Haptic curvature discrimination at several regions of the hand

Static haptic discrimination of the curvature of convex, concave, or straight 20-cm-long strips was investigated for nine placements on the hand. In one condition, the strips were touched with the palmar side of the hand, and in the other condition, with the dorsal side. The influence of the lengths of the strips, and thus of contact lengths, was also investigated. For all placements, discrimination was poorer in the dorsal than in the palmar condition, owing to poorer cutaneous resolution on the dorsal side of the hand (the kinesthetic stimulation was the same in both conditions). Thus cutaneous stimulation is important. In both experiments, performance appeared to depend primarily on contact length. Moreover, the discrimination thresholds for all different placements and contact lengths followed the same trend. We conclude that in these experiments the effective stimulus for the discrimination of curved strips is the total difference of local surface attitude—that is, the slope difference over the far ends of the stimulus.     

Span of apprehension in hyperactive boys

The spans of apprehension of hyperactive and normal boys were compared with a forced-choice letter-recognition task developed by Estes (1965). This task provides an estimate of the span which is relatively insensitive to either memory or motivational influences. The span size was the same for both groups when visual noise was absent. In the presence of noise, span size for the hyperactive boys decreased. Moreover, as the number of noise letters increased, the reduction in span size observed for the hyperactive boys increased. It is argued that this increasing reduction in span size represents a true deficit in attention.     

A factor analysis of mental abilities and personality traits

The relationship between measures of verbal fluency and certain personality traits is examined by factor techniques. From a matrix of eight factor scores derived from mental tests plus five personality scores, six factors were obtained. An oblique solution lends limited support to the hypothesized relationship between the two domains.This study was supported by a grant from the Research Foundation of the University of Utah.Currently on leave of absence with the National Research Council.     

Individual differences in word recognition latency

Previous studies of the effects of word characteristics on word recognition have used orthogonal combinations of word variables and have failed to consider individual differences. The present study examined word naming (Experiment 1) and lexical decision (Experiment 2) tasks using an unrestricted set of words and a correlational analysis. Individual differences were considered using a measure of the subjects’ knowledge of the English vocabulary. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that log (RT) for word naming is affected by word length, word frequency, and the number of syllables in the word; the results of Experiment 2 confirmed the effects of length and frequency but also showed that log (RT) is a function of the age at which the word is introduced to a child’s reading vocabulary. Subjects with a high vocabulary score were more rapid in Experiment 1 but were slower in Experiment 2, compared to subjects with a low vocabulary score. More importantly, high-vocabulary subjects, in both studies, were less affected by word length than the low-vocabulary subjects. The results suggest that subjects do differ in their reading strategy and that word length and word frequency may affect different stages in the word recognition process.     

Some theoretical considerations in relation to innate appetite for salt

A central question in the study of instinctive behavior is the nature of the processes determining motivation or drive. The ethological concept of action-specific energy is discussed. The salt appetite of sodiumdeficient sheep has been examined as an instance of instinctive behaviour evoked by a chemical change in the body. Experimental analysis has included increasing the sodium concentration of the blood passing through the brain during the consummatory act of repairing sodium deficiency by rapid drinking of sodium bicarbonate solution. Also the effect on appetite of intraruminal and rapid intravenous infusion of sodium solutions, and of renal hypertension and nephrectomy are reported. A major problem presented by the remarkable capacity of the animals to satiate a large deficit with a rapid drinking act over 2–10 minutes, is how, following this, there is a precipitate decline of motivation before the sodium bicarbonate ingested could be absorbed and correct any extracellular or intracellular ionic deficit. The analysis has included experiments on animals with esophageal fistulae. A speculation on a possible nature of the intraneuronal chemical changes responsible for excitation of salt appetite is advanced, which is related to previous hypotheses on protein molecular basis of memory. It is proposed that within a specific population of cells in the neuraxis, which are not necessarily strictly localized, the development of sodium deficiency causing decrease of intracellular sodium concentration initiates a genetic propensity to induce a process of protein synthesis which sets in train the behavioral mechanisms of appetite. That is, structural nuclear DNA is released from inhibitor influence of regulator gene and initiates by messenger RNA the synthesis by ribosomes of a specific protein, and this induced enzyme may either alter the ionic or membrane characteristics of the neurocyton and hence its excitability or may increase the capacity of its transmitter generation at synapses; by either means excitation and transmission in naturally selected neuronal interconnections subserving salt appetite would be facilitated. The influence of these processes in the induction of central excitation and appetitive behavior may include a modulating effect on the midbrain reticular formation such as to bias attention to afferent sensory in-flow relevant to the releasing mechanisms of the consummatory act of the instinct. It is postulated that the process of satiation with the consummatory act is dependent on rapid or explosive degradation of the protein enzyme activating the instinctive pattern. The speculation is discussed in relation to other aspects of motivation, and it is suggested that the proposals, even if incorrect, may be useful in suggesting some avenues of investigation of salt appetite.     

Murray A. Rae,Kierkegaard's Vision of the Incarnation: By Faith Transformed

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Family functioning and the social adaptation of hearing-impaired youths

This study examined the associations between important aspects of family functioning and the adjustment of hearing-impaired youths. Participants were 75 hearing-impaired youths and their hearing parents. The dependent variables were mothers' and fathers' ratings of child behavior problems and social competence. Independent variables included parental symptomatology, parental ratings of family stress, and family members' perceptions of family cohesion and family adaptability. Demographic characteristics and the youth's degree of hearing loss and mode of communication were used as control variables. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that parental ratings of the youths' behavior problems were linked with parental symptomatology, and that maternal ratings of the youths' behavior problems were associated with low family adaptability. Parental ratings of the youths' social competence were predicted by family stress. Overall, key aspects of family functioning accounted for considerably more variance than did the control variables. The methodological and conceptual implications of the findings are discussed.     

The relationship variable in behavioral consultation

Behavioral consultation has traditionally been conceptualized as a scientific-technological exchange process where the primary goal is the transfer of information. Perceived reluctance of school personnel to use behavioral techniques has been seen as a special problem of educational settings. However, current understanding of this reluctance has emerged from the treatment adherence literature which stresses the complexity of adherence in clinical settings. One important issue which has emerged is the critical importance of the consultation relationship. While behavioral consultation has utilized an expert model focused on client behavior and problem solving, the efficacy of a more collaborative consultation style has been recommended. Behavioral consultants need to attend to factors such as communication strategies that facilitate shared responsibility as well as to understand consultees' explanations for their problems and their treatment expectations. Such skills need to be incorporated directly into the education of behavioral consultants along with behavioral technology if the behavioral model is to be disseminated widely into educational practice.