Intuition: A special kind of knowing?

It is argued that while counsellors have adopted the principle tenets of phenomenology—consciousness and meaning—they have built their work on an interpretation of intuition which is contrary to phenomenological rationale and presents it as a form of knowing which is esoteric and mystical. Phenomenologically, intuition differs from no other way in which sense is made of the world. Intuitions should then, in principle, be accessible to conscious understanding so as to allow counsellors to reflect (cognitively?) on their practice. If the process of intuition were really unknowable, then reflective practice in counselling would not be possible.     

Computer-based training versus traditional lecture: Effect on learning and retention

This study investigated the effectiveness of computer-based training (CBT) versus the standard or traditional lecture method. The study was conducted at a large pharmaceutical manufacturing site located in Eastern North Carolina. Subjects were chemical processors in the bulk chemical production division (N=54). All subjects completed a comprehensive hazardous chemicals safety training program, with one treatment group completing the course via a self-directed computer program (n=27) and one completing the course via traditional instructor-led sessions (n=27). Both delivery formats were identical relative to learning objectives and content. Level of learning was assessed via a 33-item pretest and posttest. Subjects were also administered a 33-item retention test one month following completion of the program. Subject biographical data, including educational level, were collected by questionnaire and the Computer Anxiety Index (CAIN) was administered to assess subjects' level of computer anxiety within the CBT group. Satisfaction with training was assessed in both treatment groups. Results indicated 1) both groups demonstrated significant learning following training, 2) there was no significant difference in level of learning between the two groups, 3) retention after one month was significantly higher in the CBT groups, 4) there was no correlation between educational level or computer anxiety and learning, and 5) there was no significant difference between the two groups on satisfaction with the training experience.     

Evidence that blocking is due to associative deficit: Blocking history affects the degree of subsequent associative competition

Rats were trained on an appetitive discriminated operant procedure according to a blocking design, in which training with a compound stimulus (A + B) was given with or without prior training with A alone. Stimulus B was then presented in compound with a new stimulus (B + C compound). The ability of Stimulus B to block acquisition of control by Stimulus C was decreased by B having itself been blocked by A during the prior training. The results imply that the mechanism of blocking during the initial blocking procedure was a reduced association between Stimulus B and the reinforcer, and not a performance deficit such as that postulated by comparator models of learning.     

Stress,coping resources,and injury risk

Over the last two and a half decades, researchers have tried to determine if psychological variables predispose or buffer athletes from injury. They have found that sport participants who experience many recent stressors, and who do not have the resources and skills to cope with the stress, seem most at risk for injury. This article reviews that research as well as efforts to identify mechanisms that might explain why the stress-injury relationship occurs and interventions that will hopefully reduce the injury risk. Because the multicomponent stress-injury model of Andersen and Williams (1988) helped provide the impetus and theoretical base for much of that research, it serves as the foundation for organizing and summarizing the findings. Although the research has focused largely on sport injuries, the findings have relevance for understanding and potentially preventing many accidents and injuries that occur outside the realm of sport participation.     

Pharmacological dissociation of memory: anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, and leupeptin, a protease inhibitor, block different learning tasks

Inhibition of protein synthesis by anisomycin for a short duration impairs memory of a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task in rats. Memory of escape conditioning involving eight trials is disrupted only if the duration of protein synthesis is prolonged by repeated injections. In marked contrast, olfactory memory of rats trained on two odor discriminations is not affected by anisomycin even if the duration of inhibition is prolonged and the number of trials is reduced to a minimum. In previous work, leupeptin, a thiol proteinase inhibitor, was shown to impair olfactory discrimination learning, but left inhibitory and avoidance conditioning intact. Together, these results provide a pharmacological double dissociation of memory, and suggest that the same chemistries, or mixtures of chemistries, may not be involved in all types of memory.     

Intrinsic feedback, interpolation, and the closed-loop theory

The amount of experience of a target location, or its surrounding locations, was manipulated to test Adams' (1971) prediction that the perceptual trace (stored perception of the correct response) is based on repeated sensations of the correct response. Sixteen learning trials, each followed by knowledge of results, on a linear-positioning task were permitted for all subjects. Each learning trial required movement to an adjustable physical stop. In learning condition without target experience, movements never terminated in a zone within which the target was interpolated. Other groups experienced movements terminating at the target point. The strength of the perceptual trace was inferred from the ability to move to the target during 20 test trials with the stop removed and without knowledge of the results. Slow movements could be made to a novel location equally as well as to a repeatedly practiced location.     

Exploration and avoidance in rats with lesions in amygdala and piriform cortex

Lesions localized to specific areas of the amygdala and overlying cortex in rats produced differential effects in several behavioral tasks. Three different types of lesions were tested: central, basolateral, and cortex lateral to the amygdala. Lesions restricted to the central nucleus produced increased activity on all parameters studied in an open-field test, but the other two groups were not changed. In one-way active avoidance all three groups with lesions showed deficits. The most pronounced change was observed in the central group. All groups showed the same degree of retention loss, but in forced extinction of one-way active avoidance after retraining, the cortical and basolateral groups were most defective. A fear-reduction hypothesis is proposed for the central lesion. The basolateral and cortical areas may be more specifically involved in passive avoidance behavior.