The relationship between value and temporal context is an empirical question: A reply to Fantino (2000).

E. Fantino (see record 2000-16324-002) argued that R. C. Grace and H. I. Savastano's (see record 2000-16324-001) experiments fail to elucidate the relationship between stimulus value and temporal context. His reasoning is that predictions for R. C. Grace and H. I. Savatano's probe tests based on delay-reduction theory (DRT) and the contextual choice model (CCM) are indistinguishable. However, his method of applying DRT to the probes ensures that temporal context will have no effect on which stimulus is preferred, contrary to the core principle of that theory. The only basis for differential responding in the probes is baseline training, and R. C. Grace and H. I. Savastano's data clearly show that the terminal-link schedules, independent of temporal context, control choice in the probes, as predicted by CCM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The importance of theory: Response to Brenner (2000).

L. Brenner's (see record 2000-02818-011) critique of I. Erev, T. S. Wallsten and D. V. Budescu (see record 1994-36026-001) focuses on their (a) use of a model to explain the paradox of the same data appearing to suggest over- and underconfidence, depending on how they are analyzed; (b) definitions of true judgment and error; and (c) specific use of judgments transformed to log-odds and a model formulated in those terms. The authors of the present article strongly disagree with the first point and discuss the importance of using models to interpret data. With regard to the second, the authors admit that the constructs of true judgment and error are poorly named but dispute L. Brenner's specific criticisms. Concerning the third, the authors had not claimed that the log-odds metric has any special status in judgment research and thus agree with L. Brenner's basic point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The crucial importance of empirical evidence in the development of bereavement theory: Reply to Archer (2001).

In his commentary, J. Archer (2001a) argued that G. A. Bonanno and S. Kaltman's (1999) review and integration of the bereavement literature failed to consider evolutionary theory or other approaches to the origins of grief. Archer also argued that Bonanno and Kaltman had merely replaced the traditional grief work perspective with cognitive restructuring, thereby ignoring the processes related to avoidance and distancing from the loss. In this reply, the author first explains that although it was compelling to do so, Bonanno and Kaltman did not emphasize an evolutionary approach to the origins of grief reactions because in their current form these theories lack empirical and theoretical clarity. Second, the author shows that, contrary to Archer's reading, Bonanno and Kaltman's article viewed cognitive restructuring as a mechanism used primarily by extremely grieved persons and only in some cognitive domains. Last, the author shows that Bonanno and Kaltman have championed rather than ignored avoidant or distancing processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial processing in reading aloud: Reply to Zorzi (2000).

K. Rastle and M. Coltheart (1999; see also M. Coltheart & K. Rastle, 1994) reported data demonstrating that the cost of irregularity in reading aloud low-frequency exception words is modulated by the position of the irregularity in the word. They argued that these data implicated a serial process and falsified all models of reading aloud that operate solely in parallel, a conclusion that M. Zorzi (2000) challenged by successfully simulating the position of irregularity effect with such a model. Zorzi (2000) further claimed that a reanalysis of K. Rastle and A Coltheart's (1999) data demonstrates sensitivity to grapheme-phoneme consistency (which he claimed was confounded across the position of irregularity manipulation) rather than the use of a serial process. Here, the authors argue that M. Zorzi's (2000) reanalyses were inappropriate and reassert that K. Rastle and A Coltheart's (1999) findings are evidence for serial processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occlusion, symmetry, and object-based attention: Reply to Saiki (2000).

J. Saiki (see record 2000-13210-027) argued that, because the stimuli used by M. Behrmann, R. S. Zemel, and M. C. Mozer (see record 1998-04674-001) were confounded by symmetry, conclusions about whether amodally completed objects can benefit from object-based attention are unwarranted. Here, the authors, examine J. Saiki's claim further and expand on their view of the mechanisms underlying object-based attention, suggesting that perceptual organization is the process whereby features from a single object are selectively attended. In light of this, they claim that heuristics such as symmetry and collinearity play an important role in the facilitation of features from a single object. In support of this claim, they present data from a further experiment using displays that exploit common fate, another grouping heuristic, and show that, under these conditions, the hallmark of object-based attention, a single-object advantage, is obtained for the occluded (amodally completed) shapes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive functioning and alcohol-related aggression: Reply to Weingartner (2000), Bates (2000), Lyvers (2000), Cherek (2000), and Berman (2000).

H. Weingartner (see record 2000-02949-018), M. E. Bates (see record 2000-02949-014), M. Lyvers (see record 2000-02949-017), D. R. Cherek (see record 2000-02949-016), and M. E. Berman (see record 2000-02949-015) put forth some very interesting and thought-provoking commentaries on the author's executive functioning framework for alcohol-related aggression (P. R. Giancola; see record 2000-02949-013). Many of their comments raised very important questions such as how executive functioning should be defined and conceptualized. Specifically, they asked whether executive functioning is better conceptualized as a unidimensional macroconstruct or as a set of related, yet independent, cognitive processes. Another key question was what other factors does executive functioning interact with to facilitate intoxicated aggression. Although these issues are far from being resolved, the author hopes that his article, their commentaries, and his responses will generate new research that will ultimately help to better predict and prevent alcohol-related aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical knowledge, language, and the unconscious: Reply to Orange (2000).

The author replies to D. Orange's (2000) appreciative response to his article by exploring the notion of dialogical praxis and the relationship between unconsciousness and language. The moral and ethical aspects of analytic theory and practice are suggested to be indispensable in the effort to reconceptualize along practical or pragmatic lines. The author also favors the idea that language enriches and, to an extent, transforms and creates human experience, a view that is based on an encompassing view of language. It is suggested that only by appreciating how analytic theory and practice are embedded within a larger cultural stream of values and meanings will it be possible to sort out the contributions and limitations of psychoanalysis in the search for a more decent society and a more fulfilling way of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A self-presentational view of psychotherapy: Reply to Hill, Gelso and Mohr (2000) and to Arkin and Hermann (2000).

The self-presentational view of psychotherapy challenges current assumptions about the benefits of high levels of clients' openness in therapy (A. E. Kelly, 2000; see record 2000-08364-001). The author responds to questions about whether clients' discretion really is linked to favorable therapy process ratings and outcomes (see record 2000-08364-002 and 2000-08364-003). She also addresses problems that may emerge if readers apply a narrow definition of self-presentation as a form of deliberate manipulation, rather than the intended definition of consciously or unconsciously showing oneself to be a particular kind of person for audiences. A brief review of the evidence on the role of audience feedback in self-concept change is offered, along with suggestions for explaining self-concept change to clients. The author concludes by clarifying and reasserting her suggestion that it is acceptable for clients to reveal the themes as opposed to details of their problems that seem particularly heinous or humiliating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of computational models in neuropsychological investigations of language: Reply to Ruml and Caramazza (2000).

W. Ruml and A. Caramazza's (see record 2000-08671-010) analysis of the model of normal and aphasic lexical access proposed by G. S. Dell, M. F. Schwartz, N. Martin, E. M. Saffran, and D. A. Gagnon (see record 1997-30055-007) is completely at odds with current practice concerning the use of models in psychology. An evaluation of Dell et al.'s original claims using Ruml and Caramazza's model parameters sustains these claims in all respects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The controlled application of a strategy can still produce automatic effects: Reply to Redington (2000).

The deliberate application of a strategy can have unintended discriminative effects. It is argued that these effects or influences on discriminative responding are the source of automatic influences and can be dissociated from controlled influences under appropriate circumstances. Such automatic influences are often latent in the interaction between the memory structures and the strategies that participants bring to bear in many implicit learning tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revisiting the constraint attunement hypothesis: Reply to Ericsson, Patel, and Kintsch (2000) and Simon and Gobet (2000).

This article is part of an exchange concerning the contributions of the constraint attunement hypothesis (CAH) to the understanding of expertise effects in memory recall. K. A. Ericsson, V. Patel, and W. Kintsch (2000) and H. A. Simon and F. Gobet (2000) claim that the CAH is not novel and that existing theories of this phenomenon do not have the limitations that were attributed to them. In this reply, the CAH is argued to be the only theory of expertise effects in memory recall to adopt the abstraction hierarchy as a theory of the environment, a feature that has important theoretical implications. Also, other theories focus on psychological mechanisms but have not satisfied the burden of scientific proof required of process theories. Progress can be made by integrating the complementary advantages of existing theories into a unified theory that acknowledges the equally important roles of the organism and the environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nature, culture, and explanations for erotic plasticity: Reply to Andersen, Cyranowski, and Aarestad (2000) and Hyde and Durik (2000).

R. F. Baumeister's (2000) (see record 2000-15386-001) article on erotic plasticity was criticized by B. L. Andersen, J. M. Cyranowski, and S. Aarestad (2000) (see record 2000-15386-003) for not being biological enough and by J. S. Hyde and A. M. Durik (2000) (see record 2000-15386-002) for being too biological. Both critiques were based on drawing a polarized caricature of R. F. Baumeister's actual view, although the two caricatures are opposites. Actually, neither commentary questioned the gender difference R. F. Baumeister documented; rather, the dispute is about how to explain it, which is indeed a challenge remaining for further work. Although both commentaries provided valuable suggestions about how to approach an explanation, neither approach can provide a coherent account until various theoretical problems are resolved and seemingly contrary empirical findings are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The search for the canonical experience: Reply to Pennebaker and Memon (1996).

In response to J. W. Pennebaker and A. Memon ( see record 199601402-002), the authors reflect on the debate concerning recovered-false memories of childhood sexual abuse by adults in psychotherapy. They discuss the difficulties of discriminating between problematic and false claims about truth and to evaluating problematic claims about truth. The authors emphasize the importance of recognizing the asymmetrical nature of the patient-therapist relationship and the power of suggestive influences in psychotherapy. They conclude their remarks by endorsing a combination of clinical observation and experimental methodology as providing the best hope for eventually resolving complex issues such as the recovered-false memory debate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Alpert (1995).

Replies to J. L. Alpert's (see record 1995-44717-001) comment on Brenneis' (see record 1995-18442-001) article concerning the relation of dreams to early childhood trauma. Brenneis addresses Alpert's (1) dispute of the findings on the relation of dream content to traumatic experience; (2) argument that clinicians, in reconstructing trauma, work from a broader context than dreams; and (3) insistence that clinical findings discrepant from research findings not be summarily dismissed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The phoenix of bipolarity: Reply to Watson and Tellegen (1999).

In their commentary on our review (J. A. Russell & J. M. Carroll, 1999; see record 1998-03256-001), D. Watson and A. Tellegen (1999; see record 1999-03909-006) agreed that when various factors, including activation, are taken into account, the structure of self-reported affect includes a bipolar dimension contrasting pleasant with unpleasant feelings. Agreement on this the central conclusion of our review may surprise readers familiar with the widespread claim that pleasant and unpleasant affect are not bipolar opposites but are largely independent of one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Shill (2004).

Shill's (see record 2004-11107-008) claim that the intersubjective perspective does not address conflict and defense is glaringly mistaken. In his article on signal anxiety, Shill (2004) declared that "the intersubjectivist approach does not address issues of conflict and defense at all" (p. 119). Astoundingly, he seems to have made this absurd pronouncement without being aware of any of the numerous articles and chapters my collaborators and I have written on the subject of psychological conflict and defense over the past three decades, one of which was published in this very journal (Stolorow & Brandchaft, 1987). Our aim has never been to defocus emotional conflict but rather to contextualize it-that is, to locate it within constitutive intersubjective systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress and specificity: Reply to Miller (2009).

T. F. Denson, M. Spanovic, and N. Miller (see record 2009-19763-001) meta-analytically tested the hypotheses that specific appraisals and emotions would predict cortisol and immune responses to laboratory stressors and emotion inductions. Although the cortisol data supported the integrated specificity hypothesis, G. E. Miller (see record 2009-19763-002) raised questions concerning the extent to which the immunity data supported specificity. The authors respond to these concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The keyword method and presentation rates: Reply to Pressley (1987).

We suggest that item differences between experiments may account for observed differences in the effectiveness of the keyword mnemonic. Specifically, the keyword mnemonic may be executed more readily (and rapidly) with items that contain obvious keywords than with a broader cross-section of items. We also point out several instances in which positions were incorrectly attributed to us (Hall & Fuson, 1986) in Pressley's (1987) article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Silverman (2000).

Applying distinctions from philosophy to sorting out issues of psychoanalytic epistemology is a complex, difficult business. In responding to D. K. Silverman's (see record 2001-07368-006) challenge, the author tries to sort out differences in technology from real differences in belief and understanding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The need for a global talking cure for practitioners: Reply to Ghannam (2005).

Replies to comments made by J. Ghannam (see record 2005-01622-015) on the current author's original article (see record 2003-09630-009). Ghannam's comment reveals just how necessary a global "talking cure" is, not just for people outside the field of psychoanalysis but for practitioners within it and related fields as well. One challenge for an international psychoanalysis with regard to the political scene is to devise guidelines that will help analysts to deal with the anger that leads less to truth than to its retreat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)