Perceptual organization and focused attention: the role of objects and proximity in visual processing.

The influence of the Gestalt grouping principles of similarity, closure, and proximity on the size of the response-compatibility effect was examined in a focused attention task. In three studies, subjects responded to a centrally located target and attempted to ignore adjacent distractors. The distractors, which served as targets on other trials, could be compatible, incompatible, or neutral with respect to the response of the target. In addition, the distractors and the target could be embedded in the same object, presented in the same color, presented on different objects, or presented in different colors. The typical response-compatibility effect (B. A. Eriksen & C. W. Eriksen, 1974) was found when the target and distractors were embedded in the same object or presented in the same color. Performance was poorer when the target was surrounded by response-incompatible distractors than when it was surrounded by response-compatible distractors. However, the response-compatibility effect was eliminated when the target and distractors were embedded in different objects, even when the distance between the items was less than .25 degrees of visual angle. Furthermore, the response-compatibility effect was of intermediate size when the distractors were not grouped strongly with the target or with neutral flankers. The results are discussed in terms of space- and object-based models of visual attention.     

The semantics of therapeutic change

Some contemporary theorists of family therapy have recently addressed the question of how to explore the 'meaning' dimension of therapeutic change, particularly in the context of the fragmentation of 'post-modern' culture. A particularly interesting strand of work has focused on the narrative or discursive components of the family therapeutic encounter. In this article an argument is made for the importance of a 'semantic' element in theories of family therapeutic change, and the general shape of such a semantic element is outlined.     

Relations between neonatal states and 8-month developmental outcome in preterm infants

This study investigated longitudinal relations between measures of neonatal state behavior and developmental outcome in a sample of preterm infants (N = 16). Results indicate that irritability/reactivity in the neonatal period is positively associated with Bayley scores and exploratory play at 8 months. Conversely, neonatal alertness was not associated with these developmental measures. These preliminary findings, based on a small sample, are discussed in the context of preterm function.     

Selective delayed alternation deficits in dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy

In order to characterize more completely the nature of the frontal lobe-type cognitive changes in patients with dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) we administered two tasks sensitive to frontal system dysfunction, delayed alternation (DA) and delayed response (DR), to 12 patients from one OPCA family. Affected members from this family have previously been shown to have a marked and widespread cerebral (including frontal) cortical cholinergic reduction as severe as that observed in Alzheimer's disease. Performance on DA, but not on DR, was significantly impaired in the OPCA patients compared to that in the controls. We suggest that the DA deficits in OPCA could be a consequence of a loss of cholinergic innervation to orbitofrontal or possibly temporal cortical areas and/or damage to the integrity of the cerebello-frontal neuronal connections.     

Gender and values: What is the impact on decision making?

In this study we investigated C. Gilligan's [(1982), In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press] suggestion that women and men, due to socialization, develop differently in terms of moral development [L. Kohlberg (1969), “Stage and Consequence: The Cognitive Development Approach to Socialization,” In D. G. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research, Chicago: Rand McNally]. We also considered whether men and women differ in terms of a related construct, values of equity and equality [K. A. Rasinski (1987), “What's Fair Is Fair or Is It? Value Differences Underlying Public Views About Social Justice,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 53, pp. 201–211]. It is our expectation that gender influences overall orientation in terms of the two sets of values, and that differences in values lead decision makers to weigh decision issues and to make final decisions differently. Results suggest that there are some gender-related differences in value systems, weights of decision issues, and final decisions.     

Teaching minority high school students to recruit helpers to attain personal and educational goals

Recruiting help from mentors and other potential helpers is a promising strategy for helping disadvantaged and minority youths meet their personal and educational goals. Three African-American high school seniors participated in a project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of training procedures that would allow them to ask for help in attaining educational and other personal goals. A behavioral training procedure that included instructional materials, role-play practice, praise, and feedback was used. Targeted skills included goal setting and 30 responses involved in the process of meeting with a potential helper. Role-play situations were used to evaluate participants' help-recruiting skills before and after training. Participants increased their help-recruiting skills from an average of 38% during baseline, to an average of 75% after training. Self-reported measures of goal attainment suggested that the students benefited from the training. Implications for mentoring programs designed to increase minority students' opportunities to reach educational goals were discussed.     

Psychiatry, religious conversion, and medical ethics.

The interface between religion, psychiatry, and ethics is often a locus for considerable controversy. This article focuses on the response of American psychiatry to religious nonconformism, and to religious conversion generally. At issue is the societal pressure against unpopular religious movements. The author argues for an ethic that conserves the freedom of religious conscience, and that guards against inquisitions in the guise of medical expertise and nosology.     

Cerebral lateralization in individuals diagnosed as autistic in early childhood

Early infantile autism was found to be associated with an atypical pattern of cerebral lateralization. Based on EEG measures of hemispheric activation during cognitive processing, it was found that 7 of the 10 autistic individuals tested showed a pattern of hemispheric specialization rarely seen in the normal population; namely, a “reversal” in lateralization reflective of a lack of left-hemisphere specialization for linguistic functions. Furthermore, the autistic individuals' pattern of cognitive strengths and weakness is suggestive of a selective impairment of the left cerebral hemisphere.