Therapist-controlled exposure in vivo versus self-controlled exposure in vivo: A comparison with obsessive-compulsive patients

Fourteen obsessive-compulsive clients were given treatment consisting of ten sessions of gradual exposure in vivo With half the clients, the exposure in vivo was therapist-controlled; with the other half, the exposure in vivo was self-controlled.

The results of the posttest showed that both versions of the treatment resulted in a significant improvement on the in vivo measurement, anxiety and avoidance scales, Leyton Obsessional Inventory, Self-Rating Depression Scale and anxious mood. Neither the posttest nor the follow-ups one month and 3.5 months later indicated a difference between the effects of the two conditions. Self-controlled exposure in vivo proved to be as effective as therapist-controlled exposure in vivo, in spite of the fact that in the latter condition each treatment session lasted twice as long as in the former condition.     

Exposure and response prevention in the natural environment: A comparison with obsessive-compulsive patients

Thirteen obsessive-compulsive clients were treated with different methods of response prevention. Four experimental conditions were obtained through a 2 × 2 factorial design, in which the two main variables were varied: (1) gradual treatment vs flooding; and (2) modeling vs no-modeling. Clients were treated at their homes, three times weekly. Each session lasted 2 hr. Results at the post-test revealed, that modeling was superior to no-modeling (p < 0.05) on avoidance-other compulsions, therapist-rating only. On anxiety-main compulsions, clients rating the gradual method of treatment had been superior to flooding (p < 0.05). No other significant differences were found.     

Interrole conflict among married women: The influence of husband and wife characteristics on conflict and coping behavior

The present research investigated the conflict that women experience between their home and nonhome roles. All of the women in the sample (N = 115) were married and living with their husbands, had at least one child living at home, and were college students. It was found that women who placed a similar level of importance on work as their husbands experienced less intense conflict than women who differed from their husbands in career orientation. In addition, the number of children at home was positively related to a woman's conflict when her husband was highly work oriented. A woman's use of reactive coping strategies was negatively related to her life satisfaction when her husband was dissatisfied with his own life.     

Spatial problem solving by rats: Exploration and cognitive maps

Two experiments were performed in an attempt to examine the contribution of the exploratory experience to performance on Maier's 3-table spatial problem-solving task. In the first experiment, the runway configurations were altered between exploration and testing. It was found that following an initial impairment animals exposed to the altered runway configurations could perform as well as animals not confronted with an altered runway configuration on the test trial. In the second experiment, animals were allowed to explore only elements of the problem space. Exploration of either the runways only or the tables only led to unsuccessful performance on the 3-table task. The results of both experiments were related to current theory of cognitive mapping.     

Internal spatial relationships in young children's drawings

Attempts to represent the occlusion of a farther object by a nearer one are infrequent in the drawings of 5- and 6-year-olds. Instead they typically draw the objects side by side or one above the other. This does not appear to reflect a limitation of skill (P. Light & E. MacIntosh, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1980, 30, 79–87) and it is hypothesized that it reflects the children's concern with the array of objects per se, as opposed to their own particular view of it. In the present study relatively complex objects were used in order to test the hypothesis that young children's drawings do in fact systematically reflect spatial relationships within the array. Ninety-seven children between 5 and 8 years of age drew two arrays, each being drawn four times in different orientations vis à vis the child. As predicted, the younger children's drawings contained much array-specific information but often no indication an all of the child's viewing position. In contrast, the older children's drawings were predominantly view specific, often containing little information about the arrays.     

A configural approach to the use of the strong vocational interest blank with student engineers

SVIB profiles of 1169 freshmen entering a college of engineering were grouped according to total occupational scale profile similarity into 28 code types. Mean scores or percentages for the individuals in each code type were compared to base rate values for income variables including ability, personality, and socioeconomic data and outcome variables including academic progress, choice of major, counsel-seeking behavior, and place of residence. The data for four code types were presented together with examples of how the results might be used by a counselor. The investigators concluded that SVIB profile types can be useful in acting as moderator variables to predict student characteristics, and that total profile analysis of the SVIB occupational scale merits further attention.     

Effects of density,activity, and personality on environmental preferences

The effects of room density, type of ongoing activity (party vs studying), and a personality variable (“personal space” or the distance which subjects place between themselves and others) on room liking were investigated. Results supported the prediction that type of activity is an important determinant of whether a high or low density setting is preferred. Evidence was also presented that a mediator between activity type and density preference is whether the presence of other people facilitates or inhibits the individual's goals in the setting. Personality factors also influence density preferences: Close standing Ss preferred a high to a low density setting; far standing Ss showed an opposite preference pattern, but only in the party condition. Correlations between Ss' personal space scores and several background and personality variables are also presented.