Effect of tachistoscopic stimulation of subconscious oedipal wishes on competitive performance: A failure to replicate.

Studied the effects of subconscious oedipal wishes on the dart-throwing performance of 72 18–29 yr old undergraduate males. The research was designed (a) to replicate the study by L. H. Silverman et al (1978), who found that Ss' dart-throwing performance improved after they viewed the subliminal stimulus "beating dad is ok" and worsened after they viewed "beating dad is wrong"; (b) to see if dart-throwing behavior is also affected by supraliminal oedipal stimulation; and (c) to investigate the influence of priming (i.e., preexperimental arousal of oedipal wishes) on the effect of tachistoscopic stimulation. Previous results were not replicated despite close adherence to the Silverman et al methodology, nor were other significant effects found. Questions are raised about the ability to have an impact on subconscious oedipal wishes in a behaviorally observable way using this paradigm. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subliminal oedipal stimuli and competitive performance: An investigation of between-groups effects and mediating subject variables.

Assessed the effects of subliminal presentation of oedipal messages on the dart-throwing performance of 69 college males in a direct replication of a procedure employed by L. H. Silverman et al (see record 1979-25192-001). An additional investigation employing a between-groups design, in which Ss received repeated presentations of 1 of 3 messages, was also conducted. Ss also completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Planned comparisons revealed significant differences between performance following both oedipally related stimuli and the control stimulus for the replication groups. No significant stimulus effects were observed in the between-groups investigation, and no significant correlations between anxiety and dart-throwing performance were obtained. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Freudian construction of sexuality: the gay foundations of heterosexuality and straight homophobia

In developing his theory of male sexual preference, Freud asserted that heterosexual as well as homosexual preferences required explanation, that neither could be assumed to be innate. His theory of the oedipal complex, however, held that the heterosexual outcome was the "normal" resolution, while the homosexual outcome represented arrested sexual development. In the normal resolution the boy identifies as a male with the father, gives up the mother as a love object, and later substitutes another woman of his choice for the mother. The author of the following article, following the theorizing of Laplanche, claims that there is an unavoidable homosexual component or residue in the heterosexual resolution which is implicit in Freudian theory. In the resolution of the complex the boy has the choice of both parents as love objects or as persons with whom to identify. In the heterosexual resolution the boy identifies with the father as a rival for the mother's affection. But love and identification are not entirely discrete processes. The identification with the father involves love for the father. The heterosexual resolution of the oedipal conflict is bought at the price of the homosexual resolution which, however, is not completely surrendered. The homophobia of heterosexual males, the author asserts, is the result of the remnants of homosexuality in the heterosexual resolution of the oedipal conflict.     

Two unconscious fantasies as mediators of successful psychotherapy.

Describes the role that the concept of the unconscious fantasy—an organized configuration of unconscious ideas and images—has played in psychoanalytic theory. A series of laboratory experiments that demonstrated under controlled "double blind" conditions how the activitation of 2 unconscious fantasies could serve an adaptation enhancing function are described. How they served the same function when they were inadvertently activated in various types of psychotherapy is also discussed. One of the fantasies—the "symbiotic gratification fantasy"—is cited as particularly apt to be activated in systematic desensitization, client-centered therapy, and meditation. The other—the "sanctioned oedipal gratification fantasy"—is cited as most apt to be activated in Masters and Johnson type sex therapy, touching and other body contact therapies, behavior assertiveness training, and encounter treatment. (66 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissociation of antinociception and escape deficits induced by stress in mice.

Six experiments (327 Swiss-Webster mice) assessed the conditions under which stress would induce antinociception in a subsequent hot-plate test. Both footshock and tail shock produced the antinociception. This effect was apparent with as little as a single shock trial. The magnitude of the antinociception was maximal following 15 shock presentations and was largely reduced after 60 shocks. In contrast to the results of R. L. Jackson et al (see record 1980-31880-001), whether stress was escapable was not a necessary feature needed to produce the antinociception. Moreover, the magnitude of the antinociception induced by stress was not enhanced in mice that had previously been exposed to stress. Finally, morphine (10.0, 20.0, and 30.0 mg/kg, ip) produced a pronounced antinociception but did not appreciably influence escape performance in a shuttle task in which performance was disrupted by inescapable shock. It is suggested that the antinociception and shuttle-escape deficits induced by uncontrollable shock are independent of one another. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The spacing effect, free recall, and two-process theory: A closer look.

Two experiments used procedures similar to those used by R. L. Greene (see record 1989-24870-001) to test the 2-process theory of the spacing effect and, in particular, the contextual-variability subtheory that applies to free-recall performance. Experiment 1 obtained a spacing effect in free recall following intentional learning but not following incidental learning, contrary to a previous result supporting the 2-process theory. Experiment 2 replicated the incidental-learning results when a slow presentation rate was used. However, with a faster presentation rate, a spacing effect was obtained, and performance exceeded that of the slow-presentation-rate condition at the longest tag. Neither the contextual-variability subtheory of 2-process theory nor an alternative deficient-processing hypothesis was able to account for all of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Picture cues and exhaustive search facilitate very young children's memory for location.

Conducted 3 experiments to examine the effects of picture cues and exhaustive search on very young children's memory for the location of hidden objects. In Exp I, 64 2-yr-olds' performance was examined with control and exhaustive search procedures in spatial-only and spatial- and picture-cue conditions. In Exp II, 32 2-yr-olds' performance with the same 2 search procedures was examined in a cue condition that eliminated spatial information. In Exp III, 64 2- and 3-yr-olds' performance with the control and exhaustive search procedures was examined in 2 array conditions that also eliminated spatial information. All experiments confirmed that even 2-yr-olds use picture cues to encode and search for the location of hidden objects. It was also found that while 2-yr-olds' delayed response performance was improved by exhaustive search procedures, this was not true for 3-yr-olds. Apparently, more complete search strategies contribute to the developmental change in young children's localization performance. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Oedipus complex in a case of deteriorated schizophrenia.

This case report illustrates oedipal problems in an apparently deteriorated and almost unreachable male schizophrenic patient. The dynamics, however, differ somewhat from the classical interpretations of the oedipal situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oedipal sibling triangles

Sibling triangles exist independent of parent-child triangles and undergo parallel development into constellations bearing significant formal and dynamic similarities to the standard parent-child oedipal relationships. They may exert definitive effects on the individual's identifications, adult object choices, and patterns of relating. Recognition of such constellations and their outcomes is often crucial to successful therapy. A developmental line is delineated with emphasis on the recapitulation throughout development of oedipal sibling issues. Speculations are offered about the possible factors responsible for pathological outcomes of oedipal sibling triangles, and about why, in many cases, oedipal sibling experience may be more influential in development than oedipal parental experience.     

The use of subliminal psychodynamic activation in the study of repression.

To study the clinical phenomenon of repression, 33 female undergraduates were selected for the presence of high sexual guilt and divided into 2 groups. One group evidenced a high degree of personality development from which it was inferred that they were prone toward (a) the use of repression rather than more primitive defenses and (b) oedipal rather than preoedipal conflict. The 2nd group evidenced a lesser degree of personality development, thus the above inferences did not apply. The subliminal psychodynamic activation method was used with both groups to evaluate effects on repression of intensifying and diminishing unconscious conflict over sexual wishes. Ss were exposed to conflict intensifying, conflict reducing, and neutral control stimuli, each accompanied by a congruent picture both before (in 1 condition) and after (in another condition) a recall test of both neutral and sexual material. The conflict-reduction condition did not affect memory of the passages, but the conflict-intensification condition did (a) for the group with the greater degree of personality development, (b) when this condition was presented before the material to be remembered, and (c) for the recall of neutral passages. The special conditions necessary for demonstration of repression are viewed as elucidating why it has previously been difficult to show evidence of repression in laboratory experiments. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How does feature-based attention affect visual processing?

Five experiments are reported from which it is concluded that attending on the basis of a stimulus feature (e.g., red) does not directly affect the sensory quality of stimuli that possess that feature. Feature-based attention was manipulated in a visual search task by providing information about the probability that the target would possess a given feature (e.g., "The target has a 1.0 probability of being red when present.") Feature-based attention failed to aid performance under "data-limited" conditions (i.e., those under which performance was primarily affected by the quality of the stimulus) but did affect performance under conditions that were not data limited (Experiments 1-3). If attending to a feature had affected the sensory quality of stimuli, performance should have been aided under all conditions. Experiments 4 and 5 provided converging support for this conclusion.     

The Boy With Two Kingdoms: Ontogeny of a narrative.

Explores a 3-yr-old boy's attempt to come to terms with the event of his parents' divorce at the same time that he was trying to consolidate a sense of self that would enable him to negotiate the rocky path of oedipal development. The article traces his infantile construction (within his treatment) of an increasingly complex narrative ("The Boy With Two Kingdoms") to comprehend and cope with troubling internal and external demands. It is also intended to shed light on how such a narrative is modulated and maintained and how it eventually becomes embedded in the ongoing demands of character. Using case material, the author reveals the ways in which the realms of self, fantasy, and destiny intersect in the life of a young child. The shift from preoedipal to oedipal development is traced, and the inherent reparative possibilities in narrative process, as it is embedded in psychoanalytic treatment, are demonstrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative learning in the marsupial Didelphis albiventris: Behavior under single-alternation schedules.

Single-alternation patterning was studied by using a Pavlovian procedure and multiple-behavior recordings of freely moving white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris). The main outcomes of a series of three experiments were the following. First, opossums exhibited behavioral organization, approaching the feeder during reinforced trials and withdrawing from the feeder area during nonreinforced trials; moreover, the specific behaviors were similar to those recorded during differential conditioning in other experiments. Second, transfer effects from relatively favorable to unfavorable conditions (length of intertrial interval) for single-alternation patterning were found; this suggests that local mechanisms (i.e., sensory and memory carry-over) may not wholly explain performance under single-alternation schedules. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cue integration across study tasks and direct and indirect retrieval instructions: Implications for the study of retrieval processes.

In 3 experiments, the ability of a specific model of information integration—the fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP; D. W. Massaro, 1987; D. W. Massaro et al, see record 1991-17539-001)—to account for retrieval performance across a range of study and test conditions was examined. Results show that the FLMP's relative goodness rule is capable of describing performance in all conditions; in addition, changes in model parameters tracked changes in cued-recall performance in meaningful and interpretable ways, providing a validity test for the model. The model and the experimental paradigm used to test the model are reviewed with respect to their assumptions, and directions important for their use in the study of retrieval processes are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instrumental performance following a shift in primary motivation depends on incentive learning.

In 5 experiments the role of incentive learning in instrumental performance following a shift in primary motivation was examined. In Exps 1 and 2, rats trained to perform an instrumental action reinforced by either pellets or maltodextrin when in a low-deprivation state were shifted to a high-deprivation state and tested in extinction. This shift in deprivation increased performance only if the animals had been exposed to the reinforcer in the high deprivation state prior to instrumental training. Exps 3, 4, and 5 examined the reverse, shift training in a high-deprivation state and testing in a low-deprivation state, and found, similarly, that performance was only sensitive to this shift if animals were previously exposed to the reinforcer while in the low-deprivation state. These experiments support the conclusion that instrumental performance following revaluation of the reinforcer depends on a process of incentive learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The presence of absent persons: the identification changes of an adopted child

Through the case study of the analytic psychotherapy of an adopted child, the authors illustrate the specificity of identification problems, in particular towards the paternal imago within an oedipal context. The transferential-countertransferential conditions that enable to consider the psychosexual development, in relation to trauma and adoption, within the framework of the therapeutic relationship will also be considered.     

Similarity between shock and safe areas during acquisition, transfer, and extinction of escape behavior in rats.

Demonstrated, in 3 experiments with a total of 128 female hooded rats, that performance in escape training was impaired when shock- and safe-box stimuli were similar rather than dissimilar to each other. Prior training with similar shock and safe boxes impaired responding during subsequent training or extinction under the dissimilar shock and safe condition. Prior training under the dissimilar condition did not reliably influence subsequent training or extinction under the similar shock-safe condition. Resistance to extinction under the dissimilar condition was reliably better following training with random presentations to both similar and dissimilar conditions than following training with the dissimilar condition alone. Exp III showed that impairment of escape behavior during training was attributable to response-contingent similarity between shock and safe boxes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task ego-involvement and self-esteem as moderators of situationally devalued self-esteem.

Conducted 2 experiments to investigate the effects of situationally devalued self-esteem and 2 levels of task involvement on performance on a word-sorting task. In Exp I, 48 male undergraduates completed an 8-min pretest and were told either that they had done poorly or acceptably. Ss then completed a 35-min real test under high or low involvement conditions (which stressed or did not stress the importance of the task). In Exp II, 60 undergraduates completed the same tests but only self-esteem was manipulated. A chronic self-esteem measure derived from a self-assurance scale, was administered to all Ss (see record 1969-03188-001). Results indicate increased productivity in the high involvement and high self-esteem conditions, suggesting that protection of self-concept effects occurred (i.e., performance will be increased); however, productivity was not decreased in the low conditions, indicating a failure of self-consistency effects to emerge. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physiological arousal, dissonance, and attitude change: Evidence for a dissonance-arousal link and a "Don't remind me" effect.

Two experiments, with 80 undergraduates, replicated and extended research by R. T. Croyle and J. Cooper (see record 1984-11595-001) indicating that cognitive dissonance involves physiological arousal. In Exp I, Ss wrote counterattitudinal essays under conditions of high or low choice and, to assess arousal effects owing to effort, with or without a list of arguments provided by the experimenter. In high-choice conditions only and regardless of effort, Ss showed both arousal (heightened galvanic skin response) and attitude change. Arousal, however, did not decline following attitude change. The more effortful task (no arguments provided) produced increased arousal but not greater attitude change. In Exp II, the opportunity to change one's attitude following a freely chosen counterattitudinal essay was manipulated. As in Exp I, arousal increased following the essay but did not decline following a postessay attitude change opportunity. When Ss were not given an attitude change opportunity, however, arousal did decline. It is suggested that if dissonance is a drive state, drive reduction typically may be accomplished through gradual cognitive change or forgetting. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a novel hirudin-coated polyester graft to physiologic flow conditions: hirudin bioavailability and thrombin uptake

PURPOSE: Our laboratory has developed methods required to covalently bind recombinant hirudin (rHir) to the surface of polyester vascular grafts. Using alkaline hydrolysis of the polyester surface, carboxyl-binding sites are created on the outer periphery of each fiber. A series of static, in vitro experiments have demonstrated that surface-bound rHir rapidly removes and inhibits activated human alpha-thrombin from the reaction system; however, the performance of this modified graft material under physiologic flow conditions was undefined. METHODS: An in vitro flow loop was used to evaluate structural stability of the 125I-rHir and 131I-albumin covalently bound to the surface of 6 mm interior diameter crimped polyester grafts exposed to either constant flow (n = 4; shear rate, 300 sec(-1)) or pulsatile flow (n = 4; maximum shear rate, 780 sec(-1)) conditions for a 7-day period. In a separate series of experiments, the kinetics of thrombin-rHir interaction were evaluated through perfusion of 125I-rHir-coated grafts (n = 6) with 131I-thrombin for a 27-hour period under constant flow conditions. Identically prepared 125I-albumin-coated grafts (n = 3) were used as controls. RESULTS: Results of the stability experiments were independent of flow conditions, demonstrating moderate loss of both proteins, with rHir and albumin losses of 52.1% and 19.9% under constant flow and 49.1% and 21.6% under pulsatile flow, respectively. With results comparable with those of previous static experiments, rHir-coated grafts were significantly more effective at removing thrombin from the perfusion stream with 131I-thrombin binding densities of 3.08 +/- 0.61 and 0.64 +/- 0.04 NIHU/cm2 (p < 0.01) for rHir-coated and albumin-coated grafts, respectively. Estimates of the total amount of thrombin inactivated during the perfusion period similarly demonstrated a marked difference between the rHir-coated and control graft segments (125 +/- 8 vs. 3 +/- 14 NIHU; p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: These in vitro flow results illustrate that polyester grafts with covalently bound rHir can provide significant reductions in local thrombin concentration under physiologic flow conditions, and can serve as a foundation with which to understand the performance of these grafts when implanted in vivo under physiologic flow and shear rates.