Biomedical subjects

S W Minor

Publications and source records attributed to S W Minor.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Representational-momentum effects in the cerebral hemispheres.

On each trial, after three squares of different sizes (inducing display) were sequentially presented at central fixation, a target square was briefly lateralized to the right or left hemisphere (RH or LH) of 24 normal right-handed males. Subjects determined whether or not the target differed in size from the third inducing square. Half of the targets that differed were consistent with size changes in the inducing display (e.g., a target smaller than the third square in an inducing display presented in a large-to-small order) and half were inconsistent. Three retention intervals (RIs) between offset of third inducing square and onset of target were used. At the shortest RI, error-rate differences in responding to consistent vs. inconsistent targets, i.e., representational-momentum (RM) effects, were larger in the RH than in the LH, and RM effects in the RH, but not in the LH, were affected by RI.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Hemispheric resource limitations in comprehending ambiguous pictures.

Ambiguous pictures (Roschach inkblots) were lateralized for 100 msec vs. 200 msec to the right and left hemispheres (RH and LH) of 32 normal right-handed males who determined which of two previously presented words (an accurate or inaccurate one) better described the inkblot. Over the first 32 trials, subjects receiving each stimulus exposure duration were less accurate when the hemisphere receiving the stimulus also controlled the hand used to register a keypress response (RH-left hand and LH-right hand trials) than when hemispheric resources were shared, i.e., when one hemisphere controlled stimulus processing and the other controlled response programming. These differences were eliminated when the 32 trials were repeated.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Hemispheric asymmetries in interpreting forms vs colors in ambiguous patterns.

Prior to receiving briefly lateralized presentations of ambiguous visual patterns (Rorschach inkblots), 28 normal right-handed males heard two words, each describing a different interpretation of the pattern, e.g., one word might describe an interpretation based on attending to shapes or forms (form choices) and the other might describe an interpretation based on attending to chromatic color (e.g., color choices). Color choices were more frequent than form choices on left-hemisphere (LH) presentations of the patterns, and form choices were more frequent than color choices on right-hemisphere (RH) presentations. These results were interpreted as consistent with the theory that the LH's favored mental representation is semantic (i.e., frequent choices of concepts associated with names of colors in the patterns) and the RH's favored representation is imaginal (i.e., frequent choices of concepts associated with difficult-to-label forms in the patterns).

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Worry and emotionality components of test anxiety.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between trait measures of Worry and Emotionality and test anxiety related variables. Ninety-eight undergraduate students completed the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and the following self-report measures toward the end of the psychology exam: Checklist of Positive and Negative Thought, Checklist of Body Sensations (CBS), and Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale (SUDS). Further, the students' scores on the psychology exam and the students' grade point averages (GPA) served as outcome measures of test anxiety. In general the results supported the discriminant validity of the Worry and Emotionality subscales of the TAI. Worry was found to be correlated with measures of internal dialogue and Emotionality was found to be correlated with the self-reported arousal measures.

Achievement↗

PubMed1984

A comparison of in-vivo and imaginal participant modeling.

Recent research indicates that effective treatments of phobic reactions are often performance-based and involve exposure to the phobic object. The present study was designed to determine whether both of these components were necessary for the effectiveness of participant modeling procedures (N = 26). Phobic individuals were assigned randomly to one of two forms of participant modeling: In-vivo vs. imaginal. Both treatment analogues were identical except that the in-vivo version involved actual exposure to a phobic object, while the imaginal version simply required individuals to imagine that the phobic object was physically present. Results on behavioral and self-report measures indicated that both in-vivo and imaginal participant modeling were effective in generating increased approach behavior, but neither produced generalization beyond the laboratory setting. Explanations were discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

A participant modeling procedure to train parents of developmentally disabled infants.

Most of the procedures employed in parent training programs for handicapped children have been based on an operant conditioning model in general and contingency management procedures in particular. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a participant modeling procedure in training parents to work with their developmentally disabled infants. Fourteen such parents received training in which a therapist initially modeled the activities with the infant and then guided the parent as she or he mastered the procedures. Five developmentally disabled infants received a more traditional early intervention program in which the therapist provided all child training. The results indicated that those infants whose parents were trained by the participant modeling procedure evidenced significantly more developmental gains than those infants receiving traditional child training. The results suggest that cognitive behavioral procedures, such as participant modeling, are an alternative to strict operant procedures in training parents of handicapped children.

Behavior Therapy↗