Verbal responses to human figure paintings: A test of the uncertainty hypothesis.

22 undergraduates rated 36 human-figure paintings on verbal scales to index uncertainty (e.g., simple–complex) and 2 types of aesthetic reaction: epistemic (e.g., uninteresting–interesting) and diversive (e.g., displeasing–pleasing). Linear and quadratic regression equations were used to examine relations between uncertainty and evaluative reaction. Uncertainty accounted for 12–23% of the variance in epistemic and diversive ratings. Linear models were selected in both cases, with uncertainty positively related to epistemic ratings and negatively to diversive ratings. The idea that uncertainty governs aesthetic evaluations of pictures with human content is discussed. (French abstract) (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color versus numeric coding in a keeping-track task: Performance under varying load conditions.

Investigated the effectiveness of a color vs a numeric code in a modified keeping-track task-air traffic control. Altitude state was the coded variable. Ss were 36 male undergraduates. It was hypothesized that (a) color coding would be superior to numeric coding, particularly with a greater number of total items displayed; and (b) color would be relatively more efficacious with a greater number of items in the interrogated state. Neither of these hypotheses were supported. Based on an error-type analysis, it is concluded that color can aid in retaining information concerning category size and item spatial location; identity information was quickly lost. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal processes on psychological radio call-in programs: Comparisons with other help-intended interactions.

We describe the verbal process of program hosts and callers during call-in psychology interviews; we measured the similarity of these interactions with other help-intended interactions, and we assessed the compatibility of hosts' verbal behavior with prescribed ethical guidelines. Radio interviews with 30 callers were recorded from each of 6 programs broadcast in major American cities. Hosts' and callers' verbal response modes (VRMs) were coded and compared with the VRMs used in psychotherapy, university settings, and medical interviews. Hosts' VRMs most resembled those of rational-emotive therapists and those of physicians in the conclusion segment of medical interviews. Callers' VRMs most resembled those of clients in cognitive-behavioral therapy. The results call into question the viability of the distinctions made in current ethical guidelines governing psychologists' behavior on such programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantifying psychological victimization: scientific uncertainty, legal necessity

Quantifying psychological victimization presents a formidable conundrum for psychiatry and the law. On the one hand, the task is fundamentally uncertain, due to causal complexity that includes disparity between projected image and inner reality, context dependence, volition, and conflicting interests. On the other hand, the task is necessary for just determination in such areas of law as disability assessment, victim impact, compensation, and psychological crimes such as harassment. A multiaxial protocol is proposed to meet this problematic charge. The five dimensions of this protocol are (1) gross estimate of victimization, including severity of the stressor, the degree of resulting impairment, and variably, the degree of the victim's nonresponsibility; (2) reliability; (3) other conditions; (4) conflicts of interest; and (5) evaluator bias. Intuitive estimates are used widely here instead of operationalized criteria, to enhance flexibility and widen relevance. Evaluators are asked to determine and explain the weighting that should be given to different factors and to give a self-statement of their own biases.     

Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help.

Self-stigma is an important factor in people's decisions not to engage in therapy. To measure this construct, the authors developed the 10-item Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale. In Study 1 (n = 583), the SSOSH had a unidimensional factor structure and good reliability (.91) among participants. Study 2 (n = 470) confirmed the factor structure. Studies 2, 3 (n = 546), and 4 (n = 217) cross-validated the reliability (.86 to .90; test-retest, .72) and showed evidence of validity (construct, criterion, and predictive) across the study samples. The SSOSH uniquely predicted attitudes toward and intent to seek psychological help. Finally, in Study 5 (n = 655) the SSOSH differentiated those who sought psychological services from those who did not across a 2-month period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric versus psychological opinion regarding personality disturbances.

Results of a survey "designed to determine, at least to some extent, the degree of diversity and disunity of opinion between" psychiatrists and psychologists are presented. An objective questionnaire, consisting of 100 "declarative statements covering the nature, cause, and treatment of disturbances to the mental life and behavior of individuals, with chief emphasis on characteristics usually identified as psychotic and neurotic" which were representative of current opinion, was used. 75 psychiatrists (32 working in mental hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and 43 practicing psychiatrists in 21 states and the District of Columbia) and 60 psychologists (in 23 states and the District of Columbia) were the Ss. "Only 19 statements of opinion, out of the 100 explored in this study, reveal statistically significant differences of opinion between psychiatrists and psychologists." Psychiatrists show a higher degree of acceptance on 14 items, psychologists a higher degree of acceptance on the other 5. The specific items on which differences were indicated are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training reading comprehension in adequate decoders/poor comprehenders: Verbal versus visual strategies.

Third through fifth grade adequate decoders who were poor comprehenders were trained for 10 weeks in either the verbally based reciprocal teaching (RT) program (n?=?22) or the visually based visualizing/verbalizing (V/V) program (n?=?23), or they were assigned to an untreated control group (n?=?14). Training reading comprehension strategies in small groups enhanced comprehension as the experimental groups made significant gains on 11 measures, whereas the untreated control group made only 1 significant gain. Between experimental group comparisons (yielding effect sizes?>?.32) favored the RT group on several measures that depend on explicit, factual material, while the V/V group was favored on several visually mediated measures. Regarding which experimental condition was statistically optimal, the RT group made only 1 significantly greater gain than the V/V group on answering text-explicit open-ended questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Brief Symptom Inventory: Measuring psychological distress in spinal cord injury.

Explored the appropriateness of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) as a measure of psychological distress among 79 traumatic spinal cord injured (SCI) patients (aged 18–70 yrs) and emphasized the limitations of using the BSI as a replacement for the SCL-90—Revised (SCL-90—R). Ss' BSI scores were compared with a nonpatient normative group (N?=?974). Ss were significantly more psychologically distressed in somatization, depression, and phobic anxiety than the normative group. However, several somatization symptoms endorsed by these Ss are common physical effects of SCI rather than psychosomatic complaints. When comparing BSI and SCL-90—R scores of the same Ss, significant statistical differences were found with respect to the level of psychological distress being reported by each test. The BSI may not represent an equivalent abbreviated form of the SCL-90—R for the SCI population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking within: Measuring state self-forgiveness and its relationship to psychological well-being.

Although considerable empirical attention has recently focused on forgiveness, less work has been done on examining self-forgiveness. A major stumbling block for self-forgiveness research has been the lack of a measure to assess self-forgiveness for specific transgressions. This article reports the development of the State Self-Forgiveness Scales and the test of a model of self-forgiveness' relation to psychological well-being in the context of the unwanted end of a romantic relationship. In Study 1, factor analysis revealed a 2-factor structure to the self-forgiveness data. Study 2 found that self-blame predicted depressive affect to the extent that participants forgave the self. The implications of state self-forgiveness for both basic research and therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental subtraction in high- and lower skilled arithmetic problem solvers: Verbal report versus operand-recognition paradigms.

The authors used the operand-recognition paradigm (C. Thevenot, M. Fanget, & M. Fayol, 2007) in order to study the strategies used by adults to solve subtraction problems. This paradigm capitalizes on the fact that algorithmic procedures degrade the memory traces of the operands. Therefore, greater difficulty in recognizing them is expected when calculations have been solved by reconstructive strategies rather than by retrieval of number facts from long-term memory. The present results suggest that low- and high-skilled individuals differ in their strategy when they solve problems involving minuends from 11 to 18. Whereas high-skilled individuals retrieve the results of such subtractions from long-term memory, lower skilled individuals have to resort to reconstructive strategies. Moreover, the authors directly confront the results obtained with the operand-recognition paradigm and those obtained with the more classical method of verbal report collection and show clearly that this second method of investigation fails to reveal this differential pattern. The rationale behind the operand-recognition paradigm is then discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

COAE thresholds: 1. Effects of equal-amplitude versus subtraction methods

Although research has demonstrated that click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (COAEs) elicited by high-level stimuli are useful for identifying hearing loss, the ability of COAEs to predict behavioral thresholds has not been adequately tested. Results of studies comparing COAE thresholds and behavioral thresholds have been equivocal, perhaps due to the need for a more rigorous approach to COAE threshold estimation. The present study was designed to address several methodological concerns in COAE threshold testing, particularly the effects of two methods of stimulus presentation on COAE testing and threshold calculation. In an attempt to make COAE threshold estimation consistent across participants, COAE threshold calculations were based on mean noise floor levels across participants. COAE and noise floor levels were measured in 15 participants using both equal-amplitude clicks and a subtraction method. Broadband COAEs were analyzed into 1/3 octave bands, so that input/output functions could be examined and COAE thresholds could be calculated for each 1/3 octave band. Comparison of the two stimulus methods indicated several differences. Mean noise floor levels for the equal-amplitude method were approximately 6 dB lower than those measured for the subtraction method across frequency. In many cases COAEs evoked using the equal-amplitude method were higher in amplitude than those evoked using the subtraction method. COAE thresholds measured using the equal-amplitude click stimuli were significantly lower than those measured using the subtraction method. The significantly higher thresholds obtained using the subtraction method may be attributed in part to the reduction of COAE amplitude by the subtraction procedure, and not merely to the higher noise level. Slopes of the input/output functions were not significantly different between the two stimulus methods. These results suggest that the equal-amplitude method is preferable for COAE threshold testing because lower noise floor and larger amplitude COAEs may be obtained in the same test time.     

Silent versus symptomatic myocardial ischemia: The role of psychological and medical factors.

This study examined the relationship of psychological, cardiac, and general medical history factors to asymptomatic (silent) versus symptomatic myocardial ischemia among 102 patients who underwent treadmill exercise testing and had perfusion imaging indicative of ischemia. During exercise, 68 patients exhibited silent ischemia, and 34 experienced chest pain. Patients with silent ischemia rated higher than symptomatic patients on anger control, externally oriented thinking, and somatosensory amplification, but did not differ on depression or global alexithymia. Anger control and externally oriented thinking remained independent correlates in multivariate analysis, controlling for demographic and cardiac factors. Groups did not differ on general medical or cardiac variables. Thus, this study suggests that affective and cognitive factors, but not biomedical factors, are associated with silent, as opposed to symptomatic, ischemia during exercise testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approaches to empathy training: Programmed methods versus individual supervision and professional versus peer supervisors.

Examined the effects of training method (programmed vs individual supervision) and supervisor experience (peer vs professional) on the learning of empathy. Eight supervisors (4 professional and 4 peer) were assigned 3 Ss in each of 3 groups: individually supervised, programmed, and control. Ss listened to 3 sets of recorded client statements and responded as counselors. The 2 experimental groups received training after the 1st and 2nd sets. The control group received no training. An analysis of recorded responses indicated that the individually supervised Ss achieved a significantly higher level of empathy than the controls. Ss receiving programmed training were intermediate in learning between individually supervised and control Ss. Supervisor experience was not found to be a significant factor as no posttraining differences were noted between professional and peer-trained groups. This result supports the use of peers in such interpersonal skills training. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent psychological approaches to the free will versus determinism issue.

This article examines the scientific utility of the concept of free will. Distinctions are drawn between the concepts of hard determinism, soft determinism, libertarianism, conscious choice, beliefs about conscious control, volitional behavior, and actual personal control. Relevant theories reviewed include R. Zavolloni's (1962) feedback theory, J. E. Rychlak's (1981) telospouse theory, C. W. Tageson's (1982) 3-dimensional model, R. W. Sperry's (see record 1989-00022-001) theory of supervenient control, A. Bandura's (see record 1990-01275-001) theory of agency, and the chaos concept. Data relevant to these theories are reviewed. It is concluded that theories of free will can be compatible with the scientific tasks of prediction and control. However, the free will vs. determinism issue is unlikely to be resolved conclusively by using scientific data. Nevertheless, the concept of free will can play a useful role in scientific theorizing by serving as a meta-assumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods.

This article examines the definition, importance, conceptual basis, and functional nature of content validity, with an emphasis on psychological assessment in clinical situations. The conditional and dynamic nature of content validity is discussed, and multiple elements of content validity along with quantitative and qualitative methods of content validation are reviewed. Finally, several recommendations for reporting and interpreting content validation evidence are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Openness and honesty versus coercion and deception in psychological research.

Classified approximately 1,000 studies published in American Psychological Association (APA) journals with regard to characteristics of the Ss and of the context of research. Ss were volunteers in only a minority of studies. Approximately 20% of the studies involved a condition where false or misleading information was given to Ss. The incidence of debriefing was considerably less than 50%. It is doubtful that researchers can follow APS's call for "openness and honesty" between investigators and research participants unless these characteristics of psychological research are altered. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Designs, participants, and measurement methods in psychological research.

Critical reviews of psychological scholarship suggest that self-report questionnaires, experimental designs, and college students dominate psychological research. Although researchers within specific subfields of psychology have the requisite knowledge to assess the generality of these concerns, novices of psychological research do not. To provide such knowledge, we surveyed a random sample of 200 journal articles in the PsycINFO database coding for psychological content area, research design, measurement method, and participant type. Results indicate self-report questionnaires, experimental designs, and college students each appeared in a minority of studies and these study characteristics often varied significantly by content area. Results also suggest no single dominant "typical" study in psychological research but rather that the characteristics of such research exhibit remarkable diversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)