The influence of visual information on auditory lateralization

Sætrevik, B. (2010). The influence of visual information on auditory lateralization. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The classic McGurk study showed that presentation of one syllable in the visual modality simultaneous with a different syllable in the auditory modality creates the perception of a third, not presented syllable. The current study presented dichotic syllable pairs (one in each ear) simultaneously with video clips of a mouth pronouncing the syllables from one of the ears, or pronouncing a syllable that was not part of the dichotic pair. When asked to report the auditory stimuli, responses were shifted towards selecting the auditory stimulus from the side that matched the visual stimulus.     

A Psychometric Investigation of the Suicide Status Form II with a Psychiatric Inpatient Sample

We investigated the psychometric validity and reliability of the Suicide Status Form‐II (SSF‐II) developed by Jobes, Jacoby, Cimbolic, and Hustead (1997) . Participants were 149 psychiatric inpatients (108 suicidal; 41 nonsuicidal) at the Mayo Clinic. Each participant completed assessment measures within 24 hours of admission and 48–72 hours later. Factor analyses of the SSF core assessment produced a robust two‐factor solution reflecting chronic and acute response styles. The SSF core assessment had good to excellent convergent and criterion validity; pre‐post SSF ratings also demonstrated moderate test‐retest reliability. The results replicated previous research and show that the SSF‐II is psychometrically sound with a high‐risk suicidal inpatient sample.     

Taste/tactile cue discriminations in taste-aversion learning foIIowing depletion of noradrenaIine

Four experiments were performed to investigate the effect of noradrenaline (NA) depletion, following systemic DSP4 treatment, upon a tastehactile discrimination in taste-aversion learning. In Experiments 1 and 2 , noisy bottle (A) + lithium chloride pairings were alternated with saccharin (B) + saline pairings, and vice versa, during Phase I conditioning. The particular order of reinforcement presentation in each case was then reversed, so that a noisy bottle (A) + saline pairing was now altered with a saccharin (B) + lithium chloride pairing, etc., during Phase II (reversal) conditioning. In Experiments 3 and 4 , saccharin in noisy bottle (AB) + lithium chloride pairings alternated with either noisy bottle (A) + saline or saccharin (B) + saline pairings, and vice versa, during Phase I conditioning; the order of reinforcement presentation was then reversed, as above. None of the four experiments performed offered any evidence of impairments of the discrimination task as a result of NA depletion. These results are discussed in the context of associative preparedness and of discrimination learning in operant tasks and recent findings on compound conditioning, following the loss of NA.     

Problems in contemporary psychoanalytic theory: II. Lines of advance

In the theoretical development to come in psychoanalysis, an "inclusive" strategy is recommended, allowing for conflicting points of view to exist side by side waiting for a new integrating theory to emerge. Until such a theory is at hand, the term "psychoanalysis" will remain a rather loose heading for several psychoanalytic subcultures. It is argued, both clinically and theoretically, in favour of giving the organizing function of the ego a central position in the forthcoming theory. Some consequences of this "organizational" point of view are discussed in relation to: ( a ) diagnostic classification, ( b ) the distinction between psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, and (c) the theoretical language of psychoanalysis. In conclusion som requirements for a future theory of psychoanalysis are proposed.     

Attitudes towards the old and death,and spiritual well-being

The purpose of this research was to determine the interrelationship of attitudes towards older people, death attitudes, and the spiritual well-being of 300 nursing students. Instruments employed were Kogan's Old People Scale, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Death Depression Scale, and the Spiritual Well-being Scale. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and multiple-regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Hypotheses were supported predicting an inverse relationship between attitudes towards older people and death anxiety and death depression (p<.01), and a positive relationship between spiritual well-being and negative attitude towards older people (p<.01). Data did not support the hypothesis that death attitudes and spiritual well-being would account for greater variance in attitudes towards older people than either single variable alone. From a step-wise multiple-regression analysis, race/ethnicity and death attitudes together accounted for 21% of the variance in attitudes towards older people. Study results demonstrated that Caucasian nursing students hold positive attitudes toward older people. Implications for health care are discussed with particular emphasis on potential strategies for education.     

Prevalence and severity of anxiety, depression and Type A behaviors in angina pectoris

The role of psychological factors in coronary heart disease was examined by administering the Bech Rating Scale (BRS) of mood disorders and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) for Type A behavior patterns (TABP) to a consecutive sample of angina patients ( N = 94), to a consecutive sample of noncardiac patients ( N = 47), and to a random sample of adults from the general population ( N = 217). Anxiety and depression were both more frequent and more severe in angina patients than in noncardiac patients or in the general population. There was a tendency for certain components of TABP (i. e. speed, impatience, hard-driving and competitive disposition) to be elevated in angina patients, but a similar trend was noted in noncardiac patients. Although no consistent relations were observed between negative emotions and TABP scores in angina patients, their anxiety and depression scores were reliably related to their use of nitroglycerin. The findings concur with previous studies concerning the presence of anxiety and depression in patients with angina pectoris and indicate that such negative emotions are not closely related to Type A personality traits.     

Scotopic and photopic afterimages

Stabell, U. & Stabell, B. Scotopic and photopic afterimages. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 210–212.MdashThe curves of photopic and scotopic afterimages were found to coincide, confirming the suggestion that disposition for scotopic contrast hue is controlled basically by the ratio of hue-related processes initiated upon chromatic prestimulation of cones, while the achromatic test-stimulation is a constant stimulus, regardless of test variables.     

Scotopic contrast hues displaced toward red

Stabell, B. & Stabell, U. Scotopic contrast hues displaced toward red. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 316–319.-The displacement of scotopic contrast hues toward red, contrary to predictions based on the opponent color theory of Hering, is explained on the assumption that the violet receptor system has a negligible sensitivity at the yellow cardinal point, while all the receptor systems are activated at the blue cardinal point.     

Measuring post-traumatic stress: A psychometric evaluation of symptom- and coping questionnaires based on a Norwegian sample

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Norweigian versions of the Impact of Event Scale, the Post Traumatic Stress Scale-10 item version and General Coping Questionnaire-30 item version. A group of 40 male and 56 female medical students was tested one week and four months after having started dissection of cadavers for the first time. The results showed that all scales had good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The student sample scored lower on the IES and PTSS-10 than comparable groups of traumatized subjects. A gender difference emerged, with female subjects scoring higher than male subjects. The factor analysis of the instruments indicated good construct validity for the symptom scales. The analysis of content validity related to DSM IV criteria indicated that the IES and PTSS-10 may have some limitations in their predictive validity of PTSD. Taken together, the three scales have shown good psychometric properties and could be used in future research and clinical work.     

Fear questionnaires for simple phobias: Psychometric evaluations for a Norwegian sample

The present study presents psychometric data for four different phobic fear questionnaires in a Norwegian sample of 284 subjects. The questionnaires concerned fear of flying, snakes, spiders and a questionnaire of general phobic complaints. The results showed a high estimate of internal consistency, and a very high test-retest reliability for all questionnaires. A low to moderate degree of intercorrelation between the questionnaires appeared. A clear sex difference emerged in responding to all four questionnaires. In addition, a clinical sample of phobics with fear of flying as the main symptom was compared to the larger sample on a fear of flying scale. The results showed a clear difference in responding between the samples. The present study concludes that the four different fear questionnaires yielded a high degree of reliability, and their use in clinical practice is encouraged.