The effectiveness of reward and punishment contingencies on response inhibition

The relative effectiveness of reward and punishment on the development of response inhibition was evaluated developmentally. Forty kindergarten and forty second-graders received response inhibition training with half of each group rewarded for inhibiting and half punished for not inhibiting. Reward involved the presentation of positive reinforcers, whereas punishment involved their removal. Punishment produced more inhibition at both age levels than did reward. Transfer of inhibition training was evaluated in two tasks. Transfer effects were observed only on one of the two tasks. Reinforcement contingencies and age did not differentially influence the magnitude of transfer.     

Convergence between attention variables and factors of psychometric intelligence in older adults

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that individual differences on measures of attention would converge with select factors of psychometric intelligence, especially fluid intelligence and short-term acquisition and retrieval. A sample of 83 elderly adults $\text{(}\text{X}\text{= 71}\text{years}\text{)}$ was administered a battery of 17 psychometric ability tests. Tests were selected to mark four psychometric ability factors (Cattell and Horn's dimensions of fluid and crystallized intelligence, short-term acquisition and retrieval, and perceptual speed). Also, seven tasks representing four aspects of attention—decoding processes, selective attention, attention switching, and concentration—were administered. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among the four psychometric ability factors and 11 variables obtained from the attention tasks. Results were only partially consistent with the hypothesized pattern of convergence. Two attention measures had significant loadings on a fluid-type intelligence factor, and one had a marginally significant loading on a short-term memory factor. In general, the greatest convergence occured between attention variables and the ability factor of Perceptual Speed. Results were discussed with respect to previous research on psychometric abilities and cognitive processes, the theory of fluid-crystallized intelligence, and their implications for understanding intellectual aging.     

Individual differences in intelligence: A reappraisal of the confluence model

The confluence model posits that an individual's intellectual development is a function of the intellectual environment he or she is exposed to in the home. Families with many children spaced close together are presumed to have intellectual environments inferior to those of families with few children spaced far apart. To date, the major support for the confluence model has come from analyses of the family size-birth order means of large aggregate data sets. Analyses of the individual scores of some of those same aggregate data sets, however, do not substantiate the confluence model. Explained variance for the aggregate (90%+) reduce to less than 3% in the individual analyses. A recommendation is made to shift the focus of the confluence model from family configuration variables to family interaction varibles utilizing longitudinal data from individuals.     

Mutual problem-solving skills training for premarital couples: A six-month follow-up

The purpose of the present study was to undertake a six-month follow-up of the communication and problem-solving skill level of those premarital couples trained in the Ridley, Avery, Harrell, Leslie, and Dent (in press) study. Fifty-nine percent of the original sample (14 experimental couples and 18 control couples) were given a behavioral assessment of communication and problem-solving ability six months after training. Results indicated that the experimental group, relative to the control group, had significantly higher pretest to follow-up scores on communication skills and the problem-solving steps. Discussions centered on the implications of skill maintenance over time and possible directions of future research.     

On aspiring to present a developmental theory of occupational aspirations: A reader's guide to Gottfredson

L. S. Gottfredson's preceding comment (Journal of Vocational Behavior 1983, 23, 203–212)is characterized by undocumented and arbitrary assertions. Moreover, we still maintain and cite further evidence that the features of the stages she describes represent an implausible account of development. We conclude that there is nothing in either L. S. Gottfredson's original (Journal of Counseling Psychology 1981, 28, 545–579) article or her preceding paper that leads us to alter our belief that the views we present in our own article (Journal of Vocational Behavior 1983, 23, 179–212) will be useful for the future development of vocational theory and intervention.     

Basic concepts in existential psychotherapy with couples and families

Existential psychotherapy with couples and families is a treatment approach that pays close attention to both problems and the meanings and meaning potentials to be found in daily marital and family life. The author reviews both the elements and treatment dynamics to be found in existential treatment with couples and families and overviews the practice of creative interaction between the existential psychotherapist and the marital and/or family members requesting help.     

The History of Family Therapy in South Africa

The history of family therapy in South Africa is presented from 1960 up to the present. The early days leading to the establishment of the South African Association of Marital and Family Therapy, national conferences, publications, national and international links are discussed.     

The Rorschach and structured tests of perception as indices of intellectual development in mentally retarded and nonretarded children

In a study of the developmental significance of certain perceptual activities, the Rorschach and four structured tests of perception were administered to five groups of children at various CA, MA, and IQ levels. All three Rorschach measures were significantly related to MA, as were all four of the structured tests. The Childrens' Embedded Figures Test was the best predictor of MA; it accounted for 52% of the variance, while the six remaining measures yielded nonsignificant increments to a multiple regression equation. In a factor analysis the four structured tests loaded on one factor (51% of total variance), while the three Rorschach variables loaded on a second (17%); MA loaded on both (.669 and .447, respectively). In an additional finding, Zigler's “developmental” hypothesis that level of development and not IQ determines cognitive competence, received partial support from 13 of 14 statistical tests.     

Intraindividual differences dimensions of mood change during pregnancy identified in five P-technique factor analyses

Daily-self-ratings of mood and state were obtained for approximately 120 days of observation from five pregnant subjects. Measurements were based on a total pool of 75 adjectives culled from the literature to represent eight dimensions of affect established in primarily cross-sectional studies. The data were analyzed in a P-technique factor analysis context to determine both the extent to which interindividual differences and intraindividual variability concepts were interchangeable and how general such intraindividual variability concepts were among different subjects. Although evidence was found that subjects construe many adjectives differently, for dimensions such as Energy, Well Being, Fatigue, and Concentration, the data indicate that cross-sectionally and longitudinally based personality concepts exhibit a fair degree of convergence.     

Teachers' knowledge of children's exposure to family risk factors: accuracy and usefulness

Teachers' knowledge of children's exposure to family risk factors was examined using the Family Risk Factor Checklist-Teacher. Data collected for 756 children indicated that teachers had accurate knowledge of children's exposure to factors such as adverse life events and family socioeconomic status, which predicted children's mental health problems at 1 year follow-up. For children at high teacher-rated risk, odds ratios ranged from 3.04 to 7.46, after adjusting for prior mental health problems. Teachers had poor knowledge of internal family functioning, such as conflict, parenting practices, or parental drug abuse. The findings suggest that asking teachers to report children's exposure to particular family risk factors is a feasible method for identifying children for selective interventions, but improved family-school communication may further enhance this process.