Decision-Making About Inherited Cancer Risk: Exploring Dimensions of Genetic Responsibility

Since genetic information has implications for family members, some choices about genetic risk may be influenced by perceptions of responsibility to relatives. Drawing upon 25 semi-structured interviews with test recipients in Canada, this study explored decisions about inherited breast-ovarian and colon cancer. Qualitative data analysis revealed the pervasive significance of genetic responsibility in test decisions. We highlight three dimensions of genetic responsibility: 1) to know about the self for self; 2) to know about the self for others; 3) to know about the self to oblige others to know. It is argued that these dimensions of genetic responsibility have implications for test decisions, family relationships and other family members’ desire to know (or not know) and to act (or not act) with respect to their own genetic risk. In particular, genetic responsibility may play out as a framing of a relative’s moral obligation to know their risk that could obviate any interest they might have in not knowing. We conclude that perceptions of responsibility to—and of−other family members be thoroughly explored in genetic counseling sessions.     

Performance of british university psychology departments as measured by number of publications in BPS journals

The aim of this investigation was to gauge the comparative research performance of university departments of psychology in Britain. The performance indicator was the number of publications per departmental staff member in the journals of the British Psychological Society (BPS) during the seven-year period 1983–1989. The contents of these journals were thoroughly searched, and articles written by members of university psychology departments in Britain were counted. The number of publications of each psychology department was divided by the size of the department in the corresponding year and the resulting annual figures were summed to determine the number of publications in BPS journals per departmental staff member over the seven-year period. These research performance figures correlated significantly with an earlier measure of departmental research performance based on publications in the seven European psychological journals with the highest citations per published article and with recent performance indicators based on other criteria     

Programming time as a function of response duration: a replication of "dit-dah" without possible guessing artifacts

Reaction time was longer prior to longer-lasting pressing responses for low probability, unanticipated movements. By contrast, reaction time was independent of response duration for high probability, anticipated movements. This replicates and extends previous findings for choice and simple reaction time in the "dit-dah" paradigm. The present results (unanticipated responses) cannot be given a selective anticipation interpretation because the comparison is between responses which are never anticipated. The previous paradigm was open to an alternative interpretation in which selective anticipation of dit rather than dah could have produced the differences in choice reaction time. Confirmation of the finding that variations in required response duration lead to differences in reaction time supports the view that the underlying parameter of "complexity" in the "memory drum theory" may be response duration.     

Context and the allocation of resources in word recognition

Three experiments are reported that investigate the effects of context on the use of limited processing resources in word recognition. On each trial in all of the experiments, the subjects were presented with an incomplete sentence followed by a target display containing a word and two digits. In all cases, accuracy at reporting the word was affected by context, as expected. The effect of context on processing resources was examined by considering the accuracy of reports of the digits in cases in which the word did or did not fit the context. Accuracy of digit report was greater for digits surrounding words in related context, but only when the subjects were required to report the word before reporting the digits. There was no effect of word context on the digit report when subjects had to report the digits first. There was likewise no effect on accuracy of digit report when subjects were required to report only the word or only the digits, even when the cue was presented 250 msec after the target display was replaced by a patterned mask. The results suggest that the effect of context on the resources consumed in word recognition is restricted to aspects of processing that can be delayed until the subject is required to select an overt response, and a simple interpretation of the results may be given in terms of a slight modification of Morton's model of the interaction of stimulus information and context.     

Remembering the message: the use of a reminder cue to increase condom use following a safer sex intervention.

Condom use interventions may be more powerful if they provide cues to recall safe-sex messages when sexual activity occurs. The authors tested this notion by assigning sexually active introductory psychology students (N = 196) to a standard safe-sex intervention, a safe-sex with reminder intervention, or a control (drinking and driving) intervention. Participants assigned to the reminder intervention were given a "friendship bracelet" to wear and were instructed to have the bracelet remind them of the intervention. In a follow-up session (5-7 weeks later), they were asked questions pertaining to condom use. Of the 125 participants who had engaged in sexual intercourse, condom use at last intercourse was higher in the bracelet condition (55%) than in the standard (27%) or control (36%) conditions. The authors also found that the bracelet remained effective, even when participants were under the influence of alcohol. These findings therefore imply that health intervention programs may be more efficacious if they include strategies such as reminder cues to increase the salience of health information in the appropriate contexts.     

Lessons learned in deep brain stimulation for movement and neuropsychiatric disorders

The introduction of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a treatment for medication-refractory essential tremor in the late 1980s revealed, for the first time, that "chronically" implanted brain hardware had the potential to modulate neurologic function with surprisingly low morbidity. Over time, the therapeutic promise of DBS has become evident in Parkinson's disease and dystonia. In some experienced centers, complex tremor disorders, such as posttraumatic Holmes tremor and the tremor of multiple sclerosis, are being increasingly targeted. More recently, other indications, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, major depression, and chronic pain, have been proposed. As the field has expanded, our knowledge about potential cognitive side effects of DBS has also expanded. This article reviews the current knowledge regarding the impact of stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus internus, and ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus on symptoms in essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, and dystonia. Also discussed are the emerging targets, what is known about the cognitive sequelae of DBS, and what has been learned about the complications and therapeutic failures.     

An Overview of Directions in Psychotherapy Integration Research

In general, empirical research in psychotherapy integration has lagged behind the growing theoretical and clinical interest in the field. Even though many of the theoretically integrative treatment models currently available are based on empirical findings and clinical observations, the models themselves remain, for the most part, untested. Rigorous examination of integrative psychological theories and therapeutic programs is a necessary and useful way to increase our understanding of the process of psychotherapy and establish the efficacy and effectiveness of integrative therapies. The present article explores five different research areas in the field of psychotherapy integration, discussing several published studies in each area. The utility of this research for practicing clinicians is also discussed. Additional investigations in these areas and others are encouraged, with the goals of greater understanding of psychotherapy, as well as the further development and acceptance of integrative approaches.