Neuropsychological correlates of ADHD symptoms in preschoolers.

The authors examined the neuropsychological status of 22 preschoolers at risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 50 matched control children, using measures of nonverbal working memory, perceptual and motor inhibition, and memory for relative time. All tasks included paired control conditions, which allowed for the isolation of discrete executive function constructs. Group differences were evident on several measures of neuropsychological functioning; however, after accounting for nonexecutive abilities, no deficits could be attributed to specific functions targeted by the tasks. Performance on executive measures was not related to objective indices of activity level or ratings of ADHD symptoms. Yet, the fact that at-risk preschoolers were highly symptomatic casts doubt on whether executive function deficits and/or frontostriatal networks contribute etiologically to early behavioral manifestations of ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the MMPI-2 in American Indians: II. Empirical Correlates.

R. W. Robin, R. L. Greene, B. Albaugh, A. Caldwell, and D. Goldman (2003; see record 2003-08831-014) reported that members of 2 American Indian tribal groups had statistically significant higher T scores on several MMPI-2 clinical,content, and supplementary scales than did the MMPI-2 normative group. The present study investigated the empirical correlates of the MMPI-2 scales in these American Indian tribal members. There were a large number of significant correlates reflecting antisocial symptoms with Scales 4 (Psychopathic Deviate), 9 (Hypomania), Anger, and Antisocial Practices. There were even a larger number of significant correlates reflecting generalized distress and negative affect with Scales 7 (Psychosthenia), 8 (Schizophrenia), Anxiety, Obsessions, Depression, and Welsh Anxiety. The rationally derived MMPI-2 content scales generally had larger correlations with these constructs than the clinical scales. Thus, the differences reported by R. W. Robin et al. (2003), appear to reflect behaviors and symptoms that American Indians participants were experiencing rather than test bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuronal correlates of conditioned inhibition of the eyeblink response in the anterior interpositus nucleus.

Conditioned inhibition (CI) of the rat eyeblink response and the neuronal correlates of CI in the cerebellar interpositus nucleus were examined in the present study. In Experiment 1, CI was established with a novel, 3-group design. In Experiment 2, neuronal activity in the anterior interpositus nucleus was recorded during CI training and testing. Each rat was given 2 training phases and then tested for CI with summation and retardation tests. Rats given CI training showed behavioral inhibition compared with rats in 2 control groups. Neuronal activity in the anterior interpositus nucleus correlated with behavioral responding during discrimination training and during the summation test. The results suggest that neurons in the cerebellar anterior interpositus nucleus may participate in the acquisition or expression of CI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some physiological correlates of Rorschach body image productions.

"The relationship between surface characteristics of Rorschach responses and physiological measures was investigated in order to test the hypothesis that the projected perception of one's body is related to the patterning of physiological responses… . Physiological indices related to bodily exterior (muscle potential, skin resistance, cardiovascular peripheral resistance) and bodily interior (pulse rate, stroke volume, cardiac output) physiological responsivity were abstracted… . The results indicate that the tendency to give impermeable or protective characteristics to Rorschach percepts is related to heightened physiological reactivity at an exterior body site and that the absence… is related to the heightened physiological response on interior indices… under stress." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College student personality correlates of early parent-child relationship.

Introversion-extroversion and anxiety characteristics reported by 54 male and 97 female undergraduate college students were compared to their recollections of loving-rejecting and casual-demanding parental behaviors. The Cattell 16 PF and a questionnaire concerning parental behavior were the principal instruments employed. Anxious and introverted males reported rejecting fathers and mothers. Extroverted females noted loving fathers. Socioeconomic background and tendencies to agree and give socially desirable responses were considered. Implications of results for reinforcement and modeling aspects of social-learning theory were also suggested. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Social Context of Premarital Sexual Permissiveness.

Reviews the book, The Social Context of Premarital Sexual Permissiveness by Ira L. Reiss (1967). There seems little doubt that Reiss' sociological study has made an important contribution to the understanding of sexual attitudes in America today. The study does not investigate sexual behavior itself, although one stated purpose of the project was to examine the sociocultural correlates of premarital permissiveness. Reiss investigated attitudes toward premarital permissiveness and, as he himself mentions at one point, the relation between attitudes and actual behavior on this, as on other topics, may be inconsistent. Reiss grouped his data under seven propositions to elucidate the relationship between attitudes toward sexual permissiveness and sociocultural correlates. These seven propositions are then integrated into a theory: Two main factors are thought to contribute to premarital permissiveness--the influence of the family, and the influence of peers during the courtship period. While this theory falls short of adequately explaining premarital permissive behavior, it does suggest a framework for the future testing of specific hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obesity, level of aspiration, and Rorschach and TAT measures of oral dependence.

Obese Israelis and controls were administered the Rorschach, TAT, and a level-of-aspiration task. The obese Ss scored higher on oral dependence than the control Ss on both the Rorschach (p = .01) and TAT (p = .02). There were no differences on either test for oral sadism, although the Rorschach subcategories of overwhelming figures and burdens and TAT themes of deprivation discriminated significantly between the groups. The most sensitive oral dependence subcategories were nurturers, supplicants and food organs (Rorschach), and themes of passivity, optimism, and helplessness (TAT). When only those Ss who scored above or below the median on both tests were considered, predictions regarding obesity were 90% accurate. Contrary to expectation, the obese Ss set level-of-aspiration goals more realistically than the controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among measures of field dependence, ability, and personality traits.

This study was devised to test the validity of findings of previous research with regard to the personality correlates of performance on Witkin's (1954) measures of field dependence (FD). The results (with a sample of college Ss) suggest that the Embedded Figure Test (EFT) and the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) do not necessarily measure the same cognitive or personality factors. Previous findings were not, to a considerable extent, duplicated; some personality correlates were not found to be related to either EFT or RFT. FD people were characterized by a tendency to react with affective disruption and intellectual deficit to an external situation that lacks clear structure. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HA27E. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of organic brain damage by psychological tests.

Approaches to the diagnosis of organic brain damage reflect diverse concepts of the nature of brain damage and of its behavioral effects. The principal approaches incorporated in published tests and research include diagnostic signs, single variable tests, scatter patterns, and qualitative techniques. A few investigators have used multiple variable batteries. Problems of selection of Ss and neurophysiological considerations are emphasized in the review. Although most tests were designed on the assumption of a unitary concept of organicity, the evidence supports the conclusion that brain damage is a multi-dimensional concept. A sequential multivariate measurement approach, including accurate neurological data, is required. Factors other than brain damage may influence the behavior of brain damaged persons. (75 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral correlates of the Rorschach shading determinant.

To test Beck's interpretation of the Rorschach Y determinant, 10 Low Y and 10 High Y male psychiatric inpatients were obtained from 4 hospitals. The hypothesis that High Y Ss are more resigned and inhibited than Low Y Ss was tested with 2 kinds of data about the overt behavior of the sample: interviews with the Ss and interviews with 3 staff members having contacts with them. The Patient Interviews confirmed the hypothesis at the .05 level. The Staff Interviews differentiated the Ss in the predicted direction at the .05 level on small psychiatric wards but not on a large ward. 2 hypotheses about this inconsistency are presented for future investigation. Clinical interpretation of the shading determinant is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)