Halo effects in grading student projects.

Halo effects in rating specific pieces of work, as in educational grading, have received little attention. Grades awarded by 2 independent graders to undergraduate projects were analyzed with a correlated uniqueness model. Grades showed substantial halo despite being awarded by expert assessors at the time of reading the work. There was greater halo between different grades applying to the same section of the project than between grades applying to different sections. Supervisors who had regular contact with the student whose work they were grading showed no more halo than other graders. More reliable graders showed less within-section halo than graders of lower reliability but equal between-sections halo. The halo effects observed cannot be entirely attributable to a unitary general impression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental manipulation of the halo effect.

To test the hypothesis that halo effect is a judgmental error rather than the effect of objective correlation of traits, one group (N = 18) rated 5 noted individuals, one individual per day on all of 5 traits, while another group (N = 18) rated all 5 individuals on one trait per day. The authors state that the results prove that halo is in part a phenomenon of judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of WISC and WISC-R scoring and interpretive program.

Reviews the computer software program, WISC and WISC-R scoring and interpretive program by Neil B. Holliman (1983). This program was developed and copyrighted by Neil Holliman and distributed by Psychological Assessment Systems (PAS). The program competes with a large selection of microcomputer programs marketed to assist psychologists with the interpretation of the widely used Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The reviewer feels that the program fails to make effective use of the microcomputer technology. It uses simplistic decision rules that generate misleading and sometimes erroneous interpretations of the WISC-R data. It provides interpretive statements that are confusing and contradictory. It fails to provide some computations appropriate to a computer analysis of Wechsler test data (e.g., computations of chronological age, confidence intervals, and probabilities associated with subtest or factor discrepancies). And, the program documentation is woefully inadequate for a program that purports to analyze psychometric data for a professional psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential indoctrination of examiners and Rorschach responses.

14 graduate student examiners (Es) volunteered for a "quick, more efficient method of learning the Rorschach procedure." 7 students were told that experienced Es always elicit more human than animal responses from their Ss; the other 7 were told that experienced Es always elicit more animal than human responses. Each E tested 2 undergraduates; each session was tape recorded. The 2 groups of Es differed significantly from each other in the predicted direction (p = .04) in the ratio of animal to human responses obtained from their Ss. The expected evidence for verbal conditioning of the Ss was not found. No E or S reported any awareness of any influence attempt. Presumably, the Es influenced their Ss through postural, gestural, and facial cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and reliability studies of a computer-based scoring system for inkblot responses.

A computer scoring system has been validated for scoring 17 Holtzman Inkblot Technique Variables: Location, Rejection, Form Definiteness, Color, Shading, Movement, Integration, Human, Animal, Anatomy, Sex, Abstract, Anxiety, Hostility, Barrier, Penetration, and Popular. The basic sample consisted of 145 college students to whom the HIT was group administered. An expert scorer's values were the criteria for validating computer scores. Validity of computer scoring was attested by comparability of means and standard deviations, by acceptable correlations between the 2 methods, and by identical factor structure among 8 rotated factors. The correlation of the computer with the average of 3 hand scorers equaled or approached the interscorer reliability of the scorers. Cross-validation studies demonstrated that equally satisfactory results were obtained for both Forms A and B. Finally, the computer was able to achieve scores from group records which were essentially equal to scores from records individually administered 1 wk. earlier and hand scored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Preparing for graduate study in psychology: 101 questions and answers.

Reviews the book, Preparing for graduate study in psychology: 101 questions and answers by William Buskist and Caroline Burke (2006). The book is broken down into a number of chapters organized in a chronological manner, starting with the fundamentals of what graduate school is like and how to choose a specific program. It then proceeds to more specific pieces of information, including the GRE, details on the application and interview process, and finishes with a timeframe on how to organize one's first year of graduate studies. Each of these chapters is formatted as a series of key questions, followed by detailed answers related to the overall theme of the section. Also included in this edition are very useful appendices that include a glossary of terms, a sample vitae, and letters of intent. The last chapter, entitled "The First Year: Thriving, Surviving and Other Essentials," tackles issues related to how to decide on a graduate mentor, when to choose a thesis committee, switching programs during graduate school, and most intriguingly, how to not "wash out" of the program. The reviewer highly recommends this book as he believes it will almost certainly ease a student's transition from undergraduate to graduate studies in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate Students' Perspectives of Academic Positions in School Psychology.

An increasing number of vacancies in school psychology academic positions and the reduced number of applicants seeking to enter academia have created projected shortages in academe. The purpose of the current study was to determine perspectives of academia held by current school psychology graduate students, who are in line to become the next generation of trainers. Based on information yielded from focus groups conducted with graduate students at two major doctoral school psychology training programs, a 42-item survey was designed to assess students' beliefs regarding benefits and drawbacks of an academic position, possible incentives that would encourage one to apply for an academic position, and past and current likelihood of applying for an academic position. Doctoral students from 98 school psychology graduate programs were invited to participate in the study; a total of 236 students returned completed surveys. Results indicated a significant trend toward increased consideration of an academic career as students progress through graduate school. The highest-ranked benefits of an academic career involved roles and activities inherent to the position, as opposed to potential benefits such as salary or prestige. Regarding perceived drawbacks to academia, job stress was ranked as the most significant deterrent, while the area of least concern involved current preparation to assume an academic position. Finally, respondents agreed on several incentives that would be helpful in overcoming hesitancy in applying for an academic position, including reducing politics in the tenure process, increasing salary, and increased availability of academic positions that emphasize applied work. Implications for current trainers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

内蒙古毕力赫金矿Ⅱ号矿带原生晕特征及找矿意义

毕力赫金矿位于华北克拉通北缘,是一座大型低温热液—斑岩型金矿,产于花岗闪长斑岩和围岩火山碎屑岩内外接触带中.随着矿山开采工作的持续进行,该矿山资源量面临危机,加强探边摸底工作势在必行.为了寻找有效的地球化学找矿指标,采用无火焰原子吸收光谱法(AAN)、等离子质谱法(ICP-MS)和原子荧光光谱法(AFS)等多种分析方法...     

The effect of nonmasking distractors on the priming of motor responses.

Masked stimuli (primes) can affect the preparation of a motor response to subsequently presented target. In numerous studies, it has been shown that the compatibility effect is biphasic as it develops over time: positive (benefits for compatible trials and costs for incompatible trials) for short prime-target temporal distances and negative (benefits for incompatible trials and costs for compatible trials) for long ones. What triggers the 2nd phase is the matter of the current debate. According to the self-inhibition hypothesis, the motor response elicited by a prime is automatically followed by an inhibition phase. The object-updating and mask-triggered inhibition hypotheses assume that this phase is triggered by the mask, provided that it contains features calling for the alternative response. In the present study, the author shows that the compatibility effect is modulated on the temporal position of a nonmasking distractor presented after the prime and before the target. With a distractor possessing task-relevant features, the compatibility effect was found to be negative for short prime- distractor intervals and for moderate prime-target intervals. The consequences of these results for the 3 hypotheses are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality Evaluation in the Selection of Graduate Students in Clinical Psychology.

Examined the opinions of clinical psychologists regarding the selection of graduate clinical students to include some type of formal personality evaluation, in addition to the usual academic considerations. In view of the strong feelings often expressed on both sides of this question, it was felt that a questionnaire sampling the opinions of clinical psychologists regarding it would be of professional interest and possibly of some assistance to graduate departments attempting to cope with the problem.. Brief questionnaires were sent to a randomly selected sample of 100 members of Division 12 (Clinical) of the APA. In reply to the question: "Should a formal personality evaluation be used as a criterion for selecting applicants for graduate study in clinical psychology?" 84% of those responding checked "Yes," and 16% checked "No." In assessing how extensive such an evaluation should be, the following alternatives or combinations of them were provided: thorough personality analysis, screening for obvious handicapping problems, and screening for possession of professionally "desirable" characteristics. 20% selected the first alternative, 27% chose the second, 11% checked the third, 27% combined the second and third, 2% marked the first and third, 4% indicated all three, and 9% did not reply to this question. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of memory for past test in the underconfidence with practice effect.

According to the Memory for Past Test (MPT) heuristic, judgments of learning (JOLs) may be based, in part, on memory for the correctness of answers on a previous test. The authors explored MPT as the source of the underconfidence with practice effect (UWP; A. Koriat, L. Sheffer, & H. Ma'ayan, 2002), whereby Trial 1 overconfidence switches to underconfidence by Trial 2. Immediate and delayed JOLs were contrasted because only immediate JOLs demonstrate UWP. Consistent with MPT for immediate JOLs, Trial 1 test performance better predicted Trial 2 JOLs than did Trial 2 test performance. Delayed JOLs showed the reverse. Furthermore, items forgotten on Trial 1 but remembered on Trial 2 contributed disproportionately to UWP, but only with immediate JOLs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of deficits in intelligence test performance of preschool children to perinatal experience.

The intelligence test records of 193 children age 3 and of 119 age 5 were analyzed in relation to their perinatal experiences and intelligence level (average or superior). The children were classified as unstressed (Group 1), suspect (Group 2), and presumably stressed (Group 3). At both ages, significant differences were found at both intelligence levels between Groups 1 and 2 + 3 in ability to copy forms. At 3 yr. a significant difference between Groups 1 and 2 + 3 in verbal skill was found among the average Ss. It is concluded that isolated deficits on complex verbal and visuomotor tasks may be indicative of minimal birth injury and that such injury is more observable among average than superior children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning correct responses and errors in the Hebb repetition effect: Two faces of the same coin.

In a serial recall task, the Hebb repetition effect occurs when recall performance improves for a sequence repeated throughout the experimental session. This phenomenon has been replicated many times. Nevertheless, such cumulative learning seldom leads to perfect recall of the whole sequence, and errors persist. Here the authors report evidence that there is another side to the Hebb repetition effect that involves learning errors produced in a repeated sequence. A learning measure based on past recalls (correct or incorrect) shows that the probability of a given response increases with the number of prior occurrences of that response. The pattern of results reveals another manifestation of the Hebb repetition effect and speaks to the nature of implicit learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

热轧带肋钢筋冷弯试验位置效应的研究

冷弯试验时,钢筋表面相对弯芯放置位置不同,钢筋的变形部位将产生“位置效应”,文章用Ф18、Ф22、Ф25 3种规格的螺纹钢筋,对这种“位置效应”进行验证,得出了结论。     

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)     

Constructing qualitative knowledge in psychology: Students and faculty negotiate the social context of inquiry.

On the basis of interviews with 13 graduate students and 21 faculty from diverse areas of Canadian departments of psychology, I report researchers' views on qualitative methods in terms of social historical, systemic influences on constructing psychological knowledge. These ideological and structural systems include the historical place of qualitative research in scientific psychology, education in alternative research methods, the socioeconomic reward system for faculty, and the potential for changes in the discipline that could facilitate the legitimation of qualitative methods. The major finding was the desire for methodological pluralism, even among mainstream faculty. In light of the researchers' textured commentaries, I discuss the fate of attempts by some psychologists to expand traditional investigative boundaries, the potential for a shift in the discipline to methodological pluralism, and the implications for the education of undergraduate and graduate students in psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of sad mood on memory in older adults: A test of the mood congruence effect.

Mood congruence effects have long been studied in younger adults. but not in older adults. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) suggests that mood congruence could operate differently in older adults. One hundred and nineteen younger and 78 older adults were randomly assigned to sad or neutral mood inductions, using combined Velten and music induction procedures. Results indicated that during sad mood induction both older and younger adults showed enhanced recall of sad words on delayed word list recall task and in autobiographical memory. However, only older adults displayed mood congruence effects on lexical ambiguity and lower recall of positive words in the word list task. Results provided partial support for developmental effects on mood congruence derived from SST. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of methods of presentation and examining conditions on student achievement in a correspondence course.

Each of three groups of enrollees in a military correspondence course was given a differently-styled training manual. Immediately at the end of the course half of each group took an unproctored "open book" exam, while the other half took the same exam under supervision. Thirty days later, all groups took the exam again, under supervision. The "open book" groups earned significantly higher scores on both immediate and retention exams, but within each experimental condition there were no significant differences attributable to differences in the manual styles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The inaction effect in the psychology of regret.

Previous research showed that decisions to act (i.e., actions) produce more regret than decisions not to act (i.e., inactions). This previous research focused on decisions made in isolation and ignored that decisions are often made in response to earlier outcomes. The authors show in 4 experiments that these prior outcomes may promote action and hence make inaction more abnormal. They manipulated information about a prior outcome. As hypothesized, when prior outcomes were positive or absent, people attributed more regret to action than to inaction. However, as predicted and counter to previous research, following negative prior outcomes, more regret was attributed to inaction, a finding that the authors label the inaction effect. Experiment 4, showing differential effects for regret and disappointment, demonstrates the need for emotion-specific predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)