Desperately seeking memories of the first few years of childhood: The reality of early memories.

How far back into their childhoods can people remember? Previous research suggests that people's earliest memories date back to the ages of 3 or 4 yrs. J. A. Usher and U. Neisser (see record 1993-36251-001) reported that some events, like the birth of a sibling and a planned hospitalization, can be readily remembered if they occurred at age 2 yrs. However, the bits and pieces of such memories that were obtained in their research may not be indicative of genuine episodic memory. An alternative hypothesis is that these apparent memories are the result of educated guesses, general knowledge of what must have been, or external information acquired after the age of 2 yrs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical utility of early memories as a predictor of early therapeutic alliance.

The present study aims to empirically explore the relationship between clinician-rated early memories (EMs) and patient ratings of alliance that were obtained after a therapeutic model of assessment (TMA; Finn & Tonsager, 1997; Fischer, 1994). This study utilizes the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS; Westen, 1995) to obtain information from early memory narratives about an individual's level of object representations. With data gathered from 57 participants, the authors examined whether an individual's EM narratives can provide insight into his or her object representations and how such material relates to the development of an intimate connection with the therapist. Results supported our hypotheses as meaningful correlations were found between certain SCORS variables and patient-rated therapeutic alliance. The clinical utility and research implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relating age at encoding in early childhood to adult recall: Development of flashbulb memories.

Asked 338 college and high school students, who had been 1–7 yrs old in 1963, to state their personal memories surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy and 6 other significant public events. The probability and degree of elaboration of recall showed a gradual growth with increasing age at the time of the event for the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy but not for the other events. Self-reports of amount of rehearsal showed a low correlation with recall. Recall was high for the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, suggesting that surprise is not necessary for the formation of enduring memories of significant events. Methodological advantages and disadvantages of studying early memories for public events are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconstructing memories of abuse: A theory-based approach.

Describes a process for reconstructing traumatic memories based on M. J. Horowitz's (1986) theory of stress response syndromes. Recovery from trauma requires that the emotions and imagery attached to the trauma be integrated into the victim's self structure. The history of intrusive symptoms can be used to develop a projective device to help the client anticipate the nature of the trauma. Ongoing intrusive experiences bring memory fragments to the surface that can be used to build the client's emotional tolerance. Cognitive restructuring can be started while the memories are still tentative, and the client can begin to develop coping skills and supportive relationships that will be needed as the memories return. Case materials illustrate the process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists' beliefs and clinical characteristics: Judging the veracity of childhood sexual abuse memories.

In recent years, concerns about the credibility of memories associated with childhood sexual abuse have prompted researchers and the public to scrutinize therapists' role in evaluating and treating patients reporting abuse histories. A national survey of 1008 psychologists was conducted examining factors associated with therapists' judgments and treatment decisions. Respondents were more likely to believe sexual abuse had occurred when the memory was continuous, the age of the memory first recalled was greater than 2 years, the memory was vivid, and the perpetrator was male. Moreover, therapists' judgments were influenced by their personal beliefs. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse: Searching for the middle ground in clinical practice.

This paper briefly examines the debate regarding adult memories of childhood sexual abuse and suggests a reasoned clinical response. The perspective related to "false memories" of abuse, as well as that of advocates of recovered memories, are considered. It is concluded that although there is considerable rhetoric on this topic, there is little definitive information to support one position or the other. A middle ground perspective, that recognizes both the legitimacy of childhood abuse and its negative influences, as well as the possibility of poor clinical practice leading to false reports of abuse, is advocated. Implications of this middle ground perspective for clinical practice, training and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adults' memories of childhood: True and false reports.

In 3 experiments, the authors examined factors that, according to the source-monitoring framework, might influence false memory formation and true/false memory discernment. In Experiment 1, combined effects of warning and visualization on false childhood memory formation were examined, as were individual differences in true and false childhood memories. Combining warnings and visualization led to the lowest false memory and highest true memory. Several individual difference factors (e.g., parental fearful attachment style) predicted false recall. In addition, true and false childhood memories differed (e.g., in amount of information). Experiment 2 examined relations between Deese/Roediger-McDermott task performance and false childhood memories. Deese/Roediger-McDermott performance (e.g., intrusion of unrelated words in free recall) was associated with false childhood memory, suggesting liberal response criteria in source decisions as a common underlying mechanism. Experiment 3 investigated adults' abilities to discern true and false childhood memory reports (e.g., by detecting differences in amount of information as identified in Experiment 1). Adults who were particularly successful in discerning such reports indicated reliance on event plausibility. Overall, the source-monitoring framework provided a viable explanatory framework. Implications for theory and clinical and forensic interviews are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new approach for utility analysis.

A new utility analysis approach is presented. It is demonstrated that the new approach does not require the direct estimation of the most problematic component of current utility analysis equations, the standard deviation of Y. The parsimony of the new approach provides the potential for more directly linking decision-theoretic utility analysis with economic and accounting concepts. The development of the new approach highlights the many necessary and untested assumptions of current utility models. It also points to a need for reassessing the psychometric validity of correcting for criterion unreliability in utility analysis. Furthermore, the CREPID and 40% and 70% rules for estimating the standard deviation of Y are shown to be special cases of the new approach. Research on the efficacy of the assumptions and applicability of the new approach is advocated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tubercular mastitis: a pragmatic approach to its management

Six cases of tubercular granulomatous mastitis were studied retrospectively. Three of these six cases posed diagnostic difficulties because of a lack of caseation in granuloma on fine needle aspiration cytology. A pragmatic approach is described here that is based on the correlation of the clinical features with the cytological findings. All six cases improved on therapeutic trial of antitubercular treatment.     

The treatment utility of assessment: A functional approach to evaluating assessment quality.

In practical terms, the sine qua non of the modes, methods, devices, strategies, and theories of clinical assessment is their contribution to treatment outcome. The importance of this contribution has often been noted, but under many different labels and rationales. The resultant conceptual confusion has considerably restricted the visibility and frequency of research in this critical area. In this article we propose a name for the impact of assessment on treatment outcome: the "treatment utility of assessment." Some of the questions that can be asked about the treatment utility of assessment are described, and methods appropriate for asking them are examined. Finally, the implications of this kind of utility for other approaches to evaluating assessment quality are analyzed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediation of reward-induced motivation decrements in early and middle childhood: A template matching approach.

Under certain circumstances, children's intrinsic motivation (IM) to engage in an activity may be undermined as a consequence of being induced to engage in that activity in return for tangible rewards. The present study with 25 females and 20 males (4–10 yrs) attempted to identify the process(es) mediating this effect during early and middle childhood, by simultaneously testing 5 hypotheses that may plausibly be advanced to account for it. The possibility that different mediators may be operative at different age levels was also examined. IM was assessed before and after an offer and delivery of reward contingent on task engagement. Independently, predictions (templates) were derived from each hypothesis regarding the personality characteristics of an S predicted to exhibit the greatest reward-induced decrement IM. Individual differences in Ss' personalities were assessed on the California Child Q-Sorts, which were then matched with each template to predict motivation decrement. Among males, 2 hypothesized mediators in which the perception of personal control is central accounted for significant portions of the variance in motivation decrement. None of the hypotheses were supported among females. Some developmental changes in mediation were also found and discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral inhibition: Stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood.

The stability of individual differences in behavioral inhibition and their association with peer relations, emotional distress, and life-course timing were examined in a longitudinal study of 205 individuals from childhood (ages 8–12) to early adulthood (ages 17–24). Behavioral inhibition was conceptualized as stranger wariness and measured through ratings made by interviewers following individual interview or testing sessions. Individual differences in behavioral inhibition were consistent from childhood to early adulthood (r?=?.57). In early adulthood, higher behavioral inhibition was associated with a less positive, less active social life for both sexes and, for men, with greater emotional distress and negative emotionality. For both genders, participants who were inhibited as children were less likely to have moved away from their family of origin by the early adulthood assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse: Clinicians' practices and beliefs.

The issue of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has stirred up a great deal of controversy in the field of psychology and in the public media. Recent court trials and television specials suggest that recovered and false memory cases occur often. Clinicians completed a survey designed to determine the prevalence of recovered memories for CSA in their clinical practices and to assess whether the recovered memory controversy had affected their treatment of female CSA victims. Despite the publicity the debate over memories of CSA has attracted, few cases of so-called recovered memory were reported. Even fewer cases of so-called false memory were reported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning to be literate: A comparison of five urban early childhood programs.

Using naturalistic inquiry and case study contrasts, the authors found variation in the literacy support available to children. In income-eligible preschools, curricula and pedagogy reflected a limited view of children as learners. Children had less access to print, fewer opportunities to participate in literacy, and little experience listening to or discussing culturally relevant literature. The authors argue that poor children and children of color are socialized to practice a different literacy, one that offers limited experiences with books and is less connected to personal and community identity. If publicly funded early childhood programs, already isolated by class, are to provide an equitable-foundation for literacy and schooling for children of low-income families, more challenging curricular and pedagogical frameworks are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Randomized trial of a family-centered approach to the prevention of early conduct problems: 2-year effects of the family check-up in early childhood.

Despite recent research indicating that 1 of the pivotal times for identifying pathways to early conduct problems is the toddler period, few family-based preventive interventions have been specifically designed to modify child disruptive behavior during this age period. This randomized trial tested the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up in sustaining maternal involvement and preventing the exacerbation of child conduct problems among 120 at-risk toddler-age boys, half of whom were randomly assigned to a treatment condition. The intervention was associated with reductions in disruptive behavior and greater maternal involvement and was particularly effective for children at greater risk for a persistent trajectory of conduct problems. The results are discussed in relation to other preventive interventions for young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recall of childhood trauma: A prospective study of women's memories of child sexual abuse.

One hundred twenty-nine women with previously documented histories of sexual victimization in childhood were interviewed and asked detailed questions about their abuse histories to answer the question "Do people actually forget traumatic events such as child sexual abuse, and if so, how common is such forgetting?" A large proportion of the women (38%) did not recall the abuse that had been reported 17 years earlier. Women who were younger at the time of the abuse and those who were molested by someone they knew were more likely to have no recall of the abuse. The implications for research and practice are discussed. Long periods with no memory of abuse should not be regarded as evidence that the abuse did not occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral expression of learned fear: Updating of early memories.

The expression of learned fear emerges in a response-specific sequence where freezing occurs before fear potentiated startle (FPS) to an odor conditioned stimulus (CS; Postnatal Day [PN] 16 vs. PN 23; e.g., Hunt, 1997; Richardson, Paxinos, & Lee, 2000). Studies have shown that learned fear is expressed in a manner appropriate to the animal's age at training and not its age at test (Richardson & Fan, 2002; Richardson et al., 2000). Specifically, animals trained with an odor CS at PN 16 exhibit avoidance but not FPS when tested at PN 23. The present study shows that subsequent training with a different CS can "update" an early memory, allowing it to be expressed in a manner appropriate to the animal's age at test. This updating effect appears to be modality specific, whereby the subsequent training must involve a CS of the same sensory modality as the original training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)