Regression effect in psychophysical judgment

Psychophysical judgment, like all other kinds of judgment, involves a matching or equating of two different domains. When the judgment involves the matching of values on two perceptual continua, the observer tends, on the average, to constrict the range of his adjustments on whichever variable is placed under his control. When the observer adjusts each variable in turn, two different regression lines are produced. This regression effect presumably occurs whenever the results of the matching judgments yield less than a perfect correlation. Illustrative examples are given for the continua, loudness, vibration, brightness, and duration.     

Experimentation with Group Techniques with Ego-Disturbed Mothers

Abstract

Psycho–educational groups (PEGs) have been shown to be a particularly effective form of treatment for patients classified under the rubric of severely and persistently mentally ill (SPMI). However, recent surveys suggest that certain professionals, such as nurses and clinical psychologists, called on to conduct these groups may have limited to no training. This study tested three methods (self–instructional, workshop, and workshop plus clinical supervision) designed to provide on-the-job training to practicing clinicians. Specifically, training was based on two manuals; one that operationalized the basic knowledge and skills needed to run an effective PEG and the second being a commonly used PEG program for symptom management targeted at SPMI patients. Eight nurses from four adult units at a state psychiatric hospital initially received self–instructional or workshop training and then conducted a 12–session symptom management PEG composed of four to five SPMI patients (e.g., schizophrenia, schizoaffective or major depression disorders). In a second wave of additional training, nurses received workshop training or clinical supervision and then conducted a second PEG. Differences between training methods were assessed by nurse– and patient–completed measures that tapped the knowledge and skills emphasized in the symptom management and PEG (nurses only) manuals. Results indicated limited support for the superiority of the workshop method on the nurse measures alone. Implications for training working professionals in group treatments and assessing outcomes with chronic SPMI patients are discussed.     

Effects of varying length of stimulus series and response scale upon response latency,response uncertainty,and transmitted information

A 3 by 3 orthogonal design was employed t o study the interrelations among response latency (RL), response uncertainty (E_R), and transmitted information Nine groups of Ss judged the size of 5, 20, or 40 projected squares in terms of 5, 20, or 40 response categories. Patterns of change in ER and RL over the three stimulus series were differentially effected by increases in the number of available response categories. The increase from 5 to 20 response categories produced, for successively longer stimulus series, a constantly increasing change in E_R; the further increase from 20 to 40 categories produced a contrasting, constantly decreasing change in E_R. The same two changes in number of response categories produced the same pattern of change in RL over the 5- and 20-stimulus series but reversed the pattern for the 40-stimulus series. Correlations between E_R and RL ranged from .28 to .99 and tended to maximize when number of response categories equaled the number of stimuli. I_t was relatively low under all conditions. Within the 5- and 20-stimulus series, increases from 5 to 20 to 40 available responses increased RL in a negatively accelerated fashion but did not increase I_t. Within the 40-stimulus series, the same increases in number of available responses produced an essentially linear increase in both I_t and RL.     

Regression effect in psychophysical judgment

Psychophysical judgment, like all other kinds of judgment, involves a matching or equating of two different domains. When the judgment involves the mate hing of values on two perceptual continua, the observer tends, on the average, to constrict the range of his adjustments on whichever variable is placed under his control. When the observer adjusts each variable in turn, two different regression lines are produced. This regression effect presumably occurs whenever the results of the matching judgments yield less than a perfect correlation. Illustrative examples are given for the continua, loudness, vibration, brightness, and duration.     

Association Between Socio-Ecological Risk Factor Clustering and Mental,Emotional, and Behavioral Problems in Hispanic Adolescents

Compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanic adolescents in the U.S. report higher rates of several mental, emotional, and behavioral problems such as substance use, sexual risk behaviors, and internalizing and externalizing problems. There is evidence of common pathways in the development of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems with certain subgroups of Hispanic adolescents being at greater risk. In the present article, we report analysis of baseline data for 959 Hispanic adolescents who participated in one of two randomized controlled trials evaluating a family-based preventive intervention. Utilizing latent class analysis, we identified subgroups of Hispanic adolescents based on socio-ecological risk and protective factors (e.g., parent–adolescent communication, parental involvement in school). Three distinct socio-ecological risk subgroups (high, medium, and low risk) were identified and exhibited significant differences from each other across a majority of socio-ecological risk and protective factors. Adolescents in higher socio-ecological risk subgroups reported greater mental, emotional, and behavioral problems across all outcomes. Individual comparisons revealed significant differences between the low socio-ecological risk group and both the medium and high socio-ecological risk group in lifetime alcohol use, smoking, and sex, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems. Implications for intervention include focusing on specific risk subgroups and targeting shared risk and protective factors rather than specific mental, emotional, and behavioral outcomes.     

An interruption in unconscious communication in the analytic couple

The authors describe an interruption in communication in the analyses of two patients, which gradually brings the analytic process to a halt/standstill. They propose several hypotheses for understanding this situation. One explanation is mutual identification of primitive superegos in the analytic couple which generates a moralizing effect thereby hindering investigation and discovery. They emphasize the importance of countertransference involvement which partly provokes this particular type of impasse. They also suggest the idea of shared acting out, with complementary participations of analyst and patient. In this way the analytic couple supports a 'bastion' which protects against the risk of breaking the omnipotence of patient and analyst or contributes to this omnipotence. Their shared unconscious phantasy feeds collusion linked to unconscious persecutory guilt. The authors also describe movements to break free from this impasse. The enclave created by the analytic couple is detected and subsequently worked through by way of the patient's contribution of dream material and the analyst's work with her countertransference.     

NATIVITY AND YEARS IN THE RECEIVING CULTURE AS MARKERS OF ACCULTURATION IN ETHNIC ENCLAVES

The current study was conducted to ascertain the validity of two commonly used markers of acculturation (nativity and years in the receiving culture) in an enclave context. Relationships between these markers and a bidimensional measure of acculturation were examined in a convenience sample of Hispanic immigrant adolescents and their caregivers in Miami. Nativity was examined using adolescent-reported data; approximately half of the youth were U.S.-born and half foreign-born, but all of the caregivers were foreign-born. Years in the receiving culture was examined using both adolescent and caregiver data. Results indicated that nativity was significantly associated with adoption of receiving-culture practices, with a small to moderate effect size. Years in the receiving culture was significantly associated with adoption of receiving-culture practices only for adolescent girls and for female caregivers who immigrated as youth. Neither nativity nor years in the receiving culture explained even moderate amounts of variance in retention or loss of culture-of-origin practices.     

Induced Competence and the Bystander Effect1

Previous research has shown that people are slower to offer help in an emergency when there are other bystanders present than when there are not. It was proposed that exposing subjects to information about treatment of medical emergencies (i.e., experimentally-induced competence) would decrease this effect. Female college students either did or did not watch a series of public-service films on medical emergencies under the pretext of evaluating the films' relative effectiveness. Three weeks later, subjects participated in an experiment in which an ostensible co-subject experienced a choking fit and then fell silent. Subjects who had not viewed the films were slower to respond if they believed themselves to be in 6-member groups than if they believed themselves to be in 2-member groups. In contrast, subjects who had viewed the films responded quickly regardless of perceived group size. High competent subjects also responded more quickly than low competent subjects in a condition where another co-subject gave evidence of being high in competence. Results from a 6-week follow-up group indicated, however, that the induced competence was not permanent. Discussion centers on the theoretical implications of the findings.