Equivalence of computerized and conventional versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

This study examined the equivalence of the conventional and computerized versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), taking into account that computer aver-sion may negatively impact computer-administered BDI-II scores by elevating them. Participants were 180 psychology undergraduate students from a medium-sized midwestern university. Participants were divided into four experimental groups. Each group was administered the BDI-II twice in various combinations (conventional only, computerized only, conventional and computerized and vice versa). All participants completed measures of computer aversion and computer experience. Participants who received both versions of the BDI-II were also asked to specify their preference for method of administration. Independent samples t-test results indicated that the com-puterized and paper-and-pencil versions of the BDI-II may be considered equivalent in terms of measurement validity. Implications for future research are discussed. Portions of this article were presented at the 1999 meetings of the American Psychological Association, Boston. The authors thank Dr. Michael Granaas for statistical assistance with the Latin Squares analysis.     

Task-specific EMG-characteristics during mental training

Despite a sixty-year tradition of research into ideomotor reaction it is not yet clear, whether myoelectric activity measured during mental training contains only inner-organismic or in addition task-specific information.Our investigation involved one group trained actively in a sensorimotor task (paced contour-tracking), another group which was intermediately instructed to train on a mental level, and a third (control) group which had no instruction for training in the intermediate performances. Measurements were taken of the muscular activity (EMG) of the main working muscle (m. biceps) synchronously to the motion of the target in all three groups.The data were submitted to several time series analysis procedures: auto-correlative measures and power spectra. Correlations were found between the filtered time series of the track and the EMG-activity in the mental training performances. The frequency distribution in the power spectra of the track was found in the power spectra of the active as well as in the mental training groups but not in those of the controls. The results indicate that the myoactivity during mental training clearly shows a task-specific frequency distribution.     

An automated exercise wheel for primates

Both adult and juvenile nonhuman primates can be unpredictable, difficult to handle, and potentially dangerous. Accordingly, in evaluating their activity level, they must be carefully confined. We have modified and redesigned an exercise system for primates. The exercise wheel was originally described by Curran, Wiegel, and Stevens (1972) and later adapted by Elizondo (1989). Our modifications and training procedures, which allowed us to bring the behavior of the monkey under stimulus control within 4 weeks, are described here.     

Psychophysical features of the transition from pure heat perception to heat pain perception

The psychophysical features of the transition from the pure heat to the heat pain range were studied in 25 healthy subjects (mean age 28.8 years). Thirty short heat stimuli from ?1.6° C to + 1.6° C relative to the pain threshold were applied to the thenar of the left hand with an apparatus containing a Peltier thermode (nine different temperatures at 0.4°C intervals). The subjects rated the sensation intensity on a visual analogue scale. The resulting stimulus/sensation intensity relations could be explained equally well (same goodness of fit) by a model with a power function (PF) and by a model with two linear regression lines (TLR), one for stimulus intensities below and one for those above the pain threshold and intersecting at the pain threshold. The slopes of the TLR model were significantly larger above the pain threshold than below it. The PF model produced exponents between 1.8 and 1.9. We conclude that to describe the transition area, it is sufficient to use simple linear models for both the pure heat and the heat pain ranges.     

WHISTLING IN THE DARK:

Abstract— Terror management theory posits that cultural worldviews function to provide protection against anxiety concerning human vulnerability and mortality and that their effectiveness as buffers against such anxiety is maintained through a process of consensual validation. Two field experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that incidental reminders of one's mortality increase the need to believe that others share one's worldview. In both studies, passersby on city streets were asked to estimate the extent of social consensus for culturally relevant attitudes, 100 m before passing a funeral home, 100 m after passing a funeral home, or directly in front of a funeral home. In the first study, conducted in Germany, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Germans who shared their opinions about a proposal to change the German constitution to restrict the immigration of foreigners, in the second study, conducted in the United Stales, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Americans who shared their opinions about the teaching of Christian values in the public schools. In both studies, subjects who held the minority position on the issue estimated greater consensus for their opinions when interviewed directly in front of a funeral home than when interviewed either before or after passing it.     

Percentage of pupillary dilation as a measure of item difficulty

The purpose of this study was to compare four measures of difficulty of mental multiplication items: percentage of pupillary dilation, latency of solution, number of correct responses, and judgment of item difficulty. Sixteen multiplication problems, classified into four levels of difficulty, were presented visually to 13 Ss, who verbalized their solutions to the problems. Analyses of variance and correlation coefficients were computed. It was concluded that all four measures of difficulty were useful but that judgment of difficulty and latency of solution were better measures of item difficulty than were the other two. A discussion of pupillary dilation and information processing is included.     

Self-focused attention and the placebo effect: Fooling some of the people some of the time

An experiment tested the hypothesis that mirror-induced self-awareness would minimize a “placebo” effect. Some subjects were led to believe that a drug that they were about to ingest would produce arousal symptoms as a side effect. Self-aware subjects in this condition subsequently reported experiencing less arousal from the placebo, and fewer of the side effects ascribed to it, than did less self-aware subjects. Discussion centered on the implications of these findings for placebo research and implications for two common alternative interpretations of self-awareness effects.     

Intelligence and dyslexia: Implications for diagnosis and intervention

In this paper we critically examine theoretical issues and practical consequences of including IQ in the definition of dyslexia. According to the discrepancy criterion individuals are classified as dyslexic if their reading skills are below what would be expected from their IQ scores. However, we argue that intelligence is a fuzzy concept and that there is no clear causal relationship between intelligence level and word decoding skills. Also, high and low IQ poor readers show the same reading performance patterns, indicating that both groups might benefit from the same remedial activities. Evidence for the critical role of phonological skills in dyslexia is presented and a more recent definition of dyslexia is discussed in relation to these findings. Finally, two alternative, more outcome-based classifications of poor readers are suggested and some critical consequences for individual interventions are outlined.     

Lexical integration: Sequential effects of syntactic and semantic information

Both semantic and syntactic context constraints can influence word processing at the level of lexical integration. In event-related brain potentials (ERPs), semantic integration is reflected by a negativity around 400 msec (N400), whereas phrase structure assignment and syntactic integration are assumed to be reflected by an early left anterior negativity and a late positivity (P600), respectively. An ERP study is presented in which participants read different types of sentences whose terminal verb was either congruent with the preceding context or incongruent due to a phrase structure violation, a semantic violation, or both. The main finding was that only the pure semantic violation condition, but not the combined semantic and syntactic violation condition, elicited a large N400. The two conditions containing phrase structure violations were predominantly characterized by a P600. Both semantic violation conditions, moreover, displayed a late negativity around 700 msec that overlapped with the P600 in the double violation condition. The absence of an N400 effect for elements that are syntactically as well as semantically incongruent with prior context suggests an early influence of phrase structure information on processes of lexical-semantic integration. The present data are discussed in comparison to previous ERP findings, and a new view of lexical integration processes is proposed.