Seymour Wapner

Interference effects of Stroop color-word test in childhood, adulthood, and aging.

(1962). Interference Effects of Stroop Color-Word Test in Childhood, Adulthood, and Aging. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 47-53.

The effect of danger upon the experience of time.

Studies on the interrelationship of space and time have demonstrated that when the time-interval between successive flashes of lights is kept constant while the physical distance between them is varied, the obseners experience of elapsed time does not remain constant but varies with the physical distance.l A further question may be asked as to whether such space-time interrelationship also obtains if the psychological distance is changed through variations other than those of physical distance. Werner and Wapner developed a method of obtaining changes in psychological distance with physical distance held constant. They found that psychological distance changed under conditions of danger; e.g. when S walked toward and stopped short of a precipitous edge, he overestimated the distance he travelled, or stated another way, the edge appeared closer. The introduction of danger affected psychological distance even though physical distance was not changed.2 The purpose of this study was to determine whether the space-time interrelationship obtains when psychological space alone is changed. The presence of danger, known to aSect psychological distance, was introduced as the experimental condition. It was thought that changes in psychological distance, under conditions of danger, would be paralleled by changes in psychological time. More specifically, it was expected that since distance traversed is overestimated under conditions of danger, time elapsed wouId be overestimated under danger.

Modes of experiencing and adapting to retirement.

Retirement is typically viewed as a monolithic event which affects all individuals in generally the same way. As a way of beginning to transcend stereotypic views and understand the complex reality of how individuals actually experience retirement, this study was directed toward identifying and describing diversity in modes of retirement adaptation. Twenty-four individuals, drawn from a range of occupational groups, were intensively interviewed one month prior to and six to eight months following retirement. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a phenomenological method which generates systematic descriptions of the structure of an individuals experience. Comparisons among these analyses yielded four distinct ways of conceptualizing and experiencing retirement-as a transition to old age, as a new beginning, as a continuation of preretirement life structure, and as an imposed disruption. Features of each of these patterns of adaptation are described and implications of these findings for preretirement planning and counseling are discussed.

Imitation of a model's hand movements: Age changes in transposition of left-right relations.

240 Ss in 6 age groups (8-18 years) each faced and imitated a person who, over 12 trials, touched a body part or object on his left or right side with his left or right hand. With increasing age, the mean number of responses paralleling the moders movement as in a mirror decreased, the mean number of correct transpositions of the moders movement increased, and the mean number of excessive right-handed and unilateral responses decreased (all significant, p < .001). The findings support the idea that left-right transposition requires the internalization of the left-right distinction occurring in action and the representational coordination of perspectives.

Transactions of persons-in-environments: Some critical transitions

The organismic-developmental approach to the analysis of critical transactions of persons-in-environments is described in terms of its basic assumptions and a number of empirical studies on critical transitions, including relocation of a psychiatric therapeutic community, transition from work to retirement, and from high school to college.

Cherished Possessions and Adaptation of Older People to Nursing Homes

One hundred older people (75 females, 25 males), in nursing homes rated as above or below a combined criterion (based on Lieberman and Tobins scales of physical attractiveness, affiliation fostering, and tolerance for deviancy), responded to questionnaires on cherished possessions and on adaptation to the nursing home. The main findings indicated: 1) relative to those residents without possessions, those with possessions were better adapted to the nursing home; 2) possessions served the major functions of historical continuity, comforter, and sense of belongingness; 3) relative to men, significantly more women had cherished possessions and were more likely to associate them with self-other relationships; and 4) relative to residents in nursing homes below the mean of the combined criterion, those in homes above the mean felt more in control, less helpless, more supported by staff, and were judged as more realistic in response to conflict. Interpretations regarding the role of possessions in adaptation and suggestions for institutional policies concerning possessions are discussed.

Transition to Retirement: Gender Differences.

The present investigation consisted of two studies which attempted: 1) to assess the replicability of the investigation by Wapner and Hornstein [1] and Hornstein and Wapner [2, 3] that uncovered four distinct modes of experiencing the transition to retirement, and 2) to advance that work by focusing on gender differences. The preliminary study, based on analyses of twenty-four case studies reported by Wapner and Hornstein suggested it would be profitable to study gender differences in a more systematic manner [1]. Toward this end, the major study involved construction of four appropriate instruments which were administered to ninety-four (48 women, 46 men) recent retirees. The four retirement categories (I. Transition to Old Age; II. New Beginning; III. Continuation; IV. Imposed Disruption) described in those investigations was replicated. Moreover, striking gender differences emerged. Theoretical and practical implications of the study were explored.

Postural status as a factor in memory

The role of posture in nonsense-syllable learning was assessed by testing 32 Ss under contrasting conditions of congruent (i.e., learn erect-relearn erect; learn supine-relearn supine) and incongruent (i.e., learn erect-relearn supine; learn supine-relearn erect) body orientations in learning and relearning. Under congruent postures there is significantly greater saving in relearning; this effect holds only in the early stages of the process of recall (i.e., with a weak criterion).

Person-in-Environment Transitions Theoretical and Methodological Approaches

Four theoretical perspectives-role theory, family theory, person/life span theory, and a holistic, developmental, systems-oriented theory-that examine critical person-in-environment transitions through the life span are described and compared with respect to central theme/world hypothesis, unit of analysis, treatment of change, problem formulation, methodology, and types of research conducted. Areas are indicated where study of critical transitions can be profitably pursued.

RHYTHMIC ACTIVITY AND THE DISCRIMINATION OF STIMULI IN TIME.

Two experiments were conducted to test the effect of changes in motoric activity on the thresholds for CFF and apparent motion. The main findings were that an increase (decrease) in motoric activity above (below) the preferred rate delays (fosters) the perception of fusion and simultaneity. These findings were interpreted as giving evidence for the notion that organismic rhythms are critical in the temporal organization of perceptual events.