Measured problem-solving abilities of narcotics abusers using the modified means-ends problem-solving procedure. Good subjects had more total relevent means (RMs) for solving problems, used more introspective and emotional RMs, and were better at RM recognition, but did not have more sufficient narratives than poor subjects. (Author/BEF)

Over the time period from 30 to 60 days, spouses increased their tendency to reciprocate both irritating and rewarding behaviors. Implications for identifying couple risk factors and initiating early family intervention are discussed. (Author/NRB)

Focuses on the relationship between conceptual tempo and control of humorous affect in young children. Records the responses of reflective, fast-accurate, impulsive, and slow-accurate fourth-grade children to a videotape of an adult telling a series of jokes, half of which are followed by audience laughter. (CM)

Male and female college students experienced either partial reinforcement (persistence training) or continuous reinforcement on either of two instrumental tasks as therapy for failure-induced depression and subsequently were exposed to protracted failure (extinction). Durable and partly generalizable persistence training effects were shown.…

Reviews learning systems that incorporate values-clarification strategies reinforced by language experience techniques as a way of teaching children with reading difficulties. (SB)

A comparison of the reported marital happiness of ever-divorced and never-divorced white respondents to three recent U. S. national surveys reveals significantly greater marital happiness for never-divorced females but not for never-divorced males. Even among females, the difference in the percentage of "very happy" responses was less…

College students from three campuses in the southeastern U.S. were surveyed as to their attitudes toward sex and their sexual behavior. Results indicate that there was substantial agreement between attitudes and reported behavior when affectionate feeling existed between partners. (Author)

This paper is directed to people who, sufficiently disturbed by complex realities of problem pregnancies, are prepared to think beyond the confines of ideology. It is a challenge to people who tend to reduce the problem of unwanted pregnancies either to "abortion on demand" or to "right to life" ideologies. (Author)

Family therapists (N=60) were surveyed in an investigation of resistance by family members to family therapy. The father was viewed as the most resistant along a number of dimensions. Therapist behaviors that related to difficulties with the father, specifically, and to family therapy generally, were identified. (Author)

Jokes (N=100) about the aged were compared with jokes (N=160) about children. A negative attitude toward the aged and a positive one toward children were found. In addition, these jokes in general were more negative toward the next older generation. (Author)

This study investigated whether people engaged in high risk-taking occupations would seek or prefer highly stimulating activities of a nonvocational nature more than people engaged in low risk-taking occupations. The high risk-taking group scored significantly higher than the low risk-taking group on all five dimensions of the Zuckerman Sensation…

A nonpsychotic experimental psychologist presents a self-report of several highly organized visual, auditory, and kinesthetic hallucinations that occurred during a 3-day period prior to spinal disc surgery. Probable factors related to the production of the phenomena are described and the relation between hallucination and diagnosis is briefly…

Notes on dealing with hostility, withdrawal, anxiety, and rebellion in the classroom along with discussion of emotions that enhance learning and on developing sensitivity to emotions. (TA)

To test differential effects of treating cognitive and emotionality response components of test anxiety, test-anxious college students (N=48) were assigned to one of four groups: an attentional treatment; a relaxation treatment; a combined attentional-relaxation treatment; and a waiting-list control group. Significant performance changes were not…

This study investigated the feelings and concerns of 64 elderly persons, as revealed by a projective instrument, in relation to number and sex of siblings. The number and proportion of female siblings were found to have a greater influence than male siblings on the elderly's feelings and concerns. (Author)