Outcome feedback: Hindsight and information.

Although "hindsight bias" research has demonstrated that outcome feedback leads people to exaggerate the odds they would have placed on known outcomes, learning theories view feedback as the key to effective adaptation. Our model and data show that outcome feedback has multiple effects. People can extract diagnostic information from feedback despite overestimating what they would have known in foresight. Ss reliably discriminate easy tasks where they "knew it all along" from difficult tasks where they "never would have known it"; differential reactions to feedback provide information useful in other judgment tasks such as assessment of population base-rates and personal knowledge calibration. In Experiments 1–4, feedback increased judgmental accuracy by over 150%. However, a final experiment suggests that certain tasks (insight problems) produce such strong "I knew it all along" reactions that hindsight can overwhelm the information contained in feedback and reduce predictive accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency and impulsivity and IQ: A reply to Block (1995).

Although J. Block's critique (see record 1995-29649-001) of the D. Lynam, T. Moffitt, and M. Stouthamer-Loeber report (see record 1993-29924-001) contains several interesting points, many of his criticisms are not valid and resulted from miscommunications, misunderstandings, and simple preferences. Specifically, the authors believe the criticisms to be the results of mistaking a single hypothesis for an organizing principle, a misunderstanding of the reported path analyses, and a simple preference for impulsivity over IQ as an explanatory construct. An attempt is made to address the misinterpretation through clarification of the predicted relations between IQ, executive dysfunction, impulsivity, and delinquency. The original path analyses are reviewed and are shown to refute not only the original self-control hypothesis (Lynam et al., 1993), as reported, but also Block's more recent version. Finally, evidence marshalled by Block to support his emphasis on impulsive personality over low IQ is argued to have inadequacies from empirical and social policy perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing the forest and seeing the trees in psychology.

Comments on the article by R. J. Sternberg and E. L. Grigorenko (see record 2001-10045-001), which described an approach to psychology ("unified psychology") that is a multiparadigmatic, multidisciplinary, and integrated study of psychological phenomena through converging operations. According to the present author, the article by Sternberg and Grigorenko deserves appraciation on several fronts: (1) the article's elegant clarity; (2) the present author's uneasiness at the dilemma the Sternberg and Grigorenko article creates, and (3) the present author's proposal to take Sternberg and Grigorenko's article as a call, not a discipline. The call to open specialty doors must be issued, but the call itself should not be another specialty (e.g., unified psychology). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing the forest from the trees: When predicting the behavior or status of groups, correlate means.

When measures of individual differences are used to predict group performance, the reporting of correlations computed on samples of individuals invites misinterpretation and dismissal of the data. In contrast, if regression equations, in which the correlations required are computed on bivariate means, as are the distribution statistics, it is difficult to underappreciate or lightly dismiss the utility of psychological predictors. Given sufficient sample size and linearity of regression, this technique produces cross-validated regression equations that forecast criterion means with almost perfect accuracy. This level of accuracy is provided by correlations approaching unity between bivariate samples of predictor and criterion means, and this holds true regardless of the magnitude of the "simple" correlation (e.g., rxy ?=?.20, or rxy ?=?.80). We illustrate this technique empirically using a measure of general intelligence as the predictor and other measures of individual differences and socioeconomic status as criteria. In addition to theoretical applications pertaining to group trends, this methodology also has implications for applied problems aimed at developing policy in numerous fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing only the right half of the forest but cutting down all the trees?

Unilateral neglect following damage to the right hemisphere of the brain can be characterized by failure of the global attentional mechanisms of the right hemisphere to direct the local detail processors of the left hemisphere towards the contralesional left hemispace. This is suggested by patients who recognize the global form of the left side of shapes (the forest) but fail to cancel out its local details (the trees). Here we report the opposite behavioural dissociation in a patient (Q.M.) with damage to the right hemisphere of the brain. Q.M. detected local details (such as the tail of a dog) on the left or right side of visual shapes, regardless of whether these details belonged to predefined target shapes (a dog in this case) or to distractor shapes differing on the opposite side (a dog with a swan's neck and head, for example). Psychological testing showed an abnormal tendency of this patient to respond to local features, but perfect accuracy in interpreting global features when the local features could not interfere in global processing. The results indicate that the left hemisphere can integrate multiple local features simultaneously but loses global awareness as soon as local features individually compete for response selection. However, awareness of the whole is not necessary for the sequential processing of the parts.     

Expectancy?×?value effects: Regulatory focus as determinant of magnitude and direction.

The authors propose that a promotion focus involves construal of achievement goals as aspirations whose attainment brings accomplishment. Commitment to these accomplishment goals is characterized by attempts to attain the highest expected utility. In contrast, a prevention focus involves construal of achievement goals as responsibilities whose attainment brings security. Commitment to these security goals is characterized by doing what is necessary. The different nature of commitment to accomplishment goals versus security goals is predicted to influence the interactive effect of goal expectancy and goal value on goal commitment, as evident in both task performance and decision making. Four studies found that the classic positive interactive effect of expectancy and value on goal commitment increases with a promotion focus and decreases with a prevention focus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Relational concepts in psychoanalysis.

Reviews the book, Relational concepts in psychoanalysis by Stephen A. Mitchell (see record 1988-98472-000). This book is a landmark statement for psychoanalytic theory, and especially of the place of relational theory. It stands outside and above the field, viewing developments over the century since Freud began his explorations. Mitchell compares each of the major positions of psychoanalytic theory specifically to the new model he proposes, which he calls a "relational-conflict model." This model is neither the "drive-conflict" model derived centrally from Freud, nor the "developmental-arrest" model that Mitchell associates with Winnicott and Kohut. Mitchell's model is closest to those proposed by Fairbairn and Racker, but he also relies heavily on Sullivan, Loewtild, Schafer, and other modern writers who have contributed to a view of the individual as centered in the human environment and interactive with it. Mitchell has given us a first-rate book, a scholarly and inventive synthesis with welcome conclusions. The clarity and thoughtfulness of his statement make this book worthy of study, even for those who take issue with him. I believe he takes us as far as analytic theory can go at the moment towards blending the worlds of the intrapsychic and the interpersonal. Mitchell notes that theories are, after all, only metaphors to be used and examined. His own statement seems a particularly sensible and comprehensive one. There is room to grow in psychoanalytic theory and technique. Mitchell makes it abundantly clear that psychoanalysis is not only alive, but is entering an exciting period of synthesis and new growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychological concepts and biological psychiatry.

Reviews the book, Psychological concepts and biological psychiatry by Peter Zachar (see record 2000-16870-000). Almost from the very beginning of its disciplinary history clinical psychology has sought to align itself philosophically and methodologically with the natural sciences, particularly medicine and neurology. Contradicting the common-place assumption that common sense or folk psychology has been proven uninformative and futile, Zachar provides explicit philosophical and psychological arguments that demonstrate why such accounts are not only vital to proper scientific explanation but inevitable as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Family therapy concepts and methods.

Reviews the book, Family therapy concepts and methods by Michael P. Nichols (1984). The wealth of information presented in this book about the field of psychotherapy is one of its major strengths. Eight separate schools of therapy are described, including their historic roots. Substantial reading lists are included with each chapter. The presentations include a developmental perspective and normal functioning by which the contrast of disordered behavior may be highlighted. Major figures, main concepts, and methods are presented in a well-written, easy-to-follow format. This text lends itself most usefully to the integration of individual psychodynamic psychotherapy as it contributes to an understanding of systems practice. The presentation of psychoanalytic developmental theory is the best and most useful I have seen. It is well suited to teaching clinicians. The total impression is that the book offers a presentation of psychotherapy as integrated into systemic practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using IRT to separate measurement bias from true group differences on homogeneous and heterogeneous scales: An illustration with the MMPI.

The authors present a didactic illustration of how item response theory (IRT) can be used to separate measurement bias from true group differences on homogeneous and heterogeneous scales. Several bias detection methods are illustrated with 12 unidimensional Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) factor scales (Waller, 1999) and the 13 multidimensional MMPI validity and clinical scales. The article begins with a brief review of MMPI bias research and nontechnical reviews of the 2-parameter logistic model (2-PLM) and several IRT-based methods for bias detection. A goal of this article is to demonstrate that homogeneous and heterogeneous scales that are composed of biased items do not necessarily yield biased test scores. To that end, the authors perform differential item- and test-functioning analyses on the MMPI factor, validity, and clinical scales using data from 511 Blacks and 1,277 Whites from the California Youth Authority. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing the forest for the trees: Prevalence of low scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition (WISC-IV).

Low scores across a battery of tests are common in healthy people and vary by demographic characteristics. The purpose of the present article was to present the base rates of low scores for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition (WISC-IV; D. Wechsler, 2003). Participants included 2,200 children and adolescents between 6 and 16 years of age from the WISC-IV U.S. standardization sample. Measures considered in the base rates analyses included the 10 core subtests and the 4 index scores. Analyses were conducted for the entire standardization sample as well as stratified by different classifications of intelligence and different years of parental education. In the total sample, it is uncommon to have 6 or more subtest scores or 2 or more Index scores ≤ 9th percentile. The prevalence of low scores typically increased with lesser intelligence and fewer years of parental education (e.g., children with below-average intelligence were 75 times more likely than children with above-intelligence to have at least one impaired subtest score). Consistent with existing studies of the base rates of low scores, some low scores on the WISC-IV were common in children and adolescents, and the frequency was related to a child's level of intelligence and parental education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Perceptual Learning and Adaptation.

Reviews the book, Perceptual Learning and Adaptation by P. C. Dodwell (ed.). This is an inexpensive collection of outstanding basic articles on the relation of experience and perception for comparative, cognitive, and developmental psychology. A well planned selection of readings but rather too specialized for many general students of psychology. Good visual materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Les concepts fondamentaux de la psychologie sociale.

Reviews the book, Les concepts fondamentaux de la psychologie sociale by Gustave-Nicolas Fischer (2010). This work is intended as an introduction to social psychology and will be a welcome contribution to the field. It consists of eight chapters presenting various concepts of social psychology, each of which is covered with a level of detail that is appropriate for a text aimed at undergraduate university students. Certainly this text will help meet the need for French-language works in social psychology. Overall, the work is quite successful in achieving its objective, presented in the Foreword, namely to provide readers with a better knowledge of the psychosocial processes at work in the world in which they live. This work, divided into eight chapters, presents the key concepts of social psychology. Definitions, approaches and concepts are clearly stated. Sometimes a critical analysis of a theme is offered, other times not. Few practical applications and examples from everyday life are included. The author does, however, provide a wrap-up question at the end of each chapter, and also a list of supplementary readings. The overall quality of the work is very good and it is well suited to the target population. One weakness, though, is the lack of references to recent studies and texts, the latest being from 2004. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing through sound: Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) perceive the spatial structure of objects through echolocation.

Experiment 1 tested a dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) for cross-modal recognition of 25 unique pairings of 8 familiar, complexly shaped objects, using the senses of echolocation and vision. Cross-modal recognition was errorless or nearly so for 24 of the 25 pairings under both visual to echoic matching (V-E) and echoic to visual matching (E-V). First-trial recognition occurred for 20 pairings under V-E and for 24 under E-V. Echoic decision time under V-E averaged only 1.88 s. Experiment 2 tested 4 new pairs of objects for 24 trials of V-E and 24 trials of E-V without any prior exposure of these objects. Two pairs yielded performance significantly above chance in both V-E and E-V. Also, the dolphin matched correctly on 7 of 8 1st trials with these pairs. The results support a capacity for direct echoic perception of object shape by this species and demonstrate that prior object exposure is not required for spontaneous cross-modal recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Learning and Clinical Psychology.

Reviews the book "Social learning and clinical psychology," by Julian B. Rotter (see record 2005-06617-000). The stated purpose of this book is to arrive at a systematic theory from which may be drawn specific principles for actual clinical practice, and to illustrate some of the more important applications of the theory to the practice. The first three chapters represent for the most part a clear and incisive introduction to the major purpose of the book, chapters which can be read with profit by all clinical psychologists. The next four chapters, which represent the bulk of the book, contain the aims and concepts of Rotter's social learning position as well as the ways in which it differs from other approaches. Rotter's discussion and evaluation of psychoanalytic theory is amazingly superficial and, to the unwary graduate student, misleading. First, it represents one of the few attempts to formulate and apply a learning theory to clinical phenomena and problems-the more such courageous attempts we have, the better will we be able to evaluate the adequacy of such theories. Second, Rotter's formulations have generated a relatively large number of studies at The Ohio State University-a tribute not only to Rotter's effectiveness as a teacher but a reflection of the fruitfulness of the formulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychobiology of mind-body healing: New concepts of therapeutic hypnosis.

Reviews the book, The psychobiology of mind-body healing: New concepts of therapeutic hypnosis by Earnest L. Rossi. This is one of the best books currently available for psychologists that summarizes the burgeoning field of mind-body interaction. Rossi's healing intention is clearly stated in his Preface, and it is this emphasis that tends to distinguish his text most prominently from other available reviews of the same literature. The other chief positive attribute of the Rossi text is his explication of numerous uses of hypnotherapeutic phenomena in the treatment process. Rossi makes no bones about his allegiance to the Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic school, and his effectively presented clinical examples are very similar to Erickson's own case presentations in their vividness and their potency for attacking a large number of mind-body problems. The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing is 380 pages in length, including some 29 pages of references that are comprehensive. They represent contributions from very basic sciences among biology, chemistry, and psychophysiology, as well as a number of references on hypnotherapy, state-dependent learning, and some features of information systems. I highly recommend this text, with appropriate cautions about its tables and anecdotes, to all students of psychotherapeutic phenomena with physically ill patients, especially those who must struggle uphill to assist those with chronic and debilitating illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, musculo-skeletal disorders, and AIDS. Rossi has put together a notable and useful text mat is provocative and rewarding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Ecological research with children and families: From concepts to methodology.

Reviews the book, Ecological research with children and families: From concepts to methodology, edited by Alan R. Pence (see record 1988-98395-000). This book had its origin in a workshop at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and both book and workshop took as their motto Bronfenbrenner's well-known call for an ecological approach to the study of children's development. Although only one study in this collection meets all of Bronfenbrenner's criteria for ecological research (namely Cochran's study of an intervention programme established in collaboration with Bronfenbrenner himself), all of the chapters convey a sense of the authors' strong social conscience and manifest concern with malfunctioning families--the human ecology gone awry. Their emphasis is on interventions with or on behalf of such families and on adverse contextual variables that affect child care. Such reports are worthwhile in themselves. But what is notably absent from this round-up of ecological research are investigations of the child's growing up in the family in relation to parents and siblings without any kind of intervention, such as Belsky or Barker has carried out. The book is interesting for another, unexpected reason: It shows how "ecological" research has been misunderstood by some and has been equated with "phenomenological, holistic, not objective, qualitative, uncontrolled" research. Bronfenbrenner, in a very perceptive Foreword, points this out diplomatically, attributing the misunderstanding to a one-sided emphasis in his original work on the importance of studying the way the environment is perceived by the participant in the research, that is, the meaning it has for him or her. Overall, The book is a worthy endeavour to bring together diverse approaches to social engineering and to examine the reception they were accorded by the targeted beneficiaries and by the community at large. Of the eight chapters reporting actual or proposed investigations, five are of Canadian origin. At times the chapters tantalize us with their promise of future achievements or with incomplete reporting of past achievements. But the work made interesting reading for me and will do so for many social scientists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Undergraduate writing in psychology: Learning to tell the scientific story.

Reviews the book, Undergraduate writing in psychology: Learning to tell the scientific story by R. Eric Landrum (see record 2008-03689-000). This review is written from the perspective of a student who enrolled in a course on academic writing and a professor who taught the course. From the student's perspective, Landrum covers all the bases, from the reason psychologists write scientifically to the proper way to write a notecard. However, she feels that the book is too basic, and that students will not feel that they learned anything new from it. From the professor's perspective, the book covers the basics of writing empirical papers and review papers in APA style. However, the book's difficulty level is very low, which may say a lot about the audience for psychology textbooks. The dilemma for Landrum is to decide which audience to write for: The best students don't need the book's basic points, and the worst students won't read it. Landrum's book may be the best of the APA Paper books: It's more original and more effective than its competitors. Storytelling is a good model for research articles, and Landrum nicely develops the model throughout the book. Despite its storytelling theme, however, the book recommends hiding the storyteller: students should sound objective, formal, and detached--in a word, boring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Learning About Learning Disabilities, Third Edition.

This article reviews the book, "Learning about Learning Disabilities, Third Edition" (see record 2004-21912-000), edited by Bernice Wong. This book is comprised of a selection of chapters authored by well-known authors in the field of learning disabilities. The book was developed for use with advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the intent to provide current information soundly based in research in the field. The chapters in the book are organized into three thematic sections. The first section deals with conceptual, historical, and research aspects of learning disabilities. The second section comprises chapters on reading comprehension, writing, math, social competence, strategy instruction, working with adolescents, issues in service delivery, and developing communities of practice. The third section focuses on a life span approach to learning disabilities. This book does what it purports to do. This is a well put together selection of readings. It may not be appropriate for advanced undergraduate students with no previous background knowledge or experience with learning disabilities due to the level of the book. The information provided in each chapter is current and soundly based in research. In addition to the research presented, the majority of the chapters also include practical implications of the research to teaching settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)