bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Facts and meaning: An examination of their role in psychological research from a phenomenological perspective
Authors: KARLSSON GUNNAR
Published: May 2008

It is argued that mainstream psychological research has prioritized observable facts over meaning. The theoretical foundation in psychology, according to mainstream psychology, is such that meaningful experience is considered to be less primordial than natural scientific constructions about the world. The methodological procedure of mainstream psychology entails a prioritization of facts over meaning. However, in this article it is argued that subjective meaning is already in play in psychological discussions of “facts”.

An epistemological examination of the notions of “facts” and “meaning” from a phenomenological perspective leads to a prioritization of meaning over facts. Implications of such an analysis for psychological research are discussed. One implication is that psychological research must give up its aim to establish causa! laws. A phenomenological approach to studies of meaning is presented.
Survey of mental health of foreign students
Authors: SAM DAVID LACKLAND , EIDE ROLF
Published: May 2008

The multifaceted nature of problems foreign students face have led some researchers to conclude that these students tend to suffer from poor health during their overseas sojourn. This assertion is examined among foreign students at the University of Bergen by means of a questionnaire survey. Loneliness, tiredness, sadness and worrying were reported as a frequent source of problem by nearly one in four of over 300 respondents. Students reported a decline in their general state of health as well as a rise in the occurrence of syndrome‐like tendencies resembling paranoia, anxiety, depression and somatic complaints. These tendencies were attributed to certain psychosocial factors such as information received regarding study opportunities, social contacts with other tenants in the hall of residence and future job opportunities. Scandinavian students on the whole tended to have better mental health than students from the other countries. The implications of impaired health among foreign students is discussed.
Prejudice and peace: Is the Swedish youth neutral in its attitudes?
Authors: KLOEP MARION
Published: May 2008

Two hundred and sixty Swedish students attending grade 9 were given a semantic differential to measure their attitudes towards four countries, Sweden, West Germany, USA, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union received significantly more unfavourable ratings on nearly all variables than the other countries, which received mainly favourable or neutral ones. Most interesting, the Soviet Union is rated as “enemy”, whilst the other countries are rated as “friends”. Implications for peace education are discussed.
Perception: The interface between cognition and the external world
Authors: MONTGOMERY HENRY
Published: May 2008

In contrast to researchers who emphasize the distinction between perception and cognition it is claimed that the perceptual system is closely intertwined with cognition and with our comprehension of the external world. This claim is supported by evidence for two characteristic features of human information processing. One of these features is the use of mental models. If mental models are assumed to be anchored in the perceptual system it will not be necessary to assume a “little man in the head” who reads off the model. Moreover, perceptually based mental models will provide a referential semantics by anchoring mentally represented concepts in the external world. The other feature is the use of perceptually based perspectives in cognition, such as actor or observer perspectives in social cognition. It is concluded that human beings consistently interact within the real world—also when they are just thinking—and that this becomes possible via perceptual processes.
Sensation of effort and duration of mentally executed actions
Authors: DECETY JEAN , LINDGREN MAGNUS
Published: May 2008

The aim of this study was to examine whether a sensation of effort would arise in subjects requested, by verbal instructions, to mentally perform motor tasks with an internal imagery strategy. Sixteen subjects had to imagine themselves, from a first person perspective, writing a sentence and drawing a Necker's cube either with their right dominant hand or with their left hand, as well as hopping around a square either on their right or left foot. The time needed to mentally execute these actions was measured. The sensation of effort following the mental performance and the difficulty of imaging the tasks were assessed by means of two analog rating scales. The results indicate that the sensation of effort increased across the trials. Furthermore, a negative correlation coefficient (meanr= ‐0.99) was found between the difficulty to imagining a given motor task and the subjective sensation of effort across the trials. Moreover, the sensation of effort was more pronounced when the tasks involved the non‐dominant limb.
Teacher rated problems and school ability tests in relation to preschool problems and parents’ health information at school start. A study of first‐graders
Authors: RYDELL ANN‐MARGRET , BONDESTAM MARGARETA , HAGELIN ELISABET , WESTERLUND MONICA
Published: May 2008

The reliability of assessments at four and six years of age in identifying teacher rated problems in behaviour, concentration, motor skill and school achievement was investigated in a study of first‐graders. Relationships between preschool data and school ability tests, and between parents’ information at school start and teacher ratings were also studied.

Problems noted in preschool and school were often present in more than one area. Multiple problems at four and six years were strong predictors of later school problems, but preschool assessments of separate areas could not in general predict problems in corresponding areas in school. However, cross situational concentration deficits at the age of six did reliably identify concentration problems in the first grade, at the age of seven.
The total workload of parents employed in white‐collar jobs: Construction of a questionnaire and a scoring system
Authors: MÅRDBERG BERTIL , LUNDBERG ULF , FRANKENHAEUSER MARIANNE
Published: May 2008

Recent research on stress and health of employed women underscores the importance of taking their total workload into account, i.e., the combined load of paid work and unpaid duties, mostly related to home and family. The aim of the present study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a questionnaire for assessing the characteristics and perceived load from paid work, household duties, child care, other responsibilities, time spent on the different duties, and positive and negative aspects of the total work situation. The questionnaire was mailed to stratified samples of parents (1025 males, 1025 females) employed in white‐collar jobs. Criteria for inclusion were age 32–58, at least one child under 18 living at home, and full‐time employment (at least 35 hours/week). Answers to 134 questions from 356 women and 509 men were submitted to factor analysis. 17 primary and 3 secondary factors (indices) were identified within the areas of paid job descriptors, personal control, workload, and qualification. Internal consistency reliabilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.92 (with one exception). It was concluded that the questionnaire provides a reliable tool for the study of stress‐related aspects of the total workload of male and female white collar workers.
Psychophysiological theories on sympathetic nervous system reactivity in the development of essential hypertension
Authors: FREDRIKSON MATS
Published: May 2008

Psychophysiological theories on the development of essential hypertension are reviewed and evaluated. Two interconnected theories that relate behavior to essential hypertension and account for individual differences in susceptibility to disease are the “hyperreactivity” theory and "the symptom specificity" theory. The “hyperreactivity” theory identifies individual differences in autonomic nervous system reactivity as the pathophysiological mechanism and the "symptom specificity" theory suggests that inflexible, stereotypical responding increases the risk to develop hypertension. Based on a literature review, these theories are examined. There exist both case/control and prospective studies on autonomic nervous system reactivity and the development of hypertension. It is concluded that a neurogenically mediated hyperreactivity to stress is a precursor and not an effect of hypertension. Tasks that call for active but not passive coping efforts are more efficient elicitors of reactivity differences between those at high and low risk to develop hypertension in case/control studies. In prospective studies, active tasks may also have a predictive advantage over passive with respect to blood pressure development. In the early phase of hypertension, an increased cardiovascular reactivity is accompanied by increased neuroendocrine activation. In the later phase, heightened reactivity is confined to the cardiovascular system. This does not prove but is consistent with the notion that transient episodes of increased cardiac output translate into essential hypertension by causing vascular hypertrophy. Case/control studies suggest that an increased “symptom specificity”, with stereotypical responding across multiple stressors, is independent of cardiovascular reactivity and a precursor of hypertension. The literature lacks prospective studies on the clinical relevance of stereotypical responding. It is suggested that the presence of both hyperreactivity and symptom specificity in a single individual increases the risk to develop essential hypertension.
Neuropsychological findings and depressive symptoms in patients with Huntington's disease
Authors: LUNDERVOLD ASTRI J. , REINVANG IVAR
Published: May 2008

Twenty patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and a comparison group were studied by a depression scale (MADRS) and a neuropsychological test‐battery assessing central areas of cognitive function. The main purpose was to analyze the consistency of findings across patients and focus on the role of specific factors in the impairments. The HD‐patients are impaired relative to norms and the comparison‐group in all areas but verbal conceptual function. We further divided the HD‐patients into subgroups according to severity of neuropsychological impairment. The groups generally show a pattern of increasing deficits. Early changes are found in tests of cognitive efficiency, memory and sensomotor function, but the pattern of impairment is variable. The more severely affected subgroups show an increased decline in performance and progressive involvement of a broader range of functions. The pattern of depressive symptoms in HD‐patients indicates that cognitive symptoms of concentration difficulties and lassitude are prominent in all subgroups.
Two metamodels of causal effects
Authors: LUND THORLEIF
Published: May 2008

Two metamodels, termed Model S and Model V, are proposed for definition, measurement, and generalization of quantitative causal effects. The effect is defined as a part change in score in Model S and as a part change in variance in Model V. Two additional changes, total and remainder change, are defined. The latter is due to all other factors or variables than the cause, while total change is the sum of remainder and effect change. Furthermore, it is shown how contrafactual concepts, which imply that some parts of the study situation are supposed to be otherwise, enter into the metamodels. Casual effects are defined and measured in terms of non‐contrafactual concepts, except that statistical induction includes contrafactual as well as non‐contrafactual inferences. Non‐statistical generalization involves both kinds of inferences. Contrafactual definitions are considered inadequate, and a contrafactual interpretation of statistical adjustment is unnecessary and should be replaced by a non‐contrafactual one.
Kindergarten attendance in relation to educational level and intelligence in adulthood: A geographical analysis
Authors: TEASDALE THOMAS W. , BERLINER PETER
Published: May 2008

Level of school education and performance on an intelligence test were analysed for 32 557 Danish young adult males as a function of the geographical region in which they were reared. Positive associations were found between both educational levels and test scores on the one hand, and the proportion of infants attending kindergartens in the given regions (according to official statistics) on the other. Adults who were reared in regions where kindergarten attendance had been high tended to have higher educational levels and test scores, although the data do not permit a precise estimate of the magnitude of this effect. The relationship between kindergarten attendance and intelligence test score appears to have been mediated by educational level. Kindergarten attendance was more common in regions with high population density and high average incomes but the relationship of kindergarten attendance to educational level was significantly independent of these associations. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that kindergarten attendance can have long‐term educational benefits, and might therefore partially explain the upward trend in intelligence test scores over the last few decades.
Visual evoked potentials elicited by subjective contour figures
Authors: SUGAWARA MASAKAZU , MOROTOMI TAKASHI
Published: May 2008

In order to investigate the relationship between the appearance of illusory figures and the wave form of visual evoked potentials (VEPs), 8 different visual pattern stimuli were presented to 8 normal subjects. Four of the stimuli (experimental stimuli) produced subjective figures and contours (squares and discs). The 4 other stimuli (reference stimuli), although equal to the experimental stimuli in the amount of physical energy, did not produce the illusion of squares or discs. Electrodes were placed on the scalp at central and occipital locations. Three prominent peaks in the occipital record were observed in all subjects. An amplitude difference of VEP N180 (N2) between the subjective figures and the reference stimuli was found in the values for each subject. Enhancement of the VEP of the illusory figure stimuli was observed for a specific component (N2), whereas the amplitude values at the central components and the occipital P120 (P2) and P280 (P3) were almost the same as the reference values. The VEP (N2 component) amplitude enhancement at the occipital area for subjective figure stimuli suggests that illusory contour formation takes place at higher levels in the visual system. This was known from experiments using dichoptic presentation.
Hemispheric differences in the perception of words and faces in deaf and hearing children
Authors: SZELAG ELZBIETA , WASILEWSKI RYSZARD , FERSTEN EWA
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate hemispheric functional asymmetry in 18 normal hearing children and 18 congenitally deaf children aged 13 ‐14 years. The task was identification of a visual stimulus (3‐letter word or photograph of a face) presented in either the left or right visual field. The children responded by pointing to the target stimulus on a response card which contained four different words or three different faces. The percentage of errors for presentations to the two visual fields were analysed to determine hemispheric dominance. The pattern of hemispheric differences for the hearing children was consistent with that from previous investigations. The results for the deaf children differed from those of the normals. In word perception we observed a right hemisphere advantage and in the face recognition a lack of hemispheric differences. These results point to a lack of auditory experiences which is affecting the functional organization of the two hemispheres. It is suggested that the necessity to make use of visuo‐spatial information in the process of communication causes right hemisphere dominance in verbal tasks. This may influence the perception of other visuo‐spatial stimuli which may yield a lack of hemispheric asymmetry in face recognition.
Estimation of the hypothesis hierarchy in probabilistic inference tasks*
Authors: KNEZ IGOR
Published: May 2008

Is there a hierarchical order among the hypotheses about functional rules in probabilistic inference tasks, i.e. what is the construction and the procedure of the “hypothesis sampling mechanism” employed by the subjects in this kind of task? According to the hypothesis sampling model initially proposed by Brehmer (1974) there should be a hierarchical order among the hypotheses in the subject's hypothesis pools. The procedures of hypothesis sampling and testing ought to follow this strict data independent order (see e.g. Sniezek, 1986; Brehmer, 1987). Knez (1991a, b) showed, however, that this assumption may be incorrect. As a follow up to these results the question regarding the construction of the subject's hypothesis pools was reapproached in the present study. The results indicated a consistency with the hierarchical assumption (Brehmer, 1974) only regarding the relation between the linear and nonlinear rules but not within these types of rules.
Subjects' inferential performance and the interaction of data and hypotheses in probabilistic inference tasks
Authors: KNEZ IGOR
Published: May 2008

In a recent paper, Knez (1991) showed an interaction of data and hypotheses in probabilistic inference tasks. The results illustrated two, earlier not obtained, significant main effects on subjects' hypothesis sampling, viz. the effect of different forms of data presentation and subjects' execution of cognitive control over their hypothesis pool throughout the series of trials. The present paper followed up these results in that the subjects' hypothesis testing, in Knez (1991) was subjected to an analysis. Hence, to see if the effects mentioned above significantly influenced the subjects' hypothesis testing, as they did for subjects' hypothesis sampling. The results showed a consistency with Knez (1991), i.e. the results emphasize the interaction of data and hypothesis in probabilistic inference tasks, as well as the subjects' execution of cognitive control over their hypothesis pool concerning both the subjects' hypothesis sampling and testing.
Blood pressure reactivity to active and passive behavioral conditions in hypertensives and normotensives
Authors: FREDRIKSON MATS
Published: May 2008

Blood pressure reactivity and passive behavioral tasks was studied in patients with mild essential hypertension and normotensive controls. The passive condition included 10 presentations of a 6 sec, 78 dB, 1000 Hz tone without any response requirements. In the active condition subjects were given an additional 10 tone presentations and asked to press a push‐button at tone termination. The absolute and percent increase in systolic blood pressure from rest was greater in hypertensives than normotensives in response to the active condition but similar to the passive condition. It is concluded that patients with hypertension compared to normotensive controls show exaggerated blood pressure reactivity to tasks involving active but not passive coping efforts. Since the tasks used to induce active and passive coping in the present study were identical apart from coping requirements, the notion that the activity dimension in and of itself modulates reactivity differences between patients and controls is supported.
Purposive behaviour in cognition and perception: Considerations of awareness in memory
Authors: RÖNNBERG JERKER , ARCHER TREVOR
Published: May 2008

The responses to the original article by Rönnberg (1990a) provoked interesting and thoughtful points of view that are covered by Gärling (1990), Hjelmquist (1990), Montgomery (1991), and Runeson (1990). These articles do not merely present a different outlook but also provide concepts that are certainly worthy of consideration and add more substance to the general topic under discussion. The purpose of this commentary is to seek an understanding of the ideas presented by the above authors within a synthesis of our views of current conceptualizations in cognition and perception. Each of the original criteria (Rönnberg, 1990a) will be treated in turn.
Observational training improves adult womens' performance on Piaget's water‐level task
Authors: KREKLING STURLA , NORDVIK HILMAR
Published: May 2008

Among women university students who lacked conceptual understanding of the principle that the surface of still water is always horizontal, a specific task procedure designed to optimize self‐discovery of the principle proved effective. Successful learning was reflected in more accurate responses on an adjustment task and by a significant increase (p < .01) in the number of subjects able to verbalize a correct strategy. In contrast to previous research the results show that adult womens' performance on the water‐level task can be improved by observational training, suggesting that the female lag in spatial skills may depend on experiential factors.
Perceptual and motor components of performance in three different reaction time experiments
Authors: BJØRKLUND ROALD ARILD
Published: May 2008

Three reaction time experiments were conducted to examine the effects of time of day, stimulus intensity, stimulus modality, and constant and variable foreperiod on the perceptual and motor components of performance. These variables are all supposed to generate changes in arousal level. All the independent variables affected the perceptual component, while the motor component was significantly influenced only by foreperiod and modality. The results are discussed in relation to aspects of dependency/independency of the perceptual and motor components of human performance in reaction time experiments.
The importance of routines for the performance of everyday activities
Authors: GÄRLING TOMMY
Published: May 2008

Whether the weekly frequency with which everyday activities (e.g., taking a shower, running for exercise) are performed is determined by intentions to perform the activities at different frequencies rather than by routines was investigated. Sixty‐four subjects participated in an experiment in which self‐reported frequency of performance of 10 activities was predicted from indicated intentions as well as from self‐reports of the frequency with which the activities were performed a previous week. The results were as expected for a few of the activities, whereas for a majority of them performance was predicted from previous frequency without the mediation of intentions. Consistent with the conclusion that routines played a more important role than intentions, it was also found that intentions failed to predict performance better the following week than it predicted performance the week after that week. Conditions under which intentions may be a more important determinant were discussed.
Coping behavior of Finnish adolescents: Remarks on a cross‐cultural comparison
Authors: SEIFFGE‐KRENKE INGE
Published: May 2008

As part of a larger cross‐cultural project, the present study analyses the coping styles of Finnish adolescents. A sample of 548 adolescents aged 15 to 17 years was investigated. Coping styles were defined by a matrix of 20 coping strategies applied across eight different developmental areas. Factor analysis revealed a three‐dimensional structure of coping styles. The first dimension involves activities such as seeking support or taking advice (Active Coping), the second emphasizes the adolescent's appraisal of the situation and the search for a compromise (Internal Coping/Compromising) and the third includes defenses like denial and withdrawal (Withdrawal) and may be regarded as dysfunctional. The Finnish adolescents most frequently employed functional forms of coping like Active Coping and Internal Coping/Compromising: dysfunctional coping style such as Withdrawal was used less often. In addition, significant main effects for age and gender were found. Girls favored more Active Coping and support seeking behavior, as compared to boys. Both functional coping modes showed an increase with age. A comparison of coping styles across eight different problem areas revealed situation specific influences, too.

The discussion compares the coping styles of Finnish adolescents with results of two parallel studies focussing on German and Israeli adolescents, using the same instrument. In spite of the considerable impact of environmental and historical conditions in the three countries, the similarities in coping behavior were impressive.
Adolescents' alcohol use related to perceived norms
Authors: AAS HENRIK , KLEPP KNUT‐INGE
Published: May 2008

A questionnaire survey was carried out among 898 Norwegian adolescents age twelve to twenty. The study focused on the relation between adolescents' alcohol use on one side and estimated drinking norms (peers' drinking) together with attributed opinion norms (parents' and friends' acceptance of adolescents' alcohol use) on the other. On average, 5% of students in 7th, 8lh and 9, h grade reported weekly alcohol use. They overestimated the number of fellow students using alcohol every week seven‐fold. Students' estimates were significantly related to self‐reported alcohol use. Even in high‐school (10th, llth and 12th grade) where 29% reported weekly alcohol use, students overestimated number of weekly drinkers among friends and fellow students by two‐fold. Contrary to the results from a previous study conducted in Norway, in this study opinions attributed to both friends and parents about adolescents' alcohol use were significantly related to the students' own alcohol use. Estimated behavior norms and attributed opinion norms explained 46% of the observed variance in students' self‐reported frequency of drinking. In a health promotion context, these results point to the importance of correcting student misconceptions about how often friends and fellow students drink alcohol.
Second best choices and change in risk‐taking
Authors: DAHLBÄCK OLOF
Published: May 2008

Subjects were to reveal their best as well as their second best choices in so‐called choice‐dilemma problems. It was found that the second best choices consistently tended to be more risk‐filled than the best choices. Implications of this finding are discussed.
Prevalence of problematic behaviors in four‐year‐olds
Authors: HAGEKULL BERIT , BOHLIN GUNILLA
Published: May 2008

Prevalence rates for specific behaviors in the Problem Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ; Behar & Stringfield, 1974) and for four psychosomatically related behaviors (soiling, day and night wetting, and complaints about bodily aches) were estimated in a sample of 377 Swedish 4‐year‐olds described by their parents (mainly mothers). The results showed that several of the behaviors classified as outgoing conduct problems were common in this age group; boys showed more problematic behaviors than girls, as did children with older siblings. Firstborn children with younger siblings were more fearful and worried. No systematic differences between children in different types of day care were found. Maternal education had no relationship to reported child behaviors. The findings were discussed in terms of the four‐year‐age period as a period of transition and with regard to different family situations.
Preventing childhood accidents in the home: Parental behavior to reduce household hazards
Authors: THUEN FRODE
Published: May 2008

The parents of all children between 6 and 18 months in four Norwegian municipalities participated in an investigation to assess to what extent parents take actions to reduce household hazards their children are exposed to, and to identify factors associated with such behaviors. The Health Belief Model was used as a theoretical framework guiding the selection of variables. The results indicate that most parents take considerable action to reduce household hazards. The constructs derived from the Health Belief Model accounted for only a small part of the variance in parental behavior to reduce hazards in the home.
Maze‐running and thigmotaxis in mice: Applicability of models across the sexes
Authors: KVIST S. BÉATRICE M. , SELANDER RITVA‐KAJSA
Published: May 2008

Both male (n= 244) and female (n= 223) Swiss albino mice displayed a U‐shaped pattern of thigmotaxis (wall‐seeking) in a circular open‐field (OF) before and after a daily maze‐running. A significant increase of mice's tendency to occupy the inner partitions of the OF after the maze trial on the last three out of five days of training was observed. When factor analyzed, the variables indicating the wall‐seeking behaviour of both sexes were divided into two factors interpreted as “spontaneous” in conjunction with the first three to four maze trials and as “learning‐related thigmotactic behaviour” during the subsequent trials in the course of the learning process.
Masking the face: Recognition of emotional facial expressions as a function of the parameters of backward masking
Authors: ESTEVES FRANCISCO , ÖHMAN ARNE
Published: May 2008

Four experiments are reported investigating recognition of emotional expressions in very briefly presented facial stimulus. The faces were backwardly masked by neutral facial displays and recognition of facial expressions was analyzed as a function of the manipulation of different parameters in the masking procedure. The main conclusion was that stimulus onset asynchrony between target and mask proved to be the principal factor influencing recognition of the masked expressions. In general, confident recognitions of facial expressions required about 100–150 msec, with shorter time for happy than for angry expressions. The manipulation of the duration of both the target and the mask, by itself, had only minimal effects.
Assessing therapeutic problem solving skills: Empirical analysis of a measuring operation
Authors: RÓNNING JOHN A. , HAGTVET KNUT A.
Published: May 2008

Employment of caregivers as trainers is an imperative in the training and treatment of mentally retarded persons. Besides being taught specific behavior modification skills, these paraprofessional trainers have to obtain a set of general skills in order to adjust their specific skills to new clients, situations, and behaviors across time. Empirical research on the characteristics of therapeutic problem‐solving skills are scarce. This may be due to a reluctance of behavior researchers against including cognitive factors in the analysis of behavior influence. However, the development of basic knowledge on the existence of therapeutic problem‐solving skills should be one of the primary research goals. This article describes the development and application of four scales assumed to be representative of an important set of general skills—therapeutic problem‐solving skills. By means of these four scales 21 caregivers were evaluated before and after extensive training. A multifaceted measuring operation is employed with the main objective of empirically testing the dimensionality of problem‐solving skills. Rater consistency and individual differences in change from pre‐ to post‐training level are also uncovered. It is concluded that the four scales of therapeutic skills, largely reflect the same underlying concept of a rather general therapeutic problem‐solving skill. Discussion of the findings also pointed to future research.
Global self‐evaluations and perceived instability of self in early adolescence: A cohort longitudinal study
Authors: ALSAKER FRANÇOISE D. , OLWEUS DAN
Published: May 2008

A cohort longitudinal design with four adjacent cohorts of students (n= 1689) followed over two years was used to study key issues identified in the research literature on the development of self‐evaluations in early adolescence. There was no clear relationship between age/grade and self‐evaluations. We found no support for a “stressful periods” hypothesis with respect to self: Possible changes were very gradual and quite small. However, there was a consistent “relative age” effect implying that younger students within a grade had more negative self‐evaluations. There were small but consistent sex differences in self‐evaluations in favor of the boys; more detailed analyses of very negative self‐evaluations suggested that the early adolescent years are the period in which a sex difference in depression related symptomatology begins to emerge. Finally, the usefulness of some kind of effect size measure and advantages and problems associated with a cohort longitudinal design were discussed.
Linguistic characteristics of neurotic, borderline and psychotic personality organization
Authors: JEANNEAU MADELEINE , ARMELIUS BENGT‐ÅKE
Published: May 2008

Thirty patients were subjected to a Structural Interview by means of which 10 of them received the diagnosis NPO (Neurotic Personality Organization), 10 BPO (Borderline Personality Organization) and 10 PPO (Psychotic Personality Organization). About 2500 words and groups of words were extracted from the patients' utterances for analysis. The word‐frequencies thus found were analyzed by a PLS discriminant analysis which yielded two significant principal components (main dimensions) explaining 57% of the variance. This analysis showed that the three groups of patients are well separated from one another and that there is a definite correlation between personality organization and linguistic variables. The main features of the BPO‐patients in this study seem to be that they refer to positions outside themselves and their language is impersonal; we see this as an exemple of a vacillating identity. The NPO‐group is characterized by an intense and rich language, signs of a more advanced symbolizing ability, deixis and high level defenses. The language of the PPO‐patients is poor and its predominant feature is a lack of words; in our interpretation this indicates foreclosure and a lack of identity.
Classical test theory based and factor analytic structural models for analyzing change: A note on differences and similarities
Authors: RAYKOV TENKO
Published: May 2008

This note is concerned with differences and similarities between structural models for analyzing change, which are conceptualized within two different modelling traditions: the one based on the classical test theory, and that within the factor‐analytic approach. It is shown that these two possibilities lead to models for studying change, which are indistinguishable when using for data analytic purposes structural modeling programs, such as LISREL, EQS, COSAN, LISCOMP, RAMONA, EzPATH, SAS PROC CALIS. The reason for this data‐analytic equivalence of the two conceptually different types of models is the confounding of their differences in the corresponding implied covariance matrix structures.
Relationship control and interpersonal perception in marriage
Authors: WICHSTRØM LARS , HOLTE ARNE
Published: May 2008

The correlation between married couples' interpersonal perception and relationship control in communication was investigated. A normated, standardized and shortened version of Laing et al.'s Interpersonal Perception method (IPM) was used to measure interpersonal perception. The test contain three levels of perception, namely (1) direct perception of the relationship, (2) misunderstandings, and (3) disagreements about the relationship. The couples' relationship control was observed in three different situations. Previous studies have found the amount of one‐upmanship in married couples to be associated with problems of interpersonal perception. Although different methods were applied in the present study, this finding was replicated to some extent. Additionally, the results indicate that the more the couples communicated to each other that they both had the right to control the relationship, the less problems they had in interpersonal perception. The results also strongly suggest that couples communicating in egocentric and self‐disqualifying ways perceive their marriage as less satisfying, and they also perceive each other's feelings and behaviours less accurately than those who have little or no such deviant communication.
Interhemispheric transmission time in an auditory two‐choice reaction task
Authors: BJØRKLUND ROALD ARILD , LIAN ARILD
Published: May 2008

An unimanual auditory choice reaction task was performed by 16 right‐handed male subjects. Upon release of a central ready button subjects pressed a target button on their right or left side depending on the ear in which they heard a tone. A significant ‘Ear’ x ‘Hand’ interaction effect appeared on both reaction time (RT) and the first component of movement (MT1), showing that uncrossed conditions give rise to faster responses than crossed conditions. Interhemispheric transmission time (IHTT) was estimated from the difference of response latency in the two types of conditions. No asymmetry in the speed of information transfer between the hemispheres was found. IHTT was 16 ms in the case of RT, which supported previous research with visual reaction tasks, and IHTT for MT1 was 13 ms, which has not been reported before.
Road‐sign utility as judged by drivers with different amounts of driving experience
Authors: BÖÖK ANDERS , BERGSTRÖM PEDER
Published: May 2008

This study starts from the hypothesis that sign perception depends on the motivational valences of signs. Two groups of drivers with different amounts of driving experience rated Swedish road signs on dimensions assumed to indicate perceived sign utility. The ratings were performed against a scenario that included traffic officials' intentions to simplify the sign system. One dimension was amount of reduction in frequency of occurrence; subjects indicated percentages of reduction they believed to be reasonable. A second dimension was appropriateness of complete elimination of a sign from the traffic environment; subjects rated the degree to which elimination was reasonable. Subjective frequency of sign occurrence was rated last. Construct validation procedures showed strong correlations between reduction and elimination ratings only for the higher‐experience group. Contrary to expectation, both groups showed the same high level of positive attitudes toward all signs. As expected, frequency was a judgmental base for utility, though weakly, except for permissive signs. It was more extensively related to utility for the higher‐experience group, particularly for percentage ratings. Curvilinear relationships obtained between frequency and utility for permissive and road guidance signs.
Favourite objects of autistic children
Authors: JONSSON CARL‐OTTO , SJÖSWÄRD EVA
Published: May 2008

Favourite objects (FOs) of autistic children were compared with the FOs of healthy preschool and school children as well as mentally handicapped children. Three clusters of objects were obtained for normal children (comprising primary transitional objects and their forerunners, secondary transitional objects, and non‐cuddly toys). When autistic children and mentally handicapped children were included, a fourth cluster of deviant objects was found. Frequency distributions of the two handicapped groups in the clusters were similar. Similarities between the two handicapped groups were also found within each cluster. The occurrence of secondary transitional objects was rare in the handicapped groups. The characteristics of “autistic” FOs reported in earlier case studies (e.g. being hard, often having an exciting effect, not being used in their adequate functions) were typical only of objects in the fourth cluster.
Attentional demands and recall of verbal and color information in action events
Authors: BÄCKMAN LARS , NILSSON LARS‐GÖRAN , NOURI REZA KORMI
Published: May 2008

Two experiments addressed the influence of secondary task performance at encoding on recall of different features of subject‐performed tasks (SPTs) involving objects (e.g., turn the wallet). In Experiment 1, memory for verbs and colors of objects was assessed, with object names serving as cues. In Experiment 2, object and color memory were assessed, with verbs serving as cues. Results from both experiments indicated a greater deterioration of memory performance under divided attention for verbal features than for colors. In addition, intention to remember did not affect performance for any feature in either experiment. The overall pattern of outcome is discussed relative to the view that encoding of verbal features of SPTs is more attention‐demanding than encoding of physical task features, such as color.
Bilaterally recorded multiple‐unit activity of the cingulate cortex during head turning conditioning with unilateral medial forebrain bundle stimulation
Authors: PENTTONEN MARKKU , KORHONEN TAPANI , ARIKOSKI JUHA , RUUSUVIRTA TIMO , HUGDAHL KENNETH
Published: May 2008

Cats were conditioned to turn their heads using a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) and medial forebrain bundle stimulation (MFB) unconditioned stimulus (US). The CS+ was delivered to one ear at a time, in random order, followed by the US. A tone of a different frequency was used as a CS‐. The cats learned to respond differentially to the CSs showing head movements of greater acceleration to the CS+ than CS‐ over sessions. Bilateral recordings of cingulate cortex multiple‐unit activity showed increased response amplitudes over sessions and larger responses in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the US. Since ipsilateral multiple‐unit responses did not differ for the CSs, the asymmetry was probably due to the sensitizing effect of the unilateral US. Although increases in cingulate cortex neural activity coincided with increases in conditioned head movements, larger activation of the cingulate cortex ipsilateral to the US suggests that the neural changes were independent of these movements.
Inter‐event differences in action memory
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

Two experiments examined the effect of verb‐noun connectivity on recall of simple action phrases, under motor and nonmotor encoding conditions. Connectivity, measured by associative overlap and rated belongingness, was found to make a difference. High‐connectivity pairs are better recalled than low‐connectivity pairs. Primacy effects are absent with low‐connectivity pairs, but generally present with high‐connectivity pairs—irrespective of encoding conditions. Inter‐item action phrase differences thus influence the effects studied in action memory research. The results were discussed in terms of strategic and nonstrategic conceptions of memory for actions.
Cardiovascular and neuroendocrine activity in preschool children: Comparison between day‐care and home levels
Authors: LUNDBERG ULF , WESTERMARK OLOF , RASCH BIRGITTA
Published: May 2008

Thirty boys and 30 girls at nine day‐care centers were examined at the mean age of 3.5 and 5.5 with regard to systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and neuroendocrine activity (urinary catecholamines and cortisol) during a day at their day‐care center and in their home, respectively. Compared to home levels, day‐care was associated with increased heart rate, epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion and decreased cortisol levels. Systolic blood pressure decreased at the day‐care centers at the age of 3.5 and increased at the age of 5.5. No significant sex differences were found. The possible role of mental and physical arousal and the dissociation between the sympathetic‐adrenal medullary and the pituitary‐adrenal cortical responses are discussed.
Diversity of ideas about diversity measurement
Authors: JUNGE KENNETH
Published: May 2008

Measurement of diversity is important in several sciences but has evolved mainly within ecology. An ecological community with many species is more diverse than one with few but the way the total number of individuals is distributed among the species also influences the degree of diversity or heterogeneity. Although not always explicitly used, it can be shown that diversity is a concept of some importance in psychology, too. In general terms quantification of diversity is related to the apportionment of some quantity into a number of well‐defined classes. The dual‐concept type of diversity index reflects both the number of classes and the degree of evenness (homogeneity) of the apportionment. The quantity that is distributed has commonly been a population of elements and apportionment homogeneity measures population heterogeneity. The statistical context has dominated the thinking about the measurement of diversity, heterogeneity, and homogeneity. Some well‐known indices of diversity and the ideas behind them are discussed. It is concluded that the general geometric representation of homogeneity (similarity) and heterogeneity (dissimilarity) (Junge, 1978; 1991) offers a more general approach to the measurement of diversity.
Characteristic patterns of verbal memory function in patients with Huntington's disease
Authors: LUNDERVOLD ASTRI J. , REINVANG IVAR , LUNDERVOLD ARVID
Published: May 2008

Various aspects of verbal memory in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) were studied using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). We tested if the level and interplay between 5 parameters of different memory mechanisms and processes were sufficiently specific to allow acceptable discrimination between patients with HD, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and patients without known CNS disease or injury. The HD‐patients were characterized by a deficit in acquisition, elevated rates of recall errors and increased use of a passive learning strategy. Preserved aspects were shown in retention over time, interference effects and recognition relative to recall. Employing multivariate classification and validation techniques, the 5 CVLT‐features demonstrated good separability between the HD‐patients and the control patients. Qualitative similarities between subgroups were suggested, but more disease‐specific data seemed necessary in further studies. A number of findings suggested a defect in the active organization of items to be encoded and recalled in HD. Similar findings in the PD‐group might indicate that this trait is common in several types of ‘subcortical dementia’.
Remarks on the psycho‐logic of action
Authors: VOLLMER FRED
Published: May 2008

The present paper is a discussion of Jan Smedslund's main action axiom (4.3.1) in Psycho‐logic. I have interpreted the axiom in two different ways: a) as a presupposition about the determinants of action, and b) as a definition of highest expected utility. My conclusion is that taken as a supposition about the determinants of action, 4.3.1 is basically right, though not in the form it has in Psychologic. 4.3.1 taken as a definition, on the other hand, is basically wrong.
The psychobiology of parenting in mammals
Authors: LARSSON KNUT
Published: May 2008

Parental behavior denotes a vareity of genetically programmed activities in which parents help their young to survive to maturity. A highly successful research has been devoted to the psychoneuroendocrine bases of parenting in two species, rat and sheep. As a result empirical data along with conceptual formulations have been obtained which provide a model for generating hypothesis for the study of other species. This review was written to draw the attention to this research because of its enormous potential significance for problems pertaining to human infant care. It discusses the current status of research on the physiological bases of parental behavior,