Role playing variations and their informational value for person perception.

The hypotheses were offered that the degree to which an individual conforms to a role (a set of behavior expectancies), the less he reveals about himself; in complete identity with the role, S's behavior is almost entirely determined by what he experiences to be expected of him; and behavior inconsistent with role expectancy is generally determined by idiosyncratic attitudes. Ss listened to recorded interviews between a psychologist and a "job applicant." The positions were that of submariner and astronaut; both, as described, involved different personality types. Tapes were made between interviewer and interviewee for the 2 positions, from which 4 tapes were produced: 2 with the actual answers, and 2 with answers of 1 spliced to questions of the other halfway through the tape. Ss tended to perceive the out-of-role answers as revealing more of the interviewee's personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlational analysis of verbal interactions during the consultative interview and consultees' subsequent perceptions.

We examined the relation of consultants' and consultees' verbal behavior during the problem identification interview (PII) to consultees' perceptions. 20 teachers engaged with 1 of 2 consultants in 15-min PIIs about a classroom problem. Verbal interaction patterns of the consultant and the consultee during each PII were coded according to J. R. Bergan and M. L. Tombari's (1975) system. After the PII, teachers responded to a 35-item questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the interview. Correlational analyses showed that favorable ratings of the interview were related significantly to the numbers of consultees' inference statements, consultants' positive validation statements, and consultees' statements describing behavior followed by consultants' positive validation. Implications for consultants' behavior during the PII are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of model characteristics on psychiatric inpatients' interview anxiety.

Examined the utility of model characteristics of mastery vs coping behavior and the expression of positive affect in modifying 38 psychiatric inpatients' anxiety and performance in an interview. (Mean age of Ss was 31.7 yrs; mean length of hospitalization was 69.8 mo.) Also, the influence of these variables on model attraction were examined to evaluate how model characteristics achieve their effects. Between repeated assessments, Ss observed televised models demonstrating 1 of 4 types of job interview situations; mastery-positive-affect, mastery-no-affect, coping-positive-affect, or coping-no-affect. Results indicate that modeled coping behavior produced partial modification of Ss' behavior; however, some evidence supports the value of modeled positive affect. Modeled mastery and positive affect behaviors increased model attraction, but attraction was not correlated with behavior change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student learning and performance under varying conditions of teacher verbal and nonverbal evaluative communication.

Studied 4 combinations of teacher verbal and nonverbal evaluative behavior within a controlled microlesson. Two male and 2 female teachers presented each of the 4 combinations (verbally and nonverbally positive and negative) to different randomly selected samples of 64 male and 62 female 6th graders. Data indicate that teacher negative nonverbal behavior led to significantly greater performance during the lesson. Teacher verbal behavior also influenced S performance, interacting with the factor of individual teacher. On the measure of learning, females achieved significantly higher scores and teacher gender interacted with student gender. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The student as Pygmalion: Effect of student expectation on the teacher.

Two experiments examined the possibility that student expectations regarding a teacher's competence can be communicated to the teacher and bring about the expected behavior. In Exp I, 39 female undergraduates acting as students were administered a lesson by a teacher (confederate) who the students expected to be either effective or ineffective. Results show significant differences in student attitudes, performance, and nonverbal behavior according to expectation. In Exp II, confederates acting as students emitted either positive or negative nonverbal behavior toward 40 female undergraduates acting as their teachers. There were significant effects on teachers' attitudes and behavior. Moreover, ratings of the teacher by judges showed teachers were rated as being more adequate under conditions of positive student nonverbal behavior than negative nonverbal behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Focus of attention and self-evaluation in social interaction.

Prior to an interview with a confederate posing as an interviewer (I), 95 undergraduates received instructions that directed their attention during the interaction to their own thoughts and feelings, to the I's behavior, or to neither source in particular. The I's nonverbal and paralinguistic responses became either progressively more warm or progressively more cold during the course of the interview. Results support the notion that different attentional perspectives alter the meaning of another person's social behavior. Other-directed attention resulted in correspondent inferences: The I's behavior was directly reflected in Ss' self-ratings of performance—warm behavior caused positive ratings, cold behavior caused negative ratings. This pattern of results is consistent with predictions derived from a symbolic interactionist perspective on social interaction but is inconsistent with those derived from the model that causal attribution follows focus of attention. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Children's Ethnicity in the Relationship Between Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Observed Classroom Behavior.

Significant ethnic differences have been consistently documented on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) teacher rating scales. Whether these ethnic differences result from a teacher rating bias or reflect actual classroom behavior patterns is unknown. Ethnic differences between Caucasian and African American (AA) elementary schoolchildren on teacher ratings and codings of observed classroom behavior were examined with latent variables. In structural equation models, correlations between teacher ratings and observed classroom behavior suggested nonbiased teacher ratings of AA schoolchildren with diagnosed ADHD. Ethnic differences were documented for both teacher ratings of ADHD and classroom behavior. Differences in classroom behavior were attenuated when the behavior of an average child in the classroom was taken into account. Multiple explanations for this pattern of results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of a sequential behavior analysis protocol on the teaching practices of undergraduate trainees.

Studied the effects of a sequential behavior feedback procedure on the practice teaching experiences of undergraduate teacher trainees. Teaching performances of 4 Ss were analyzed using Alternative Appropriate Instructional and Organizational Action measures within the ecological context of Instructional and Organizational challenges in the practice teaching setting. Data support the added utility of sequential information when using behavior analysis approaches to teacher training. One field-based undergraduate teaching practicum was monitored. The key elements summarized are (1) classroom instruction tied to the practicum experience, (2) practice teaching experience, and (3) sequential observation system used for evaluation and feedback, including multiple-baseline data to support this approach to teacher training. Results point to the strong relationship between sequential behavior feedback and (1) teacher-trainee improvement in meeting instructional and organizational challenges in the classroom, (2) teacher-trainee movement from an organizational to an instructional focus over the course of the experiment, and (3) positive changes in pupil practices as a function of changes in teacher-trainee instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of "status sets" on Rotter's Locus of Control Scale.

65 male and 25 female college students were given sets based on varying levels of social class to determine the susceptibility of Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale (I–E) scores to situationally induced frames of reference. Ss took the I–E twice: once while playing the role of a person who had just been hired for 1 of 6 ranked occupations and once from their own frame of reference. "In-role" I–E scores showed the expected positive relationship between levels of status and internality, and these scores differed from the S's "out-of-role" normal responses. Present results are in accord with recent findings that the I–E may be subject to faking and situational effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new time-kill method of assessing the relative efficacy of antimicrobial agents alone and in combination developed using a representative beta-lactam, aminoglycoside and fluoroquinolone

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has demonstrated the central role of early childhood concentration problems in the development of aggression and other maladaptive behaviors. The present study investigated the moderating effect of concentration problems on the impact of a classroom-based preventive intervention directed at aggressive and shy behaviors in an epidemiologically defined sample of 1,084 urban first-grade children. METHOD: Concentration problems, aggressive behavior, and shy behavior were assessed by a structured teacher interview (the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised) in the fall and spring of first grade. RESULTS: Children with high ratings on concentration problems in the fall had higher levels of teacher-rated aggressive and shy behavior in the spring than did children without such problems. The intervention reduced aggressive and shy behavior in children regardless of fall concentration level. Boys, but not girls, in the intervention condition with high concentration problems had higher levels of spring aggression than those without such problems, but they also showed the greatest reductions in aggressive behavior from fall to spring. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that aggressive behavior is malleable in children with concentration problems, provide further evidence on the etiological significance of concentration problems for the development of maladaptive behavior, and highlight the importance of directly targeting concentration problems to maximize preventive intervention impact.     

Interactional structure of the supervision interview.

Five supervisors audiotaped Sessions 3, 6, and 9 of their supervision interviews with each of their assigned trainees (N?=?19). A 20-min segment of each of the resulting interviews was coded by trained raters using an adapted version of A. Blumberg's (1970) system for analyzing supervisor–teacher interaction. A quadratic assignment paradigm was used to determine whether the probability that particular behaviors would be emitted by either the supervisor or the trainee, given the behavior emitted previously by the other member of the dyad, was greater or less than the unconditional probability of these particular behaviors being emitted. Results indicate that certain repetitive patterns of verbal behavior occurred in the supervisory interview and that a sequential analysis can effectively describe these interactions. The verbal coding scheme used appeared conceptually relevant to the supervision process. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Style differences of beginning supervisors: An interactional analysis.

An interactional analysis system, A. Blumberg's (1970) system for analyzing supervisor–teacher interaction (BIA), adopted from research in teacher education, was used to characterize beginning supervisory style. Two dimensions were considered: (a) the amount of variance in supervisory interaction behaviors in a group of beginning supervisors and (b) the stability of interactional behavior of individuals across 2 interviews, each with 2 trainees. 24 supervision interviews, each with 2 trainees from each of 12 beginning doctoral students, were videotaped and later analyzed with the BIA. A repeated measures 2-way ANOVA was used to analyze the BIA scores. Results indicate that the interview content differed significantly between supervisors on 7 of the 11 BIA variables and that individuals differed significantly across 2 interviews on 3 of the variables. It is concluded that beginning supervisors have individual predilections for supervisory behaviors that are stable across interviews with different trainees. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job characteristics, flow, and performance: The moderating role of conscientiousness.

The present article aims to show the importance of positive work-related experiences within occupational health psychology by examining the relationship between flow at work (i.e., absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation) and job performance. On the basis of the literature, it was hypothesized that (a) motivating job characteristics are positively related to flow at work and (b) conscientiousness moderates the relationship between flow and other ratings of (in-role and out-of-role) performance. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 113 employees from several occupations. Results of moderated structural equation modeling analyses generally supported the hypotheses. Motivating job characteristics were predictive of flow, and flow predicted in-role and extra-role performance, for only conscientious employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The punitive beliefs and behaviors of adolescent delinquent boys.

In a study with 22 institutionalized male delinquent and 22 matched high school students, delinquents were found to have very punitive beliefs relative to previously tested populations. The delinquents tended to have more punitive beliefs and did have more punitive behavior than the controls. Responses to Piagetian interview stories that represented 3 relationships between thief and victim (adolescent to mother, teacher, or peer) were significantly different with the mother story eliciting the most number of punitive responses. In a subsequent rat-training procedure the delinquent boys used punishment as their predominant response to the "misbehaving" rat showing cooccurrence of punitive belief and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships over time between mental health symptoms and transmission risk among persons living with HIV.

Relationships between mental health symptoms (anxiety and depression) or a positive state of mind and behavior associated with HIV transmission (substance use and risky sexual behavior) were explored in a longitudinal study of persons living with HIV (PLH; N = 936) who were participants in a transmission-prevention trial. Bivariate longitudinal regressions were used to estimate the correlations between mental health symptoms and HIV-related transmission acts for 3 time frames: at the baseline interview, over 25 months, and from assessment to assessment. At baseline, mental health symptoms were associated with transmission acts. Elevated levels of mental health symptoms at baseline were associated with decreasing alcohol or marijuana use over 25 months. Over 25 months, an increasingly positive state of mind was associated with decreasing alcohol or marijuana use; an increasingly positive state of mind in the immediate intervention condition and increasing depressive symptoms in the lagged condition were related to increasing risky sexual behavior. Our findings suggest that mental health symptoms precede a decrease in substance use and challenge self-medication theories. Changes in mental health symptoms and sexual behavior occur more in tandem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of interviewer self-disclosure and interviewer-subject sex pairing on perceived and actual subject behavior.

The content (positive or negative) of interviewer self-disclosure regarding their own procrastination and study behavior as undergraduates was manipulated with all additional parameters of self-disclosure controlled. 16 male and 16 female college students discussed their tendency to procrastinate with either male or female interviewers who positively or negatively self-disclosed. Results indicate that (a) after the interview, Ss in the positive disclosure condition expected to study significantly more hours and did study significantly more hours than Ss in the negative disclosure condition; (b) Ss in the positive disclosure condition perceived that they procrastinated significantly more after the interview than before, while the opposite was true for Ss in the negative disclosure condition; and (c) negatively disclosing interviewers were perceived as significantly higher on unconditionality of regard and credibility than positively disclosing interviewers. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament and major depression in 11 to 16 year olds

Temperament (EAS teacher and parent questionnaire) and mental state (modified DISC-C interview with adolescent) was systematically assessed in 193 11 to 16 year olds (112 girls, 81 boys) screened for major depression in the community. Sex differences in the structure of temperament were noted from both parent and teacher reports. High (negative) emotionality alone was associated with major depression, particularly (but not exclusively) in girls.     

Natural rates of teacher approval and disapproval and their relation to student behavior in intermediate school classrooms.

Studied the natural rates of teacher approval of appropriate student behavior and off-task student behavior and disapproval of off-task behavior in 84 intermediate school 6th–9th grade classrooms. Six students were selected at random from each class, and their behaviors were recorded using a behavioral assessment instrument. Teachers' interactions with students were recorded using an event-recording procedure. Higher rates of approval of off-task behavior were associated with lower rates of on-task behavior. The lowest rates of teacher disapproval were associated with the highest rates of student on-task behavior. Mean rates of teacher approval were found to exceed rates of disapproval, in contrast to previous studies. Inappropriate approval also appeared to be a relevant factor in managing classroom behavior. Results suggest that to achieve an acceptable level of on-task behavior, teachers must provide high rates of appropriate approval combined with low rates of both inappropriate approval and disapproval. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)