Developmental planning for a graduate program in psychology.

Presents a flexible framework for an orderly developmental plan for a graduate program in psychology: (1) development of psychology as a scientific discipline, (2) "responsibility for the professional preparation of graduates to perform service functions in society," (3) application of psychological knowledge and methodologies to public affairs, (4) involvement of other disciplines in the psychology of research and instruction, (5) enhancement of the impact of graduate programs on undergraduate education, and (6) division of organizational structures and procedures to "provide effective operational mechanisms for the attainment of program objectives." The graduate program in psychology at Claremont Graduate School is viewed through all 6 criteria. 2 major objectives, involving conceptualization and investigation, and professional preparation are presented and discussed in relation to the past and present program of the department. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The professional nonpsychology graduate program for psychologists.

Describes a graduate program designed to train people for public affairs careers that maximizes the effective use of psychological skills and knowledge. The program covers such areas as community structure and social systems; interorganizational relations; social forecasting and intervention; and research methods and qualitative skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexism in graduate admissions: The letter of recommendation.

Two experienced raters examined the letters of recommendation of 38 female and 85 male students admitted to graduate study for sexist comments. Examples of sexist statements made in regard to female candidates are presented. The effect of such statements on admissions and retention is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of admissions procedures to a PhD program in psychology.

A study of admissions procedures in the PhD program of the psychology department of the University of Michigan indicated that the department did not discriminate against women during the 1969–1970 academic year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of an operational management assessment program.

Examined the validity of an assessment program by reviewing the career progress of 1,086 employees in sales, service, and administrative functions after they were assessed. Although Ss participating in the program were nominated on the basis of being promotable, raters found that more than 1/4 were unqualified, and the others were widely differentiated. Ratings were used to move Ss into 1st-line management, but the relationship of ratings to 1st promotions was moderate enought to reduce fears of "crown prince" or "kiss of death" effects. Participation did not seem to demotivate these Ss. Assessment ratings substantially correlated with 2 major criteria, 2nd-level promotions and demotions from 1st-line management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of tuition payment and involvement on benefit from a management development program.

Investigated the effects of participants' investments of tuition, time, and effort on benefit from a management development program. Measures of benefit consisted of a summated rating scale and the economic scale of the Allport-Vernon Study of Values. Ss were 99 industrial executives in a 5-yr program. Those who paid part of their tuition, spent relatively more time in the program, and found the program difficult, benefited more. It is concluded that programs which do not require commitment and effort are not likely to achieve their immediate value objectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an integrated program design: Evaluating the status of diversity training in a graduate school curriculum.

Domain D of the American Psychological Association's (APA's) accreditation guidelines (APA, 1995) requires doctoral training programs in psychology to address diversity. Measurement of diversity integration is difficult and often addresses only faculty and student composition (E. M. Altmaier; see record 1993-31088-001). This study had 3 purposes: (1) the development of an instrument for rating diversity inclusion in courses, the Diversity Rating Form (DRF; S. A. Kuba, 1995); (2) the comparison of faculty diversity inclusion according to demographic characteristics; and (3) the application of the DRF to a graduate school program. The DRF was completed by 613 students and 37 faculty members. It demonstrated high reliability (alpha?=?.95)and construct validity (r?=?.88, p?p?p?     

The reliability and validity of a multicultural assessment instrument developed for a graduate program in psychology.

The Diversity Mission Evaluation Questionnaire (DMEQ) was developed to assess attitudes, beliefs, and experiences pertaining to multicultural matters at a graduate program in psychology. Using scores of 247 students, 57 faculty, and 19 staff, the authors revealed three latent traits through exploratory factor analysis: Overall Success, Open Discussion of Diversity Issues, and belief that multicultural activities were Freely Undertaken. The high internal consistency of all of these scales, (as > .81), coupled with expected between-groups differences and significant correlations with experiences of prejudice, suggests that the instrument assessed diversity issues in a precise and valid manner. It was concluded that the DMEQ could be used by institutions desiring to assess their multicultural climates. Evaluative data from a graduate school that has adopted and implemented a diversity mission are presented, and issues related to multicultural change are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-validated comparison of five models used to predict graduate admissions committee decisions.

Weights derived from an admissions committee's assessment of 170 applicants to a graduate industrial relations program using 5 models (linear, multiplicative, dummy variable, unit weighting, and multiple hurdles) were cross-validated on 112 additional applicants. Predictions of all models were significantly related to the committee's admissions decisions in the cross-validation group. The accuracy of predictions was about the same for all models; however, except for GPA and Graduate Record Examination scores, the other variables weighted varied somewhat from model to model. A substantial amount of the decision variance was unaccounted for by any model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of an organizational stress management program in a municipal public works organization.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of employee participation in an organizational stress management program consisting of several interventions aiming to improve psychosocial work environment and well-being. Pre- and postintervention questionnaires were used to measure the outcomes with a 2-year interval. This article describes the background of the program, results of previously published effect studies, and a qualitative evaluation of the program. The authors also tested the effects of level of participation in all interventions among the employees of the service production units by 2 (time) × 3 (group) repeated measures ANOVAs (n = 625). "Active participation" (more than 5.5 days) had a positive effect on feedback from supervisor and flow of information. Work climate remained on a permanent level while it decreased in the categories of moderate and nonparticipation. The level of participation did not improve individual well-being or other aspects of psychosocial work environment as postulated by the work stress models. The qualitative evaluation and practical conclusions drawn by the management of the Organization provided a positive impression of the impact of the program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Let's play: Inclusion of a play therapy course or program into a graduate curriculum.

Considering a resurgence of interest in play therapy as an important therapeutic approach for working with both children and adults, strategies are offered for inclusion of a play therapy course or program in a graduate curriculum. These strategies include suggestions for intra-university considerations, information-gathering surveys, play therapy demonstration, and association with an established play therapy professional organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of top management commitment on management program success.

The literature on many different types of management programs says that effective program installations depend on the level of top management commitment: the stronger the commitment, the greater the potential for program success. A meta-analysis of 18 studies that evaluated the impact of management by objectives was presented to test this hypothesis. Results showed that the gain in job satisfaction was approximately one third of one standard deviation when top management had high commitment to program implementation. Little improvement was found in studies that had moderate or low commitment from top management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A case study of graduate admissions: Application of three principles of human decision making.

Reports that 3 principles of human judgment apply to the decisions of a graduate admissions committee. The 1st of these principles is that a linear combination of the variables considered by the committee does a better job of predicting graduate success than does the committee; the 2nd principle is that the committee's judgment may itself be represented "paramorphically" by a linear combination of these variables, and the 3rd that this paramorphic representation is superior to the committee in predicting graduate success. (42 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a creative studies program on structure-of-intellect factors.

Administered a 2-yr sequence of 4 semester-long courses in creative problem solving to college students in an experimental group and gave no training to control students. Each semester emphasized a different aspect of creativity, and effects were assessed at the end of each semester with tests designed to reflect J. P. Guilford's Structure-of-Intellect model. A pretest battery established the initial comparability of 145 experimental and 153 control Ss. 101 experimental and 57 control Ss completed the 4-semester course and/or testing. The training had no significant effect on memory or evaluation operations but significantly improved divergent production, convergent production, and cognition. The data support a multidimensional analysis of creativity, involving not only idea-finding (divergent production) but also knowing (cognition), judging, and implementing ideas (cognition and convergent and divergent production). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a short-term exercise program on caloric consumption.

33 women (aged 18–32 yrs) were randomly assigned to either a high-intensity exercise group, a low-intensity exercise group, or a waiting-list control group. All Ss recorded food intake during specified weeks before, during, and following the 7-wk exercise program. Results suggest that exercisers do not compensate for energy expenditure by increasing caloric intake and that choosing between low- and high-intensity exercise does not differentially alter caloric intake. Nevertheless, maximization of negative energy balance or weight loss may be best achieved by exercise programs of high frequency and intensity. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mentoring women graduate students: A model for professional psychology.

There is much discussion about the importance of mentoring women graduate students but not an equal amount of practical research-based guidance about how best to do this. This article summarizes a mentoring model that was developed using a pilot survey of 55 women graduate students throughout the United States, followed by grounded theory research by conducting qualitative interviews with 8 eminent women psychologists. It augments current research on mentoring to provide an integrated set of hypotheses about the theory and practice of mentoring; an operational definition of mentor and mentoring; overarching assumptions about mentoring; strategies for forming, structuring, managing, and maintaining mentoring relationships; and the roles and functions of the mentor, the mentee, and the relationship. It describes examples of mentoring practices specifically for use with women mentees and discusses how mentoring relationships may end or change as they mature. While the mentoring model was developed based on research with women, many of the tenants can be applied to both men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The management of acute headache in adults in an acute admissions unit

There have been no previously published studies about acute admissions with headaches to a medical admissions ward. In our retrospective case-note study of all patients admitted with headaches to the acute medical admission ward of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee over a six-month period, there were 114 admissions with headache (2.4% of all admissions). CT scans were done in 68 (59.6%) and were abnormal in 21 patients. Twenty four patients (21.1%) had serious underlying causes for headaches. Predictors for CT abnormalities are discussed. Eighteen patients had lumbar punctures and six had abnormal results. Most patients were discharged after one day, nine were transferred to the neurosurgical unit and there were two deaths. Deficiencies in record keeping were identified as was a lack of precision in diagnosis. Changes in practice are needed to improve patient care and perhaps national guidelines are required.     

Development of a management practicum in a clinical psychology program.

A pilot program providing practicum training in management in an accredited clinical psychology doctoral program is described. The clinical management practicum program at George Fox University is compared and contrasted with the one described at West Virginia University (M. J. Zvolensky, A. D. Herschell, & D. W. McNeil, 2000). Training objectives and methods in clinical management are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)