Accuracy of helical CT for acute pulmonary embolism: ROC analysis of observer performance related to clinical experience

The aim of this study was to test the influence of observer experience on the accuracy for interpreting helical CT for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and to identify sources of observer errors. Three observers of different expertise blindly assessed 147 helical CT scans for suspected PE (true status regarding absence or presence of PE known from independent reference studies). These observers were (a) an experienced CT radiologist, (b) a fellow in CT, and (c) a second-year resident without any formal training in CT. None of them had prior experience with CT for PE. Firstly, 70 CT scans were scored without revealing true PE status. Afterwards, feedback was provided and another 77 CT scans were evaluated. The CT scans were scored on a 5-point confidence scale and receiver-operator-characteristic analysis was performed. Different sources of interpretation errors were analyzed. The two observers with CT experience were significantly more accurate than the unexperienced observer. Their performance was not influenced by feedback training. Certain observer errors were identified, but there was no clear difference among the three observers considering the type of errors. There is significant influence of observer experience on accuracy of reading helical CT for PE: A basic working experience with whole-body CT seems to be a prerequisite. These results suggest that with this experience any radiologist should be able to achieve good accuracy; helical CT thus might become a suitable technique for acute PE in routine clinical practice.     

Evaluation of a checking procedure for reducing clerical and computational errors on the WAIS-R.

Evaluated a Compu-Check Form (CCF) of verification algorithms for checking Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) clerical and computational procedures. 40 senior undergraduates and MA graduate students were trained to score fictitious WAIS—R protocols. 60% of the Ss made errors, and approximately 30% of the protocols contained errors. These errors frequently resulted in IQ discrepancies. Most IQ inaccuracies were small, although 10% of the summary IQs on protocols with errors deviated between 4 and 12 points. A subsample of Ss was trained to use the CCF. Fewer Ss made errors after applying the CCF. Changes in error rates and corrections to summary IQs also supported the utility of the CCF. In a field trial, 6 of 7 practitioners who used the CCF detected errors on 15 of 47 WAIS—R protocols selected from clinical files. Only 1 of these clinician errors resulted in a substantial IQ error. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional inhibition in essential hypertension: Obstacle to communication during medical visits?

Studied 542 patient–physician interviews to see if 203 patients with essential hypertension (EH) were less likely to exhibit negative emotions than 339 normotensive Ss as rated by their physicians and independent observers. EH Ss did not differ from others on self-rated emotional or physical health. However, physicians rated EH Ss as exhibiting fewer signs of distress during the visit than normotensive Ss. Independent observers also judged the EH Ss as less distressed than normotensives. Content analysis disclosed that physicians paid less attention to psychosocial concerns and concentrated on biomedical matters to a greater degree with EH Ss than with normotensive Ss. EH Ss appear to have patterns of self-presentation that could present an obstacle to effective communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liking for the group and the perceived merit of the group's behavior.

Paris of Ss were told, individually, that their partners were congenial and they would probably like them (high like), or the converse (low like). Ss were then separated and given an artillery gunnery problem in which they were to judge the accuracy of their "observer's" range estimates. Both Ss in each pair thought the other 3 was the "observer," which was actually a taped recording piped to each S. High like Ss judged their "observer's" estimates as more accurate than low like Ss. Ss who had been led to believe that they had "observers" of high proficiency in range estimates tended to judge the estimate as more accurate than when they had low proficiency "observers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rapid acquisition of a novelty versus familiarity concept by pigeons (Columba livia).

Pigeons performed a successive discrimination task in which responding to novel slides was rewarded, and responding to familiar slides, seen once previously, was not rewarded. In Experiment 1, naive Ss initially responded more rapidly to familiar slides, but all Ss learned to respond more rapidly to novel slides within a few sessions. In Experiment 2, Ss transferred immediately to novel trial sequences. Experiment 3 showed that both increased retention intervals and interpolated slide presentations impaired recognition. Experiment 4 showed that Ss treated duplicate slides as familiar and confirmed that Ss were using a "novelty versus familiarity" concept. The authors conclude that such a concept is readily available to pigeons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive processing by prelingual deaf students as a function of language context.

Investigated the influence of language mode (print or sign) and syntax (English or American Sign Language [ASL]) on recall, preference, and comprehension. In Exp I, the effects of reading meaningful print passages in ASL or English were tested for 12 16–29 yr old deaf and 12 16–28 yr old hearing Ss. An effort toward comprehension interpretation was supported for the hearing Ss only. Deaf Ss not trained in ASL exhibited a familiarity with ASL syntax not exhibited by the hearing Ss. In Exp II, meaningful passages were presented to 30 15–19 yr old prelingual deaf Ss in 4 language contexts (signed English, signed ASL, print English, and print ASL) in a free recall task. Results show greater recall from ASL than from English contexts. Findings indicate that the visual orientation of prelingual deaf individuals, regardless of training in ASL, leads to the development of a sign-based encoding system that responds to ASL as a familiar language. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-recognition in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Distribution, ontogeny, and patterns of emergence.

Investigations of mirror self-recognition (SR) in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have had small samples and divergent methods. In Exp 1, 105 chimpanzees (aged 10 mo to 40 yrs) were observed for signs of SR across 5 days of continuous mirror exposure. In Exps 2 and 3, negative SR adult and adolescent Ss were saturated with mirror exposure in efforts to facilitate SR, and a longitudinal study was conducted with a number of young Ss. In Exp 4, mark tests were administered to groups of positive SR, negative SR, and ambiguous SR Ss. Exp 5 explored whether previous positive SR reports in young chimpanzees were artifacts of increased arousal during mirror exposure. Results suggest that SR typically emerges at 4.5–8 yrs of age, at the population level the capacity declines in adulthood, and in group settings SR typically occurs within minutes of an S's exposure to a mirror. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solving spatial perspective-taking problems by rule versus computation: A developmental study.

A distinction was made between 2 aspects of spatial perspective-taking competence: (a) rules, such as the generalization that 2 observers will have the same view of any object display in the same viewing position and different views in different viewing positions; and (b) computation, the actual cognitive processes used to estimate how some particular display looks to another observer at a different station point. A developmental assessment was made of knowledge and use of the above rule, unconfounded by computation ability. Groups of 24 Ss each from Grades 1, 3, and 5 participated. Older Ss proved likelier than younger ones to solve correctly problems that could only be solved by rule use and also to report that they had used the rule in a posttest inquiry. It is concluded that a number of Ss possessed the rule, consciously and deliberately used it in solving perspective-taking problems, and believed in its general veracity enough to use it when they did not have to, namely on special problems that were solvable either by rule or by computation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-regulated exposure to erotica, recall errors, and subjective reactions as a function of erotophobia and Type A coronary-prone behavior.

Tested the hypotheses that "erotophiles" would spend more time viewing erotica and remember the content of the material more accurately than "erotophobes," and the Type A (coronary prone) Ss would spend less time viewing erotica than Type B (non coronary prone) Ss. 36 male and 34 female undergraduates completed a sexual opinion survey and the Jenkins Activity Survey—Form T. Ss then individually viewed 21 explicit heterosexual slides, with duration of exposure time controlled by each S. As hypothesized, erotophiles had longer exposure times than erotophobes and, as a consequence, made fewer errors in recalling content. Coronary-prone behavior interacted with erotophobia in a consistent though unanticipated way. Among Type As, exposure time and errors were unrelated to erotophobia, but the predicted effects occurred for Type Bs. It appeared that the time-relevant orientation of Type As outweighed the ordinary effects of emotion-based reaction to erotic stimuli. Significant effects on self-reported feelings were also found, as were several sex differences. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingency judgments by depressed college students: Sadder but not always wiser.

Three experiments with 296 undergraduates examined depressed and nondepressed (Beck Depression Inventory) Ss' perceptions of control over outcomes in a task similar to the one introduced by L. B. Alloy and L. Y. Abramson (see record 1981-02686-001). In Exp I, when Ss completed a contingency learning task with no one else present, nondepressed Ss perceived themselves to have more control over frequently occurring response-independent outcomes than did depressed Ss, which replicated Alloy and Abramson's finding. When Ss completed the task in the presence of an observer, depressed students perceived themselves to have more control than did nondepressed Ss. In Exp II, the observer effects found in Exp I were replicated; the present authors also showed that, when response-independent outcomes occurred relatively infrequently, depressed and nondepressed Ss who completed the task in the presence of an observer did not reliably differ in their estimates of personal control. In Exp III, the pattern of results found in Exps I and II was replicated under conditions in which observers were present while Ss received frequently occurring outcomes. Overall findings demonstrate that the consistently accurate personal control estimates of depressed Ss that have been found across a variety of situations break down when Ss complete a contingency learning task in the presence of an observer, and outcomes occur independently of response at a high frequency. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self as actor, active observer, and passive observer: Implications for causal attributions.

D. T. Miller et al (see record 1975-21040-001) distinguished between active observers (those on the receiving end of an actor's behavior) and passive observers (onlookers of an event involving an actor and an active observer). Following the concept of hedonic relevance, it was hypothesized that active observers would attribute the actor's behavior to personal dispositions of the actor more strongly than passive observers. In a series of hypothetical emotional events, 24 male undergraduates were depicted either as actors ("You like Ted"), active observers ("Ted likes you"), or passive observers ("Ted likes Paul"). They then rated the degree to which the actor, active observer, or some "other reason" had caused the given event. Although the actor–observer effect was obtained overall, an interaction between S role and positivity of verb indicated that it occurred much more strongly in negative-verb than positive-verb events. That is, Ss, either as actors or active observers, tended to deny their responsibility for negative events but did not claim praise for positive events. Implications for the effects of egotism on attribution are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of reproduction errors made by brain-damaged and control patients on a memory-for-designs test.

"The performances of brain damaged and control groups on the Benton Visual Retention Test were compared in terms of total number of correct reproductions, total number of errors, and relative frequency of occurrence of ten different types of errors. The mean total number of correct reproductions of the control Ss was found to be significantly higher and their mean number of errors significantly lower than the corresponding means of the brain damaged Ss. No significant difference, however, between the 2 groups in the overall patterns of the 10 different types of errors could be demonstrated." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affect, sex guilt, gender, and the rewarding-punishing effects of erotic stimuli.

40 male and 40 female college students were classified as high or low in sex guilt (HSG and LSG, respectively) using the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory. Experimental Ss were shown erotic slides following each "correct" choice in a discrimination task and nonerotic slides following each "incorrect" choice. Controls were shown nonerotic slides following all choices. HSG Ss made fewer choice responses leading to erotica than did LSG Ss, and females made fewer erotica-producing choices than did males. HSG and female Ss were less positive in their affective reactions to the erotica than were LSG and male Ss. Correlational and regression analyses revealed that sex guilt and gender differences in choice behaviors leading to erotica were predicted solely on individual differences in intensity of positive affective responses. Regardless of sex guilt and gender, for those high in positive affect, the erotic stimuli functioned as rewards, but for those low in positive affect, the stimuli functioned as punishers. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rumours greatly exaggerated: Allport and Postman's apocryphal study.

Assessed the potential impact of stereotypical information on memory, using 107 undergraduates. Ss saw a series of slides depicting a violent knifing incident between 2 men on the London Underground. Half were shown the altercation as occurring between 2 White men and half between a Black and a White man. In all cases, the critical slide in which the knife was presented showed it to be in the hand of the White man. After a distraction interval of 45 min Ss were given forced-choice recognition and recall tests. The latter required the Ss to write a brief account of the event while the former required Ss to choose between 2 slides. Results indicate that, when the recognition test preceded the recall test, Ss who had seen the slides with the Black and White protagonists were less accurate than those who had seen only White protagonists. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speed, size, and edge-rate information for the detection of collision events.

In the present study an alternative analysis to τ? was considered that was based on perceived speed and size and that assumed constant deceleration for the detection of collision events. Observers were presented with displays simulating a 3-D environment with obstacles in the path of observer motion. During the trial, observer motion decelerated at a constant rate and was followed by a blackout prior to the end of the display. Observers had to detect which trials resulted in a collision. The results indicate that collision detection varied as a function of the size of the obstacles, observer speed, and edge rate—findings not predicted by an analysis of τ?. The results suggest that observers use an analysis based on speed and size information. A model that assumes constant deceleration is proposed for braking control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observers and participants in an intergroup setting.

High- and low-self-esteem participant and observer (control) Ss received feedback about the performance of in-groups and out-groups. Self-evaluations and evaluations of the groups were assessed. Results suggest that participant group members (vs observers) enhance evaluations of both groups under conditions of failure feedback. Intergroup bias was obtained over and above these effects for participant high-self-esteem Ss. However, participant low-self-esteem Ss favored failing out-groups. Results suggest that individuals with different levels of self-esteem may differ in terms of their inferred status within groups. Intragroup comparisons may then influence one's choice of group for social identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personalism and distinctiveness.

Examined simultaneously the hypotheses of H. H. Kelley's (1967) distinctiveness dimension and the E. E. Jones and K. Davis (1965) personalism dimension. 104 undergraduates served as Ss. Target observers received a positive or negative evaluation from an actor that was high or low in distinctiveness. Uninvolved observer Ss were aware of the actor's evaluation and of the distinctiveness information. Uninvolved observers' attributions conformed to Kelley's hypothesis, whereas target observers' attributions were solely influenced by the valence of the evaluation. Both target and uninvolved observers employed distinctiveness information though, in accordance with Kelley's distinctiveness hypothesis, when asked to predict the actor's future behavior. An inferential set interpretation of these results is proposed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness and approach-avoidance behavior in chipanzees (Pan).

The relationship between hand preference and approach–avoidance behavior was examined in 49 chimpanzees (Pan). Ss were presented with 2 sets of novel objects on 4 consecutive days. The objects were presented for 2 hrs during each session, and latency to touch any object was recorded for each S. Latency scores were then compared for chimpanzees that had been determined to be non-right- or right-handed. Right-handed Ss approached and touched the objects significantly faster than non-right-handed Ss did. In addition, males touched the objects significantly faster than did females. Correlations in approach–avoidance behavior were significant across stimulus sets and days of testing. The overall results support recent theoretical models linking hemispheric specialization with the expression of positive and negative affective behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object–person discrimination and communication at 3 and 10 months.

J. Contole and R. Over's (1979, 1981) procedure for studying infant discrimination using a signal detection analysis of observers' ratings of infant behavior was used to test claims by E. Tronick et al (see record 1980-07280-001) that 3-mo-olds distinguish people from objects and nonverbally communicate with familiar caregivers. 12 observers—parents and undergraduates—judged from videotaped samples of 3- and 10-mo-old infants' behavior if the infants were alone or otherwise, if they were with something that was active or passive, and if they were greeting or withdrawing. Observers could only judge whether the infants were with their mother or an object for the 10-mo-olds. The greeting–withdrawal results seem to indicate that 3-mo-olds do communicate with their caregivers; however, observers were also able to judge greeting–withdrawal when the infants were with an object. There were no sensitivity differences between the 2 observer groups, although the parents were biased to expect the infants to be with mother and to be greeting. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)