staircase, and the limitations of the simulation procedure are outlined.     

A note on responses to ethyl alcohol before and after smoking1

Differential sensitivity was measured before and after smoking a cigarette by 10 smokers, using 10 nonsmokers as controls. Stimuli consisted of reagent grade ethanol in eight concentrations ranging from 4% to 12%. No significant differences were observed between smokers and nonsmokers or before vs after smoking, although slightly higher overall correct responses and correspondingly smaller jnds were obtained for the nonsmokers. No practice affects were noted among the control group between the first and second set of samples. The findings confirm previous results which had been recently questioned.     

Shared genes, shared experiences, and similarity of personality: data from 14,288 adult Finnish co-twins

Similarities for Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) scale scores from the Eysenck Personality Inventory were evaluated in 7,144 adult twin pairs, drawn from the population-based Finnish Twin Cohort, as a function of the co-twins' genetic resemblance, gender, age, and the frequency of their social interaction with each other. To separate effects of shared genes from those of shared experience, we performed hierarchical multiple regressions of double-entry data matrices. Results establish the predictive significance of both genetic and experiential influences: Genetic effects remained significant when tested after the effects of social contact were first removed; conversely, for N scores, the effects of social contact remained significant when assessed after genetic influences were first removed. These findings establish genetic variance in major dimensions of adult personality but assign a significant role to common experience as well. The first finding constructively replicates reports by others; the second challenges the widespread assumption that shared experiences have a negligible impact on sibling similarity in adult personality.     

The three bears are all boys: Mothers' gender labeling of neutral picture book characters

Two studies examined mother's labeling of gender-neutral characters in young children's picture books. In the first study, mothers and their 18- to 38-month-old children looked at three popular children's books together. The mothers' use of masculine or feminine names or pronouns to refer to gender-neutral characters was recorded. The data revealed an extreme masculine bias: 95% of all characters of indeterminate gender were referred to by the mothers as males. In a second study, specially prepared picture books were used to examine the effect of gender-relevant variables on the mothers' labeling. The results replicated Study 1 in showing a strong bias toward referring to neutral pictures with masculine labels: The incidence of masculine labels was again high and, in addition, was relatively impervious to most of the gender-relevant manipulations included in the books. The one variable that had a strong, consistent effect on the mothers' labeling was the presence of an adult in the pictures: Child Characters were nearly always referred to as males when they appeared alone; they were more likely to be given feminine or neutral lables when they were pictured in the presence of an adult. This result is related to Carpenter's [Activity Structure and Play: Implications for Socialization, in M. Liss (Ed.), Social and Cognitive Skills: Sex Roles and Childrens Play, New York: Academic Press, 1983] model of the development of sex-typed behavior. The data are also discussed with respect to the well-documented sexist bias in picture books for preschool children.This research was support in part by Grants HD-05951 from NICHHD and R01 MH33082-01 from NIMH to the first and third authors, respectively. We wish to thank Linda Roots and Elizabeth Lewis for their assitance with data analyses.     

Coping skill training in groups

Though similar to traditional group psychotherapy in many respects, a coping skill training approach differs principally in several areas and technically in many more. Coping skill training group therapy tends to employ many concrete intervention strategies to enhance various aspects of process, drawing on ongoing data to evaluate group interaction and individual responses. The approach draws more heavily on cognitive, modeling, reinforcement, and problem-solving procedures to achieve specifically determined goals, and it depends less on interpretive and confrontative methods. The author discusses a wide range of techniques to show the benefits of this approach.     

Psychogeriatric management and sectorized psychiatry

Together with a general assessment of gerontopsychiatric care in the Federal Republic of Germany, the paper presents a model in hospitalised gerontopsychiatric treatment that has been tested at Hanover College of Medical Studies (Medizinische Hochschule Hanover). Results presented cover a wide range of divergent disorders, and appear to justify the employment of the model elsewhere.