Retraction of Ross and LoLordo findings concerning blocking in serial feature-positive discriminations.

Findings concerning the effectiveness of stimuli from various conditioning procedures in blocking conditioned excitation and occasion-setting functions of an added stimulus in a serial feature-postive discrimination training procedure (LoLordo & Ross, 1987; Ross & LoLordo, 1986, 1987) are retracted. Videotapes on which the published data were based were rescored by 2-5 people, most of whom were uninformed about group memberships of the subjects. In no case did the rescoring confirm any of the orginal findings of blocking. Possible factors contributing to the discrepancies are discussed. The experiments should be repeated with feature stimuli that are less similar to each other and with several scorers, at least one of whom is unaware of the group assignment of the subjects.     

Transparency: relation to depth, subjective contours, luminance, and neon color spreading

The perception of transparency is highly dependent on luminance and perceived depth. An image region is seen as transparent if it is of intermediate luminance relative to adjacent image regions, and if it is perceived in front of another region and has a boundary which provides information that an object is visible through this region. Yet, transparency is not just the passive end-product of these required conditions. If perceived transparency is triggered, a number of seemingly more elemental perceptual primitives such as color, contour, and depth can be radically altered. Thus, with the perception of transparency, neon color spreading becomes apparent, depth changes, stereoscopic depth capture can be eliminated, and otherwise robust subjective contours can be abolished. In addition, we show that transparency is not coupled strongly to real-world chromatic constraints since combinations of luminance and color which would be unlikely to arise in real-world scenes still give rise to the perception of transparency. Rather than seeing transparency as a perceptual end-point, determined by seemingly more primitive processes, we interpret perceived transparency as much a 'cause', as an 'effect'. We speculate that the anatomical substrate for such mutual interaction may lie in cortical feed-forward connections which maintain modular segregation and cortical feedback connections which do not.     

Disordered eating in women of color

It has been assumed that the occurrence of eating disorders in American racial minority groups are rare. Indeed, whereas the cultural context may afford “protection” to the group, it does not necessarily protect specific individuals. Individuals within each racial/ethnic group are subject to the standards of the dominant culture, particularly when the culture-of-origin is devalued by the dominant culture. Social, familial, and individual factors which contribute to disorders eating symptomatology are discussed. Discussions of obstacles to detecting eating disorders and guidelines for developing more inclusive theory of and treatment of persons with eating disorders is included.     

Linear Analogue Self-Assessment and Procrustean Measurement: A Critical Review of Visual Analogue Scaling in Pain Assessment

Visual analogue scales (VASs) are one of the most widely used self-report measures of clinical pain. This article reviews the empirical literature on linear analogue self-assessment (LASA) and critically examines the features that appear to have made it such an attractive measurement option in pain assessment. It is concluded that analogue scaling does not withstand critical scrutiny as a primary measure of either pain intensity or pain affect and that, in most circumstances, the overall clinical utility of VASs is inferior to that of more structured pain indices.     

An object-oriented simulation of a brain system underlying human aggression

Neural structures involved in aggression were incorporated into a model on the basis of neuro-anatomical data. A software program written in Smalltalk, the Brain Structure Simulator (Seguin, 1994) was used to simulate the effects of activity levels of different brain structures. Relationships among brain structures were then tested by changing activity levels of key structures. Results were consistent with research reports on the brain basis of aggression (Albert, Walsh, & Jonik, 1993; Pontius, 1984).     

Positive Psychological States in the Daily Life of a Sample of Working Women

This study of a sample of working women investigated where positive experiences were derived from in everyday life, focusing on the domains of work and nonwork (leisure). It examined how aspects of the situation, in terms of principal environmental influences in work and leisure, and the person, in terms of locus of control, were associated with positive subjective states and psychological well-being. The study employed questionnaires and also the experience sampling method. The results showed that both work and leisure were important for positive psychological states and that internal locus of control was associated with greater enjoyment, interest, feelings of immediate control, intrinsic motivation, life satisfaction, and affective well-being and a number of principal environmental influences.     

Reducing MMPI-2 defensiveness: the effect of specialized instructions on retest validity in a job applicant sample

The MMPI-2 is often used for screening job applicants when public safety or security are at risk. Inherent in such applications is concern for profile validity and test defensiveness. In this study, we examine the impact of revised instructions on profile validity for a group of job applicants who initially produced invalid profiles. Participants were 271 male applicants for airline pilot positions. Of these, 72 produced invalid defensive MMPI-2 profiles during preemployment screening. The MMPI-2 was readministered to these applicants with instructions informing them of validity scales and instructing them to respond in a more open, honest manner. Comparisons were made between valid and invalid profiles for initial administrations and between valid and invalid profiles at readministration. Some clinical scales were more elevated for valid, nondefensive profiles. Most content scales showed more elevation for valid profiles, and 12% of the applicants who were retested produced significant elevations (T>or=65) on the content scales. Profiles were similar to those produced by employed pilots of a previous study.