Assessing condom use practices. Implications for evaluating method and user effectiveness

A case report of swelling of the right submandibular gland, with spontaneous remission, is described. Clinical, ultrasonographical and cytological features suggest that the swelling could be ascribed to a necrotizing sialometaplasia. The etiopathological hypothesis and pathology of the lesion are presented, and the differential diagnosis with other spreading lesions of the submandibular gland is discussed.     

Methods of peer assessment.

Reviews research on 3 methods of peer assessment: peer nominations, peer ratings, and peer rankings. Each method is evaluated in terms of its practicality, reliability, validity, freedom from bias, and acceptability. Among the conclusions drawn are that peer assessment can be reliable and valid and that it is best used as part of a multisource approach to performance assessment. Peer nomination has been the subject of the most research and appears to have the highest validity and reliability. Peer rating is the most useful of the 3 methods for feedback purposes but also produces the least valid, reliable, and unbiased measurements. Peer ranking has been the least researched of the 3 methods but is by nature the most discriminating method and can incorporate nonmetric scaling advances that might establish it as the all-purpose method of choice. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of an idiographic measure of self-schemas: An illustration of the construction and use of self-scenarios.

Self-scenarios were used as a repeated measures outcome measurement with a 41-yr-old unemployed White male patient with a history of anxiety and depression. Self-scenarios represent an idiographic measure of dysfunctional schemas, defined as cognitive-affective-motoric structures. Two psychologists acted as assessment interviewer and 3rd-party observer. After the 2nd session, S rated 5 self-scenarios (appended) corresponding to his own problems for frequency, preoccupation, accessibility, alternatives, self-efficacy, self-view, interpersonal view, and chronicity. From the 3rd to 20th session, S received only the 2 clinically relevant scenarios and completed corresponding ratings. General psychiatric symptomatology was measured at treatment outcome. Not all indices displayed the same magnitude of change or the same time frame for change; change was not maintained in a linear fashion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirically supported treatments: Implications for training.

This article discusses the role of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) in the training of clinical psychologists. Training in ESTs can be integrated in ways that vary depending on the level of training and setting. Predoctoral programs, internships, postdoctoral programs, and continuing education are discussed in regard to special challenges and sequencing of training. A preliminary set of guidelines for training in ESTs is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus dynamics and temporal discrimination: Implications for pacemakers.

The purpose of the present study was to observe the functional relationship between stimulus dynamics and stimulus duration judgments in humans. Stimulus duration was defined as the length of time that a spinning sphere appeared on a computer screen. Stimulus dynamics were defined by how quickly the sphere rotated on its y-axis. Using a logarithmic scale, a psychophysical bisection task was used to divide stimulus durations into two categories, short and long. Across three experiments, participants’ duration judgments were longer the faster the sphere was rotated. This effect was observed over both a long and short temporal scale and over a wide range of stimulus dynamics despite the fact that the reinforcement contingencies penalized participants for this effect. The results are discussed in terms of perceived change as the possible basis of temporal duration estimation. This hypothesis was investigated through applications of the leading quantitative models of temporal discrimination to the present data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity of self- and peer evaluations of performance dimensions in an assessment center.

The construct validity of final self- and peer evaluations in an assessment center was examined within a nomological network of conceptually related and unrelated variables. Data included self-, peer, and assessor evaluations; cognitive ability and personality measures; and job advancement. The evidence for construct validity was stronger for peer than for self-evaluations and for more easily observable dimensions than for dimensions requiring greater inferential judgment. Self- and peer evaluations were associated with assessor ratings of management potential, whereas only peer evaluations predicted job advancement. Implications for the use of self- and peer evaluations in assessment centers and the need for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA/CHAMPUS peer review project: Implications for research and practice.

Describes the history of the American Psychological Association (APA) peer review of psychological services provided under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), the operational details of the system, and some of the criticisms of the project. Research is summarized that examined the characteristics of peer reviewers, the effects of the theoretical orientation of the reviewer, and the effects of documented treatment progress. Implications for care providers, patients, and the profession are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A revised class play method of peer assessment.

Presents a revised version of the class play (RCP) method of peer assessment for children, which was designed to improve the assessment of social competence as well as the psychometric properties of the class play method. The RCP consists of 30 roles, 15 positive and 15 negative, that 612 3rd–6th graders were told to assign to their classmates according to which classmate would play the role best. Ss were also rated by their teachers on the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale and were administered the Peabody Individual Achievement Test, the Vocabulary and Block Design subtests of the WISC—R, and the Duncan Socioeconomic Index. Three RCP scores were derived based on factor analysis that revealed 3 dimensions: Sociability-Leadership, Aggressive-Disruptive, and Sensitive-Isolated. Data are presented relating the 3 scores, which proved to be reliable and stable at intervals of 6 and 17 mo, to SES, IQ, achievement, and teacher ratings. Positive reputation was associated with other aspects of social and intellectual competence, whereas isolated reputation was linked to difficulties at school. Multiple regression analyses suggested that a pattern of low-positive, high aggressive-disruptive, and high-isolated peer reputation is the least competent. The advantages of multidimensional scoring and analysis of peer reputation are demonstrated by the results. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multimodal assessment of rehearsal treatments in an assertion training program.

50 nonassertive undergraduate Ss participated in a study designed to assess the efficacy of several behavior rehearsal procedures in an assertion training program. In addition, 15 highly assertive undergraduates also participated in the pretest assessment, which included behavioral, cognitive, and physiological measures. Following pretest, the nonassertive Ss were randomly assigned to a no-treatment control group or to groups that received 2 sessions of behavior rehearsal, exaggerated rehearsal, role-reversal training, or a treatment consisting of a combination of behavior rehearsal, modeling, and coaching. Pretest results indicate that the nonassertive Ss were rated as responding less assertively in the behavioral role play test and also reported themselves as being more anxious than the assertive Ss. Posttest data indicate that the role-reversal group was the least effective treatment in modifying self-reports of assertion behavior, while the exaggerated-rehearsal and full-treatment groups demonstrated the largest gains on several measures. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual stability in the organization and patterning of behavior: Incorporating psychological situations into the idiographic analysis of personality.

In nomothetic analyses, the cross-situational consistency of individual differences in social behavior, assessed in vivo in a camp setting, depended on the similarity in the psychological features of situations. As predicted by the social-cognitive theory of personality, idiographic analyses revealed that individuals were characterized by stable profiles of if… then…, situation–behavior relationships that formed "behavioral signatures" of personality (e.g., he aggresses when warned by adults but complies when threatened by peers). Thus, the intraindividual organization of behavior variation across situations was enduring but discriminatively patterned, visible as distinctive profiles of situation–behavior relationships. Implications were examined for an idiographic reconceptualization of personality coherence and its behavioral expressions in relation to the psychological ingredients of situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Historically grounding the practice of psychology: Implications for professional training.

The author explores 3 ways the history of psychology can be made relevant to professional training in clinical psychology. Focusing on the practitioner-scholar model of clinical professional training, he argues that 3 central facets of historical understanding can be wedded to existing goals of professional training: (a) providing an interdisciplinary context for psychology, (b) addressing concerns about humans in the field, and (c) mediating theory-practice tensions that often exist in professional training. Suggestions are also made for encouraging historical understanding as essential to fostering critical self-reflection among students preparing for careers in professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the temporal stability of personality: Evidence for differential stability and the role of life experiences.

The authors investigated the stability of personality and trait affect in young adults. In Studies 1 and 2, young adults were retested on a Big Five personality measure and a trait affect inventory over a 2.5-year and a 2-month period, respectively. Results from Study 1 point to positive mean-level changes; participants scored higher on Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness at Time 2. Affectively, participants experienced less negative affect and more positive affect at Time 2. Results from both retests provide clear evidence of differential stability. Affective traits were consistently less stable than the Big Five. Other analyses suggest that life events influence the stability of affective traits more than the Big Five. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Aristotelian resolution of the idiographic versus nomothetic tension.

The 20th century clash between psychologies that emphasize individual differences and those that emphasize general processes grows out of an older philosophical tension between the particular and universal facets of substance. Properly understood, Aristotle's analysis resolves this tension in a way that allows psychology to unify these perspectives on human functioning within a single focus. The key concept used is that of the developmental functional history (DFH) of the individual, the career of material functioning throughout an individual's existence that, among other general laws it follows, must be unique. The DFH is also developmentally cumulative in its effects. Earlier events have more far-reaching consequences on its organization than later ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Foundations of psychological assessment: Implications for cognitive assessment in clinical science.

We examine psychological assessment within the broader framework of psychology's efforts to build and test useful scientific theories. In the first section, we consider in detail a number of fundamental epistemological, conceptual, and methodological issues that tend either to inhibit or to foster theoretical progress in psychology. In light of these issues, we then recommend that psychology adopt an information-based, quantitative approach to theory building and testing. This approach should help us model the dynamic, stochastic processes underlying human behavior. In the second section, we explore the implications of the issues and strategies that we outlined in the first section for the future of clinical assessment, with a particular focus on the clinical assessment of cognitive processes. We conclude by advocating a conceptual and methodological integration of clinical and cognitive neuroscience in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting cultural competence: Implications for practice and training.

Training and work experience with clients from diverse groups were examined among 266 recent PhDs in counseling and clinical psychology. Surveys were mailed to 600 participants who completed their graduate work between 1985 and 1987. Analyses examined which training variables predicted self-rated competence in providing services to various cultural groups. Results indicated that most therapists reported competence in working with diverse clients, but there was notable variability among ratings of therapists' self-perceived competence with different client groups. Exposure during training to working with clients from specific cultural groups was important in predicting therapists' current perceived competence. Most respondents reported accessing education and training experiences in providing services to diverse client groups. A small but troubling number of respondents reported seeing clients despite reporting low levels of competence with that client group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of the temporal dimension of gaze for inferring preference.

This study examined 4- and 5-year-olds' ability to spontaneously use the relative duration and frequency of another's object-directed gaze for inferring that person's preference. In Experiment 1, analysis revealed a strong age effect for judgment accuracy, which could not be accounted for by cue-monitoring proficiency. Reducing the saliency of the objects in Experiment 2 yielded significant improvement in the younger children's performance. Thus, at 4 years, children already show signs of attending to the temporal dimension of gaze for making mentalistic inferences of preferential liking, but their competence may be undermined by the object choices themselves. By 5 years, they appear to overcome this competition. The obtained developmental difference is discussed in terms of concurrent transitions in attention regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of an assessment and training unit for developmentally delayed children

The Rata villa assessment and training unit is intended to provide a short term community service for the evaluation and treatment of developmentally delayed children who are becoming difficult to manage at home or in community educational or training facilities. Since it opened the unit has dealt with 102 first admissions with a wide variety of problems, ranging in age from two to 15 years and varying in intellectual level from normal intelligence to profoundly retarded. In 71 percent of these cases permanent improvements have been made in at least one of the problem areas identified by the child's parents on admission. The treatment programmes are considered to have contributed to maintaining the child in the community as only 28 percent of those treated are currently long term residents in psychopaedic hospitals.     

Intensity judgments of emotion words: Implications for counselor training.

Investigated a category system of emotion words used in training beginning counselors to respond appropriately to client emotions. 10 experienced counselors (mean age 45.7 yrs), 32 counseling students (mean age 30.7 yrs), and 38 noncounselors (mean age 25.7 yrs) performed a free sort of 45 emotion words selected from categories labeled "depressed," "fearful," and "angry" proposed by D. C. Hammond et al (1977). Free sorts for each group of Ss were compared with the categories proposed by Hammond et al and with each other by means of quadratic assignment. Empirically derived intensity categories used by the Ss in each group also were identified. Comparisons were statistically significant, suggesting that Ss' categories were similar to the hypothesized categories. The categories used by each group, however, were more similar to each other than to the hypothesized categories. Fewer than 20% of the words were classified reliably across the 4 category systems. Use of the proposed category system in counselor training, therefore, would not be expected to improve counselors' ability to accurately identify and label client emotions. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications of test revisions for assessment with Asian Americans.

There are serious gaps in knowledge with respect to the use of standardized assessment instruments such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition (WAIS–III; D. Wechsler, 1997) or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) with Asian Americans. Issues surrounding the availability, reliability, and validity of assessment instruments must be addressed before extended discussions about the implication of test revisions for this population can take place. The authors review the current status of the WAIS–III and MMPI–2 with Asian Americans with respect to their availability, reliability, and validity, including reasons why Asian Americans have been severely underrepresented in validation studies. The authors argue for the need to collect data on the use of standardized assessment instruments with Asian Americans and conclude with recommendations for the inclusion of this population in future test revision projects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)