Attitudes and behavior in counseling skill development.

To examine the association between attitudes and skill performance under laboratory conditions, 37 undergraduates received brief training in 2 counseling skills (reflection of feeling and interpretation) and then conducted interviews with coached clients. Ss with positive attitudes toward using reflection of feeling produced significantly higher quality reflective responses than did those with negative attitudes toward the use of this skill. By contrast, no significant association between attitudes toward interpretive responses and interpretation quality was found. In addition, Ss were able to use reflective responses when instructed, whereas they were less able to respond to instructions about the timing of interpretive responses. Results suggest that when trainees are relatively facile in the use of a skill, quality is associated with attitudes, whereas when facility is less, the association is attenuated. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in cochlear microphonic sensitivity after priming C57BL/6J mice at various ages for audiogenic seizures.

Approximately 150 C57BL/6J mice were briefly exposed to a 1-octave band of noise at 14, 18, 28, 38, or 58 days of age. Five days later the groups were divided, and some mice were behaviorally tested for audiogenic seizures by reexposing them to the same sound. The round window cochlear microphonic potential was measured in the remaining Ss and compared with that observed in unprimed control Ss. Seizure behavior occurred in all Ss primed on Day 18 but rarely for Ss in the other age groups. Cochlear microphonic threshold curves in mice primed on Day 18 showed a 30-db loss in sensitivity, while all other primed groups showed little change. Data are discussed in terms of the "disuse-supersensitivity" hypothesis previously proposed to account for the physiological effects of priming in mice. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)