Subjective ratings of credibility following brief exposure to desensitization and pseudotherapy

Forty-two Ss were selected as if they were to participate in an analogue desensitization experiment. They then listened to taped excerpts of desensitization and pseudotherapy and responded to a questionnaire assessing the relative credibility of the two treatments. Desensitization was found to be more credible than pseudotherapy. The implications of this finding for previous and future research are discussed.     

A developmental model for the occupational socioeconomic status of American men

Prior research suggested that psychological, sociological and economic variables, measuring both differential and developmental dimensions, must be considered for an exhaustive analysis of adult vocational status. From the resulting estimated predictive model, occupational socioeconomic status was examined through 16 selected family, ecological, educational, ethnoreligious, and political predictor variables. The data were obtained from a national sample of 1355 American men. Factor analysis supported the hypothesized existence of an educational-socioeconomic factor and a political identification factor, plus a less discrete religiousity factor. Path analysis confirmed that a respondent's education, adult social class, and father's occupational socioeconomic status were principle predictors of the respondent's occupational socioeconomic status.     

Concomitant changes in classically conditioned heart rate and corneoretinal potential discrimination in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Corneoretinal Potential (CRP) and heart rate changes were measured in a series of differential classical conditioning experiments in which the directionality of the heart rate response was related to (a) CRP acquisition, and (b) the certainty or uncertainty of the stimulus situation. The results suggested that heart rate decelerations were associated with stimuli that predict upcoming aversive events, while heart rate accelerations were associated with asymptotic CRP responding late in conditioning. These findings were interpreted in terms of (a) changes in general somatic activity, and (b) the cue properties associated with CSs which predict aversive events.     

Eliminating nail-biting by the habit reversal procedure

Fingernail-biting is prevalent among children and adults alike. About 43% of children bite their nails during the puberty ages (Wechsler, 1931); 25% of college students are nail-biters (Coleman and McCalley, 1948), and 10% of adults bite their nails (Pennington, 1945).A variety of treatments including negative practice, operant procedures and psychotherapy have been used in treating nail-biting but no single treatment has been generally effective in eliminating nail-biting. Smith (1957) using negative practice reported that 21 of 57 (39%) of his nail-biting clients were cured. 9 improved and 27 (47%) were unimproved. Bucher (1968) reported that 13 of 20 (65%) college students stopped nail-biting by using a self-administered operant shock procedure. However, he reported many relapses after the withdrawal of shock for nail-biting. No evaluation of psychoanalytic treatment for nail-biting appears to have been made.     

Age,sex, training,and the measurement of field dependence

This study was designed to: (a) examine the effects of age and sex on a person's susceptibility to field dependence training; (b) determine whether the field dependence phenomenon is a function of “cognitive style” or of a person's general inability to make correct judgments in the face of too much confusing and inaccurate information. Traditional Rod and Frame scoring is based on the latter assumption. Interpretation of results, however, has traditionally been based on the “cognitive style” assumption. Results indicate that Rod and Frame results are not a function of cognitive style. This seems particularly true of two aspects of the field dependence phenomenon: (a) the sex difference effect and (b) the correlation between Rod and Frame and Embedded Figures results. Age, more than sex, may be a function of both cognitive style and general ability to perceive the upright. A training effect was not demonstrated. Hypotheses were put forward to explain the nature of field dependence, the magnitude of field dependence errors, and the lack of a training effect.     

A psychoanalytic reinterpretation of the effectiveness of systematic desensitization: Fact or fiction?

Silverman, Frank and Dachinger (1974) found support for their hypothesis that the effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) resides in its activation of unconscious, merging fantasies. Their subjects were subjected to a variant of SD. in which a procedure aimed at stimulating a fantasy of ‘merging with mother’ was substituted for muscle relaxation. This pro- cedure consisted of the tachistoscopic subliminal exposure of the symbiotic gratification stimulus mommy and i are one(experimental) or neutral stimulus people walking (control). The aim of the present study was to replicate their work with special reference to demand characteristics. using as subjects snake phobics. SD with a symbiotic gratification stimulus was not more effective than SD with a neutral stimulus, which may be explained by the fact that the neutral stimulus in the present study snake and I are one was more relevant than the neutral stimulus in the Silverman et al. study. Moreover, subjects with a therapy-set improved significantly more than subjects with a research-set.