Authors' Responses

Abstract

The risk of rampant second-guessing of the design and/or results of randomized clinical trials could lead to reluctance of scientific experts to participate in the management or oversight of these important vehicles that test new therapies. Under the premise that second-guessing is a growing issue, we considered it to be a very important exercise to use sound scientific footing in order to do so. Given the controversial nature of the subject material, the editor obtained discussions from a group of eight experts from multiple points of view. These discussions add a great deal to our publication. This article will provide our summary response to both practical and technical issues underlying their discussion.     

Staff perceptions of emotional distress in paitents with burn trauma.

Objective: To compare staff and patient perceptions of patients' emotional distress after acute burn trauma. Design: Staff ratings of patients' psychological states on 6 dimensions of emotional functioning were compared with patient self-report. Results: Staff as a whole and by discipline tended to overestimate depression and underestimate optimism in patients. Moreover, the more experienced (more than 2 years of burn care experience) nurses and occupational/physical therapists were less accurate in estimating depression and optimism than their less experienced counterparts. Conclusion: Consistent with results from spinal cord injury research, findings from the current study indicate a distinct tendency on the part of burn care staff to overestimate their patients' emotional distress and underestimate their positive outlook, supporting the notion that staff may be imposing a "requirement for mourning" on their patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trees as reservoirs for amphibole fibers in Libby, Montana

Tree bark and core samples were collected from areas surrounding the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine in Libby, MT. These samples were collected to provide preliminary data in support of a proposed study to determine if trees can serve as reservoirs for amphibole fibers and to determine if there is a potential for exposure to those that harvest contaminated wood in the Libby mine area, specifically during firewood harvesting and commercial logging. Initially, three sets of samples were taken both within and directly outside of the EPA restricted area surrounding the mine site. Based on the results of the initial samples, a follow-up sampling program was conducted both in the town of Libby and directly outside the city limits. Gravimetric reduction of a tree core sample did not indicate the presence of amphibole fibers. However, transmission electron microscopy analysis of bark samples collected near the vermiculite mine yielded substantial amphibole fiber concentrations ranging from 41 million to 530 million fibers/g of bark. In addition, a bark sample collected approximately 7 miles west of the town next to a railroad line had concentrations of 19 million fibers/g. A conversion of these mass-based concentrations to areal concentrations (to reflect surface area contamination) revealed concentrations in excess of 100 million amphibole fibers/cm(2). These preliminary results suggest that trees in the Libby valley and along vermiculite shipping corridors can serve as reservoirs for amphibole fibers, and that a potential for exposure exists for those who harvest contaminated wood.     

Induced self-motion in central vision.

Previous research on visually induced self-motion found that stimulation of the central visual field (up to 30° in diameter) results in perceived object motion, while self-motion requires peripheral stimulation. The present study examined the importance of area of stimulation in the central field using a radially expanding dot pattern simulating a 3-dimensional structure translating along the line of sight. In Exp I, with 48 undergraduates, perceived self-motion was induced with this radially expanding pattern, with visual angles of 7.5°, 10.6°, 15°, and 21.2°. Speed and texture density were also varied. The duration of reported self-motion (a) decreased with increased speed, (b) failed to increase with increased visual angle, and (c) decreased with visual angle at the highest speed level. In Exp II, 36 Ss rated the perceived depth of the displays. The speed and speed/area interaction effects on judged depth matched those found for induced self-motion. Results suggest an extension of the focal/ambient theory. In addition to a more primitive ambient processing mode that requires peripheral vision, there is a higher level system concerned with ambient processing that functions in the central visual field and uses more complex stimulus information such as internal depth represented in a radially expanding pattern. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-anchoring and differentiation processes in the minimal group setting.

In-group favoritism in the minimal group setting was hypothesized to be a function of 2 processes: a tendency to base in-group judgments on the self (self-anchoring) and a tendency to assume 1 group to be the opposite of the other (differentiation). In the first 3 experiments, in which the order of rating the self and target group was varied, categorized and uncategorized participants were given trait information about 1 group and were asked to estimate the level of those traits in the other group. In-group judges tended to base group ratings on the self, whereas out-group and uncategorized judges inferred the 2 groups to be opposite of one another. Experiment 4 attempted to directly assess the direction of inference between self and in-group by giving feedback about self or in-group on unfamiliar dimensions and found that participants were more willing to generalize from self to in-group than from in-group to self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Category learning and change: Differences in sensitivity to information that enhances or reduces intercategory distinctions.

We examined the amenability of abstractions of categories to new and relevant information. In Experiment 1, Ss formed impressions of 2 sets of numbers by periodically estimating the cumulative means of each set. During the 1st half of the procedure, the 2 means were mathematically stable. During the 2nd half of the procedure, the mean of 1 set was modified and the mean of the other set remained unchanged. We predicted and found that the resultant estimates for the modified category changed more when the mean difference between the 2 categories was enhanced than when it was reduced. Experiment 2 suggested that the accentuation effect results from a 2-stage process of category learning (Stage 1) and category change (Stage 2). Experiment 3 replicated the effect with person categories. The relevance of category accentuation is discussed with respect to the modifiability of social beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to special issue: Rehabilitation psychology and persons with psychiatric disabilities: Are they mutually exclusive?

This guest-edited issue of the journal illustrates the relevance of psychiatric rehabilitation to rehabilitation psychologists. It demonstrates that the focus of psychiatric rehabilitation includes some areas of functioning typically identified with rehabilitation psychologists, for example, vocational, residential, and family functioning. Further, it shows that traditional assessment methodologies and treatment settings are beginning to reflect a psychiatric rehabilitation orientation. Finally, it illustrates the philosophy and treatment models that form the basis of physical rehabilitation as also underlying psychiatric rehabilitation. It is hoped that this issue of Rehabilitation Psychology will assist in the resolution of the debate over contextual issues by considering why psychologists working with psychiatrically impaired persons may be identified as rehabilitation psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovery of 3-D structure from motion is neither euclidean nor affine.

The relationship between simulated and judged depth separations for pairs of probe dots on planar surface patches was examined in a series of 6 experiments. The simulated slant of the patches was varied without varying the simulated depth separation of the probe dots by varying the depth gradient orthogonal to the direction determined by the probe dots on the image plane. Judged depth separation varied with mean slant for constant simulated depth separations. When observers judged depth separations along a closed path, the integral of the signed depths did not sum to zero, as would be required in Euclidean geometry. These results are inconsistent with the view that the mapping between simulated and perceived 3-D structure is affine and indicate that, in general, the perceived structure cannot be represented in either a Euclidean space or an affine space. Moreover, these results are consistent with a first-order temporal analysis of the optic flow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation psychologists in medical settings: A unique subspecialty or a redundant one?

A critique of the literature addressing functions of rehabilitation psychologists in medical settings was accomplished in order to determine the range of roles typically assumed by them. Although this search yielded relatively few citations that clearly outlined duties and functions commonly undertaken by them, it did provide evidence that many use a behavioral framework and that their incorporation of new technologies, such as biofeedback, has helped to mainstream them into medical practice. In addition, the current emphasis placed on cost containment suggests that many of the treatment modalities practiced by rehabilitation psychologists will be increasingly used in medical settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)