The natural development of a graduate student.

Drawing on the developmental theories of Shirley and Piaget, the question is raised as to whether there is a place for stage theory in the development of the graduate student - a natural educational progression for each student, beginning at entrance to university and ending in his thirties. Such a progression of stages is outlined, roughly balanced again chronological age and academic degree and proposed as a matter of research interest. Practical aspects are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and cognitive ability predictors of performance in graduate business school.

A cross-validation study is reported in which both personality variables and cognitive ability variables were evaluated as predictors of 2 separate performance criteria in a sample of 450 Master of Business Administration students. Whereas verbal and quantitative aptitudes of the students were found to be strong predictors of performance at written work, they were weak predictors of an in-class performance criterion. The opposite was true when specific personality trait variables were used as predictors. The personality characteristics of the students predicted classroom performance better than they predicted written performance. The Big Five factors of personality (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience) did not predict either criterion consistently. In conclusion, personality variables are related to academic success when characteristic modes of behavior play a role in academic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A student looks at graduate training.

Two problems face many of the 2,000 graduate students in psychology in Canada. As the academic job market continues to provide relatively fewer openings for the increasing number of new Ph.D.'s, the new graduate is faced with seeking employment in areas for which he has no training. The idealistic graduate student who wishes to engage in "relevant" research is forced by the type of graduate training he is receiving to do conservative research and to become more and more like his teachers in attitudes and values. The question is raised as to whether or not we wish tomorrow's psychologists to be identical to todays psychologists. Suggestions for changes are offered for consideration by the planners of graduate programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The professional preparation of African American graduate students: A student perspective.

Even though growth relationships include traditional aspects of academic mentoring, without emphasizing personal development, professional growth is incomplete. Most African American faculty are overloaded with teaching, research, and advising responsibilities and, therefore, are unable to adequately mentor African American graduate students without jeopardizing their careers. Non-African Americans can provide adequate mentoring to African American students; however, because of the lack of a common cultural context, obstacles exist in cross-cultural mentoring relationships. By portraying the growth relationships established between an elder and 2 young professionals, this study illustrates how the involvement of non-academic affiliated African American professionals with African American graduate students is beneficial and indeed essential in the students' academic and personal development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the prediction of graduate student success.

Examined data on Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, grade point average (GPA) scores, and scores on the Miller Analogies Test from 78 graduate programs to determine whether the increased selectivity of students proposed by N. Hirschberg and S. Itkin (see record 1979-27229-001) has been accompanied by an increase in the quality of academic credentials. Advanced Psychology GRE scores and GPAs had increased. The need to examine candidate selection procedures and to consider other, career-oriented factors in student selection is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability: A Canadian survey.

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability has received very little attention in North America, and no study has examined the state of training for clinical and counselling psychologists in Canada, despite their involvement in the controlled act of diagnosis and their use of standardised instruments used regularly with this population. This study sought to examine psychology graduate student training in the area of developmental disability across Canada. We invited students from every Canadian Psychological Association accredited Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Counselling Psychology program to participate in an online survey, distributed through university email lists. Three hundred and three students reported on the developmental disability content within their training and coursework, their perception of the adequacy of that content, and their ideas for program improvement. Results indicated that the majority of students believed it important to have training in developmental disability, yet struggled to obtain adequate didactic and experiential opportunities. The lack of sufficient training was most pronounced for students whose training was adult-focused, but was also high for students with a life span or child focus. We discuss different possibilities for increasing developmental disability training opportunities, including integrating its content within courses on assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, and ethics, and providing students with supervision from psychologists who work with this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incorporating HIV-related issues into graduate student training.

Many authors have stated that mental health professionals will be faced with a client infected with, or affected by, HIV. However, several surveys have revealed that most students are not receiving HIV-related training in their graduate programs and are unprepared to handle HIV-related issues when they arise. In an effort to provide some potential solutions and alternatives to this problem, a variety of suggestions about how HIV-related issues may be infused into existing courses in areas required for American Psychological Association accreditation are offered. Possible discussion activities, discussion questions, and references are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International student perspectives on graduate advising relationships.

International graduate students experience a number of unique challenges as they transition through their training programs. Surprisingly, relatively little research has been conducted on perhaps one of the most crucial predictors of international students’ retention and success within their graduate programs: the advising relationship. Using a total of 367 diverse students who responded to a universitywide survey of international students, the authors were able to use quantitative and qualitative analyses to (a) support the adequacy of the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory (L. Z. Schlosser & C. J. Gelso, 2001) for measuring alliance factors in advising relationships for international students; (b) show that some ratings of alliance were lower than a comparison group of U.S. domestic students; (c) determine that alliance ratings had minimal association with grade point average, gender, or college-level area of study, but were substantially associated with advising satisfaction and desire to change advisors; and (d) reveal themes in advising experiences reflecting constructive and destructive advising experiences. The social justice and future implications of the results are consistent with many historical and contemporary emphases in counseling psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral student experiences in gender-balanced and male-dominated graduate programs.

Similarities and differences were examined in graduate school experiences of male and female doctoral students in programs containing predominantly male or gender-balanced faculty. Participating students reported their perceptions of mentor support, partner support, peer support, academic self-concept, sensitivity to family issues, stress, and career commitment. In studies, women in male-dominated programs expressed lower academic self-concept, less sensitivity in their departments to family issues, and lower career commitment compared with all other students. Mentor support and academic self-concept predicted the career commitment of all students. Student reports were unrelated to the gender of their mentors. A subset of the students participated at both time points; these students showed significant drops in self-concept and career commitment across the 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate student viewpoint on internship preparedness: A 2008 council of university directors of clinical psychology student survey.

To better understand the graduate student viewpoint on quality of preparation provided by graduate programs in terms of the internship application process, the current study surveyed students enrolled in member programs of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP). Six hundred seventy-four students completed a questionnaire designed to assess perceptions regarding preparation for the internship application process, relative prioritization of individual application components, and faculty behaviors that contribute to student anxiety related to the application process. Results demonstrated that student subgroups based on internship status (i.e., those who have not yet applied, current applicants, and current interns) significantly differed on many issues related to internship preparation. The findings suggest that graduate programs are not placing enough emphasis on the conveying of internship-related information early in a student's training. Furthermore, the findings highlight training techniques and faculty behaviors that can be adopted by programs to increase preparedness and reduce anxiety among applicants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The strong connection between sensory and cognitive performance in old age: Not due to sensory acuity reductions operating during cognitive assessment.

Cognitive aging research has documented a strong increase in the covariation between sensory and cognitive functioning with advancing age. In part, this finding may reflect sensory acuity reductions operating during cognitive assessment. To examine this possibility, the authors administered cognitive tasks used in prior studies (e.g., Lindenberger & Baltes, 1994) to middle-aged adults under age-simulation conditions of reduced visual acuity, auditory acuity, or both. Visual acuity was lowered through partial occlusion filters, and auditory acuity through headphone-shaped noise protectors. Acuity manipulations reduced visual acuity and auditory acuity in the speech range to values reaching or approximating old-age acuity levels, respectively, but did not lower cognitive performance relative to control conditions. Results speak against assessment-related sensory acuity accounts of the age-related increase in the connection between sensory and cognitive functioning and underscore the need to explore alternative explanations, including a focus on general aspects of brain aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profile of the graduate student population in U.S. medical schools

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) sponsored surveys of accredited U.S. medical schools in 1994-95 and in 1995-96 to gather enough data to determine an accurate profile of the population of students enrolled in and/or graduated from biomedical PhD and MD-PhD programs at these institutions. Previously collected data on the graduate student population at medical schools often did not distinguish between PhD students at the medical school and graduate students in other parts of the university. The AAMC surveys defined a medical school PhD- or MD-PhD-trained student as one whose major professor holds his or her primary appointment in a department of the medical school. The data were the result of census-taking by the responding schools on October 1, 1994, and October 1, 1995. There were 81 responses to each of the two surveys. Overall, 104 medical schools supplied data in either one or both of the survey years. When the data are extrapolated from the sample to the total population of 122 medical schools that award graduate degrees, a number of interesting estimates emerge. (1) When compared with the 1995 data for 18 biomedically-related biological science disciplines from the National Research Council's Survey of Earned Doctorates, the AAMC survey indicates that approximately 60% of the 4,000 PhDs awarded were earned by students studying at U.S. medical schools. (2) The total enrollment of PhD students in U.S. medical schools is approximately 18,600, a number that is about 25-30% of the number of medical students currently enrolled at all accredited U.S. medical schools. In some institutions, the number of graduate students rivals the number of medical students. (3) PhD students are enrolled in a wide variety of programs bearing titles reflective of a trend toward "interdisciplinary" rather than "departmental" degrees. (4) At a given time, the number of students supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants is nearly twice that provided for by NIH traineeships. In addition, all forms of institutional support provide for more than one-third of the PhD students in U.S. medical schools. (5) Approximately 24% of enrolled students are international students on temporary or permanent visas. (6) The data obtained from the two surveys of graduate programs within medical schools are relatively consistent, enabling more confidence in the reliability and accuracy of findings presented in this report.     

A comprehensive meta-analysis of the predictive validity of the Graduate Record Examinations: Implications for graduate student selection and performance.

This meta-analysis examined the validity of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) as predictors of graduate school performance. The study included samples from multiple disciplines, considered different criterion measures, and corrected for statistical artifacts. Data from 1,753 independent samples were included in the meta-analysis, yielding 6,589 correlations for 8 different criteria and 82,659 graduate students. The results indicated that the GRE and UGPA are generalizably valid predictors of graduate grade point average, 1st-year graduate grade point average, comprehensive examination scores, publication citation counts, and faculty ratings. GRE correlations with degree attainment and research productivity were consistently positive; however, some lower 90% credibility intervals included 0. Subject Tests tended to be better predictors than the Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA/APAGS award for distinguished graduate student in professional psychology.

The APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology is awarded on an annual basis by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The 2008 recipient for this award is Maryam M. Jernigan. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA/APAGS award for distinguished graduate student in professional psychology.

The American Psychological Association 2010 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology is awarded on an annual basis by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The 2010 recipient is William Q. Hua. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

William Q. Hua: APA/APAGS award for distinguished graduate student in professional psychology.

The American Psychological Association 2010 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology was awarded to William Q. Hua, for his outstanding work to reduce stigma and improve wellness in marginalized communities living with HIV/ AIDS. As a concerned mental health care provider, he has modeled the commitment necessary to bring about change in health disparities experienced by minority populations and communities of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA/APAGS award for distinguished graduate student in professional psychology: Maryam M. Jernigan.

Presents the citation, biography, and selected bibliography for Maryam M. Jernigan, the 2008 recipient of the APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The DSM discussion continues.

While the DSM-III is a well-documented and conscientiously developed system of diagnosis, clinical psychology's involvement has been only tangential. The American Psychological Association should review this system and develop an official position on diagnostic systems both to improve psychology's professional prestige and recognition and to facilitate communication with agencies and insurers. (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)     

Improving aerobic capacity in healthy older adults does not necessarily lead to improved cognitive performance.

The effects of aerobic exercise training in a sample of 85 older adults were investigated. Ss were assigned randomly to either an aerobic exercise group, a nonaerobic exercise (yoga) group, or a waiting-list control group. Following 16 weeks of the group-specific protocol, all of the older Ss received 16 weeks of aerobic exercise training. The older adults demonstrated a significant increase in aerobic capacity (cardiorespiratory fitness). Performance on reaction-time tests of attention and memory retrieval was slower for the older adults than for a comparison group of 24 young adults, and there was no improvement in the older adults' performance on these tests as a function of aerobic exercise training. Results suggest that exercise-related changes in older adults' cognitive performance are due either to extended periods of training or to cohort differences between physically active and sedentary individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)