Peer versus professional models for study skills training.

Compared a peer model and professional model for teaching study skills to college freshmen. 17 freshmen in the professional model received 10 hrs of instruction in study skills in 2 groups taught by 1 professional. In the peer model, freshmen were divided into 16 pairs of tutors and tutees. The tutors learned the study skills in 5 90-min weekly seminars. Between meetings, the tutors individually taught these skills to the tutees. Ss in both models significantly improved study skills relative to attention and waiting-list control groups. The peer model was as effective as the professional model in study skills change. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experienced professional interviewer versus the complete novice.

Compared interviewer behavior and efficacy of complete novices and experienced professionals. In each of 2 studies interviewees were 16 female undergraduates. 16 interviewers were professionals, and 16 were novices. Interviewees rated the novices more benignly than the professionals but the professionals were rated as more skilled. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups on genuineness and warmth, with 1 questionable difference in favor of the professionals on empathy, as measured by the Truax and Carkhuff scales, Non-Possessive Warmth, Genuineness or Self-Congruence, and Accurate Empathy. Novice interviewers were more anxious (higher non-ah ratios). None of the payoff variables (e.g., productivity) in interviewee response distinguished between the professionals and novices. The "novice" but not the "professional" interviews conformed to a synchrony model on productivity. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal versus professional evaluations of self-disclosing and self-involving counselors.

The concept of counselor disclosure was separated into 2 types of counselor responses: self-disclosing statements and self-involving statements. These types were also varied along a positive–negative dimension. 80 female undergraduates listened to taped segments and rated the counselor using self-involving statements as more professional than the counselor using self-disclosing statements. Positive vs negative disclosures produced no significant differences. Self-disclosing statements directed Ss' attention toward the counselor, whereas self-involving statements kept the focus of counseling on the client. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of professional versus student ratings of job interviewee behavior.

Designed a replication of research by T. McGovern and H. Tinsley (1978) which asked professional personnel representatives to rate a videotaped job interviewee. Nonprofessional undergraduates were used as the raters of job interviewee behavior. Content of the interviews was constant; nonverbal behavior was experimentally manipulated. The results obtained with the student raters closely parallel those of professionals. The student Ss were able to discriminate nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact, voice tone, and body movement in making their evaluations. The implications for future research with students as Ss and the development of peer counseling programs for job interview preparation are discussed. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approaches to empathy training: Programmed methods versus individual supervision and professional versus peer supervisors.

Examined the effects of training method (programmed vs individual supervision) and supervisor experience (peer vs professional) on the learning of empathy. Eight supervisors (4 professional and 4 peer) were assigned 3 Ss in each of 3 groups: individually supervised, programmed, and control. Ss listened to 3 sets of recorded client statements and responded as counselors. The 2 experimental groups received training after the 1st and 2nd sets. The control group received no training. An analysis of recorded responses indicated that the individually supervised Ss achieved a significantly higher level of empathy than the controls. Ss receiving programmed training were intermediate in learning between individually supervised and control Ss. Supervisor experience was not found to be a significant factor as no posttraining differences were noted between professional and peer-trained groups. This result supports the use of peers in such interpersonal skills training. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intercultural relations in plural societies.

Discusses the question of how peoples of many and diverse cultural backgrounds come to live together successfully in culturally plural societies. The central issue for psychologists is how psychological research (theory and data) might contribute to an answer to this question, and perhaps influence public policy in this domain. Two research traditions have been concerned with this issue. One is the study of acculturation, which refers to the process of cultural change that results when two (or more) cultural groups come into contact as well as the psychological changes that individuals experience as a result of being members of cultural groups that are undergoing acculturation at the group or collective level. The second research tradition is that of ethnic relations; it is concerned with understanding how individuals perceive, evaluate and behave towards each other, both within and across ethnic group boundaries. This paper reviews a program of research on these two traditions that seeks to contribute to the understanding and management of intercultural relations in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring behavioral regulation in four societies.

The present study examined the psychometric properties of scores from a direct measure of behavioral regulation, the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task (HTKS) with 3- to 6-year-old children in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Specifically, we investigated (a) the nature and variability of HTKS scores, including relations to teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation; and (b) relations between the HTKS and early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills. Higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher teacher ratings of classroom behavioral regulation in the United States and South Korea but not in Taiwan and China. Also, higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills beyond the influence of demographic variables and teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation. These initial findings suggest that HTKS scores may be interpreted as reflecting early behavioral regulation in these 4 societies and that behavioral regulation is important for early academic success in the United States and in Asian countries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cooperation and competition in peaceful societies.

Most of the world's nonviolent societies base their peaceful worldviews on cooperation and an opposition to competition. Although they have nurturant, affiliative societies, many raise their children to be hesitant and fearful about the intentions of others so that they will internalize nonviolent values and never take their peacefulness, or that of others, for granted. The children in these societies lack competitive games; although they are loved as babies, by the time they are 2 or 3 years old. they are made to feel no more important than others. These societies devalue achievement because it leads to competition and aggressiveness, which leads to violence they feel. Their rituals reinforce their cooperative. harmonious beliefs and behaviors. They have internalized their peaceful, cooperative values so that their psychological structures accord with their beliefs in nonviolence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On professional schools and professional degrees.

The scientist-professional model has been dominant in the training of clinical psychologists since the Boulder Conference (V. C. Raimy, 1950). There has been a recent movement toward a professional model, and this was stated most clearly in the recommendations of the Vail Conference. Participants in this conference endorsed the development of professional schools and the award of a professional degree, the PsyD. It is argued that professional schools can provide training which is in keeping with the interest of students and the needs of society. This can be done within the boundaries of the PhD degree, so that there is no clear justification for the award of an alternate doctoral degree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual learning in olfaction: professional wine tasters versus controls

By having professional wine tasters and controls perform olfactory tasks of absolute detection (1-butanol), discrimination (lemon and cloves), and identification (common household odors), the present two experiments studied (a) if perceptual odor learning takes place from odor experience acquired under nonlaboratory conditions, (b) if this learning generalizes to odors for which experience is limited, and (c) if generalized learning can be referred to increased general interest for odors that increases attention to odorous features. The results showed that whereas wine tasters were not better than controls on detection, they were superior to controls on discrimination and identification, the latter due to only a few odors. Ratings of experience with certain odors during professional evaluation suggest that generalized perceptual learning may take place in discrimination but not in identification. Wine tasters did not show more general interest for odorous features than did controls. The nonsuperiority in detection may be explained by the fact wine tasters have no professional experience of a detection task per se, implying that perceptual odor learning does not generalize from the olfactory tasks of discrimination and identification to detection.     

Comparison of professional judgment versus an algorithm for nutrition status classification

OBJECTIVES: The classification of a patient's nutrition status is important for identifying patients who require nutrition care, for designing effective nutrition interventions, and for measuring severity of illness. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of two variants of the Department of Veterans Affairs' nutrition status classification: professional judgment versus an algorithm. METHODS: The study consisted of two phases, both of which included providing a sample of approximately 60 registered dietitians and 60 clinical dietetic technicians with data on 16 (phase I) and 20 (phase II) patients, to which they assigned nutrition statuses using both professional judgment and the algorithm. Improvements in instructions and training were implemented between the two phases. Interrater reliability of the responses was calculated, and content validity was measured by comparing the staff's responses with those of an expert panel. RESULTS: Reliability improved significantly between phases for both professional judgment and the algorithm. Greater reliability and validity were observed with use of the algorithm, by both dietitians and technicians, during both phases. CONCLUSION: Classification of a patient's nutrition status is important in the delivery of cost-effective health care. The Department of Veterans Affairs' nutrition status classification is a good one for assessing nutrition status quickly and reliably, especially when an algorithm is used. The results underscore the advantages of a classification system based on an algorithm when the system is designed to be used by many different staff across multiple facilities.     

Distinguished professional contributions.

The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge includes the discovery and development of new information, empirical or otherwise, to the body of knowledge in applied psychology. The Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice recognizes outstanding service delivery by recognizing the psychologist who has provided leadership in changing the profession, its public image, and its public acceptance. And the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service acknowledges psychologists who have made outstanding contributions in serving the public through their knowledge and practical skills. The recipient of the 2000 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to is Simon H. Budman. The recipient of the 2000 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice is Mathilda B. Canter. And the recipient of the 2000 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service is Allan G. Barclay. The biographies, selected bibliographies, and award addresses are presented for each recipient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A history of teaching machines.

Comments on L. T. Benjamin's (see record 1989-06671-001) history of teaching machines (TMs), suggesting the need for reexamination of the belief that cultural inertia was the principal cause of the failure of TMs. Implications for computer-assisted instruction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A history of teaching machines.

The development of teaching machines is traced from the patented educational devices of the 19th century through the initial teaching machines of Sidney Pressey in the 1920s to the machines invented by B. F. Skinner in the 1950s. The obscurity of Pressey's pioneering work in this field contrasted with the fame achieved by Skinner is discussed in a historical context. The final sections discuss the short-lived success and eventual failure of classroom teaching machines in the 1950s and 1960s. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assigned versus participative goal setting and response generalization: Managing injury control among professional pizza deliverers.

Safety belt use, turn signal use, and intersection stopping were observed at 3 pizza delivery locations per driver's license plate numbers. After baseline observations, employees at 1 store participated in goal setting targeting complete stops. Employees at the other store were assigned a goal. Over 4 weeks, the group's percentages of complete intersection stopping were posted. Both intervention groups significantly increased their complete intersection stops during the intervention phase. The participative goal-setting group also showed significant increases in turn signal and safety belt use (nontargeted behaviors) concurrent with their increases in intersection stopping (targeted behaviors). Drivers decreased their turn signal and safety belt use concurrent with the assigned goal condition targeting complete stops. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching machines: A review.

The idea of teaching machines goes back to the mid-1920s but within the last 3 years there has been a strong resurgence of interest. There are many points of disagreement among workers which will be best resolved on an empirical basis. The problems involved in the application of teaching machines are briefly discussed. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3KC63M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)