First-order and second-order spectral 'motion' mechanisms in the human auditory system

Light energy displaced along the retinal photoreceptor array leads to a perception of visual motion. In audition, displacement of mechanical energy along the cochlear hair cell array is conceptually similar but leads to a perception of 'movement' in frequency space (spectral motion)--a rising or falling pitch. In vision there are other types of stimuli that also evoke a percept of motion but do not involve a displacement of energy across the photoreceptors (second-order stimuli). In this study, we used psychophysical methods to determine if such second-order stimuli also exist in audition, and if the resulting percept would rival that of first-order spectral motion. First-order auditory stimuli consisted of a frequency sweep of sixteen non-harmonic tones between 297 and 12123 Hz. Second-order stimuli consisted of the same tones, but with a random subset turned on at the beginning of a trial. During the trial, each tone in sequence randomly changed state (ON-to-OFF, or OFF-to-ON). Thus, state transitions created a 'sweep' having no net energy displacement correlated to the sweep direction. At relatively slow sweep speeds, subjects readily identified the sweep direction for both first-order and second-order stimuli, though accuracy decreased for second-order stimuli as the sweep speed increased. This latter characteristic is also true of some second-order visual stimuli. These results suggest a stronger parallelism between auditory and visual processing than previously appreciated.     

EEG biofeedback vs. placebo treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a pilot study

METHOD: Seven children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were trained using a standard EEG biofeedback treatment protocol designed to alter SMR/theta ratios and reduce behavioral symptomatology diagnostic of ADHD. During alternate periods they were also trained using a placebo protocol that was identical to the treatment protocol, save that the association between EEG patterns and feedback to the participants was random. Single-case design elements were used to control for the effects of internal validity threats such as maturation, history, and treatment order. Two participants failed to complete all training sessions, and the effects of training on behavior were analyzed both including and excluding these non-completers. RESULTS: When all participants were included in analyses that controlled for overall trend, EEG biofeedback was found to be no more effective than the placebo control condition involving non-contingent feedback, and neither procedure resulted in improvements relative to baseline levels. When overall behavioral trends unrelated to training were not controlled for and non-completers were excluded from the analysis, it could be mistakenly concluded that EEG biofeedback is significantly more effective than placebo and that the effect sizes involved are moderate to large. These results indicate that many previous reports of the efficacy of EEG biofeedback for ADHD, particularly those presenting series of single cases, might well have been based on spurious findings.     

Group Identity and Conflicting Expectations of the Future in Northern Ireland

Much of the conflict in Northern Ireland is based on investments in one of three opposing political futures possible for the region: remaining part of Britain, joining Ireland, or becoming independent. Speculative scenarios describing each of these futures were randomly assigned to equal numbers of Protestant and Catholic undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and their expectations regarding material and civic improvement for their ingroup and peace and reconciliation between the groups were assessed. Two dimensions of religious identity, measured by the Identity and Public subscales of Luhtanen and Crocker's (1992) Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES), moderated the differences between groups, but only for their expectations of peace and reconciliation. Stronger expectations of improvement for the ingroup were related to higher scores on the Public subscale, regardless of religion or the political future presented. Thus, group identity had a complex, context-dependent relationship to intergroup conflict.     

Anger-Related Traits and Response to Interpersonal Conflict Among New York City Traffic Agents1

This study evaluates the psychosocial correlates of anger-related traits. Participants include New York City traffic enforcement agents (TEAs), who issue summonses for vehicular and parking violations and are frequently confronted by angry motorists. This sample of TEAs is 53% African American and 57% female. Participants completed surveys at 2 points, 4 months apart, which measured attitudinal, affective, and expressive components of hostility and anger, as well as dimensions of workplace psychosocial response. Results indicate that trait anger-in was positively associated with frequency of conflict, anger intensity, and burnout in cross-sectional analyses; and positively associated with frequency of conflict in prospective analyses. Trait anger was positively associated with an increase in burnout over a 4-month period. These findings provide support for the transactional model of hostility and health and have implications for worksite interventions promoting cardiovascular health.     

Can Perceivers Identify Likelihood to Sexually Harass?

We investigated how men who differ in theirlikelihood to sexually harass (LSH) are perceived bythemselves and others. In Study 1, 36 Caucasian maleparticipants, who were paid for their participation, were videotaped being interviewed by asubordinate female. Participants rated her performanceand then responded to self-report attitudinal andpersonality scales. Higher LSH men reported moretraditional attitudes toward women's roles, a less femininepersonality, and lower competency ratings for the femaleinterviewer. Study 2 investigated whether participantscould differentiate between high and low LSH men from videoclips. Eighty-one male and 76female Caucasian participants, who were fulfilling acourse requirement, rated high LSH men (compared to lowLSH men) as (1) higher in LSH, (2) more masculine, (3) less feminine, and (4) more traditionaltoward women's roles than low LSH men. Implications ofthis ability to detect likelihood to sexually harass arediscussed.     

Social Anxiety in Children with Anxiety Disorders: Relation with Social and Emotional Functioning

Investigated the psychometric properties of the Social Anxiety Scale for children-Revised (SASC-R) as well as relations between social anxiety and children's social and emotional functioning. Participants were a clinic sample of children, ages 6–11 with anxiety disorders (N = 154) who completed the SASC-R. For a subset of these children, parent ratings of social skills, and self-ratings of perceived competence and peer interactions were also obtained. Factor analysis of the SASC-R supported the original three-factor solution and internal consistencies were in the acceptable range. Among children with simple phobia, scores on the SASC-R differentiated those with and without a comorbid social-based anxiety disorder. Social anxiety was also associated with impairments in social and emotional functioning. Specifically, highly socially anxious children reported low levels of social acceptance and global self-esteem and more negative peer interactions. Girls with high levels of social anxiety were also rated by parents as having poor social skills, particularly in the areas of assertive and responsible social behavior.     

Malpractice arising from negligent psychotherapy: ethical, legal, and clinical implications of Osheroff v. Chestnut Lodge

Traditionally, there have been few legal actions brought against psychotherapists that allege negligent psychotherapy and negligent treatment of psychiatric disorders. However, in the case of Osheroff v. Chestnut Lodge, a patient-physician (Dr. Osheroff) sued Chestnut Lodge, a private psychiatric facility, for negligence based on the staff's decision to apply a psychodynamic model of treatment (through psychotherapy) and not a biological model. The case sparked a heated debate between adherents of the psychodynamic model and those of the biological model. This article explores the implications of the Osheroff litigation for mental health professionals. It is proposed that an interactive informed consent process be used to protect psychotherapists against Osheroff-type litigation.     

The peer preference test as a measure of reward value: Item analysis,cross-validation,concurrent validation,and replication

Thirty-six preschoolers were administered and retested on a 15-item Peer Preference Test designed to measure the reward value of peers for each child. Test-retest reliability was .88, and after item analyses, 12 items were maintained in the test. The revised test was then administered to 29 other preschoolers. Test-retest reliability was. 77, and item analyses indicated that each item made a significant contribution to the overall test. Concurrent validation of the test was demonstrated using both a picture sociometric and a behavioral measure. In addition, the Evers-Pasquale and Sherman (1975) study was replicated, using 10 preschool social isolates.This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of the author. Gratitude is expressed to Dr. John Gleason for his counsel and advice. The author is also indebted to the staffs of the Irwin Methodist Nursery School and the Jewish Community Center Nursery School, both in Syracuse, New York, for their kindness and cooperation during the course of this investigation.     

The appreciation of antonymic contrasts in aphasia

To secure information on the ability of aphasic patients to comprehend antonymic relations, the kinds of confusions typically made, and the extent to which antonymic sensitivity depends upon mode of presentation and task demands, three linguistic and nonlinguistic tests were administered to aphasic patients, right hemisphere-damaged patients, and non-neurological controls. Although difficulty with antonymous relations was found among all the organic patients, the kinds of problems evidenced and the relative profile of difficulties differed across populations. Among the principal findings were the generally preserved sensitivity to antonymy found among anterior (particularly Broca's) aphasics; a surprising insensitivity to antonymy and a preference for synonyms, found among right hemisphere patients, particularly on the nonlinguistic tasks; a relative preservation of sensitivity to antonymy on nonlinguistic tasks, coupled with a loss of such sensitivity on linguistic tasks, found among posterior (particularly Wernicke's) aphasics; a proclivity toward stereotypical correct responses among the organic patients; and an absolutely worse performance by right hemisphere patients on tasks involving antonymic relations in pictures and abstract designs.     

A study of spelling in aphasia

To secure systematic information on spelling abilities following damage to the dominant hemisphere, a test probing performance in three modalities of response was administered to a group of aphasic patients. Except for a predictable deficit among anterior aphasics in oral spelling, anterior and posterior aphasics exhibited comparable performances on the measures of spelling. However, anterior and posterior aphasics differed from one another on the kinds of words they most accurately spelled, the errors they were prone to make, and certain strategies which they characteristically adopted. These results suggest two alternative approaches to spelling: one approach, common in posterior aphasics, entails choosing letter combinations on the basis of their customary sounds; a second approach, common among anterior aphasics, appears to rely on a partially preserved image of the word's appearance.