A new look at British graduate students.

Discusses findings of a survey of British graduate students in psychology conducted in late 1972 and 1973. Responses were obtained from 34 of the 89 British departments offering advanced courses or supervision for research leading to the PhD in psychology or one of its subspecialties. The total enrollment of all postbaccalaureate students in psychology was 1,112, but only 277 of these were in PhD programs; the number is almost 8 times higher in the US. UK postgraduate training in psychology seems to be conducted on a much smaller scale than in the US, the students enter doctoral training at an earlier age than American students, and females and non-White minority students are well represented in UK doctoral training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoidance learning of perceptual defense and vigilance.

Thirty-two undergraduates were randomly assigned to defense and vigilance training groups. "This study supports the view that perceptual defense and vigilance are learned reactions to anxiety arousing stimuli." A behavior theory analysis of the learning process is proposed. "According to this analysis, perceptual defense is learned when the perceptual response to a threatening stimulus is punished and competing perceptual responses are instrumental to anxiety reduction. Competing perceptual responses when reinforced are strengthened at the expense of the critical perceptual response. Perceptual vigilance is learned when the perceptual response to a threatening stimulus is reinforced by anxiety reduction and competing perceptual responses are punished." Learning for both groups "proceeded in the absence of awareness." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new look at pelvic relaxation

The concept is presented that most cystoceles and/or urethroceles result from insolated defects in the connective tissue supports of the anterior quadrant of the pelvis. Four areas in which defects have been found to occur are identified. Sixty patients are presented who were found to have isolated defects in the endopelvic fascia at the lateral sidewall of the pelvis with significant cystourethroceles and stress urinary incontinence. The surgical treatment consisted only of a direct approach to and closure of the isolated defect. The operative results at 3 to 48 months were excellent in 91.7 per cent, improved in 5 per cent, and failed in 3.3 per cent. Discussion is offered of the possibility of the study of the pelvic floor from the viewpoint of a mechanical engineer.     

Clinical patterns of defense as revealed in visual recognition thresholds.

To test the relationship between characteristic mode of cognitive reactivity to conflict-arousing stimuli in a laboratory situation as compared with life in general, Ss (adult male hospitalized psychiatric patients between 21 and 45) were placed in one of 3 categories, which reflected characteristic modes of dealing with conflictual ideas and feelings (externalizers, internalizers, acting-outers). Ss were then presented with visual stimuli (words and pictures) geared to heighten conflict arousal; capacity for recognition was measured by the level of illumination required for identification of the stimulus. The results indicated that externalizers and acter-outer demonstrated lower thresholds of recognition for conflictarousing (sexual, aggressive, dependent) stimuli than for neutral ones, and internalizers revealed higher thresholds. No relationship was found between specific conflict area or psychiatric diagnosis and perceptual mode. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new look at the effects of noise: A rejoinder.

Outlines a composite theory to account for the effects of noise upon performance. The 4 main determinants are (a) masking, both of acoustic cues and of inner speech; (b) distraction; (c) a beneficial increase in arousal when the noise begins, which gradually lessens and falls below normal to produce a decrement in performance when the noise stops; and (d) positive and negative transfer from noise to quiet. Positive transfer results from the more effective learning of the task in noise under the influence of the increase in arousal. Negative transfer results from the techniques of performance used in noise to counteract the masking or distraction, when they are not appropriate in quiet. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rorschach revisited: A new look at an old test.

Two control samples (21 and 27 college students) and a sample of 21 short-term psychiatric patients (aged 21-26 yrs) scaled all pairs of Rorschach inkblots for perceived similarity. Data were analyzed using J. D. Carroll and C. C. Chang's individual scaling (INDSCAL) model, which resulted in a good fit in 2 dimensions. These 2 dimensions were interpreted as a dimension of color and 1 of form ("twoness"), and empirically validated in a 2nd study, using 2 groups of controls (20 and 33 college students) and 6 short-term schizophrenic patients. It was also found that the saliences estimated by INDSCAL for each S formed 3 virtually nonoverlapping distributions. This implies a possible use of the method within a diagnostic context. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Televised self-confrontation and recalled affect: A new look at videotape recall.

Utilized 2 analogy studies of videotape feedback to investigate the extent to which 10 graduate students with previous video feedback training could recall feelings they experienced during a dyadic interaction, when shown a televised replay of that interaction. Pairs of Ss were trained to continuously rate their degree of comfort or discomfort during the actual ("live") interaction and, subsequently, as they watched a replay of their interaction. A push-button recording system was employed with the self-rating data from live and recall sessions, with the 2 sessions exactly synchronized for the purpose of analysis. Results of 2 studies with role-playing counseling students and with intimate male-female couples yielded moderate correlations between live self-ratings and those recalled under videotape stimulation. It was also found that playing the client rather than the counselor role (Study 1) or having one's self-ratings disclosed to a partner (Study 2) significantly increased the association between live and recalled self-ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new look at anchoring effects: Basic anchoring and its antecedents.

In previous anchoring studies people were asked to consider an anchor as a possible answer to the target question or were given informative anchors. The authors predicted that basic anchoring effects can occur, whereby uninformative numerical anchors influence a judgment even when people are not asked to compare this number to the target value. Five studies supported these hypotheses: Basic anchoring occurs if people pay sufficient attention to the anchor value; knowledgeable people are less susceptible to basic anchoring effects; anchoring appears to operate unintentionally and nonconsciously in that it is difficult to avoid even when people are forewarned. The possible mechanisms of basic anchoring and the relation between these mechanisms and other processes of judgment and correction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of noxious environmental stimuli on vigilance.

12 Ss in an army troop carrier were asked to detect and respond to obscure, randomly occurring signals under each of 4 field conditions: control—stationary vehicle, moderate noise and heat; moderate heat, noise, vibration (moving vehicle); intense heat, moderate noise, stationary vehicle; vibration (moving vehicle), high heat and noise. "Noise and vibration produced by the moving vehicle appreciably increased the median response times of the Ss. Further decrement occurred when heat was combined with noise and vibration, but the effect was relatively transitory. Heat alone had no apparent effect. Changes occurring as a function of elapsed time were not apparent." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peekaboo: A new look at infants' perception of emotion expressions.

Infants' responsiveness to others' affective expressions was investigated in the context of a peekaboo game. Forty 4-month-olds participated in a peekaboo game in which the typical happy/surprised expression was systematically replaced with a different emotion, depending on group assignment. Infants viewed three typical peekaboo trials followed by a change (anger, fear, or sadness) or no-change (happiness/surprise) trial, repeated over two blocks. Infants' looking time and affective responsiveness were measured. Results revealed differential patterns of visual attention and affective responsiveness to each emotion. These results underscore the importance of contextual information for facilitating recognition of emotion expressions as well as the efficacy of using converging measures to assess such understanding. Infants as young as 4 months appear to discriminate and respond in meaningful ways to others' emotion expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing severity of psychopathology at counseling centers: A new look.

University counseling center staff and directors have argued that there has been an increase in severity of psychological concerns among university counseling center clients (R. P. Gallagher, B. Zhang, & R. Taylor, 2004; G. L. Stone, K. M. Vespia, & J. E. Kanz, (see record 2000-02442-010)). A body of literature exists to support this perception; however, this research has been criticized for focusing solely on therapist or client perceptions of psychopathology, rather than on objective data (B. S. Sharkin & L. P. Coulter (see record 2005-14332-008)). In this investigation, the authors explored changes in severity among a random sample of 827 university counseling center clients over the course of 7 years (1999-2005) by concurrently measuring client self-report on the Outcome Questionnaire-45, number of prior treatments, and urgency of concern, as well as psychologist reports of Axis I diagnosis, diagnosis severity rating, and Global Assessment of Functioning score. No meaningful trend increases in severity of psychopathology were found over time. Practice implications of these findings are presented, and possible explanations for the impression that severity is increasing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cholesterol reduction yields clinical benefit. A new look at old data

BACKGROUND: There has been a continuing debate about the overall benefit of cholesterol lowering. We performed a novel meta-analysis of all randomized trials of more than 2 years' duration (n = 35 trials) to describe how coronary-heart-disease (CHD), non-CHD, and total mortality are related to cholesterol lowering and to type of intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: The analytic approach was designed to separate the effects of cholesterol lowering itself from the other effects of the different types of intervention used. For every 10 percentage points of cholesterol lowering, CHD mortality was reduced by 13% (P < .002) and total mortality by 10% (P < .03). Cholesterol lowering had no effect on non-CHD mortality. Certain types of intervention had specific effects independent of cholesterol lowering. Fibrates (clofibrates, 7 trials; gemfibrozil, 2 trials) increased non-CHD mortality by about 30% (P < .01) and total mortality by about 17% (P < .02). Hormones (estrogen, 2 trials; dextrothyroxin, 2 trials) increased CHD mortality in men by about 27% (P < .04), non-CHD mortality by about 55% (P < .03), and total mortality by about 33% (P < .01). No specific effects independent of cholesterol lowering were found due to diet (n = 11) or other interventions (resins, 5; niacin, 3; statins, 2; partial ileal bypass, 1). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that cholesterol lowering itself is beneficial but that specific adverse effects of fibrates and hormones increase the risk of CHD (hormones only), non-CHD, and total mortality.     

An experimental reunion of psychoanalytic theory with perceptual vigilance and defense.

"This experiment was designed to test, within the framework of perceptual behavior, two psychoanalytic hypotheses: (a) the unconscious striving for expression of underlying psychosexual impulses (vigilance); and (b) the warding off of these threatening impulses as they begin to approach conscious awareness (defense)." Using Blacky Pictures, the vigilance hypothesis was supported in 11 of the 14 cases tested; the defense hypothesis was supported in 12 of the 14 cases tested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at new kinds of intelligence tests

Comments on R. J. Sternberg's (see record 1997-30052-012) article concerning intelligence and lifelong learning. The author posits that Sternberg was inaccurate when he suggested that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and the Cognitive Assessment System were both designed to reflect A. R. Luria's (1973) conceptualization of 3 functional units. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)