Prediction enhancement through the use of moderator variables.

In order to increase the ability of clinicians to predict the subsequent behavior of 76 inmates in a juvenile correctional institution, moderator variables, i.e., variables which were correlated with degree of predictability of inmates as measured by the relative magnitudes of the difference scores between predictor and criterion variables were developed. These moderator variables were then used to remove less predictable Ss from a cross-validation sample, resulting in a moderate increase in the correlation between predictor and criterion variables when 1/3 of the least predictable Ss were removed, and a more substantial increase when 1/2 of the least predictable Ss were similarly removed. The method showed considerable potential value as a means of facilitating more accurate classifications of inmates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Satiety role of the small intestine examined in sham-feeding rhesus monkeys.

Conducted 4 experiments with 4 male rhesus monkeys in which food was diverted from the stomach, the small intestine, or both. Results demonstrate that (a) food acting at the pregastric level was not sufficient to produce normal-sized meals, (b) accumulation of food in the small intestine was necessary to produce normal-sized meals, and (c) a potent preabsorptive or postabsorptive satiety signal originated at the intestinal level. It is concluded that this unidentified satiety signal is sufficient to elicit satiety, can be dissociated from gastric emptying, and does not require the presence of gastic distention to operate. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anatomy of a meeting.

Provides a detailed account of a joint meeting (November 4, 1967) of the Oregon Psychological Association and the Oregon District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association as a model for others who might attempt to bring such organizations into constructive interaction. Aspects of planning, committee meetings, organizational resources, registration, and programs are described. Feedback has been uniformly positive from both professional groups. There have already been gestures toward further cooperative action, such as the suggested establishment of collaborating committees on social issues or joint sponsorship of workshops. Underlying this constructive movement appears to be the large amount of positive interaction that took place among individuals at the meeting, the sense of mutual commitment created by the panels, and the erosion of some aspects of the negative organizational stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dependency changes in psychotherapy as related to interpersonal relationships.

Studied 60 tape-recorded psychotherapy sessions representing the 1st, middle, and next to last interviews with 20 clients. Raters classified S's dependency statements with respect to the category of interpersonal relationships involved. While dependency statements involving the formal structure of the relationship decreased throughout therapy, dependency involving family relationships initially decreased then stabilized. Dependency statements involving the relationship between S and therapist 1st increased and then also stabilized. Dependency in social relationships remained constant through the middle phase, then decreased through the termination of therapy, suggesting a relatively specific resolution of dependency needs and conflicts. Additional data suggest that early termination and unsuccessful therapy experience is related to the early development of intense dependency by Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differentiation of organics from schizophrenics at two chronicity levels by use of the Reitan-Halstead Organic Test Battery.

Attempted to determine whether the Reitan-Halstead Organic Test Battery separates neuropsychiatric hospital organics from schizophrenics. It was administered to 25 schizophrenics and 25 cerebral-lesion organics at each of 2 chronicity levels. Only 1 of the 24 diagnosis/diagnosis * chronicity effects used to evaluate the data was significant at the .05 level, indicating that actuarial application of Reitan-Halstead scores is of no practical value in the separation of the 2 groups. To determine whether expert clinicians might improve upon the actuarial results, protocols of 24 schizophrenics and 24 organics were sent to 8 Reitan-Halstead experts who were instructed to separate them into brain-damaged and schizophrenic diagnostic groups. The mean number of correct classifications, 25.5 out of 48 suggested that clinical judgment added nothing to actuarial prediction in this case. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture: The Effect of Tilled Row Structure

The tilled row structure is known to be one of the important factors affecting the observations of the microwave emission from a natural surface. Measurements of this effect were carried out with both L-and X-band radiometers mounted on a mobile truck on a bare 40 m × 45 m row tilled field. The soil moisture content during the measurements ranged from ~10 to ~30 percent by dry weight. The results of these measurements showed that the variations of the antenna temperatures with incident angle ? changed with the azimuthal angle ? measured from the row direction. In particular, at ? = 0° and ? ? 45°, the observed horizontally and vertically polarized antenna temperatures, TBH(?, ?) and TBV(?, ?), were not equal. In general, TBH(?°, ?) > TBV(?°, ?) when 0° ? ? < 45° and TBH(?°, ?) < TBV(0°, ?) when 45° < ? ? 90°. The difference between TBH(0°, ?) and TBV(0°, ?) was observed to decrease with ? approaching 45° and/or with soil moisture content. A numerical calculation based on a composite surface roughness-a small-scale RMS height variations superimposed on a large periodic row structure-was made and found to predict the observed features within the model's limit of accuracy. It was concluded that the difference between TBV(0°, ?) and TBH(0°, ?) was due to the change in the local angle of field emission within the antenna field of view caused by the large-scale row structure.     

The future of psychotherapy: A Delphi poll.

Predicted psychotherapy trends in the next decade by using the Delphi poll. 36 therapists and researchers completed a 100-item questionnaire assessing possible changes in therapeutic interventions, psychotherapists, therapy modalities, theoretical orientations, research findings, and professional issues. Results indicate that therapy will become more cognitive behavioral, present centered, problem specific, and briefer; cathartic, aversive, and dynamic approaches are expected to decrease. Family and marital therapy are predicted to markedly increase; long-term individual modalities are expected to markedly decrease. Optimistic forecasts include an increase in women and minority therapists, accelerated services to underserved populations, coverage under national health insurance, and standard implementation of peer review. One emerging pattern suggests that psychotherapists' efforts at change will become more similar to self-change processes that are used by people in their natural environment. The impermanent nature of psychotherapy and the deleterious consequences of this impermanent condition are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)