bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distribution of probability assessments for almanac and future event questions
Authors: WRIGHT GEORGE , WISUDHA AYLEEN
Published: May 2008

This study examines the distribution and calibration of probability assessments given to general knowledge questions and question concerning future events. Two experiments revealed that: (1) People use certainty responses less frequently in response to questions concerning then‐future events than to general knowledge questions even when the then‐future event questions are easier than the general knowledge questions. (2) Indonesian students previously thought to have little grasp of probabilistic thinking, are able to give realistic probability assessments for then‐future events. Cultural and task influences on our findings are discussed in relation to a procedural model of the processes involved in answering a question. We conclude that, as most applications of decision analysis involve future uncertainty, research in probability assessment should concentrate on questions concerning future events rather than on general knowledge questions.
Social influences on behaviour and neuroendocrine responsiveness of talapoin monkeys
Authors: KEVERNE E. B. , MELLER R. E. , EBERHART J. A.
Published: May 2008

The social organisation of a group of primates and in particular its aggressive interactions have profound but predictable effects on sexual behaviour. Dominant individuals have prerogative over sexual interactions, but since moving into a social group itself entails changes in endocrine state, one cannot ignore the fact that these endocrine changes may in some way reinforce the nature of the social hierarchy. In paticular, this paper considers how a monkeys endocrine profile may vary according to its social status and how endocrine profiles change in different rank. Most important is the finding that behavioural experiences in the social group may have repercussions for an animals ability to cope with changing circumstances, depending upon whether that individual was of high or low social status. Recent studies using the opiate receptor blocker, naltrexone, suggest that the endogenous opiates may provide a common neural link between the behavioural consequences of social subordination and some of the endocrine changes which accompany this.
The interaction of psychological and metabolic factors in the control of eating and obesity
Authors: SAHAKIAN B. J.
Published: May 2008

Since psychological or learning factors can trigger metabolic consequences and, likewise, physiological or metabolic events can affect our behaviour or learned responses to food, advances in the study of food intake and obesity can best be made by considering the interaction of psychological and metabolic factors. A hypothesis integrating these factors is presented.
The role of noradrenaline in learned behaviors: studies using DSP4
Authors: ARCHER T.
Published: May 2008

DSP4 (N‐2‐chloroethyl‐N‐ethyl‐2‐bromobenzylamine) is a novel noradrenaline (NA) neurotoxin sufficiently selective, following systemic administration, to be a pharmacological tool of much potential; this possibility has warranted the extensive use of DSP4 to study the role of noradrenaline in learned behaviors. Thus, after DSP4 treatment (50 mg/kg) a very robust two‐way active avoidance impairment is incurred and this deficit remained over a wide range of stimulus conditions and parameters. On the other hand, the acquisition of relatively simple tasks such as one‐way active avoidance, fear conditioning, step‐down passive avoidance and taste‐aversion conditioning, was only slightly affected or not affected at all. DSP4 administration caused a retardation of the rate of acquisition of a “right‐turn” running response for food reward in a modified T‐maze, and an attenuation of the exteroceptive context effect in taste‐aversion conditioning and extinction. In spite of a few similar results, NA‐depletions following DSP4 generally do not produce the same behavioral effects as the 6‐Hydroxydopamine lesions but are more akin to the locus coeruleus lesion. An hypothesis of the role of central NA, based mainly upon the shuttle box procedure, incorporates a function in establishing the Signal‐Response association, in adapting to situations that require a correct response to stress and in maintaining an adequate span of attention to the range of environmental events presented in any given learning situation.
Discriminative stimulus properties of drugs: a brief history and a selective review
Authors: JÅRBE T. U. C. , SWEDBERG M. D. B.
Published: May 2008

A brief history of the background of drug discrimination research is given, focusing on the concepts of “drug dissociation” or state‐dependent learning; an alternative explanation to the state dependency concept is to view the drug as a discriminative stimulus. In drug discrimination learning both a qualitative and a quantitative dimension is identified as governing the discrimination, examples of which are provided in the text. Examples of how drug discrimination techniques may assist in future research are outlined.
Drinking and cholinergic mechanisms in the abstinence after chronic barbital treatments
Authors: WAHLSTRÖM G.
Published: May 2008

Male rats were treated with barbital in the drinking water for 32–33 weeks (intake 195 mg/kg/day). This treatment ended on day 0. On days 23–29, 1.5 mg/kg/day of atropine was given. The changes induced by the treatments alone or combined were recorded either as a sensitivity to hexobarbital in the brain determined with a threshold method or as water intake calculated on data obtained with weekly intervals. The hexobarbital threshold test indicated that the barbital treatment had induced a tolerance which at the time of the atropine treatment was variable. In the rats also given the atropine treatment this tolerance was after a delay of approx. 2 weeks more marked and less variable. The water intake in only barbital treated rats showed, compared with untreated controls, an increase which had a maximum on days 28–35. During the atropine treatment given on days 23–29 there was in the previously barbital treated rats no certain effect, but immediately after the end of treatment there was an approx. 25 per cent increase in water intake above that found in only barbital treated rats. No return to control levels was seen within a 14 weeks observation period. This increase resembled supersensitivity but did not correspond over time with the changes seen in hexobarbital sensitivity.
The ontogeny of defensive reactions in the rat: Influence of the monoamine transmission systems
Authors: HÅRD E. , ENGEL J. , MUSI B.
Published: May 2008

The effects of neonatal treatment of rats with the neurotoxins 5,7‐dihydroxytryptamine and 6‐hydroxydopamine on the ontogeny of the ultra sound vocalization and the immobility response were studied. The 5,7‐dihydroxytryptamine treated rats showed reduced strength of both reactions indicating involvement of the serotonin system in their ontogeny. This hypothesis was supported by experiments with depletion of serotonin by para‐chlorophenylalanine followed by replenishment with 5‐hydroxytryptophan. The 6‐hydroxydopamine treated rats showed normal defensive reactions, but displayed hyperactivity from their second week of age. The role of the dopamine system in the defensive reactions was studied by variations of the dopamine activity level by traditional tools: depletion by α‐methyl‐tyrosin followed by replenishment by l‐DOPA; stimulation or inhibition of the dopamine receptors by apomorphine or haloperidol. The results suggested an inhibitory function of the dopamine system in both defensive reactions, antagonistic to that of the serotonin system.
Some aspects on behavioral teratology research
Authors: LARSSON K. , HÅRD E.
Published: May 2008

A compelling question in teratology research is whether the experimental model used allows for extrapolation from laboratory animals to man. Our thesis is that behaviors that are biologically relevant for the animal are more likely to reveal the relationship between the behavior and its substrate than are non‐specific behaviors. Applying this reasoning to the study of the ontogenesis of the behavior, we plead for including the use of species‐typical behaviors in testing for teratogenic effects. Our further discussion is focussed upon the different levels at which an analysis of teratogenic effects may be carried out. At one level, the analysis is directed towards the behavioral effects of a given treatment; at another level to specify the function that is impaired by the treatment.
Premenstrual syndrom
Authors: BÄCKSTRÖM T. , BANCROFT J. , BIXO M. , HAMMARBÄCK S. , SANDERS D.
Published: May 2008

Premenstrual syndrome is a condition with cyclical mood changes occurring in 30 % of the female population of fertile ages. The symptom development is very closely related to the luteal phase indicating the existence of one or more factors during the luteal phase that provoke mental symptoms in sensitive patients. This is further supported by the fact that hysterectomized women with no menstrual bleedings but with the ovarian hormone cycle continue to show cyclical mood changes without having the cycle phase. The nature of the symptom provocating factor is still unknown but the ovarian hormones progesterone and/or estradiol are suspected. This as certain women taking oral contraceptives and sequential postmenopausal estrogen‐progestagen treatment achieve mood changes. Psychological and personality factors are probably also involved, at least in the degree of the mood change and the type of mood experienced.
The search for stress markers
Authors: URSIN H.
Published: May 2008

The “stress” response is identical to the activation response, and produces pathology only if it is sustained over prolonged periods of time. This occurs when the individual is in a conflict which he or she cannot cope with or defend him‐or herself against. Short‐lasting activations may only have training effects. Physiological measurements of indicators of activation at one point in time do not give a reliable or valid indicator of the “stress‐level”, if that is to be a meaningful measurement of disease risk. Repeated measurements combined with psychological measurements represent an improvement, but we still do not have any valid disease risk indicator. Immunoglobulins may represent a valid stress marker, since they react slowly and for a long time. Therefore, they may represent an integrated function of sustained activation over prolonged time. Low levels of immuno‐globulins have been found to relate to personality and subjectively experienced stress‐levels in an otherwise healthy population.
Comparison of magneto‐and electroencephalographic techniques in event‐related response research—a brief survey
Authors: HARI R. , ANTERVO A.
Published: May 2008

Event‐related brain potentials are widely used in psychophysiological and neurophysiological research. Recently it has become possible to record weak magnetic fields associated with the electric events of the human brain. In this short survey the magnetoencephalo‐graphic (MEG) techniques are compared with the conventional electric measures. MEG and EEG are sensitive to current sources of different orientation. Extracerebral tissues smear and damp the electric potentials but they do not have any significant effect on the magnetic fields. EEG measures potential differences whereas the actual current paths determine the magnetic fields measured outside the skull. In general MEG provides better spatial resolution than the electric recordings, as far as the cortical sources are concerned. It is concluded that EEG and MEG are complementary noninvasive techniques in brain research. As an example slow EEG and MEG shifts preceding voluntary foot movements are compared.
Hemispheric asymmetry and electrodermal activity in orienting and pavlovian conditioning paradigms
Authors: HUGDAHL K. , EEROLA V. , KORVENTAUSTA L. , PALM T.
Published: May 2008

Three experiments on lateralization of electrodermal orienting and conditioned behavior are reported. The basic findings show effects of hemispheric asymmetry on initial magnitude and rate of habituation of phasic stimulus‐elicited electrodermal responses. In summary, responses to verbal stimuli repeatedly flashed to the right visual half‐field are larger than corresponding responses in the left half‐field. Similarily, spatially relevant stimuli initially presented to the left half‐field result in larger responses than when the same stimuli are repeatedly presented in the right half‐field. In the auditory modality, data show asymmetrical control of responding to verbal material in a dichotic conditioning paradigm with greater resistance to extinction when the conditioned stimulus is initially fed only to the left hemisphere as compared to when it is fed only to the right hemisphere. It is argued that the present approach taps on basic mechanisms for the lateralization of attentional and associative functions.
Studies in subjective probability II: Dilemmas of chance
Authors: TEIGEN KARL HALVOR
Published: May 2008

The study examines guessing patterns in situations where outcomes have an unequal probability of occurring. It is shown that people will not always predict the most probable outcome if this is an extreme, “unrepresentative” value (Experiments I and II). It is also demonstrated that predictions are influenced by which questions are asked (for instance, if a point prediction or an interval prediction is called for). Thus a sequence of questions can lead to incorrect (suboptimal) predictions, even if each answer is perfectly logical in itself. In this case, most subjects prefer to be consistent rather than being “rational”, making the final prediction dependent upon the order in which decisions are made (Experiments III‐V).
Psychiatric labels in the military setting: Some consequences on other persons'causality attribution of personal and situational factors
Authors: LARSSON GERRY , STARRIN BENGT
Published: May 2008

About eight percent of all male Swedish eighteen‐year‐olds are exempted from military service on a psychiatric basis annually. From the perspective of the labelling theory of mental illness, the aim of this paper was to study some consequences on other people's perception of individuals who have been exempted on this basis. An experiment was performed with two different groups of subjects; 81 conscripts and 61 students of personnel administration. The subjects were to listen to a tape‐recorded description of a car accident and to evaluate its causes. A brief description of the life history of the driver was given which included a “label”. It was foud that with a psychiatric exemption label the accident was attribuited significantly more to factors internal to the driver than to external factors, as compared to a general problems‐living label.
The stream of speech
Authors: REMEZ ROBERT E. , RUBIN PHILIP E.
Published: May 2008

The use of sinusoidal replicas of speech signals reveals that listeners can perceive speech solely from temporally coherent spectral variation of nonspeech acoustic elements. This sensitivity to coherent change in acoustic stimulation is analogous to the sensitivity to change in configurations of visual stimuli, as detailed by Johansson. The similarities and potential differences between these two kinds of perceptual functions are described.
Studies in subjective probability III: The unimportance of alternatives
Authors: TEIGEN KARL HALVOR
Published: May 2008

In four experiments, student subjects were asked to estimate probabilities for a list of two to ten exhaustive, non‐chance events, covering a variety of situations, both of prediction and diagnosis. Only in the two‐alternative case a majority gave estimates which add up to unity (or 100%). As the number of alternatives increased, the total probability increased far beyond 100%, indicating a non‐distributional probability concept. For instance, the probability that a person has committed murder was considered to be quite independent of his being one of three or one of five suspects. Even when subjects were told that the list should be extended with two additional alternatives and were allowed to correct their earlier estimates, few thought it necessary to do so, and corrections went equally in both directions.
Evolution of cognitive processes for solving simple additions during the first three school years
Authors: SVENSON OLA , SJÖBERG KIT
Published: May 2008

The development of a group of children's cognitive strategies forn solving simple additions was studied by analyzing verbal reports given after each problem (I+J) was solved. The evolution of the cognitive processes involved a gradual shift from more primitive and less demanding strategies (in which, e.g., the child's fingers served as memory aid) to reconstructive memory processes (in which e.g., the answer was derived in a counting process in working memory) to retrieval processes (in which the answer was obtained form long term memory search). During the first semester of the first school year 36 percent of the problems (I+J≤13, I≠J, I≠0, I≠1, J≠1,) could not be answered, 40 percent of the solutions were obtained in the most frequent processes utilizing external meory aid and 16 percent in reconstructive memory processes. When in the second semester of the third school year, the same children solved th same problems by utilixing the followitn most frequent strategies; 31 percent long term memory retrieval, 38 percent reconstructive memory processes and 19 percent in processes utilizing external memory aid. If a problem was solved by using a given strategy this strategy was often most likely to have been used bt the child on the occasion before and to be used during the following semester as well. For long‐term memory solutions this tendency was strongest and for other strategies it was coupled with a gradual shift towards strategies with increasing sophistication in terms of memory representation.
Differentiation between vicarious instigation and classical conditioning of electrodermal responses
Authors: HYGGE STAFFAN , DIMBERG ULF
Published: May 2008

In past research of vicarious conditioning when a conditioned stimulus (CS) was repeatedly presented both to a model and an observer, the observer's reaction to the CS may have been the result of a vicariously conditioned reaction to the CS, as well as a vicariously instigated reaction to the inferred emotional state of the model who anticipates the reception of a noxious stimulus when the CS is presented. In order to partial out these two reactions, the present experiment employed 32 subjects of both sexes who took part in a two‐group study of differential, vicarious classical conditioning of skin conductance responses. In one of the group, the tones serving as CS+ and CS‐ and which preceded the aversive and non aversive events to the mode, were presented over earphones to both the confederate model and the observer subject. In the second group, only the subjects had earphones on and were led to believe that the model was not aware of the CS presentations. This eliminated the possibility of vicariously instigated reactions. Although the conditioning effects produced in the present study were somewhat weak, results clearly showed equal levels of vicarious instigation and conditioning in the two groups. These results indicate that the potential confounding of these two reactions studies has not significantly affected result or conclusions from previous studies.
Parent‐child communication in families of different educational backgrounds
Authors: RASKU‐PUTTONEN HELENA
Published: May 2008

The present study was an attempt to investigate the often repeated claim that both verbal and nonverbal communication styles are related to the social and educational background of the parents. The subjects were 40 Finnish first graders and their mothers or fathers. The dyads were divided into equal groups of lower and higher parental education. The videotaped situations consisted of three cooperative tasks. Comparisons were also made between the mother‐child dyads and the father‐child dyads. No difference was found between the higher and the lower educational group in nonverbal communication. The linguistic aspects of speech were approximately similar in both groups. There were, however, differences between the educational groups in regard to the planning aspects of speech, controlling and conversional turn‐taking. Only a few minor differences were found in the communication of mothers and fathers as well as in that of girls and boys.
Rate‐dependent effect of methylphenidate(Ritalin) on fixed‐interval behavior in rats
Authors: SAGVOLDEN TERJE , JENSSEN JENS R. , BRORSON INGE W.
Published: May 2008

The behavioral effects of 1.0–18.0 mg/kg methylphenidate (Ritalin) injections on leverpressing reinforced under a fixed‐interval (FI) 60‐sec schedule for water in Mäll‐Wistar rats were studied. Effets of methylphenidate were dose‐dependent: it increased response rates early in the FI 60‐sec adn reduced the higher response rates later in the FI, without changing the average response rate. There was no systematic effect of the drug upon locomotor activity. The local response‐rate change during the FI 60‐sec are in accord with the rate‐dependency hypothesis (Dews, 1958). the bidirectional response‐rate changes withing the FI explain why methylphenidate did not affect the average response rate.
Rate dependent effects of imipramine: Effects of imipramine on operant behaviour in rats at various levels of water deprivation
Authors: GUNDERSEN JAN H. , BERNTZEN DAGFINN
Published: May 2008

The behavioural effects of 1.0, 3.10 and 6.0 mg/kg imipramine injections on lever pressing of rats were studied. Lever pressing was reinforced according to a continuous reinforcement schedule at 0, 24, and 48 h of water deprivation, according to fixed ratio schedules with 22 1/2 h of water deprivation, and according to differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedules with 22 1/2 h of water deprivation. The mean rate of responding per min increased significantly at 1.0 mg/kg on the continuous reinforcement schedule at 24 h of deprivation. Otherwise, a dose‐related significant reduction in the mean response rate per min occurred on the fixed raito schedules and partly on the differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedules, thus lending support to the idea that rate dependent effects may be produced only on schedules of reinforcement such as the fixed ratio, the fixed interval and the variable interval. The results also indicate that depenent effects may be produced only at moderate levels of water deprivation. Some critical comments are made on concepts of rate dependency in view of the results and of previous finding.
Perceived velocity as a function of reference mark density
Authors: GOGEL WALTER C. , McNULTY PAULINE
Published: May 2008

The effect on apparent visual speed of varying the density of stationary reference marks evenly distributed along the path of motion of a point of light was measured using tactile comparison motion. The sensitivity of the tactile method of measuring visual speed was supported by the finding that the tactile measures increased with each increase in physical speed of the point of light, other factors held constant. This procedure was applied in two experiments to visual displays in which the physical speed, extent of motion, and number and density of reference marks was varied. Only reference mark density, in addition to physical speed, was found to be a signficant (and robust) factor in determining perceived speed. The effect of reference mark density is explained in terms of the increasing contribution of relative motion cues to the perception of visual speed as a funciton of the average separation (or average adjacency) of the moving point from surrounding reference marks.
Outline and description of an electronic system for lateralization of visual stumuli in studies of hemispheric asymmetry
Authors: LARSSON LARS‐ERIK , ÅGREN GUNNAR , HUGDAHL KENNETH
Published: May 2008

An automatic electronic systenm for lateralization of visual stimuli research on hemispheric asymmetry is described. The system consists of three different units: 1) A stimulas projection‐ unit; 2)an electronic control‐unit; and 3)a programming‐unit. Necessary characteristics of apparatus for studies using lateralized visual stimuli are described in the paper. Among the listed requirements are: range of stimulus‐duration, rise‐ and fall‐time for onset and offset to full intensity of the stimulus, stimulus‐eccentricity, and eye‐fixation control. The system described in the paper has been in use in our laboratory for the last two years. It is concluded that the system meets the requirements for apparatus used in studies with laterlized visual input. A block‐diagram of the electronics and a schematic outline according to scale of the stimulus projection‐unit are enclosed with the paper.
Belligerence in alcohol dependence
Authors: LØBERG TOR
Published: May 2008

Alcohol intoxication is frequently associated with acts of interpersonal violence. The present study indicates that a substantial proportion of patients with a primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence do not become violent while drinking. Those who did evidenced a clearly different personality profile, exhibited more problems related to alcohol use, and greater impairment of various cognitive neuropsychological functions. They also tended to have established a pattern of excessive alcohol use at an earlier age. The findings may be explained by a pre‐alcoholic vulnerability of a nature which increases the probability of belligerent behavior during intoxication.
When experts are influential: Comparisons with respect to success and consistency in judgment tasks
Authors: HAGAFORS ROGER
Published: May 2008

The effects of experts' judgment behavior on the utilization of expert guidance were investigated in four experiments. In all experiments the subjects received written information about the judgments performed by two independent experts concerning a fictitious medical task. The experts' judgment behavior varied with respect to success (i.e. competency), complexity of judgment rule and consistency. The tasks varied with respect to task predictability and complexity of judgment rule. The results indicated that consistent judgment behavior on part of experts is an important premise for proper utilization of expert guidance. Inconsistency on part of experts may induce underestimation of the judgmental competence expressed by the judge, i.e. influence tended to be inappropriately low.
Open field activity after learning in mice
Authors: KVIST BÉATRICE
Published: May 2008

The possible increase of open field activity after learning in mice was examined in five experiments, where the following factors were assessed: (1) and (2) the duration of an open field activity increase (3) the influence of the familiarity of the environment (4) the influence of floor texture during activity measurements and (5) the result of motor activation per se compared to the result of learning. The results indicate that the activity increase lasted 60 min. The phenomenon was related to the learning paradigm used and to the familiarity of the environment and was affected by floor texture. Motor activation per se did not activate the mice as much as the learning of a task. It is suggested that an open field activity increase in mice after learning is associated both with the strain due to the acquisition of a new response and with the strain due to the activity measurement.
Reliability and validity of some specific fear questionnaires
Authors: FREDRIKSON MATS
Published: May 2008

Normative psychometric data on a Swedish translation of fear questionnaires concerning snakes, spiders, public speaking, and mutilation given to 223 college students are presented. High internal consistencies were found for all four questionnaires, and low intercorrelations among the four inventories emerged. In a separate study the inventories were administered to a clinical sample of spider and snake phobics. Phobics scored higher on their respective phobic scale than the college group but did not differ from controls on mutilation or public speaking scales. A significant negative correlation emerged between snake and spider scores among the phobics. One year test‐retest reliabilities in the phobic sample were high. Finally, snake and spider phobics viewed and rated phobic and nonphobic slides. Snake phobics rated snake slides as more aversive than spider slides, whereas the reverse was true for spider phobics. The correlation between fear ratings and questionnaire scores was significant. Use of these scales in evaluating therapeutic changes is encouraged.
How to avoid aging effects in free recall
Authors: DIXON ROGER A.
Published: May 2008

This brief review was prompted by an article appearing in an earlier issue of this journal (Cohen & Stewart, 1982). It identifies several conditions under which aging effects in free recall of complex materials may be avoided. Under these conditions the diminution of aging effects may occur even when strategic requirements are evident. Results are interpreted in terms of the contextual approach to life‐span cognitive developmental psychology.
Piagetan inconsistencies: A note on the formal operational interpretation of adolescent psychological development
Authors: VIKAN ARNE
Published: May 2008

Piaget's interpretation of adolescent self‐centration as egocentrism resulting from formal operations is inconsistent because it means that the end‐point of human development (formal operations) is characterized by inadequate development (egocentrism). Piaget's interpretation is also inconsistent to the empirical evidence, which has failed to support a notion of a general, universal stage of formal operations. An alternative interpretation of adolescence as developing towards a cognitive stage characterized by the taking of the perspective of the other to self can be proposed.
Dialectical and hermeneutical psychology
Authors: DREIER OLE , KVALE STEINAR
Published: May 2008

Dialectical and hermeneutical contributions to psychology are reviewed separately for the countries Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Then, selected contributions are presented more extensively from the areas of family, socialization, and therapy; behavior therapy; educational psychology; research methods; and general psychology. Particularly in the area of family and socialization, dialectical and hermeneutical approaches have contributed to the application of, and reflection upon, therapy as a research method. The impact of dialectical and hermeneutical thought on Scandinvian psychology is too diverse to talk about any specific school, in either of the two traditions. Some main points of emphasis are, though: the qualitative study of individual cases, particularly through therapy; the focus on the internal unity of individual acts with the historical and material context of the act; the impact of the dominating mode of production upon every sphere of human life; the focus on issues of interpretation, particularly the relation of appearance and essence; and the conception of the object of psychology as a developing individual in a historical world.
Noradrenaline loss and the disruption of between‐CS stimulus generalisation effects in aversion learning
Authors: MOHAMMED ABDUL K. , ARCHER TREVOR , JÄRBE TORBJÖRN U. C.
Published: May 2008

In stimulus blocking the previous conditioning to one stimulus, A, followed by conditioning to the compound stimulus, AB, results in less conditioning to the other stimulus, B. Three experiments were performed to study the effect of the prior pairing of a stimulus A (noisy bottle) with lithium chloride followed by stimulus AB (saccharin plus noisy bottle) and lithium chloride pairings upon the strength of the aversion to the target stimuls B (saccharin) in NA‐depleted and control rats. The results obtained were not in keeping with a “blocking” explanation since enhancement, rather than blocking, of the saccharin aversion was obtained, and confirm several recent demonstrations of the “anti‐blocking” effect from investigations using the conditioned suppression procedure. DSP4 treatment attenuated the aversion‐enhancement (“anti‐blocking”) effects in all three experiments. The possibility that DSP4‐induced noradrenaline depletions may cause some disruption of between‐CS associations leading to a lesser higher order conditioning or stimulus generalisation is discussed and the present findings do add further evidence to the conclusion that noradrenaline is intimately involved in attentional processes.
On the advantages of symptoms: Exploring the client's construing
Authors: TSCHUDI FINN , SANDSBERG SIGRID
Published: May 2008

From the perspective of George A. Kelly's Personal construct theory the article outlines points of view concerning “advantages of symptoms” A procedure for eliciting possible advantages is presented (“The ABC‐model”) and compared with a more conventional psychoanalytic approach as exemplified in a previously published case story. From a Kellyan view people are “personal scientists”, seeking—by testing their hypotheses—to predict and control events. Personal scientists may, however, get stuck with their hypotheses, possibly resulting in “symptoms”, and may need a fellow scientist (e.g. therapist) to encourage them to see and try out alternative procedures. The authors underscore that the therapist should beware of imposing own interpretations on the clients, but rather invite them to participate in a joint effort to elaborate and understand (analyze). This is a joint process, but principally based on the client's own personal meaning structure (construction). Since there is more than one alternative or one answer to the client's situation, the therapeutic process will probably call for frequent reconstructions.
Active and passive avoidance performances following bilateral olfactory bulbectomy
Authors: ARCHER TREVOR , SÖDERBERG ULF , MOHAMMED ABDUL K. , FREDRIKSSON ANDERS , ROSS SVANTE B.
Published: May 2008

Three experiments were performed to study the effects of bilateral olfactory bulbectomy upon active and passive avoidance conditioning. In the first experiment, olfactory bulbectomized rats were found not to be impaired on a one‐way active avoidance task but showed a fear retention deficit. In Experiment 2, sham‐operated rats demonstrated a degree of fear retention that was a positive linear function of the number of shock presentations; olfactory bulbectomized rats showed a total absence of fear retention. In the third experiment olfactory bulbectomized rats failed to demonstrate the inverse relationship between shock intensity and two‐way avoidance performance normally evidenced. The pattern of data obtained suggests that while bulbectomized rats do not show any general avoidance impairment they do seem to be unaffected by the suppressive effects of shock upon ongoing behavior.
Human psychobiology in Scandinavia: II. Psychoneuroendocrinology—human stress and coping processes
Authors: LUNDBERG ULF
Published: May 2008

This paper reviews psychoneuroendocrine research on stress and coping in Scandinavia during the last two decades. Two laboratories in Stockholm, led by Marianne Frankenhaeuser and Lennart Levi, respectively, have played a particularly important role for the development of this research area, where interest is concentrated on two neuroendocrine systems, the sympathetic‐adrenal medullary and the pituitary‐adrenal cortical systems. Stress research in Scandinavia first followed the pioneering work by Cannon and focussed on the adrenal medullary system and the secretion of the two catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline. The adrenal cortical system and the secretion of the corticosteroids (cortisol), which is the basis of Selye's formulations on stress and the “general adaptation syndrom”, has been studied too, during the last 10 years. During the 1960's, pharmacological experiments were performed in order to explore the relation between psychological and physiological arousal. Psychophysiological arousal was related to performance efficiency, subjective well‐being, and social adjustment. In the beginning of the 1970's systematic relationships were demonstrated between psychosocial stimulation and neuroendocrine activity. Later, the modifying influence of cognitive factors on these relationships was examined in experimental studies performed in the laboratory as well as in natural settings. The results were fitted into theoretical models, describing the possible mechanisms involved in the relationship between psychosocial stress, psychoneuroendocrine response patterns and mental and physical health. During the last decade, parallel research has been carried out in the laboratory and in real life situations. A specific Scandinavian contribution has been the combination of social psychological and psychobiological strategies in the examination of stress at the work place. Another major line of research has been the study of sex differences in psychobiological stress responses.
The importance of contextual elements in taste‐aversion learning
Authors: ARCHER TREVOR , SJÖDÉN PER OLOV , NILSSON LARS‐GÖRAN
Published: May 2008

The effect of exteroceptive contextual cues, presented during the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) intervals, upon the later development of conditioned saccharin aversions was studied in two experiments. It was found that the presence of the contextual cues during the CS + US and CS intervals resulted in a greater degree of saccharin aversion; the presence of these cues during the US interval was relatively less important. These findings are discussed in terms of conditioning models and retrieval models derived from animal learning and human information‐processing data.
Character and defense: Relationships between Oral, Obsessive and Hysterical character traits and defense mechanisms
Authors: LIPPE ANNA VON DER , TORGERSEN SVENN
Published: May 2008

The relationship between the Basic Character inventory (BCI) and Kragh's Defense Mechanism Test (DMT) was investigated. BCI is an inventory, measuring Oral, Obsessive and Hysterical character patterns, while DMT is a projective technique, measuring defense mechanisms by means of tachistoscopic exposures of pictures. Thirty‐three pregnant women participated in the study. The results showed that the Obsessive character pattern was significantly related to the defense mechanism of isolation, the Hysterical character pattern was significantly related to introjection of the opposite‐self role, and marginally to repression. The Oral character pattern was significantly related to sensitivity to oral stimulus themes in the DMT. The relevance of the findings for the psychoanalytic theory of phase specificity in charcter development is discussed.
Opinions of typical female and male sex‐role behavior in Swedish children
Authors: CARLSSON MARIANNE , ANDERSSON KRISTINA , BERG ELNA , JÄDERQUIST PIA , MAGNUSSON EVA
Published: May 2008

The purpose of the study was to measure the opinions of typical female and male sex‐role behavior in Swedish children. Sixty‐two adults aged 20–30 years participated in a study designed to develop a method for the measuring of these opinions. In the main study, 515 children between the ages of three and twelve participated. The results showed that from the age of three, Swedish children share opinions about typical female and male sex‐role behavior with adults to a large extent, and this became more pronounced with increasing age. The study also showed that the reliability of the method used was satisfactory. Factor analyses gave two orthogonal factors identified as a femininity factory and a masculinity factor, indicating that the validity also could be considered satisfactory.
Optimal recall in early and late adulthood
Authors: BÄCKMAN LARS , MÄNTYLÄ TIMO , ERNGRUND KARIN
Published: May 2008

Mäntylä & Nilsson (1983) recently presented a striking empirical phenomenon demonstrating a practically perfect recall of verbal materials encountered at one single trial and without specific instructions to learn the items. The purpose of the study to be presented in this article was to investigate whether older adults are capable of performing at the same high level of recall as younger adults did in the Mäntylä & Nilsson study. Type of instructions and number of retrieval cues were included in the experimental design, in addition to the age factor. Although the results indicated a superior memory performance of younger adults as compared to older adults, the latter group of subjects demonstrated an extremely high level of recall as well. Both age groups showed quite similar recall patterns in the sense that no interaction effects between the age factor and the other independent variables were obtained. The data were discussed relative to qualitatively and quantitatively based explanations of age differences in memory.
Forms of representation and process types in problem solving
Authors: BREDO OLE , JENSEN JORGEN AAGE
Published: May 2008

What are the phenomena to be studied in investigations of processes in problem solving? In what way is it possible to determine whether or not different results of problem‐solving activity, conceived as a series of decisions made by the subject, indicate different forms of a subject's representations of the solution of the problem? Such problems are discussed in two steps: 1) by implementation of a system of four levels of description in the analysis of three solution runs of a task with a formal‐logical structure, and 2) through discussion of investigations of a similar kind in respect to aims and task situation. It is demonstrated that similarities and differences between solutions depend entirely on the level of description at which the performances are summarized. And it is argued that the analysis of the solution performance, with the resultant assertions about the existence and character of cognitive processes, requires the four levels of description. Difficulties in interpreting such assertions in other investigations because the processes seem to be either task‐specific or very general are explained as a consequence of an inadequate explication of the different levels of description.
Conceptual and methodological problems in the analysis of self‐serving causal attributions of success and failure
Authors: ISO‐AHOLA SEPPO E.
Published: May 2008

The present article examined conceptual and methodological foundations of testing the self‐serving hypothesis of causal attributions. This analysis revealed a startling fact that neither major reviews (by Bradley, Miller & Ross; Snyder et al.; Weary & Arkin; and Zuckerman) nor other reports have provided a clear and specific definition of the self‐serving attributions. Furthermore, methodological defects exist because of such fundamental errors as the use of between‐subjects designs, instead of within‐subjects designs, in testing the hypothesis. Therefore, the reported experiments simply reflect the researchers' attempts to interpret subjects' attributions as self‐serving or non‐self‐serving. To better understand the nature and scope of self‐serving motives in causal attributions, it is essential (1) to take into account attributors' personal definitions of self‐serving attributions, (2) to relate the nonreciprocal attributions to social/cultural values about self‐serving behaviors, and (3) to determine the role of intentions in causal attributions of success and failure.
Evaluation of long term effects of phonemic awareness training in kinderarten: Illustrations of some methodological problems in evaluation research
Authors: OLOFSSON ÅKE , LUNDBERG INGVAR
Published: May 2008

The long‐term effects of phonemic awareness training in kindergarten were evaluated by studying various aspects of reading, spelling, and oral phonological skills in school. In the kindergarten‐part of the study 95 children divided into three experimental and two control groups took part. One year later 83 of them were identified and tested in school. The children who participated in the phonemic training program seemed to have benefited from it to some extent. At least they improved their scores on phonemic synthesis tests in school. Some children in the middle and high range of pretest performance seem to have avoided a risk for reading failure to a greater extent than the corresponding children in the control groups. It is suggested that phonemic training contributes to the development of accurate concepts of reading in the preschool child and makes the child less confused when confronted with formal reading instruction in school. Great variances, ceiling effects, and group heterogeneity created many difficulties in evaluating the training effects. The various methodological problems implied in evaluation research with nonequivalent control group design were analysed and illustrated with data from the present research.
Problems in contemporary psychoanalytic theory: 1. Controversial issues
Authors: KILLINGMO BJØRN
Published: May 2008

In two articles the controversial situation within contemporary psychoanalytic theory is discussed with reference to both the form and content of the theory. In the first article some areas of theoretical conflict between traditional drive theory, on the one hand, and object relations theory, self theory, and ego theory, on the other, are surveyed. It is concluded that inconsistency and ambiguity seem so penetrating that one can hardly speak of a unified theory of psychoanalysis at present. This seems to be a new situation in the history of psychoanalysis. A main issue of disagreement is that between drive theory and object relations theory concerning the nature of human motivation. In order to bridge the theoretical gap between the two positions, it seems necessary for psychoanalysis to disclaim the monolithic status of the drives and to adopt a broad theory of motivation where drives are only one contribution among several types of motivating forces. In the second article some lines of advance in psychoanalytic theory are discussed.
Compensation and recoding: A framework for aging and memory research
Authors: BÄCKMAN LARS
Published: May 2008

This article introduces a conceptual frame of reference for the area of aging and memory. The framework is based upon the superordinate concepts of compensation and recoding. It is suggested that older adults are capable of compensating for deficits in episodic remembering by utilizing various types of contextual and cognitive support. A classificatory scheme comprising three subcategories of memory compensation in the elderly is proposed: “compensation via experimenter‐provided support” (CEPS), compensation via inherent task properties (CITP), and “compensation via cognitive support systems” (CCSS). The aspect of compensation as an adaptive activity of older adults is also discussed. Further, it is suggested that younger adults because of a superior ability for various recoding operations are less dependent on contextual and cognitive support in order to remember successfully. Recoding is defined as all the cognitive operations an individual possesses that, when applied, enriches the originally registered information. The superordinate nature of the concepts of compensation and recoding is indicated by the fact that they bring together a vast number of empirical findings previously regarded as support for opposed theoretical accounts.
The validity of functional assessment with neuropsychological tests in aphasic stroke patients
Authors: REINVANG IVAR , SUNDET KJETIL
Published: May 2008

The study describes a battery of clinical neuropsychological tests, and aims to show that inferences about underlying functions can be drawn from the results. The test battery is applied to a sample of 108 aphasic patients, and is shown to measure performances with acceptable stability across testing sessions and relatively independently of general background factors. The results of factor analysis show that five underlying functions can be assessed. A functional model is described and the factors are interpreted as reflecting the functions of Praxis, Attention, Language, Motor Deficit, and Perceptual Integration. Although aphasia is defined as a disturbance of language, the aphasic patient is best described by a functional profile with dimensions based on the factors isolated.