Apple slide tachistoscope

We outline a BASIC program and subsidiary machine language timing routines that enable the Apple II series of computers to be employed as control devices for the tachistoscopic presentation of 35-mm slides and the collection of response latencies. The program is functional for experiments that require pictorial stimuli to be presented in up to three separate fields, with precise display times, precise interstimulus and intertriai intervals, and the collection of manual or vocal reaction times with millisecond accuracy. The major advantages of this system are that initial setup costs are substantially lower than those for other similar systems (e.g., Loftus, Gillispie. Tigre, & Nelson, 1984) and that user customization of the program may be accomplished by anyone possessing rudimentary knowledge of the BASIC programming language.     

Psychoanalytic ecumenism and varieties of psychoanalytic experience.

Using the metaphor of ecumenism, the current status of psychoanalysis and the American Psychoanalytic Association is examined. The dialectical tendencies to oppose and to unify are noted in psychoanalytic theory, technique, and practice, as well as in the administrative and political life of our organization. Fostering tolerance for new hypotheses without sacrificing empirical discrimination, and promoting broad participation without lowering standards confront us as major tasks demanding continuing vigilance and effort.     

The effects of baby bath and massage by fathers on the family system: The sunraysia australia intervention project

Instruction in baby massage and the Burleigh Relaxation Bath technique was given to one-half of our sample of 32 couples who had just had their first child. This brief intervention, given at 4 weeks post-partum, led to beneficial behavioural and psychological effects for the family system when assessed at 12 weeks postpartum. Depression and marital satisfaction were assessed with mothers and fathers at 4 weeks and 12 weeks after the birth of their child, and self-esteem was measured at 12 weeks only. The mothers and fathers who were shown baby bathing and massage techniques showed higher degrees of marital satisfaction and self-esteem, as well as lower levels of depression at 12 weeks post-partum, than parents who did not receive instruction. It seems likely that brief interventions which educate new parents concerning functional techniques of baby care may favourably affect their feelings of competence and be of benefit to the entire family system.     

The impact of drug screening on selection decisions

This paper discusses the use of drug screening for employee selection decisions. Common methods of drug screening are described, and a recent study of drug screening accuracy is summarized. It is argued that drug screening is subject to the same standards as are other selection procedures, and that human resource professionals must assume responsibility for understanding the potential problems associated with drug screening. Issues relevant to determining the benefits of drug screening are discussed, and an illustration of the impact of drug screening on decision accuracy is presented. It is suggested that, in many instances, the value of drug screening in the selection process may be low enough to warrant serious concern. Implications for human resource research and practice are noted.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 95th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in New York; August 31, 1987. The authors would like to thank Michael Bramel for his assistance in locating and summarizing some of the medical literature cited, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.     

SERIOUS DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AS PART OF A SIGNIFICANTLY HANDICAPPING CONDITION: CURES AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

The past 20 years have been productive ones for the field of applied behavior analysis. A brief review of our own efforts during this period reveals that we have accomplished several but not all of our goals for the Teaching-Family approach. In this context, we note that the setting of realistic and appropriate goals is important for the field and for society. Moreover, we suggest that the realistic goal for some persons with serious delinquent behavior may be extended supportive and socializing treatment rather than permanent cure from conventional short-term treatment programs. We base this suggestion on the accumulating evidence that serious delinquent behavior may often be part of a significantly disabling and durable condition that consists of multiple antisocial and dysfunctional behaviors, often runs in families, and robustly eludes effective short-term treatment. Like other significant disabilities such as retardation, autism, and blindness, the effects of this condition may be a function of an interaction of environmental and constitutional variables. We argue that our field has the wherewithal to construct effective and humane long-term supportive environments for seriously delinquent youths. In this regard, we explore the dimensions, rationales, logistics, and beginnings of a new treatment direction that involves long-term supportive family treatment. We contend that such supportive families may be able to provide long, perhaps even lifetime, socializing influences through models, values, and contingencies that seem essential for developing and maintaining prosocial behavior in these high-risk youths.     

Evidence for aggression-modulating pheromones in prepuberal pigs

A series of behavioral bioassays were conducted to determine the aggression-influencing properties of urine and other fluids. Subjects were prepuberal castrated male and female domestic pigs from commercial stocks. In the behavior assay, pigs were painted with a test fluid and grouped for a videotaped 90 min observation period. Experiment 1 validated use of videotape recording by showing that duration of aggressive behavior registered live was correlated with that obtained from video records (R = .98). In experiment 2, urine and plasma collected from actively aggressive pigs reduced the durations of aggressive behavior of test pigs compared with the effects of urine and plasma collected from socially stable, handled pigs. In Experiment 3, a new set of test pigs confirmed that urine from fighting pigs reduced the duration of attack by test pigs compared with urine from nonfighting, handled pigs. In addition, the suggested reproductive pheromone, 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one, substantially reduced the duration of attack. The effects of gender and aggressive state of urine-donor pigs on test pigs was determined in Experiment 4. Again, urine from castrated male and female aggressive pigs reduced attack by test pigs compared with the level of attack shown by test pigs coated with urine from handled castrated males and females. Urine from fighting and nonfighting intact males had similar effects on test pig aggression. In Experiment 5, urine was obtained from nonhandled, socially stable pigs in their home pens and again from the same pigs after they had been regrouped (aggressive). These urine types had no significant influence on test pigs' aggression over the entire 90-min observation. However, during the first 30 min nonhandled, nonfighting pigs' urine induced less aggression in test pigs than did urine from fighting pigs. Results indicate that urine and blood plasma from aggressive pigs reduces aggression by test pigs compared with the effects of urine from handled pigs. Handling may increase the aggression-promoting properties of urine, and aggression may inhibit this aggression-promoting property.     

Temporal manipulation of stimulus patterns using the Apple II: Tachistoscopic and part presentation

A technique is described in which line-drawn pictures can be rapidly interlaced, allowing for sequential part presentation or tachistoscopic presentation on the Apple II. This is accomplished using a two-stage process in which the pictorial stimuli are converted into machine code data files and then used to create a rapidly changing display consisting of two or more line drawings. The latter stage could be accomplished in less than 2 msec but is limited by the frame time of the monitor (17–20 msec).     

An analysis of some sensitizing agents in the pathogenesis of stress-induced gastric erosive disease

Prior surgical implantation of a venous catheter sensitized rats to coldimmobilization stress. Three of six catheterized females succumbed during the stress. The remaining rats fell into two groups in terms of their core temperature at the end of the stress period: Male uncatheterized rats had higher temperatures than rats in the other three groups. No relation was found between catheter patency and magnitude of hypothermia. Degree of gastric disease paralleled the core temperature findings in that the male uncatheterized rats had significantly fewer gastric erosions than the rats in the other three groups. Additionally, a robust effect of gender was found with uncatheterized females showing more hypothermia and more gastric disease than uncatheterized males. A subsequent experiment was conducted to evaluate whether anesthesia or wearing the protective spring was responsible in part for the sensitization seen. Here, the gender difference was less although females consistently averaged lower core temperatures after stress than did males. Despite similar core temperatures after stress, females that were prepared with the protective spring apparatus developed more gastric disease than female controls or similarly treated males. Thus, the additional sensitization exhibited by females in the first experiment may relate to the fact that both catheterization and the taping procedure were sensitizers while only catheterization was a sensitizer for males.