W HiLE FEW STUDIES of psychopathology have been concerned with psychomotor functions in comparison with the emphasis upon perceptual and verbal processes, some recent findings indicate that this neglect is not justified Peters and Jenkins (8) have used psychomotor problem-solving as a therapeutic approach to chronic schizophrenics H E King (4) has compared the performance of several groups of neuropsychiatric subjects with a group of normals on a series of simple psychomotor tasks, finding a direct relationship between impaired performance and degree of neuropsychiatric illness He concludes on the basis of his results that "the psychomotor capacity appears to be disturbed in a fundamental sense m the behavior disorders As such, it is a reflection of defect at the core, rather than in the periphery, of mind and mental processes" (p 156) Skinner and his associates (2, 6) have investigated the behavior of chronic psychotics with the methods of operant conditioning that were developed for the study of lower organisms A remforced operant response is viewed as a behavioral unit that manipulates part of the environment, representing as such "adjustive behavior " Usmg modified vending machines in small experimental rooms, they have studied the quanitity and regularity of operant behavior of psychotics under a variety of conditions Their most consistent finding 'From the Veterans Adnunistration Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan
feminine. Others fail to understand or appreciate the underlying reasons for the requirement. One male student complained that being asked to eliminate sexist terms was an infringement on his First Amendment rights to free speech. Confusion often centers on the difficulty involved in choosing the best nonsexist alternative to a sexist usage. Confusion and resistance afford opportunities to discuss English etymology and questions of style and clarity as well as the invidious effects of sexist (and, of course, racist) language on individuals' self-concepts. The following discussion covers some of the linguistic issues that provide the basis for fruitful discussion.
In an investigation of perceptual size constancy of clinical groups, Sanders and Pacht [2] employed a rather unusual size-constancy index. The purpose of this note is to point out the differences between their index and those more commonly utilized and to demonstrate how its use is likely to be misleading.They reported mean constancy indices of 105 for a group of normals, 99 for a group of neurotics, and 88 for a group of psychotics. The technique they employed for measuring constancy was one in which the comparison stimuli were far and the standard near. 2 The comparison stimuli consisted of 13 black squares graduated in size and randomly arranged under a consecutive series of numbers. These squares were always present at a distance of five meters from the subject. The standard squares were of five different sizes and were presented individually at two distances from the subject, first at four meters and then at two meters. The subjects were instructed to choose the comparison square that was equal in size to the standard square.The following equation was utilized in obtaining the size-constancy index: Size-constancy index -• SizCfarSize near and Sizef ar refer to the judged size of the standard at two and four meters respectively. In order to eliminate negative scores and decimals, a constant of one was added to J The author wishes to thank Drs. M. Ray Denny and Paul D. Greenberg for their assistance and suggestions. However, the author assumes sole responsibility for the content of the note.
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