The Costs of Type B Behavior: Females at Risk in Achievement Situations'

This study investigated the costs associated with the Type B behavior pattern in an achievement task completed by 84 male and female fifth- and sixth-grade students preselected for their Type A-B scores. We hypothesized that the achievement behaviors of Type B girls, in comparison to boys and Type A girls, would be most negatively affected by failure experiences. Hypothesis-testing strategies were assessed during a discrimination task that included eight training, four forced failure, and four success problems. Self-ratings of performance were obtained following failure and success experiences, and preference for challenge was measured. As expected. Type B girls in comparison to all other children showed the greatest decrement in their hypothesis-testing strategies during failure, appeared to have the most difficulty recovering from failure, were the only group to view their performance following success as poorer than other children's performance, and exhibited the least preference for challenge. These findings suggest that Type B girls are at risk in achievement situations.     

A Motivational Explanation for the Existence of Private Self-Consciousness Differences

ABSTRACT The present article investigates whether there are motivational underpinnings for individual differences in level of private self-consciousness The findings provide preliminary evidence that there are underlying motivational components of need for self-knowledge and need for self-defense In the first two studies, high private self-conscious individuals (PRSCs) reported placing a higher value on accurate self-knowledge than did low PRSCs (Study 2), and acted according to that value (Study 1) In Study 3, the pattern of results supported the view that low PRSCs may have a desire to avoid unpleasant self-knowledge Our tentative conclusion is that high PRSCs may have a need for self-knowledge that is stronger than their need to protect their self-esteem, whereas low PRSCs may have a need for self-defense that outweighs self-knowledge needs Implications of these findings both for other approaches to self-consciousness and for a better understanding of the etiology of self-consciousness are discussed     

Does affect induce self-focused attention?

Despite growing evidence that depression is linked with self-focused attention, little is known about how depressed individuals become self-focused or, more generally, about what arouses self-focus in everyday life. Two experiments examined the hypothesis that affect itself induces self-focused attention. In Experiment 1, moods were manipulated with an imagination mood-induction procedure. Sad-induction Ss became higher in self-focus than did neutral-induction Ss. Experiment 2 replicated this effect for sad moods by means of a musical mood-induction procedure and different measures of self-focus. However, Experiment 2 failed to support the hypothesis that happy moods induce self-focus. The results have implications for mood-induction research, self-focused attention, and recent models of depression.     

Family systems in premarital counseling

Rooted in Bowenian family systems theory, a format for pastoral premarital counseling is described. Examples are cited which show how couples can be helped to look at the formation of their own marital unit by studying each partner's family of origin system.     

Neuropsychological profile of adult dyslexics

One hundred and fifteen adults with well-documented childhood reading status underwent a series of neuropsychological tests including tests of memory, attention, phonological processing, and visual perceptual skills in an attempt to define the neuropsychological profile of dyslexia in adulthood. Compared to a normal nonreading disabled sample, subjects with a history of reading disability performed consistently poorer on most neuropsychological tests. However, after covarying for intelligence and socioeconomic status, only tests of rapid naming, phonological awareness, and nonword reading were significant discriminating measures. The hypothesis that deficits in phonological processing comprise the core cognitive deficits in adults with a history of reading disability was supported. Independent of current adult reading ability, measures of nonword reading, phonological awareness, and rapid naming serve as indicators of a childhood history of reading disability.     

The relationship of sex-role identity,life style,and mental health in suburban american homemakers: 1. Sex role,employment and adjustment

Prior research has suggested that a traditional feminine role may be a mental health liability for women. The present study investigates whether adjustment difficulties among homemakers may be a function of discrepancies between life roles and sex-role orientation. Subjects were 97 suburban mothers divided into full (N=59) and part-time (N=38) homemaker groups. Each subject was given the Bem Sex Role Inventory and SCL-90-R, which yields nine symptom scores and an overall adjustment index. A 4 (sex-roles) by 2 (homemaker status) ANOVA for overall adjustment was carried out. Significant differences were found only for sex roles, androgynous subjects showing significantly less symptomatology than undifferentiated subjects. In a stepwise multiple discriminant analysis, to predict sex roles from the nine symptom scores, masculine and androgynous groups reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity much less frequently than feminine and undifferentiated subjects. High masculinity among this group of women (masculine or androgynous sex-role orientation) thus appears as a key factor related to adjustment, whereas life role-sex role consistency does not.     

Some social contexts of self-destructive behavior

This study investigated the social context of self-injurious behavior in autistic, schizophrenic, and mentally retarded children residing in a state hospital. Social interactions between subjects and staff were recorded along with subjects' self-destructive behavior. The results showed a substantial increase in self-destructive behavior following the staff's presentation of demands, denials, and punishments in 19 of the 20 subjects. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that self-injurious behavior is a social behavior, which is determined by persons in the environment. In addition, the self-destructive behavior of one subject may have been largely self-stimulatory in nature.     

A moving video window or mask yoked to eye movements: A system to permit free ocular scanning within delimited areas of the visual field

A system is described for generating a video window or mask that is yoked to a subject’s eye movements and that can be used to mask off either the left or the right visual field, while still permitting prolonged examination of simple or complex visual stimuli. It can also be used to simulate various visual field defects or scotomata and to ensure that subjects maintain fixation during extended stimulus presentations. Circuitry is provided, and two additional options are suggested.     

Ratio responding as a function of concurrent avoidance schedules, yoked shocks, and ratio value

Fixed-ratio food-reinforced responding in rats was studied alone and with concurrent shock avoidance or with concurrent response-independent shocks matched to those that occurred in the avoidance condition. Under each condition, fixed-ratio size was increased over successive daily sessions. Fixed-ratio response rate generally passed through a maximum as a function of fixed-ratio size. Decreased fixed-ratio responding at values beyond the maximum occurred when (1) the time to complete a fixed ratio approximated the response-shock interval of the avoidance schedule, (2) the shock rate increased, and/or (3) the ratio requirements were so high that ratio strain occurred. Avoidance rates decreased slightly as fixed-ratio size increased.     

Hemisphere functioning and motor imitation in autistic persons

Previous research has found that a high proportion of autistic individuals exhibit an atypical pattern of hemispheric specialization suggestive of impaired left hemisphere functioning: namely, right hemisphere dominance for both verbal and visual-spatial processing. Studies of brain-damaged persons have suggested that the left hemisphere is specialized for the use of nonverbal gesture. Since a major characteristic of autism is an impairment in the use of gesture, it was predicted that autistic persons would also show atypical hemispheric specialization for motor imitation. To test this hypothesis, hemispheric activation was measured using EEG recordings of alpha rhythm in autistic and matched normal control subjects during four motor imitation tasks. Autistic subjects showed significantly greater right hemisphere activation during the imitation tasks, than normal subjects. This pattern was particularly evident in younger autistic subjects and during oral, rather than manual, imitation tasks.