Absence of age-related proneness to short-term retroactive interference in the absence of rehearsal

Age differences in short-term retroactive interference, unconfounded with age differences in rehearsal in the retention interval of the Brown-Peterson Task, were not found in a cross-sectional study of adults 18-32 and 64-78 years of age. Degree of retroactive interference was manipulated conjointly with distractor interval length (0-15 s). Individual memory span was assessed and used as the list length in order to achieve stimulus equivalence of memory loads across individuals and age groups. An attention-demanding matching task that adjusted itself in difficulty to the individual's attentional capacity was used as the distractor activity. Covert rehearsal during the retention interval was inferred using several measures, including a comparison of distractor task performance in the presence and in the absence of a memory load, and rehearsers were excluded from the primary analyses. We conclude that there is no interference proneness with increasing age in the present study.     

Forgetting of pictures over a long retention interval in young and older adults

Young and older adults were presented with pictures for study. Their recognition of the information was tested at five retention intervals: immediately, and 48 hr, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks later. The main finding of interest was that picture recognition did not show an age-related decline until the 1-week retention interval.     

Humor and the coronary-prone behavior pattern

The belief is widely held that humor is related to recovery from, and perhaps an increased resistance to, coronary and other stress-related diseases. Such generalizations do not typically distinguish between benign and hostile humor. In the present research, the relationship between a measure of proneness to coronary heart disease (CHD) and appreciation of hostile and nonhostile humor is examined. In two studies, one with college students and one with patients suffering from CHD, the relationship between humor preferences and the coronary-prone (Type A) behavior pattern was examined. Each subject was given the Jenkins Activity Survey as a measure of the coronary-prone personality type, and aggressive and nonaggressive jokes to rate for funniness. Hostile humor was preferred to nonhostile humor by all groups, but among those suffering from CHD, those who could be classified as “Type B’s” preferred nonhostile humor. The results indicate that those less prone to CHD appreciate both hostile and nonhostile humor, while Type A’s seem to enjoy hostile humor only.     

Employee Assistance Programs: A Systemic Investigation of Their Use

Braun, A.L., & Novak, D.E. (1986, November/December). A study of EAP non-utilization. EAP Digest, pp. 52–55. O'Connell, V. (1987, March/April). A strategy for overcoming supervisors' resistance. EAP Digest, pp. 63–66. Penzer, W.N. (1987, March/April). Toward sustaining quality mental health services. EAP Digest, pp. 35–40.     

Counseling Child Sexual Abuse Victims: Myths and Realities

The goal of the authors is to (a) create an awareness among counselors about the nature and prevalence of child sexual abuse, (b) examine myths and realities about the topic, and (c) present recommendations for interviewing suspected victims of child sexual abuse.     

An experimental analysis of the civil commitment recommendations of psychologists and psychiatrists

Legal and nonlegal factors influencing the civil commitment recommendations of psychologists and psychiatrists separately and as a whole were investigated using an experimental design. One hundred and seventy-six psychologists and psychiatrists made recommendations for or against commitment for a series of clinical vignettes wherein the five facets of commitment criterion, legal committability, clinical treatability, alternative resources and presence of psychosis were systematically varied. Results revealed that all facets contributed independently and in combination to the commitment decisions of participants as a whole. It was concluded that mental health professionals may utilize a variety of types of information, beyond the relevant legal criteria, in making actual decisions to initiate civil commitments.     

The Utility of Problem-solving Training that Emphasises Selfmanagement Principles

This study examined the usefulness of an 8-week applied problem-solving training program. Specifically, the study examined (a) whether problem-solving training that emphasised self-management principles would be useful, (b) if the effects of training would persist over time, (c) whether an individual difference variable (problem-solving appraisal) would affect training outcomes, and (d) whether the cognitive responses of the subjects during the course of training were related to their problem-solving appraisal or the change process. Results indicated that problem solving training was effective at enhancing students’ problem-solving appraisal, and that the self-report changes were maintained at a 1 year follow-up. In particular, training seemed most useful for students who initially appraised their problem solving very negatively. Finally, the results suggested that the process-oriented cognitive responses were related to students' initial problem-solving self-appraisal as well as the impact of training. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of counselling interventions, problem solving training, the interpersonal influence process, and future research.