One-session cognitive treatment of dental phobia: preparing dental phobics for treatment by restructuring negative cognitions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a single session of cognitive restructuring in a sample of phobic dental patients. Fifty-two patients were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: cognitive restructuring (modification of negative cognitions), provision of information (about oral health and dental treatment), and a waiting list control condition. Both interventions maximally lasted one hour. In comparison with the waiting list control condition and the information intervention condition, the cognitive intervention condition not only showed a large decrease in frequency and believability of negative cognitions, but also exhibited a clear decline in dental trait anxiety. Analysis at a follow-up of one year demonstrated a further, drastic reduction in dental anxiety in both intervention conditions, wherein the difference among these conditions was not maintained. It is concluded that it is possible to obtain substantial reductions of dental trait anxiety through a single session of cognitive restructuring. Nevertheless, repeated exposure to the dental situation seems necessary for a further reduction of anxiety.     

The relationship between locus of control and long-term stuttering treatment outcome in adult stutterers

The present study was designed to investigate the extent to which adult stutterers' scores on the Locus of Control of Behaviour (LCB) scale are predictive of their ability to maintain speech fluency immediately following intensive treatment and approximately 2 years later. Twenty-one subjects participated in a 3-week intensive treatment program based on the Precision Fluency Shaping Program. Thirteen subjects could be contacted again 2 years later to participate in a follow-up evaluation. While most subjects showed a significant long-term improvement in fluency, no predictive relationship was found between scores on the LCB scale and the level of fluency, measured in percentage of words stuttered, post-treatment or at follow-up. However, LCB scores were found to be predictive of the subjects' fluency self-evaluation measured post-treatment and at follow-up. Overall, the present study suggests that while the LCB scale may contribute to the prediction of long-term treatment outcome, particularly as perceived by the client, other client and process variables will need to be considered as well.     

Perceptual scaling of synthesized musical timbres: Common dimensions,specificities, and latent subject classes

To study the perceptual structure of musical timbre and the effects of musical training, timbral dissimilarities of synthesized instrument sounds were rated by professional musicians, amateur musicians, and nonmusicians. The data were analyzed with an extended version of the multidimensional scaling algorithm CLASCAL (Winsberg & De Soete, 1993), which estimates the number of latent classes of subjects, the coordinates of each timbre on common Euclidean dimensions, a specificity value of unique attributes for each timbre, and a separate weight for each latent class on each of the common dimensions and the set of specificities. Five latent classes were found for a three-dimensional spatial model with specificities. Common dimensions were quantified psychophysically in terms of log-rise time, spectral centroid, and degree of spectral variation. The results further suggest that musical timbres possess specific attributes not accounted for by these shared perceptual dimensions. Weight patterns indicate that perceptual salience of dimensions and specificities varied across classes. A comparison of class structure with biographical factors associated with degree of musical training and activity was not clearly related to the class structure, though musicians gave more precise and coherent judgments than did nonmusicians or amateurs. The model with latent classes and specificities gave a better fit to the data and made the acoustic correlates of the common dimensions more interpretable.     

The role of fairness orientation and supervisor attributions in absence disciplinary decisions

The present study investigated the role of the work value of fairness and attributions regarding the causes of absence in supervisor disciplinary decisions. It was hypothesized that supervisors who valued fairness, and those who made internal attributions regarding the cause of a particular absence incident, render more severe disciplinary decisions than supervisors who value fairness less, and who make external attributions. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the degree to which supervisors valued fairness moderates the relationship between external attributions and the severity of disciplinary decisions. Using a policy capturing approach, results were consistent with predictions. Implications of the results for research and practice are discussed.     

Stereotyped movement disorder in an adult following acquired brain injury: Effect of environmental stimulation

In the present study, a naturalistic functional analysis procedure was used to assess the effect of environmental stimulation on the stereotypic behavior (body rocking) of an adult whose stereotypy appeared to be induced by an acquired brain injury. Environmental stimulation, operationalized in terms of both physical and social characteristics, resulted in only minimal changes in the occurrence of body rocking. Body rocking occurred in excess of 50% of the observations in all environmental stimulation conditions and in a naturally occurring baseline condition. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a functional analysis of stereotypy associated with acquired brain injury.     

New directions for the education of clinical psychologists: The primary care setting,the VA's PRIME program,and the in-depth generalist model

As part of this special issue on psychology in primary care settings, we describe the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) new approach to education for practice in the primary care setting and we concurrently address some general issues related to the education of clinical psychologists for practice in this setting. In this article we argue that the primary care psychologist, in parallel with the generalist in medicine, must have a strong generic background in clinical psychology in order to gain the broad range of clinical skills necessary to function effectively as an in-depth generalist (IDG) who is capable of addressing the variety of psychological issues that emerge in the primary care setting. The IDG model of professional practice, which we believe is best suited for primary care/managed care settings, requires extensive training in generic clinical skills and increased time devoted to its implementation at both the predoctoral and the postdoctoral levels.     

Aggressivity,inattention, hyperactivity,and impulsivity in boys at high and low risk for substance abuse

Aggressivity, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are cardinal dimensions of externalizing behavior problems of childhood. They are diagnostic and clinical features of childhood disorders, and are thought to be linked to the subsequent development of adult disorders such as substance abuse (SA). Little is known, however, about the convergent and discriminant validity of these four constructs. We used multiple measures to develop indices of aggressivity, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in a sample of 10- to 12-year-old boys (N=183) with and without a family history of SA. Data were taken from mother reports, child reports, teacher reports, and laboratory tasks. The study aims were (1) to test the convergent and discriminant validity of aggressivity, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; (2) to examine whether the data were consistent with a model specifying the four constructs as indicators of one superordinate factor; and (3) to differentiate boys with and without a family history of SA in construct scores. The results supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the four constructs. Although discriminable, the constructs covaried strongly and were consistent with a model specifying them as indicators of a single superordinate factor. Boys with a family history of substance abuse scored higher than control boys on aggressivity, inattention, and impulsivity scores, but the groups did not differ on hyperactivity scores. The results are discussed in terms of the role of childhood behavior problems in vulnerability to SA.This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse grant No. DA 05605.     

Modifications of the Poggendorff effect as a function of random dot textures between the verticals

In the present research, we investigated the modification of the strength of the Poggendortf illusion as a function of different densities ofrandom dot textures failing the space between the verticals. The results ofExperiment 1 show that the illusory effect is a nonlinear function ofthe texture parameterr, the ratio of black pixels to white and black pixels, with a minimum forr=0.5, approximately, and a maximum forr=0 andr=1. The results may be interpreted by an analytical model of perceptual space dynamics, in which the effect dependson the amount of interaction between points of different light intensity. A computer simulation performed by applying the analytical model to different values ofr shows a good agreement between the predictions and the experimental data. To test the hypothesis underlying the model, a second experiment was carried out to measure the magnitude of the expansion ofthe space between the verticals as a function of the parameterr. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of the model. The overall data are discussed in terms of their implications on various theories proposed for the Poggeadorff illusion.     

Two Sociological Approaches to Religion in Modern Britain

This article compares the approach adopted by two recent sociological accounts of religion in modern Britain (by Bruce and Davie). Attention is drawn in broad terms to the parallels between sociological and religious approaches, and a contrast made specifically between a sociology of religion cast in terms of a narrative of decline and diversity (or an account of the place of religion in the perspective of modernity), and one that pays primary attention to indigenous patterns of meaning. Conclusions are drawn as to the limitations of method and apprehension of the one approach, and the openness and potential for comparison of the other.