Miller Analogies Test: A note on permissive retesting.

Mean scores on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) were computed for 84 graduate students (UW group) who took the MAT twice—Form K followed by Form J. Retest scores were significantly higher (p     

Evidence of a practice effect on the Miller Analogies Test.

Do scores on the Miller Analogies Test improve with practice? "Of a total of 48 Ss, 39 improved… . Maximum improvement in scores occurred for that range of the MAT which might be considered most important from the standpoint of graduate student selection." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undergraduate grades and the Miller Analogies Test as predictors of graduate success.

Ss were "124 students who entered the graduate program at the University of Michigan during the years 1951 through 1955… . Information available on each applicant at the time of entrance included the following measures": total undergraduate grade point average (GPA), undergraduate GPA in science and mathematics, undergraduate GPA in psychology courses, MAT score, objective comprehensive examination in psychology. Measures of "success" included: GPA in graduate courses, marks on doctoral preliminary examinations, faculty ratings of potential professional contribution and potential scientific contribution. 6 tables of results are presented. The best predictor of marks in graduate courses was undergraduate GPA in science courses; it also best predicted preliminary examination grades. "The MAT significantly predicted graduate course grades and was the best predictor of potential scientific contribution of the student." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further evidence of a practice effect on the Miller Analogies Test.

Does performance on the paper and pencil test of academic ability (the Miller Analogies Test) when used with graduate students, improve by repeated administration even when the Ss are not bright or psychologically sophisticated students? "In the present study, 27 of 36 liberal arts students (75%) improved their scores and the mean increase in score for the group was highly significant… scores on the MAT improve as a function of previous experience with an alternative form of the test and that this improvement is not limited to bright, psychologically sophisticated students." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3HD26C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of general working population norms for the USES General Aptitude Test Battery.

The development of general working population norms for the GATB, based on a sample of 4000 representative of the base population with respect to broad occupational groupings is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of worry and emotionality to performance on the Miller Analogies Test.

52 male and 27 female college students completed the Worry-Emotionality Inventory just prior to taking the Miller Analogies Test. Worry and emotionality were significantly correlated. State test anxiety, worry, and emotionality were inversely related to performance, but partial correlations indicated that only worry was correlated with performance when the common variance between worry and emotionality was partialed out. High worriers performed less well than low worriers. The effects of emotionality were nested within worry level; at low levels of worry, emotionality was unrelated to performance, but at high levels of worry, high emotionality was associated most negatively with performance. No sex differences were found. Results support the conceptual distinction between worry and emotionality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opinion organization in a heterogeneous population.

The intercorrelations among the responses of 1,029 persons to 25 items from the 1948 Elmira Voting Study questionnaires were analyzed by Thurstone's group centroid method. The analysis was repeated in three segments of the population that were contrasted on the basis of formal education. Two factors or attitudes, together, accounted for 23% of the variance for the 25 items. These were a factor associated with the expression of hostile attitudes toward outgroups and expectations of war and depression; and a factor associated with the identification with a political party or social class. These factors appear most clearly delineated in that segment of the population which has had some college education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis of the predictive value of the Pre-Engineering Ability Test.

148 engineering candidates were given the ACE Psychological Examination, the Cooperative General Achievement Mathematics Test, and the Pre-Engineering Ability Test. The multiple R of the battery (against a first-semester grade-point-average criterion) of .60 was not significantly higher than the best zero-order coefficient of .56 (with the Cooperative General Achievement Mathematics Test). The Pre-Engineering Ability Test "has little selective value compared with other tests in common use." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Test Anxiety Questionnaire: Scoring norms for a non-college population.

Cross-validation of the TAQ (Test Anxiety Questionnaire) on a population differing from the original college sample (air force personnel). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of the value of the Owens-Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (Form CC) as a measure of the qualities contributing to successful performance as a supervisor of technical operations in an industrial organization.

For 253 technical supervisors, scores on the Owens-Bennett were correlated with supervisory performance ratings. The correlation was .074. The test was item-analyzed, and rescored for items correlating significantly with the criterion. The score on these items correlated .31 with the criterion. The median item was missed by 13% of the group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An ecological analysis of research examining the experiences of students of color in graduate school.

This article critically reviews methodologies and theoretical orientations of 27 published empirical studies examining the graduate school experiences of students of color using Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1994) bioecological model. Despite the urgent need for evidence-based approaches to increase the number of scholars of color, the findings in this review indicate an inadequate number of studies explaining how to realize that goal. Furthermore, much of the existing literature examined individual-level characteristics rather than how environmental factors benefit students. Specific recommendations for future ecological research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Miller analogies test and the University of Pittsburgh Ph.D.'s in psychology.

"The chance relationships existing between the MAT and the several measures of academic achievement and research prowess as revealed in both the Watters and Paterson and the present publication are discouraging, but it must be remembered that they are based on an extremely homogeneous group as far as intellectual ability is concerned. However, should similar results be found to hold with the typical graduate school population, it seems that serious doubt would be cast upon the discriminative efficiency of the MAT in predicting certain criteria of scholastic and professional competence for individuals seeking advanced degrees." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental evaluation of the sensitivity of the Empathy Test.

Form A of the Empathy Test was mailed to fifty Fellows each of the Division of Experimental and Clinical and Abnormal Psychology. Thirty-four usable returns were received from the "experimentalists," and 25 from the "clinicians." Assuming that "clinicians" are higher on empathy than "experimentalists," the Empathy Test did not reflect this difference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attempt at validation of The Empathy Test.

Seventy-two college students who took The Empathy Test were organized into 12 6-man leaderless discussion groups, and after interaction each rated the others and predicted the group average. The correlation between the ratings and the test scores was not significantly different from zero. "This attempt at validating The Empathy Test was not successful." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: I. An improved scoring algorithm.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 85(3) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2007-16878-001). The article contained several errors. On page 203, the data lines in Figure 2 are incorrectly labeled. As in Figure 1, the line with filled squares as data points should be labeled MEAN, the line with filled diamonds as data points should be labeled MEDIAN, and the line with unfilled squares as data points should be labeled RECIPROCAL.] In reporting Implicit Association Test (IAT) results, researchers have most often used scoring conventions described in the first publication of the IAT (A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998). Demonstration IATs available on the Internet have produced large data sets that were used in the current article to evaluate alternative scoring procedures. Candidate new algorithms were examined in terms of their (a) correlations with parallel self-report measures, (b) resistance to an artifact associated with speed of responding, (c) internal consistency, (d) sensitivity to known influences on IAT measures, and (e) resistance to known procedural influences. The best-performing measure incorporates data from the IAT's practice trials, uses a metric that is calibrated by each respondent's latency variability, and includes a latency penalty for errors. This new algorithm strongly outperforms the earlier (conventional) procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a richer view of the scientific method: The role of conceptual analysis.

Within the complex set of activities that comprise the scientific method, three clusters of activities can be recognized: experimentation, mathematization, and conceptual analysis. In psychology, the first two of these clusters are well-known and valued, but the third seems less known and valued. The authors show the value of these three clusters of scientific method activities in the works of the quintessential scientist Galileo Galilei. They then illustrate how conceptual analysis can be used in psychology to clarify the grammar and meaning of concepts, expose conceptual problems in models, reveal unacknowledged assumptions and steps in arguments, and evaluate the consistency of theoretical accounts. The article concludes with a discussion of three criticisms of conceptual analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The scientific study of groups: An editorial.

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice seeks to revitalize the link between the scientific study of group dynamics and the application of that scientific understanding in applied settings—particularly those settings involving deliberate attempts to help individuals achieve desired personal and interpersonal change. To accomplish this goal, the editor plans to publish the highest quality theoretical, empirical, and practical articles dealing with groups in general and therapeutic groups in particular. Guidelines are provided for the types of articles being sought by the journal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accreditation of graduate programs in psychology: An analysis.

Accreditation refers to the process by which an organization or agency formally recognizes that a college or university, or a program of instruction in a college or university, has met certain qualifications or standards. The purpose of this system is to maintain quality among the accredited institutions or programs. It is basic to an understanding of the unique accrediting function in psychology to recognize that psychology is the only discipline within the traditional graduate school of arts and sciences which has, thus far, attempted formal accreditation of the PhD degree. In order better to understand the issues as well as the present status of accreditation in graduate education in psychology, we will review briefly the historical development of accreditation and will sketch the current operational procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thomas W. Miller: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector.

Presents the citation, biography, and selected bibliography for Thomas W. Miller, the 2007 recipient of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector. Also presented is an article based on the author's award address delivered at the 115th annual meeting, held August 17-20, 2007, in San Francisco, California. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)