Attempts to measure the involvement of an active memory process in the storage of the memory stimulus and to determine if such involvement is necessary for obtaining a Posner effect, which suggest that visual memory is not damaged by distractor tasks. (Author/RK)

The major focus of the three studies reported was the consequences of changing public conceptions of mental illness for the sufferer and his family. In two identically performed studies, two messages (one describing mental illness as a disease and the other as a product of social learning) were effective in changing beliefs. (Editor/RK)

Attempted to investigate the effects of different levels of test anxiety on actual rather than simulated classroom test performance. The intent was to learn whether the effect of anxiety would be dependent upon or independent of several variables, such as test scores, sex differences, intelligence, and type of test items. (Author/RK)

There has been considerable interest lately in cases where instrumental conditionability appears to depend on the reinforcer used. Here the effects of Pavlovian conditioned stimuli (CSs)on golden hamster behaviors was observed. The intent was to see whether previously reported differences among the behaviors produced by food reinforcement and…

One hundred and eight 12-year-old children recalled words from sentences they had rated as producing bizarre images significantly better than they recalled the same words from sentences rated as producing ordinary images. A tentative explanation is offered in terms of a cognitive approach to perception itself. (Editor/RK)

Recall of spatial location was studied with 5, 8, 12-13, and 17-18 year old subjects. Intentional learning of location was superior to incidental learning in the youngest but not in older children. Results are in agreement with Bryant's (1974) analysis of perceptual development which emphasizes the use of external spatial frames of reference in…

A careful examination of the history and status of psychology shows that it has only a shaky grasp on the most prized characteristics of science. Suggests that the problem lies in an overidentification with science leading to the use of inappropriate methodologies. Urges that because psychology is at the intersection of the sciences and the…

A. R. Luria, who was always dedicated to solving human problems and whose work revolutionized neuropsychology, is dead. His central concern was the removal of threats to effective psychological functioning, to a fully human life. Here is a review of his contributions to psychological research. (Author/RK)

Levitz and Ullmann's research (1969) was replicated, based on the findings that normal subjects can increase their number of uncommon associations in response to instructions and reinforcement. Results show that normals change their responses by means of an editing process and suggests this response is a "symptom" of normal flexibility rather than…

In an effort to investigate interpersonal consequences of depressed behavior, telephone interactions were conducted between same- and opposite-sex pairs. In each pair, one person enacted a depressed or nondepressed role. Responses of others to depressed individuals are discussed with respect to their implications for conceptualizing and treating…

Four experiments were carried out in which "subliminal psychodynamic activation" effects, used for studying the relationship between psychopathology and unconscious conflict, were sought out from male college students. Results were discussed for their bearing on subliminal research and research in personality. (Editor/RK)

According to Piaget's (1958) theory of cognitive development, the stage of Formal Operational Thinking, highly abstract, as opposed to concrete, thinking, emerges during the adolescent period. Recent research suggests that "all" adolescents, or even adults, "do not" develop complete formal reasoning. Attempts to integrate…

Four articles that reported studies that used the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) were published in the "Journal of Clinical Psychology" in early 1977. These articles are reviewed by the WIST's author in terms of necessary conditions for valid and useful studies of schizophrenic thinking. (Editor)

In critically reviewing learned helplessness literature, P. H. Blaney (1977) has noted that most of the current support for this model rests on studies that induce or reduce helplessness in college student Ss. This research, employing a psychiatric population, addressed two issues Blaney suggested as in need of clarification: (1) the role of…

In order to determine the correlates of depressive mood, members of a women's volunteer organization were surveyed by a mailed questionnaire that included the Depression Adjective Check List (DACL) Form E and 14 depression-related measures. Correlations are presented and discussed.(Editor)