Applied eyewitness-testimony research: System variables and estimator variables.

Proposes a distinction between 2 types of applied eyewitness-testimony research: System-variable (SV) research investigates varibles that are manipulable in actual criminal cases (e.g., the structure of a lineup) and, thus, has the potential for reducing the inaccuracies of eyewitnesses; estimator-variable (EV) research, however, investigates variables that cannot be controlled in actual criminal cases (e.g., characteristics of the witness) and, thus, can only be used in the courtroom to augment or discount the credibility of eyewitnesses. SVs and EVs are contrasted with respect to their relative potential for positive contribution to criminal justice, and it is concluded that SV research may prove more fruitful than EV research. It is also argued that several methodological biases may be exacerbating the rate of misidentifications in staged-crime paradigms. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject, experimenter, and situational variables in research on anxiety.

3 organismic variables, test anxiety of Ss and of Es, and sex of S were manipulated in a verbal-learning situation. 2 siuational variables, preliminary differential-motivating instructions, and success-failure reports were also studied. High test anxious Ss performed at lower level than did low test anxious Ss, and females were superior to males. Female Ss performed best when run by low test anxious Es. Many significant interactions involving both organismic and situational variables were obtained. The results strongly indicate the need for investigations which simultaneously manipulate these variables in psychological experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient attitudes as related to social class and other variables concerned with hospitalization.

Attitude scores from a factor analytically developed scale were obtained from 55 psychiatric inpatients. These were related to measures of social class, treatment, and demographic variables testing the hypothesis that upper social-class patients would be more in accord with "good mental health" values than would lower social-class patients. It was predicted that these class related attitudes would further relate to type of treatment the patient would receive. Attitudes toward mental health are related to social class and to diagnosis. Some treatment predictions were not testable, but it is clear that somatic treatment is associated with lower social class. The higher the social class the more psychologically oriented the attitude, and conversely, the lower the social class the more rigid and resentful of hospital procedures are the person's attitudes. Attitudes appear to be an important variable in acceptance of and cooperation with current mental-health procedures. These findings are consistent with Hollingshead and Redlich's (1958) contentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the interaction of two scaled variables.

A statistical model permitting inferences about rate of change of slope and curvature coefficients is described along with an example of the required computational procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Individual differences, situational variables, and personality research": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Irwin G. Sarason (Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1962, 65[6], 376-380; (see record 1964-10015-001). On page 379, the second line of Paragraph 1 should read: (p     

Relationship between institutionalization, other demographic variables, and the structure of intelligence in chronic schizophrenics.

A factor analytic investigation was carried out studying the relationship between length of institutionalization and several other premorbid-demographic variables and the structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) in a sample of chronic schizophrenics. Only 3 of these background variables were related to WAIS subtests. 2, education and aging, differentiated within this sample the same way as in the general population: i.e., education was associated with generally higher performance on all subtests while aging was selectively related to lowered psychomotor and memory/attentional functioning. The 3rd, length of institutionalization, showed negative relationship with Comprehension score, suggesting some impairment in social judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual analysis of psychological test scores and other diagnostic variables.

For the clinician, the validity of a test or assessment technique resides in the range and structural clarity of the information it provides him about the individual client with whom he works. 2 devices, for example, might be equal in forecasting a particular criterion, yet differ widely in their personological implications. Analysis of this problem permits specification of 3 levels of evaluation: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The conceptual model defined by these levels would appear to incorporate the kind of information which the diagnostician desires, and which indeed he must have if he is to function in an insightful and fully professional manner. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coding dummy variables is a waste of time: Reply to Wolf and Cartwright, among others.

Presents a direct method for testing the kinds of hypotheses treated in 1974 by G. Wolf and B. Cartwright (see record 1974-24300-001). This method obviates the need for coding dummy variables and yields a considerable reduction in computation time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

B. F. Skinner and psychotechnology: The case of the heir conditioner.

To relieve some of the work of caring for an infant and to create a better environment for the infant, B. F. Skinner invented the baby tender, or aircrib, in 1944. The public first learned of this invention in a 1945 article published in the popular magazine Ladies' Home Journal. The authors discuss the public reactions to that article, the subsequent attempts to mass produce the aircrib, and the several unpublished surveys of aircrib users. The history, development, and ultimate commercial failure of the aircrib are discussed in the context of public attitudes toward certain behavioral technologies. The article concludes with a brief discussion of Skinner's commitment to human betterment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality variables which discriminate between groups differing in level of self-actualization.

Administered the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, the Differential Value Profile, and the Achievement Motivation Scales for Males and Females to 150 male and 150 female undergraduates with high, median, and low scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). Males and females differed significantly in their levels of self-actualization as measured by the POI. Males and females were both significantly discriminated by the personality variables, but by different combinations of these variables. Data suggest that a close relationship may exist between self-actualization and self-concept, and that low self-actualizing males and females differ from high self-actualizing males and females on several dimensions. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Demographic variables, smoking variables, and outcome across five studies.

Objective: Intervention effectiveness can potentially be affected by membership in different demographic subgroups (race, ethnicity, gender, age, and education level) or smoking behavior variables (time to first cigarette, longest previous quit attempt, number of attempts in the past year, number of cigarettes, and stage of change). Previous research on these 2 sets of variables has produced mixed results. Design: This secondary data analysis combined data from 5 effectiveness trials (a random-digit-dial sample [N = 1,358], members of an HMO [N = 207], parents of students recruited for a school-based study [N = 347], patients from an insurance provider list [N = 535], and employees [N = 175]) in which smokers were all proactively recruited from a defined population and all received the same expert system intervention. The intervention produced a consistent 22% to 26% point prevalence cessation rate across the 5 studies. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures were 24-hr point prevalence, 7-day point prevalence, 30-day prolonged abstinence, and 6-month prolonged abstinence. Results: There were no significant differences in outcome across gender, race, and ethnicity subgroups. There were significant differences and small effect sizes for age and education subgroups. There were significant differences and large effect sizes for all 5 smoking behavior variables. Discussion: Demographic variables are static variables, whereas the smoking variables are more dynamic, that is, open to change. Given the dynamic nature of the smoking variables and the large effect sizes, interventions tailored on the smoking variables should be more successful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategy for basic-applied research interaction.

Proposes that it is possible to design adequate, basic research with parameters based on (1) analysis of real-life situations, (2) hypotheses on the functions involved, and (3) laboratory studies on these functions. This proposal is made in light of J. A. Adams's (see record 1973-05590-001) contention that basic research must precede and support applied research in any area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial research is essential to understanding and treating AIDS.

Discusses research on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in terms of the interface between biological and psychosocial variables, focusing on the psychosocial consequences of AIDS, psychosocial determinants of health-promoting and health-damaging behaviors, and factors related to disease incidence and progression. Research in psychoneuroimmunology is reviewed, and 4 heuristic models of causation are outlined. Recommendations for research concerning treatment evaluation, health care providers, and public health education are presented, and problems in AIDS research are considered. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normal values in clinical electrooculography. II. Analysis of potential and time parameters and their relation to other variables

The following EOG potential and time parameters from 72 normal subjects were analysed: base value B, dark trough D, light peak L, light induced potential rise L-D, interval between beginning of dark adaptation and occurrence of dark through d and interval between dark trough and light peak l. Their relations to sex, age pupillary diameter, degree of iris pigmentation, refractive error, axial length, corneal curvature and diameter, ocular protrusion and interpupillary distance were assessed. Right eye and left eye samples of the EOG parameters were congruent, although individual differences were sometimes appreciable. The levels of B and D were higher in the female half of the sample. A positive correlation existed between age and D level. L-D was negatively correlated to the degree of refractive error and positively correlated to the ocular protrusion. A positive correlation was found between d and the four potential parameters, and there was a positive correlation between age and l. Practical consequences of the statistical analysis relating to the interpretation of such EOG data are discussed.     

Classroom dyadic interaction: Factor structure of process variables and achievement correlates.

Obtained data from 28 2nd- and 3rd-grade teachers who were consistent in obtaining student achievement gains on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. 21 dyadic interaction process variables obtained from the Texas Teacher Effectiveness Project Coding System were entered into factor analyses which showed more congruence between the factor structures of the whole-class contexts (morning and afternoon) than between those data subsets and reading group factors. Resulting factor scores were correlated with achievement criteria. Although significant correlations were few in number, the data suggest that in higher socioeconomic status classes, verbal praise was particularly ineffective; also, successful teachers in lower social status classrooms interacted privately with students (instead of during public discussions). Effective teachers in lower and higher social status classes placed an emphasis on fast-paced activities during reading groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of personality, expectancy, and situational variables to self-disclosing behavior.

Studied self-disclosure of female undergraduates after they performed a Gestalt awareness task either in the absence of E and one peer (personal situation) or in the presence of these people (interpersonal situation). Results suggest that knowledge of subjective expectancies, as well as situational contexts, is an effective predictor of what a person feels like inside (e.g., discomfort) and of how she responds to awareness-disclosure questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task, setting, and personality variables affecting the desire to work.

120 undergraduates rated their desire to work in (verbally described) situations varying in setting and task variables. Desire to work was significantly greater for (a) easier tasks, (b) less arousing settings, (c) more pleasant tasks, and (d) more pleasant settings. Predicted interaction effects showed that easier tasks and more pleasant settings also allowed more tolerance for arousal from the settings. Results support a proposed expansion of R. M. Yerkes and J. D. Dodson's 1908 law (that performance is an inverted-U shaped function of arousal) in which pleasure and task difficulty affect the optimum arousal level for performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality variables and response to color.

Theorists have proposed relationships between response to color and personality attributes, mainly those of impulsivity, suggestibility, and emotionality. A review of research results reveals no support for its association with impulsivity, or related variables (assaultiveness, ego control, etc.). Support is also lacking for its correlation to suggestibility in terms of being easily influenced by individuals, though there is demonstration of its relationship in terms of responding to stimulation from the impersonal environment, color being a part of this environment. Strong evidence from Rorschach studies for reduced use of color by depressed individuals, the only relationship to emotionality established, is compatible with the above positive finding for the depressed patient is uninterested in the external environment. (77 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)