Relative pitch perception in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris): further evidence for an elusive phenomenon

Relative pitch perception in animals has been difficult to demonstrate. This failing is due in part to stimulus sets that make an absolute pitch solution viable. In Experiment 1, starlings failed to acquire a discrimination that could be solved only on the basis of relative pitch. In Experiment 2, starlings were trained on a smaller set of pitch patterns, for which both absolute and relative pitch solutions were available, then tested with three series of unreinforced probe stimuli. Series 1 assessed stimulus control by absolute pitch. In Series 2, absolute pitch cues dictated one response, and relative pitch cues dictated a different response. Results indicate that starlings extract relative pitch from artificial pitch patterns only after acquiring a discrimination that permits both absolute and relative pitch solutions. Results are discussed in terms of the relative salience of absolute and relative pitch.     

Children's self-presentations with infants: Gender and ethnic comparisons

The assumption of differential socialization experiences lead to the hypothesis that African American children would be less stereotyped in their responses to infants than White American children. This study of fifty-three 8–10-year-old children from African American and White American working-to-middle class families supported the hypothesis. The children were photographed with a peer, an infant, and with an infant while acting as a parent. All children stood significantly closer to the infant in the role condition and exhibited more attraction behavior. As predicted, gender differences were evident between White girls and boys, but not between African American girls and boys. Findings suggested that social preferences for infants cannot be necessarily linked to gender. Discussion of the findings from earlier study with younger children (Reid et al., 1989) supported this conclusion.We gratefully acknowledge Carol S. Tate for her assistance in data collection and analysis, and Jeannie M. Shook for coding. This research was supported in part by a faculty research grant given to the first author by the University of Chattanooga Foundation (R04-106830)     

Predictors and Outcomes of Experiences Deemed Religious: A Longitudinal Investigation

The two studies reported here revised Hunt's (1972) LAM (Literal, Anti-Literal, Mythological) Scale to include a Metaphorical dimension. The first study investigated the relationship between preference for literal versus metaphorical interpretations of religious language and structural levels of religious thinking. As predicted, participants who preferred a literal interpretation of religious statements gave evidence of a low developed structure of religious judgment. The predicted relationship between preference for metaphorical interpretations and style of religious thinking was not found. The second study compared samples of participants scoring highest on the Literal and the Metaphorical subscales. Literal participants scored lower on imaginative thinking and made greater use of religious language in an objectifying manner than did metaphorical participants. The meaning of these data for mature religious thinking is considered.     

Responses to Ink-blot Configurations Resembling the Heart

A technique is described to measure an individual's awareness of the cardiac area. It utilizes three newly developed ink blots whose color-form configurations approximate the heart in various degrees. In the present exploratory study, projective responses were obtained from 68 nursing students. It was observed that their relative awareness of the anatomical connotations in the stimuli related to their past experience of psychophysiologic cardiac symptoms. The Moses Test of Extreme Reactions was used to analyze the data. This revealed upon calculation of the exact probability level a value of 0.0128 indicating that the symptomatic subjects fell more frequently at the extremes. It was hypothesized that these individuals respond to somatic anxiety by increasing or decreasing consciousness of their own heart.     

Dynamics and Techniques of Group Psychotherapy in Private Practice

In rearing a mentally retarded child, parents are confronted with a number of taxing stresses and problems. As a result, many in this parent population need and could benefit from a social support network. Unfortunately, such networks often do not exist or parents make no effort to join them. One seemingly useful means of providing a facilitative social system for parents of retardates is via the support group. In this article, two support groups—each developed to assist parents in adjusting to their retarded children—are described. Also, the process stages of these groups are discussed.     

Psychoneurotic Art: Its Function in Psychotherapy by Margaret Naumburg

This article describes group psychotherapy with nursing home residents, ages 64-96, which utilizes the nonverbal and symbolic activities of drama therapy to facilitate an orientation to insight and transference phenomena, in contrast to the purely supportive techniques often used with the elderly. A case study of a long-term therapy group is described with examples of how the patients confronted their physical limitations, the death of their parents and of themselves, and transferences to the therapist. The media of creative drama, by concretizing and symbolizing difficult feeling states, and thus encouraging verbalization, may be a useful aid in extending the benefits of expressive psychotherapy to the impaired elderly.     

The Significance of the Fluctuations Experienced in Observing Ambiguous Figures and in Binocular Rivalry

This study investigated predictions from Mednick's remote associates theory as to unusualness of response in a word association task as a function of remote associational ability (high or low scores on the RAT), the nature of the verbal stimulus (flat or steep hierarchy words), and the serial position of the response. Ss were Ohio high school students. Although high RAT scorers gave significantly less unusual responses overall than did low RAT scorers, results were interpreted as generally supportive of the theory. Low RAT scorers moved more rapidly to less frequent responses than did high RAT scorers, later responses were more infrequent than earlier responses in the sample tested, and while word-type did not in itself determine unusualness of response, it did interact with the other variables in a manner consistent with the theory.     

Resiliency Determinants and Resiliency Processes Among Female Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This phenomenological, qualitative study examined resiliency determinants and resiliency formation among 10 women who had been sexually abused as children. An examination of the determinants and processes that facilitated resiliency in participants' adult lives revealed 5 determinant clusters (interpersonally skilled, competent, high self‐regard, spiritual, and helpful life circumstances) and 4 process clusters (coping strategies, refocusing and moving on, active healing, and achieving closure).