Laura W. Phillips

SHORT-TERM TEMPORAL CHANGES IN FREE RECALL,

An experimental study of short-term memory for lists of familiar English words is reported. Lists of 10, 20, and 30 unrelated words were presented at a 1-sec. rate. Retention was measured by free recall after intervals of 0, 15 and 30 sec. A counting task was used to prevent rehearsal during the retention interval. The absolute level of recall increased with length of list whereas the percentages retained showed the reverse trend. The recall scores decreased steadily as a function of retention interval, with the rates of forgetting comparable for the three lengths of list. The decline in the amount recalled was due in large measure to the loss of the terminal items in the list. Consequently, the pronounced recency effect present on the immediate test of recall was progressively reduced as a function of time. By contrast retention of the initial part of the list was relatively stable. These variations in rate of forgetting are attributed to differences among serial positions in susceptibility to proactive inhibition.

Invited case transcript behavior analysis in a case of “post-partum depression”

A 27-year-old woman, living with her husband and infant daughter, was referred by her gynecologist to a traditional therapist for “post-partum depression”. After several visits with no improvement, she was referred to me by a colleague of her husband. Background inventories were filled out by the patient outside the office. These yielded the following information. She was of normal weight and gave no history of serious illness, medical problems or childhood neurotic problems. She had been an excellent student and had achieved a master’s degree. Her interests were in the fields of music, art and ballet, having achieved some skill in the latter. Her family, one brother and both parents. all professional people, were living on the east coast. Her religion was Jewish but not orthodox. No serious illnesses were reported in her family nor had any suffered from alcoholism or mental disorders. No evidence of phobias or other anxiety patterns were yielded by the fear inventory except for the common small animal syndrome. Stated therapeutic goal: “Overcome my depression”.

The soft underbelly of behavior therapy: Pop behavior mod

Abstract Recent attempts to popularize behavior therapy have resulted in a de-emphasis of methodological rigor. This is observed by the lack of sophistication in (1) concept operationalization, (2) pre-treatment assessment and (3) follow-up procedures. Such fuzzy practices tend to dilute the power of our methodology which lies mainly in the stimulus anchoring of behavioral observations and diagnosis-treatment isomorphy. Examples are cited from a few of the more common areas of applied behavioral methods.

PERFORMANCE CHANGES AT MODERATELY HIGH ALTITUDE: SHORT-TERM MEMORY MEASURED BY FREE RECALL

Short-term memory for common English words was tested both at 3800 m altitude and at sea level. Recall for half the lists was tested immediately and half after 30 sec. delay. 18 Ss were run at both altitudes in a counterbalanced design. The words were presented serially in 10-item lists at a rate of 1 sec. each. Standard physiological tests showed significant reaction to the hypoxia. No significant change in total recall scores was found; however, improvement on some items cancelled out the slight decrement in others. These differential changes at altitude were a function of the serial positions of the items. The interaction was significant but transitory. The order-of-recall of the items reflected the differential recall frequencies and also showed a significant interaction between recall interval and altitude. The results are discussed in terms of proactive inhibition and increased generalized drive, possibly related to autonomic arousal at high altitude.