The Timing of Conscious Experience: A Critical Review and Reinterpretation of Libet''s Research

An extended examination of Libet's works led to a comprehensive reinterpretation of his results. According to this reinterpretation, the Minimum Train Duration of electrical brain stimulation should be considered as the time needed to create a brain stimulus efficient for producing conscious sensation and not as a basis for inferring the latency for conscious sensation of peripheral origin. Latency for conscious sensation with brain stimulation may occurafterthe Minimum Train Duration. Backward masking with cortical stimuli suggests a 125–300 ms minimum value for the latency for conscious sensation of threshold skin stimuli. Backward enhancement is not suitable for inferring this latency. For determining temporal relations between stimuli that correspond to subjects' reports, theendof cerebral Minimum Train Duration should be used as reference, rather than its onset. Results of coupling peripheral and cortical stimuli are explained by a latency after the cortical Minimum Train Duration, having roughly the same duration as the latency for supraliminal skin stimuli. Results of coupling peripheral stimuli and stimuli to medial lemniscus (LM) are explained by a shorter LM latency and/or a longer peripheral latency. This interpretation suggests a 230 ms minimum value for the latency for conscious sensation of somatosensory near-threshold stimuli. The backward referral hypothesis, as formulated by Libet, should not be retained. Long readiness potentials preceding spontaneous conscious or nonconscious movements suggest that both kinds of movement are nonconsciously initiated. The validity of Libet's measures of W and M moments (Libet et al., 1983a) is questionable due to problems involving latencies, training, and introspective distinction of W and M. Veto of intended actions may be initially nonconscious but dependent on conscious awareness.     

Parent Satisfaction with Case Managed Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Severe Emotional Disturbance

Case management has emerged as an integral component of current efforts to reform the delivery of mental health services to children and youth with Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED). We examined parental satisfaction with one program's case management system for SED children. In order to validly address parental satisfaction, the program first turned to a group of its parents to develop a satisfaction measure, the Family Satisfaction Survey (FSS). Of the 51 parents who returned an FSS, 74% of the parents were generally satisfied while 26% indicated that they were dissatisfied with their families' case management services. Multivariate regression analyses were employed to examine the role played by client, service, and outcome variables in predicting parental satisfaction. After controlling for child diagnoses, severity of impairment, and levels of psychosocial stress, parent satisfaction with case management services was best predicted by the frequency of monthly contact and fewer days is a psychiatric hospital proportional to length of service. Our results suggest that parent satisfaction is based not only on what case managers do but on how this service impacts SED children's ability to remain at home and in their communities.     

The Client Cultural Competence Inventory: An Instrument for Assessing Cultural Competence in Behavioral Managed Care Organizations

The rapid growth in Behavioral Managed Care Organizations has led to increasing concern about the future availability of culturally competent mental health services for ethnic minorities. Prior efforts to assess cultural competence of mental health services have focused exclusively on agency providers and individual mental health professionals rather than on clients' perceptions of care. We introduce the Client Cultural Competence Inventory, which has several advantages over other cultural competence measures including its (a) lower susceptibility to social desirability bias, (b) ability to assess attitudes concerning a broader range of therapists, providers and plans, and (c) focus on clients rather than the psychiatric community as the central force in determining cultural competence. Preliminary psychometric analyses of the inventory are presented from data gathered in a group of parents with children who are severely emotionally disturbed.     

Ethical issues in graduate education

Concern about the employment prospects of Ph.D.’s in the sciences and engineering has prompted overdue interest in the ethical aspects of graduate education. It is not possible to isolate an ethical inquiry that focuses solely on job-related issues. The ethical problems in graduate education are each related to employment, but none is related to employment only. We can illuminate potential ethical problems by considering conflicts of interest at each point from the decision to offer a graduate program through the treatment of its alumni. Such consideration prompts reassessment of program content, relations with students, and the objectives of graduate programs. This paper is a revised and expanded version of a presentation given at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle, WA, February, 1997, during a program organized by the National Science Foundation (“Ethics, Employment, and Graduate Education in Science and Engineering,” Rachelle Hollander, Organizer). Samuel Gorovitz is Professor of Philosophy and of Public Administration at Syracuse University.     

中学生心理健康量表编制研究

本文阐述了正常人心理健康的内涵,提出以认知正常、情感协调、意志健全、个性完整和适应良好等五个心理健康维度来衡量中学生的心理健康水平。采用自陈量表编制原理和问卷调查分析法,编制了具有较高效度和信度的中学生心理健康量表,并随机抽取有代表性的中学生样本（ｎ＝１２４８）,制定了上海常模。对开展中学生心理健康与素质教育具有理论和实践上的指导意义。     

弱智儿童在上课时和自由活动时的行为表现

研究了４１名弱智儿童。采用时间样本的方法收集材料,以期从动态角度了解弱智儿童在上课时和自由活动时的行为表现。按园别和智力落后程度两个方面对被试在上课时的８大类行为和自由活动时的７大类行为进行了分析。结果发现：班级人数、不同教学方法和智力落后程度与弱智儿童的行为表现有关。还对收集材料的方法、园别和智力落后程度与弱智儿童的行为表现的关系、高频率的自娱活动等,进行了讨论。最后,根据研究结果对教师提出了教学建议。     

高中生心理健康水平及其影响因素的研究

采用ＳＣＬ－９０量表评定了５００名高中生的心理健康状况,运用因素分析的方法探讨了影响高中生心理健康的主要因素。结果表明：有１０．８％的高中生存在着各种明显的心理健康问题;高中生的心理健康问题主要表现为强迫、敌对、偏执、人际关系敏感和忧郁等症状;影响高中生心理健康的主要因素为学校教育、家庭环境、社会文化及学生自身等方面的生活事件;高中生不同的心理健康问题有其不同的影响因素。     

Intergroup contact between professional groups: Two evaluation studies

We report two studies which evaluate practically-oriented programmes of interprofessional contact involving doctors and social workers. The evaluation is based on the ‘contact hypothesis’ in intergroup relations, and highlights four sets of dependent measures: background perceptions, ingroup and outgroup ratings, knowledge, and judgements about work with outgroup partners and experienced contact. Consistent with the contact hypothesis, both studies revealed an improvement in outgroup attitudes, evidence of mutual intergroup differentiation (acknowledged superiority of ingroup and outgroup on independent dimensions), and increased outgroup knowledge. Greater change in Study 2 is interpreted in terms of its longer duration, and the opportunity it provided for contact with multiple outgroup members, compared with a single outgroup partner in Study 1. These findings from field studies are consistent with results from published laboratory experiments.     

Effects of self-monitoring and subsequent fading of external prompts on the on-task behavior and task productivity of elementary students with moderate mental retardation

This study investigated the effectiveness of self-monitoring on the on-task behavior and vocational production rates of 5 elementary students with moderate mental retardation during biweekly pre-vocational workshop sessions. They were taught to use a recording form to monitor their behavior and were cued to monitor by audiotaped tones. A multiple-baseline design across tasks was used to demonstrate a functional relationship between self-monitoring and both on-task behavior and task productivity. Once this relationship was demonstrated, the monitoring form and audiotape were withdrawn through fading procedures. Results indicated that (a) self-monitoring increased both on-task behavior and vocational task production rates, (b) performance gains maintained while cues and monitoring forms were withdrawn, and (c) gains maintained over several weeks in the absence of prompts (i.e., forms and tones).