Generalized single-case randomization tests: Flexible analyses for a variety of situations.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 14(4) of School Psychology Quarterly (see record 2007-17925-001). (1) In Table 5 (p. 76), in the cell associated with the third row and third column, the upper value of 18.3 should be 18.73. (2) On p. 81, in the section titled Simultaneous Start-Point Randomization for Matched Pairs of Units, the sentence beginning in line 10 should read: With k? acceptable start points for the first pair and k? for the second, there would be k?k? summed sums and null hypothesis-compatible summed differences for the randomization distribution to test Rgen and Rcomp, respectively (as indicated in the Appendix, p. 89).] A general class of single-case statistical procedures, derived from previously developed nonparametric randomization tests, is presented. These procedures are widely applicable in behavioral and educational research contexts in which only a few experimental units (individuals, small groups, or classrooms) are the recipients of one or more experimental treatments or interventions. Specifically illustrated are designs that focus on both the general and comparative effectiveness of alternative interventions (including control/placebo treatments), multiple units with differentiable characteristics (i.e., intervention by unit characteristic interactions), and multiple outcome measures (i.e., intervention by outcome measure interactions). Also provided are operational modifications that enhance the internal validity of studies incorporating single-case randomization-based analyses. Appropriate cautions and issues surrounding the use of these procedures are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flexibility and rigidity in a variety of problem situations.

The results point to the conclusion that a person who displays behavior defined as flexible in one situation does not necessarily do so in another. "It may be that some other way of defining behavior might lead to the formulation of a general variable of problem-solving behavior, but the criteria adopted here do not." 23 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Prospective Span as a Cognitive Ability": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Louis S. Dickstein (Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 1969, 33[6], 757-760. On page 758, column 1, paragraph 2, sentence 2, the reliability of .80 should refer to interjudge reliability rather than test-retest reliability. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1970-03616-001.) Hypothesized that prospective span (PS) in TAT stories, as a measure of cognitive capacity of anticipation, should be related to cognitive tasks involving the specific capacity of anticipation but not to more general measures of verbal intelligence. In 51 male undergraduates, PS was related to 2 cognitive tasks requiring anticipation, the Mazes Test and the Seeing Deficiencies Test, but unrelated to the Vocabulary and Information subtests of the WAIS. Contrary to previous studies, PS was negatively related to academic grades. Large differences were obtained between PS scores for the different TAT cards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical tests for moderator variables: Flaws in analyses recently proposed.

A procedure offered by Morris, Sherman, and Mansfield (1986) for testing hypotheses about interactions ("moderator variables") is unacceptable. A related proposal by Bobko (1986) is also problematic. One can appropriately test such hypotheses by stepwise regression, comparing an equation in the simple predictors with an equation that also includes the product of their deviation scores. There is, however, reason to believe that methods with greater statistical power can be found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Logic and psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the article by Michael Polanyi (American Psychologist, 1968, 23[1], 27-43). The last sentence of the quotation from Whewell on page 28 should read as follows: "Before this, the facts are seen as detached, separate, lawless; afterwards, they are seen as connected, simple, regular; as parts of one general fact, and thereby possessing innumerable new relations before unseen." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1990-55831-001). Surveys the nonstrict rules of inference, i.e., informal logic, on which science rests, and describes 3 nonstrict criteria: (1) all knowledge of reality is indeterminate, (2) knowledge of coherence is undefinable, and (3) many of the data on which knowledge rests are unspecifiable. This is termed tacit knowing or tacit inference. The latter is an integration which brings subsidiary elements to bear on the focus of our attention. Consciousness includes a tacit awareness of its subsidiaries. Tacit integration includes observation, discovery, and acquisition of skills. These are all irreducible to explicit processes of deduction. The knowledge of external objects, the body, and living beings are discussed in terms of tacit knowledge. It is felt that philosophy has been misguided by failing to recognize the process of tacit knowing. The process of visual perception and the pursuit of science are compared. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Summary of Journal Operations": Erratum.

Reports an error in the "Summary of Journal Operations" (American Psychologist, 1970, 25, 103); (see record 2005-10282-014). The rejection rate shown for the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology is incorrect. The correct figure is 67%. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Manual of Child Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the review by Roger G. Barker of the L. Carmichael edited book, Manual of Child Psychology (Psychological Bulletin, 1955, Vol 52[3], 263-267). The sentence on page 266, right-hand column, should read "However, this reader found intriguing the world view so boldly sketched." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2005-10141-002). This book is a good picture of child psychology in 1954. The weaknesses of the Manual are largely the weaknesses of the science it surveys. A good manual of child psychology awaits a more mature science of child behavior. In the meantime this book and, it is to be hoped, its future editions provide an important aid in achieving this maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of "bootstrapping": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by R. M. Dawes (American Psychologist, 1972[Aug], Vol 27[8], 773-774). On page 774, the following statement appeared: "Rather than ignore this finding, I used it to illustrate the very first principle I discussed: that linear composites based on paramorphic representations are superior to those based on actuarial analysis". The statement should read: "Rather than ignore this finding, I used it to illustrate the very first principle I discussed: that linear composites based on actuarial predictions are superior to clinical judgments when both are based on the same codable input. Nowhere in the article did I state or imply that linear composites based on paramorphic representations are superior to those based on actuarial analysis". (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1990-56997-001.) Responds to A. G. Weinstein's (1972) comments on R. M. Dawes's (see record 1971-25701-001) findings supporting "bootstrapping" in Dawes's study of graduate admissions. Bootstrapping can be used when actuarial analysis is impossible (e.g., criterion information is lacking or unavailable until after decisions are made). It is not implied that linear composites based on paramorphic representations are superior to those based on actuarial analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of conditional and unconditional randomization tests for highly stratified designs

An unconditional randomization procedure is proposed for use in highly stratified randomized experiments where the sample size assigned to each treatment cannot be fixed in advance. This procedure is contrasted to the usual conditional randomization procedure in which sample sizes assigned within randomization units are treated as fixed and randomization units without both treatments assigned are deleted. The unconditional procedure is shown to have superior power for the populations studied.     

Cluster randomization: a trap for the unwary

Controlled trials that randomize by practice can provide robust evidence to inform patient care. However, compared with randomizing by each individual patient, this approach may have substantial implications for sample size calculations and the interpretation of results. An increased awareness of these effects will improve the quality of research based on randomization by practice.     

"Explorations in Ecological Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Roger G. Barker (American Psychologist, 1965, 20, 1-14). The captions for Figures 1 and 2 on pages 2 and 3, respectively, are correct and follow text, but the figures have been interchanged. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1965-08912-001.) The "great diversity of coupling between psychologists and psychological phenomena can be divided into 2 types which produce data of crucially different significance for the science of psychology." (1) Psychologists as Transducers--T Data: The psychologist transforms data and in effect is a translating machine. (2) Psychologists as Operators--O Data: The psychologist "achieves control which allows him to focus upon segments and processes of particular concern to him, via data that refer to events which he, in part, contrives." Psychologists "as operators and as transducers are not analogous, and . . . the data they produce have fundamentally different uses within science. A central problem of our science is the relation between ecological events (the distal stimuli) at the origin of E-O-E [environment-organism-environment] arcs and the succeeding events along these arcs." There "are a number of reasons for avoiding the role of transducer in psychological research . . . . The skills and personality attributes required of a successful transducer are different from those of a successful operator . . . . The techniques of the transducer are in many respects more difficult than those of the operator." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Anxiety and Verbal Learning": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by S. J. Korchin and S. Levine (Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1957, 54, 234-240). It was erroneously stated that Dr. Korchin is now at the Research Division, Columbus State Institute of Psychiatry, Ohio State University. This statement applies to Dr. Levine. Dr. Korchin remains with the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training, Michael Reese Hospital. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1959-05616-001). 3 groups, differing in anxiety, learned 2 different types of paired-associate materials and then half of each anxiety group were tested under "immediate" and half under "delay" conditions of intertrial spacing. The first 2 groups were college students selected from extreme scorers on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the third group was composed of hospitalized anxious patients. "Among the students, the high and low groups, tested under both delay and immediate conditions, showed no significant differences in their learning of the word-associate material. With the more novel and difficult false equations, however, the high anxiety Ss learned significantly less over all and showed a somewhat slower rate of learning from trial to trial. Among the patients, those tested under the delay condition performed about as well as the high-anxiety students, while those under the immediate condition learned a lesser amount both of the word and equation materials." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Tranquilizers and Experimental Psychopathology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by John Nickols (American Psychologist, 1962, 17, 263-264). The second sentence of the first paragraph should read as follows: The number of preferred (drug free) subjects has been seriously reduced, and the behavioral scientist cannot ignore claims concerning the power of the drugs to alter pathology. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1964-08673-001.) A bibliography is presented in discussing that "Thorazine can be used in conjunction with the experimental method to control certain secondary manifestations of emotional and mental disturbance so that basic psychopathology is more clearly revealed in psychological test scores." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Repression-Sensitization and Medical Diagnosis": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Mark S. Schwartz, Neal E. Krupp, and Donn Byrne (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1971[Dec], 78[3], 286-291). In Table 3 the number of female repressors in the 60-69 age group, with a purely organic diagnosis, should be 16 instead of 6. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1972-09554-001.) The transsituational consistency of trait measures can be demonstrated best through the establishment of relationships between personality test responses and nontest behaviors. The repression-sensitization scale shows promise as a correlate of both psychological disturbance and physiological malfunctioning. The association between repression-sensitization scale responses and medical diagnoses was investigated in 360 medical patients representing (a) 3 age levels (20-29, 40-49, and 60-69); (b) 3 repression-sensitization levels (repressors, neutrals, and sensitizers); and (c) both sexes, with 20 patients in each group. Repressors tended to have purely organic diagnoses, whereas sensitizers received diagnoses involving psychological components (p     

Toward a theory of "hypnotic" behavior: Experimental analyses of suggested amnesia.

Suggestions of amnesia were given to 144 Ss in a 2 X 2 X 4 factorial experiment. The independent variables were: (1) spoken vs. recorded presentation of suggestions, (2) presence vs. absence of hypnotic induction, and (3) 3 types of suggestions for amnesia—authoritative ("You will not rememberp"), permissive ("Try to forget"), suggestions to simulate, and no suggestions. Variable 1 did not produce important differences in amnesic performance. Variable 2 significantly affected 1 of the 5 tests for amnesia, with the presence of hypnotic induction resulting in less amnesia. Variable 3 exerted the most powerful effect. Irrespective of the presence or absence of hypnotic induction, Ss differed on the tests for amnesia depending on which suggestion they were given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A paradigm for single-case research: The time series study of a long-term psychotherapy for depression.

Articulates a paradigm for single-case research in psychotherapy. A patient diagnosed as having major depressive disorder was seen in an intensive, twice-weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy for 2.5 years. Each session was videotaped, and assessments of patient change were obtained at regular intervals. A time-series analysis was used to model fluctuations in the therapy process to take into account time and the effect of previous events on subsequent changes, thereby preserving the context-determined meaning for therapist and patient actions. A bidirectional analysis of causal effects shows that the influence processes between therapist and patient are mutual and reciprocal and suggests that the effect of the patient on the therapist and on the process has not been made sufficiently explicit in previous models of process and change. The potential of intensive single-case designs for uncovering causal effects in psychotherapy is demonstrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Alpha Waves--Artifacts?": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Howard L. Miller (Psychological Bulletin, 1968[Apr], 69[4], 279-280). The fourth sentence of paragraph 3 on page 280 should read as follows: "A follow-up study (Frost & Gol, 1966), using computer averaging techniques, confirmed this hypothesis by showing that the spontaneous single-cell discharge almost always occurred during the initial positive phase of the EEG. It also confirmed that the EEG is a summation of many relatively synchronized cellular membrane fluctuations, and that the membrane potential fluctuations of any one cell try to follow the EEG, although the correspondence is not always one to one (Frost & Gol, 1966, p. 517)." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1968-10077-001.) J. L. Kennedy (see 35:2) has argued that alpha rhythm recordings are artifacts caused by the mechanical pulsation of a gel (the living brain) with different electrical potentials. Kennedy's hypothesis seemed insufficiently supported, and contradicted the consensus concerning the origin of alpha waves. Significant recent research is examined which provides strong evidence that alpha waves represent a basic cellular process probably related to excitability. It is suggested that Kennedy's phenomenon be explored further to clarify any effect it may have on standard EEG recordings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Evaluation of child witnesses for confrontation by criminal defendants": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by M. A. Small and G. B. Melton (Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1994[August], Vol 25[3], 228–233). Footnote 1 incorrectly indicates that the Craig brief was written without the aid of private legal counsel. Though the brief in question was written with more APA member involvement than has been the case for other briefs, private legal counsel participated and was listed as a coauthor. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1994-43476-001.) States have passed legislation governing the procedures by which children may testify in cases of child abuse. In Maryland v. Craig (1990), the US Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of these procedures. As a result, psychologists may be asked to perform evaluations regarding the potential trauma a child faces in confronting a defendant in a criminal case. Specifically, opinions of psychologists may be sought as to the potential trauma a child may endure as a result of a face-to-face confrontation with a defendant. Research relevant to this assessment is reviewed, and it is suggested that psychologists may be of most help in preparing children to testify.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Septum and Behavior: A Review": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article "Septum and Behavior: A Review," by P. A. Fried (Psychological Bulletin) Vol. 78(4) Oct 1972, 292-310. Line 19 of the second column of page 292 should read as follows: . . . separate paper (Fried, 1972). One . . . . (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1973-02623-001.) A review of research and discussion related to the behavioral effects of septal dysfunction supports the conclusion that a unitary conceptualization of the role of the septum is inappropriate and simplistic. Discrete lesion and stimulating techniques indicate that the septum cannot be considered equipotential in either its contribution to various types of behavior or in its anatomical relationships with other subcortical structures. Evidence indicates that various nuclei in the septum are important in at least 4 dissociable behavior patterns: (a) damage to the medial septal nucleus impairs the ability to alter a response on the basis of proprioceptive cues, (b) damage to the lateral and posterior regions of the septum increases the magnitude of negative responses to unpalatable solutions, (c) damage to regions of the septum that are anatomically connected to the hypothalamus increases the intake of water, and (d) damage to a variety of septal nuclei results in overresponding to positively-motivating stimuli. This latter finding is interpreted as implicating the septum in a specific type of response-suppressing mechanism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)