Projective drawings and children who stutter

Five young stutterers (aged 5–10 yr) and a matched group of five nonstuttering children completed five projective drawings and a scale for assessing communication attitudes of children at the beginning and at the end of a 3-mo treatment period. While the attitude scale failed to indicate differences between stuttering and nonstuttering children, performances on selected drawings did distinguish between experimental and control subjects. In addition, significant changes were observed in selected drawings over the treatment period for the young stutterers.     

Juvenile deliquency in an Austrian sample of foster-children without a father substitute: review of the literature and some findings

‘SOS-Kinderdorf’ is a worldwide organization who offer new homes to children abandoned by their parents. Children live in family-like groups, headed by a ‘mother’, imitating natural family life as closely as possible. They lack ‘father’, however, which has been a frequent point of criticism with regard to empirical results on father absence. Some of these results are discussed and reviewed critically. Criminological studies have ascribed forms of juvenile delinquency to the childhood absence of a male model. It could be shown, however, that such results vary considerably depending mainly on the reason for father absence. It is doubted, therefore that generalizations may be made for SOS-Kinderdorf's type of one-parent family. Empirical results about juvenile delinquency in a sample of 163 male and female 14- to 18-yr-old former members of SOS-Kinderdorf families are reported, ‘observed’ over a 4-yr period and compared with data on juvenile delinquency for the same area and period of time. The former children from SOS-Kinderdorf are significantly less frequently delinquent than the controls as long as they stay in the institution but they show the reverse pattern after leaving.     

An Apple II-based slide-projector laboratory

We describe the software and hardware of a laboratory running under UCSD Pascal on an Apple II computer. The system includes: two random-access projectors and two standard projectors, all equipped with tachistoscopic shutters; two filter wheels; a voice key; a tone generator; and eight response boxes. The laboratory can be used for any experiment in which visual stimuli are to be presented and in which precise display times, reaction times, and luminances are required. It is particularly well suited to picture-perception and picture-memory experiments.     

The role of ability and effort in attributions for sport achievement1

In an initial attempt to assess the applicability of Weiner's (1972) attribution model to sport-related behavior, the effects of ability (high versus low), effort (high versus low) and outcome (success versus failure) on causal attributions were investigated. After riding a bicycle ergometer, subjects were asked to attribute the cause of their increased or decreased performance to ability, effort, task difficulty and/or luck. The results indicated that successful outcomes were attributed to both ability and effort and that unsuccessful outcomes were attributed to a lack of ability but not a lack of effort. While the task was seen as easier following success, the perception of low effort mediated this relationship. The results were interpreted to support a situationally specific conceptualization of sport achievement. First, whereas a motivational bias appears to preclude low ability attributions in intellectual pursuits, such is not the case with a novel physical task contingent on strength and muscular endurance. It was suggested that physiologically related ability may be viewed as relatively unstable. Second, relative to intellectual tasks, sport-related effort may be more salient and more quantifiable and may exert a greater influence on subsequent attributions for sport achievement. Finally, support was obtained for the assertions that affect is codetermined by both effort and ability and that expectancy discrepant performance is accounted for largely by perceptions of task difficulty.     

Relative cues and absolute distance perception

It is possible, in theory, for the simultaneous occurrence of several different relative cues of distances to increase the veridicality of the perception of absolute distance. To test whether this actually occurs, a three-dimensional display was viewed monocularly while moving the head laterally, under conditions in which some error in perceived absolute distance was expected. The perceived absolute distance of the display was measured with the number of relative cues of distance within the display varied. No systematic reduction was found in the error in perceived absolute distance as a consequence of the variation in the number of relative cues. The study provides no evidence that the potential source of absolute distance information provided by relative cues is utilized by the visual system.     

Existential perspective in the thought of Carl Jung

It is argued that there is a significant existential perspective in the thought of Carl Jung. Similarities and differences with some of the views of Jean Paul Sartre are explored as a way of developing this perspective and to show how a philosophy of a man might be developed drawing from both sources. Jung is shown to be in disagreement with Sartre in defending an idea of a determinate human nature, describing the self in a developmental way, and in not claiming that human freedom is absolute or unconditioned. Nevertheless, the Jungian concept of individuation is similar to Sartre's ideal of authenticity, in that both focus on the goal of achieving meaningful existence through development of inner resources, creative exercise of freedom, and overcoming self-deception.     

Models of consultation: Preferences of educational professionals at five stages of service

Three professional education groups (elementary school principals, special education teachers, and second-grade teachers from two school systems) were asked to rate their preference for four models of consultation as offered by school psychologists at each of five stages of the consultation process. Results indicate that there were no differences among the three professional education groups in their ratings of the models. However, there was a significant difference in the ratings given to each model, with the collaboration model receiving the highest rating. A model by stage interaction also was noted, a finding which suggests that consultation preference should not be considered a unidimensional concept. The implications of these results for the training and practice of school psychologists in the consultation role are discussed.     

Transference reactions in conjoint therapy: A view from an observation group

Summary This paper reports on conjoint therapy conducted with the individual therapists of two of the group's members observing the group sessions. The development of the transference reactions of all group members are highlighted and suggestions are made regarding the most useful methods of handling these transference reactions to help create a mutative experience for the members of the group.The author wishes to thank Dr. Judith Isaac for her comments and editorial assistance throughout the preparation of this paper.     

The effects of interactive staff training on staff programing and patient aggression in a psychiatric inpatient ward

Interactive staff training (IST) uses principles of organizational psychology to help line-level staff members design and implement social learning programs for severely mentally ill inpatients. IST is a training package that includes assessment of staff perceptions regarding programatic needs, selection of appropriate social learning strategies to meet these needs, appointment of a program committee from within the ward to champion development of the social learning strategy, and participative decision making about aspects of the social learning strategy. Staff on an extended care ward at a state hospital participated in IST for 15 months as part of a pilot study of its effects. Ongoing examination of ward programing showed that IST significantly increased staff and patient participation in rehabilitation programing and decreased the rate of physical restraints and aggression-related. Changes in staff attitudes about rehabilitation programing were noted on a subsample of IST participants. Implications for more controlled research into IST are discussed.