工作负载的测量和评定

长期处于应激状态而又适应不良者可导致疾病。人类经常遇到的心理、社会性应激源除了生活事件以外,长期工作负载过重也是其中之一。本文通过对24名在监护病房工作的护士的工作负载的测量介绍了在西方国家常用的工作负载的测量和评定方法。     

Overt integrity tests versus personality-based measures of delinquency: An empirical comparison

This study examined the ability of both an overt integrity test and a personality-based measure of delinquency to predict on-the-job theft and counterproductivity. A heterogeneous sample of 105 employees anonymously completed both tests and a criterion checklist that included a 9-item theft subscale and a 12-item counterproductivity subscale. Results indicated that the overt integrity test was a superior predictor of both on-the-job theft and drug abuse compared to the personality-based measure. The overt integrity test was also a slightly better predictor of general counterproductivity. These findings and their implications are discussed.     

The physiology of the tunnel

Several theories to account for the origin of tunnel hallucinations and tunnel experiences near death are considered: (1) the idea of a real tunnel; (2) representations of transition; (3) reliving birth memories; (4) imagination; and (5) physiological origins. Three different physiological theories are considered that related the tunnel form to the structure of the visual cortex. All can account for much of the phenomenology of the tunnel experience, and all lead to testable predictions. It is argued that the tunnel experience involves a change in the mental model of the self in the world. Because of this, an experience of purely physiological origin, with no implications for other worlds or for survival, can nevertheless produce lasting changes in the sense of self and reduce the fear of death.     

Sign language as cognition for deaf people: Pitfalls and prospects

With a tradition reliance on verbal paradigms cognitive psychology has repeatedly rediscovered the centrality of verbal processes in the cognitive representation of the world. Frequently it has been considered that non-speaking groups offer the proof of such psychological theories. Deaf people, because of their apparently poor memory, retardation in reading, relative lack of speech, yet cognitive viability, have offered an ideal test population for cognitive paradigs. Unfortunately deaf people turn out not to be a non linguistic control. We have now discovered sign language—a visual, spatial representation form used naturally by profoundly deaf people. This apparently offers the key the deaf people's cognition without speech. This paper describes some aspects of what we know of deaf people and their language, critically examines some of the evidence for sign representation in memory, and discusses the methodological problems to be faced by anyone searching for conclusive evidence on deaf people's working memory. Despite the attractiveness of ‘sings for words’ in cognition, this paper argues that the evidences is weak and signs may not be equated easily with words.     

The effects of staff self-management on positive social interactions in a group home setting

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a participative management (self-management) procedure directed toward increasing the frequency of positive interactions between direct-care staff and group home residents. A component of the self-management procedure, goal setting, was also evaluated. This study took place in two group homes housing a total of 16 male and female adults with moderate to mild mental retardation. Ten direct-care staff served as subjects. It was found that self-management produced an increase in the frequency of positive interactions of staff and residents, but did not produce changes in other behaviors being measured (e.g., negative interactions, self-stimulation, etc.). Goal setting did not result in changes in positive interactions or other target behaviors. Reasons for the different results of self-management versus goal-setting are discussed and further research is suggested.     

Dental phobias and anxieties: evidence for conditioning processes in the acquisition and modulation of a learned fear

The present study investigated some of the factors which differentiate individuals with dental anxieties and phobias from those without such fears. In particular, two questions were addressed: (i) What differentiates subjects who have never been anxious about dental treatment from subjects who at some time have been anxious? and (ii) What factors lead to subjects changing their attitudes either from anxious to relaxed or from relaxed to anxious? The results suggest that the factors which influence the acquisition and modulation of dental anxieties are consistent with the associative and representational processes portrayed in contemporary models of human conditioning. Subjects who reported never having had anxieties about dental treatment were less likely to have had a painful dental treatment than subjects who did report an anxiety. Subjects who did report a painful dental experience but did not acquire anxiety reported a history of dental treatment favourable to the operation of latent inhibition. Subjects who reported that they were good at enduring pain were more likely to report a longer interval between their very first dental treatment and their first painful dental treatment. Under some conditions in which latent inhibition should have precluded the acquisition of a dental fear, an anxiety appeared to be acquired because a very painful experience had attenuated the latent inhibition process. Subjects whose dental anxiety did not remit reported significantly more painful and traumatic dental experiences than subjects whose anxiety did remit.     

One-session treatment for specific phobias

A rapid and effective treatment for specific phobias, in which the treatment is done in one single session, is described in detail. The treatment method consists of a combination of exposure in vivo and modeling. The short- and long-term outcome for a consecutive series of 20 patients are reported. Mean treatment time was 2.1 h and at follow-up after an average of 4 yr 90% were much improved or completely recovered.     

Uses and limitations of Kohut's self psychology in the treatment of borderline patients

The treatment of borderline patients provides a setting in which the analyst can evaluate the clinical usefulness of Kohut's theories. The issues that arise in this treatment can also highlight aspects of Kohut's theories that are incomplete and require other theoretical models in order to understand the patient optimally.