Developmental differences in subjects' associative-learning strategies and performance: Assessing a hypothesis

Fifth-, seventh-, and ninth-grade (11-, 13-, and 15-year-old) subjects were presented with a list of paired associates to learn and were interviewed about the strategies used to learn them. Although a majority of fifth graders reported simply rehearsing the pairs in order to remember them, very few ninth graders relied exclusively on rehearsal. Consistent with a hypothesis advanced by Rohwer (1973), the number of subjects who elaborated some or all of the pairs increased with age. Paired-associate performance increased with age, but the level of paired-associate learning was much more related to the type of strategy reported by the subject than to the age of the subject per se.     

Age differences in memory span

Five-year-olds recalled fewer items than adults in memory-span tasks involving both familiar and unfamiliar faces. This occurred even though the use of rehearsal and recoding strategies was minimized for adults. This residual age difference may be partially accounted for by two further processing limitations in children. The five-year-olds needed more time than adults to name a face (Experiment 1) and to encode a face (Experiment 2). In order to test whether limitations in children's initial recognition and stimulus-identification processes could account for recall performance, Experiment 3 reduced adults' exposure duration in the memory-span task. This led to a drastic reduction in the age difference. Other factors contributing to remaining age differences included adults' adaptability in using various alternative encoding and retrieval strategies which elevated their recall performance.     

Applied behavior analysis at West Virginia University: A brief history

The development of an emphasis on applied behavior analysis in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University is traced. The emphasis began primarily in the early 1970s, under the leadership of Roger Maley and Jon Krapfl, and has continued to expand and evolve with the participation of numerous behavior analysts and behavior therapists, both inside and outside the department. The development has been facilitated by several factors: establishment of a strong behavioral emphasis in the three Clinical graduate programs; change of the graduate program in Experimental Psychology to a program in basic Behavior Analysis; development of nonclinical applied behavior analysis within the Behavior Analysis program; establishment of a joint graduate program with Educational Psychology; establishment of a Community/Systems graduate program; and organization of numerous conferences. Several factors are described that seem to assure a stable role for behavior analysis in the department: a stable and supportive "culture" within the department; American Psychological Association accreditation of the clinical training; a good reputation both within the university and in psychology; and a broader community of behavior analysts and behavior therapists.     

生存·发展·创新——对20世纪中医学发展道路的反思

为了中医学的生存和发展,中医药研究人员苦苦思索着中医学的本质,探索着中医学的现代化道路。目前中医学在研究思路和方法上仍存在一些问题,因此回顾和总结现代中医学及中西医结合医学的发展状况,有利于我们认清中医学的发展形势,发现其中存在的问题,寻求解决问题的方法。     

THE “DEATH OF THE EGO” IN EAST‐MEETS‐WEST SPIRITUALITY: DIVERSE VIEWS FROM PROMINENT AUTHORS

Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, have traditionally held to the view that in order for an individual to fully benefit from their practice it was important to lessen or eliminate one's individual desires. Such practice was sometimes referred to as the “death of the ego” in order to emphasize its importance. However, the relatively recent popularity of East‐meets‐West spirituality in Western consumer cultures tends to emphasize the acceptance and transformation of one's ego rather than its death. This essay discusses sociological changes that have shaped and contributed to the popularity of East‐meets‐West spirituality in Western culture that in turn have brought about a modification of the principle of ego death. The views of six Western authors and practitioners of East‐meets‐West spirituality on the importance of the principle of ego death are compared and contrasted. Theories related to the management of self‐identity in consumer society can partly explain the modification of traditional Eastern religious practices, such as ego death, in order that they become relevant and appealing to a society that increasingly reifies the concept of the self. The implication is that the excision of the concept of ego death from the practice of East‐meets‐West spirituality may affect its efficacy.     

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression Among Orthodox Jews

Several clinical papers have provided clinical recommendations for how to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for obsessive-compulsive symptoms among Orthodox Jewish individuals. However, no published studies have described culturally adapted CBT for anxiety or depression in this population or quantified the effectiveness of such approaches. We evaluated the effectiveness of CBT for symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression in a sample of Orthodox Jews (n = 65) and a comparison sample (n = 42) presenting to the Center for Anxiety, a private outpatient clinic with three offices in the New York area (www.centerforanxiety.org). A chart review revealed that all patients received CBT-based interventions with appropriate religious-cultural adaptations of treatment, which we present in two case studies. We observed statistically and clinically significant treatment gains from pretreatment to midtreatment (anxiety: t = 8.56, p < .001; depression: t = 8.01, p < .001), and again from midtreatment through termination (anxiety: t = 3.68, p < .001; depression: t = 3.62, p < .001). No significant differences in anxiety or depression were observed between Orthodox Jewish patients and controls at any time point or for treatment effects (anxiety: Wilks’ Lambda = .950, F = 2.65, p = .076, η_p² = .050; depression: Wilks’ Lambda = .99, F = 2.00,p = .49, η_p² = .014). This paper offers clinical insight into delivery of CBT to Orthodox Jewish patients, as well as preliminary support for the effectiveness of CBT in treating symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression within this population.     

Sitting through the emptiness

This article explores clinical encounters with experiences of the ‘empty ego’ which arise from early relational trauma. The ego’s emptiness is held in repetitious complexes and arises out of affectively charged experiences between self and other which remain split-off from awareness. This kind of consciousness is viewed as dualistic, separating non-dual subjectivity from its dualistic objects of consciousness. In contrast, what I am calling healing void states of non-dualistic consciousness, when admitted to awareness, allow the individual to dis-identify from the traumatizing representations of self and other through an experience of non-duality. In contrast to an objectified, dualistic emptiness of the ego, healing void states come about in moments of non-dual, unified consciousness. These states occur in the ego-Self relationship by linking the ego’s dualistic awareness in chronic subject/object splits to ones of non-dual pure consciousness. The healing void state is always incipiently present and potentially able to bridge the ego-Self connection in bogged-down treatment. The paper explores potential integrations with non-dual models of consciousness such as Vedantic and Kashmir Shaivism, among other mystical traditions. A combined Vedantic-Jungian understanding can provide a transcendent bridge that integrates Eastern concepts of non-duality in treating emptiness.     

守护受试者的权益——对“药物研究与应用的伦理监督”

如何保障和守护临床试验研究中受试者的权益?这既是医生、患者(受试者)、工业界与公众注目的问题,也是医院伦理委员会工作面临并要解决的基本而至关重要的问题。从华西医院伦理委员会工作角度出发,分析了临床试验研究中的权益冲突和对受试者权益的科学、伦理与政策守护的要素,论述了如何保障受试者权益问题。     

略论现代中西婚姻基础

现代社会中西的婚姻基础各有不同．中国的婚姻以生育为基础,西方的婚姻以性爱为基础,中国婚姻重家庭责任,西方婚姻重个人感情,两种婚姻模式各有利弊？它们应该相互借鉴、相互融合。