Are personality factors raters' conceptual factors?

3 separate factor-analytic studies were conducted to compare personality factors with semantic factors using 76 trait-rating scales. In 1 study raters rated real persons using the scales, in another stereotype persons. In the third study raters rated the "meaning" of select trait words on the trait-rating scales. A comparison of factors found in the 3 studies using an index of factor similarity showed that 5 of 11 factors found for ratings of real persons were congruent with 5 of 10 factors found for the ratings of stereotype persons, while the same 5 in these 2 studies were congruent with 4 of 9 factors found for ratings of the meaning of select trait words. These results suggested that "personality factors" based upon trait ratings of persons can be interpreted as distinct concepts implied by trait words rather than internal structural features of persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social competence and psychiatric diagnosis.

It was hypothesized that symptoms reflect a patient's social competence or maturity level and that this level is related to the diagnosis he receives. Symptom scales based on empirical relations between symptoms and competence levels were constructed for 3 spheres of functioning: thought, affect, and action. Results obtained with 504 psychiatric patients showed that: (1) placement on each symptom scale was significantly related to diagnosis, and (2) patients who could be rated on all 3 scales showed consistent placement across scales. The latter finding was interpreted as indicating that the maturity dimension is a pervasive one, thus lending further support to the view that maturity plays an important role in the process of diagnosis. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experienced professional interviewer versus the complete novice.

Compared interviewer behavior and efficacy of complete novices and experienced professionals. In each of 2 studies interviewees were 16 female undergraduates. 16 interviewers were professionals, and 16 were novices. Interviewees rated the novices more benignly than the professionals but the professionals were rated as more skilled. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups on genuineness and warmth, with 1 questionable difference in favor of the professionals on empathy, as measured by the Truax and Carkhuff scales, Non-Possessive Warmth, Genuineness or Self-Congruence, and Accurate Empathy. Novice interviewers were more anxious (higher non-ah ratios). None of the payoff variables (e.g., productivity) in interviewee response distinguished between the professionals and novices. The "novice" but not the "professional" interviews conformed to a synchrony model on productivity. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and the semantic differential.

"In accord with Kelly's (1955) emphasis on the importance of personal meaningfulness to the subject in psychological measurement, the possibility of employing personal constructs within the semantic differential technique was investigated. A direct relationship was predicted between the personal meaningfulness of scales and the degree to which the concepts rated by the scales are saturated with meaning. The prediction was supported. Furthermore, increased saturation does not appear to occur at the expense of 'distortion' in the semantic field." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HE33M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult perception of emotion intensity in human infant cries: effects of infant age and cry acoustics

The relation between adult perception of emotion intensity in the cries of 1- and 6-month-old infants and the acoustic characteristics of the cries was examined. In the first study, adults who were inexperienced in child care rated 40 cries on 3 emotion intensity scales: anger, fear, and distress. The cries of 6-month-olds were rated as being significantly more intense. Different acoustic variables accounted for emotion intensity ratings for the 2 infant ages. Peak amplitude and noisiness of the cry predicted adult judgments of intensity ratings of 1-month-olds' cries; a measure of amplitude ratio (in 2 frequency bands) was the best predictor of intensity ratings of 6-month-olds' cries. In the second study, parents of infants rated the same cries on the same scales. They also rated the older infants' cries as being more intense. The 2 adult groups did not differ on their ratings, and a regression equation derived from one adult group predicted the other adult group's rating of the same infant age better than it predicted its own ratings for the other infant age. Infant age, and its associated acoustic features, seems to be a more important determinant of adults' perception of emotion intensity than are such adult characteristics as gender or infant-care experience.     

The "unsatisfactory" colposcopic examination

One hundred nine of 735 patients (14.8%) referred for colposcopic evaluation had "unsatisfactory" examinations. Of 108 women 40 years of age or over, 81 had unsatisfactory examinations (45%) as compared with 28 of 555 women under 40 (5%) (p less than 0.001). Thirty-five of the 109 patients with unsatisfactory examinations (32%) had had prior cautery or conization as compared with 141 of 626 in the "satisfactory" group (22.5%) (p less than 0.04). Seventy-three of the 99 patients on whom follow-up information was obtained had cervical conization biopsies for final diagnoses. Correlation with previously performed endocervical curettage and colposcopically directed biopsies was poor. Careful correlation of cytology, colposcopy and histopathology is necessary to achieve optimal results in the management of patients with unsatisfactory examinations. Diagnostic conization continues to play an important role in the management of patients with abnormal cervical cytology.     

A comparison of three sets of rotated factor analytic solutions of self-concept data.

"Two equated groups of 96 Ss rated the self-concept on 40 semantic scales. Each set of data was separately factor analyzed and rotated by three objective procedures. Corresponding pairs of rotated solutions were compared to determine which method yielded greatest invariance. Kaiser's normal varimax method of rotation provided the most satisfactory factor structure for interpretation. Six dimensions of the self-concept were identified, and were called Self-Confidence, Social Worth, Corpulence, Potency, Independence, and Tension-Discomfort." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microdecompression and uninstrumented single-level fusion for spinal canal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review was completed on 21 patients who had a "least invasive" (one or two level) microdecompression and uninstrumented single-segment lumbar fusion for spinal canal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a "least invasive" approach to lumbar spinal canal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis would yield acceptable results. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The prevailing surgical technique for symptomatic spinal canal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis is a wide midline decompression and instrumented fusion. METHODS: On an average of 38 months postoperatively, 21 patients were personally assessed on four scores: 1) their overall satisfaction with the outcome of surgery, 2) an analog back and leg pain scale, 3) a functional evaluation scale, and 4) Ferguson (upshot) anterior-posterior lumbosacral and lateral flexion-extension radiographs. RESULTS: The overall satisfactory outcome on all four scales was 16 (76%) of 21. Twenty of twenty-one patients had relief of their claudicant leg pain; the overall fusion rate was 18 (86%) of 21. Two of three patients with a pseudarthrosis had a successful outcome on the patient-oriented outcome (1, 2, and 3) scales (excluding the radiograph scale), and one was a failure. One patient with a solid fusion was a failure because of continuing back pain. One patient with a solid fusion was a failure because of continuing leg pain. The overall satisfactory outcome on the nonradiographic scales was 18 of 21, for an 86% patient satisfaction rate. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective study, a "least invasive" surgical approach to lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal canal stenosis causing claudicant leg pain produced acceptable results.     

Graphic ratings and attitude measurement: A comparison of research tactics.

This paper suggests that under certain conditions attitudes may be measured as validly and as reliably with a single "attitude report question" as with a multi-item attitude scale. 84 physicans responded to 8 Guttman scales, and also rated their attitudes on 8 comparable graphic rating scales. These data were factor analyzed, and the communalities used as an estimate of the minimal scale reliability. In general, the graphic rating scales proved as reliable as the Guttman scales. An examination of the interscale correlations showed that similar conclusions would be drawn from either technique. It is suggested that a single graphic rating may usefully substitute for a multi-item attitude scale when the attitude continuum is unidimensional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the Psychiatric Evaluation Form to quantify children's interview data.

Two interview reports for each of 207 children (aged 4–17 yrs) were available as a result of litigation requesting damages for "psychic impairment" of the survivors of a flood. Evidence was present that certain of the symptom scales on the Psychiatric Evaluation Form (PEF) could be reliably rated from the diagnostic reports by nonclinicians. Ratings from interviews conducted 6 mo apart by interviewers with different styles and purposes were significantly correlated. Information was also given about relationships among the scales, and a suggestion was made for clustering them. Clusters from each interview were significantly correlated with a global clinical impairment rating made at the time of the 2nd interview. Clusters from the 2 reports were also differentially predictive of 2 physical symptoms, enuresis and obesity. Evidence thus suggests that the PEF scales are a useful and valid means of quantifying children's interview data and can be used to examine research questions in clinical settings. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of major depression in HIV-seropositive men. HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center Group

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to compare the efficacy and safety of fluoxetine plus group psychotherapy versus group psychotherapy alone in HIV-seropositive men (based on 1986 CDC classes II, III, and IV.C.2) who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder (DSM-III-R). METHOD: During a 7-week trial, patients were treated with fluoxetine 20-60 mg or placebo 1-3 capsules per day and were seen in weekly supportive group psychotherapy. In addition, subjects were rated on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-17), Clinical Global Impressions scales for Improvement (CGI-I) and Severity of Illness (CGI-S), and the short version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13). Of the 47 patients enrolled in the study, 25 were administered fluoxetine and 22 were given placebo. RESULTS: Subjects who received fluoxetine began to show significantly more improvement than patients who received placebo on both self- and observer-rated scales by the end of the first week of treatment. By endpoint, patients treated with fluoxetine experienced greater mean changes from baseline compared with placebo-treated patients on the HAM-D-17 (12.1 vs. 6.6; F = 6.53, df = 1,45; p < .05) and BDI-13 (5.9 vs. 1.2; F = 5.73, df = 1,45; p < .05), and a greater percentage of fluoxetine-treated patients experienced a > or = 50% in HAM-D-17 scores (64% vs. 23%; chi2= 8.60, df = 1, p < .01). Differences were particularly apparent in subjects whose initial depressive episodes were rated as severe (i.e., HAM-D-17 score > or = 24). Severely depressed patients treated with fluoxetine had an endpoint CGI-I of 1.4 compared with an endpoint CGI-I of 2.7 for patients treated with placebo (F = 6.02, df = 1,11; p < .05). Further, side effects were generally mild and transient. The most frequently noted effects reported by subjects treated with fluoxetine were nausea, dry mouth, headache, and diarrhea, in decreasing order of frequency. CONCLUSION: This study supports the efficacy and safety of fluoxetine over and above group psychotherapy for the treatment of HIV-associated major depression.     

Accentuation theory and the judgment of attitudes: Exploring possible limiting conditions.

To investigate the effects of Ss' attitudes and of response language on judgments of attitude statements, 62 university students rated 20 statements on the issue of the use of hallucinogenic drugs in terms of personal acceptability, and on 4 other rating scales. Two types of scales were used: A+ scales, where the antidrug end was marked by an evaluatively positive label and the prodrug end by an evaluatively negative label; and P+ scales, where the antidrug end was negatively labeled and the prodrug end positively labeled. In Condition 1, Ss were given only A+ scales; in Condition 2, only P+ scales; and in Conditions 3 and 4, 2 A+ and 2 P+ scales. Results confirm the accentuation theory prediction that "anti"-Ss should give more polarized ratings than "pro" Ss on A+ scales and less polarized ratings than "pro" Ss on P+ scales. This was so regardless of whether scale type was a between-Ss factor (comparison of Conditions 1 and 2) or, as in previous studies, a within-Ss factor (Conditions 3 and 4). Previous findings of a tendency for more anti ratings overall on A+ scales, and more pro ratings on P+ scales, were contradicted but it is argued that this may be due to Ss finding the statements mainly unacceptable. Other findings concern choice of adjectives to describe similar and dissimilar others. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rated associability and episodic memory.

There is some conflict in the literature over the question of whether paired-associate episodic memory improves systematically with the "associability" of the word pairs in question. In the present 3 studies with summer school students, associability was measured by ratings. Results show that under certain circumstances, episodic memory performance was affected by ceiling effects such that a simple relationship between episodic memory for paired associates and the rated associability of the pairs was difficult to demonstrate. However, when ceiling effects were avoided, either by having Ss study a great many pairs at once or by using unusually long lists, episodic memory was monotonically related to rated associability. It is suggested that word frequency should also be considered along with rated associability in this context. (French abstract) (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Upgrading unsatisfactory cervical smears with the MiB-1 method

When an unsatisfactory smear (thick inflammatory infiltrate or blood influencing the staining characteristics of the epithelial cells) is restained for MiB-1, the diagnostic proliferating cells are visualized, and the MiB-1-positive smears can be thus upgraded as borderline, grade I, II, and III, corresponding with the cytologic diagnoses of, respectively, ASCUS, CIN I, II, and > or = III. In a period of 18 months, 2,068 unsatisfactory smears out of a material of 84,817 smears were restained for MiB-1. In the unsatisfactory group, significantly more abnormal smears were detected than in the satisfactory group. Seventy-five of the unsatisfactory group were biopsied because of the MiB-1 findings: Three women proved to have severe dysplasia, four had carcinoma in situ, and three had invasive carcinoma. The per mileage for invasive cervical carcinoma was ten times larger in the unsatisfactory group than in the satisfactory group; thus the MiB-1 method has further enhanced our diagnostic acumen in this difficult type of smears.     

Extreme response tendency as a function of emotional adjustment and stimulus ambiguity.

Explored relationships between the tendency to check extreme categories on the semantic differential, emotional adjustment, and ambiguity of stimuli to be rated. 115 undergraduates were administered the Welsh A and R scales of the MMPI and asked to rate 9 stimuli on 21 semantic differential scales. Stimuli were chosen to reflect 3 levels of ambiguity (verbal concepts, TAT pictures, and Rorschach inkblots). 3 groups of 10 Ss each were formed representing high and low combinations of the A and R scales. Results suggest that anxiety (high A, low R) is related to extreme response tendencies and repression (low A, high R) is related to use of the neutral category. "Adjusted" Ss (low A, low R) tend to make more use of the intermediate categories. The relative tendency of high-A Ss to make extreme responses was most pronounced when stimuli were most ambiguous. Discussion focused on the relationships between scale-checking behavior, "psychopathology," and meaningfulness of material to be rated. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two kinds of assumed similarity between opposites.

In a series of recent studies, F. E. Fiedler has shown that a leader's "assumed similarity between opposites" (ASo) is an important correlate of his team's efficiency. Basketball teams and surveying teams were shown to be more efficient when the sociometrically most-chosen member attributed very different psychological traits to persons he regarded as good and bad coworkers. The efficiency of bomber and tank crews was also found to be related to the leader's ASo. This paper reports an investigation of some statistical and psychological properties of ASo. Forty-two members of an undergraduate class in psychology served as subjects (Ss) for this study. Ss responded to Fiedler's instrument consisting of 20 graphic rating scales, the ends of which were identified by polar terms. As is customary with this instrument, Ss rated themselves, a good co-worker, and a bad co-worker on each of the 20 scales. The results show that the conventional measure of ASo can be broken into two components which are logically and empirically independent of one another. Taken separately these two components sometimes correlate more highly with external variables than does ASo itself. Implications of these qualities of ASo are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prognostic scales in schizophrenia.

The case histories of 65 female schizophrenic patients were rated by means of the Phillips, Elgin, and Kantor scales. The reliability of the Phillips and Elgin scales was quite comparable and higher than that of the Kantor. The relationships among the various scales ranged from .52 to .82 for individual raters. However, differences among the scales were observed when "normative" scores were used and the scales appraised in terms of length of hospital stay and marital status. Although scores on all scales appeared to show some relationship to marital status, this relationship was not uniform among the scales. Marital status was also found to relate to length of hospitalization as well as any of the scales. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of counseling center hiring practices: What does it take for a woman to be hired?

Examined the effect of raters' level of self-acceptance on the ratings of 3 types of candidates for counselor jobs: a "traditional," woman, a "feminist," and a candidate with sex unspecified. Ss were 81 male counseling center directors, associate directors, and assistant directors. Self-acceptance was measured by the Phillips Self-Acceptance Scale. Ss rated candidates on 6 variables on 5-point Likert-type scales. Results of 2 * 3 analyses of variance reveal that Ss with higher self-acceptance were more likely to evaluate all candidates as more competent to help clients. The feminist candidate was rated significantly higher than the other 2 candidates on potential to deal with a wide range of emotional problems and on preparation to develop outreach programs. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' evaluations of university teaching: Chinese version of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality Instrument.

This study evaluates the applicability of a Chinese translation of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) and explores the generality of selected findings based on North American research to the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Students (N?=?844) selected a "good" and a "poor" teacher, and rated each using the SEEQ. Good teachers were rated more favorably than poor teachers on all SEEQ scales, all SEEQ items were judged to be most important by at least some students, and SEEQ items (except, perhaps, feedback on examinations) were seen as appropriate by most students. Relations with background variables (student gender, teacher gender, teacher age, course grade, class size, workload and difficulty) were similar to those reported in North American studies. The results support the use of the SEEQ in this Chinese setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)