bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social skills training with mentally handicapped people: A review
Authors: Robertson Ian , Richardson Alison M. , Youngson Sheila C.
Published: July 2011

Four questions are asked about the use of social skills training procedures with mentally handicapped people. The first is, ‘What are social skills in the context of mental handicap?’, and it is suggested that they involve a complex array of perceptual, cognitive, motor and motivational processes, all of which can be disrupted due to various problems common among mentally handicapped people. The second question, ‘What changes do social skills training programmes aim to achieve?’, leads to the conclusion that most programmes have concentrated on motor, and to some extent on motivational processes, at the expense of perceptuo‐cognitive ones. In asking, ‘ Have the programmes been successful in achieving these changes?’, the answer is a guarded ‘yes’, given the limited aims of most investigators. Generalization to the natural environment has only occasionally been established, though it is often not measured. The fourth question is, ‘What is the clinical significance of the changes obtained by such programmes and how can future ones be made more clinically relevant?’. The answer to the first part of the question is that, in general, their clinical utility has not been established. Future programmes could be made more clinically relevant if they were integrated with strategies for producing more benign and stimulating environments for mentally handicapped people.
Social adjustment and interaction after severe head injury
Authors: Newton Annette , Johnson David A.
Published: July 2011

The social adjustment of 11 severely head injured patients was assessed using the KATZ adjustment scale. The result suggested that the group had poor social adjustment, and on many dimensions was similar to a psychiatric population. The head‐injured patients also had social interaction difficulties as assessed by a range of observational and self‐report measures. When compared to an out‐patient and non‐clinical group they had poor social performance, high social anxiety and low self‐esteem. The implications of this for rehabilitation are discussed.
A psychometric assessment of Hare's checklist for psychopathy on an English prison population
Authors: Raine Adrian
Published: July 2011

The research scale for psychopathy developed by Hare (1980) represents an important recent advance in the assessment of this disorder in that it emphasizes objectivity and reliability. This study compares the factor structure of the scale derived from an English prison sample with the original Canadian sample in order to assess the cross‐cultural generalizability of the checklist and reassess the factorial basis of the scale. Results from the first analysis indicate substantial correspondence between psychopathy factors derived from English and Canadian analyses. Results of a second analysis suggest that four main clusters of traits (emotional detachment, superficial relationships, egocentricity, and impulsivity) are centrally important in the identification of psychopathy. Results of further psychometric analyses suggest increasing the scale's validity by deleting several items having little in common with the main features of psychopathy. It is concluded that Hare's checklist is both applicable to an English population and internally valid, and that future research may usefully investigate correlates of each of the four psychopathy factors.
A reassessment of clinical psychology as an applied science*
Authors: Shapiro M. B.
Published: July 2011

This paper advocates discarding the notion of clinical psychology as an applied science, with its emphasis upon the use of prevalidated procedures of assessment and treatment. The grounds are that, in scientific principle, there is no difference between practical clinical work and research. Each aims at maximizing the accuracy of our ideas about psychological dysfunctions and their manipulation, both therapeutic and experimental. They differ in: (i) their general purpose; and (ii) the greater accuracy of research. One should therefore think in terms of a scientific approach to practical clinical psychology, conceptualizing it as a branch of psychological science.

In assessment, the research finding of the relative specificity of psychological responses leads to (i) describing and explaining each patient's particular psychological dysfunctions; (ii) using information‐seeking interviews supplemented by the few validated procedures, and (iii) seeking guidance from general psychological and interview research and from general scientific method. In treatment, the main consequence is the development, in the course of clinical work, of therapies which: (i) derive from general psychological and clinical research; (ii) are dysfunction‐oriented; (iii) are critically eclectic; (iv) monitor outcome; and (v) evaluate therapists' behaviour. Finally, the scientific approach requires evaluation studies of both assessment and treatment.
The clinical impact of job design
Authors: Broadbent Donald E.
Published: July 2011

This paper summarizes some of the evidence that particular features of jobs are associated with particular types of neurotic symptoms, in a way consistent with broader views both of cognitive psychology and biological studies of stress. Particular emphasis is placed on interactive effects of certain characteristics of individuals, making them more or less vulnerable to stress.
Attributional style and depression
Authors: Hargreaves Isabel R.
Published: July 2011

The study aimed to test the prediction, arising out of Abramson et al.'s (1978) reformulated learned helplessness model of depression, that depressed individuals have significantly different attributions about the causes of events from non‐depressed individuals. No support was found for this hypothesis when comparing a depressed psychiatric sample with a matched normal group. Several hypotheses are offered to account for the failure to agree with previous studies.
The addiction experience as a function of the addict's history
Authors: Viney Linda L. , Westbrook Mary T. , Preston Carol
Published: July 2011

Application of personal construct theory to addicts in treatment led to a series of hypotheses about their psychological reactions and how these reactions might differ with differences in their histories. Their scores on a set of content analysis scales were compared with those of a relatively non‐stressed group and a relatively stressed group matched for sex and age. The chief element in the pattern of experiential elements which was identified was uncertainty. Addicts also expressed more anxiety, depression and anger (directly and indirectly) and reported fewer social interactions than the non‐stressed group; however, for most of these elements they were similar to the similarly stressed group of young people with whom they were compared. The pattern of experience of addiction was found to vary according to the employment, addiction and criminal histories of the addicts, their treatment histories as represented by their counsellors' assessments of them and the social supports available to them.
Conceptual structure in hypochondriasis, arthritis and neurosis
Authors: Weeks David J.
Published: July 2011

Three distinct clinical groups were studied using personal construct methods and two personality questionnaires. Non‐articulation of conceptual structure was not specific to patients with hypochondriacal symptoms, physical illness or chronic neuroses. Articulation of the conceptual structure was significantly correlated with the practical‐imaginative personality factor in all three patient groups.
The specificity of the Eating Disorder Inventory
Authors: Cooper Zafra , Cooper Peter J. , Fairburn Christopher G.
Published: July 2011

A self‐report measure, the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), has recently been published. An examination of the responses on the EDI of a sample of psychiatric out‐patients who did not have eating problems revealed that many of its subscales may be non‐specific in character reflecting the general level of psychological disturbance.
Response competition in recognition memory in three amnesic groups
Authors: Taylor Robert , McGuire Ralph J.
Published: July 2011

Experimental studies have suggested that a feature of the memory defect in some amnesic conditions may be a failure to inhibit competing responses at retrieval. It is not known whether this feature is present equally in different syndromes involving amnesia. Employing a recognition memory paradigm with varying numbers of response alternatives (based on Miller, 1978), three amnesic groups (Korsakov's, senile dementia, and multi‐infarct dementia) were compared using four types of test material. The groups were not differentially affected by increasing numbers of response alternatives.
An observational evaluation of the effects of nurse training in behaviour therapy on unstructured ward activities and interactions
Authors: Milne Derek
Published: July 2011

The effects of a five‐day in‐service training in behaviour therapy for psychiatric nurses were assessed by naturalistic observations in three NHS long‐stay wards. The observations focused on nurses' and patients' independent and interactive behaviours as a function of the course of training, during an unstructured part of the ward programme. A comparison of the behaviourally trained nurses and their colleagues indicated that the training had produced no systematic effect on independent activities and was associated with significantly less frequent or appropriate interactions with patients. These findings were contrasted with the nurses' proficiency in their structured use of behavioural techniques and led to an interpretation of patient control over their use of these new skills in default of staff management procedures. More broadly, the findings were regarded as an elaboration of the respective roles of staff training and management in institutional change. They were also viewed as evidence that circumscribed and short‐term evaluations may be contradicted by more ‘ecological’ evaluations, which unobtrusively observe the broader consequences of our interventions into systems. In the long term these consequences may ultimately determine the effectiveness of our training endeavours and hence there is a pressing need for more process evaluations of the present kind.
Reality testing and auditory hallucinations: A signal detection analysis
Authors: Bentall R. P. , Slade P. D.
Published: July 2011

The hypothesis that hallucinators are deficient in the metacognitive skill of reality testing was tested using the methodology of signal detection theory. In Expt 1 undergraduate subjects scoring high or low on a scale measuring predisposition to hallucination were tested on an auditory signal detection task. High scorers on the scale were found to differ from low scorers on a measure of perceptual bias but not on a measure of sensitivity. In Expt 2 a similar methodology was used with hallucinating and non‐hallucinating schizophrenic patients, with similar results. These results support the hypothesis that hallucinators or subjects highly disposed towards hallucination are deficient in reality testing and are therefore prone to identify imaginary events as real.
The value of Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer‐type dementia
Authors: Blackburn I. M. , Tyrer G. M. B.
Published: July 2011

Items from Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation (LNI) were used to assess cognitive functioning in three groups: patients with Alzheimer‐type dementia (ATD), with alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome (KS) and control subjects of comparable age. The LNI was shown to be a sensitive assessment in that it distinguished differences within the ATD group and among the three groups. The validity and usefulness of the LNI in Alzheimer‐type dementia are discussed.
Schizotaxia, information processing and the MMPI 2–7‐8 code type
Authors: Nakano Keiko , Saccuzzo Dennis P.
Published: July 2011

The relationship between the 2–7‐8 MMPI code type and schizotaxia was investigated. College students whose Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profiles revealed a 2–7‐8 code were compared to an elevation‐free group on a visual information‐processing task. The 2–7‐8 group exhibited a processing deficiency similar to that previously found for schizophrenics and in‐patient schizotypal personalities, supporting the construct validity of the 2–7‐8 code as a measure of schizotaxia.
The relationship between alternative assessments of self‐care ability in the elderly
Authors: Little A. G. , Hemsley D. R. , Volans P. J. , Bergmann K.
Published: July 2011

The self‐care performance of 126 residents of old people's homes was assessed by self‐report, informant rating and performance test. Scores on all three scales were related but associations were low and gross disagreements between measures were found in almost half of the cases. The associations between self‐report and the other two measures were significantly lower than those between informant and performance ratings. There was no evidence of systematic bias in self‐report related to cognitive or to affective impairment. It is probable that the three scales measure different aspects of dependancy.
Communication variables in the design of pre‐surgical preparatory information
Authors: Wallace Louise M.
Published: July 2011

An experimental study of the design and implementation of a special preparatory booklet designed to reduce stress in surgical patients is reported. Patients in this study were 63 women undergoing minor gynaecological surgery. They were allocated sequentially to three groups: routine care only (control group), routine care plus a minimally informative booklet (placebo group) and routine care plus a maximally informative booklet (experimental group). Changes in cognitive variables were assessed prospectively over the course of hospitalization and surgery. As expected, the intervention had direct effects on patients' knowledge, reported information and worries about surgery. It also had indirect beneficial effects on the amount of reported information and support from staff and families. Finally, patients in the placebo group were found to have more misconceptions about surgery and to more often report anxiety in communication with staff and in association with reading materials. Partial correlation analyses showed that patients who have more knowledge about surgery have fewer worries and recover faster. The implications for cognitive theories of the process of stress reduction for surgical patients by psychological preparation are discussed.
Anxiety and endocrine changes in surgical patients
Authors: Salmon Peter , Evans Robert , Humphrey Diana E.
Published: July 2011

There is a need for research to identify the relationship between psychological and endocrine responses to surgical operations, and to discover whether these responses differ with variations in practice between different settings. This preliminary study investigated 17 patients undergoing middle ear operations in two hospitals. Measurements included state anxiety, Recovery Inventory, Cortisol excretion and noradrenaline excretion. All were made pre‐operatively and on three post‐operative days. Recovery Inventory correlated (between subjects) with state anxiety, but this relationship was confined to the post‐operative days. No correlation between a psychological measure and an endocrine one reached significance. There was a non‐significant tendency for pre‐operative anxiety to be lower in one ward than another; Cortisol levels were significantly higher in the same ward overall. These results do not support a view that anxiety is related to processes mediating physical recovery. Explanations for the difference in Cortisol levels are considered. It is suggested that the influence of pre‐operative psychological preparation on endocrine responses deserves systematic investigation.
Intrusion errors in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Hart Siobhan , Smith Christine M. , Swash Michael
Published: July 2011

The Kendrick Object Learning Test (OLT) was used to study the incidence of intrusion errors in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although such errors constituted a higher proportion of the responses made by patients than by controls, suggestions in the literature that patients with AD show a propensity for prior‐list intrusion errors were not supported.
Reducing persistent auditory hallucinations by wearing an ear‐plug
Authors: Done D. John , Frith Christopher D. , Owens D. C.
Published: July 2011

A case study is presented of the effects of wearing an ear‐plug in a single patient with persistent auditory hallucinations. Beneficial effects were detected when the plug was in the dominant ear only.
Doctors taking blood from children: A suitable case for treatment?
Authors: Marteau T. M. , Johnston M.
Published: July 2011

Despite an intention to take blood samples regularly from children with diabetes, only 31 per cent of 60 required samples were collected. Following an intervention which required the doctors to complete an ‘ explanation slip’ each time a request was not met, the collection rate of blood samples rose from 31 to 69 per cent. These results draw attention to the role of the doctors' behaviour in achieving health care objectives.
Placebo responses: An experimental study of psychophysiological processes in asthmatic volunteers
Authors: Butler Carole , Steptoe Andrew
Published: July 2011

This study evaluated the effects of placebo medication on pulmonary responses in asthmatics, and investigated the roles of expectancy and anxiety. Twelve adult asthmatics were recruited for a laboratory experiment described as a study of the effectiveness of a new bronchodilator. Distilled nebulized water was inhaled in each session. The solution was described as water in session 1 (control), while in sessions 2 and 3 subjects were told that the nebulizer contained a chemical likely to cause chest tightness and wheezing (bronchoconstrictive suggestion). Prior to the inhalation sequence in sessions 2 and 3, subjects inhaled from an aerosol that they were told contained either a powerful new drug (placebo) or a non‐active substance (neutral). Pulmonary function was measured with the forced oscillation technique and spirometry, while autonomic parameters, anxiety and expectancies were also monitored. Pulmonary function deteriorated following the inhalations accompanied by bronchoconstrictive suggestion, and this effect was abolished by pre‐treatment with placebo. Neither subject expectations nor changes in anxiety were associated with the experimental manipulations. The implications of these results for theories of placebo action are considered.
Cognitive approaches to depression: A theoretical critique
Authors: Power M. J. , Champion L. A.
Published: July 2011

Three cognitive approaches to depression are reviewed in terms of recent advances in cognitive psychology. The approaches considered are those based on associative networks, schemata, and explanatory styles. It is argued that each of these approaches has significant limitations that can be overcome if they are replaced by the theory of mental models (Johnson‐Laird, 1983). A number of specific advantages for this theory are outlined and the basis is provided for a new cognitive approach to depression.
Levels of intended meaning of utterances
Authors: Stiles William B.
Published: July 2011

An utterance's intended meaning may be the same or different at six conceptually distinct levels. Level 0 is the speaker's literal meaning – the conventional meaning of the words as used by the speaker. Level 1 is the speaker's occasion meaning – the pragmatic, on‐record intended meaning. Level 2 is the hint level – intended to be recognized as intended, but off‐record. Level 3 is the manipulation level – intended to be understood by the hearer but not to appear as intended by the speaker. Level 4 is the secret or deception level – meanings that underlie an utterance yet are not meant to be recognized. And level 5 is the subconscious or self‐deception level ‐ meanings that underlie an utterance but are not fully known even to the speaker. These distinctions are advanced as an aid to precision in theory and research on verbal communication in psychotherapy and interpersonal relationships.
Prediction of survival by three psychological measures
Authors: McLaren S. M. , Barry F. , Gamsu C. V. , McPherson F. M.
Published: July 2011

One hundred and seven elderly female in‐patients with confirmed or suspected diagnoses of dementia were assessed by the Paired‐Associate Learning Test (PALT), and the Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) and Behaviour Rating Scale (BRS) of CAPE. Eighteen months later, 62 patients were still alive. These had significantly better scores on the ‘ easy’ set of PALT and on BRS than the non‐survivors; the differences on the ‘ mediate’ and ‘ hard’ sets, and on CAS, while in the predicted direction, were not significant.
Inter‐scorer agreement in scoring errors on the Pm (Maze) test of the CAPE
Authors: McPherson F. M. , Gamsu C. V. , Cockram L. L. , Gormley A. J.
Published: July 2011

To assess the inter‐scorer reliability of the scoring of errors on the Pm (Maze) test of the Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) of CAPE, 100 mazes were scored by each of four scorers. Inter‐scorer agreement was found to be too low to justify the Pm test being used clinically as an independent measure. When Pm was summed with Information‐Orientation and Mental Ability to produce a total CAS score, the effect of this low agreement was greatly reduced, but still affected the CAS grades of approximately 7 per cent of cases. This is a high proportion to result from scoring differences on an objective test, and suggests that more adequate scoring instructions are required.
Automated cognitive assessment of elderly patients: A comparison of two types of response device
Authors: Carr A. C. , Woods R. T. , Moore B. J.
Published: July 2011

Groups of 14 cognitively impaired elderly people were tested on two automated cognitive tests on several occasions. Patients registered their responses using either a touch‐sensitive screen or a board with illuminated response buttons. The results indicate that the touch‐sensitive screen is probably a more suitable response device than the button‐board. Suggestions that it would prove disadvantageous to elderly patients were not supported, and its continued use is recommended.
Personality and functional hearing loss in children
Authors: Aplin D. Yvonne , Rowson Vivienne J.
Published: July 2011

Thirty children with functional hearing loss were seen for psychological assessment. The sample included twice as many girls as boys. Most had experienced middle‐ear problems and scored outside normal limits on the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory. Introversion alone or combined with neuroticism was the most important personality dimension, especially for girls. The relationship between introverted behaviour, hearing impairment and previous experience of hearing problems is discussed.
WAIS scores for a non‐clinical British sample
Authors: Wilson Anthony , McCullough John A. , Morris Reginald C.
Published: July 2011

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was administered to a British sample of 63 volunteers. The mean Full Scale Intelligence Quotient obtained was 116.5, with a standard deviation of 9.7. This finding is discussed in relation to the accepted (American) WAIS norms, and further study suggested.
Adherence to medical regime and related factors in youngsters on dialysis
Authors: Hudson Julie , Fielding Dorothy , Jones Stephen , McKendrick Thomas
Published: July 2011

A pilot study is reported in which 18 children in end‐stage renal failure, undergoing either haemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis were assessed with regard to adherence to their treatment regime. Measures were used to assess level of depression, locus of control and social desirability. Adherent behaviour was significantly related to high social desirability, and a shorter length of time on dialysis. There was no relationship between adherence and depression or locus of control.
Self‐reported anger intensity and blood pressure
Authors: Knight Robert G. , Paulin Judith M. , Waal‐Manning Hendrika J.
Published: July 2011

During a health survey of a New Zealand community, two S–R inventories measuring responsiveness to anger and to anxiety provoking situations were administered to 1127 adults. With age treated as a covariate, no association was found between scores on these measures and blood pressure.
Perception of emotionally valenced information in depression
Authors: MacLeod Colin , Tata Philip , Mathews Andrew
Published: July 2011

Bower's (1981) associative network model of mood and cognition predicts that depression will selectively facilitate the perception of negatively toned words. Recent studies by Clark el al. (1983) and by Powell & Hemsley (1984) have, however, produced apparently discrepant results. Alternative means of accommodating the discrepancy are considered, and the current experiment empirically distinguishes between these possibilities. The results are inconsistent with Bower's model.
Trait anxiety as a predictor of adjustment to and recovery from surgery
Authors: Wallace Louise M.
Published: July 2011

Trait anxiety was found to predict elevations in state anxiety not only on the morning of surgery but six to eight weeks before hospitalization, in 118 women undergoing laparoscopic surgery. Trait anxiety was not a strong predictor of state anxiety on the evening of surgery and a very weak predictor of pain, symptoms and behavioural recovery.
Reminiscence: A critical review of the empirical literature
Authors: Thornton Susan , Brotchie Janet
Published: July 2011

The empirical evidence concerning the prevalence and function of reminiscence among the elderly is reviewed and the relevance of such activity for clinical populations is evaluated. Variations in the ways in which reminiscence is defined and methods of eliciting reminiscence activity are described. Data on frequency of reminiscence and its relationship to age are discussed. Studies investigating the functions of reminiscence are divided into three groups according to experimental design and their findings critically reviewed. It is concluded that there is little evidence of an age‐specific process of reminiscence, that the functions of such a process are unclear and that the role of reminiscence as a therapeutic activity is in doubt.

Literary and scientific descriptions have implied that dwelling on past events and remote memories is a specific feature of old age. Furthermore it has been suggested that the activity of reminiscing about past experience may have adaptational significance for the later stages of life (Butler, 1963). More recently the concept of reminiscence has been applied to a clinical population and reminiscence therapy groups are advocated for elderly people in hospital or community settings, including those who are confused (Kiernat, 1979; Norris & Abu El Eileh, 1982). The purpose of this paper is to review the empirical evidence concerning the prevalence and function of reminiscence among elderly people and to address the question of the relevance of such activity for clinical populations.
The changing nature of agoraphobic fears
Authors: Franklin John A.
Published: July 2011

Recent factor analytic studies have emphasized the importance of both somatic and situational fears in agoraphobia. Franklin (1980) proposed a developmental model of agoraphobic fears in which somatic changes (interoceptive fears), and feared consequences such as panic (outcome fears), produce situational fears through misattribution. Five hypotheses derived from this model were tested on 60 agoraphobics who rated their original and current fears. In all subjects interoceptive and outcome fears relating to panic attacks developed before situational fear and avoidance. Initially outcome fears were significantly greater than interoceptive fears, which were in turn significantly greater than situational fears. Over time situational fears increased significantly, eventually equalling outcome fears, and exceeding interoceptive fears. Panic attack frequency and severity also reduced significantly. All hypotheses were confirmed and the implications for research and treatment are outlined.
The effect of concurrent articulation on memory span in Alzheimer‐type dementia
Authors: Morris Robin G.
Published: July 2011

This study explored the effects of concurrent articulation on memory‐span performance, comparing patients with early Alzheimer‐type dementia (AD) and matched controls. Reduction in memory span due to concurrent articulation was the same in AD patients as controls, supporting the notion that the contribution of articulatory rehearsal to memory‐span performance is undiminished in early AD.
Assessment of the alcohol dependence syndrome: A review of self‐report screening questionnaires
Authors: Davidson Robin
Published: July 2011

The development of the alcohol dependence syndrome and its inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases in January 1979 led to a demand for brief, easy‐to‐administer screening questionnaires explicitly based on the syndrome. The present review considers some of the conceptual, methodological and psychometric problems faced by the authors of such questionnaires. The five major self‐report scales which have been published since 1979 are critically appraised and the usefulness of each scale for different populations and contexts is noted.
Measuring delusional experiences: A method and its application
Authors: Brett‐Jones Jane , Garety Philippa , Hemsley Dave
Published: July 2011

This study describes the development and use of some measures that can be used to make systematic evaluations of delusional experiences. In a series of nine single‐case studies using these measures, delusions were found to be multidimensional in character, with a marked desynchrony and lack of covariance between different aspects of delusional beliefs. The rationality of delusional thought processes is also considered with suggestions as to methods that can be used to clarify the role of objective experiences in dispersing delusional beliefs.
Effectiveness of a controlled drinking self‐help manual: One‐year follow‐up results
Authors: Heather Nick , Robertson Ian , MacPherson Barbara , Allsop Steven , Fulton Archibald
Published: July 2011

Following the description of six‐month follow‐up results by Heather et al. (1986), this article reports one‐year follow‐up for a cohort of media‐recruited problem drinkers sent either a controlled drinking self‐help manual or a general advice and information booklet. Among those remaining in the sample, mean reduction in drinking at six months had been retained at the one‐year point. This stability of reduced consumption included respondents showing evidence of late dependence or high consumption at initial assessment. When respondents who had received other forms of treatment had been excluded, the results confirmed the superior effectiveness of the self‐help manual in enabling problem drinkers to reduce consumption. Evidence for a superior outcome among respondents interviewed by telephone, rather than contacted solely by post, was again observed. Some limited evidence is presented as to the reliability and validity of self‐reports of consumption in the main sample.
Validation of schizoid personality scales using indices of schizotypal and borderline personality disorder in a criminal population
Authors: Raine Adrian
Published: July 2011

The external validity of 10 schizoid personality scales was assessed against dimensional measures of DSM‐III borderline (BPD) and schizotypal (SPD) personality disorders in a sample of 37 top‐security prisoners. Significant relationships with SPD or BPD emerged for schizophrenism, withdrawn‐disturbed relationships, hallucinatory predisposition, schizoidia, disordered thinking and perceptual aberration (r = 0·30–0·66). The first four of these scales were significantly related to SPD (r = 0·29–0·51) after partialling out the effects of BPD, indicating an intrinsic link between these scales and SPD which may constitute the genetic affinity of SPD with schizophrenia. It is suggested that scales which assess the construct of schizophrenism or ‘interpersonal aversiveness’ may be the most central to Meehl's (1962) ‘integrative neural defect’ or genetic predisposition to schizotypy.
The labelling of schizophrenics by professionals and lay‐persons
Authors: O'Connor Tom , Smith Peter B.
Published: July 2011

Videotaped interviews of individuals said to be attending a mental health centre were rated by 30 trainee social workers and by 30 students unconnected with mental health. Interviewees were labelled as ‘schizophrenic’, ‘normal’ and ‘undiagnosed’ in a randomly rotated manner. Students rated schizophrenics as more deviant on various measures of social skill, whereas trainee social workers did not. The findings are discussed in light of the controversy initiated by Rosenhan (1973).
Attributions and adjustment to life‐threatening illness
Authors: Turnquist Dawn C. , Harvey John H. , Andersen Barbara L.
Published: July 2011

An analysis of the role of attribution in major illness and serious injury is presented. Evidence reviewed includes the impact of illness variables on attributions, the association between attributions and adjustment to illness, and the proposed mechanisms of this association. Illness and injury characteristics such as severity and time since diagnosis appear to relate to attributional activity and content, but the association between attributions and psychological or physical adjustment is weak. Overall, it would appear that the attribution construct can describe individuals' reactions to life‐threatening illness or injury. However, the utility of attribution in understanding the processes involved in adjustment to illness has not yet been demonstrated.
A follow‐up of Israeli casualties of combat stress reaction (‘battle shock’) in the 1982 Lebanon War
Authors: Solomon Zahava , Benbenishty Rami , Mikulincer Mario
Published: July 2011

A sample of 104 Israeli soldiers diagnosed as suffering from combat stress reactions (CSR) (‘battle shock’) during the 1982 Lebanon War were examined by mental health clinicians a year after the war. The clinicians assessed (a) post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as defined in the DSM‐III (1980), (b) associated psychological symptoms (somatization, anxiety, and depression), and (c) disturbances in post‐war functioning. The clinicians collected background information on sociodemographic characteristics, premilitary and military adjustment, combat experiences, and the extent of the CSR episode. The analysis indicated that PTSD could be predicted fairly well by the extent of the CSR episode and specific combat experiences, while the psychological symptoms were predicted mainly by combat experiences, and postwar functioning was predicted mainly by pre‐war factors. The implication of combat experiences and soldiers' immediate reactions during combat in the genesis of subsequent PTSD is discussed. The multifaceted nature of war‐related psychological sequelae is delineated.
Therapist and patient factors in the behavioural treatment of phobic patients
Authors: Bennun Ian , Schindler Ludwig
Published: July 2011

Thirty‐five phobic patients were assessed in order to investigate the specific therapist and patient factors operative within treatment. Although the factors were highly correlated, they did distinguish between those patients who benefited differentially from treatment.
Interrogative suggestibility: Its relationship with assertiveness, social‐evaluative anxiety, state anxiety and method of coping
Authors: Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Published: July 2011

This paper attempts to investigate empirically in 30 subjects some of the theoretical components related to individual differences that are thought by Gudjonsson & Clark (1986) to mediate interrogative suggestibility as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS; Gudjonsson, 1984a). The variables studied were: assertiveness, social‐evaluative anxiety, state anxiety and the coping methods subjects are able to generate and implement during interrogation. Low assertiveness and high evaluative anxiety were found to correlate moderately with suggestibility, but no significant correlations emerged for ‘social avoidance and distress'. State anxiety correlated significantly with suggestibility, particularly after negative feedback had been administered. Coping methods (active‐cognitive/behavioural vs. avoidance) significantly predicted suggestibility scores. The findings give strong support to the theoretical model of Gudjonsson & Clark.
GRAN: A computer program for the cluster analysis of a repertory grid
Authors: Leach Chris
Published: July 2011

A BASIC computer program is described for analysing individual repertory grids. The analysis results in a rearranged version of the grid, with similar constructs and similar elements grouped together. Element and construct similarities are assessed using single‐link hierarchical cluster analysis. The program works with rating, ranked or dichotomous grids and copes with missing entries.
Counselling carers of the elderly at home: A preliminary study
Authors: Sutcliffe Caroline , Larner Stuart
Published: July 2011

A comparative study of two different methods of counselling for informal carers of elderly people with dementia was carried out in their own homes over an 18‐week period. Carers were randomly allocated to short‐term emotional support, information‐provision or no‐treatment control groups. Carers were assessed for mood, stress (Beck Depression Inventory and General Health Questionnaire), degree of burden and knowledge of problems of dementia. Carers receiving emotional support experienced the greatest reduction in stress, whereas those receiving information only showed an increase in knowledge, but no reduction in stress.
Global ratings of stress in the elderly
Authors: Davies Ann D. M. , Wilkinson Susan J. , Downes John J. , James Owen , Newton J. Timothy , Davies Morris G.
Published: July 2011

The properties of four global ratings of life stress were investigated using data from 237 elderly subjects interviewed using the Brown & Harris life event and difficulties schedule. The global ratings had high one‐year test‐retest reliability and inter‐rater reliability agreement. A summary measure of Adversity (based on contextual rating of all events and difficulties) may be reliably derived when a single index of life stress is desired. In the elderly sample Adversity was more closely related to chronic difficulties than to life‐events.
Cognitive variables in tinnitus annoyance
Authors: Hallam R. S. , Jakes S. C. , Hinchcliffe R.
Published: July 2011

Two new questionnaires were devised to investigate dimensions of complaint about tinnitus. Following a factor analysis of data provided by a sample of tinnitus patients who were administered the first questionnaire, the second questionnaire was developed. This included questions concerning coping attitudes and beliefs about tinnitus. The results of the two analyses were similar and they indicated the presence of three main dimensions of complaint (emotional distress, auditory perceptual difficulties, and sleep disturbance). However several smaller factors suggested that complaint was more complex than originally predicted. The second questionnaire successfully discriminated complaining from non‐complaining patients.
Ecological evaluation of a Rehabilitative Environment for spinal cord injured people: Behavioural mapping and feedback
Authors: Kennedy Paul , Fisher Keren , Pearson Eileen
Published: July 2011

A behavioural mapping procedure was used to describe the behavioural profile, pattern of interaction and location of patients and staff in a rehabilitation unit for traumatically spinal cord injured people. Naturalistic observations were randomly obtained by trained observers during two observational periods, using 10 behavioural categories drafted from the observational literature. Feedback of the results was given to staff between the observational periods. Results suggested that patients spent a considerable proportion of their time in solitary and disengaged behaviours. Analysis of the behavioural profile of patients revealed little difference between the therapeutic day and the evening. Patients were also observed to spend large amounts of time in the ward area during the day. These results are at variance with the concept of active rehabilitation, and also raise questions concerning institutionalization. The efficacy of feedback in initiating institutional change is also examined. Comparison is made with previous research and strategies for change are suggested.
The British adaptation of the WAIS—R: The Vocabulary scale
Authors: Smith Derek H.
Published: July 2011

The level of difficulty of each item of the Vocabulary scale of the WAIS—R was calculated for a British population. Discrepancies were shown between these and those in the US standardization that result in 14 per cent of British subjects recording correct answers beyond the official criterion for discontinuing the test. If these are ignored, the performance of 4 per cent of such subjects is undervalued by as much as two scaled score points. In order to minimize this it is suggested that the test be discontinued only after six consecutive failures.
Interpersonal style and personality deviation
Authors: Willner Alexandra H. , Blackburn Ronald
Published: July 2011

Forensic psychiatric patients were assigned to empirically derived categories of personality deviation, and described their interpersonal reactions in situations of threat and affiliation. Differences between groups were maintained across situations, and support the utility of conceptualizing personality disorders in terms of inflexible interpersonal styles.
The specificity of personal memories in depression
Authors: Moore Richard G. , Watts Fraser N. , Williams J. Mark G.
Published: July 2011

Recent research has suggested that depressive biases in personal memory may be due to an inability to progress beyond a general level when trying to retrieve specific positive memories. This study produced further evidence of this phenomenon. When trying to access specific hedonically toned memories, depressed patients more often responded with a general memory and, especially for positive cues, were unable then to progress to a specific memory, even after prompting. The implications for cognitive therapy for depression are discussed.
Behaviour modification mid‐19th century style: Robert Brudenell Carter and the treatment of hysteria
Authors: Miller Edgar
Published: July 2011

This paper describes the views on hysteria expressed by an English medical practitioner, Robert Brudenell Carter, in the mid‐19th century. It is shown that these views, whilst differing in some respects, have a surprising amount in common with those of present‐day behaviour modification.
Abandoning the concept of ‘schizophrenia‘: Some implications of validity arguments for psychological research into psychotic phenomena
Authors: Bentall R. P. , Jackson H. F. , Pilgrim D.
Published: July 2011

After more than 90 years of research in which the presence or absence of a diagnosis of schizophrenia has been used as an independent variable, little of certainty has been found out about the aetiology of the hypothesized schizophrenia disease process. One possible reason for this lack of progress is that schizophrenia is not a valid object of scientific inquiry. Data from published research (mainly carried out by distinguished psychiatrists) are reviewed casting doubt on: (i) the reliability, (ii) the construct validity, (iii) the predictive validity, and (iv) the aetiological specificity of the schizophrenia diagnosis. It is argued that continued research into the aetiology of schizophrenia is likely to prove fruitless and that psychologists should adopt alternative methods of studying psychosis. Two alternative strategies ‐ the development of empirical methods of psychiatric classification and the study of individual symptoms ‐ are discussed.

The tendency has always been strong to believe that whatever a name must be an entity or being, having an independent existence of its own. And if no entity answering to the name could be found, men did not for that reason suppose that none existed, but imagined that it was something peculiarly abstruse and mysterious.

J. S. Mill (quoted in Gould, 1981)
Schizoid personality, inter‐hemispheric transfer, and left hemisphere over‐activation
Authors: Raine Adrian , Manders Duncan
Published: July 2011

This study assesses the external validity of schizoid personality against multiple measures of cerebral laterality designed to distinguish between left hemisphere (LH) over‐activation, LH damage and inter‐hemisphere transfer deficit interpretations of schizotypy. Questionnaire measures of schizoid personality were assessed in an undergraduate population and related to laterality measures of both verbal and nonverbal dichotic listening, haptic inter‐ and intra‐manual matching, employment of left and right hemisphere strategies during the haptic task, lateral eye‐movements, and left and right ear auditory thresholds. A high score on a composite index of schizoid personality was significantly related to greater asymmetry (right ear advantage) in verbal dichotic listening, the use of LH strategies, and lower right ear thresholds, an overall pattern of results indicating LH over‐activation in schizoids. It is suggested that studies comparing schizophrenic patients with normal controls minimize the likelihood of obtaining group differences if they fail to take into account schizoid personality in the controls.
Schizophrenic inability to judge facial emotion: A controlled study
Authors: Gessler S. , Cutting J. , Frith C. D. , Weinman J.
Published: July 2011

The ability of schizophrenics to judge facial emotion was examined using a new test derived to remedy methodological inadequacies in previous studies. The derivation procedure of the test is described. Five groups of 20 subjects each took part: acute schizophrenics, chronic schizophrenics, schizophrenics in remission, in‐patients with depressive illness and normal subjects. They were asked to make a dichotomous emotion judgement (‘happy’ or ‘sad’) about a set of photographed faces: and then to make a dichotomous non‐emotion judgement (‘old’ or ‘young’) on a set of photographs chosen from the same original pool to form a task of equal difficulty and discriminating ability. It was predicted, from previous studies, that acute schizophrenics would be specifically impaired on judging emotional expression in faces. Instead, they were found to be impaired on both an emotion and a nonemotion task on photographs of faces when these tasks were matched for difficulty and discriminating ability. They were significantly worse than remitted schizophrenics and normal subjects for both tasks, and for emotion, significantly worse then depressed subjects as well. The findings are considered in the light of current theories of visual processing in schizophrenia and of the neuropsychology of face processing.