Self and body esteem perception in multiple sclerosis

Self esteem and body esteem were examined in a group of 35 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using the Body Esteem Scale (BES) and the Eysenck Self Esteem Scale (ESES) and compared to age and sex matched normal controls. There were 23 females and 12 males in the MS patient's group; average age 38.9 years (range: 22-52). All participants completed the self-rated BES evaluating the following subscales: females - sexual attractiveness, physical condition and weight concern; males - physical attractiveness, physical condition and upper body strength. In addition all participants were scored, following a semi-structured interview, on the ESES. Psychiatric co-morbidity was excluded using a semi-structured interview by the consulting psychiatrist. All evaluations were carried out during the remitting phase. Statistical analysis, comparing patients to healthy controls, demonstrated lowered self-rating of the physical condition (males < 0.05, females < 0.001). On the other hand, no significant differences were found in the physical (male) or sexual (female)?attractiveness subscales. The mean ESES score in the patients group was 23.2 ± 4.0, slightly above the reported average. The controls mean ESES was 28.4 ± 3.6, (P < 0.05). No correlation was found between self and body esteem amongst M.S. patients. This study emphasizes impaired perception of body esteem in multiple sclerosis patients even in remission. The preservation of physical and sexual attractiveness may be related to the non-disfiguring nature of the disease. Preservation of self-esteem in MS patients suggests that body-esteem should be the focus of supportive treatment.     

The Mystery Spot Illusion and its Relation to Other Visual Illusions

Observations at The Mystery Spot, a roadside attraction near Santa Cruz, California, suggest intriguing visual illusions based on tilt-induced effects. Specifically, a tilted spatial background at The Mystery Spot induced misperceptions of the orientation of the cardinal axes (i.e., true horizontal and vertical), which then led to illusions in the perceived height of twoindividuals. This illusion was assessed at The Mystery Spot and replicated in the laboratory using pictorial and lined displays rotated in the picture plane. These findings are described in terms of the orientation framing theory, which suggests that these and other tilt-induced illusions (e.g., Ponzo illusion, Zöllner illusion) can be attributed to distorted frames of reference.     

The role of central and peripheral vision in postural control duringwalking

Three hypotheses have been proposed for the roles of central and peripheral vision in the perception and control of self-motion: (1) peripheral dominance, (2) retinal invariance, and (3) differential sensitivity to radial flow. We investigated postural responses to optic flow patterns presented at different retinal eccentricities during walking in two experiments. Oscillating displays of radial flow (0° driver direction), lamellar flow (90°), and intermediate flow (30°, 45°) patterns were presented at retinal eccentricities of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, or 90° to participants walking on a treadmill, while compensatory body sway was measured. In general, postural responses were directionally specific, of comparable amplitude, and strongly coupled to the display for all flow patterns at all retinal eccentricities. One intermediate flow pattern (45°) yielded a bias in sway direction that was consistent with triangulation errors in locating the focus of expansion from visible flow vectors. The results demonstrate functionally specific postural responses in both central and peripheral vision, contrary to the peripheral dominance and differential sensitivity hypotheses, but consistent with retinal invariance. This finding emphasizes the importance of optic flow structure for postural control regardless of the retinal locus of stimulation.     

Stimulus-determined discrimination mechanisms for color search

Visual attention can be goal driven, stimulus driven, or a combination of the two. Here we report evidence for an unexpectedly stimulus-driven component of visual search for a target defined by color. Observers demonstrated a surprisingly cost-free ability to incorporate multiple classifiers in search for a target of one color from among distractors of other colors. A target color was presented among distractors that could change from trial to trial (intermixed presentation) or that remained constant across all trials in a block (blocked presentation). For blocked presentation, a single search classifier (a mechanism that segregates the target from distractors in color space) could be adopted, whereas for intermixed presentation different classifiers had to be used when the distractor colors changed. The benefit of blocked presentation was very small, suggesting that the appropriate classifier was determined very quickly in trials for which the classifier changed. The results suggest that the stimulus-driven activation of an appropriate stimulus classifier can be very efficient.     

Migrant labor in South Africa: a comparative analysis of the academic achievement of father-present and father-absent adolescents

This study was designed to determine whether there are significant differences in academic achievement between father-present and father-absent (due to migrant labor) adolescents. Data were collected from 276 high school students in South Africa. Academic achievement was measured by the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) Scholastic Achievement Test, covering biology, English (second language), and mathematics. Father-present students were found to score significantly higher than father-absent students. The findings suggest that a father's absence due to work conditions has deleterious effects on the scholastic performance of young people.     

Shades of the mirror effect: Recognition of faces with and without sunglasses

A mirror effect was found for a stimulus manipulation introduced at test. When subjects studied a set of normal faces and then were tested with new and old faces that were normal or wearing sunglasses, the hit rate was higher and the false alarm rate was lower for normal faces. Hit rate differences were reflected in remember and sure recognition responses, whereas differences in false alarm rates were largely seen in know and unsure judgments. In contrast, when subjects studied faces wearing sunglasses, the hit rate was greater for test faces with sunglasses than for normal faces, but there was no difference in false alarm rates. These findings are problematic for single-factor theories of the mirror effect, but can be accommodated within a two-factor account.     

Division by multiplication

In two experiments, item-specific transfer was examined in simple multiplication and division with prime and probe problems separated by four to six trials. As was predicted by Rickard and Bourne's (1996) identical-elements model, response time (RT) savings were larger with identical (e.g., prime 63 divided by 7, probe 63 divided by 7) than with inverted (63 divided by 9 and 63 divided by 7) division problems, whereas identical (7 x 9 and 7 x 9) and inverted (9 x 7 and 7 x 9) multiplication problems produced equivalent transfer. Nonetheless, there was statistically significant transfer between inverted division problems. Furthermore, RT savings in the multiplication-to-division transfer conditions (e.g., prime 7 x 9, probe 63 divided by 7) indicated that multiplication mediated large-number division problems. These latter effects are not predicted by the identical-elements model but may be reconciled with the model by distinguishing associative transfer (facilitation owing to strengthening of a common problem node in memory) from mediated transfer (facilitation owing to mediation by a strengthened, related problem). Skilled adults can exploit the conceptual correspondences between multiplication and division facts in a highly efficient way to facilitate performance.     

An examination of the effects of adult age on explicit and implicit learning of figural sequences

Memory for previously learned figural sequences and item-to-item covariations within figural sequences was examined under explicit and implicit instructional conditions in three age groups: young adults (17-23 years); middle-aged adults (35-45 years); and older adults (55-65 years). In Phase 1 of the experiment, the acquisition phase, half the subjects in each age group learned sequences of three to eight items in which the item-to-item changes conformed to an artificial grammar, and the other half of the subjects in each age group learned strings in which the item-to-item changes were nongrammatical. In Phase 2, the implicit/explicit test phase, subjects made forced-choice judgments about parts of the strings that they learned in Phase 1, under either explicit or implicit instructions. Analyses of Phase 2 data revealed that subjects in both instructional conditions used item-to-item covariations in making decisions about grammatical strings. However, use of previously learned covariations as well as the number of correct judgments about previously learned strings was greater in the explicit condition than in the implicit condition. An age-related deficit was found for explicit recognition of grammar-following sequences.     

Impact of Culture and Context on Psychosocial Adaptation: The Cultural and Contextual Guide Process

The growing diversity of the American population requires of counselors an increased understanding of inter- and intracultural factors. All clients have culture, and contextualized cultural variables can and do affect an individual's ability to adapt to his or her environment. Adaptation difficulties typically produce concerns that further affect the individual's functioning. Counselors need to incorporate contextualized cultural factors into their conceptualization of the individual's concerns and the treatment process. Use of the Cultural and Contextual Guide Process to facilitate inclusion of contextualized culture in the counseling process is discussed and a case study is used to exemplify the process.