Arthur Still

On the number of subjects used in animal behaviour experiments

Abstract Experiments published in Animal Behaviour in 1979 are reviewed, and it is concluded that there are grounds for thinking that the numbers of animals used could sometimes be reduced without loss of scientific rigour. Principles underlying the choice of number of subjects (N) are outlined, and illustrated with examples from the 1979 sample. Several alternatives to increasing N in order to increase power are given, including better design, larger α, and sequential methods. The logic of inference from experiments with small N is discussed.

Communication between general practitioners and patients dying at home

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with four general practitioners and some of their terminally ill patients in order to investigate how doctors solve the problem of communication with these patients about the outcome of the illness. Three of the doctors preferred not to give explicit information, or to talk about the outcome, even when they knew that the patient realised that he or she was dying. Within this constraint they developed different ways of coping with the problem of how to talk to the patient. We interpret this behaviour as an attempt to remain within the framework of rules and expectations provided by the traditional roles of doctor and patient, a framework that would be threatened by the doctors acknowledgement of helplessness. The fourth doctor did tell his patients, and treated the problem as one of counselling patients to help them cope with their predicament. His role of healer was thus extended to include terminally ill patients.

Location by odour and turn selection as two stages in the spontaneous alternation of rats

Rats were given two free unrewarded trials per day in different T-mazes, oriented at 90 degrees to each other, and wiped with either Cajuput or Anise, which produced distinctive odours. The rate of spontaneous alternation was 82.8 per cent when the same odour was present on both trials, 62.5 per cent when the odour was changed between trials. This result was taken to support the hypothesis that alternation is a two-stage process, involving location then turn selection, and that odour is one of the stimuli used by the rat in locating itself.

Odor trail and spontaneous alternation

Rats were given pairs of trials in two T mazes, rotated at 90deg with respect to each other, and they alternated turns at a rate significantly above chance, provided that part of the odor trail from Trial 1 was present on Trial 2. Contrary to the conclusion of Douglas (1966), alternation did not depend upon whether or not the rat could base its choice upon odor trail avoidance.

Ellis and epictetus: Dialogue vs. method in psychotherapy

Some recent commentators have found problems in the scientific status of Elliss REBT, which seem not to be present in Becks CBT. We argue that this may be partly because they drew differently from the traditions of thought available to them, which appears most clearly in their first published articles. Becks articles were more in the modern medical tradition, whose history forms part of the search for method leading to abstract knowledge and control that has been so powerful a feature of Western culture. Ellis was more discursive in style and drew more explicitly on the dialogic tradition, in which obstacles to self-awareness and freedom are removed by enlisting the power of reason through question and answer. Socrates and Epictetus are the classical representatives of this tradition, and Elliss first article shows clear signs of being modelled on Epictetus. Later, however, though continuing in this tradition in his personal style and popular self-help books, Ellis also developed abstract models and methods that belong to the medical tradition. His dual allegiance has made him vulnerable to criticism from both sides.

Role ambiguity in general practice: The care of patients dying at home

Semi-structured interviews were given to 22 GPs to investigate their perceptions and strategies when dealing with dying patients. There seemed no clear division in practice between policies of telling and not telling patients about their illness. Most patients find out eventually, but GPs differ in the extent to which they aim for open discussions of the matter. Over half perceived care of the dying as a demanding but satisfying fulfillment of their professional skills, but nearly a quarter found it difficult and with few compensating rewards. We conclude that while there is a well established ideal type corresponding to the curative role, there is another which is still in the process of development. This type generates a role for doctors which parallels the patients dying role, as distinct from the sick role.

Marginalisation Is Not Unbearable. Is It Even Undesirable

Marginalised movements in psychology and psychotherapy tend to retain their identity, and the writings of their founders continue to exercise an influence. Once absorbed into the mainstream the identity is lost, and the founders are relegated to the forgotten past. Movements are kept marginalised when they are at odds with the central, untested assumptions (the hard core) of the mainstream. Many of REBTs insights have already been assimilated by the mainstream, which is currently an alliance between experimental psychology and CBT. But the mechanistic hard core of the mainstream is at odds with normative assumptions about self-worth held by REBT. As long as that continues REBT is likely to remain marginalised, but will keep its most significant insights.

Perception of Sex From Complex Body Movement in Young Children

This article reports on a study of the perception of sex from complex body movement. Studies by Cutting and his associates (Barclay, Cutting, & Kozlowski, 1978; Kozlowski & Cutting, 1977) and by Runeson and Frykholm (1983) have shown that adult observers of both adult and child actors (11-12 years old) can reliably recognize the sex of the actor. In this study, prepubescent actors (4-5 years old) were employed, and the role of familiarity of observers with children of this age was also examined. Ten children (4-5 years old), 5 boys and 5 girls, performed 7 actions similar to those employed in Runeson and Frykholms study: walking in a circle, running in a circle, throwing a ball, lifting a box, sitting on the floor, sitting on a chair, and climbing onto a chair and jumping down. Point-light displays were made of each child performing each action. Each actor was recorded performing each action once. An experimental tape was prepared in which all 70 acts from the source tape appeared in a counterbalanced order such that each child appeared once in each block of 10 trials and each action appeared once in each block of 7 trials. The effect of familiarity was explored by employing 3 different groups of observers: the parents of the child actors, a group of adults familiar with children of this age, and a student group of young adults not familiar with children of this age. The overall detection rate was only just above chance and none of the observer groups performed better than chance. Sex was reliably perceived, however, for particular actors and for particular actions. The implications of these findings for Runeson and Frykholms kinematics specifies dynamics principle are noted.

THE PLACE OF RATIONALITY IN STOICISM AND REBT

In this paper we explore parallels between Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and the applications of Stoic philosophy. We look especially at the foundations of the philosophy in Chrysippus, rather than just at the writings of the better known Roman Stoics. Similarities are found against very different historical backgrounds, although there are also important differences. Our investigation highlights some peculiarly modern aspects of Elliss philosophy, which may be inessential to the practice of REBT. At the same time REBT provides a model for interpreting Stoic practices to modern audiences.

Response bias and the measurement of choice alternation

The problem of devising a measure of alternation of choices that is independent of response bias is considered. Previous solutions are equivalent to the correction for chance guessing in the Yes/No experiment of psychophysics, and require an estimate of response bias, usually from choices on the first of two daily trials. This involves the questionable assumption that response bias is homogeneous over time or across subjects. It is suggested that spontaneous alternation is analogous to the two alternative forced choice situation of psychophysics, and the fourfold point correlation is proposed as an index of alternation that is statistically independent of response bias. Implications for interpreting the effect upon spontaneous alternation of hippocampal and other lesions are considered.