Meditation, biofeedback, and the relaxation controversy: A cognitive-behavioral perspective.

Summarizes data from 2 clinical manuals by the present author (1985, in press) to illustrate that D. S. Holmes's (see PA, Vol 71:25288; see also 1985) conclusion that there is little evidence that meditation reduces somatic arousal and A. H. Roberts's (see record 1986-11198-001) questioning of the effectiveness of biofeedback in treating a variety of somatic conditions are based on outdated assumptions about the nature of relaxation and relaxation training. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Independent retrieval of source dimensions: An extension of results by Starns and Hicks (2005) and a comment on the ACSIM measure.

Recently, J. J. Starns and J. L. Hicks (2005) have argued that source dimensions are retrieved independently from memory (see record 2005-15992-004). In their innovative experiment, manipulating the retrievability of 1 source feature did not affect memory for a 2nd feature. Following C. S. Dodson and A. P. Shimamura (2000; see record 2000-08540-012), the authors argue that the source memory measure that Starns and Hicks used (known as the average conditional source identification measure) is vulnerable to a response bias in this particular paradigm, and this may undermine Starns and Hicks's conclusion. Starns and Hicks, however, acknowledged this possibility. The authors substantiate this claim by a simulation and by replicating Starns and Hicks's experiment. In 2 further experiments, the authors use an extended multinomial model to analyze data showing that Starns and Hicks's conclusion holds even if results cannot be attributed to response biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Kurosawa.

Defends the 1st 2 authors' (see record 1982-30838-001) reanalysis of the M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) psychotherapy outcome study and responds to criticism by K. Kurosawa (see record 1984-24820-001) regarding their conclusion that there is convincing evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment practices of clinical psychologists.

Comments on the article by C. E. Watkins et al (see record 1995-23048-001) on the practice of psychological assessment by clinical psychologists. According to Hunsley, their conclusion that the basic practice of assessment has changed little in the past 30 yrs is not warranted because of the nature of the survey data used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying therapist warmth in analogue systematic desensitization research: A reply to McGlynn.

Replies to F. D. McGlynn (see PA, Vol 56:Issue 1) who stated that the conclusion reached by the present authors (see record 1974-28353-001) in their study of therapist warmth and desensitization was not justified by their research. It is argued that McGlynn misrepresented their statement of conclusion which was, in fact, couched in tentative terms. McGlynn's selection of literature to support his view is also criticized. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategy training has no significant effect on race differences in nonverbal reasoning.

Argues that the conclusion of B. Bridgeman and J. Buttram (see record 1975-30982-001) that race differences on a nonverbal reasoning test are smaller when Ss have been given verbal strategy training is not supported by their data. A transformation of their data from means to correlations indicates that the test used is psychometrically inadequate and that this finding may be generalizable to many nonverbal reasoning tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Whither subliminal psychodynamic activation? A reply to Silverman.

The authors reply to comments by L. H. Silverman (see record 1982-21579-001) on their earlier criticisms (see record 1980-26153-001) of subliminal symbiotic stimulation as a clinical adjunct to systematic desensitization. The authors contend that Silverman credits them with an overly nebulous "challenge" that was not made, and cites new data that purportedly contradict this overgeneralized conclusion. None of this "contradictory" evidence deals with desensitization or any other treatment for phobic anxiety. The alternative explanations he derives from these new data are based on an arbitrary and simplistic method of data aggregation that lacks consistency across investigations. The resulting selective bias severely reduces the explanatory power of these alternative possibilities and does not negate the authors' contention that stimulation of unconscious merging fantasies is superfluous in desensitization. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rejoinder to Sherif.

The scaling artifact intrinsic to the method of ordered alternatives, as presented by Markley in 1971 (see record 1971-26705-001), is defended from the comments by Sherif (see record 1973-08982-001). The essential conclusion of the 1971 articles remains unchanged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Data transformation, power, and skew: A rejoinder to Games.

The present authors (see record 1982-27158-001) concluded that if a transformation can be found that will minimize skew while tending to equate group variances, the use of that transformation will increase power of the F test. P. A. Games (see record 1983-20171-001) challenges this conclusion and presents what he considers to be counterexample. That counterexample is shown to be flawed; however, it aptly demonstrates the misconceptions that may arise with respect to the issue of data transformation, skew, and power. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of grades is fleeting: A comment.

Argues that the conclusion of P. A. Mauger and C. A. Kolmodin (see record 1976-08398-001), which stated that their data did not support L. G. Humphreys's (see record 1968-19409-001) suggestion that senior college grades are much less predictable from entrance information than freshmen grades, is erroneous. Differences in methodology are attributed to the varying outcomes of the 2 studies: Mauger and Kolmodin used cumulative GPAs while Humphreys used independently computed GPAs for each of the 8 semesters of undergraduate work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The near-death experience: Balancing Siegel's view.

Reviews R. K. Siegel's (see record 1981-25195-001) conclusion, based on the grounds of parsimony and testability, that the reality of the near-death experience is subjective. Siegel's naturalistic explanations are balanced by data from K. Ring's (1980) controlled research findings that discourage the equation of the near-death experience with hallucinations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Where is the home choke?

Lab and field data did not support the home-choke hypothesis as it was articulated by R. F. Baumeister and A. Steinhilber (see record 1984-31312-001). Home teams do not perform poorly in key games. Furthermore, evidence favors a darker form of choking (social pressure plus self-doubts), not the kinder form (disruptive fantasies of success in front of a supportive audience) that explicitly distinguished the home choke. R. F. Baumeister's (see record 1995-27383-001) reply clouded the concept of the home choke and blurred the standards for its assessment. Even the new measure he proposed usually favored the home team. For coaches and players, the data offer a straightforward conclusion: Take the home field if you have a choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stages of brain and cognitive maturation.

H. T. Epstein (see PA, Vol 52:9783 and 1986), R. B. McCall (see record 1988-32308-001), and R. B. McCall et al (see record 1984-17419-001) presented discrepant findings regarding the presence of stages in brain and cognitive maturation, as described in Piagetian theory. This article questions whether their variables (e.g., skull circumference and global mental test scores) are appropriate indices from which to make such conclusions. Evidence from direct brain measurements (e.g., the quantitative electroencephalogram [QEEG]) and other neurobiological indices provides stronger support for the conclusion that regional brain maturation exhibits growth spurts and plateaus. The specific neuropsychological functions represented by regional QEEG maturation data give a composite picture of brain growth that is consistent with Piagetian theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are women really more aggressive than men in intimate relationships? Comment on Archer.

J. Archer's (see record 2000-15524-001) conclusion that women engage in slightly more physical aggression than men in intimate relationships but sustain more injuries is reasonable in representative samples. However, his conclusions will provoke negative reactions because they do not fit with the data and belief that men are generally more aggressive than women. In addition, they are incompatible with observations of professionals who serve battered women. Basically, the meta-analytic conclusion about aggression cannot be generalized to samples of physically abusive men and their partners. Nonetheless, the studies reviewed by Archer provide convincing data that physical aggression by women must be taken seriously if there is a sincere desire to prevent partner abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It is time to re-reconsider the GRE: A reply to Marston.

Disagrees with A. R. Marston's (see record 1972-11620-001) conclusion, drawn from R. A. Weitzman's statistical interpretation of Marston's data, that the use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as an admissions criterion be discontinued. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguishing unconscious from conscious cognition—Reasonable assumptions and replicable findings: Reply to Merikle and Reingold (1998) and Dosher (1998).

S. C. Draine and A. G. Greenwald (see record 1999-10824-004) demonstrated replicable unconscious semantic priming by combining a response window procedure, which increases priming effects by requiring rapid responding, and a regression analysis in which the regression intercept is a marker for unconscious cognition. The commentaries by B. A. Dosher (see record 1999-10824-006) and by P. M. Merikle and E. A. Reingold (see record 1999-10824-005) raise two questions about conclusions based on these methods: (a) Did Draine and Greenwald (1998) demonstrate an indirect effect (subliminal priming) in the absence of a direct effect (i.e., visibility of the subliminal priming words)? and (b) Did Draine and Greenwald (1998) demonstrate dissociation of conscious from unconscious cognition? The first question has reassuring responses that are reviewed here. The second question is answered by pointing out that although Draine and Greenwald (1998) did not claim to have established such dissociation, they provided data that advance the plausibility of that conclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Span of apprehension deficits in vulnerable children: Further comments.

Replies to the comments of R. F. Asarnow et al (see record 1985-01251-001) on the failure by the present authors (see record 1985-01308-001) to replicate findings of an earlier study by Asarnow and colleagues (see record 1978-05788-001) that showed performance deficits on the span of apprehension task in children vulnerable to psychopathology. Although the present authors acknowledge that the procedure used by Asarnow and colleagues involved nonfoveal presentations while the present authors' procedure did not, they stand by their conclusion that the findings of the earlier study are not generalizable. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic and eyeblink conditioning are closely related to contingency awareness: Reply to Wiens and ?hman (2002) and Manns et al (2002).

S. Wiens and A. Ohman (see record 2002-00340-002) disputed the conclusion that Pavlovian conditioning is strongly related to contingency awareness (P. F. Lovibond & D. R. Shanks, see record 2002-00340-001) on the basis that an inappropriate definition of awareness was used. J. R. Manns, R. E. Clark, and L. R. Squire (see record 2002-00340-003) contended that delay eyeblink conditioning is independent of awareness. The authors of the present article consider these arguments, highlight several problems in the new studies described by the commentators, and conclude that there is still little evidence for unconscious conditioning in either subliminal autonomic conditioning or eyeblink conditioning. The most parsimonious account of existing data is that a single learning process gives rise to both awareness and conditioned responding. Further progress in evaluating the possibility of unconscious conditioning would be facilitated by the development of more completely specified and testable dual-process models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Whites' opposition to busing: On conceptualizing and operationalizing group conflict.

L. Bobo (see record 1984-14820-001) concluded that Whites' opposition to racial busing is rooted in their perception that Blacks pose tangible threats to their own interests, a conclusion that supports realistic group conflict theory and contradicts the present authors' (see record 1981-32636-001) conclusion that threats posed by Blacks to Whites' private lives did not spill over into opposition to racial busing. It is shown that Bobo reported results entirely consistent with those of the present authors and that he failed to distinguish group interest from self-interest, symbolic racism, or other plausible causes of opposition to busing. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The case against a criterion-shift account of false memory.

M. B. Miller and G. L. Wolford (see record 1999-13930-007) argued that the high false-alarm rate associated with critical lures in the Roediger-McDermott (H. L. Roediger & K. B. McDermott, see record 1995-42833-001) paradigm results from a criterion shift and therefore does not reflect false memory. This conclusion, which is based on new data reported by Miller and Wolford, overlooks the fact that Ruediger and McDermott's false-memory account is as compatible with the new findings as the criterion-shift account is. Furthermore, a consideration of prior work concerned with investigating the conditions under which participants are and are not inclined to adjust the decision criterion suggests that the criterion-shift account of false memory is unlikely to be correct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)