The California F scale in psychological research: 1950-1955.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of those studies using the F scale in substantially its original form which appeared in the literature between 1950 and 1955. The studies were grouped into five major categories: (a) ideology; (b) personality correlates; (c) interpersonal behavior; (d) cultural and sub-cultural variations; and (e) studies of the instrument. It was concluded that "many questions still remain to be answered before its (the F scale) use would have much meaning in terms of predicting human behavior." 64-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The general applicability of a scale for rating research productivity.

"The RBD III, a forced-choice rating form to provide scores indicative of a person's productive research behavior in physical science research settings, was administered in a setting other than the one in which it was developed." 50 Ss were selected at random from 168 research engineers. Supervisory judgments of a person's creativity activity indicated its validity. The "RBD III can be used to provide criterion scores for research productivity in other physical science research settings." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive and negative faking on a forced-choice authoritarian scale.

"The effects of faking both favorably and unfavorably upon a forced-choice scale of authoritarianism… were studied… . There were large distribution changes resulting from a set to 'look bad' compared to the conventional set, but only small changes emerged from faking favorably. Furthermore, the scores obtained by the subjects under the faking conditions, especially with the negative set, were opposite in direction from the intentions of the testees and the expectations of the experimeters… . The utility of this nonpolitical derivative of the California F Scale was recommended for leadership research in industrial, as well as military, settings." 19 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A plan for integrated programs of personnel research and development.

Describes the administrative organization of the program of personnel research as established in the Navy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need satisfactions of managerial level personnel in a government agency.

Compares the need satisfactions of managers in field work with those of similar managers in central office work with a government agency. There was greater satisfaction among those in field work especially with respect to certain higher-level needs. Also, a comparison was made of the need satisfactions of all respondents in the government agency with those of a similar group from private industry. The satisfaction of the government managers was less across all need items than the satisfaction of the private industry managers. A perceptual halo effect created by the insecure conditions existing in the government agency at the time the study was conducted may explain this finding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a criterion of research productivity.

"A forced-choice rating scale designed to determine the extent of a person's productive research behavior was developed at a Midwestern physical science foundation. Of the two experimental scales developed the better form showed an interrator reliability coefficient of .62 and a validity of .60. When the ratings of two raters were averaged the validity of the scale increased to .74." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of student personnel and educational research facilities.

"In an effort to secure some understanding of the ways in which institutions of higher learning staff, organize, administer, and finance research activities in the branch of the behavioral sciences which we think of as education, the present writer surveyed 28 agencies in 10 universities." Information was obtained for most of these agencies concerning "a picture of the development of research activities within the agency, its present staff structure, administrative and policy control, amount and method of financing, and the nature of the research being carried on." Multiple staff appointments, temporary research personnel, basic, applied and service research, research talent in administration, and the impact of the work of research centers are briefly considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward more (and better) countertransference research.

This article addresses the definitional and measurement barriers currently inhibiting countertransference research and indicates new pathways toward meaningful and clinically relevant countertransference research. First, I review the countertransference definitional debate and advocate for the adoption of a moderate countertransference definition. Second, I review the extant countertransference research, with primary emphasis on measurement issues, and recommend new methods and instruments for assessing the construct. Finally, I conclude with a few remarks about clinical implications and directions for future CT research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors in supervisors' perceptions of physical science research personnel.

How can the use of supervisor ratings as a criterion of productivity be improved? "Forty physical science research supervisors described the behavior of productive and nonproductive research personnel using a 250-item checklist derived from interviews with research supervisors. A factor analysis of the items comprising the checklist resulted in finding five significant factors. These factors have been tentatively named General Productivity, Affability, Motivation, Ability to Communicate, and Creative Ability." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of realistic stress and procedural interference in experimental lie detection.

2 different samples of police trainees were used to investigate: (1) the effect of realistic stress in experimental lie detection, and (2) the possible interference with the GSR channel resulting from the simultaneous recording of blood pressure. It was found that: (1) GSR detection results under stress were essentially similar to those obtained in mild experimental situations, and far superior in detection efficiency to analysis of heart rate changes. (2) The introduction of a blood-pressure cuff inflated to 80 mm. of mercury for the 90 sec. of interrogation (similar to actual field measurement conditions) reduced the efficiency of detection of the GSR channel. (3) There is some suggestion that GSR reactivity may be related to ethnic origin. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Religious Commitment Inventory--10: Development, refinement, and validation of a brief scale for research and counseling.

The authors report the development of the Religious Commitment Inventory--10 (RCI-10), used in 6 studies. Sample sizes were 155, 132, and 150 college students; 240 Christian church-attending married adults; 468 undergraduates including (among others) Buddhists (n= 52), Muslims (n=12), Hindus (n=10), and nonreligious (n= 117); and 217 clients and 52 counselors in a secular or 1 of 6 religious counseling agencies. Scores on the RCI-10 had strong estimated internal consistency, 3-week and 5-month test-retest reliability, construct validity, and discriminant validity. Exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Studies 4 and 6) factor analyses identified 2 highly correlated factors, suggesting a 1-factor structure as most parsimonious. Religious commitment predicted response to an imagined robbery (Study 2), marriage (Study 4), and counseling (Study 6). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applied psychology in action: Psychological research in personnel administration.

Industrial management has undoubtedly been skeptical about the value of the personnel psychologist as a direct part of its operations payrolled as its job evaluation, training, organization and methods and other functions are. Yet a large number and variety of management problems can be attacked by the application of the specialized skills of the research psychologist. And in most cases not only can they provide the most valid solutions and recommendations but can do this in a manner which will please even the most practical administrator. To do this, it seems important for the research psychologist to be close enough to the management and operations of the organization so that he can sense needs for research in day-to-day problems. And he can make acceptable recommendations for application of research results in the same setting. The possibilities for success are greater, of course, where the relationship between administrator and psychologist is a close and continuing one. The Civilian Personnel Research Branch (CPRB) of the U. S. Air Force Headquarters is in the fortunate position of approximating this ideal. This Branch conducts psychological research originating from everyday problems of the civilian personnel program of the Air Force. The author concludes that staffing with personnel specifically trained for such work pays dividends, if in no other way than in making such research sufficiently sound to assure management that the conclusions may be applied with confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biographical data and the identification of creative research personnel.

Biographical data items were weighted and cross-validated for the identification of creative research personnel. Significant linear, partial linear, multiple, and multiple-partial correlations are presented between no previous experience (NPE) and previous experience (PE) keys and a variety of creativity criteria. A behavioral and perceptual image of the creative scientist is presented, together with a discussion of the communality inherent in various criteria of creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of a communication on attitude change and scale judgments.

"The purposes of this study were to assess the effects of a persuasive communication on attitude change and on judgments of the scale values of opinion items and to examine the relationship between attitude change and evaluations of the communication. An experimental group of subjects was exposed to a communication advocating abolution of capital punishment, after which they evaluated the communication, judged the scale values of 36 opinion statements, and revealed their own attitudes by responding to 20 opinion items… . The major results are: The communication changed attitudes in the direction advocated. But the groups were alike in their judgments of the scale values of the related opinion statements. Hence, a change in scale judgments is not a necessary condition for attitude change." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD33W. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulsive versus realistic thinking: An examination of the distinction between primary and secondary processes in thought.

The nature of the distinction between primary and secondary processes, as described by Freud, has relevancy for both a cognitive psycholoy and a psychology of motivation. Several issues arising from an examination of the 2 processes are examined. Possible empirical approaches to the basic problems are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theory and philosophy in social psychology.

Social psychologists are generally very empirical, and their research is usually theoretically oriented. However, what passes for theory is often no more than a couple of vague statements. Nevertheless, coming from the tradition of Kurt Lewin, we tend to reject papers that do not test a "theory". On the other hand, we pay no attention to theories lacking experimental support. Clinical observations are not enough. There is very little concern with philosophical issues. Ken Gergen of Swarthmore College is a notable exception and is often on convention programs. His comments about "historicism" in social psychology have caused some published rebuttals, but our members are largely not very concerned with this or with Gergen's more recent forays in "social re-constructionism". (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diverse faculty in STEM fields: Attitudes, performance, and fair treatment.

In an attempt to address concerns regarding the experiences of academic faculty who are members of often-marginalized groups (e.g., women and ethnic/racial minorities), a climate survey of faculty members at a large public university was developed as part of a larger effort to improve aspects of the policies, procedures, and work climate. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed differences in performance-related variables and equality of treatment for women and racial/ethnic minorities working in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Women in STEM fields and racial/ethnic minority non-STEM faculty generally reported more negative experiences, while ethnically diverse STEM faculty generally reported more positive experiences. The differential composition of the racial/ethnic minority STEM and non-STEM groups is thought to explain the discrepant findings between these 2 groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case studies within a mixed methods paradigm: Toward a resolution of the alienation between researcher and practitioner in psychotherapy research.

This article addresses the long-standing divide between researchers and practitioners in the field of psychotherapy, regarding what really works in treatment and the extent to which interventions should be governed by outcomes generated in a “laboratory atmosphere.” This alienation has its roots in a positivist paradigm, which is epistemologically incomplete because it fails to provide for context-based practical knowledge. In other fields of evaluation research, it has been superseded by a mixed methods paradigm, which embraces pragmatism and multiplicity. On the basis of this paradigm, we propose and illustrate new scientific standards for research on the evaluation of psychotherapeutic treatments. These include the requirement that projects should comprise several parallel studies that involve randomized controlled trials, qualitative examinations of the implementation of treatment programs, and systematic case studies. The uniqueness of this article is that it contributes a guideline for involving a set of complementary publications, including a review that offers an overall synthesis of the findings from different methodological approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)